Texas Rangers: Selection on MLB's second day of writing highlights Moneyball Rangers strategy

ARLINGTON – The Rangers favor performance beyond projections in the highest rounds of the repechage.

In the first 10 rounds of the repechage, the Rangers selected nine players from four-year colleges. It is the highest total since 2003, when John Danks was the only high school player selected in the first 10 rounds. They used 14 of their top 15 picks on college players in this draft headed by Grady Fuson, an importer from Oakland who brought with him A's "Moneyball" strategy that was difficult for them. university players.

"The strength of this project lies in the academic players and pitchers," said Kip Fagg, director of research. "That's where it took us."

College players, especially those in major programs, are considered more predictable. They had more time to develop and they faced a higher level of competition than high school students. Therefore, if they get better results at this level, it is reasonable to think that their projections will be a little more precise.

After selecting Josh Jung (Texas Tech) eighth and Davis Wendzel 41 of Baylor,^st, the Rangers took UCLA's laureate Ryan Garcia in the second round on Monday. They began Tuesday with Rightist Justin Slaten of Longview, who pitched in New Mexico.

Their first choice in high school came in the fourth round when they selected the short stop Cody Freeman, who commits to Baylor. Freeman of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Is the brother of Cleveland prospect Tyler Freeman, ranked 94^th in minors by MLB.com. His father, Greg Freeman, was a teammate at Ranger's High School, Chris Woodward. With a Baylor commitment, it is likely that Freeman will receive a bonus higher than his recommended $ 502,000.

The same goes for right-hander Brandon Sproat of Pensacola (Fla.) Pace High School, third selection, which commits to Florida.

MLB Project Center: Everything you need to know about Ranger selections, project history and more

The Rangers have just over $ 11 million to spend on their 11 choices in the first 10 rounds. It is possible that the Rangers will get Jung paid for less than $ 5.1 million because it was projected as low as the 20^th global choice in fake projects. There was over $ 1.5 million in slot difference between numbers 8 and 20.

They are also likely to save money out of 10^th Joe Corbett of West Texas A & M, a senior with little bargaining power.

"I will not comment on the money of specific players," Fagg said. "But we would not have taken the guys we took if we were not sure we could sign them."

Other drafts: The Rangers were not particularly thrilled that second-round pick Ryan Garcia kicked off two runs on Monday for UCLA, two days after throwing 112 shots.

"If you were me, would you be concerned?" Said Fagg. "I'm still worried about the players still playing between the draft and the signing, but we're not controlling it, so I can not be too worried."

– Left-handed Cody Bradford, of Baylor's selection for the sixth round, missed most of this season after undergoing surgery to remove a rib to address the restrictive situation of blood flow called thoracic outlet syndrome. The Aledo High School graduate was the "Big 12 Pitcher of the Year" in the second year.