8. Kyle Cody, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 8/9/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: low-A Hickory Crawdads, high-A Down East Wood Ducks
2017 Stats: 23 GS, 126 IP, 2.64 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 8.2% BB, 26.1% K
Info: A three-time draftee, Cody was picked by the Phillies out of high school, but the towering righty wanted to head to Kentucky, where the Minnesota Twins made him a 2nd round selection in 2015, but he chose to return for one more season. He fell to the 6th round to the Texas Rangers in 2016, and some thought he could have taken a step back in his last year of college in control and overall stuff.
Cody pounded the zone last season over 47 1/3 innings once he was drafted, and hitters made him pay for it, to the tune of a 5.13 ERA. He found sledding much more tenable in 2017.
When all is working well, Cody has an impressive fastball that can touch 97 and works 93-95 with a ton of life from his 6’7″ downward plane. He pairs that with a wicked slider that some scouts graded as the best they saw all season, with incredible late snap.
Cody has a well-developed frame, so he’s not likely to add more velocity, but he could develop a change that would allow him to be able to add to his current mid-rotation projection. He could push himself to a frontline starter with work on that change.
Cody really worked on his control and command in 2017, and his currently profile should play well as a mid-rotation inning eater type. While he had just 5 starts at high-A, he could force his way up to AA with a strong spring.
7. Bubba Thompson, OF
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 6/9/1998 (19)
2017 teams/levels played for: Arizona Rookie League Rangers
2017 Stats: .257/.317/.434, 123 PA, 3 HR, 5 SB, 6/28 BB/K
Info: Arguably the best athlete in the first round of the draft, Thompson had options to play both football and baseball for a few colleges, which was one reason that he wasn’t a top 15 pick in the draft. The Texas Rangers were overjoyed to get his high-level talent with the 26th overall pick.
He played just 30 games in the Arizona Rookie League, and while he showed some of the raw issues that come with his focus on two sports, he also flashed the extreme athleticism that had scouts drooling all spring, hitting 12 extra base hits and stole 5 bases.
Thompson is a double-plus runner with a monster arm that can handle center field very well
The Texas Rangers specialize in drafting premium athletes, so it was no surprise that Thompson was their selection. While he was one of the older players in the first round of the draft, he will likely take some time to develop.
Thompson is a double-plus runner with a monster arm that can handle center field very well. His incredible bat speed will eventually allow his raw power to play up beyond average, but he will need to work on his plate discipline as both his pitch recognition and zone recognition were lacking in his pro debut.
With Thompson needing some time to develop, he may start the spring at extended spring, but his likely destination will eventually be low-A Hickory in 2018.
Next: #5 and #6