I am guessing the Rangers know they won't have a need for a starting pitcher once they make a trade or two in a few days. Otherwise, I think they would have left Alexy as a starter.
Draft prospects with the best tools
It's no coincidence that the three position players with the best all-around tools in the 2022 Draft also could be the first three selections. Georgia high school outfielder Druw Jones is the consensus top talent available and reminiscent of his father, five-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove...www.mlb.com
Best hitter: Termarr Johnson, 2B, Mays HS (Atlanta)
Scouts consider Johnson the best high school hitter in years, with one saying he has Wade Boggs' plate discipline with Vladimir Guerrero Sr.'s bat-to-ball skills. He combines a pretty left-handed swing, elite hand-eye coordination and mature swing decisions, and he also has enough pop in his compact frame to elicit some Robinson Canó comparisons.
Also in the discussion: Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly; Jacob Berry, 3B/OF, Louisiana State; Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater (Okla.) HS
Best power: Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Green's combination of size (6-foot-3, 225 pounds), strength, bat speed and loft and leverage in his right-handed swing give him at least double-plus raw power, and he can hit balls harder and farther than just about anyone in this Draft -- as an 18-year-old. He's also has plus-plus speed to go with plus arm strength and defensive ability, and he has done a better job of making contact this spring while facing quality competition at IMG Academy.
Also in the discussion: Ivan Melendez, 1B, Texas; Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech; Jacob Berry, 3B/OF, Louisiana State
Best defender: Druw Jones, OF, Wesleyan HS (Peachtree Corners, Ga.)
It's an obvious comparison, but Jones reminds scouts of his father at the same age, especially with how he patrols center field with well-above-average speed and arm strength. He looks like a lock to win Gold Gloves in the future -- and he's also an advanced hitter with 30-homer potential.
Also in the discussion: Silas Ardoin, C, Texas; Jordan Sprinkle, SS, UC Santa Barbara; Adonys Guzman, C, Brunswick (Conn.) School
Best fastball: Ben Joyce, RHP, Tennessee
Joyce famously hit 105.5 mph with his fastball against Auburn on May 1 and averaged 101.3 mph this spring, making a full recovery from Tommy John surgery in October 2020 that sidelined him for all of last season. Besides its sheer velocity, his heater arrives on a flat approach angle from a low arm slot that makes it almost impossible to catch up to when he works up in the strike zone.
Also in the discussion: Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Crowder (Mo.) JC; Brock Porter, RHP, St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.); Cole Phillips, RHP, Boerne (Texas) HS
Best curveball: Peyton Pallette, RHP, Arkansas
Pallette often gets compared to Walker Buehler for his wiry 6-foot-1 build and quality repertoire, which is highlighted by a hammer curveball that ranges from 78-83 mph with high spin rates and quality depth. His 2021 season ended prematurely with elbow problems in May and though he tried to rehab the injury, he was diagnosed with a torn ligament this January and required Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2022.
Also in the discussion: Jackson Cox, RHP, Toutle Lake HS (Toutle, Wash.); Riley Kelly, RHP, Tustin (Calif.) HS; Robby Snelling, LHP, McQueen HS (Reno, Nev.)
Best slider: Connor Prielipp, LHP, Alabama
A potential candidate to go No. 1 overall before he had his elbow reconstructed in May 2021, Prielipp has a devastating slider that parks in the mid-80s and reaches 90 mph with nasty two-plane break. Though he didn't pitch this season at Alabama, he showed his stuff had returned at the Draft Combine by snapping off some 85-87 mph sliders and posting the second-highest maximum breaking ball spin rate at 3,045 rpm.
Also in the discussion: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Tri-City (Frontier League); Landon Sims, RHP, Mississippi State; Cade Horton, RHP, Oklahoma
Best control: Trey Dombroski, LHP, Monmouth
A classic crafty southpaw, Dombroski makes the most of fringy to average stuff by repeating his simple delivery well and locating his four pitches with absolute precision. He won Cape Cod League Pitcher of the Year honors last summer after setting a league mark with a 45/2 K/BB ratio, then ranked sixth in NCAA Division I in that category this spring with a school-record 120 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 95 innings.
Also in the discussion: Jonathan Cannon, RHP, Georgia; Pete Hansen, LHP, Texas; Parker Messick, LHP, Florida State
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He has to much swing and miss in his game for me. We just got rid of a player that did that. I would rather have Johnson or Lee.
They seem to need rotation help a lot as well. If they didn't have so many bullpen games the bullpen might not be as needy. They have so many bullpen games because they have a lack of viable alternatives to bring up. Moving a starter who, even though he has struggled this year, has had a small amount of success recently in the big leagues as a starter, to the pen, seems to be just creating a bugger problem in a different area. Unless, they know help is on the way via trades.
I am afraid of that as well. I like the best pure hitter, Termarr Johnson.
Sure be nice if he can lock down CF
Really impressed with Gray.
