2009 Power Rankings #24

I've decided to remove the "early" part of the Power Rankings title because at the rate I'm going this won't be done "early" afterall.

Now, back to the TBG 2009 Power Rankings...

( #'s 25-30 can be found in the archive)

Note: I will have a "final" pre-season set of power rankings ready on Opening Day (along with all of my other predictions), so this is not my "final word" on how things will shake out.

24. Texas Rangers

As usual, the Rangers have a pretty good looking everyday lineup and a questionable pitching staff. They've got some kids coming along here in the next year or two that could balance out the pitching end of the spectrum, but that's not likely going to help much in 2009.

As I said with the Orioles, however, this is an organization that appears to be in the beginning stages of righting the ship. They have some incredible, high-end offensive talent, a farm system that is improving and some bad pitching contracts that are getting closer to their expiration dates.

2009 could be a "stepping stone" year for this franchise and I'm very curious to see how some of their "situations" shake out.

LINEUP

According to the team's official website, here are the Rangers' projected starters:

C. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
1B. Chris Davis
2B. Ian Kinsler
3B. Michael Young
SS. Elvis Andrus
LF. David Murphy
CF. Josh Hamilton
RF. Nelson Cruz
DH. Hank Blalock

That is a lineup with a lot of offensive ability. If everyone's healthy this could be one of the five highest scoring teams in baseball, especially when you consider where they play their home games.

Saltalamacchia is listed as the starter behind the dish but with Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez also in the mix you just never know. I think Salty has the highest overall upside of the three players but that's just me. Tegarden is better defender than Salty, but I like Salty's offense better. Ramirez may be a better pure hitter than Salty, but I like Salty's defense better. In short, Saltalamacchia is the best all-around catcher they have. I also think he's going to have a breakout season if they just stick with him from Opening Day through the end of the season. Teagarden and Ramirez would both make for good trade bait.

Davis is a masher at 1B and looks like a guy who will hit a lot of home runs for a long, long time. I'm a fan. Kinsler may be the game's best all-around 2B. He does it all and gives this team a distinct edge over others because of the offense they get from a position that doesn't always deliver production. Young accepting the move over to 3B was huge because it makes them better defensively. He's not a bad SS, it's just that Andrus is better at SS than Young and Young is more gifted defensively than Blalock or Davis. Plus, Young's a good bat. Andrus is the question mark in the infield but I think he'll be fine if they stick with him. His glove is a plus, he's got good speed and is a stolen base threat, plus I think he can develop some pop. Andrus looks like a future All-Star to me.

Hamilton is the best all-around player on the team and one of the 5-10 best all-around players in the game. I expect Hamilton to be an MVP candidate year-in and year-out moving forward, barring injury of course. He's a flat out stud. Murphy is a nice player in LF but I don't see a lot of upside there. He does a lot of things well, though, and is a very useful player. Cruz has all kinds of offensive potential but this is a make-or-break season for him. After mashing in Triple-A last year he carried that production to the Major League level at the end of the season. If he hits, he plays. If not, see ya later Nelson.

Marlon Byrd gives the Rangers and excellent 4th OF option. He can play all over the outfield, he's got a little pop and he runs well. The sleeper in the mix is Andruw Jones, invited to camp on a minor league deal. If he hits at all during Spring Training the Rangers will have to make room for him somehow. Jones picked the right spot to rejuvenate his offensive career - no place is more hitter friendly these days than Arlington. If Andruw has an impressive spring, I'd bet on him taking over in CF with Hamilton sliding over to RF and Murphy/Cruz forming a LF platoon. I wouldn't bet the house on Jones, though. His problems have all been in his head and that's something that's tough to break out of.

Frank Catalanotto, Joaquin Arias, German Duran and Brandon Boggs are around as well. The one that is most interesting is Arias, who could wind up at SS if Andrus struggles.

Most of the Rangers' best offensive prospects were covered above and none of the rest figure to have any impact in the Majors this season. 1B Justin Smoak is a big-time hitter but he was just drafted in '08. OF Julio Borbon is a speed demon but I don't see how he fits in any way this season. OF Engel Beltre is 2-3 years off but he's a 5-tool talent who could be a star eventually.

PITCHERS

1. Kevin Millwood
2. Vicente Padilla
3. Scott Feldman
4. Matt Harrison
5. Brandon McCarthy

This is where things start to turn the wrong way.

I think Millwood would be a decent 4th or 5th starter on a National League team but he's not lasting as deep into games as he used to and doesn't miss enough bats either. Padilla isn't awful but he's also more of a 4th/5th starter on a decent team because he's too erratic. He also happens to be vastly overpaid. To me, Feldman is just not a Major League starting pitcher. His strikeout to walk ratio stunk last season, he gives up too many hits and would be better off working out of the bullpen. Harrison has some ability and is probably capable of being a decent 4th/5th starter this season but he doesn't project as a top of the rotation starter. McCarthy intrigues me. He only made 5 starts for the Rangers last season but if he's healthy he could be another decent 3-4-5 starter. Not a high-end guy, though.

Jason Jennings (if healthy), Dustin Nippert and Kason Gabbard could also factor into the mix. I've always liked Nippert as a potential 3-4-5 starter and I think the team would be better off with him in the rotation and Feldman in the bullpen. Jennings has done some nice things in the past while pitching for the Rockies but his ability to stay healthy is a major question mark. If he is able to pitch, I suspect we'll see quite a bit of Jennings in the big leagues in '09.

CL. Frankie Francisco

Francisco was the Rangers' best reliever last season and it's interesting to see him listed ahead of last year's closer C.J. Wilson. I don't trust Francisco all that much, but he is tough to hit against and he strikes a lot of people out. While Wilson did convert 24 of 28 save chances last season, he also showed me that he's not a Major League closer. He allows to many hits and too many walks to be handling the 9th inning. If a 6.02 ERA doesn't tell the story I don't know what does. The fact that his ERA was 2 runs lower (4.50 compared to 6.55 vs. right handers) tells us something - he's a setup man.

Eddie Guardado joins those two and he's probably the best fallback option to close if Francisco struggles. Nobody else in the pen gets me very excited to be honest. Josh Rupe, Luis Mendoza, Warner Madrigal and Derrick Turnbow are talented pitchers but I don't trust any of them.

As far as pitching prospects go, that's where the Rangers really have some horses. Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz are both potential #1 starters. Holland is a lefty that can reach the upper 90's with his fastball, Feliz is a righty than can do the same. I think it's a safe bet that we'll see both in a Rangers uniform sometime in '09 and possibly for good come '10. Martin Perez, Michael Main and Blake Beavan should be watched as well.

OVERVIEW

The Rangers lack of front-end starting pitchers and the lack of many proven commodities in the bullpen are the factors holding this team back. Their everyday lineup is good enough to be a contender but they need kids like Feliz and Holland to emerge, plus they need someone to establish themselves as a closer.

Team President Nolan Ryan seems to have things headed in the right direction. Right now they just have to hope that the pitching prospects are as good as advertised. If so, the Rangers could contend in the West in 2010.

KW