The Rangers spent the 72nd overall pick on Cody Buckel.
Follow the jump for his pre-draft profile.
Cody Buckel Position: RHP School: Royal HS State: CA Height: 6’1’’ Weight: 170
Birth Date: 6/18/92 Seiler Rating: 2C1 Commitment: Pepperdine
Cody Buckel is a small-statured right-hander from Simi Valley, California, a large town 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles for those of you who aren’t familiar with the area. He was a high school teammate of the Marlins’ 2009 second round pick Bryan Berglund, and Buckel came on strong in the fall as a possible top three rounds option for a club that believes in his quick arm. Starting with the Area Code games, Buckel had an excellent fall, and he features solid stuff despite his smaller size, which gets a generous listing of 6’1’’/170 in some places, though scouts say he’s closer to six feet even. His fastball is a solid-average pitch with some room for more, and it’s currently a low-90s pitch, sitting at 90-92. He pairs that with a solid curveball that projects to be above-average to plus with time, and it’s a low- to mid-70s pitch, sitting 72-74. However, he lacks much experience with a changeup, though he did throw a few at the Area Code games in front of a large contingent of scouts, and it was a decent mid-70s offering that would need to be firmed up greatly to be useful at the Major League level as a potential mid-rotation starter. However, Buckel’s quick arm and solid arsenal makes him a solid third to sixth round prospect, and his Pepperdine commitment might be the only thing keeping him from being a surefire third round arm. He should be signable in the top five rounds, though, and he’s a solid pitching prospect.
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