Rangers Lose Top 30 Prospect Mason Englert in Rule V Draft
The Texas Rangers lost a Top 30 MLB.com prospect during the Major League Baseball Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday, which wrapped up the Winter Meetings in San Diego.
The Rangers lost pitcher Mason Englert, their No. 29 overall prospect, as the Detroit Tigers selected him in the first round.
Englert started last season with High Class-A Hickory and was promoted to Double-A Frisco in August. For the season he went 8-6 with a 3.64 ERA in 24 starts. He threw 118 2/3 innings and gave up 87 hits, 51 runs (48 earned), 16 home runs and 31 walks. He struck out 136, allowed a .199 opponent batting average and had a 0.99 WHIP.
He also threw the first seven innings of a combined no-hitter in mid-August and threw six hitless innings in the next start, which helped accelerated his promotion to Frisco.
The Rangers also lost catcher Randy Florentino (Baltimore Orioles), outfielder Josh Stowers (Los Angeles Dodgers) and pitcher Seth Nordlin (Minnesota Twins) in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.
The Rangers had several Rule 5-eligible players in their system that were also Top 30 prospects that either had to be protected or be left exposed to the draft. The Rangers protected several of them by putting them on their 40-man roster — pitcher Owen White, shortstop Luisangel Acuña, outfielder Dustin Harris, pitcher Cole Winn, shortstop Jonathan Ornelas and pitcher Zak Kent.
The Rangers left Englert, pitcher Antoine Kelly and pitcher Avery Weems exposed. Kelly is notable because he was one of the players the Rangers received in the Matt Bush trade with Milwaukee.
Players first signed at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 draft. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons.
The Tigers will pay $100,000 to select Englert, who was taken in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If Englert doesn't stay on the Tigers’ active Major League roster for the full season, he must be offered back to the Rangers for $50,000.
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