Deadline: No Purke yet

The Rangers have yet to announce they have come to terms with pitcher Matthew Purke, their first-round pick (14^th overall) in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft. It hasn’t been looking good but nothing definitive…

Purke, a left-handed pitcher from Houston Klein High School, could be on his way to TCU to play college baseball. If so the Rangers will receive a similar compensation pick in next year’s draft although the exact spot won’t be determined until it’s known which other first-round picks did not sign.

This would be the first time in Rangers have ever failed to sign a first-round pick from the draft. In 2000, they failed to sign outfielder Tyrell Godwin after taking him with the 35^th overall pick in the supplemental round. In 1998, they failed to sign their third round pick, a junior college pitcher named Barry Zito.