DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Texas Rangers continued to build their farm system with the selection of Oregon outfielder Aaron Zavala with the No. 38 overall pick in the MLB Draft on Monday.
Zavala, 21, is a native of Eugene, Oregon. He played three seasons with the Ducks, but his strongest performance came in 2021 where he hit .392/.525/.628/1.154 (BA, OBP, SLG, OPS) to go along with nine home runs and 38 RBI. That strong campaign led him to be named the Pac-12 Player of the Year.
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Zavala, a left-handed batter and a right-handed thrower, is the No. 76 ranked draft prospect by MLB.com.
Here's some of the scouting report on him:
"A left-handed hitter, Zavala has long shown an incredible knack for contact, rarely swinging and missing and walking more than he’s struck out in his Ducks career. He keeps his bat head in the zone for a long time with excellent pitch recognition, spraying the ball to all fields, mostly with gap power, but showing some ability to occasionally pull the ball with more authority this year. He’s gotten a bit faster as he’s matured and is considered an average runner now.
"Zavala has played both third and the outfield at Oregon, but focused solely on the latter in 2021 and was much more comfortable there, playing right field regularly, though left might be the best spot for him at the next level given his average-at-best arm. Given the lack of standout performers and the fact that Zavala’s data will tick off boxes in analytic departments, he could come off the board in the top three rounds."
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