Carney: Rangers' Third-Rounder Tekoah Roby Offers Highest Ceiling in Puzzling Draft Class

Tekoah Roby, a prep right-handed pitcher out of Florida, has the highest ceiling out of the five selection in the Texas Rangers 2020 draft class.

Now that we're a several days removed from the 2020 MLB Draft, there's still a lot of head-scratching involved with the Texas Rangers' draft class under General Manager Jon Daniels.

First, the Rangers reached on first-rounder Justin Foscue, and then they reached again on second-rounder Evan Carter. Following the selection of Foscue, Texas went prep heavy, selecting high schoolers with their final four picks.

While it was an underwhelming class on the surface, one name stands out above the rest due to potential: 6-foot-2 right-hander Tekoah Roby.

Roby was previously committed to Troy, but as the third round pick in the draft, it will almost certainly make him a lock for the Rangers' system. The prep rightly sits between 90-96 with an average changeup and a potentially average slider, and possesses some athleticism and some feel for pitching already.

That said, his frame is a bit small. However, he was trending upwards this spring, so the Rangers did a good job grabbing the lanky righty before he had the chance to get to college and potentially increase his stock further.

Prior to his high school season being shut down due to the pandemic, Roby flashed a fastball that got plenty of whiffs up in the zone, with spin rates in the 2300-2500 rpm range. He also showed some potential with a 76-78 mph curveball. This spring, the reports on his curveball were better, with scouts calling it a potential plus offering, according to Baseball America.

While he's not a big name by any stretch of the imagination, he provides the highest ceiling out of any of the draft picks, considering his tools available to him on the mound. If he can stay healthy and continue to pick up some velocity and spin on his fastball, as well as some consistency with his curveball and changeup, he could really profile as a No. 3-4 starter in the big leagues down the line.

Should he reach his full potential, he could save Texas's underwhelming 2020 draft class.

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