Texas Rangers write up,

#10 Thomas Diamond
COMMENT: LONG FRAME. STRONG, THICK, ATHLETIC BODY. LONG ARMS. BIG HANDS & FEET. GOOD PITCHERS BUILD. SIMILAR TO ROGER CLEMENS. HIGH 3/4 TO OVER HEAD ARM SLOT. SOLID DELIVERY. GOOD EXTENTION ON RELEASE. FB EXPLODES LATE IN ZONE, RIDES IN ON RHH. ALSO PITCHES IN TO LHH. CB HAS BIG, 12-6 BREAK. SLIDER OCCAISIONALLY TIGHT. EXCELLENT MOVEMENT & DECEPTION TO CHANGE UP. RHP W/ A BIG TIME ARM & DOMINANT STUFF TO BECOME A 1 OR 2 STARTER AT ML LEVEL. VERY GOOD MOUND PRESENCE. AGGRESSIVE APPROACH.
---------------------------------------------------

#30 Eric Hurley
COMMENT: TALL, LEAN, WIRY BUILD. LONG ARMS & LEGS. BUILT SIMILAR TO EX-MAJOR LEAGUER OREL HERSHISER. 3/4 TO LOW 3/4 DELIVERY. FB MOSTLY 91-93 W/ SOME BORING ACTION. EASY, LOOSE, WHIP-LIKE ARM ACTION. LOCATES PITCHES DOWN IN ZONE. SHORT, LATE BREAK SLIDER W/ HARD BITE. WILL PITCH IN. CHANCE TO HAVE 2 PLUS PITCHES & NOT FAR FROM THERE NOW.
------------------------------------------------------

#51 K.C. Herren
Grady Fuson held true to his indication that he would take two pitchers and a position player with his first three picks by tapping Auburn, Washington, center fielder K.C. Herren with the #51 overall selection. By taking two high school players with his first three picks, Fuson also went against his perceived preference for college players. Herren, who has signed to play with the University of Washington, was projected by many to go somewhere in the 5th to 10th rounds.

"COMMENT: THICK, COMPACT FRAME. EVENLY PROPORTIONED. STRONG, STURDY BUILD. MINIMAL PHYSICAL PROJECTIONS. THICK THROUGH SHOULDERS, CHEST. HEAVY ARMS. POWERFUL LEGS, CALVES. MATURE FEATURES. SIMILAR TO BRIAN GILES. UPRIGHT, SPREAD STANCE. HIGH LEFT ELBOW. QUIET SETUP. PROPER MECHANICS IN HIT APPROACH. SHORT, QUICK, SLIGHT UPPERCUT SWING. LOOKS TO PULL. GEARED FOR FB. STRONG, EVEN STRIDE RUNNER. AGGRESSIVE. KNOWS HOW TO PLAY. STRONG, PHYSICAL OUTF PROSPECT. LH BAT, PWR POTENTIAL CARRY."
--------------------------------------------------------

#81 Michael Schlact who goes 6'7", 205 lbs.

Rangers scouts have evidently hanging out at a lot of high school proms this spring as the club has now dipped in for a third consecutive high school player, this time a big right handed pitcher from Georgia named Michael Schlact who goes 6'7", 205 lbs.

COMMENT: SAME BODY TYPE AS BRAD RIGBY. HIGH WINDUP, 3/4. LIFTS LEFT KNEE ABOVE BELT, HIP TURN AT TOP OF DELIVERY. SHORTENS ARM OUT FRONT ON CB. MOST FB 88-90 W/ ABILITY TO LOCATE. LATE, ARM SIDE TAIL W/ SOME HOP LIFE ON FB, VERY EASY DELIVERY. SLURVE-CB TIGHT, DOWN ROTATION. GAINING FEEL FOR TURNOVER CHANGE, SINK LIFE. LIVE FB, EASY DELIVERY, VERY PROJECTABLE BODY.
-------------------------------------------------------

#111 Brandon Boggs
The Rangers took switch-hitting center fielder Brandon Boggs, an all-ACC center fielder from Georgia Tech with their fourth round choice. Boggs was a 50th round selection by the Yankees in 2001. He is regarded as a superior defensive player with good speed and an plus arm. Scouts compare him to Marquis Grissom and praise his attitude and work ethic.
-------------------------------------------------------

#141 Michael Nickeas
on, taking catcher Michael Nickeas, who--among other things--is only the second player in USA Baseball history to make all three national amateur teams (16-under youth, 18-under junior and the national team). He started this season in an awful slump, but has regrouped and finished up .275 / .370 / .427 in 218 at-bats, but his chief asset seems to be his ability to work with pitchers and call a game.

COMMENT: BODY SIMILAR TO JOE GIRARDI. SLIGHT OPEN AT PLATE, HANDS AT RT PECTORAL. TOE TAP TIMING MECHANISM. SLASHING TYPE GAPS HITTER, SHORT STROKE W/ SOME BAT SPEED. STRONG DURABLE BODY W/ OVERALL QUICKNESS. SOFT HANDS. GETS OFF ACCURATE THROWS W/ CARRY. WILL BLOCK BALL. CATCHER W/ SOME APTITUDE WHO MAKES PITCHERS THROW BETTER.
------------------------------------------------------

6th Rounder
Billy Sudsdorf

The Rangers grabbed their second college outfielder and their third overall in the 6th round of the Rule IV draft with the selection of UCLA outfielder Billy Sudsdorf, a 6'1", 215 pounder who also pitched for the Bruins. Sudsdorf went .319 / .386 / .504 this year.

MLB.com's scouting report on Sudsdorf follows:

COMMENT: STRONG, DURABLE, WELL PROPORTIONED BODY. THICK UPPER BODY. BROAD BACK, SHOULDERS. NARROW WAIST. SWAY-BACKED. STRONG ARMS, LEGS. FEET SPLAYED OUT. OPEN STANCE. HANDS HIGH NEAR RIGHT EAR. QUICK, COMPACT SWING. LIVE BAT. MAKES HARD CONTACT. DRIVES THE BALL TO ALL FIELDS. LINE DRIVE HITTER W/ PWR. AGGRESSIVE HITTER WHO DOESN'T GET CHEATED. AVG ARM W/ GOOD CARRY. SURE-HANDED. CHANCE TO BE ML HITTER W/ SOLID DEFENSIVE SKILLS.

Sounds good on paper! Time will tell.........

WTF??

quote:

---

THICK, COMPACT FRAME. EVENLY PROPORTIONED. STRONG, STURDY BUILD. MINIMAL PHYSICAL PROJECTIONS. THICK THROUGH SHOULDERS, CHEST. HEAVY ARMS. POWERFUL LEGS, CALVES. MATURE FEATURES.

---

^
|
|
We drafted Smarty Jones.

7th Round
Ben Harrison

Texas picked up yet another college outfielder, tapping University of Florida right fielder Ben Harrison who was a fourth round selection of the Cleveland Indians in the 2002 draft. He batted a team-best .362 for the Gators this season with 11 homers, 61 RBI, and 14 steals and posted the seventh best batting average in the Cape Cod League last summer where he played for the Hyannis Mets.

After his senior year at Key West High School (FL), he was ranked 30th on Baseball America's list of the top 100 high school prospects.


MLB.com's scouting report on Harrison follows:

COMMENT: TALL, STRONG, WELL PROPORTIONED BUILD. STRENGTH THROUGHOUT. BEN GRIEVE TYPE BUILD. SQUARED UP AT PLATE, KNEES SLIGHTLY BENT. BALL JUMPS OFF BAT. PULL HITTER W/ SOME LONG BALL PWR. ARM IS PLAYABLE. MAKES THE ROUTINE PLAYS IN OF. BETTER RUNNER UNDERWAY. STRONG, GOOD LOOKING ATHLETE W/ SOME TOOLS TO WORK WITH.
-----------------------------------------------------------
8th Round
Mark Roberts

The Rangers may have found another pitcher who flew under the radar because of his height...or lack thereof. University of Oklahoma senior Mark Roberts who went 9-5 with a 3.41 ERA for the Sooners this season. The Big 12 hit .228 against the right hander who fanned 134 and walked 24 in 121 innings of work.

Baseball America's scouting report on Roberts follows:

Mark Roberts broke the Sooners' career strikeout record that had been shared by Mark Redman, boosting his total to 326 with a career-high 12 whiffs against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Conference tournament. He has better stuff than would be expected from a 5-foot-11 frame, with an 88-93 mph fastball and a plus slider, and he has outpitched teammate David Purcey this spring. Undrafted in 2003, he'll be an excellent senior sign
------------------------------------------------------------
9th Round
Jim Fasano

With the system's position depth arguably deepest in the middle infield, the Rangers waited until the ninth round to take an infielder and it was a corner: first baseman Jim Fasano who led the Spiders with 18 home runs and 62 RBI, ranking first in A-10 in home runs. The big left-handed hitter went for .316 / .435 / .660 this year.

MLB.com's scouting report on Fasano follows:
COMMENT: EXTRA-LARGE FRAME. MUSCULAR BUILD. LONG ARMS, FUTURE UPPER BODY STRENGTH. DEVELOPED, STRONG LOWER HALF. BODY SIMILAR TO JOHN OLERUD. STRAIGHT AWAY STANCE, FRONT FOOT SLIGHTLY CLOSED. SOUND HITTING APPROACH. QUICK BAT THROUGH ZONE. PWR POTENTIAL TO ALL FIELDS. STAYS BACK & INSIDE BALL. KNOWS K ZONE. PLAYABLE DEFENSE, NOTHING FLASHY. HANDLES ROUTINE PLAY. HITTING & PWR POTENTIAL. GOOD IDEA AT THE PLATE. LIKES TO HIT.

[This message has been edited by Aggie_Eric98 (edited 6/7/2004 3:59p).]

10th Round
Justin Maxwell

University of Maryland Justin Maxwell, a projectible outfielder, became the fourth college outfielder--and the fifth outfielder overall--selected by the Rangers in the first ten rounds. Maxwell is an early choice to turn out to be a tremendous value for the Rangers in this draft. Team One Baseball ranked Maxwell as the #14 ranked draft prospect--overall--in its preseason rankings. He was a terror in the Cape Cod league last summer, hitting .307 with 17 RBI and nine stolen bases for the Bourne Braves. He missed this season with a broken arm and certainly could not have lasted this long had he played. He is a junior eligible and may be a tough sign as another year in college would probably vault him into the first two or three rounds.


MLB.com's scouting report on Maxwell follows:

COMMENT: TALL FRAME, TAPERED TO WAIST. LONG ARMS & LEGS. GOOD GROWTH POTENTIAL. BODY SIMILAR TO EX-MAJOR LEAGUER DAVE WINFIELD. ABOVE AVG RUNNER, 6.7-60 YD. ACCURATE ARM, WILL GET STRONGER. GOOD FIELDING INSTINCTS. GOOD BAT SPEED. LINE DRIVE, CONTACT. SHOWS LONG BALL POTENTIAL. PLAYER HAS A LOT OF BASEBALL SKILLS. WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE.