The Texas Rangers’ 2020 first-round pick is starting to look a lot different than he did not long ago.
Justin Foscue, taken No. 14 overall six years ago, entered the year with the kind of big league track record that makes a player easy to write off. Through 19 career games and 53 plate appearances, he had hit just .059/.094/.098 with a 39.6% strikeout rate and had already piled up -0.9 fWAR. For a player once viewed as a highly regarded bat, it was a brutal opening act.
But Foscue has flipped the script in 2026.
In 43 games and 113 plate appearances, the Mississippi State product is hitting .290/.363/.570 with seven home runs and 1.3 fWAR. He’s not just hanging around anymore - he’s helping Texas get through a wave of injuries and giving the lineup a real jolt.
His value has come into sharp focus against left-handed pitching. Foscue is batting .367/.466/.796 versus southpaws, the best mark in the majors among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances. After last night’s action, his 1.261 OPS against lefties led the league by a wide margin, with Andrew Vaughn of the Milwaukee Brewers second at 1.185.
That split matters. Foscue hasn’t been nearly as effective against right-handers, where his OPS sits at .607, but that doesn’t erase what he’s doing in a defined role. Against lefties, he’s become a real weapon for the Rangers and a dangerous pinch-hitting option when a game turns on one at-bat.
For a first-round pick, especially one taken in the middle of the opening round, finding that kind of specialized impact still counts. And it’s a reminder that the draft isn’t only about stars. Sometimes the win is a player who can actually help.
Foscue is proving why he was a first-round pick back in 2020.
.283 AVG | .357 OBP | .556 SLG
7 HR | 18 RBI | .913 OPS | 153 wRC+
After just 3 hits in 19 career games from 2024-25, Foscue is showing off his potential this season 💪
That’s the kind of turnaround that keeps patience alive in baseball. Players don’t always arrive on schedule, and some need time before the game slows down enough for their tools to show up. Foscue is doing that now, and the Rangers are reaping the benefit.
In Other News...
Rangers May Have Landed The Draft Bat They Couldn't Pass Up
The Rangers added a familiar name to their draft haul in the second round, taking Anderson High School shortstop and third baseman Connor Comeau out of Austin. Texas had already shown plenty of interest in the local bat, and the appeal is easy to see: Comeau is viewed as a high-end hitter with a polished offensive profile, the kind of player clubs are willing to wait on because the bat gives him a real chance to move quickly.
Comeau is listed as a shortstop, but the long-term fit in Texas is more likely to be at third base, where the Rangers can keep his bat in the lineup and let the defense settle in behind it. He also arrives with the kind of reputation that made him hard for the front office to ignore, even with the uncertainty that comes with a high school hitter, and now the organization gets to see how that profile plays out once the real development work begins. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Draft Strategy Is Finally Starting To Look Like A Real Edge
For a franchise that spent years searching for a draft formula it could trust, the Rangers are starting to see real return on the first-round bets theyve made since 2019. Josh Jung has become a lineup fixture, Justin Foscue has grown into a useful on-base presence, and Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker are no longer just names attached to draft-day intrigue. Even Cole Winn has found a lane in the bullpen, giving Texas a broader base of homegrown depth than it has had in a while.
That matters now because the Rangers are heading into the draft with the 16th overall pick and a front office that can point to a recent track record instead of a hope-and-pray philosophy. The bigger question is whether this run of hits is the start of a true organizational edge or just a strong stretch that still needs one more impact player to make it feel complete. [Read more 🡒]