Texas Rangers: Chris Young working the draft to get top arms

Just when you thought that the Texas Rangers had made the big surprise pick of the draft by taking Kumar Rocker with the third overall pick, they doubled down and took Brock Porter with the 109th overall selection. Porter was a top 10 draft prospect, as well as the No. 1 pitching prospect coming into the draft.

Porter, who just turned 19 last month, is 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 208 pounds. That big frame and a fluid delivery is enough to get any scouting department excited. He has a plus fastball sitting in the mid 90s while reaching 100 mph. His offspeed pitches are quality, and his slider has shown great improvement. He was the recipient of the 2022 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award, pitching for St. Mary’s Prep in Orchard Lake, Mich. Despite pitching in often cold conditions, in 58 innings of work, Porter went 9-0, had 115 strikeouts, posted an ERA of 0.41, and tossed three no-hitters.

Because of his strong commitment to play at Clemson, it has been perceived that signability of Porter would be an issue. There has been a coaching change at Clemson recently and perhaps that has something to do with this selection as well. The Texas Rangers either have a really good idea that they can get him to sign (the money that he will receive will be in the late first round range) or they are going for a Hail Mary. I doubt that Chris Young and John Daniels would take such a risk without some reassurance that the signing can be made.

In under two years as the Texas Rangers general manager, Chris Young has really put his mark on the organization.

Here are a few of his highlights already: The acquisition of top talent from the Joey Gallo trade last year at the deadline (Glenn Otto, Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran, and Trevor Hauver), drafting Jack Leiter at No. 2 overall last year, the free agent signings of both Marcus Semien and Corey Seager along with the stellar free agent signing of first time All-Star Martin Perez, and, of course, this year’s draft selections of Rocker and Porter.

Chris Young is highly intelligent, was an MLB pitcher himself, and knows how to make things happen. Texas Rangers fans should be excited. This year isn’t the Rangers’ year, and next year might not be either, but one thing is for sure — the Texas Rangers are building a quality organization from top to bottom and their window of opportunity will be here sooner rather than later.