The Texas Rangers are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. They play in the American League West division. Before 1972 (and for the first seven years of the draft), they were known as the Washington Senators and based in Washington, D.C. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Rangers franchise has selected 68 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
Of the 71 players picked in the first round by Washington or Texas, 37 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 27 of these were right-handed, while 10 were left-handed. Twelve outfielders, nine third basemen, six shortstops, four catchers, two first basemen, and one second baseman were also taken. Fourteen of the players came from high schools or colleges in the state of Texas, and California follows with ten players. The Rangers have drafted one player, Tanner Scheppers in 2009, who was playing in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball at the time of the draft. Scheppers was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 29th round of the 2005 MLB draft, and by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second round of the 2008 MLB draft.
With the Exception of Josh Jung, none of the Rangers' first-round picks have won a World Series championship with the team. Also, no pick has been elected to the Hall of Fame. None of these picks have won the MLB Rookie of the Year award, although Oddibe McDowell (1984) placed fourth in the voting in 1985, and Josh Jung placed fourth in the voting in 2023. The Rangers had the first overall selection twice in the draft, which they used on Jeff Burroughs (1969) and David Clyde (1973). Clyde made his debut for the Rangers 20 days after he pitched his high school team to the state finals in the franchise's first sellout at Arlington Stadium.
The Rangers have made 19 selections in the supplemental round of the draft and 26 compensatory picks since the institution of the First-Year Player Draft in 1965. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the previous off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. The Rangers have failed to sign one of their first-round picks, Matt Purke (2009), and received the 15th pick in 2010 as compensation.
Key YearEach year links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball draft.PositionIndicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to playPickIndicates the number of the pick*Player did not sign with the Rangers§Indicates a supplemental pick
Picks
YearNamePosition School (location)Pick 1965Right-handed pitcherNatick High School(Natick, Massachusetts)1966OutfielderPittsfield High School(Pittsfield, Massachusetts)1967CatcherLoretto High School(St. Joseph, Tennessee)1968Left-handed pitcherColdwater High School(Coldwater, Mississippi)1969OutfielderWilson Classical High School(Long Beach, California)1970Third basemanZane Trace High School(Chillicothe, Ohio)1971Right-handed pitcherBall High School(Galveston, Texas)1972Third basemanLompoc High School(Lompoc, California)1973Left-handed pitcherWestchester High School(Houston, Texas)1974Right-handed pitcherLanier High School(Austin, Texas)1975Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Texas at Austin(Austin, Texas)1976OutfielderLakewood High School(Lakewood, California)1977ShortstopHowell High School(Howell, Michigan)19781979Left-handed pitcherUniversity of Texas at Austin(Austin, Texas)1980Right-handed pitcherCarroll High School(Huntertown, Indiana)1981Right-handed pitcherYale University(New Haven, Connecticut)Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Pittsburgh(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)19821983ShortstopRider University(Lawrenceville, New Jersey)1984OutfielderArizona State University(Tempe, Arizona)1985Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Oklahoma(Norman, Oklahoma)1986Right-handed pitcherGeorgia Institute of Technology(Atlanta, Georgia)1987Left-handed pitcherNorth Shore High School(Houston, Texas)CatcherUniversity of California, Los Angeles(Los Angeles, California)Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Texas at Austin(Austin, Texas)§1988ShortstopOklahoma State University–Stillwater(Stillwater, Oklahoma)1989OutfielderTexas Tech University(Lubbock, Texas)1990Left-handed pitcherCreighton University(Omaha, Nebraska)1991ShortstopCastle Park High School(Chula Vista, California)1992Right-handed pitcherStanford University(Stanford, California)1993Third basemanMoeller High School(Cincinnati, Ohio)§19941995Right-handed pitcherFlorida State University(Tallahassee, Florida)1996Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee)Right-handed pitcherJesuit High School(Tampa, Florida)Left-handed pitcherNorth Carolina State University(Raleigh, North Carolina)§1997Third basemanHillsborough High School(Tampa, Florida)§1998First basemanNortheastern University(Boston, Massachusetts)1999Right-handed pitcherBakersfield College(Bakersfield, California)§Right-handed pitcherSoddy Daisy High School(Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee)§2000CatcherRancho Bernardo High School(San Diego, California)OutfielderUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill(Chapel Hill, North Carolina)§Right-handed pitcherBaylor University(Waco, Texas)§2001Third basemanGeorgia Institute of Technology(Atlanta, Georgia)2002ShortstopUniversity of South Carolina(Columbia, South Carolina) 2003Left-handed pitcherRound Rock High School(Round Rock, Texas)2004Right-handed pitcherUniversity of New Orleans(New Orleans, Louisiana)Right-handed pitcherSamuel W. Wolfson High School(Jacksonville, Florida)2005OutfielderStanford University(Stanford, California)2006Left-handed pitcherRussell County High School(Seale, Alabama)2007Right-handed pitcherIrving High School(Irving, Texas)Right-handed pitcherDeLand High School(DeLand, Florida)OutfielderUniversity of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee)§Right-handed pitcherKempsville High School(Virginia Beach, Virginia)§Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Alabama(Tuscaloosa, Alabama)§2008First basemanUniversity of South Carolina(Columbia, South Carolina) 2009*Left-handed pitcherKlein High School(Klein, Texas)Right-handed pitcherSt. Paul Saints(Independent baseball)§2010OutfielderBlessed Trinity Catholic High School(Roswell, Georgia)CatcherR. E. Mountain Secondary School(Langley, British Columbia)Right-handed pitcherCalvary Christian High School(Clearwater, Florida)§Third basemanUniversity of Connecticut(Storrs, Connecticut)§2011Left-handed pitcherRichmond Hill High School(Richmond Hill, Georgia)OutfielderUniversity of Georgia(Athens, Georgia)§2012OutfielderCoral Springs High School(Coral Springs, Florida)Third basemanBishop Gorman High School(Las Vegas, Nevada)§Right-handed pitcherBlue Valley West High School(Stilwell, Kansas)§2013Right-handed pitcherOral Roberts University(Tulsa, Oklahoma)Third basemanWinder-Barrow High School(Winder, Georgia)§2014Right-handed pitcherSanger Union High School(Sanger, California)§2015Right-handed pitcherUniversity of California, Santa Barbara(Santa Barbara, California)2016Left-handed pitcherNorth Florida Christian High School(Tallahassee, Florida)§2017OutfielderMcGill–Toolen Catholic High School(Mobile, Alabama)ShortstopWest Orange High School(Winter Garden, Florida)2018Right-handed pitcherLutheran High School of Orange County(Orange, California)2019Third basemanTexas Tech University(Lubbock, Texas)Third basemanBaylor University(Waco, Texas)§2020Second basemanMississippi State University(Starkville, Mississippi)2021Right-handed pitcherVanderbilt University(Nashville, Tennessee)2022Right-handed pitcherVanderbilt University(Nashville, Tennessee)2023OutfielderUniversity of Florida(Gainesville, Florida)2024CatcherStanford University(Stanford, California)2025ShortstopGreat Oak High School(Temecula, California)2026Left-handed pitcherMarjory Stoneman Douglas High School(Parkland, Florida)
See also Texas Rangers minor league players
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