The Texas Rangers used last year’s MLB draft to help replenish their farm system. Five players that they selected last summer are now ranked among the club’s top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America.
Only time — and performance — will tell whether this year’s class yields the same depth. Three players selected by the Rangers in last week’s draft have already cracked the organization’s top 30 prospects list, according to Baseball America, and two are ranked within the top seven.
No. 4: SS Gavin Fien
Who he is: The Rangers drafted Fien, one of several highly-touted high school middle infielders, out of Great Oak (Calif.) with the No. 12 pick in the 2025 draft and signed him to an under-slot $4.8 million bonus. He’s the first prep player that the Rangers drafted in the first round since right-hander Cole Winn in 2018.
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What Baseball America said about him: “Fien has an advanced feel to backspin the ball to all fields with authority and tap into his plus raw power with consistency against high-quality pitching. He’s got plenty of strength and bat speed that pairs with contact skills and pitch recognition that should give him above-average pure hitting potential to go with above-average game power.”
Notable: Fien is now the second-ranked position player prospect in the system behind only top-ranked shortstop Sebastian Walcott. He slid in one spot ahead of last year’s first-round pick Malcolm Moore.
No. 7: RHP AJ Russell
Who he is: The Rangers drafted Russell out of Tennessee in the second round. He’s a 6-foot-6 right-hander who had one of the draft’s best fastballs, but because of season-ending elbow surgery that he underwent in June, the Rangers were able to nab him in the second round.
What Baseball America said about him: “Russell is a good enough strike-thrower to profile as a starter, but he will need to refine his secondaries.”
Notable: There are now just two pitchers — No. 2 Alejandro Rosario and No. 3 Winston Santos — ranked ahead of Russell in the system, according to Baseball America.
No. 18: TWP Josh Owens
Who he is: Owens, a 6-foot-3 teenager from Providence Academy (Tenn.), was selected by the Rangers in the third round and announced as a two-way player. Most outlets project him as a position player long-term.
What Baseball America said about him: “Owens is a lefthanded-hitting shortstop who oozes projectability with a body and athleticism to dream on. Listed at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, Owens has coat-hanger shoulders and the look of someone who should be able to add plenty of good strength and mass in the coming years.”
Notable: Owens is the system’s second-highest-ranked position player prospect that the Rangers drafted out of high school behind only Fien. Of the six position players ranked ahead of him, three were drafted out of college and three were signed internationally.
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