Who Will The Rangers Take At No. 2? What The Experts Are Saying

The Texas Rangers have a lot of pressure to get the No. 2 pick in the MLB Draft right on Sunday night. What direction do they experts believe the Rangers will go?

Chris Halicke | Jul 10, 2021

After months of anticipation, we are finally on the eve of the MLB Draft. The Texas Rangers have the second overall pick in the draft for the first time since 1974, and there is a lot of external pressure on club management to get the pick right.

But before Jon Daniels, Chris Young and Kip Fagg make their selection on Sunday night, let's take a look around the baseball world and see who the experts believe will be announced in Denver.

Jack Leiter, RHP, Vanderbilt

Jim Callis, MLB.com: "Leiter would continue the Rangers' recent trend of taking polished college performers with their top choice."

Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com: "His College World Series performances certainly haven’t hurt and the Rangers are thought to have him, Kahlil Watson and Jordan Lawlar potentially on their list."

Kiley McDaniel, ESPN: "I'd say this is down to Watson or Leiter and I'm leaning Leiter for now because it fits the team's window and preferences in a close situation. I think they'd take Mayer if he got here, but I'm not sure and I think Davis is the other guy in the mix."

Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein, FanGraphs: "Scouts with other teams speculated to us that Leiter better fits Texas’ self-perceived competitive timeline, and that they have the bonus pool flex to get a deal done even if Leiter’s camp sees this market as sub-optimal."

Prospects Live: "There’s growing sentiment among scouts and evaluators that Leiter and the Rangers may eventually end up a pair. Rangers’ brass Chris Young and [Kip] Fagg are said to be enamored by Leiter and his meta-suited fastball. It’s a profile that would play at the big league level almost immediately, and the Rangers have given no indication they intend on tearing anything down."

Joe DeMayo, Yahoo Sports: "I do not believe Leiter is in play at No. 1, but I do not see him falling outside of the top four. The Rangers have seemingly shown the most interest in Leiter and Davis, but also keep an eye on high school shortstops Lawlar and Kahlil Watson here."

Jordan Lawlar, SS, Dallas Jesuit HS

Carlos Collazo, Baseball America: "[Marcelo] Mayer could easily be the top name on their list, but with him gone in this mock we have them instead turning to either Leiter or Lawlar—for now we’ll stick with the local product."

Mike Axisa, CBS Sports: "You can't draft for organizational need this early in the draft though. Take the best player and sort it all out later, because it's impossible to know what your needs will be when these players are big-league ready in three-plus years."

Joel Reuter, Bleacher Report: "Vanderbilt right-hander Jack Leiter is in play, but a spotty track record of developing pitching and the fact that Lawlar is playing in the Rangers' backyard makes the prep shortstop the more likely pick. The Rangers have long targeted toolsy athletes, and Lawlar could be a rare five-tool talent at shortstop.

Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt

Keith Law, The Athletic: "The Rangers might have more players still in their decision set — again, if you listen to the teams behind them — than the Pirates do, including all three high school shortstops, both Vandy pitchers, and Davis. They’re certainly Kumar Rocker’s best hope up here."

More on SI's Inside The Rangers:

Like 'Inside The Rangers' on Facebook

Published Jul 10, 2021

CHRIS HALICKE