The Texas Rangers have had a first-round pick every season since 1965, when Major League Baseball started the common draft era.
Back then, the Rangers were in Washington and were the Senators. The Sens brought the franchise to Arlington in 1972 and became the Rangers.
Some of the Rangers’ first-round picks have been successful in the Majors. Some have not. Here, we rank the Top 5 draft picks in Rangers history based on bWAR, or wins above replacement, at baseball-reference.com. For the purposes of this exercise, supplemental first-round picks were not considered. Rankings are as of the 2025 season.
Joe Coleman (1965, 23.2 bWAR)
Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Coleman takes Rangers fans back to the Washington Senators days. The right-handed pitcher was Washington’s first-round pick out of Natick High School in Natick, Mass. He made his MLB debut at age 18 with the Senators and played with the franchise until 1970. With Washington he went 43-50 with a 3.51 ERA in 143 games (123 starts). He struck out 561 and walked 297 in 850.1 innings.
He played with Detroit, Oakland, the Chicago Cubs, Toronto, Pittsburgh and San Francisco in a 15-year career that went from 1965-79. He went 142-135 with a 3.70 ERA with 1,728 career strikeouts. He was an All-Star with Detroit in 1972 and finished 23rd in American League MVP voting in 1973, when he went a career-best 23-15.
R.A. Dickey (1996, 23.7 bWAR)
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The Rangers selected the right-handed pitcher No. 16 overall out of Tennessee. He made his MLB debut with Texas in 2001, was not in the Majors in 2002 and played with Texas from 2023-06. He went 16-19 with a 5.72 ERA with the Rangers. His career was stymied by a missing right ulnar collateral ligament that wasn’t discovered until after he was drafted. In the latter stages of his Rangers career, he converted into a knuckleballer. He signed a minor-league deal with Milwaukee in 2007.
He pitched for 15 seasons, with his career ended in 2017 at age 42. He went 120-118, struck out 1,477 and played for Seattle, Minnesota, the New York Mets, Toronto and Atlanta. He won the 2012 National League Cy Young with the Mets, going 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA. He was also named an All-Star and finished 14th in MVP voting. He won an AL Gold Glove in 2013 with Toronto.
Carlos Peña (1998, 25.5 bWAR)
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The Rangers drafted Peña, a first baseman, with the No. 10 overall pick out of Northeastern. He made his debut with the Rangers in 2001, but he didn’t last long. The Rangers traded him the following offseason to the Athletics. His career took off.
He played for Tampa Bay, Detroit, the Chicago Cubs, Houston, Boston and Kansas City in a 14-year career that ended with the Rangers in 2014. He slashed .232/.346/.462 with 286 home runs and 818 RBI for his career. He finished in the Top 10 in American League MVP voting with Tampa Bay in 2007 and 2008, and he was named an All-Star for the only time in 2009.
Mark Teixeira (2001, 50.5 BWAR)
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Texas selected the Georgia Tech first baseman No. 5 overall and he quickly became their starting first baseman, making his MLB debut in 2003. He spent his first five seasons with the Rangers and slashed .283/.368/.533 with 153 home runs and 499 RBI. He finished seventh in AL MVP voting in 2005, made one All-Star Game, won a Silver Slugger and two Gold Gloves. In 2007, after Teixeira turned down a $140 million extension, the Rangers traded him to Atlanta for a haul of players that would help them reach the World Series in 2010 and 2011 — Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Neftalí Feliz and Beau Jones.
He played out 2007 with Atlanta and signed with the New York Yankees in 2008. He finished his 14-year career with the Yankees. He slashed .268/.360/.509 with 409 home runs and 1,208 RBI. He finished with three All-Star Game appearances, five Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers and a 2009 World Series ring.
Kevin Brown (1986, 67.8 bWAR)
RVR Photos-Imagn Images
Brown, a right-handed pitcher, was drafted No. 4 overall out of Georgia Tech and he made his MLB debut with the Rangers in 1986. He pitched eight seasons for the Rangers, as he went 78-64 with a 3.81 ERA. He struck out 742 hitters. He was sixth in AL rookie of the year voting in 1989 and finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting in 1992, as he went 21-11 with a 3.32 ERA.
He joined the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent in 1995 and played a 19-year career that saw him go 211-144 with a 3.28 ERA with 2,397 strikeouts. He was a six-time All-Star, won two ERA titles and claimed a 1997 World Series title with the Marlins. He finished in the Top 6 in Cy Young voting six times but never won the award.
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