Texas Rangers Top 50 Prospects

Beneath is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Texas Rangers. Scouting experiences have been compiled with data supplied by business sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the second yr we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column under: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers.

A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means might be discovered here. A a lot deeper overview might be discovered here.

All the numbered prospects under additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location provides that includes sortable scouting data for each group. It has extra particulars than this text and integrates each group’s record so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm methods. It may be discovered here.

Different Prospects of Notice

Grouped by sort and listed so as of desire inside every class.

Thrilling Kids
Anthony Gutierrez, CF
Alisson Del Orbe, 3B
Andres Mesa, 2B
Alejandro Osuna, LF
Daniel Mateo, CF
JoJo Blackmon, CF

Gutierrez, who signed for $2 million in January, is a really wiry teenage outfielder with plus rotational athleticism. Del Orbe may be very uncooked for a 20-year-old, however a few of that may simply be as a result of he’s a 6-foot-3 switch-hitter who’s nonetheless rising into his physique. He’s proven barely improved really feel to hit on the backfields this spring and is an athletic developmental flier sort of prospect. Mesa, 19, who came visiting from Seattle in trade for Rafael Montero, has additionally proven superior bat-to-ball expertise. He’s not a real shortstop and lacks typical bodily projection, however each he and Osuna, a 19-year-old left field-only athlete at the moment raking at Low-A, have an opportunity to get there on the power of their hit instruments. Each are extraordinarily compact hitters with barrel really feel. Osuna has sneaky pop for his dimension however it’s nonetheless shy of what’s typical for a giant league left fielder, and it tasks to remain that approach. Mateo, 20, is constructed like a slot receiver and has plus bat pace, however his offensive output is undermined by his lack of plate self-discipline. Blackmon, a two-sport excessive schooler from the 2021 draft who really was a slot receiver, seemed like he had begun to regulate to pro-quality pitching throughout instructs. He’s a younger table-setting outfielder.

Decrease-Affect Bats
David García, C
Steele Walker, RF
Blaine Crim, 1B
Bubba Thompson, CF

García is an athletic, switch-hitting 22-year-old catcher whose lengthy tenure as a prospect we made a aware effort to not be fatigued by. He’s really began to grow to be extra bodily, however he stays a tough receiver whose throws don’t carry all the way in which to the bag. Nonetheless, catcher stock across the sport makes it obligatory to remain on late-blooming varieties like García, particularly ones who’re as athletic as he’s. He’s poised to be a minor league free agent in his early-20s. Walker has lengthy been a FanGraphs favourite due to his bat-to-ball acumen, his highly effective physique (a part of what we thought would result in extra energy), and his swing’s carry (which we thought would assist him get to that energy), however a poor method has undercut the entire operation. We’d nonetheless take his bat-to-ball expertise above the remainder of this group, although. Crim has successful/energy mix however is a lower-OBP first baseman, an fascinating wager to go off in Asia. Thompson, who’s at the moment raking at Triple-A, was thought of for a 35+ FV grade within the Brett Phillips mould (pace, one-note offense with a 20-grade hit instrument), however his protection in heart area isn’t fairly adequate for that though he’s very quick.

Decrease-Affect Arms
Cody Bradford, LHP
Tyson Miller, RHP
Larson Kindreich, LHP
Zak Kent, RHP
Robby Ahlstrom, LHP
Yohanse Morel, RHP
Chase Lee, RHP

Bradford sits about 91 mph, and has a sluggish, shapely breaking ball and an above-average changeup. He’s a digital lock to pitch within the massive leagues sooner or later as an org’s No. 6-9 starter. Miller is a kitchen sink righty at Triple-A who works with a mixture of four- and two-seamers that creep into the mid-90s. He’s additionally a fully-baked depth possibility. Kindreich is a free lefty with a superb changeup who was taken within the eighth spherical of the 2021 draft. He may transfer into the principle part of the record if he begins throwing tougher. His fastball has carry and his breaking ball has form, however they each want extra energy. Kent is a four-pitch upper-level righty with a superb slider (it’s his most-used pitch) and three different truthful choices (he sits 93 mph, and has a curveball and splitter). He seems to be like a depth starter, although he has been knocked round within the higher ranges of the minors. Ahlstrom is a four-pitch lefty out of Oregon from the 2021 draft. He sits about 89 mph and was able to lacking Pac-12 bats with all three secondaries, although his slider and curveball are every too sluggish to try this towards massive leaguers. He’s all that’s left of the Jose Trevino swap now that Albert Abreu has been despatched packing to Kansas Metropolis for the 21-year-old Morel. Morel, signed by Washington and traded to KC for Kelvin Herrera, has a plus splitter, and a 45-grade sinker and slider. Lee is a sidearm reliever from the College of Alabama whose slider has one-plane motion, atypical of the two-planed curler coaster most sidearmers wield.

Can’t Get Off the Floor
Bayron Lora, RF
Dylan MacLean, LHP
Chris Seise, SS
Ryan Garcia, RHP
Marcus Smith, CF
Kelvin Gonzalez, RHP
Alex Speas, RHP

Lora was a giant (actually) worldwide signee who stayed within the Dominican Republic all through most of 2021 after he was concerned in a horrible automobile wreck. He got here to the U.S. for 2021 instructs exercise, the place he confirmed massive time reverse area energy and nicely below-average really feel to hit, however he didn’t come to Arizona for prolonged spring coaching and stays within the D.R. on the restricted record for causes that aren’t completely clear. MacLean, 19, nonetheless solely sat about 86-87 mph in 2021 and has been shifted right into a relief-only function this yr, however his body and mechanical grace are indications that he may ultimately throw tougher and change on his fastball’s traits. Seise is a shortstop with plus energy whose many accidents made it powerful for him to shine his bat. Garcia, a former second rounder from UCLA, is rehabbing from TJ and sat 86-91 mph in FanGraphs’ spring look, although a scout who was in there after us stated he threw a bit tougher for them. He simply threw his first significant innings since 2019. Smith is in a ship just like Seise besides his accidents haven’t been as extreme. Gonzalez, now 24, was an upper-90s energy aid prospect who additionally hasn’t thrown a pitch since 2019. Speas has thrown about as arduous as anybody else on the planet at occasions, however he’s handled horrible damage luck and really tough management when he’s been wholesome.

System Overview

It is a deep, wholesome system with a calvary of younger pitching on the way in which. The large league membership desperately wants it. Whereas the Rangers can hopefully coax extra out of Jon Gray, it’s him, Dane Dunning, and Glenn Otto who venture to be the long-term parts of a viable rotation, whereas others like Taylor Hearn (who nonetheless has two possibility years left) ideally downshift into both aid or spot begin roles. There may be sufficient depth among the many Rangers’ upper-level aid arms to face up to the pure fee of damage and failure for his or her bullpen prospects, making the event of the starters in that “Decrease-Affect Arms” group of honorable point out prospects significantly necessary to the membership’s stability over the subsequent handful of years.

The Rangers are beginning to have good issues, like “what will we do with all these prospects?” They’ve one of many larger upcoming 40-man crunch conditions, with a dozen candidates for a December 2022 40-man add (Jung, Winn, White, Acuna, Harris, Ornelas, Slaten, Weems, Englert, Bradford, Kent, Wendzel) and never sufficient locations to place all of these guys. Solely three free brokers are undoubtedly coming off the books this offseason, with three membership choices looming (Kole Calhoun‘s will most probably be declined, whereas Garrett Richards‘ and José Leclerc’s usually tend to get picked up), so one thing has to present. Kicking the can a yr or two down the street by way of one-for-one swaps (my 2022 add to your ’23 or ’24) doesn’t actually work right here as a result of the Rangers have constructed such a deep system that they’re poised to have this subject every of the subsequent few seasons. They’d do finest to discover a group with a thinner farm, one which tends to desire prospects who’re nearer to massive league prepared, and hope to seek out equilibrium with them. Is Frankie Montas or Stephen Strasburg a match right here? Texas may additionally think about using their very own fringe guys to push offers throughout the end line on the deadline or fetch a barely higher high quality of participant/prospect. Or, if time permits, they might discover buying and selling for comp picks the place the newly-drafted participant’s timeline is deep sufficient into the long run to not overload the subsequent few years.