The Rangers have a lot of interesting, high-upside guys, but nobody really stands out at this point. They have always been known to collect high-risk, high-reward players who could turn into stars or busts with little in between, but recently they have only had marginal success getting results out of that philosophy, with relatively recent call-ups Joey Gallo (2015), Keone Kela (2015), Nomar Mazara (2016), Ronald Guzman (2018), and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa (2018) looking like the most successful in that group. While Gallo and Kela are borderline "impact" players and Mazara has been a nice bat, but ultimately the influx of prospects has not been enough to keep the Rangers afloat in the AL West. While guys like Leody Taveras, Ariel Jurado, and Yohander Mendez are looking less and less like the future impact players the Rangers envisioned, they do have another wave of prospects coming and they're hoping some of them will stick. At this point, they are fairly deep in pitching and just by the law of averages, a few of them should turn out to be useful, but they are fairly shallow in terms of position players.
Affiliates: AAA Round Rock Express*, AA Frisco RoughRiders, High A Down East Wood Ducks, Class A Hickory Crawdads, Short Season Spokane Indians, complex level AZL and DSL Rangers
*AAA affiliate will move from Round Rock, TX to Nashville, TN in 2019
Young Arms: RHP Hans Crouse, RHP Tyler Phillips, RHP A.J. Alexy, LHP Cole Ragans, RHP Alex Speas, RHP Yerry Rodriguez, RHP Cole Winn, and RHP Owen White
I'm doing this Rangers list a little bit out of order because one of their most exciting groups of players is their set of young pitchers. Of the group, 20 year old Hans Crouse may be the most exciting. The Rangers have brought the 2017 second rounder (66th overall) along slowly, and in 13 starts between Short Season Spokane and Class A Hickory he posted a 2.47 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and a 62/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 54.2 innings. The 6'4" righty throws mid 90's with an improving slider that is now well above average, with the changeup and command still works in progress. With his high effort delivery, and two great pitches, he looks like a typical relief prospect, but he is athletic and durable so the Rangers hope to make him a starter, where he could be a #2 or #3 guy. 21 year old Tyler Phillips, a 6'5" right hander out of the Philadelphia area, had a breakout season with Hickory this year (plus one start with High A Down East), going 12-5 with a 2.64 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, and a 127/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 133 innings. Despite his impressive height, he only throws in the low 90's and instead relies on excellent command and a knowledge of how to pitch in order to get outs. Class A hitters were not able to figure him out, and his one start with Down East was just as solid. He looks like a back-end starter at this point but he could end up being more of a mid-rotation guy if he keeps mixing and locating his pitches like he does. 20 year old A.J. Alexy, another tall (6'4") righty out of the Philadelphia area, had a solid season at Hickory with a 3.58 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a 138/52 strikeout to walk ratio over 108 innings, showing more explosive stuff than Phillips but not commanding it as well, giving him more bust potential but a higher ceiling if he puts it all together. 21 year old Cole Ragans is yet another tall pitcher, standing 6'4" and throwing left handed. His stuff is as explosive or even better than Crouse's, having taken a step forward since high school, but his command hasn't developed as hoped (yet) and he missed the 2018 season with Tommy John surgery. When he comes back, he has a chance to make himself the top pitching prospect in the system if he pitches like he is capable of in A ball, showing true front of the rotation potential on the right days. It all depends how he bounces back from surgery. 20 year old Alex Speas is a 6'4" righty (the Rangers like them tall, don't they) who is strictly a relief prospect at this point, but he could be a really good one if he gets his command together. In 2018, he posted a 2.20 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and a 49/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 28.2 innings at Hickory, showing what could be the best fastball in the system that runs up to the upper 90's with movement. The hard curveball is great too, but even a few years into his pro career, it is still evident that he has no idea where his pitches are going with 53 walks in 70.2 innings so far. If he can tighten the command just a little bit, he could be an impact reliever at the major league level. 21 year old Yerry Rodriguez had a huge breakout season between complex ball and Spokane this year, posting a 2.86 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and an 82/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 63 innings. He uses his control to make his mostly average stuff play up, and he could be in the same position as Tyler Phillips a year from now. Lastly, 19 year olds Cole Winn and Owen White are yet to pitch in the minor leagues, having been drafted in the first round (15th overall) and second round (55th overall), respectively, out of high school in 2018. Winn is more cut more from the Phillips/Rodriguez cloth than the Crouse/Alexy/Ragans one, showing good command and an innate ability to mix his above average arsenal around. I really liked him on draft day and that hasn't changed, and he could end up having the best career out of any pitcher in the Rangers' system. Meanwhile, White has a deep arsenal of nasty stuff, which he actually commands fairly well, but he has struggled to maintain it through his starts and could use some pro conditioning and development. He has a lot of risk associated with him, but he has ace upside.
Advanced Arms: LHP Yohander Mendez, LHP Taylor Hearn, RHP Jonathan Hernandez, LHP Joe Palumbo, RHP Rollie Lacy, and LHP C.D. Pelham
As with the young pitchers, the advanced pitchers are also defined by high upside and high risk, with few safe bets anywhere. We'll start with 23 year old Yohander Mendez, a 6'5" lefty who has been on prospect lists for years but who has never really broken through. He had short stints with the Rangers in 2016, 2017, and 2018, combining for a 6.28 ERA, a 1.53 WHIP, and a 25/20 strikeout to walk ratio over those 43 major league innings. In the minors this year, he posted a 4.71 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and a 109/40 strikeout to walk ratio over 122.1 innings between High A Down East, AA Frisco, and AAA Round Rock, tantalizing with great stuff but still not getting the overall results the Rangers are looking for. He throws a low to mid 90's sinker and a great changeup, but his other secondaries lag behind and he doesn't have the command to make up for that. 2019 will probably be the year that determines whether he ends up a big league starter or just a reliever. 24 year old Taylor Hearn has been traded twice in his career, once from Washington to Pittsburgh in the Mark Melancon trade and then on to Texas in the Keone Kela deal. In 2018, he posted a 3.49 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, a 140/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 129 innings at AA, handling his first taste of the level successfully. The 6'5" lefty, himself a Dallas-area native, throws upper 90's with his long arms and spins a good changeup as well. His command is holding up, though he does need to improve his slider just a bit in order to be a major league starter. He has a good shot to crack the rotation at some point this year, but he could be hit hard and end up in the bullpen if he can't get that slider by hitters. 22 year old Jonathan Hernandez dominated in his second season at Down East (2.20 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 77/17 K/BB in 57.1 IP) before regressing a bit upon his promotion to Frisco (4.92 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 57/36 K/BB in 64 IP). His mid 90's fastball generates a ton of ground balls, and his slider and changeup are coming along to where he has a good shot at starting in the majors. The 6'2" righty won't be an ace, but could end up a #3 or #4 starter if his command holds up, having held his own at AA this year. 24 year old Joe Palumbo missed almost all of 2017 with Tommy John surgery and was limited to just eleven starts this year, but he was strong with a 2.78 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and a 59/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 45.1 innings. He doesn't throw all that hard but he gets outs by using deception and mixing his pitches, most notably his big curveball. He'll need to stay healthy, but his command is improving and he could be a back-end starter if everything holds up. 23 year old Rollie Lacy came over in the Cole Hamels trade, putting up a good season with a 2.97 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and a 121/37 strikeout to walk ratio over 109 innings between Class A and High A. He was better in Class A than in High A, and with decent command of marginal stuff, he'll have to continue to develop as a pitcher if he wants to crack the rotation down the road. Lastly, 23 year old C.D. Pelham is a relief prospect who put up a 3.66 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP, and a 53/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 46.2 innings between Down East and Frisco, then put up a 7.04 ERA and a 7/4 strikeout to walk ratio in 7.2 major league innings. The big lefty stands 6'6" and weighs 235 pounds, coming in with a mid to upper 90's fastball and a biting, hard cutter. His command isn't great, but if he can hone that command just a little bit, he could be an impact reliever in 2019.
Outfield Prospects: Leody Taveras, Bubba Thompson, Pedro Gonzalez, and Julio Pablo Martinez
The Rangers don't have as much depth here as they do on the mound, with just four outfielders looking like they could even possibly be impact players at the major league level, not including likely backup Scott Heineman after his big year at AA/AAA (12 HR, .306/.371/.445). We'll start with 20 year old Leody Taveras, a high-upside guy who has failed to put it all together at this point. Last year, as a 19 year old at High A Down East, he slashed .246/.312/.332 with five home runs, 19 stolen bases, and a 96/51 strikeout to walk ratio over 132 games. He's very fast and has a very advanced approach at the plate for his age, but so far he hasn't been able to put it together in games and he posted a third straight season of uninspiring numbers. He'll play all of 2019 at 20 years old and will likely do so at AA Frisco, giving him plenty of time to develop, but he is becoming more of an intriguing upside guy than an elite prospect. 20 year old Bubba Thompson was a first round pick (26th overall) out of high school in Mobile, Alabama in 2017, and he posted some pretty good numbers at Class A Hickory in 2018: 8 HR, .289/.344/.446 line, 32 SB, 104/23 K/BB. He's an exceptional athlete who had the opportunity to play quarterback in the SEC, and it translates to good defense, lots of stolen bases, and some budding power at the plate. He still needs to work on his plate discipline as his aggressive approach might hold him back at the higher levels, and his power still isn't fully developed, but he's just 20 years old and has time to work on that. Despite some of those shortcomings, he has a chance to be an impact player in Texas. 21 year old Pedro Gonzalez came over in the Jonathan Lucroy trade, then had a disappointing 2018 at Hickory by slashing .234/.296/.421 with 12 home runs, nine stolen bases, and a 110/28 strikeout to walk ratio over 92 games. At 6'5", it's easy to dream on his power, but his aggressive approach has held him back and he doesn't have Thompson's athleticism to make up for it. He could still pull it together and be the power hitting right fielder the Rangers want him to be, but it's far from a given. Lastly, 22 year old Julio Pablo Martinez just came over from Cuba after signing for $2.8 million, and he's already showing well. In his American pro debut in 2018, he slashed .266/.378/.457 with nine home runs, 13 stolen bases, and a 76/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 67 games between complex ball and Short Season Spokane, showing all around skills that can be developed. Just 5'9", there is some pop in his bat, and he uses his speed well to get extra bases. His patient approach will help him get on base in order to steal bases, but he does need to cut his strikeouts down as he gets used to American pitching. Starting in 2019, he has a chance to move fairly quickly.
Infielders: SS Anderson Tejeda, 3B Sherten Apostel, 3B Jonathan Ornelas, SS Chris Seise, and C Sam Huff
The Rangers might be even shallower in the infield than in the outfield, with no true impact prospects at all and very few who look to even have a chance of providing any value. 20 year old Anderson Tejeda looks like the best of the small group at this point, coming off a 2018 power breakout in which he slashed .259/.331/.439 with 19 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and a 142/49 strikeout to walk ratio over 121 games at High A Down East. Even at 5'11", he has some sock in the bat and won't be just a slap hitter, but his swing and miss tendencies are a bit troubling at this point. The fact that he plays pretty good infield defense and has a shot to stick at shortstop takes some pressure off his bat and gives him a chance to cut down on those strikeouts, as does the fact that he won't turn 21 until May. Consider his ceiling to be somewhat like that of Rougned Odor. 19 year old Sherten Apostel came over from Pittsburgh towards the end of the season in the Keone Kela trade, and he hit well in Short Season/rookie ball by slashing .278/.420/.460 with eight home runs and a 50/41 strikeout to walk ratio over 53 games. He shows advanced power and plate discipline at this point, and at 6'4", it's easy to see that power translating upwards as he progresses through the minors. He's less known than some other Rangers hitting prospects, but he has a chance to make himself known in full season ball next season. Apostel is a name I would keep an eye on. 18 year old Jonathan Ornelas was just drafted in the third round (91st overall) out of a Phoenix area high school and got off to a hot start in complex ball, slashing .302/.389/.459 with three home runs, 15 stolen bases, and a 41/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 48 games. His big swing gives him more power than you'd expect from his slight frame, though it also leads to some swing and miss issues that may catch up to him at higher levels. He should end up a solid fielding third baseman, which will take some pressure off his bat, and those solid debut numbers in the Arizona League are promising. We'll see what he does in 2019. 19 year old Chris Seise was a first rounder (29th overall) in 2017 out of an Orlando area high school, but he missed all of 2018 with shoulder surgery. He's a great fielder that has the best chance in this group to stick at shortstop, and he does have a pretty decent bat that can produce plenty of singles and doubles. Of course, we'll have to see how it plays in pro ball, as he was great in complex ball in 2017 (.336/.395/.509) but struggled with a promotion to Short Season Spokane (.222/.250/.273). Lastly, 20 year old Sam Huff is a catcher for now and slashed .241/.292/.439 with 18 home runs and a 140/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 118 games at Class A Hickory. He has some power, but if his defense doesn't hold up behind the plate and he has to move to first base, he doesn't get on base enough for the bat to play there. If he can stick behind the plate, he'll need to cut down on his strikeouts but he otherwise has a shot at being a big league catcher.
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