Johnathan Taylor: Not the kid from "Home Improvement" The Rangers took 51 players total. Of those, 31 are pitchers and 11 are outfielders. That's 42 of the 51 either being a pitcher or outfielder. There were also six infielders (I think like three shortstops on day two) and three catchers.
In terms of college versus high school, it was even. Twenty-seven of the 51 were out of college and the remaining 24 were taken out of high school, including No. 1 pick, lefty Kevin Matthews.
Matthews is somehow a controversial pick. Considering the Rangers have killed the draft the last four or five years, Matthews' height (listed at 5-10) is an issue. Nevermind that Robbie Ross, Robbie Erlin and Martin Perez are all smallish lefties currently in the Rangers' system, and that Whitey Ford was 5-10. In fact, most lefties are the 6-5 types that you need out of a right-handed pitcher. A moot point here.
Probably the only news to come out of the draft is the Rangers selecting Georgia outfielder Johnathan Taylor with their 33rd pick. Significant only because Taylor was paralyzed after colliding with a teammate in the outfield this season. That teammate: Rangers supplemental first-round pick Zach Cone.
It's a super sweet move and it shows the Rangers have a lot of heart. It also is a bit of a headline grabber and it probably doesn't hurt building a relationship with Cone, not that he was not going to sign or anything. I do think the Rangers are a nice organization, but on the surface it seemed really obvious at the same time.
The Rangers took a "Cy Sneed," three Nicholases (various spellings), two Zachs (one spelling), Derek Fisher, Max Pentecost and a Joe Pankake. Brilliant.
By all accounts and from all the online scouting reports and Twitter feeds I've read, the Rangers took a lot of athletic kids, particularly early. Of course, Julio Borbon is athletic. You never know what you got.
Here is the complete haul:
1. Kevin Matthews
2. Will Lamb
3. Kyle Castro
4. Desmond Henry
5. Brandon Woodruff
6. Derek Fisher
7. Max Pentecost
8. Kyle Hendricks
9. Rashad Harlin
10. Joe Maloney
11. Connor Sadzeck
12. Gregory Williams
13. Christopher Grayson
14. Andrew Faulkner
15. Jerad Eickhoff
16. Trever Adams
17. Ryan Rua
18. Nicholas Martinez
19. Nathan Harsh
20. Nickolaus Vickerson
21. Chance Sossamon
22. Timothy Costen
23. Michael Mason
24. Zach Fish
25. Jordan Remer
26. Ryan Bores
27. Kyle Devore
28. Saquan Johnson
29. Nicholas Sawyer
30. Phil Klein
31. Matthew Leeds
32. Sam Robinson
33. Jonathan Taylor
34. Taylor Dennis
35. Cy Sneed
36. Jeremy Williams
37. Bryce Greager
38. Tucker Donahue
39. Trumon Jefferson
40. Josh Peterson
41. Tyler Scott
42. Joseph Pankake
43. Kaleb Merck
44. Philip Pfeifer
45. Brandon Finnegan
46. Tyler Powell
47. Kevin Moriarty
48. Carl Edwards
49. Mick VanVossen
50. Kenneth Wiser
