Texas Rangers Land Intriguing SEC Pitcher in Latest MLB Mock Draft

The Texas Rangers have a relatively stable starting rotation if one were to look past next season. But adding pitching to the pipeline would help.

The Rangers expect Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi to be the anchors of their rotation for the next two years. Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, both former first-round picks, are now members of the starting rotation for the foreseeable future.

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Past those four, things are in flux. Veterans Patrick Corbin and Tyler Mahle, the latter of which is hurt, are free agents after the season. So is Jon Gray, who is also injured but nearing a return. Cody Bradford is out for the season after internal brace surgery on his left elbow.

The closest thing the Rangers have to a fifth starter is prospect Kohl Drake, who was just promoted to Triple-A Round Rock. The time may be now for the Rangers to grab some pitching depth.

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Recently, Baseball America posted its latest mock draft, coming just after the College World Series and less than two weeks before the draft. At No. 12, the Rangers ended up with Oklahoma pitcher Kyson Witherspoon.

The right-hander wrapped up his second season with OU with a 10-4 record and a 2.65 ERA. The ERA is an improvement over 2024, when he went 8-2 with a 3.79 ERA.

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He struck out 124 and walked 23 in 2025, widening the strikeout-to-walk ratio he showed in 2024, when he struck out 86 and walked 38. Batters hit just .208 against him this season after batting .222 against him in 2024.

Going with a pitcher would be a bit of a surprise according to Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo, who wrote the piece. He wrote that he’s heard that the Rangers are more interested in hitters than pitchers. But what the Rangers do may be influence by what happens in front of them.

“Witherspoon’s impact upside might be too much to pass up if he gets outside of the top 10,” Collazo wrote.

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The 2025 MLB draft will be held Sunday and Monday, July 13-14, during All-Star Weekend in Atlanta.

The Rangers’ last five first-round picks include Stanford catcher Malcolm Moore (2024), Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford (2023), Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker (2022), Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter (2021) and Mississippi State infielder Justin Foscue (2020).

Langford is the Rangers’ starting left fielder. Rocker and Leiter are members of the Texas starting rotation. Foscue made his MLB debut last year and has been up and down with the Rangers since then. Moore is at High-A Hub City.

For more Rangers news, head over to Rangers On SI.