We’re now in the upper half of my ranking of the Rangers’ top 72 prospects (links to earlier write-ups are in the Exit Velo notes below), and things start to get really interesting. In this week’s dozen, there are four big-leaguers, a player who just joined the 40-man roster, another noteworthy prospect who was left off, and one minor leaguer who has yet to play in a minor league game — and he’s not even the youngest entry in this group.
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Four of the players whom I’ve ranked in the 25-36 range below were somewhere in the top 10 for me in past off-seasons. You can chalk that up to a player or two backing up a bit, or others passing them in the system, or a writer’s wholly misguided assessment (then or now), but one reality is that player development is rarely linear. Some prospects hover near the top of a system until the phrase “out of options” enters the narrative, while others rocket to the big leagues in short order. Some never reach either category.
There are notable scouting finds in this group, and tremendous player development successes. Some might be viewed as players facing make-or-break seasons, but others are without question charging forward with a bullet — for now.
Here are players 25 through 36.
36. Miguel Aparicio, OF (International free agent/2015)
If I’d limited my evaluation on Aparicio to what I saw late in September when a team of the Rangers’ top prospects took on a Padres squad at Petco Park, I’d have been inclined to find room for him in the top 20. He hit everything extremely hard that day, ran the bases aggressively and effectively, glided in the outfield, and threw well, looking like fellow Venezuelan Carlos Gonzalez in just about every phase. But the six months which preceded that series were not great, as the 19-year-old saw his OPS drop from the previous year (he put up a .619 mark at Low-A Hickory, with a two-week, mid-season retrenching at Short-Season A Spokane mixed in for the second straight summer), as it has since each year he signed in 2015. Texas has consistently pushed Aparicio, who was two years young for the South Atlantic League in 2018, believing he has the makeup to respond well to adversity and grow from it. The organization will want to see some of that growth translate on the field in 2019.
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35. Osleivis Basabe, SS (International free agent/2017)
After the Rangers lost out on Shohei Ohtani last winter and before they allocated most of their remaining J2 budget towards Cuban outfielder J.P. Martinez, they agreed to terms on a $550,000 signing bonus to land Basabe, considered advanced defensively but with questions in the bat. The Venezuelan 17-year-old then proceeded to hit .344/.414/.474 in the Dominican Summer League in 2018, finishing in the 44-team circuit’s top 10 in batting average and doubles and top 20 in RBI, helping him earn DSL All-Star Recognition. The shortstop was particularly strong late, hitting .395/.466/.549 after a slow start at the plate. Martinez is clearly the lead attraction from the Rangers’ 2017 J2 group, but there’s a good amount of internal buzz on Basabe headed into what will likely be his first stateside season.
34. Jose Trevino, C (6th round/2014)
It was a season of highs and lows for Trevino, who began the year as a new addition to the Rangers’ 40-man roster, but hit just .184/.250/.224 with AA Frisco over the season’s first month before he was briefly shut down with a right quad strain. Upon his return, the 25-year-old hit .355/.408/.581 over roughly three weeks and got his first call to Texas for what was expected to be a one-day stay. But a Robinson Chirinos injury forced Trevino into action, and the result will highlight the young man’s career, no matter how the rest of it plays out. The remainder of 2018 didn’t go so well, as he injured his non-throwing shoulder swinging the bat one game into his return to Frisco and missed the rest of the season, but he should be good to go in camp. A winner of two straight Minor League Gold Gloves at catcher, the defensively-advanced Trevino will go to camp behind veteran pickup Jeff Mathis and the versatile Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the depth chart, but he’ll likely have the chance in 2019 to contribute in the big leagues again, and an opportunity to establish himself as a future piece.
33. Yohander Mendez, LHP (International free agent/2011)
It turns out Mendez was granted a fourth option by MLB, and it’s a good thing for the Rangers, if not for the 23-year-old lefthander. He was on his third option in 2018 — going from AAA Round Rock to a spot start for Texas in mid-May to another month with the Express and a second call-up in June that was supposed to last at least two starts. But after a violation of team rules in Kansas City, Texas demoted Mendez all the way down to High-A Down East. He spent three weeks with the Wood Ducks, then moved up to AA Frisco, where he’d seen action in 2016 and 2017. The Venezuelan native pitched for a month with the RoughRiders and earned two more starts in Round Rock late in August before rejoining the Major League club when rosters expanded in September. In four starts for Texas and two relief appearances (one a five-frame stint that followed “opener” Connor Sadzeck’s first inning), Mendez was better than he’d been in previous big league looks, holding opponents to a .230/.330/.391 slash line and posting a 4.13 ERA. The big lefty features a plus change but has had difficulty at the upper levels hitting his spots with his fastball, particularly on the glove side (the inner third of the plate) against right-handed hitters. He’ll have a new big-league pitching coach to work with in camp this spring, and goes into 2019 needing to prove himself on what will be his final option.
32. Joe Barlow, RHP (11th round/2016)
Demarcus Evans generated all the hype for his standout campaign out of the Low-A Hickory bullpen in 2018, but his teammate Barlow was nearly as effective with a power arsenal that also projects to impact the late innings. Featuring upper-90s velocity, Barlow — who pitched the ninth inning in the Petco Park nightcap, after Evans had worked the eighth — struck out 91 South Atlantic Leaguers in just 55 innings this season, and allowed a minuscule 22 base hits (three home runs). The 38 unintentional walks marred an otherwise brilliant line (.116/.274/.189); whenever opponents slug at a drastically lower clip than they reach base, one of two things is happening. With Barlow, it’s both: He’s been exceedingly difficult to hit off of with any authority, but he walks far too many batters. Still, that rate of four strikeouts for every base hit gives the Rangers plenty to dream on.
31. Pedro Gonzalez, OF (Trade with Colorado Rockies/2017)
Along with Michael Matuella, there might not have been a bigger letdown in the system than Gonzalez in 2018 — but perhaps less because of a dropoff in production than their inability to put together the breakout season that so many anticipated. Gonzalez played only briefly for Short-Season A Spokane late in 2017 after coming over from Colorado as the return for Jonathan Lucroy, but he had a tremendous Fall Instructional League for Texas (after posting a .906 OPS for Rookie-level Grand Junction before the trade) and expectations were high coming into 2018. Playing all year as Low-A Hickory’s primary center fielder, where he flashes every defensive tool, the 6’5 Dominican, who didn’t turn 21 until after the season, hit just .234/.296/.421, striking out 30 percent of the time and walking only a fourth as often. Gonzalez hit 12 home runs and stole nine bases (in 14 tries) over 371 plate appearances, and still has many in his corner among Rangers officials. But when 40-man roster decisions were due last week, Gonzalez (like Matuella) seemed like a fairly safe bet to be left unprotected, whereas eight months ago he was probably thought of as a strong bet to be rostered.
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30. Jake Latz, LHP (5th round/2017)
To get a sense of how strong scouts felt about Latz coming out of college, Texas felt it couldn’t wait any longer than the fifth round — and paid nearly $100,000 over slot — to make sure the lefthander entered the fold. Considering he pitched only 8.1 innings collegiately (logging those as a sophomore in 2016 for LSU after missing his freshman year with an elbow issue, and then sitting the 2017 college season out after transferring to Kent State), it was an eye-opening investment. The Rangers eased Latz into pro ball, allowing him just two Rookie-league appearances his draft summer. He was then assigned to Short-Season A Spokane out of extended spring training this season and made 13 starts for the Indians, allowing more than three earned runs just three times. In 71 innings of work, the 22-year-old allowed 63 hits (four home runs) and 24 walks (.232/.303/.339), fanning 67. A full-season assignment to Low-A Hickory would seem reasonable for Latz in 2019, and with it an opportunity to push past 100 innings and, as many expect, move himself a tier or two up this list a year from now.
29. Scott Heineman, OF (11th round/2015)
After a standout debut season with High-A High Desert in 2016 (.891 OPS — in the sometimes-deceiving California League, where offense piles up at Big 12 football rates), Heineman backed up a bit in 2017 with AA Frisco (.790 OPS). The Rangers sent him back to the RoughRiders coming out of camp this year, but his encore in the Texas League was short-lived. After the 25-year-old started the season by hitting .522/.613/.739 with more walks (7) than strikeouts (5) over a week, he was promoted to AAA Round Rock, where he provided power (12 homers), speed (18 stolen bases), and a .306/.370/.444 slash line as well as versatility on defense, making 49 appearances in center field, 48 in right field, and 15 in left field. He’s also been the Rangers’ most active winter-league player, logging 102 plate appearances in the Dominican Winter League, hitting .255/.313/.363 for Escogido. The right-handed hitter, an edgy and emotional player, was added last week to the 40-man roster, not long after Ryan Rua was removed. Heineman probably won’t make the Opening Day roster, but he’ll get the opportunity to continue his development with AAA Nashville and earn a shot at the role that Rua never could nail down.
28. Ariel Jurado, RHP (International free agent/2012)
In what was somewhat of a bounce-back season, what Jurado did in September was among the most unexpected developments of the big club’s finish. The Panama native’s plus sinker made him one of the organization’s most promising pitching prospects through four pro seasons (2013-2016), but he lost the feel for the pitch with AA Frisco in 2017, allowing base hits at a far greater rate than ever before. Never a strikeout pitcher to begin with, Jurado also saw his numbers dip in that column in 2017, and the shine was off a bit. But he jumped out to a good start in a second run at Texas League lineups this spring, posting a 2.57 ERA in six starts, and was summoned to make a spot start for the Rangers in mid-May (allowing four White Sox runs over 4.2 innings in place of Matt Moore) before returning to Frisco. Two months later, with the big-league focus turned to development, Jurado was back up to stay. After a strong effort in Houston and second effective game against Baltimore, he had a bad four-start run and fell into a bullpen role. But he was very good twice in the last week and a half of the season (both against Seattle), giving up two runs on eight hits and one walk in 11 innings. He’s not a frontline candidate to make the Opening Day rotation, but if he shows early in 2019 — likely with his first AAA assignment — that he’s rediscovered command of his sinking fastball, he could find himself squarely back on the map.
27. Tyreque Reed, 1B (8th round/2017)
Reed has made two dramatic jumps the past two years and proven he can do damage with the bat. As he’s reached the point at which he’s earning write-ups outside the organization, however, there’s been an increased focus on the couple things that need to get markedly better if the 21-year-old is going to contribute in the big leagues. He’s limited to first base defensively and there is ground to be gained. (I’ve seen him ask for extra work around the bag at Fall Instructs; there’s no self-awareness issue there.) And after his extraordinary rookie season in the Rookie-level Arizona League (.350/.455/.617), in which he struck out just once every 5.6 plate appearances, he fanned once every 3.8 trips in 2018 against Low-A pitching. His walk rate also dipped in half. Reed has tremendous raw power and is impressively short to the ball, and he did show an ability to make adjustments. He was hitting just .226/.284/.406 through June for Low-A Hickory (43 games) but then put up a .300/.387/.579 line (54 games) after that, and improved the strikeout rate somewhat (once every 4.5 plate appearances). Making further adjustments in the swing-and-miss and on the defensive side of the ball will be the priority for Reed in 2019, likely as High-A Down East’s starting first baseman, hitting somewhere in the middle third of the Wood Ducks’ lineup.
26. Mason Englert, RHP (4th round/2018)
A confession: I got to know Englert and his family shortly after the Rangers used their Round 4 pick on the Forney righthander this summer, and having been around a lot of young adults his age over the last year or two (my daughter graduated high school in 2018 as well), I was struck by his maturity and the sometimes-tricky combination of competitive fire and humility, not to mention the backstory that his family waited 20 years to share publicly. For those reasons I have Englert this low on my list, for fear that it would come across as cheerleading if I pegged him much higher. Then I saw that Baseball America, just last week, ranked Englert 10th in the Rangers system, despite the fact that he has yet to throw an official minor league pitch, having gone through the organization’s “de-load” program this summer along with a handful of other high school pitchers drafted this year. Standing 6’4 and projectable, Englert touched 96 this fall, a tick up from where he finished his high school career (which included a state-record 55.1 consecutive scoreless innings, breaking David Clyde’s 45-year-old mark). Texas will hold Englert back in extended spring training but could assign him to Short-Season A Spokane in June, skipping the Arizona League. He’s got a fan for life in me and perhaps, eventually, an apology for slotting him this low.
25. C.D. Pelham, LHP (33rd round/2015)
A year ago at Fall Instructs, a club official suggested that Pelham, who had just completed a year with Low-A Hickory, his first assignment with a full-season affiliate, could be a big-leaguer within the year. It seemed like a wildly optimistic prediction, given that the lefthander had preceded that 2017 season (3.18 ERA, 26 walks and 75 strikeouts in 62.1 innings) with two pro seasons in which he’d walked 56 in 56.1 frames and uncorked 17 wild pitches, but Pelham made it happen. Assigned to High-A Down East out of camp, he spent the first half with the Wood Ducks, holding the Carolina League to a .215/.309/.280 slash line, fanning 34 and walking 13 in 27.2 innings. He was asked to pitch at least an inning every time out, and occasionally as many as two. Promoted to AA Frisco late in June, his usage changed, with somewhat obvious intentions. There were mid-inning entrances, one-batter assignments, and back-to-back days on the mound mixed in. Texas League hitters were predictably tougher on the 23-year-old, hitting .270/.396/.405 (19 strikeouts and 13 walks in 19 innings), but the Rangers, knowing they’d be adding Pelham to the 40-man roster in November to shield him from the Rule 5 Draft anyway, brought him to Arlington in September for an audition. In 7.2 big league frames, he was hit hard (.353/.421/.529, seven strikeouts and four walks), and a brief Arizona Fall League stint went poorly (seven walks and no strikeouts in 4.0 frames, 10 runs on eight hits), but this is an athletic power lefty with three options left and a fastball that touches triple digits, paired with a slider that flashes plus. Chances are he’ll start 2019 on the farm, but it may not be for long.
EXIT VELO
- Previous installments: Prospects 37-48, 49-60, and 61-72.
- I was one off in my 40-man roster predictions last week, as the Rangers did elevate lefthander Taylor Hearn, righthanders Edinson Volquez and Wei-Chieh Huang, and outfielder Scott Heineman to the roster but did not protect righthander Emerson Martinez. They also added infielder Jack Reinheimer to the roster on a waiver claim from the Cubs.
- Two players that Texas sent to the Yankees for Carlos Beltran at the 2016 trade deadline were added to 40-man rosters last week as well — by other teams. Baltimore rostered righthander Dillon Tate (acquired from New York this summer in the Zach Britton deal), and Seattle did so with righthander Erik Swanson (acquired recently in the James Paxton trade).
- San Diego sold third baseman Christian Villanueva to Japan’s Yomiuri Giants. Villanueva was originally considered the frontline prospect sent from Texas to the Cubs in the 2012 Ryan Dempster trade, with Kyle Hendricks thought to be the secondary piece.
- We’re having a book release party for the 2019 Bound Edition on Tuesday, December 4, at Texas Live, which overlooks the construction of Globe Life Field. Jon Daniels and a number of Rangers players will join us for autographs and some Q&A, and we’re collecting toys and books for the Rangers Foundation’s toy drive. Admission is free. Here are some details.
Jamey is a lifelong Rangers fan who has been blogging for nearly 20 years at newbergreport.com and traces his fandom back to the days of Bump Wills, Bert Blyleven, and the powder blues.
(Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)