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The Baseball America Eastern League top 20 prospect list is out, and even though the Texas Rangers don’t have an affiliate in the AA Eastern League, they still had a prospect crack the list. Taylor Hearn, the lefthanded pitcher who came over to the Rangers in the trade that sent Keone Kela to Pittsburgh, checks in at #19 on the BA list.
Hearn gets praise for his mid- to upper-90s fastball, with BA saying his breaking ball and change could end up as above-average pitches as well. Hearn put up a 3.12 ERA in 104 IP over 19 starts for Altoona, the Pirates’ Eastern League affiliate, with 107 Ks against 38 walks before being sent to Texas.
The Eastern League had quite a collection of talent, with Vlad Guerrero, Jr., checking in at #1, and Brendan Rogers, Daz Cameron, Mitch Kellar and Triston McKenzie being some other prominent names who made the list. Hearn making the cut is a nice bit of recognition for a guy who could be making starts in Arlington in 2019.