Here are Rangers' Draft picks from Day 2

The Rangers selected 12 pitchers in the 2025 MLB Draft. Four of them have had recent Tommy John surgeries.

The Rangers selected Tennessee right-hander, AJ Russell, in the second round on Day 1, before giving way to back-to-back college pitchers with recent Tommy John surgeries in Rounds 4 and 5. While Russell has pitched this year for the Volunteers, the others are still in recovery.

The club wasn't setting out to pick Tommy John guys, but it’s clear they believe in the system they have set up to get them back to being the best pitchers possible.

“We have a belief in our support system and our rehab program,” said Rangers director of amateur scouting Kip Flagg. "I trust in giving out guys the players that are in the rehab process and getting the best out of them. They come out on the other end, a better person, better pitcher, etc.

“It's not something like we're just taking a hurt guy, right? These are guys we liked, and they were definite prospects that would probably go a little higher in the Draft if they weren't in that process. That being said, we feel like we do as good a job as anybody when they come out on the other end, and we have a better pitcher than where we took them at in the Draft.”

Here's a breakdown of the Rangers’ Day 2 picks:

Mason McConnaughey, RHP
Round: 4 (No. 115 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: University of Nebraska
Calling card: McConnaughey’s junior season began with preseason All-American honors, but it ended just three starts in after he needed Tommy John surgery following a start at Frisco at an early-season tournament.
Quote: “He was projected to go in the first five rounds before he had Tommy John and he still made it even after the Tommy John, which shows you the regard they held him in. Three pitch mix with a low-90s fastball, low-80s slide, mid-80s changeup, he’s got a good makeup. We’ll say this a bunch of times, teams feel good about guys recovering from Tommy John and getting back to where they were. If he does, this is probably where he would’ve gone in the Draft anyway.” -- MLB Network analyst Jim Callis.

Ben Abeldt, LHP
Round: 5 (No. 146 overall)
Bats/throws: R/L
School: Texas Christian University
Calling card: Abeldt was an electric reliever in his first two seasons at TCU, posting a 2.81 ERA with 125 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings. The Horned Frogs planned to turn him into a starter in 2025, when he was a preseason All-American, but he blew out his elbow and required Tommy John surgery in February. It’s unclear if Abeldt can succeed as a starter long-term, but he has a high floor as a quality lefty reliever once he returns to full health.
Quote: “It's tough going through an injury like that. I definitely had the joy going into it, but you almost have to regain the passion and just watch the game, being there with the guys and everything like that. It was exciting because you get to pour into a bunch of the younger guys. This year, I got the chance to do that just because I was running the bullpen at TCU. It was just really fun to like regain that fire, that love that I’ve held so dearly.” -- Abedlt, via Zoom

More on the Rangers' 2025 Draft:

• Rangers draft 'elite' high school standout Fien at No. 12 overall
• Rangers Draft Tracker

Jack Wheeler, INF
Round: 6 (No. 175 overall)
Bats/throws: R/L
School: Morris (Ill.) High School
Calling card: A University of Illinois commit, Wheeler played football, basketball and baseball at Morris Community High and even became a three-star recruit as a receiver in football in addition to being the No. 1 high school third baseman in the state of Illinois.
Quote: "Real intriguing story. This guy's like a three-sport, all-everything in that part of Illinois. This guy was a big-time football player, big-time basketball player, big-time baseball player, one of those guys that you don't see very often in our scouting, a guy that's like a multi-sport athlete. He’s some kind of athlete. Put him at shortstop, but he can play anywhere. He'll probably go out and play shortstop right away. We'll see where it ends up. He's a large man. There's huge power. He's like the All-American boy from Illinois. We were very excited to get him in the sixth.” -- Rangers director of amateur scouting Kip Flagg

Paxton Kling, OF
Round: 7 (No. 205 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: Penn State
Calling card: Kling was a raw prospect coming out of high school and he ultimately committed to LSU, where he played two seasons and won a national championship in 2023. He hit just .250 with a 25.1 percent strikeout rate over those two years before transferring to Penn State. He's done well in the Big Ten, but there’s still some concern about his swing-and-miss, even though he reached double digits in both steals and homers. Even so, Kling is toolsy and athletic enough to intrigue many inside and outside the organization.
Quote: “He really struggled when he was at LSU and there was probably some humility that came along with that. He went back closer to home and really got himself straightened out once he got to Penn State. There’s some interesting offensive tools here. He made better swing decisions this year than when he was at LSU -- better in-zone contact, getting to his raw power more consistently. It’s kinda interesting if he can keep it going.” -- MLB Network analyst Jonathan Mayo

Evan Siary, RHP
Round: 8 (No. 235 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
College: Mississippi State
Calling card: On May 9, Siary threw a career-best eight scoreless innings and fanned a career-high 15 batters in State’s victory over Ole Miss. Siary began the 2025 season in the bullpen before he transitioned into a weekend starter midway through the season. He finished his junior year with a 4.00 ERA, a dramatic improvement from his first two seasons, when he had ERAs of 7.07 and 7.48, respectively.
Quote: “He sits around 90 mph with the fastball, but his best swing and miss pitch is a mid-70s curveball. It gets a lot of misses and chases.” -- Callis

Owen Proksch, LHP
Round: 9 (No. 265 overall)
Bats/throws: S/L
College: Duke
Calling card: A Southlake Carroll High (Austin, Texas) alum, Proksch pitched out of the bullpen for Duke during his first two seasons before establishing himself in the rotation in 2025. He appeared in 19 games as a junior, starting 12 of them. He collected a career-high 91 strikeouts across 65 1/3 innings during the 2025 campaign. He holds a low-90s fastball, but he thrives on deception that allows it to play up to 94-95 mph.
Quote: “I think it was just having a full season where I had some experience under my belt, had a little bit better stuff than I did my freshman year. I was just kind of putting it all together, where I was able to go out there once a week and just compete and try to put my team in a good position to win games and series. It just all came together, where I was healthy, confident and had the opportunity.” -- Proksch, via Zoom

J.D. McReynolds, RHP
Round: 10 (No. 295 overall)
Bats/throws: L/R
College: University of Central Missouri
Calling card: A reliever for all four years at Central Missouri -- which was the D-II runner-up in 2025 -- McReynolds collected a 1.78 ERA across 121 1/3 innings between 2022-25. He had 200 strikeouts to 56 walks over that time. McReynolds was also named to the NCAA-II Baseball Championship All-Tournament Team for his performances during the tournament.
Quote: “He sits around 90 mph with the fastball and throws a lot of strikes with that. His best pitch is actually a changeup. The guys just couldn’t catch up to it at that level.” -- Callis

Jacob Johnson, RHP
Round: 11 (No. 325 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
College: Pearl River (Miss.)
Calling card: A major piece of the PRCC’s starting rotation in his freshman season, Johnson started 16 games and finished with a program-record 12 wins. He had a 2.28 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 71 innings, helping Pearl River to a MACCC Championship, a Region 23 Title, and an NJCAA World Series Runner-up finish.

Jake Barbee, RHP
Round: 12 (No. 355 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: Jay M. Robinson HS (N.C.)
Calling card: A South Carolina-Upstate commit is the fifth high school selection of the Draft from North Carolina. In his senior season, Barbee struck out 78 batters in 48 2/3 innings, good for a 1.29 ERA.

Aiden Robertson, RHP
Round: 13 (No. 385 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: Walters State CC (Tenn.)
Calling card: Went 13-1 as a starting pitcher in 2025, posting a 4.12 ERA in 89 2/3 innings.

Landon Manzi, RHP
Round: 14 (No. 415 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: Killingly HS (Conn.)
Calling card: Manzi is a Northeastern commit.

Luke Hanson, INF
Round: 15 (No. 445 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: University of Virginia
Calling card: Played second base, third base and shortstop across his three seasons at Virginia, finishing off his career by slashing .248/.373/.333 in 48 games his junior year. He’s got a refined plate approach and gets on base at a high clip, despite the lack of slug in his final season.

Jaxon Grossman, RHP
Round: 16 (No. 475 overall)
School: Salt Lake (Utah) CC
Calling card: A University of Oklahoma commit, Grossman allowed 29 earned runs in 50 2/3 innings at Salt Lake Community College this season.

Noah Franklin, C
Round: 17 (No. 505 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: TNXL Academy (Fla.)
Calling card: Once seen as a strong commit to the University of South Carolina, Franklin’s stock has risen over the last year. The Rangers could always use more catching depth in the Minors, and Franklin could be a quality addition to that depth.

Julius Sanchez, RHP
Round: 18 (No. 535 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: University of Illinois
Calling card: Sanchez began his college career as a starter, pitching to a 6.79 ERA in 50 1/3 innings his freshman season. He allowed 13 runs in 13 relief innings his sophomore year, before reeling it in to a 4.50 ERA in 15 innings his junior year.

Cory Geinzer, RHP
Round: 19 (No. 565 overall)
Bats/throws: R/R
School: College of Central Florida
Calling card: Geinzer had a 5.29 in his first year at the College of Central Florida, but he struck out 44 across 34 innings.

Jay McQueen, OF
Round: 20 (No. 595 overall)
Bats/throws: R/L
School: Brandon High School (Miss.)
Calling card: McQueen is a University of South Alabama commit. He was the 16th-ranked player in Mississippi, according to Perfect Game. He hit .435 with 25 extra-base hits over 38 games during his senior season at Brandon (Miss.) H.S.