The Texas Rangers could be a player in next week’s Rule 5 draft next week at the MLB winter meetings in Orlando.
The Rangers have only 34 players on the 40-man roster, which gives them space to select a prospect or two in the draft. One of the requirements is that a team must have roster space to draft a player, since he must immediately be placed on the 40-man roster.
Texas has the 14th pick in the first round. At last year’s Rule 5 draft, 15 players were selected and 11 were pitchers, according to Baseball America (subscription required). The site also put together a list of the Top 35 prospects that could be selected. Here are three prospects the Rangers might consider selecting based on team needs.
Red Sox LHP Hayden Mullins
ALEX HICKS JR./STAFF / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Boston prospect has an SEC pedigree, as he played his college baseball at Auburn but exited college having had Tommy John surgery. He seems to have found his groove now. He’s never pitched at Triple-A, but at Double-A last season he went 8-2 with a 2.21 ERA. He struck out 123 and walked 53 in 101.2 innings and batters hit only .177 against him. They’re clearly the best numbers of his career.
Baseball America’s scouts praised his 35% whiff rate on his fastball. But, the scouts also pointed out his secondary pitches, a gyro slider, a sweeper and a change-up, all three of which have good spin. He would need to start the year at Triple-A, but he can do that and still be a Rule 5 selection.
Angels RHP Jared Southard
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
The Rangers are into cheap relief, and a Rule 5 selection would be the cheapest Texas can find. Southard could be ready for the Majors this season, as opposed to some of the other players listed. He pitched in 27 games at Triple-A Salt Lake. His ERA nudged up to 4.23 with SLC, but he went 1-0 with three holds and two saves in four chances. He struck out 42 and walked 14 in 38.1 innings.
Baseball America’s scouts highlighted his strikeout rate (25.8%), his walk rate (8.6%) and his ground ball rate (56.4%) while at Triple-A. He’s a sinkerball pitcher with who mixes breaking balls to keep hitters off-balance.
Rays C Tatem Levins
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
The Rangers have horrible organization depth at catcher. Malcolm Moore, their 2024 first-round pick, is not developing at the rate hoped. Levins is already at Double-A and is poised to hit Triple-A next season. He slashed .244/.405/.383 with seven home runs and 54 RBI in 100 games for the Montgomery Biscuits.
Baseball America’s scouts highlighted his 77 walks in 2025, which helped push his on-base percentage above .400 for the season. He was also praised for defensive ability and his pop time, as he threw out 31% of base stealers last season.
Recommended Articles