 Hunter was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the supplemental first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft out of the University of Alabama, and signed for a $585,000 signing bonus.The Rangers were awarded a compensatory pick when Mark DeRosa left to go to the Chicago Cubs in free agency.Hunter made his major league debut on August 1, 2008, taking on the Toronto Blue Jays as the fourth-youngest player in the American League shortly after turning 22 years of age.