KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Rangers made high school pitchers three of their top four picks in the amateur draft earlier this month.

Here's what to expect out of them in their first minor league season: Nothing.

As in not a single inning.

Rangers assistant general manger Jayce Tingler said Tuesday the club plans to take a new approach with the trio of Cole Winn, the 15th overall pick, second-rounder Owen White and fourth-rounder Mason Englert of Forney. While all three have signed and reported to the club's Arizona facility, they will not appear in any games for the Arizona Rookie League team.

Instead, the Rangers will do a comprehensive strength assessment on the pitchers, work with them on throwing programs and in classroom scenarios. They will not pitch in games until the Instructional League, which begins in mid-September.

"We really want to build a strong foundation," Tingler said. "We know it takes time."

The idea is to give the arms a period of rest after 12 intense months of throwing leading up to the draft. It is a significant change. Between 2011 and 2017, the Rangers drafted and signed eight high school pitchers. Each of them appeared in some fashion during the Arizona Rookie League schedule. The 2017 second-rounder Hans Crouse had 20 innings in the AZL last year. Ryan Dease, the fourth-round pick last year, pitched 22.

Cole Ragans, the 2016 1st rounder threw only 7.2 innings in his first season. Ragans underwent Tommy John surgery this spring. Tingler said Ragans' injury was not the driving force behind the new approach.

"These kids have had a heavy workload leading up to this," Tingler said. "We are just applying a number of things that we've learned over the years. There are a lot of pieces of information that factor in."