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Baseball America Northwest League top 20 prospects includes three Texas Rangers

Hans Crouse was the best pitcher in the PNW

By ghostofErikThompson
Seattle Mariners v Texas Rangers Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

The Baseball American top 20 prospect list for the Northwest League is out, and three Texas Rangers prospects made the list.

My favorite prospect Hans Crouse took the league by storm over the summer and landed at No. 2 overall on BA’s list slotting right behind the second overall pick in this summer’s draft, C Joey Bart for the Giants.

Making his much-hyped affiliate debut for the Spokane Indians, the Rangers’ second round selection in the 2017 draft went 5-1 with a 2.37 ERA and 47 Ks to just 11 BBs before earning a promotion to low-A Hickory after eight starts. Needless to say, the Indians Twitter account took a shine to the vivacious Crouse.

Also making the list was Cuban export Julio Pablo Martinez at No. 6. The consolation prize for missing out on Shohei Ohtani joined Spokane after spending a few weeks in the Dominican League while getting the all clear to work in the US. After coming to America, Martinez slashed .252/.351/.436 in 60 games for the Indians. Martinez’s biggest plus appears to be his defense in center field while his bat needs refinement.

A second Cuban rounds out the Rangers on the list as Diosbel Arias came in at No. 9. One of the breakout prospects on the farm this summer, the Northwest League batting champ Arias still quietly batted .366/.451/.491 in 61 games for a Spokane team that made it to the league’s championship series. Arias is listed as the third baseman and played there until Sherten Apostel joined the team in a trade from Pittsburgh. Arias played all over the infield, however, with 11 games each at both second base and shortstop in 2018.

Of note, league MVP Curtis Terry did not make the list despite his 1.040 OPS and league-high 15 home runs in 67 games. The 22 year old Terry repeated the level and the big first baseman isn’t considered to be a big league prospect going forward, if the BA chat about the list is to be believed. Also mentioned in the chat were the considerations of the freshly acquired Apostel and RP Emmanuel Clase.