With the whole "the 40 trumps all" (my apologies to all parties offended by the less refined “The 40 Man Rules All") that occasionally pops up on the board, I thought that it might be interesting to (try to) open up a discussion about players that the Rangers will have to decide about adding to the 40-Man Roster or risk being taken in the Rule 5 Draft. Here’s what I’ve got, but if you know more significant names, I’d like to hear them:

Eric Hurley (1-3, 6.54 ERA, 9 HR’s allowed in 42.2 innings in Oklahoma City). Despite this season’s numbers, the only realistic way that Hurley isn’t added is if he’s with another organization in December. On the positive side, he’s thrown 50 strikeouts.

Michael Schlact (1-3, 4.73 ERA for Frisco). One of the younger starting pitchers in the Texas League at 22 (turns 23 on December 9th).

John Mayberry Jr. (.268/.322/.512 in 82 Frisco at-bats and .313/.343/.609 in 64 Oklahoma City at-bats). The power is undoubtedly there, it’s the ability to get on base, and, related to that, the ability to avoid striking out that is the question. At 24 (turns 25 on December 21st), this year will likely provide quite a bit of evidence about what type of major leaguer the two-time first round pick (Seattle - 2002, Texas - 2005) can (will?) be.

Taylor Teagarden (.169/.279/.305 in 59 Frisco at-bats and .289/.449/.368 in 38 Oklahoma City at-bats). Despite being born the same day as Mayberry, since he’s supposedly a top-tier defensive catcher in the making, in my book he gets a little more leeway with the age. But also like Mayberry, strikeouts are a major concern as Teagarden has done that 34 times between the Texas and Pacific Coast Leagues.

Ben Harrison (.354/.444/.659 in 82 Frisco at-bats). Had the Rangers needed to protect Harrison or risk losing him in 2006, they might have done it. But his injury-marred 2007 made it unnecessary to add him last December, when he was finally eligible. The Rule 5 Draft mandates that a team must keep a player on the major league roster for an entire year (unless an arrangement is made to the contrary), so if a team thinks the 26 year old Harrison (turns 27 on Septmeber 18) can be a major leaguer, they might believe that the right time to determine that is in 2009.

Jose Vallejo (.281/.339/.431 in 167 Bakersfield at-bats). The 21 year old Vallejo (turns 22 on September 11th) started fast, but has since returned to ear. He does have 5 HR’s this year (compared to the 4 he’d hit in 1,212 professional at-bats before this year), so I’ll let it slide that he’s let his stolen base success rate "plummet" from 94% (47 for 50 at Clinton) in 2007 to 87.5% (16 for 18) while at Bakersfield this year.

Steve Murphy (.316/.352/.526 in 152 Frisco at-bats). Murphy, 24, was asked to repeat a year in the Texas League after hitting an uninspiring .277/.319/.424 for the RoughRiders in 2007.

Emerson Frostad (.276/.341/.480 in 123 Frisco at-bats). With so many batters producing excellent lines for the RoughRiders, 25 year old Frostad has quietly produced a solid line while repeating a year in the Texas League.

Kea Kometani (3-2, 4.76 ERA in 17 Oklahoma City inning). In last year’s Arizona Fall League, he had a 1.80 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and recorded 17 strikeouts in 10 innings. Hasn’t really built on that in the Pacific Coast League, where he’s given up 17 hits, 11 walks and 3 HR’s. On the plus side, he’s average a strikeout per inning.

Ian Gac (.357/.471/.762 in 126 Clinton at-bats). A bit of a stretch because he (A) is spending his fourth straight here with significant time in the Midwest League, and (B) can’t play anywhere on the field besides first base (let’s never mention his 5 games at third base in 2005). But the numbers are big, and if he hits like that for Bakersfield or Frisco in the second half of the year, and possibly continues in a Winter or Fall League…

Karl Christopher ("K.C.") Herren (.240/.357/.271 in 96 Bakersfield at-bats). Almost no chance here.

Mauro Gomez (.252/.294/.341 in 135 Bakersfield at-bats). Gomez started showing power (21 HR’s in 497 at-bats) for Clinton in 2007. Haven’t seen that from him in the California League.

If you were expecting to see Zach Phillips, I was recently informed that because he signed so late after the 2004 draft, he won’t be eligible for the 2008 Rule 5 Draft. The one name that I’m interested in and not sure about is Manuel Pina. He started playing in the Rangers’ organization the same year a Vallejo, but I’m not sure about the date he signed and if it matters. The Rangers will also have to make some decisions about Drew Meyer, Robinson Tejeda, Nate Gold, Bill White, Elizardo Ramirez, and John Bannister, but I don’t know all the details. If you’ve got some information, please share.