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2010 American League Playoffs: Texas Rangers Young Player Review

Ronald Martinez - Getty Images

7 months ago: ARLINGTON TX - JULY 29: Mitch Moreland #18 of the Texas Rangers hits a single for his first major league hit during play against the Oakland Athletics on July 29 2010 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Finishing  up the American League, with a look at young players (24 or younger or rookies) for the Texas Rangers.

Star-divide

TEXAS RANGERS

Elvis Andrus, SS: 22 year old sophomore from Venezuela, hit .265/.342/.301 with 32 steals. Lacks power, but is so young that additional offensive development is very likely. Excellent defensive player, will be a regular for a long time.

Julio Borbon, OF: 24 year old sophomore, hit .276/.309/.340 with 15 steals. Lack of power and very low walk rate hamper him offensively; if he's not hitting .300 he's not really helping you with the bat. Very good glove means the Rangers will be patient with his hitting, at least for another year. Was a supplemental first round pick in 2007 from the University of Tennessee.

Neftali Feliz, RHP: 22 year old rookie, saved 40 games, 2.73 ERA with a 71/18 K/BB in 69 innings, 43 hits. The Rangers couldn't have asked for a better debut. It is still unclear if he will start or relieve in the long run, but the Dominican could be a top closer for a very long time if they keep him in that role.

Derek Holland, LHP: 23 year old sophomore, posted a 4.08 ERA with a 54/24 K/BB in 57 innings, 55 hits over 10 starts and four relief outings. He was much more effective this year after being rushed too quickly in 2009, with a notable improvement in his K/IP ratio and fewer hits given up. If he can get the walks down, he could take off in 2011. I think he has the ceiling of a number two starter if everything falls into place properly. Was a 25th round pick in 2006 from Wallace State Community College in Alabama.

Tommy Hunter, RHP: 24 years old, this is his second year in the Ranger rotation but he is still young. 13-4, 3.73 with a 68/33 K/BB in 128 innings, 126 hits. He's a huge guy at 6-3, 280, and doesn't strike out many people, but he avoids walks and soaks up innings. He doesn't have a huge margin for error and can't afford many mistakes, so I'm not sure that he's going to be this effective continually. A University of Alabama product, drafted in the supplemental first round in 2007.

Mitch Moreland, 1B: Rookie turned 25 last month, hit .255/.364/.469 in 145 at-bats for Texas, hitting nine homers with 25 walks. He snuck up on people, but has out-hit more-heralded prospects and I don't think it's a fluke. Although he doesn't project as a star, he has a polished approach to go with his power and should be productive for several years at least. He was drafted in the 17th round in 2007 from Mississippi State.  

Alexi Ogando, RHP: 26 year old rookie reliever, posted a 1.30 ERA with a 39/16 K/BB in 42 innings, with 31 hits allowed. He missed three years of play with legal problems revolving around a marriage/visa scam, but made up for lost time this year, vaulting into the major league pen unexpectedly. I don't see any  reason why he can't be a strong reliever going forward and perhaps close games eventually.

Max Ramirez, C: 25 year old rookie hit .217/.341/.348 in 69 at-bats for the Rangers. He looked like an excellent hitting prospect a couple of years ago, but has seen his production tail off sharply following a series of nagging injuries in '09 and '10. At this point, it is quite unclear if the Venezuelan can live up to the potential he previously showed.

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Huge Moreland fan really can’t wait to see how he developes

by KevG on Oct 4, 2025 9:58 PM EDT via mobile reply actions  

ceiling

who do you guys think is a good comparison? Laroche?

by BryceHarper on Oct 4, 2025 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions  

Overbay?

John Jaha?

When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream.

by t ball on Oct 5, 2025 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions  

Jaha

wow, that’s a blast from the past!

Seems to have more power than Overbay, imo.

by BryceHarper on Oct 5, 2025 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions  

doesn't get much love

because he is one of those guys who isn’t especially good at anything—except hitting. Actually, though while certainly not gold glove caliber, his defense at 1b hasn’t been bad at all. If not average, it has been pretty close, at least to my eyes.

by Dalman on Oct 4, 2025 10:26 PM EDT reply actions  

You didn't include Davis

he’s 24 and was in the Majors. even if he did suck.

LSJ (on Dallas Braden): I know him, and I think he's a psychotic lowlife.
Braden's grandmother: And I think calling him that is an insult to the psychotic lowlife community.

by iblum on Oct 4, 2025 11:25 PM EDT reply actions  

Holland has become such a post hype sleeper for me.

I feel like he’s been forgotten for the most part. I’m still taking him over many good young pitchers around the game.

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twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Oct 5, 2025 12:56 AM EDT reply actions  

Agreed

Right now he’s sort of “where Cliff Lee was before he became Cliff Lee”, as it were.

"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.

by PaulThomas on Oct 5, 2025 1:43 AM EDT up reply actions  

Yes

Completely agree. I really like Holland going into next season.

by deezle on Oct 5, 2025 8:35 AM EDT up reply actions  

I did not even know that he was called up so long ago.

…they should send down Huntington & Nutting, because they aren’t ready, either. - royshowell

by Marinerfanjake on Oct 5, 2025 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions  

Yep, if he stays healthy next year

I expect a solid mid-rotation level performance.

When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream.

by t ball on Oct 5, 2025 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions  

I think the fact that everyone agrees with you and so do I mean that he has no business being "post-hype"

I love Derek Holland as much as almost any young pitcher in the game. Him and Brett Anderson fall in the same category for me: just stay healthy!

by Humbled Fan on Oct 5, 2025 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions  

Perhaps

I think you’d be surprised how many think poorly of him, or think he won’t ever pan out. I’m thinking back to my Top Under 25 Pitchers list.

Which reminds me… sure seems like the quality and quantity of discussion is up around here these days.

Bullpen Banter
www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Oct 5, 2025 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions  

Yep

I’ve seen lots of negative opinion on Holland. Not sure why. Every time I see him I’m impressed by the stuff and delivery, if not always the results. At this age the former is still more important than the latter for me. It was frustrating to watch him struggle with nagging injuries this year since he started off so well in Triple-A and carried it over to the majors, but maybe it pays off in the long run. He’s still awfully young.

by blackoutyears on Oct 5, 2025 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions  

exactly my feeling

I look to him growing into that real good 2/3 type next year. At the end of the year, he was back to throwing 94ish with his late life fastball which is a really plus pitch… If he just polishes his CU and slider a little bit he’ll be there next year.

The Ranger's will win the AL pennant by 2013

by blalock84 on Oct 8, 2025 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions  

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