For the second year in a row, the Texas Rangers have had a pitcher from their minor league system selected in the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. After losing Mason Englert to the Detroit Tigers last year, the Rangers saw righthanded relief pitcher Justin Slaten get selected by the New York Mets today.
Slaten was a 3rd round pick in the 2019 draft out of the University of New Mexico. He was Rule 5 eligible last year, but after putting up a 6.79 ERA in 51.2 innings, he was not on anyone’s radar to be selected.