2007 Texas Rangers Prospects

2007 Texas Rangers Top 20 Prospects

1. Eric Hurley, RHP, Grade A- (I like him better than Danks right now)
   
2. Thomas Diamond, RHP, Grade B (Status has slipped a bit but still interesting)
   
3. John Mayberry Jr, OF, Grade B (Midwest League numbers are better than they look on the surface)
   
4. Edinson Volquez, RHP, B (Wild guess on the grade. I don't trust the Rangers to develop him properly)
   
5. Kasey Kiker, LHP, B (nice young lefty arm from '06 draft)
   
6. Wes Littleton, RHP, B- (under the 50 inning limit)
   
7. Taylor Teagarden, C, B- (one of my favorites until he got hurt, hope he recovers well)
   
8. Chad Tracy, C, B- (intriguing bat to supplant Teagarden if neeeded)
   
9. Jason Botts, 1B, C+ (too old to rank higher but a strong bat)
   
10. Nelson Cruz, OF, C+ (toolsy, needs to refine the strike zone still)
    
11. Joaquin Arias, SS, C+ (toolsy, doubt his bat at this point)
    
12. Josh Rupe, RHP, C+ (possible relief contributor)
    
13. Marcus Lemon, SS, C+ (a personal favorite)
    
14. Danny Ray Herrera, LHP, C+ (how far will that changeup carry him?)
    
15. Chris Davis, 1B, C+ (interesting bat to track)
    
16. German Duran, SS, C+ (a sleeper prospect)
    
17. Emerson Frostad, C, C+ (good bat, not sure about defense)
    
18. Anthony Webster, OF, C+ (personal favorite as fourth outfield type)
    
19. Francisco Cruceta, RHP, C (would have a better chance to develop elsewhere i fear)
    
20. Ben Harrison, OF, C (power bat should be tracked)

Others of Note: Brandon Boggs, OF; Jacob Brigham, RHP; Armando Galaraga, RHP; Craig Gentry, RHP; Grant Gerrard, OF; Nate Gold, 1B; Dan Haigwood, LHP, Tim Hulett, 2B; Kevin Mahar, OF; Travis Metcalf, 3B; Steve Murphy, OF; Omar Poveda, RHP; John Whittleman, 3B.

The Rangers in One Sentence: The Danks trade rips up some of their system pitching depth.

This is the last of the Top 20 lists. I will be doing grade revisions over the next day or two and will have a seperate post about them. The book goes to the printer on Friday, so everything has to be complete by then.

ALL GRADES ARE PRELIMINARY. If you hate a grade, feel free to make a case for me to change it, though remember that cases phrased respectfully using logic and facts are more likely to be viewed positively than those featuring insults and invective.

There is a lot of slack in the B-/C+/C range and players may move up and down depending on how my thinking progresses. Feel free to make comments, point out sleepers I may have missed, etc. Note that there is only a limited amount of space in the book, and the max I can do is 35-36 players per team.

And, as always, there is the helpful reminder to Buy My Book, which will lay out reports for all these guys (and more) in detail.