The Rangers’ first-round track record over the last decade has been a mixed bag, and the full picture is clearer now that time has done its work. Since 2016, Texas has used 12 picks in the first round or the compensatory round between the first and second rounds, and the results have ranged from no-shows to useful big leaguers to players who found their footing elsewhere.
At the bottom of the pile is the prep shortstop Texas drafted in 2016. He spent 2017 through 2023 in the organization and never reached the majors, topping out at Double-A while hitting .242/.304/.363 with 19 home runs and 31 RBI. He simply never got there.
Josh Jung sits at the other end of the spectrum. Even with the injuries that have followed him, he’s still the best first-round pick the Rangers have made in the last 10 years.
This season, he has hit .297/.362/.449 with nine home runs and 34 RBI. He owns a .264 career batting average, and even in a rough 2024, he still hit .251.
The issue with Jung hasn’t been performance so much as the injuries - major ones, repeatedly.
Between those two poles is a group that tells the story of how unpredictable the draft can be.
Cole Winn was supposed to be a starter, but the move to the bullpen was what finally got him to the majors. He’s become a solid middle-inning reliever, posting a 3-4 record and a 4.45 ERA in 78 MLB games. The arm has played, just not in the role the Rangers originally envisioned.
Jack Leiter arrived with expectations of a quick climb, but walk issues slowed him down until 2024. Even with a 13-20 record and a 4.95 ERA, he’s now shown enough to leave no doubt that he can pitch in the majors. An ankle surgery has him on the shelf for now, but the belief is that when he returns, he’ll get back to the form that drew rookie of the year votes in 2025.
Kumar Rocker has flashed the upside that made him such a big name, but Tommy John surgery in 2023 interrupted his progress. He’s 6-14 with a 4.68 ERA in the majors, and the challenge now is consistency.
When he’s on, he’s on. The problem has been stringing those good stretches together.
Leody Taveras was once supposed to be the speedy center fielder of the future after the Rangers drafted the two-sport high school star. That never fully came together.
He debuted in 2022, spent part of 2024 with Cincinnati, and has hit .232/.273/.295 with a home run and 13 RBI in 109 MLB games. He went back to college football in 2025.
Evan Carter has the kind of talent that still makes you think there’s more in there, even if injuries have slowed the breakout many expected. He owns a career line of .251/.333/.434 with 46 home runs and 156 RBI. The bat is real, but the hamstring issues over the last three years have been hard to ignore.
Wyatt Langford has also dealt with injuries, and that has delayed the kind of season some expected him to have in 2026. Still, he’s already shown enough to make the upside obvious. He has a career slash of .251/.333/.434 with 46 home runs and 156 RBI, and the profile is that of a potential everyday force.
There are also picks whose value came after they left Texas. Cole Ragans was the piece the Rangers sent to the Royals in the Aroldis Chapman deal that helped bring home a World Series, so there’s no real regret there.
Ragans has become a nice starter in Kansas City, going 22-24 with a 3.76 ERA in 91 MLB games. The one hit to the shine: he’s now going through his third elbow surgery.
Sam Huff’s path has been different from the others. He finally got his chance with the Rangers in 2024 and played 27 MLB games, but he hit just .128/.163/.234 with a home run and two RBI.
He’s with the Pirates now and has played two games this season. At nearly 30, he looks like quality minor league depth, nothing more.
In 524 minor league games, he has hit .237/.342/.431 with 87 home runs and 293 RBI.
Cody Bradford also belongs in the conversation as one of the better outcomes from this stretch, though the source material notes the development has been slowed by injuries. He has a career slash of .269/.343/.495 with five home runs and 15 RBI, and he has been especially effective against left-handed pitching.
Up until this season, the story was mostly about unfulfilled talent and opportunity. Now, it looks more like a pick the Rangers got right.
Finally, there’s the one Rangers fans may have to file under “too early to tell” rather than “miss.” Sebastian Walcott was selected last year and then traded to the Washington Nationals in the MacKenzie Gore deal.
The former prep star is still at Class A Fredericksburg, and because he has years to develop, he lands ahead of Seise and Wendzel in this re-ranking. He still has enough promise to matter.
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