At the second break…

In rounds 11 through 20, the Rangers continued their emphasis on pitching. Of their 10 picks, seven were pitchers. Four of the picks were high schoolers and three from the JUCO level.

The Rangers used their 12th-round pick on catcher Vin DiFazio from the University of Alabama. He lost his uncle, also of the same name, in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. His uncle was his first baseball coach.

DeFazio then contracted a viral nerve disorder that limited his strength and mobility. It caused him to miss the entire 2007 season. He hit .329 in part-time action for the Tide this season. If he reclaims the form he showed while attending Indian River Community College, DeFazio could be an excellent pick.

Highlighting the pitchers was 17th-round pick Paul Strong, a left-hander from Marina High School in California. He throw three pitches — fastball, curveball and changeup — for strikes. His fastball has reached the low 90′s but usually sits in the upper 80′s. Strong is committed to UC-Irvine on the strength of a 1.58 ERA over 70 2/3 innings pitched. He was ranked by Rivals.com as the No.63 high school senior in the country.

Michael Shaaf, the Rangers’ 18th-round pick, was a three-sport star at Arthur Hill High School in Michigan. He was considering playing quarterback at Michigan State or Rutgers but appears to be headed to St. Peter’s College in New Jersey for baseball.

The draft will last for another 10 rounds before breaking until tomorrow.

Here are the other Rangers picks from rounds 11 through 20:

Round 11: Johnny Gunter, Pitcher, Chattahoochee Valley Community College
Round 13: Justin Jamison, Pitcher, Strongsville High School
Round 14: Chadwick Bell, Pitcher, Walters State Community College
Round 15: Keith Campbell, Pitcher, Everett Community College
Round 16: Michael Revell, Third Baseman, Florida High School
Round 19: Jayce Boyd, Third Baseman, JM Tate High School
Round 20: Jerome Werniuk, Pitcher, Neil McNeil High School

–Daniel Paulling