RHP Eli Saul, 29th round (865th overall) - Texas Rangers

With their 29th round (865th overall) pick, the Texas Rangers have selected RHP Eli Saul.

Hometown: Vancouver, BC

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Height/Weight: 6’ 5”, 205 lbs.

College Commitment: Sacramento State

Teams: UBC Thunder, Canadian Junior National Team

Coaches: Mitch Hodge, Greg Hamilton.

Previous Teams: Dunbar Little league, Vancouver Mounties bantams.

Most influential person in his baseball life: Coach Mitch Hodge

Scout: Gary McGraw

Twitter Handle: @eli_saul1_

Scouting Report:

Baseball America

A big bodied, projectable righthander out of Canada, Saul is listed at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds but is just starting to come into his body. Young for the class, last summer Saul showed a fastball in the upper 80s, but has started taking the right steps forward this spring. He’s been up to 94 mph with a mid-70s breaking ball. A Sacramento State commit, Saul is more strength-based on the mound than twitchy and athletic, which concerns some scouts about the adjustments he’ll be able to make in the future, but he’s already made improvements and has plenty of projection left.

2019 season with Junior National Team, on Dominican Summer League Tour: Pitched 9 2/3 innings, 7.48 ERA, two walks, 11 strikeouts ... Allowed three runs on six hits and two walks, while fanning five in five innings beating the Royals ... Best arm at Inside Performance showcase at North Vancouver, BC

2018 season: Made debut with Junior National Team program at Fall Instructional League camp … Participated in Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif. ... Struck out 10 in five innings as the B.C. Orange beat Ontario Green 4-3 in Tournament 12 at the Rogers Centre, as he threw 55 pitches (40 strikes).

Honours

2019 Honours: Perfect Game Preseason All-American and All-Region Teams Honourable Mention for Canada/Puerto Rico

Karan Gill: Saul dominates in B.C. win over Ontario Green

Elliott: Happy campers led by Valero, Brown, Macko, Saul, Pelletier, Diodati

JNT Extended Spring: Adams, Saul strong in juniors' loss to Stars