For the second-straight year, the Texas Rangers have a top-five pick. It’s an opportunity the Rangers wouldn’t have liked to have in an ideal world, considering the pile of losses they’ve accumulated in the previous two seasons, but it’s still an opportunity for an influx of talent, nonetheless.
Vanderbilt’s Jack Leiter was the selection a year ago, marking the ninth time the Rangers have had a pick in the top five. Who else is on that list? Here’s a breakdown.
LHP David Clyde
Year: 1973
Selection: 1st overall
Details: The MLB draft is often an example of delayed gratification. It usually takes years for a player to go from the draft to the Major Leagues. Some never do. David Clyde’s story wasn’t that. It took less than a month for Clyde to go from pitching at Westchester High School in Houston to pitching for the Texas Rangers. His rise to the majors came with a lot of attention and a big bump in attendance for the struggling Rangers, but it came at a price. Injuries ended up cutting Clyde’s career short. He finished 18-33, becoming a go-to example for what happens when a talented young pitcher isn’t handled with care.
RHP Tommy Boggs
Year: 1974
Selection: 2nd overall
Details: A year after David Clyde, the Rangers went with a high school pitcher from Texas, once again. Boggs starred at Lanier High School in Austin and was taken second overall. Unlike Clyde, the Rangers took a little time developing Boggs. He made his MLB debut in 1976 and pitched for two seasons with the Rangers before he was traded to Atlanta. He returned to the Rangers for one season in 1985 before he retired. He had an overall record of 20-44. He’s been the head coach at Concordia University in Austin for the last 12 years.
SS Jeff Kunkel
Year: 1983
Selection: 3rd overall
Details: The best player selected in the first round of the 1983 draft was pick No. 19: a pitcher out of Texas by the name of Roger Clemens. The Red Sox took him; the Rangers, however, used the third overall pick to take Rider’s Jeff Kunkel. He made his MLB debut in 1984, but never played a full season with the Rangers. He hit .224 with 18 home runs in 337 games with Texas. He played one season with the Cubs before he retired.
RHP Bobby Witt
Year: 1985
Selection: 3rd overall
Details: For a while, Bobby Witt held the honor of being the highest-selected MLB player in his family. His son, Colleyville Heritage’s Bobby Witt Jr., stole the honor in 2019 when he was selected second overall. It’ll be a while before Witt’s son can pass him on service time, though. Witt spent 16 season in the Major Leagues, finishing his career with a 4.83 ERA, nearly 2,000 strikeouts, and a record of 142-157. The former Oklahoma pitcher spent 11 seasons with the Rangers.
RHP Kevin Brown
Year: 1986
Selection: 4th overall
Details: What did Brown do for the Rangers? A lot. The Georgia Tech standout spent his first eight big league seasons with the Rangers. He earned one of his six All-Star bids with the Rangers, becoming the first 20-game winner in franchise history since Fergie Jenkins did it. He spent eight of his 19 seasons with the Rangers. He finished his career with a 211-144 record and an ERA of 3.28.
OF Donald Harris
Year: 1989
Selection: 5th overall
Details: Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, the Big Hurt, would’ve looked good in a Rangers uniform. He went two picks after the Rangers selected Texas Tech outfielder Donald Harris 5th overall. Harris had a short MLB career. He played a total of 82 games over three years. He hit .205 with two home runs and 11 RBIs.
3B/1B Mark Teixeira
Year: 2001
Selection: 5th overall
Details: Top five picks from Georgia Tech have worked out well for the Rangers. Fifteen years after they selected Kevin Brown, the Rangers returned to Georgia Tech and took Mark Teixeira, the national collegiate player of the year. He showed why early on for the Rangers, as well. He hit 26 home runs as a rookie in 2003, hit 38 the next season and then earned his first All-Star berth in 2005, slugging 43 home runs and totaling 144 RBIs season. The Rangers eventually traded him to the Atlanta Braves in 2007 for a package that included Elvis Andrus and Neftali Feliz — two key pieces in the Rangers’ run to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
RHP Dillon Tate
Year: 2015
Selection: 4th overall
Details: Dillon Tate never played in a MLB game for the Rangers, but he has pitched against them. On July 5, the Rangers scored two runs off Tate, who’s now a reliever for the Baltimore Orioles. The Rangers traded Tate in a package for Carlos Beltran just over a year after they selected him 5th overall. He’s approaching 150 career innings pitched.
RHP Jack Leiter
Year: 2021
Selection: 2nd overall
Details: Leiter will head to Los Angeles this week as a member of the American League’s roster in the annual Futures Game, though his first season in professional baseball hasn’t necessarily been of the All-Star variety. He’s 2-7 with a 6.30 ERA so far for Double-A Frisco. He recently spent some time on the development list with arm fatigue but struggled in his first game back. Leiter is the team’s No. 1 prospect.
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