ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers selected eight players on the second day of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Rounds three through 10 of the draft took place today. The rest of the draft, through round 40, will be completed on Wednesday beginning at 11:00 a.m. CDT.
Below is additional information on the club’s selections today through the 10th round. The club will send out a final list at the conclusion of the draft tomorrow.
In the first 10 rounds of the draft, Texas has chosen six right-handed pitchers, two third basemen, a left-handed pitcher, a shortstop, and an outfielder. Texas selected nine college players and made two high school selections.
RHP JUSTIN SLATEN (86th overall) – The 21-year-old right-hander went 5-5 with a 2.51 ERA (23 ER/82.1 IP) and a 98/36 K-to-BB ratio in 13 GS this season as a junior at the University of New Mexico. The Longview, Texas native earned a spot on the All-Mountain West Baseball 2nd Team after ranking among conference leaders in ERA (2nd, 2.51), SO (3rd, 98), Opp. BA (3rd, .215), and IP (T6th, 82.1). The 6-foot-4, 197-pound Slaten was named Northwoods League Pitcher of the Year in 2018 after leading the collegiate summer league in wins (7), ERA (1.57), and SO (70) over 11 games/10 games started (57.0 IP) while suiting up for the Eau Claire Express.
SS CODY FREEMAN (115th overall) – The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Freeman batted .389 with a .516 on-base percentage in 29 games this season at Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The 18-year-old right-handed batter and thrower was rated by Baseball America as the no. 12 prospect from Southern California entering this year’s draft. His brother, Tyler, was the no. 71 overall pick by the Cleveland Indians in the 2017 MLB Draft. The duo helped lead Etiwanda to the first CIF championship in program history in 2017. Freeman has committed to play collegiately at Baylor University.
CF KELLEN STRAHM (145th overall) – The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Strahm was a First Team All-Mountain West Selection as a senior at San Jose State University. He led the Mountain West in batting, hitting .382 (58-152) with 6 home runs and 28 RBI. Despite missing 11 games due to injury, Strahm finished among the Mountain West leaders in runs (38), stolen bases (14), home runs, and RBI. The Eugene, Oregon native lettered in baseball, basketball, and football at Sheldon (OR) High School. His father, Curt, was an All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon and his mother, Kim, is a member of the University of Oregon’s Athletic Hall of Fame as a softball player.
LHP CODY BRADFORD (175th overall) – The 21-year-old Bradford was named the 2018 Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 7-6 with a 2.51 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 96.2 innings over 14 starts as a sophomore at Baylor University. The Aledo, Texas native was a preseason All-American heading into the 2019 season, but pitched in just three games before missing the rest of the campaign due to injury. The left-hander became the first pitcher in program history to throw back-to-back complete game shutouts, accomplishing the feat on April 20, 2018 against TCU and April 27, 2018 at Kansas State. Bradford, who played for the 2018 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, prepped at Aledo High School west of Fort Worth.
RHP BRANDON SPROAT (205th overall) – The 18-year-old Sproat was 5-2 with a 1.53 ERA (7 ER/32.0 IP) and 53 SO/17 BB over 7 starts for Pace High School this season. Sproat also batted .338/.449/.438 for the Patriots. He was selected to the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Baseball All-Star Classic at Tigertown in Lakeland, FL at the end of the season. Sproat has committed to the University of Florida.
RHP JOHN MATTHEWS (235th overall) – In junior season for the Golden Flashes, went 7-6 with a 5.45 ERA (47 ER/77.2 IP) over 16 games/11 starts, posting 24 BB/91 SO. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound right-hander had a 1.27 WHIP figure and .245 opponent batting average. Matthews was primarily a position player in his freshman year and pitched out of the bullpen as a sophomore in 2018, when he had a 2.51 ERA and no home runs allowed over 28.2 relief innings for the MAC conference regular season and tournament champs. He lettered four years in baseball and basketball at Punxsutawney (PA) Area High School.
RHP ZAK KENT (265th overall) – The 21-year-old Kent earned second team All-Southern Conference honors following his junior campaign at VMI. Kent went 5-5 with a 4.64 ERA (50 ER/97.0 IP) and 132 strikeouts over 15 games/14 starts for the Keydets. He led the SoCon in strikeouts, setting a VMI school record. He also tied a school record with 15 strikeouts vs. Lehigh on March 17. He finished his college career with 256 strikeouts for the Keydets, 3rd-most in school history. Kent prepped at Northumberland (VA) High School, winning a 1A State Championship in 2014.
RHP JOE CORBETT (295th overall) – The 6-foot-5, 230-pound right-hander pitched the last two seasons at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. He posted a 2.44 ERA with 136 strikeouts and 21 walks in 92.1 innings as a senior this season. Corbett pitched two seasons at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock prior to transferring to West Texas A&M. The Edmond, Oklahoma native attended Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City.
RANGERS SELECTIONS IN THE 2019 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT (11)
Rd.
Name
Pos.
B/T
Ht.
Wt.
DOB
School
Hometown
Scout
1
Josh Jung
3B
R/R
6-2
215
02/12/98
Texas Tech U.
San Antonio, TX
Simpson
CBA
Davis Wendzel
3B
R/R
6-0
205
05/23/97
Baylor (TX) U.
San Clemente, CA
Simpson
2
Ryan Garcia
RHP
R/R
6-0
180
01/24/98
UCLA
Sierra Madre, CA
Guggiana
3
Justin Slaten
RHP
R/R
6-4
197
09/15/97
U. of New Mexico
Longview, TX
Lacey
4
Cody Freeman
SS
R/R
5-10
165
01/05/01
Etiwanda (CA) HS
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Flores
5
Kellen Strahm
CF
R/R
6-1
215
04/25/97
San Jose State (CA) U.
Eugene, OR
Perry
6
Cody Bradford
LHP
L/L
6-3
195
02/22/98
Baylor (TX) U.
Aledo, TX
Simpson
7
Brandon Sproat
RHP
R/R
6-2
175
09/17/00
Pace (FL) HS
Pace, FL
Morrison
8
John Matthews
RHP
R/R
6-1
190
01/21/98
Kent State (OH) U.
Punxsutawney, PA
Collias
9
Zak Kent
RHP
R/R
6-3
205
02/24/98
Virginia Military Institute
Heathsville, VA
Matthews
10
Joe Corbett
RHP
R/R
6-5
230
10/12/96
West Texas A&M
Edmond, OK
Simpson
