Since taking over as Rangers general manager after the 2005 season, Jon Daniels has emphasized the importance of the amateur draft and the international free agent market. The Rangers would stress signing and developing rather than throwing money at free agents past their peak years.

On June 4, the Rangers will begin their 13th draft under Daniels. The results have been above average but lacking in a big, franchise-elevating talent. A collection of doubles but no home runs.

Kip Fagg, scouting director since 2010, and his staff "have found ways to beat the competition," Daniels said. "We're constantly changing how we go about it. One reason we've been good is Kip is open-minded to doing things in different ways."

Daniels is in the midst of his second major rebuilding program. The first one produced teams that reached the World Series in 2010 and 2011. The draft helped those teams, and the Rangers need a similar result this time.

Is there a connection between good drafting and winning? The recent numbers decidedly lean that way.

Of the top 10 drafting teams from 2006-15, seven have a winning percentage of more than .500 for the last decade. Four of those teams have combined to win six World Series in that span: San Francisco with three, Boston, St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs.

There is one World Series winner annually, but there are more successful teams. With that in mind, The Dallas Morning News broke down the recent draft history of all 30 teams.

For this exercise, we used the wins above replacement metric presented by baseballreference.com as a measure. WAR attempts to summarize a player's value to his club by wins added (plus) or subtracted (minus). Clubs are ranked by the career WAR of players drafted and signed.

The rankings do not factor in if a player has been traded by his original club. The idea of scouting is to identify and acquire talent. Other parts of the organization take it from there.

A look at the Daniels era drafts:

Daniels' early drafts

Rangers Chris Davis (left) runs an infield drill with manager Ron Washington following morning practice February 24 at spring training camp in Surprise, AZ, on Feb. 24, 2008. (G.J. MCCARTHY)

Because it takes a few years for a draft class to establish itself, the 2016-17 groups are not considered in this study. The evaluation consists of the 2006-15 drafts.

The Rangers rank 11th in the majors with a WAR of 117.2. Arizona, helped by its picks of right-hander Max Scherzer and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, is the best at 190.2. Philadelphia is last at 28.0.

Daniels' first draft in 2006, with Ron Hopkins running the operation, is the best to date with a WAR of 36.2.

The Rangers whiffed on left-hander Kasey Kiker, taken with the 12th pick overall, but made up ground with the selections of first baseman Chris Davis and left-hander Derek Holland.

The worst draft is 2010, with a WAR of minus-1.9.

The Rangers had two picks among the first 22 overall that year, but neither outfielder Jake Skole nor catcher Kellin Deglan reached the majors. A total of 10 picks from this class reached the majors, but only two have a plus career WAR rating: Rangers left-hander reliever Alex Claudio and right-hander Nick Tepesch, currently at Double-A with Toronto.

Fagg's influence

Texas Rangers Senior Director of Amateur Scouting Kipp Fagg looks on during an NCAA baseball game between Radford and Georgia Tech, Sunday, May 6, 2018, in Atlanta. (Paul Abell / Special Contributor) (Paul Abell / Special Contributor)

After a trying first year on the job in 2010, when the club was financially limited because of bankruptcy proceedings, Fagg has had solid drafts, with good showings in the middle and late rounds.

From 2011-15, the Rangers rank seventh in the majors with a 28.9 WAR.

The last two teams to win the World Series are among the leaders. Rival Houston, which had the first overall pick in 2012-14, tops the list at 47.9. The Chicago Cubs are third at 40.1.

"Overall, I'm happy with our group," Fagg said. "They all bust their backs and are good evaluators.

"We want to be better. I'm a little upset that we're only seventh. We strive to be the best. All of us do."

Fagg's best class came in 2011, when the Rangers had a low drafting spot because of their World Series run a year earlier. This group has a 23.0 WAR.

None of the first five picks, starting with left-hander Kevin Matthews, reached the majors. The Rangers recovered with the later choices of pitchers Kyle Hendricks, Jerad Eickhoff and Carl Edwards Jr.

All three were traded in pennant-race moves: Edwards and Hendricks to the Cubs, and Eickhoff to Philadelphia. That is part of the deal.

"We always want to put players in our system who have a chance to be productive for the major league team or chips for JD to go out on the trade market," Fagg said.

First-pick misses

Rangers DH Vladimir Guerrero (left) is greeted at the Rangers dugout by new Rangers first baseman Justin Smoak (right) after Guerrero hit a two-run homer in the first inning during the Detroit Tigers game with the Texas Rangers Friday, April 23, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Star-Telegram/Ron Jenkins) (RON JENKINS / RON JENKINS)

Davis has the highest career WAR of the Daniels-era picks at 16.9. A total of 23 teams have had at least one pick who has had a higher career WAR in that span. That includes 15 teams that added a player who currently has a WAR of more than 25.

For the Rangers, this shortcoming starts with their first choices.

The Rangers have the fourth-lowest WAR (7.1) for their first overall pick in the 2006-15 drafts. San Francisco leads at 104.3.

First baseman Justin Smoak, taken in 2008, has the highest WAR of the Rangers' group at 5.4. The Rangers had a big miss with right-hander Dillon Tate, the fourth overall choice in 2015. They traded him to the New York Yankees a year later.

High school choices, four in the last six drafts, need more time before being judged.

"We've had some meaningful misses that could have swayed the numbers," Daniels said.

High school focus

The Rangers will start this draft with pick Nos. 15, 55 and 91.

Past performance says the Rangers' first pick will be a high school player. In eight drafts, Fagg has used his first pick on a high school player six times: three pitchers and three outfielders.

The good thing about drafting high school players is the organization has its people developing them. The bad thing about drafting high school players is they take more time to develop than older players, and that increases the injury risk. The Rangers experienced that this spring when left-hander Cole Ragans, a first-round choice out of high school in 2016, underwent Tommy John surgery.

One of the Rangers' first-round picks has reached the majors: outfielder Lewis Brinson, from the 2012 draft. He has moved in trades to Milwaukee and Miami.

After the first choice, the Rangers probably will go heavy on college pitchers. They usually have a lower ceiling than the top-level high school arms but are more polished. There are also more of them than remaining draft-worthy high school pitchers.

In 2012, Major League Baseball added a bonus pool for players selected in the first 10 rounds. Since then, the Rangers have taken a four-year college pitcher with 19 of their 65 choices. They also selected eight junior college pitchers and seven high school pitchers.

The least favorite position in this span? The Rangers took one high school catcher: Sam Huff in 2016.

With Daniels in charge, the Rangers will not de-emphasize the importance of the draft. They have been good at the draft during his time but could be better. A big hit in the 2018 draft class would make a significant difference.

Twitter: @gfraley

MLB amateur draft

When: June 4-6.

How to follow: The MLB Network and MLB.com will carry the first day. The final two days will be on MLB.com.

Format: The first round opens at 6 p.m. On the first day, a total of 78 picks will be made. The second day begins at noon and will consist of rounds 3-10. The final day starts at 11 a.m. and will consist of rounds 11 through 40.

Busy: Kansas City and Tampa Bay have the most picks on the opening day with five. Cleveland and the Chicago Cubs are next with four.

Quiet: Philadelphia has only one pick, No. 3 overall, among the first 106 choices.

The Rangers: They have three picks among the top 100: Nos. 15, 55 and 91. If form holds, they will take a high school player at No 15. The Rangers' first selection has been a high school player in six of the last eight drafts. The high school possibilities include right-hander Ethan Hankins of Cumming, Ga., and outfielder Jordyn Adams of Cary, N.C.

Top drafts 2010-15

A look at the best-drafting major league teams, by the wins above replacement metric for signed players, from 2010-15:

Top drafts 2006-15

A look at the best drafting major league teams, by the wins above replacement metric for signed players, from 2006-15:

Rangers highs, lows

Some highlights and lowlights for Rangers drafts during the tenure of general manager Jon Daniels:

Best pick: Power-hitting first baseman Chris Davis, a fifth-round pick in 2006, leads the club's draft picks in this span for WAR at 17.3. The Rangers traded him to Baltimore in 2011.

Best pitcher: Right-hander Tanner Roark, a 25th-round pick in 2008, has a 14.9 career WAR. The Rangers traded him to Washington in 2010.

Lowest rating: Right-hander Justin Grimm, a fifth-round pick in 2010, has the lowest career WAR among draft picks signed by the Rangers in this period at minus-2.7. The Rangers traded Grimm to the Chicago Cubs in 2013.

Biggest miss: The Rangers took college right-hander Dillon Tate with the fourth overall pick in 2015. A year later, they included him in a package sent to the New York Yankees for veteran outfielder-designated hitter Carlos Beltran. He stayed with the club for two months.