by Richard Douglas
The Rangers left last season with a disappointment. They lost the AL West crown and got smashed by the Orioles in the play in game. They also ended up losing Josh Hamilton to free agency. The upside, is that despite having only 3 of their past 10 top draft picks still in the system, the top of the system is extremely strong. The Rangers have possibly the league's best prospect in Jurickson Profar, a now 20 year old middle indfieleder out of Curacao. Baseball America gives him a total 75 rating on their 20-80 system, with good reason. His minor league career has seen him OPS .817, with 30 home runs (14 at AA Frisco last year) and 82 doubles. Profar learned how to switch hit and is able to show excellent bat speed, helping give him the possibility of above average power for his position. He has solid speed, and a good intuitive approach to base running. Defensively, Profar has an above average arm and very good hands. His jump to the majors though is blocked by the Rangers stellar middle infielders, Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler. Profar is back at AAA to start the season, ofter posting just 14 total bases and a .697 OPS during spring training.
The teams second best prospect is another infielder, but this one should man one of the corner spots. Mike Olt is good sized at 6'2 210 is a power hitter, with 52 career minor league dingers and 48 doubles. Olt needs to work on making more contact with pitches though, striking out at a 29.3% rate. He does recognize pitches well walking at a solid clip, but his swing gets too long deeper in counts. He's had some injuries, a broken collarbone and plantar fasciitis that raies some concern, but only mildly His defensive prowess at the hot corner has been described by at leats one scout as a pleasure to watch. He has a very strong arm, but might not have the athletic ability to play somewhere in the outfield. Olt will also be at AAA, mostly because he is being blocked at the Major League level by Adrian Beltre. His spring was solid, with a nice .744 OPS, but a pretty dismal 12 strike out sin 31 at bats.
Cody Buckel last year posted an 8.9 K/9 rate at the AA level last year, with a 3 BB/9 rate and a 2.92 FIP despite owning fastball that lives at about 90 mph. Part of his success is a routine that allows him to keep that consistent velocity throughout a game His secondary pitches though are able to be located anywhere in the zone. His curveball is a plus pitch that he will normally throw after fastballs to get hitters off balance. His slider tends to work to his left and his changeup is a solid pitch. Buckel got beaten up a bit in his only spring training inning, surrendering 7 earned runs and 5 walks. He'll be back at AA to start the year, but could progress to AAA fairly quickly if he continues to fool lower level competition.
Jorge Alfaro is a converted third baseman playing catcher with excellent bat speed that can lead to above average power. His aggressive nature at the plate will need to get toned down a bit, posting just a .317 OBP. His defensive ability is very raw, but he has the potential to be a great backstop. Pitcher Will Lamb posted a 5.03 FIP last year in his 27 games, with a fastball that lives at 93-95. He also has a slider that is plus, but he needs to stay in the zone more and generate swings and misses after allowing 4.74 BB/9, and just a 6.65 K/9 rate.
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