Texas Rangers Sign Third Round Pick Tekoah Roby and Fifth Round Pick Thomas Saggese
The Texas Rangers have officially signed third round pick Tekoah "T.K." Roby and fifth round pick Thomas Saggese. All five Rangers draft picks have now been signed.
Per a team source, Roby signed for $775,000 and Saggese signed for $800,000—both of which were over their respective slot values.
Roby, 18, stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 180 pounds. The Troy commit has a good three-pitch mix that includes a 89-93 mph fastball (peaking at 94 mph), a 76-78 mph curveball, and an 80-81 mph changeup. In his junior season, Roby went 7-3 with a 1.19 ERA and recorded 109 strikeouts against just 10 walks.
Saggese was not showcased this past summer due to his mother tragically passing away from breast cancer. It may have been one of the reasons he flew under the radar during this year's draft process. He was named Most Valuable Player of San Diego’s Avocado West League as a junior after batting .422 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs in 102 at-bats. Before his senior season was suspended, Saggese batted .440 with three home runs and nine RBIs in seven games.
With all five draft picks now signed, and the Major League Baseball season officially announced, attention should soon shift toward a development plan for both minor league players and the new signees. On more than one occasion, Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels has said he believes there will be such a program implemented.
"I'm hopeful that there will be some sort of organized player-development program," Daniels said in a conference call earlier this month. "When I say organized I mean that the league will put something together for all 30 clubs. There have been some ideas floated out there. Nothing is set in stone by any stretch."
To date, the Rangers have added all five of their draft picks to their organization, along with eight undrafted free agents.
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