Texas Rangers Agree to Terms With Top Two Draft Picks; Another Undrafted Free Agent
On Friday, the Texas Rangers officially signed their first two draft picks, infielder Justin Foscue out of Mississippi State and outfielder Evan Carter from Elizabethton High School in Tennessee.
Under normal circumstances, both players would be preparing to hit the ground running in the coming weeks. With the minor league season all but officially canceled, both Foscue and Carter's development will be severely limited.
"It's not weighing on my mind a lot," Foscue said in a virtual press conference. "My mindset is just wait for someone to tell me what to do and I'll do it. I'm not really worrying about it too much. ...I'll stay ready as best I can and when they tell me to report, I'll report."
Carter, who was not on MLB.com's Top 200 or Baseball America's Top 500 prospect rankings, was introduced as a center fielder by Senior Director of Amateur Scouting Kip Fagg. There's debate among draft experts what kind of player Carter will be for the Rangers.
"I think I'm somebody that when I show up, I'll be the person they need me to be," Carter said. "Whatever spot they need me to be in the lineup, that's where I'll be at and I'll be doing it to the best of my ability."
Foscue was the 14th overall selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, Carter was drafted 50th overall. Both players came to terms swiftly and signed under their respective slot values. Foscue signed for $3.25 million, Carter for $1.25 million. The cost savings will be reallocated to the remaining bonus pool to sign the remaining three draft picks. From the time they were drafted, fourth-round pick Dylan MacLean and fifth-round pick Thomas Saggese have figured to be over-slot candidates.
The remaining money in the bonus pool cannot be carried over to sign undrafted free agents. While clubs can sign an unlimited number of undrafted prospects, they are limited to the maximum signing bonus of $20,000.
After signing seven of undrafted free agents earlier this week, the Rangers officially signed undrafted right-handed pitcher Aidan Curry from Fordham Prep High School in New York City. In his junior last season, Curry had a 22-4 record and helped Fordham Prep win the 2019 CHSAA city championship title, the team's first since 2009.
Until Major League Baseball and the Players Association resolve their issues and get a plan in place for the big league season, minor league players all across baseball will be forced to sit and wait. The Rangers plan to utilize every resource they can until a program is put into place for minor league development.
"We'll be ready when we get the green light," Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels said on Friday. "It's not ideal, but nothing we're dealing with right now is ideal. I'm concerned about (player development). We had guys making some really good progress with some real momentum this spring. We're doing our absolute best to keep that going."
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