that high before this season, but right now he’s dropped a bit for me. His plate discipline has gone nowhere. I said in April that from him and Andrus (two position guys very young for their leagues) I didn’t expect stellar numbers but improvement over the course of the season. Andrus has done it, Beltre has to a lesser degree but without the OBP. I’d put Beavan and Kiker ahead of him now.

2009 is a very, very important year for Santana, you said that right.

Any chance you’ll compare the Rangers’ top 20 with some of the other better systems at some point in this series? I’d like to see comps with the AL West teams and maybe some other systems flush with talent like Tampa.

Do you have him ranked so low because you think his ascent this year is a statistical oddity or so you just think those in front of him are that much better? I think there is a definite chance that Vallejo is included in a deal this summer for a younger frontline SP (Volstad maybe?).

Will the rankings take into account who is hot? It seems to me that the rankings will stabilize at a certain point, and a “Power Ranking” approach would be a good fit. That way, if someone like Santana has a week or two where he is on an absolute tear, he could surpass someone like Font, who is doing little to nothing at the moment.

Either way, great feature. I’ll be keeping an eye on it.

Looks like the new pitching philosophy is working throughout the minors…

I think he is going to be a dominant hitter. That’s all.

Hurley hasn’t thrown 50 innings in the bigs, and I’m not sure he’s going to get the 25 innings he needs to top that number by the end of this season. He’s still a top 5 guy.

Holland is finishing well, but I think #2 is a bit high, even if this list is meant to have a dash of BA’s Hot Sheet in it. I’d say Hurley’s secondary stuff rates him above Holland.

I think the top group is Feliz.
The next group is Max and Hurley followed closely by a group that includes Smoak, Holland, Andrus, T2, Main. After that, there’s a glut of guys with various combinations of high upside or nearness to the majors that pretty much aligns with Jamey’s 8-19.

Max and Smoak both appear to have the talent to hit in the middle of the lineup, but Max is much further along in his development. A little less upside but closer to the bigs gets Max a higher ranking than Smoak in my book.

Main gets thrown into the last group because he has performed well but also because I’m biased toward athletic pitchers, who I believe (though can’t confirm with numbers) are more able to make physical adjustments and avoid over exertion. Kiker is another athletic pitcher, but I’ll give the edge to Main who has a few inches of height on Kiker.

Not too excited about Robbie Ross at 20 rather than someone like Kennil Gomez, Castillo, Pimentel, or maybe even O’Campo.

Anyone heard whether he’ll pitch again this year? I definitely got the vibe they’re trying to avoid fatigue with him, and it wasn’t necessarily a more acute injury…

pitchers in the top twenty, five in the top ten, three in the top five. Have the Rangers ever had this much top end talent pitching in the minors? How would you rate the top three now compared to Diamond, Volquez, and Danks at similar points in their careers?

I’d be interested to hear what seperates these two. I guess Main has more velocity now, but Beavan appears to have better command and is flourishing at a higher level.

that if you took anyone in the top 12, they could be #1 in some organizations. i.e. if Brobon were in the Nats system

Or if Scott Lucas or Mike Hindman is checking in, I was hoping you could give your thoughts on some questions (Obviously, since you don’t have to answer, you also don’t have to answer all of them):

1) Do you see the Rangers giving up on Michael Schlact or Zachary Phillips as starting pitchers?

2) Is Chad Tracy emerging as a legitimate prospect, and can he play a decent catcher?

3) Is Mitch Moreland on your radar screen? Ian Gac? Renny Osuna?

4) Do you see Kennil Gomez moving up next year? Do you know why he hasn’t pitched in over a month?

5) A case of the “Mehs” (mild depression that is alleviated by thinking about the rest of the Rangers’ prospects) seems to have settled in regarding John Whittleman. What’s your take? Can he bounce back?

6) Could the market for catchers ever develop so that the Rangers would trade away enough of them to leave Manuel Pina the starter and Ranger fans happy?

7) Who do you see as the potential starting third baseman for the Rangers next year and what do you think the odds are of each?

8) Ben Harrison, major leaguer in 2009? If yes, with Rangers or somebody else?