Top 15 Texas Rangers Prospects right now
Top 15 prospects in the Texas Rangers organization
The Texas Rangers have a pretty good looking farm system. If you look at the top. Most people may be able to guess the number one and two prospects in this system but I would bet most couldn’t name them down to ten. Today Im going to take you through the best fifteen prospects in a system that at the moment doesn’t have any glaring needs.
This is a pretty diverse group of guys position wise. You have one left handed pitcher, one second baseman, one catcher, two shortstops, two third basemen, three outfielders and five right handed pitchers.
Some of these guys are as young as seventeen and some are as old as twenty four. But most are right around nineteen. Most of these guys are projected to be excellent in the majors but sadly we all know how it can go with prospects. Many of the guys who have been on this list before have moved down, but its not because of new guys.
Looking through most of these prospects, you can see that they wont be ready for the majors for at least two maybe three years. But there are a couple of guys who are expected to break camp this year.
I did my best to find pictures for all of these guys but because of the limited photography we have access to here at Rant there will not be pictures for a lot of these guys.
Some will be superstars and some will be busts but here are the top fifteen prospects in the Rangers organization.
#15 Lewis Brinson
So as I said I couldn't find pictures for everybody so I will use this picture for anyone who doesn't have one.
Number fifteen is Lewis Brinson. He is a six foot three, one hundred and seventy pound outfielder. This is an eighteen year old kid who the Rangers drafted last year with their first pick at twenty ninth overall.
Playing in the Arizona fall league last year he hit a slash line of .283/.345/.523. The average is good, the on base is good but the slugging percentage is phenomenal.
He has drawn comparisons to Dexter Fowler and Cameron Maybin due to the fact that he is tall and pretty lanky. This kid has all five tools and is expected to showcase those in the majors around 2016
#14 Roman Mendez
This kid is a twenty two year old pitcher. Acquired from the Red Sox in the Saltalamacchia trade in 2010. He is six foot two and weighs in at one hundred and ninety pounds.
He has the stuff to be a top of the line starter if his control issues fade away. He has an electric fastball that comes up in the mid nineties, and a sick slider. His chanegup has some issues but if he can't master the offspeed or the control, he definitely can excel in the back end of the bullpen and could be the closer of the future for this Rangers club.
#13 Luke Jackson
This is a twenty one year old right handed pitcher. At six foot two and one hundred eighty five pounds, he is a pretty average sized kid.
Drafted with the Rangers first round pick back in 2010 at forty ninth overall the Rangers obviously like what they saw from this kid when he was in high school. Jackson had command issues which can be expected from a young kid like himself. The organization is very excited about his potential and he is expected to get to the majors around 2015 to 2016.
#12 Nomar Mazara
Alright here is one of those seveenteen year olds i was talking about. Mazara is a tall lanky kid standing at six foot four and one hundred ninety five pounds. The Rangers signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2011 as a sixteen year old.
He will grow more into his six foot four frame by working out with trainers to really add some strength but right now everyone in the organization agrees he has excellent raw power. He is expected to grow into being the stereotypical strong, hard throwing right fielder in a few years. But he wont be up for a good amount of time.
#11 Justin Grimm
We transition here from one the the youngest to one of the oldest. Grimm is a twenty four year old right handxed pitcher. standing at six foot three and two hundred pounds, he is not going to intimidate with his size. Although his low to mid nineties might.
A college pitcher that the Rangers got in the fifth round back in 2010. This kid does not have the normal command or mechanics you normally see from college kids. His curve is fantastic but he doesn't have a third pitch.
He is expected to be in the majors this coming season after making five appearances with the team last year.
#10 Joey Gallo
Next up is Joey Gallo. A nineteen year old corner infielder with amazing raw power, but some swing issues. The Rangers used another of their first round pick on Gallon during the 2012 draft.
He had the best raw power from anyone involved in the 2012 draft but many teams passed because they were afraid his power would not translate into the pro game. In his first year he hit twenty two home runs, proving that his power is for real. He had a .733 slugging percentage in low a during one hundred and fifty at bats. Thats astronomical. If this could turns into what he could be he will have some of the best power in the majors.
#9 Rougned Odor
The smallest guy on this list, Odor is listed at five foot eleven and weighs in at one hundred and seventy pounds. He is also the only second baseman. Weird coincidence right?
Odor isn't a great hitter only totaling a batting average of about .260 and an on base of just .313 while only hitting ten home runs in over four hundred at bats last year. It has been said that he is a very smart player who knows the game more than most nineteen year olds but to me it doesn't look like he has the raw abilities to be a major league star.
#8 Jairo Beras
Heres the other seventeen year old on this list. But at six foot five this is one big kid. Granted he only weighs in one hundred seventy eight pounds but he will fill out his body as he continues to grow. Whats interesting about this kid is that as a seventeen year old he faked his date of birth. I do not have the information of how old he tried to make himself but looking around at guys who have done this before they normally take off five years. No way this kid wanted to be twelve.
He has great talents like his speed or raw power but he will have to work out in the Rangers academy in the Dominican Republic until his suspension is lifted in July of this coming season. I'm sure the Rangers will be willing to wait for this kid.
#7 Luis Sardinas
This is a kid who may cause a problem for the Rangers that every team would like to have. Signed the same year as Jurickson Profar, Sardinas has developed slower partly because of a few injuries he has had.
He is a very good average hitter racking a .290 average last year. At six foot one and only one hundred fifty pounds this nineteen year old has some physical growing to do that may cause him to grow into some more power. The Rangers are really looking forward to when they can have all three of their very talented shortstops up at once either this year or next.
#6 Wilmer Font
Font has been in the Rangers organization since 2006 but hes only twenty six. He was progressing quickly through the minors for a kid so young until injury forced him out for the entire 2011 season.
He came back last year and with his upper nineties fastball, good changeup and average breaking ball he moved into the bullpen last year where it may only be a year or two until he can really contribute to the major league club.
This kid even has a chance to be up in this coming season during September but he wont be up for good until most likely 2014 or 2015.
#5 Jorge Alfaro
Alright we are into the top five. Alfaro is the only catcher on this list and has a good sized body at six foot two and one hundred ninety five pounds. Another international player that the Rangers brought in early in 2010 this kid is still only nineteen.
He is projected to be an average to maybe a little above average hitter but his best attribute is his defensive play behind the plate. With a plus arm from behind the plate he is expected to control the running game very well and his above average athleticism will really help. But he did spend time at first base to help defend him from injury.
#4 Cody Buckel
The final right handed pitcher on this list Buckel is a little below average size wise standing six foot one but only weighing in at one hundred eighty pounds. Even though he is just twenty years old this kid is expected to be up late this year maybe next.
Buckel pitched very well last year in one hundred forty four and two thirds innings pithed. Throwing to just a two forty nine era with one hundred and fifty nine strikeouts.
As you can tell from the strikeout rate this kid has fantastic stuff. He doesn't overpower people but all four of the pitches in his arsenal are major league average or better.
#3 Martin Perez
The only left handed pitcher on this list, Perez has amazing pure stuff. Standing at just six foot and one hundred ninety pounds this guy is below average size wise.
He had some control problems last year struggling quite a bit last year. He did not pitch well when he got called up to the majors last September but give him a little more time to develop and he should become great.
His stuff is excellent across the board and with another year he will definitely be able to fulfill the expectations put on him by the organization and the fans.
#2 Mike Olt
Finally, you might be saying, someone who I know. We are into the guys who will break camp this year and should even be in a big role for the Rangers in this 2013 season.
Mike Olt has been in the majors as a non September call up. He was brought to the big club last year in early august. He hit only one fifty in thirty three at bats last year but he is expected to be a better hitter than the organization had thought. He proved last year that he is an excellent defender at third base and has told and shown the Rangers that he can play at first or in the outfield if need be. He will break camp with the big club this year as most likely a back up to Adrian Beltre at third base.
#1 Jurickson Profar
Who else could it have been? This nineteen year old is not only the number one prospect in the Rangers organization, he is rated as the number one overall prospect in baseball. He played nine games in the majors last year as a nineteen year old. He will most likely break camp with the big club this year as a twenty year old.
The only issue is the Rangers have Elvis Andrus starting at Shortstop and he is going to be there. But Profar may have a chance to play somewhere else like center field or as a back up infielder for when someone needs a day off. He is projected as an above average hitter and an excellent defensive player.
There was really no question that Profar would be number one. Maybe you agree with my list, maybe you don't but that is how I see the top fifteen prospects in the Rangers organization.
