Mississippi State won the College World Series last night. It was the university’s first championship in any sport. That makes them a team with one more championship than the Rangers.

But what’s most important about their victory is that the losing pitcher was Kumar Rocker. He, along with teammate Jack Leiter, were considered the top two picks in the draft a few months ago. One of them was going to be a Ranger, according to conventional wisdom.

But it’s a fickle business. And drafting in baseball is hard. And wisdom is not a word associated with the Rangers when it comes to drafting.

Leiter won Game 1 of the College World Series. Rocker lost Game 3, the final game. With that, his draft value probably dropped as well.

The Rangers have the second pick in the draft. It’s no longer a slam dunk between Leiter or Rocker as one and or two. 

But how much credence to you put on the College World Series? Any pitcher can have a bad game. Do you look at a player’s total body of work? Or one game?

It will be interesting to see who the Rangers pick at number two. Even more interesting will see how Chris Young influences the draft.

After so many years of failure, the Rangers could use a draft victory. 

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