ARLINGTON, Texas - The Texas Rangers were pleasantly surprised when California prep pitcher Luis Ortiz was still on the board when pick No. 30 rolled around in the first-year player draft.
They made sure he wasn't around for pick No. 31.
Texas selected the hard throwing right-hander from Sanger High School with their first-round pick. Ortiz, who has committed to Fresno State, went 5-3 with a 1.04 ERA as a senior and struck out 72 in 43 2/3 innings of work.
"We thought unlikely," Texas general manager Jon Daniels said of the team's chances of getting Ortiz. "Based on what you hear and how you project them, we didn't expect he'd be there. We thought he was an upper half of the draft talent."
Ortiz, who was tabbed the World Cup MVP after his work as the closer for the 18-under USA Baseball national team, missed a start as a senior because of forearm tendinitis but Daniels said he wasn't concerned about that.
He said Ortiz already had big-league caliber stuff with a repeatable delivery and a slider for an out pitch. Daniels was also impressed by the dedication the 6-3, 220-pounder showed in losing weight in high school.
"It means the world to me and I'm glad the Rangers gave me this opportunity," said Ortiz, who didn't have a pitching coach and modeled his mechanics after watching Felix Hernandez on television. "They saw something in me."
Texas lost its first-round pick with the signing of Shin-Soo Choo but got the No. 30 pick because of Baltimore signing Nelson Cruz.
Texas picked Mississippi prep shortstop Ti'Quan Forbes with their second-round pick, the 59th overall. The 6-3, 18-pound Forbes, who is from Columbia, Miss., committed to the University of Mississippi and is coming off a senior year in which he hit .427 with 32 RBI.
Forbes, 17, was a three-sport standout in high school. The Rangers think he could also play third base or the outfield.
"He's a guy that has versatility," assistant general manager A.J. Preller said. "He'll have a chance to play shortstop, third base, maybe the outfield. He's a solid average run tool and he's one of the youngest players in the draft. He's a 17-year-old position player who played in some of the events over the summertime and showed well last summer. He's a right-hand bat who brings speed and an athletic hit tool to the table."
