BP top 101 prospect list has 3 Texas Rangers

The 2020 Baseball Prospectus top 101 prospect list is out, and the Texas Rangers have three players who made the cut.

In what may be something of a surprise, the top ranked Ranger on the list is center fielder Leody Taveras, who didn’t crack the Baseball America or MLB Pipeline top 100 lists. In what may be even more surprising, Leody is in the top half of the list — he is at #37, ahead of guys like Alec Bohm and Drew Waters. Leody is something of a polarizing prospect, of course, with his center field defense being viewed as among the best in the minor leagues, but his failure to tap into his raw power at the plate leading to questions as to whether he will ever hit in the majors. BP either believes in the bat, or thinks other folks are underrating the impact his defense can have.

The next Ranger on the list is Josh Jung, the third baseman who was the #8 overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft. Jung made the other two top 100 lists, and seems to be consistently viewed as one of the top two or three prospects in the Rangers system. He’s slotted at #70, between Taylor Trammell (and two slots behind Hunter Bishop, his fellow 2019 college first rounder) and Shane McClanahan.

Finally, Nick Solak also makes an appearance, at #74. Solak, like Taveras, didn’t make the BA or MLB Pipeline top 100 lists, but he’s also sort of a mirror-image of Taveras, in that there seems to be little doubt he’s a major league caliber hitter, but there are questions about whether his glove will play anywhere in the field.