DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Texas Rangers did it again.
Less than 24 hours after the Rangers shocked the baseball world by selecting former Vanderbilt right-hander Kumar Rocker with the No. 3 overall pick in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, the club swooped in and selected the best high school pitcher in the draft, right-hander Brock Porter out of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (Mich.) with their fourth-round pick (No. 109).
Porter, 6-4, 208 pounds, is a Clemson commit and went undrafted in the first three rounds over signability concerns. MLB.com rated him as the No. 11 prospect in this year's draft class.
"All the pieces are there to make Porter the standout arm of this year’s crop. ... There’s the stuff, led by a mid-90s fastball that can touch 100 mph, along with a plus changeup and developing hard slider. There’s some projection remaining in his 6-foot-4 frame too, giving clubs even more on which to dream." - MLB.com
Porter was named Gatorade National Player of the Year after going 9-0 with a 0.41 ERA, and 115 strikeouts in 58 innings, according to Max Preps. St. Mary's won three state championships during Porter's time with the program (2019, 2021 and 2022).
Now the question becomes … will the Rangers be able to sign him? Rangers pre and post-game show host, Jared Sandler, believes the club must be feeling optimistic about their chances to sign the right-hander, seeing as his agent is Scott Boras, who just so happens to also represent Rocker. You can hear Sandler's conversation with the GBag Nation on Monday's show in the video above.
According to Audacy MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Rangers and Rocker have already come to terms on a $5.2 million bonus, which is well below the $7,587,600 slot value recommendation for the third overall pick. The Rangers are now hoping their savings on Rocker will be enough to throw at Porter to convince him to bypass his commitment to the Tigers.
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