Texas Rangers go batty with their first three picks on second day of MLB Draft
Oregon outfielder Aaron Zavala, the Pac 12 Player of the Year, was selected 38th overall.
Aaron Zavala was not one of Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects entering the 2021 season at Oregon despite a big freshman season and a strong start to the 2020 campaign before COVID-19 shut it down.
However, his stock shot up with each series this season for the Ducks, and on Monday he was the 38th overall selection in the MLB Draft.
The Texas Rangers picked Zavala, an outfielder, with the second pick of the second round on the second day of the draft, the first of three straight position players to start their day.
“It’s a premium hitter,” amateur scouting director Kip Fagg said. “Every guy that went in and saw this guy was thrilled with this guy’s bat. He’s a corner outfielder. The power started to show up, and it was something we questioned early in his career.”
The Rangers also selected prep shortstop Cameron Cauley from Barbers Hill High east of Houston in the third round (73rd overall) and Iowa prep catcher Ian Moller in the fourth round (103rd overall).
Cauley, a premium athlete who also starred as a wide receiver on the football team, is committed to Texas Tech. Moller, who played in a Perfect Game league rather than for his high school, is committed to LSU.
The Rangers expect both players to sign before the Aug. 1 deadline. Moller, who impresses with his raw power, reportedly has said he plans to sign with the Rangers for “well above slot.”
The Rangers shifted to the mound the next four rounds with prep left-hander Mitch Bratt, Alabama right-hander Chase Lee, Virginia Commonweath righty Bradford Webb and Biola University lefty Larson Kindreich.
They finished the day by selecting Arkansas State catcher Liam Hicks and junior-college lefty C.J. Widger.
Bratt is an interesting story. He is from Canada but moved to Georgia this spring so that he could play his senior season and get more exposure to MLB scouts. Canada still has tight COVID-19 protocols in place, and Bratt was one of several Canadians who moved to the U.S.
He’s committed to Florida State, but Fagg expects him to sign with the Rangers.
“We’re close to agreements on all these guys,” Fagg said.
Fagg said that Lee, a sidearm reliever, could be a quick mover through the system, and Kindreich might end up as a draft steal because he already features a plus-fastball and plus-breaking pitch.
The draft concludes Tuesday with Rounds 11-20. The Rangers pick second in each round.