The Texas Rangers have built their farm system through investments in the International market and high upside draft picks. Texas prefers athletic players with loud tools as an organizational philosophy. Through the years, the Rangers have had a reputation for finding and developing sluggers, especially from Latin America, while struggling to develop starting pitching.
Though the system has been plundered recently through trades to help the big league club, the Rangers still have several enticing prospects we will be featuring through the coming days.
Honorable Mentions
Joe Palumbo, P: The baseball prospect, not the body builder Google thinks you mean, is a left handed pitcher not yet designated as a starter or reliever. In 2016 Palumbo pitched 33 games (seven starts and eight saves) accounting for 96.1 innings during which he struck out 122, walked 36, and allowed five homers.
Last year the southpaw made Baseball America’s top 20 South Atlantic League prospect list and according to them, touched 96 with a good curveball. Palumbo will likely start the year with the new High A affiliate in North Carolina, the Down East Wood Ducks, or DEWDs as I will call them all year and forever. He’s an interesting prospect, once he gets a more defined role he could rise in prospect stature, for now we’ll keep him as an honorable mention. (Paterik)
Jonathan Hernandez, P: In a system where pitching is at a premium, this is a name to stash away. Hernandez was signed in 2013 out of the Dominican at a cost of $300,000. 2016 was his first excursion into letter ball, after spending three years at the Dominican Academy and in the Arizona Rookie League. He pitched a career high 116 innings at Hickory last season, with middling results including a 4.56 ERA on 88 strikeouts.
Hernandez is finding his way onto lists like this because he’s shown flashes of talent. His fastball on a good night can reach 95-97, but don’t expect that much. He had a few good starts, but understand this is a young man who is still learning how to be a starting pitcher.
Expect him to start in Hickory again, with a trip to Kinston with the Wood Ducks a feasible end game for 2017. If he sees Frisco before 2018, you know things are going right. With time, patient coaching, and growing into his grown man body, Hernandez is a player who likely finds his way into the top 10 ranks next season.
If you’d like some bonus reading on Hernandez, Mark Parker (a must follow @CrawdadsBeat if you want to keep up with Hickory) interviewed him last May. It’s got some good insights. (Hale)
David Garcia, C: It’s well known that projecting what a teenager will do is a fool’s errand. That said, sometimes life forces you into doing just that.
Enter David Garcia, the 16 year old Venezuelan who earned a hefty chunk of change this winter from the Rangers ($800,000). If anyone wants to pay me $800,000 right now for anything, please comment below.
With Garcia, the early word is he has advanced game calling skills to pair with good defense. His offense features good bat speed, but Garcia's offensive abilities will change with his body. He’s only going to get bigger and stronger, and those changes will force necessary alterations to how he does everything.
In a system devoid of a prime cut catcher prospect, Garcia has the potential to blossom into that. His game calling and defense will only improve as he receives a higher level of instruction. It sounds like he’s an inverted Jorge Alfaro: A catcher who will need to learn offense, as opposed to a hitter who will need to learn catcher.
Mark all this down in pencil however. Garcia can’t attend prom or vote yet. While his future is bright, it’s far from certain. (Hale)
Michael Matuella, P: Once thought of as a potential first overall pick, injuries overshadowed his top of the rotation potential at Duke. The 6’6” right hander has an elite fastball, excellent curveball, solid slider, and feel for a changeup paired with decent control of those pitches.
After reading that, you may be thinking “why isn’t this guy number 1?” Remember those injuries? They were pretty severe. In April of 2015, his draft year, Matuella tore his UCL requiring Tommy John surgery. Matuella also had a major back injury in 2014. He pitched in one game for Spokane, a scheduled three inning start after which he was shelved for the year with a sprained ligament in his right elbow.
On February 20, Matuella threw off of a mound for the first time since the most recent injury. Several higher ups watched his bullpen session and felt good about what they saw. The biggest takeaway about Matuella is his potential for success is as big as he is tall in spikes. Matuella might be the most interesting prospect storyline to watch this year. (Paterik)
Alex Speas, P: In March of 1998 the Rangers were getting ready to defend just their second division title in franchise history. Alex Speas was getting ready to be born. Speas, the Rangers 2nd round pick in 2016, has the potential to be a lot higher than an honorable mention on this list next year. The tall slender 18 year old RHP is bound to fill out during his first full professional year which could help him continually achieve the high 90s he’s capable of touching.
After signing with the Rangers for just over a million dollars shortly after the draft, Speas headed to Arizona to join the Fall League Arizona Rangers. Throwing in 4 games for a total of 8.1 innings, he allowed only 4 hits and no runs. He struck out 11 against 7 walks and a hit batsman. He also had a fluky 2 balks… a strange side note that we’ll hope is just a quirk or nerves.
It seems likely that Speas will be in Surprise for extended spring training and head up to the Great Northwest to don the beautiful uniforms of the Spokane Indians in Short Season A ball. If all goes according to plan he’d be due in Frisco in the next couple of years for Metroplex fans to get a glimpse of what could be a bright future for the bright smiling young man from Georgia. (Roland)
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