DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Rangers are adding some new prospects to the organization with the 2022 MLB Draft taking place this week. After taking Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker with the No. 3 overall pick, the Rangers will add several more players on Day 2.
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Here are their selections thus far:
RD1: Kumar Rocker - RHP, Vanderbilt
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RD4: Brock Porter - RHP, St. Mary's Prep (MI)
Porter, 19, was named 2021-22 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year after going 9-0 with three no-hitters, a 0.41 ERA, and 115 strikeouts over 58.0 innings this spring as a senior at St. Mary’s Prep in Orchard Lake, Mich. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound right-hander led the Eagles to Division 2 state championships in 2019 and 2021 before finishing a perfect 44-0 season with a Division 1 state title in 2022. St. Mary’s was tabbed as Baseball America’s High School National Champion in 2021, and currently holds a 65-game winning streak spanning the last two years. Porter was rated as a top-15 prospect in the 2022 class by multiple outlets, including MLB Pipeline (11), Baseball America (12), and FanGraphs (14). The Milford, Mich. native is committed to play collegiately at Clemson University, and is the first Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year ever drafted by Texas.
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RD5: Chandler Pollard - OF, Woodward Academy (GA)
Pollard, 18, finished his senior season at Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga. with 59 steals over 61 attempts, leading the state and ranking 6th in the nation among prepsters. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound infielder/outfielder batted .521 (49-94) with 11 home runs, 4 triples, 12 doubles, and 36 RBI across 31 games this spring, guiding the War Eagles to a 24-9 record. Pollard, who is committed to play collegiately at Washington State University, was tabbed as the no. 110 and no. 112 prospect in this year’s draft class by MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, respectively. He is the first player drafted from Woodward Academy since former Rangers outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. was selected by Houston in the 1st round (8th overall) of the 2010 MLB Draft.
RD6: Tommy Specht - OF, Wahlert HS (IA)
Specht, 18, opted out of his senior season at Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, Iowa, and instead played for the Clinton LumberKings of the Prospect League, a collegiate summer baseball league. He also participated in the Perfect Game All-American Classic. In his last high school season as a junior, Specht had a .439 batting average, 1.237 OPS, 2 home runs, 2 triples, 5 doubles, and 14 RBI, helping the Golden Eagles to a Class 3-A state runner-up finish. Specht is committed to the University of Kentucky. This marks the second straight year for the Rangers to draft a player out of Wahlert Catholic, following the selection of catcher Ian Moller (4th round, 2021).
RD7: Luis Ramirez - RHP, Long Beach State University
Ramirez, 21, went 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA at Long Beach State University in 2022, limited to just 7 starts while battling a shoulder injury for most of conference play. He was twice named Big West Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 21 and March 21) and earned National Pitcher of the Week honors (Feb. 21) after six no-hit innings on Feb. 18 against the defending national champions, third-ranked Mississippi State. The 2020 Collegiate Baseball All-American finished his college career with an 8-5 record, 3.38 ERA, and 123 strikeouts in 125.1 innings, as his 8.83 strikeouts per 9 innings rate currently ranks as 8th-best in program history.
RD8: Matt Brosky - RHP, Youngstown State University
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Brosky was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and was a First Team All-Horizon League selection this season as a junior at Youngstown State University. The right-hander became the 5th player in program history to earn conference Pitcher of the Year honors, going 6-7 with a 2.65 ERA (29 ER/98.2 IP), 102 strikeouts, and a .231 opponent batting average over a school record-tying 15 starts this spring. He tossed a conference-leading 5 complete games, including a 10-strikeout shutout on May 25 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne in the opening round of the Horizon League Conference Tournament, his final outing of the year. The 22-year-old Ohio native began his collegiate career at Ohio University, making 11 relief appearances for the Bobcats in 2019 before transferring to Youngstown State.
RD9: Griffin Cheney - SS, Georgia State University
Cheney was a five-year letter winner at Georgia State University and posted a career .301 batting average and 22 home runs, with 21 of those coming in his final two seasons. The versatile infielder was a four-year starter at shortstop (2019 and 2022), third base (2020), and second base (2021), ranking among all-time program leaders in runs (5th, 143) and walks (T6th, 90). This past season, he hit .350 and ranked T4th in the Sun Belt Conference with 16 home runs, including 5 against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Cheney tied the Georgia State and Sun Belt record with 3 home runs on March 15 against 15th-ranked Clemson.
RD10: Josh Hatcher, CF, Kennesaw State University
Hatcher, 23, played four seasons at Mississippi State University (2018-21) before transferring to Kennesaw State University, where he batted .391 (109-279) with 15 home runs, 59 RBI, and a school-record 25 doubles this spring. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior earned Atlantic Sun Conference First Team honors and was named ASUN Conference Tournament MVP after leading the Owls to their first Conference championship since 2014. A left-handed batter and thrower, Hatcher hit for the cycle twice over a three-game span (March 23 at no. 12 Georgia Tech and March 26 vs. North Florida), becoming the 3rd player in NCAA Division I history to hit for two cycles in the same season. The Georgia native was a member of Mississippi State’s 2021 National Championship team, appearing in 58 games (39 starts) for the Bulldogs that season. Kennesaw State’s coach staff consists of former Rangers scouts Ryan Coe (Head Coach) and Derrick Tucker (Assistant Coach). Tucker was the area scout for the club’s top pick in 2021, right-handed pitcher Jack Leiter (2nd overall).
RD11: Kohl Drake, LHP, Walters State Community College (TN)
RD12: Jackson Kelley, RHP, Mercer University (GA)
RD13: Caden Marcum, RHP, Paola HS (KS)
RD14: Andrew Owen, RHP, Grossmont College (CA)
RD15: Jack Goodman, SS, Medfield HS (MA)
RD16: Nick Bautista III, RHP, Cypress College (CA)
RD17: Carson Dorsey, LHP, Gulf Coast CC (FL)
RD18: Justin Sanchez, LHP, Monsignor McClancy Memorial HS (NY)
RD19: Grayson Saunier, RHP, Collierville HS (TN)
RD20: Matt Scott, RHP, Joel Barlow HS (CT)
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