Draft day. 31 comments


Derek Holland is the Rangers best pitcher drafted in the Jon Daniels era, having thrown a masterpiece in Game 4 of the 2011 Words Series.

 

Today is Major League Baseball’s amateur draft. For many young men, it’s the day their dreams come true. For a few franchises, it’s the day their fortunes turn.

The Rangers are smack dab in the middle of the drafting order, getting the fifteenth pick in the first round.

Here is the complete draft order.

For the Rangers in the Jon Daniels era, the draft has been a teenage wasteland when it comes to pitching.

From 2006 to 2014, Daniels drafted 253 pitchers. Only two are currently on the Rangers, both relief pitchers: Alex Claudio and Keona Kela. Only one had an impactful career as a Rangers starter: Derek Holland. Three have had good careers, so far, with other teams: Tanner Roarke, Drew Palmeranz, and Kyle Hendricks.

Drafting baseball players is a very inexact science. So few players drafted make it to the major leagues, and of those a fraction make an impact. Drafting pitching is even harder.

But it’s safe to say, Daniels has had a combination of bad luck and bad eyesight in drafting pitching.

Which is why the system has always been devoid of arms and why he constantly has to trade for or pay heavily for pitching. He hasn’t been able to develop it himself.

Here is an accounting of pitching draft picks since Jon Daniel took over as general manager: The year of the draft, the number of pitchers drafted, how many of those made it to MLB, and the players who made it.

*****
NO GAME TODAY.