Rangers Focus On High School Talent In Draft

A draft just wouldn’t be a draft for the Rangers if they didn’t use many—or all—of their top draft picks on high-upside high school players who roam in the middle of the field.

True to the script, that’s what they did this year.

“They’re the hardest to find,” scouting director Kip Fagg said.

The Rangers selected Bubba Thompson, an outfielder from McGill-Toolen Catholic High in Mobile, Ala., with a football background, with the 26th overall pick. They came back three picks later with Chris Seise, a shortstop from West Orange High in Winter Garden, Fla.

The Rangers finished Day One of the draft by selecting righthander Hans Crouse from Dana Hill High in Dana Point, Calif., in the second round.

When the night was done, the Rangers had selected high school players with their first three picks for the second consecutive draft. Thompson, with room to grow, thrills the Rangers.

“It lined up pretty good for us,” Fagg said. “Bubba was a guy who all of us did a ton of work on. We trust that his ability is top notch. We have a chance for a middle-of-the-order center fielder whose got a speed/power/hit combination. He’s a very intriguing kid.”

Thompson amassed nearly 4,000 total yards and 43 touchdowns as a prep quarterback but said baseball was his calling. He loves to use his speed to track down fly balls and steal bases, and he added muscle to pop 11 home runs while batting .429 as a senior.

As a one-sport athlete now, he sees room to improve quickly.

“Now that I am all baseball, I’m going to give it all I have,” he said. “When high school was in baseball, I went all out. I worked out. I hit longer days and longer hours. I developed that power. I think that’s what everyone saw.”