Before the 2024 high season began, people looked at Rainer as an exciting two-way player. The Harvard-Westlake standout showed off skills in the box and on the mound during the summer showcase circuit and performed double duty for USA Baseball’s 18U team in international competition. The consensus was that while Rainer seemed to want to hit, scouts thought he had tremendous upside on the mound, albeit shown in smaller samples. The Rainer who showed up for his senior season, however, was bigger, stronger and faster. He was the best player at the National High School Invitational this spring and while he still pitches a little, he’s vaulted himself to the top half of the Draft as a position player.
Rainer has a ton of tools in all directions. At 6-foot-3 and listed at 195 pounds, he has a strong and projectable body. While his swing used to get long at times, with a tendency to wrap the bat behind his head, a stronger Rainer has shown the ability to make consistently hard contact from the left side of the plate. He had the top four exit velocities at the NHSI in April and has shown he can drive the ball to all fields. He sticks to a game plan and doesn’t chase or strike out, allowing him to tap into what could be plus power in the future.
There are no longer questions about where he might play defensively. He ran and moved better at shortstop over the summer than some expected, a trend that continued this spring, recording plus run times occasionally and showing he has every chance to stick at the premium position. His easily plus arm that fires mid-90s fastballs from the mound (with a good breaking ball) works from all parts of the infield and if for some reason he had to move to third, he could be a Gold Glove caliber defender there. Like most big left-handed hitting shortstops, the Texas recruit has garnered some Corey Seager comps, and there’s a good chance he lands in the top half of the first round.
Let’s freaking go!!
Great pick! Can stick at SS and appears to put bat to ball
Can’t wait for all lefty line up in 2028
Let’s gooo!!!
i’m pitching a fucking tent right now boys
Exactly who I was hoping for from the guys still on the board
Nice SS is the orgs weakest position right?
Never have an issue taking a bat in the first round
Surprised he fell to us. Was expecting Tibbs, but Rainer certainly was the best player on the board
I’m happy it’s a shortstop but not sure if I like that it’s a high schooler. I haven’t really spent too much time looking at this draft class though.
Edit: Glad to see that other people are excited about this pick so I’m excited too
Where did my post go? I posted this like ten minutes ago!!!! With all the stats and everything!
Welp every mock (I think) had him above the tigers
Was hoping we either get Griffin or Rainer so I’m happy with this pick. Really needed a true SS and SS depth. McGonigle was probably never gonna stick at SS.
Love the pick
I am so Fucking happy right now
For everyone whining about taking high schoolers – we drafted Riley Greene out of high school. We drafted Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize out of college.
Not saying those are the only outcomes, but have some patience and quit posting hot takes.
High schooler? That’s just what I wanted. LFG
Dude has serious Corey Seager Comps, GET HYPED BOYS!!!!
I really wanted Monty 😢 but he’s not bad. Really good size and bat. Just young.
Fangraphs had him going 7th overall and MLB.com had him going 10th overall.
It’s interesting how other sports will fast track early picks but MLB lumps them into 2-4 years down the road.
Not gonna pretend to know things about the mlb draft but it’s interesting that the tigers continue to zag with high schoolers while the rest of the league drafts college kids
We’re live
Glad we didn’t try to galaxy brain this pick. A great prospect dropped to us and we took him.
Does this mean Baez is the placeholder? Play out the contract, get that money.
Looks like we got 2 more picks tonight, #49 and #72.
I imagine Rainer will get close to slot, so might not be able to make another McGonigle-like overslot pick like last year.
As anti-high schooler as I am when it comes to the draft, this really was the best pick they could make here. He’s arguably the best high schooler in the draft, and by all accounts, he’s the best HS infielder in the draft. If Javy ends up playing out his deal, it’s not entirely unreasonable to say that, if everything works out for Ranier and he progresses at a decent clip, he could be ready to take over SS in ’28.
I just hope he sticks as a SS since it seems like McGonigle will become a 3rd Baseman.
35 comments
Best case scenario
Awesome pick, hopefully the dev team can make him a star
**WHY THE FUCK DO WE KEEP TAKING High SchoolERS???**
Another high schooler 🙁
We’re not serious about this contention window are we. Clark over Langford again.
Bruh why are we addicted to drafting high school players, lol.
Can he be ready to start after the All Star break?
Also, is he a SS who is expected to stay at the position or like what seems 90% who move to another position?
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 60
Before the 2024 high season began, people looked at Rainer as an exciting two-way player. The Harvard-Westlake standout showed off skills in the box and on the mound during the summer showcase circuit and performed double duty for USA Baseball’s 18U team in international competition. The consensus was that while Rainer seemed to want to hit, scouts thought he had tremendous upside on the mound, albeit shown in smaller samples. The Rainer who showed up for his senior season, however, was bigger, stronger and faster. He was the best player at the National High School Invitational this spring and while he still pitches a little, he’s vaulted himself to the top half of the Draft as a position player.
Rainer has a ton of tools in all directions. At 6-foot-3 and listed at 195 pounds, he has a strong and projectable body. While his swing used to get long at times, with a tendency to wrap the bat behind his head, a stronger Rainer has shown the ability to make consistently hard contact from the left side of the plate. He had the top four exit velocities at the NHSI in April and has shown he can drive the ball to all fields. He sticks to a game plan and doesn’t chase or strike out, allowing him to tap into what could be plus power in the future.
There are no longer questions about where he might play defensively. He ran and moved better at shortstop over the summer than some expected, a trend that continued this spring, recording plus run times occasionally and showing he has every chance to stick at the premium position. His easily plus arm that fires mid-90s fastballs from the mound (with a good breaking ball) works from all parts of the infield and if for some reason he had to move to third, he could be a Gold Glove caliber defender there. Like most big left-handed hitting shortstops, the Texas recruit has garnered some Corey Seager comps, and there’s a good chance he lands in the top half of the first round.
Let’s freaking go!!
Great pick! Can stick at SS and appears to put bat to ball
Can’t wait for all lefty line up in 2028
Let’s gooo!!!
i’m pitching a fucking tent right now boys
Exactly who I was hoping for from the guys still on the board
Nice SS is the orgs weakest position right?
Never have an issue taking a bat in the first round
Surprised he fell to us. Was expecting Tibbs, but Rainer certainly was the best player on the board
I’m happy it’s a shortstop but not sure if I like that it’s a high schooler. I haven’t really spent too much time looking at this draft class though.
Edit: Glad to see that other people are excited about this pick so I’m excited too
Where did my post go? I posted this like ten minutes ago!!!! With all the stats and everything!
[mock](https://twitter.com/cespedesbbq/status/1812622902312980593?s=46&t=cZItpM2q_YhRaMnhrR9y4g)
Welp every mock (I think) had him above the tigers
Was hoping we either get Griffin or Rainer so I’m happy with this pick. Really needed a true SS and SS depth. McGonigle was probably never gonna stick at SS.
Love the pick
I am so Fucking happy right now
For everyone whining about taking high schoolers – we drafted Riley Greene out of high school. We drafted Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize out of college.
Not saying those are the only outcomes, but have some patience and quit posting hot takes.
High schooler? That’s just what I wanted. LFG
Dude has serious Corey Seager Comps, GET HYPED BOYS!!!!
I really wanted Monty 😢 but he’s not bad. Really good size and bat. Just young.
Fangraphs had him going 7th overall and MLB.com had him going 10th overall.
It’s interesting how other sports will fast track early picks but MLB lumps them into 2-4 years down the road.
Not gonna pretend to know things about the mlb draft but it’s interesting that the tigers continue to zag with high schoolers while the rest of the league drafts college kids
We’re live
Glad we didn’t try to galaxy brain this pick. A great prospect dropped to us and we took him.
Does this mean Baez is the placeholder? Play out the contract, get that money.
Looks like we got 2 more picks tonight, #49 and #72.
I imagine Rainer will get close to slot, so might not be able to make another McGonigle-like overslot pick like last year.
As anti-high schooler as I am when it comes to the draft, this really was the best pick they could make here. He’s arguably the best high schooler in the draft, and by all accounts, he’s the best HS infielder in the draft. If Javy ends up playing out his deal, it’s not entirely unreasonable to say that, if everything works out for Ranier and he progresses at a decent clip, he could be ready to take over SS in ’28.
I just hope he sticks as a SS since it seems like McGonigle will become a 3rd Baseman.