There was a lot speculation on where the Rangers would go with the 14th overall pick in the draft.
Most seem to agree that college was more likely than a prep kid.
None of the major mock drafts had the Rangers taking Mississippi State 2B Justin Foscue. Names that were linked to the Rangers were Garret Crochet of Tennessee, Garret Mitchell of UCLA, and recently Aaron Sabato of North Carolina. The Rangers however went with the All American from MSU.
Rangers Scouting Director Kip Fagg joined the local media to talk about Foscue.
“The kid is some kind of gamer, some kind of baseball player”, said Fagg. “We talk about guys who eat, sleep and drink baseball”, he added. He went on, ” He’s that kind of guy and he played with a little chip on his shoulders. He’s got a fiery nature”.
Foscue made a huge jump after his freshman year where he only hit .246 with a .685 OPS and only 3 HRs. In his sophomore year, he was an All American and hit .331 with a much improved .959 OPS and 14 HRs and 22 doubles.
COVID shut down his junior year after only 16 games, but he was hitting .321 during those 16 games with an impressive .973 OPS.
“I have never been that top-ranked kind of player”, Foscue said when he joined local media via Zoom. “But I always thought I belonged in the SEC at that level. I put my head down and didn’t listen to noise and lawyers believed in myself”.
There have been comparisons to Nick Solak. Nobody seems to worry about his bat, but his footwork on defense could improve. Both players were not scouted coming out of high school and are hot first guys. But if he is like Solak, he can hit his way into a lineup.
The Rangers have the 50th, 86th, 115th, and 145th pick tomorrow in the final day of the draft.
With only 5 rounds and what is conceivably an under slot pick in the first, they may have some extra money to play with at those picks.
Featured Image: Metsmerized Online
