Life On The Farm: Texas Rangers (# 1)

The top system coming into the year, is it still at the end of the year?

Graduated To Majors: Julio Borbon (OF, # 9), Greg Golson (OF, # 26), Craig Gentry (OF, UR), Elvis Andrus (SS, # 4), Joaquin Arias (SS, # 27), Taylor Teagarden (C, # 6), Max Ramirez (C, # 10), Neftali Feliz (SP, # 1), Tommy Hunter (SP, # 17), Guillermo Moscoso (SP, # 23), Doug Mathis (SP, UR), Warner Madrigal (RP, # 14), Pedro Strop (RP, UR), Derek Holland (SP, # 2)

The Rest Of The Top 10 (with quick commentary)
Hitters: BA-OBP-SLG, AB, HR-RBI, BB-K, SB-CS
Pitchers: G-GS, W-L, ERA, IP-H-HR-BB-K

3 - Justin Smoak: 1B
R: .667-.714-2.000, 6, 2-5, 1-1, 0-0
AA: .328-.449-.481, 183, 6-29, 39-35, 0-0
AAA: .244-.363-.360, 197, 4-23, 35-45, 0-0
Quick Take: Finally hit some struggles in AAA, but has a good shot at making his debut next season.

5 - Martin Perez: SP
Lo A: 22-14, 5-5, 2.31, 93.2-82-3-33-105
AA: 5-5, 1-3, 5.57, 21-29-2-5-14
Quick Take: Got a big late promotion to AA and looks like he should start next year at High A.

7 - Engel Beltre: OF
R: .300-.364-.600, 10, 0-0, 0-3, 2-0
Hi A: .227-.281-.317, 357, 3-23, 17-77, 17-7
AA: .071-.133-.143, 14, 0-1, 0-2, 1-0
Quick Take: Rough year for Beltre and looks to be a little further away then previously thought.

8 - Michael Main: SP
R: 2-2, 0-0, 0.00, 3-3-0-0-5
Hi A: 14-12, 4-6, 6.83, 58-72-9-37-49
Quick Take: Rough year for the once touted prep righty and will look to bounce back next season.

AAA: Oklahoma City RedHawks (PCL)
Breakout Hitter: Julio Borbon (# 9): .307-.367-.386, 407, 2-34, 33-40, 25-7
Disappointing Hitter: Jose Vallejo (# 18): .233-.282-.307, 309, 2-28, 22-73, 3-2
Breakout Pitcher: Warner Madrigal (# 14): 42-0, 2-2, 2.57, 49-42-5-11-48
Disappointing Pitcher: Josh Rupe (UL): 24-14, 5-7, 6.67, 89-115-5-41-62
Quick Take: Borbon made his major league debut and looks to try and take the leadoff hitter job for next season. Madrigal showed that he has the chance to be a strong middle reliever for the major league team. Vallejo's struggles got him included in the Pudge Rodriguez trade to Houston, where he will try to regain his prospect status. Rupe was supposed to be a solid option for Texas in the pen, but he struggled throughout the season.

AA: Frisco RoughRiders (TL)
Breakout Hitter: Mitch Moreland (UR): .326-.373-.488, 301, 8-59, 23-42, 1-1
Disappointing Hitter: Steve Murphy (UR): .200-.265-.384, 255, 10-41, 19-66, 3-2
Breakout Pitcher: Kasey Kiker (# 19): 25-23, 7-7, 3.86, 126-108-9-66-120
Disappointing Pitcher: John Bannister (# 30): 24-0, 3-3, 6.30, 30-29-4-14-22
Quick Take: Moreland saw his growth accelerate after he stopped focusing on both pitching and hitting and instead on just hitting. He just has a Texas sized detriment in front of him and the future 1st base job named Justin Smoak. Kiker, a former 1st round lefty, appears finally ready to capitalize on all his promise. Murphy struggles at AAA got him demoted to AA where he encountered even more struggles while Bannister struggles led him to ending up in the Royals system.

Hi A: Bakersfield Blaze (CL)
Breakout Hitter: Elio Sarmiento (UL): .344-.415-.475, 183, 2-25, 19-35, 3-2
Disappointing Hitter: Engel Beltre (# 7): Line above.
Breakout Pitcher: Zach Phillips (UR): 16-3, 2-3, 1.23, 44-19-1-11-46
Disappointing Pitcher: Tim Murphy (# 22): 27-26, 10-10, 6.80, 135-184-12-59-86
Quick Take: Sarmiento appears ready to take back the shine from his prospect star. Phillips, a former lefty starter, converted to the pen and showed a quick acceleration. Getting a midseason promotion to AA, he appeared in 20 games and had a 1.60 ERA with 19 walks against 29 strikeouts in 33 and 2/3 innings. Beltre showed he wasn't quite ready for the big time while Murphy took a huge step back.

Lo A: Hickory Crawdads (SAL)
Breakout Hitter: Mike Bianucci (UR): .331-.401-.600, 260, 15-49, 24-50, 8-5
Disappointing Hitter: Cristian Santana (UR): .224-.275-.458, 312, 18-56, 19-113, 2-2
Breakout Pitcher: Martin Perez (# 5): Line above.
Disappointing Pitcher: Joe Wieland (# 16): 19-18, 4-6, 5.31, 83-102-7-24-73
Quick Take: Bianucci, an 8th round pick in 2008, had a huge year in his full-season debut, but had some struggles in High A. However, in 458 minor league at bats split between the 2 levels, he put up 30 homers and 90 runs batted in with 458 at bats. Perez showed he is amongst the better left handed prospects in the game. Santana struggled in his full-season debut while Wieland experienced the same types of struggles.

TK's Early 2010 Top 10 Prospects:
1) Justin Smoak: 1B
One of the top hitting prospects in the minors.
2) Martin Perez: LHP
One of the better left handed prospects in the game.
3) Tanner Scheppers: RHP
One of the top arms available should move quickly through the system.
4) Danny Gutierrez: RHP
Starter acquired from Kansas City looks to regain his prospect status.
5) Wilmer Font: RHP
Made a strong full-season debut at Low A (29-24, 8-3, 3.49, 108.1-93-4-59-105)
6) Robbie Ross: LHP
Starter made his pro debut and threw well at SS. 15-15, 4-4, 2.66, 74.1-68-5-17-76
7) Kasey Kiker: LHP
Lefty may be able to make pro debut as soon as next season.
8) Blake Beavan: RHP
Prep righty got a promotion got a midseason promotion to AA.
9) Zach Phillips: LHP
Lefty may be able to make team out of spring training as a lefty reliever.
10) Mike Bianucci: OF
Anytime an outfielder hits 30 homers in his full-season debut, they tend to accelerate up.

Dropped From Top 10: Beltre (# 7), Main (# 8)

Final Overview: Once the hallmark system, this system graduated a ton to the majors and it shows with this latest Top 10 list. Still deep in pitchers, this list would look much better if they would have been able to sign left hander Tyler Purke, regarded as the 2nd best prep lefty behind Tyler Matzek. Need some of their raw hitters to come through, but this system is still fairly strong.