Hey there. Here are some items originally intended for my introductory piece three weeks ago plus some recent news.
Expert Top 100 Prospect Rankings
Baseball America:
#93, 3B Josh Jung
#99, C Sam Huff
MLB.com:
#55, 3B Josh Jung
#74, C Sam Huff
Keith Law (Athletic):
#37, OF Leody Taveras
#85, 3B Josh Jung
Just missed, LHP Joe Palumbo
Kiley McDaniel (ESPN):
Nobody
Baseball Prospectus:
#37, OF Leody Taveras
#70, 3B Josh Jung
#74, Nick Solak (listed position: āhitterā)
Eric Longenhagen (FanGraphs):
#97, RHP Yerry Rodriguez
#109, UT Nick Solak
#117, OF/1B/C Heriberto Hernandez
Thereās disagreements among these rankings, but for the most part youāre seeing the names youād expect. The extreme outlier is Mr. Longenhagen. Iām a fan of Yerry Rodriguez, to be sure, and am more in agreement with Keith Lawās ranking (18th in the system) than Baseball America (outside the top 30). That said, ranking Rodriguez first never would have occurred to me. Longenhagen is higher on the future of Rodriguezās change and breaker than most. I hope he’s right! Over on Earth 2, Rodriguez looked great when I saw him two weeks ago, and he’s preparing for assignment to high-A Down East.
Farm System Rankings
11th by Baseball Prospectus
17th by Keith Law
21st by Baseball America
21st by MLB.com
25th by Kiley McDaniel
Among scouting publications, Baseball Prospectus has consistently ranked the Rangers highest in recent years. āTheyāve struggled to develop all that prospect talent into major-league help, but the clay is still really, really good,ā says BP. McDanielās glum assessment isnāt a surprise given his absence of Rangers in his top 100 prospects, although he did describe the system as deep. He said Texas is ālooking to turn the corner in terms of embracing analytics and how that affects the development of their farm system and the big league team.ā
Recent Additions
Texas signed 34-year-old OF Jim Adduci to a minor league deal and assigned him to AAA Nashville. Drafted by the Cubs back in 2003, Adduci made his MLB debut as a Ranger in 2013. Adduci spent 2015-2016 in Korea, followed by more Major League action with the Tigers and Cubs. Heāll be AAA depth. The Rangers also re-signed RHP Esmerling Vasquez, who last year returned to US ball for the first time in six years.
Recent Subtractions
Pitchers Ronald Herrera, Emerson Martinez, Ricky Rodriguez, and OF Jose Almonte were released.
Martinez impressed me during a spring outing two years ago and flirted with top-30 prospect status for a while. An injury limited him to 68 innings last year. Part of the 2012-2013 international class, heād reached minor league free agency but immediately re-signed with the Rangers. Assuming heās healthy, he could bolster someoneās AA rotation.
Iāve probably never written less about a player prior to his MLB debut than Rodriguez. Signed way back in 2010, Rodriguez offered a respectable if low-strikeout performance in Hickoryās rotation in 2014. He nearly vanished the next two seasons because of injuries. Then, in 2017, he advanced from high-A to the Majors in four months. Injuries again curtailed his following season, and he didnāt pitch at all in 2019.Ā
Like Rodriguez, Herreraās time as a Ranger was dominated by injury. Acquired from the Yankees for pitcher Reiver Sanmartin after 2017, Herrera missed the next season and had scant success retiring batters in AA/AAA last year, although he did improve as the season progressed.
Almonte was the top signing of the 2013-2014 class which included MIF Yeyson Yrizarri, RHP Marcos Diplan, MIF Michael De Leon, and future MLB reliever/opener Jonathan Hernandez. Almonte impressed in his full-season dubut in 2016, batting .278/.343/.444 with eight homers in 57 games for Hickory, but hit poorly thereafter and spent more time than not in the trainerās room. In six seasons, he never played more than 66 games.
Elsewhere
Drafted as a shortstop and groomed for a super utility role upon trade to Texas, Eli White is now a full-time outfielder. He started 22 of 92 games in center last year at AAA Nashville.
Cole Uvila and Joe Kuzia (three-quarters of the way down) answered questions about how the coronavirus has impacted their lives in the last three weeks.
Baseball America interviewed Texas minor league hitting coordinator Cody Atkinson at length. I logged out of my account and am still able to see the whole article, so I think itās free to all. Apologies if not.
This isnāt the best time for me to tell you where to spend your money, but if your situation is tolerableĀ and youāve been on the fence about subscribing, perhaps give Baseball America a shot. The same applies to FanGraphs, which has laid off some contributors and cut staff salaries in the face of plummeting page views. They still have a strong roster and a magnificent statistical database that rivals and sometimes exceeds Baseball Reference. Regrettably, I must confess to years of avid reading and un-avid monetary support. The latter changed as of yesterday.
MLB and the Players Association have reached an agreement regarding pay, service time and other issues connected with a truncated or canceled season. Also affected, drastically, is the draft, which could alter the course of many would-be professional careers. Iāll save that discussion for next time.
As reported this morning from various sources, minor league players will continue to receive $400 per week and medical benefits through at least the end of May. This actually represents a raise for many players, especially those destined for extended spring training. Players receiving housing from clubs will get less.
MLB informed Minor League Baseball that clubs will not be able to supply affiliates with players because of the national emergency. Suddenly, the catastrophe clauses tucked away in the back of contracts are getting heavy use.
As to when games might commence, well… I’m not overly optimistic about any games taking place in stadiums in 2020. Reopening society is going to require patience and prudence, neither of which may correspond to thousands of fans milling about and sitting side-by-side this summer. To the extent there’s a season, it might occur entirely within the spring training complexes. This is pure speculation on my part, not the official word of anyone with power over such matters.
Take care.
Month: March 2020
3/16: Rangers Farm Report (Covid Edition)
Greetings from Surprise Austin.
Under ordinary circumstances, Monday would be my first of several days in Arizona. In a few hours, Iād be pulling into Glendaleās Camelback Ranch to watch Texasās youngest minor leaguers take on the White Sox. Instead, Iām home, under circumstances that won’t be ordinary for a long time.
Barely over a week ago, I wasnāt especially worried about my own health or being a vector that could harm others. I travel to Arizona alone by car, usually off the beaten path, and I keep a relatively low profile on the back fields. But as last week transpired, I found myself prepared physically but not mentally, increasingly ill at ease. Time set aside for studying players was instead spent studying a virus and contemplating life-altering events. By Tuesday, I was drawing to the disappointing conclusion that for the first time since 2006, I wouldnāt be visiting Arizona. By Thursday, when MLB suspended spring training, Iād already overcome my disappointment. The announcement was a relief.
I already work from home, and my wife will be as of later today, but now we also have a homebound daughter for who knows how long, so our schedule will beā¦ I donāt know. Complicated, I guess. Goodness knows Iām not complaining. So many people (and perhaps some of yāall) have it much worse. On the whole, minor league ballplayers are in that group. They havenāt received a paycheck in months and donāt know when the next will come. The situation is already terrible, and weāre nowhere near the bottom.
Hopefully, weāll have some baseball later this year. If youāre old enough, you remember the emotional impact of baseball resuming after the September 11 attacks. Opening Day 2020 will be even more momentous, Iād wager.
As for the Newberg Report, Iāve got some ideas on how to fill the time between now and then, but I donāt want to promise anything specific yet.
I hope youāre getting by and able to care for those you love, even though ācare forā might mean āavoidā for the time being.Ā