Texas Christian lefthander Ben Abeldt was poised for a big draft year as he prepared to move from the bullpen to rotation.

Then his elbow blew out. He didn’t pitch in his junior season after having surgery, and a return to Fort Worth looked like more of a possibility than being drafted with a high pick.

Alas, Abeldt’s hometown team came to the rescue by drafting him in the fifth round. He grew up watching the Rangers in McKinney, Texas, at the northeast tip of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

He faces a long road, which begins in August when he is scheduled to throw for the first time since surgery, but he’s back on the professional track after the uncertainty of the past six months.

“Going into this school year, there was a lot of buzz that I could turn this year into something special and climb up in the rounds,” Abeldt said. “The injury ended up being kind of a blow, but we knew that I was going to be able to fight through it.”

The Rangers like Abeldt’s sidearm delivery and his ability to get out batters of both hands, something the team believes is unique for his arm angle. They are going to let him work as a starter once he’s healthy.

“When you go scout certain pitchers, you watch for from a hitter’s lens,” Rangers scouting director Kip Fagg said. “And it’s not a comfortable at-bat at all.” 

Abeldt was one of three pitchers plucked by the Rangers in the midst of their recovery from Tommy John surgery or the internal-brace procedure, joining fourth-rounder Mason McConnaughey from Nebraska and 18th-rounder Julius Sanchez from Illinois.

Second-rounder AJ Russell from Tennessee had the brace procedure in 2024 and threw 25.1 innings this year.

“We have a lot of experience in this realm,” Rangers GM Ross Fenstermaker said. “I think with each consecutive opportunity that we’ve taken players of this talent, we build our confidence that we can continue to evolve this plan and get them back to their full strength.”

RANGERS ROUNDUP

— Brady Abeldt was one of two players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area drafted by the Rangers, who selected Duke lefthander Owen Proksch in the ninth round. He’s from Southlake, Texas, which is just west of DFW International Airport.

— Two 2024 draftees who had Tommy John surgery before the draft, fifth-rounder David Hagaman (West Virginia) and sixth-rounder Garrett Horn (Liberty), completed their rehab programs in June in the Arizona Complex League and are pitching at Low-A Hickory.

— Lefthander Kohl Drake, another DFW Metroplex kid from Sasche, Texas, was promoted to Triple-A Round Rock and could emerge as a rotation option for the Rangers late in the season. He held Double-A Texas League hitters to a .164 average.