Baseball America's Texas Rangers top 10 prospects

Baseball America has their list of the top 10 prospects in the Texas Rangers system out, and there are a couple of notable surprises.

The full top 10:

1. Joey Gallo

2.  Jake Thompson

3. Jorge Alfaro

4. Nomar Mazara

5. Nick Williams

6. Alex Gonzalez

7. Luis Sardinas

8. Ryan Rua

9. Luis Ortiz

10. Josh Morgan

The thing that jumps out at me, first and foremost, is Jake Thompson being slotted in at #2, ahead of Jorge Alfaro.  I think the assumption has been that Gallo and Alfaro were slam dunks at 1-2, and then there would be a clutch of players in some order behind them, which included Thompson.  Thompson jumping ahead of Alfaro is unexpected.

Ryan Rua and Josh Morgan are also both higher than you would have expected...Rua had a breakout 2013 campaign and a solid 2014 season, but he seems like someone who would end up in the 11-15 range.  Morgan, meanwhile, was the Rangers' 3rd round pick in the 2014 draft.  He's gotten good reviews for his hit tool, although he showed zero power in short season ball.

The most notable omissions from this list are Luke Jackson, who had rough go in AAA after his promotion late in the season; Lewis Brinson, who was terrific while healthy in Hickory, then struggled after being promoted to high-A; Corey Knebel, the reliever who came over, along with Thompson, from Detroit in the Joakim Soria trade; and Travis Demeritte, the Rangers' supplemental first rounder from 2013, who mashed a lot of homers in low-A this year.