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Rangers sign first-round pick Scheppers

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"I'm very excited to get my career going with the Rangers and get ahead as soon as possible," said Tanner Scheppers. (Brad Newton)

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• Scheppers' scouting report

By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com

09/17/09 5:28 PM ET

ARLINGTON -- A partially torn rotator cuff kept Fresno State pitcher Tanner Scheppers from being one of the top picks in the past two First-Year Player Drafts.

The Rangers, after having Scheppers take two physicals, believe the right shoulder is not going to be a long-term problem. That's why they were willing to take him with the 44th overall pick this year and why they were willing to give him the highest bonus ever paid to a supplemental first-round pick.

Scheppers agreed to a $1.25 million bonus this week, the Rangers officially announced on Thursday. Scheppers underwent a physical at the Medical Center of Arlington on Wednesday before the agreement became official.

"It's a great feeling to be a part of the Texas Rangers," Scheppers said at a news conference Thursday on an off-day at the Ballpark in Arlington. "It's a great organization and it's great to get started. ... It's great to be a part of this organization. It's awesome."

Scheppers pitched for St. Paul in the independent American Association and was not bound by the Aug. 17 deadline for players enrolling in or going back to college. The Rangers originally had hopes of signing Scheppers quickly after the Draft, moving him through the system and possibly having him be a September callup. Instead, it took over three months to get him signed.

"Obviously, I've lost a lot of time the past two months," Scheppers said. "But I've been doing a lot of work in the bullpen on my mechanics and taken some good steps. It shouldn't hold me back next year. I'm going to definitely try to get up here as quickly as possible. Hopefully, it won't take too long."

Scheppers will report to instructional league on Friday. He already took part in the first workout earlier this week before coming to Texas for his physical. The plan is also for him to pitch in the Arizona Fall League as a reliever for the Surprise Rafters.

"That's the plan," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "We want to get him going in instructional league and then we'll evaluate how many innings he'll pitch in the Fall League."

The Rangers have not committed to inviting Scheppers to Major League camp next spring, but Daniels said it's a possibility.

Scheppers was the second player taken in the Draft by the Rangers. They were unable to sign pitcher Matt Purke, their first-round pick out of Houston Klein High School, who has since enrolled at Texas Christian University. But Daniels said that did not make them even more motivated to sign Scheppers.

"We still wanted to sign Tanner," Daniels said. "From where we are as an organization, we are so committed and so reliant on developing our own young players, and we wanted to keep that pipeline flowing. This was very important."

There was a time when Scheppers would have been rated higher than Purke in a pre-Draft analysis.

He was 8-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 12 games, including 11 starts, for the Fresno State Bulldogs in 2008. But he came down with a shoulder injury prior to the playoffs and missed out on the Bulldogs' run to the 2008 College World Series title.

The injury was originally diagnosed as a stress fracture, but a second examination by Dr. Lewis Yocum showed a partial tear in the rotator cuff. Scheppers did not have surgery but instead chose to address the injury through rehabilitation and exercise. The Pirates took him with the 48th overall pick in the 2008 Draft but did not come close to signing him.

Scheppers worked out last spring for scouts at a junior college in Southern California, and the Rangers were usually in attendance. He then signed with St. Paul and pitched four games for the Saints prior to the Draft. Texas scouted all four of those games. Scheppers also willingly submitted to a pre-Draft physical with the Rangers in June.

"That was very unusual," Daniels said. "Not many players or agents willingly submit to a pre-Draft physical."

The Rangers were satisfied with the results. When Scheppers fell to the 44th spot, Texas took him.

"We were very happy, although not surprised," Rangers scouting director Ron Hopkins said. "There was an issue with a past injury, but our scouts saw him six or seven times this spring, and he was throwing free and easy and throwing hard."

Scheppers was clocked at 98 mph in St. Paul, but Texas was also intrigued that he was throwing four pitches for strikes. Scheppers has been throwing four times a week since the Draft out in California, and the Rangers were monitoring his sessions. They also had him take a second physical prior to the signing to make sure there were no changes since June.

The shoulder remains a concern, but Scheppers has been told by doctors that if he maintains a proper conditioning program and continues to strengthen the shoulder, he shouldn't have any problems.

"I'm definitely motivated to show people something," Scheppers said. "I'm very excited to get my career going with the Rangers and get ahead as soon as possible."

T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.