New MLB Mock Draft Has Rangers Selecting High-Upside Infielder

The Texas Rangers have a high selection in July’s MLB Draft and could use it for a player one site says has high upside.

Apr 16, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Texas Rangers cap sits in dugout in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

If MLB mock drafts are any indicate, Texas Rangers fans should start getting familiar with a prep shortstop from Alabama.

For the second straight mock draft — this time at ESPN — the Rangers, who have the No. 12 overall pick, ended up with shortstop Steele Hall out of Hewitt-Trussville High School in Alabama.

In a mock draft early this month at Baseball America, the Rangers also ended up with Hall.

Why Should Rangers Draft Steele Hall?

Kiley McDaniel, who handles prospect rankings at ESPN, posted this mock draft, his first of the 2025 MLB Draft cycle. The draft is set for Sunday and Monday, July 13-14, during All-Star Weekend in Atlanta.

His logic for selecting Hall for the Rangers is that they do lean toward a certain type of player.

“The Rangers will take any player demographic but tend to lean toward tools/upside at premium picks,” McDaniel worte. “Hall is one of the youngest players in the draft and is a plus-plus runner with the feel to pull/lift the ball in games.”

He’s one of the youngest players in the draft because he’s leaving high school early. He is supposed to be in the Class of 2026 but reclassified to be eligible for both the 2025 MLB draft and any colleges that are interested in him, which makes him younger than the typical high school senior. Hall won’t turn 18 years old until a week after the draft.

McDaniel has Hall ranked as his No. 11 overall prospect.

Texas, of course, has a long-term shortstop in Corey Seager, who is in the fourth year of a 10-year contract. Behind him in the system is Texas’ No. 1 prospect, Sebastian Walcott. He is currently at Double-A Frisco but could earn a promotion to Triple-A Round Rock by the end of the season. Walcott has yet to turn 20 and is in just his third professional season. But his development has accelerated.

Shortstop may not be Hall’s position, or even Walcott’s. The Rangers have a knack for converting middle infielders into something else. Josh Smith, who is a natural shortstop, can play seven different positions because the Rangers asked him to convert into a super-utility player before the 2023 season.

The Rangers might try the same with Hall, though they don’t have to be in a hurry. He’ll likely need three or four years to put himself into position for a Major League promotion. Texas can afford to be patient.

Texas has mixed it up with their last five first-round picks.

The Rangers selected catcher Malcolm Moore with their first-round pick last year. Moore, out of Stanford, is with High-A Hub City but is on the injured list.

In 2023, Texas selected outfielder Wyatt Langford out of Florida. The former SEC star zoomed through the Rangers’ system in less than a year and made last year’s opening-day roster. He is Texas’ starting left fielder.

The Rangers’ 2022 first-round selection was pitcher Kumar Rocker out of Vanderbilt. He missed most of 2023 and 2024 with Tommy John surgery but made his MLB debut last year. He is working back from a right shoulder injury.

Jack Leiter was Texas first-round pick in 2021 out of Vanderbilt. He made his MLB debut last year and is part of the Rangers’ starting rotation.

Texas’ first-round pick in 2020 was infielder Justin Foscue out of Mississippi State. He’s done time with the Rangers but is currently at Triple-A Round Rock.