Keith Law Rangers Q&A;

by jparks77 on Feb 10, 2026 9:43 AM EST Comment 29 comments

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Q: In your opinion, who are the most overrated and underrated prospects in the Rangers' system? Why?

Keith Law: I don't know that there's anyone who's overrated in the Rangers' system; I suppose you could say [Taylor] Teagarden, who didn't hit at all this past year and whose arm problems might be a permanent issue. By my count, he only caught on back-to-back days 31 times all season, across all three levels.

Underrated ... [Michael] Main, certainly. [Kasey] Kiker. [Robbie] Ross. All three are dinged because they're not tall, but Main's a great athlete with huge stuff, and all three are excellent competitiors with Kiker and Ross showing good feel for pitching.

Q:You rank Martin Perez as the number 13 pitching prospect in all of baseball. The buzz on Perez among Rangers fans is heavy, but you're the first to key on him to that extent nationally. You suggested he has a chance to "shoot up the system" -- at age 17, what sort of track would you put him on if you were calling the shots?

Keith Law: It really depends on his performance -- I doubt anyone suggested last winter that [Neftali] Feliz should finish 2008 in AA, but his performance clearly merited it. Perez should start 2009 in Low-A [Hickory], and if he's dominating, there's merit in skipping him over the [High-A] California League, especially if he's showing great command.

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Lol

…at Michael Main being underrated. Law obviously doesn’t read the Ranger-centric interwebs.

by aCone419 on Feb 10, 2026 11:04 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'm sure if Law posted here

he’d be called a Rangers homer since he said something nice about them.

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by t ball on Feb 10, 2026 3:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

lol

by FishHead on Feb 10, 2026 5:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

expect

Blake Beavan’s velocity to return and a huge breakout in ’09.

by richieabernathy on Feb 10, 2026 3:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Law nailed it IMO

Teagarden is overrated for a number of reasons. For the life of me I cant understand why people dont see this.

Main IS underrated. I think even the Ranger-centric web people are right on the mark. Also, I love me some Martin Perez.

by alskor on Feb 10, 2026 3:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Teagarden

A lot of times we get caught up in fantasy-centric thinking where things like average are all we look at. Sure, he won’t hit for average and his health is a concern, but he’s still a solid prospect. His ceiling is that of a top-notch defensive catcher with a good amount of power and less-than-crippling average. Considering that ceiling is quite close, there’s really no reason to doubt his skills. The thing you should be worried about is the health factor, not the bat or glove. If he settles in with a couple healthy seasons now, people will be wondering why they doubted him.

As for Perez, the whole “younger than the league” argument only goes so far. He had a solid season, nothing spectacular. Don’t be surprised if you see him have some real struggles moving up the ladder.

Mike Grouse Interview - Rangers' Midwest Cross Checker

by Andy Seiler on Feb 10, 2026 4:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1 on the "fantasy-centric thinking"

I can’t stand the people always forget defensive value.

Remember: baseball guys... baseball...

by Metty5 on Feb 11, 2026 1:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

See, and I have difficulty understanding the anti-Teagarden argument

Last year, when he did unusually badly hitting (to the point that Law described him as not hitting at all), he had, by my count, a .323 OBP and a .479 slugging percentage - an OPS of .802. Granted this was over 3 levels, but considering a heavy portion of his seasonal production came from his less than 100 AB in the majors, I don’t think this should be counted against him. Granted injuries kept him from playing a lot, so his entire season is a small sample size. All of this I recognize.

But on the other hand, in a season where he was plagued with injuries, producing an OPS above .800 despite having a BABIP of .293 seems awfully impressive to me, especially once one considers that he is also an excellent fielding catcher.

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by OldProspects on Feb 10, 2026 4:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

As you say... SSS

He only had 293 totals ABs last season. I think its extremely likely we’re seeing noise in that and I dont think we do ourselves any favors drawing conclusions from it. If that AVG drops to where I think it will the other slash stats do, too… and then we’re looking at a pretty mediocre catcher, albeit with supposedly great defense (though again, that came into question last year as well).

Granted this was over 3 levels, but considering a heavy portion of his seasonal production came from his less than 100 AB in the majors, I don’t think this should be counted against him.

It was 47 ABs at the MLB level… AND his BABIP at the MLB level was .409! He s*** the bed last year. The guy has put together one good year - and it was in the Cal League - AND he was limited to 289 ABs because he couldnt stay healthy - AND he was 23 years old in A+…

Lastly, I dont agree with the characterization that mine is an “anti-Teagarden argument.” I like Taylor Teagarden quite a bit, and I expect his defense to come back next year… BUT I see a pretty average catcher in this guy and I expect him to be limited because of health issues. He’s a good/ possibly great defensive catcher who walks a good amount and has good pop in his bat - but he has a lot of issues making contact that will only get worse at the MLB level and he strikes out a startling amount of the time (>1/3rd of the time career and 40.4% K rate in his MLB SSS). The ability to walk and hit for power in the minors gets constrained pretty quickly at the major league level if you cant hit for a decent average and are striking out 33% of the time.

Teagarden is one of the best catching prospects in the game, but he is far from a sure thing and I think his upside is being considerably overrated on this site.

by alskor on Feb 10, 2026 6:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't deny that it is a small sample size

But I don’t think an excessively high batting average was the reason for his excellent stats - I forgot to include it, but his full stats were .228/.323/.479 with a .293 BABIP. His major league stats were certainly helped in the majors by a high BABIP, but he also hit 6 homers in 47 ABs - certainly not repeatable, but a pretty darn good performance in their own right.

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Feb 10, 2026 7:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i actually

have been trying to make this argument for a while. Obviously TT was struggling a ton in the minors and was in a complete slump while also being hurt, but then went to the olympics and came back and got out of his slump and finished really strong. Why cant we just combine all these numbers without denying both categories, he had a low BABIP in the Minors over a 200 AB stretch and a really high BABIP in the majors for only 50 at bats, Can we not just combine these numbers and then have them cancel each other out. And like OldProspects stated this would give him an overal OPS of 800, which is solid for a good defensive catcher split mostly between AAA and AA.

Last year was not a good year for TT, but if you dont just ignore one section of his season like some people tend to do (people who look to highly at him just look at the ML #s, and the ones who look to lowly completely ignore his ML #‘s) he actually had a pretty decent year. Then you go back and look at what else he’s done in the minors and you see that he had a really good year the year previous and I dont see why you cant think this guy can be a very good ML catcher who gives you about a .260/.340/.480 line in the prime years of his career. Of course, the injury issues are a whole other concern and honestly, im more concerned about that than the numbers he put up last year.

Chris (NJ): I am personally offended at how you ranked a prospect from my favorite team, even though I do not know said prospect, nor have I ever seen him play. In my opinion you only have your job because, like your employers, you have an unholy bias towards my favorite team’s rival. Also, you’re short.

Keith Law: You’re right. I am short.

by blalock84 on Feb 11, 2026 2:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

One thing he did consistently, on every level

was strikeout a lot. I think he’s more likely to be a .240 hitter than a .260 hitter, but still be valuable because of his walks, power, and, of course his defense.

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by t ball on Feb 11, 2026 8:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

So in other words

He’s a poor man’s Jack Cust, except who can play catcher. There are worst things in the world.

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Feb 11, 2026 1:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

not just play catcher

but play catcher very well

by Navi's_Navy on Feb 11, 2026 2:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

so he is a poor mans jack cust

who plays + defense behind the plate?

Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.

by knockoutking on Feb 15, 2026 1:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

yes he definitely strikes out a ton

but i also think he’s hit for more power than people realize, he had 27 HRs in what? like 350 ABs or so two years ago and although last year was a definite dissapoint he still managed 15 HRs in under 300 ABs. He’s very capable of hitting 30+ HRs in the ML if he ever gets a full 500 ABs (Which is gonna be hard b/c of his injury history) and his SLG % is almost always gonna be in the .470+ Range.

But yea, i do agree with you, TT will likely never really be a complete hitter with those Ks and his career BA will be something like .250, but i think his OPS over his career could most definitely be north of .800 making him a very, very good player.

Keith Law: You’re right. I am short.

by blalock84 on Feb 11, 2026 3:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Pssh

I think even the Ranger-centric web people are right on the mark.

The site whose author posted this article ranked Main the number one prospect in their whole system. And they have the best system in the league! Do you really agree with that?

by aCone419 on Feb 11, 2026 3:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No

but I really, really, really like Main and I think he is serious underrated.

I would put him fifth behind Andrus, Feliz and Holland and Smoak (those four listed here in no particular order).

by alskor on Feb 11, 2026 3:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

So you agree with me then.

There are members of the Ranger interwebs who overrate him. Specifically, the very website he was interviewed by. Thank you.

by aCone419 on Feb 11, 2026 5:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes I agree with you

but would say that I like where the Rangers interweb people have him much more than where the people around this site have him - though obviously both are gross generalizations.

by alskor on Feb 11, 2026 6:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He's fourth for me.

Only behind Feliz, Holland, and Smoak. And it’s not for lack of talent. I’d easily say his talent level equals any of those guys.

Mike Grouse Interview - Rangers' Midwest Cross Checker

by Andy Seiler on Feb 11, 2026 8:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Can't say that I agree with the author

but to be fair he was one of the few people that had a chance to see Main at fall intructs this past year.

by groundingout on Feb 11, 2026 4:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yep

That ranking was based on in person evaluation, not 2nd hand reports and stats.

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by t ball on Feb 11, 2026 5:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow - interesting comparison from Law

Q: I’m intrigued by the acquisition of Greg Golson. I agreed with the move to swap prospects, seeing as the Rangers already have an ample amount of power prospects. I read he automatically comes in as the best defensive arm in the system along with the best speed. I’m curious as to what type of player he resembles. I’ve read that he’s similar to Mike Cameron and Torii Hunter. Do you think, with the help of Rudy Jaramillo, he can develop the plate discipline to become a Torii Hunter-esque center fielder?

Tim from Dallas

Keith Law: Fifth outfielder type. He’s similar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black. That’s about the end of it. I have never seen a first-rounder with less feel for the game than Golson has.

That said, I’d rather have him than [John] Mayberry.

Dan Dickau - inspiring athletic greatness in unathletic pudgy white men since 2000.

by iheartdickau on Feb 10, 2026 6:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

For once I actually agree with Law

How is Golson preferrable to Mayberry right now. Mayberry has shown power, decent defense, and is able to get on base at a decent pace. He could really be an average corner outfielder in Philadelphia if not overexposed.

Golson has never put an ISO of over .200 in a large enough sample size, has significant issues with his K , and walks very little. The only thing that is going for him is that he is a good defender with speed, which makes him a 5th outfielder I believe. A K % of 30 and BB % of under 10 in AAA with uncertain power in AAA does not project well in the MLB, or even in AAA.

by tdot mariner fan on Feb 10, 2026 7:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I am so confused

Who did Law compare them to? All I read was him criticizing a comparison of them. And Law said that he’d rather Golson to Mayberry, so how do you agree with him and then say that you think Mayberry is better than Golson?

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Feb 10, 2026 9:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs