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Q:  jason from fort smith, ar asks:
what is justin smoak's eta in arlington? what kind of production do you think he will ultimately give? 

Jim Callis: Smoak may be ready in little more than a year, and I guess the Rangers will make room by putting him at first base and shifting Chris Davis to DH, unless they want to see if Davis can handle third base again. Davis was rough at the hot corner. Smoak will hit for average with big power and Gold Glove defense. A steal at No. 11, and I would have taken him over Yonder Alonso (who went No. 7), though I do like Alonso.

Q:  Bertram from Taiwan asks:
How disappointed were the A's to get stuck with Jemile Weeks after Smoak went one pick before them? 

Jim Callis: The A's drafted Smoak out of high school, and he would have been a tremendous value at No. 12. Not sure the A's would publicly say they would have taken Smoak over Weeks, but I'm thinking they would have. I do think they were determined to take a college up-the-middle athlete unless someone fell to them, and Weeks was the best available.

 Q:  Victor from San Diego asks:
Smoak over Alonso, would you have taken him over Hosmer too? 

Jim Callis: No, I would have taken Hosmer.

Q:  HoustonTeams4Me from Houston asks:
Who would you say has the most power out of the first round hitter's (Alvarez,Hosmer,Smoak, etc.)?

Jim Callis: I'd go with Pedro Alvarez.

Q:  Daniel from NYC asks: from NYC asks:
With the plate discipline that Yonder Alonso has shown will he be the best overall hitter ( Power/ average) to emerge from this draft class? 

John Manuel: He could be; I don' think he has the combination of hitting for average and power that Alvarez, Smoak and, say, Eric Hosmer have, but he walked twice as much as he struck out at Miami the last 2 years, and still managed to hit 20-plus bombs this season. He's short to the ball, keeps the bat through the zone a long time and has a nice, high finish. He's going to hit, I think the Q is how many home runs. .300-.400.-.550 seems like it's possible for him to achieve fairly consistently.

Q:  Bob from Boston from Boston asks:
Can you rate the best teams including the draft and international signings over the last 2 years? 

John Manuel: Gotta go lightning round: Texas stands out here, by quite a bit. San Francisco also has to be considered with Big V (I know that's 06), last year's draft, this year's and Rafael Rodriguez.

Q:  Mike from Chicago asks:
Do you see the Rangers Tim Murphy as a Starter or out of the Bullpen <

John Manuel: He's athletic enough to stay a starter; I'm a fan, could see him being similar to Zito with a bit less curve and more FB and command (due to the athleticism). He needs to long toss with Brandon Crawford to build his arm strength!

:  Ross from CA asks:
Can you give me 5 players who have 40 HR power from this years draft? Is Roger Kieschnick one of them? 

John Manuel: I think those days are over, Ross. Roger Kieschnick has 30 homer power if he makes consistent contact; he's a streaky guy, a rhythm hitter whose timing can be upset. But he's really strong and has big raw power, probably top 5-10 of the draft — after Hosmer, Smoak, Alvarez (you can shake up those three in a hat), plus Brett Lawrie, A. Dykstra, G. Beckham, Skipworth and B. Wallace. Ike Davis and David Cooper are in the discussion as well.

Q:  Matt from Cardiff, UK asks:
How would the top 10 prospects for the 08 draft look now based on what you know now?

John Manuel: Another interesting one; looking at our top 10 going into the draft, the only change would for me would be removing Scheppers because of his shoulder injury. I was surprised that Yonder Alonso went ahead of Justin Smoak, and even more surprised he got more money than Smoak. But to me, Smoak's the better prospect because of the switch-hitting. He's not Mark Teixeira — his hit tool is probably a 50, and Tex has been borne out to be a 60 or 65 hitter. But Smoak's power is bigger than Alonso's.

Q:  Gustavo Gonzalez from Caracas Venezuela asks:
How big was the Houston's mistake on Draft. Choose Jason Castro Above Justin Smoak? 

John Manuel: Maybe, but Castro's position is a pretty big factor in making the case to take him over Smoak. Houston's franchise player is Lance Berkman, a hometown here, that makes it hard to take a 1B.

Lots and Lots of fun stuff here...I liked the "Can you rate the best teams including the draft and international signings over the last 2 years? John Manuel:  Texas stands out here, by quite a bit."

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/draft/draft-dish/2008/267133.html

Interesting piece from the Biz of Baseball about salary structure and the teams that get the most out of the amount of money they spend. It is a welcome change from some of the constant complaining on how poorly Texas uses its payroll.

Full Article

It seems that there is a new world order in MLB these days. Some have contended, and it's looking more truthful by the day, that the drug testing policy has changed how GMs build there teams. Veteran free agents, that at one point were viewed as effective well past their prime, have been passed over in favor of developing talent internally.

With that change, young talent is in again. That bodes well for those clubs that have stunk up the standings in the past (that would be you, Tampa Bay) and are now parlaying good draft picks into the core of their teams. Low revenue-making clubs are also seeing the value of wrapping up this young talent by way of long-term contracts. Players such as Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitzki have signed contracts that will keep them with their respective teams through their arbitration eligibility years and early free agency.

As the numbers show, it is now possible for teams with low payrolls to have a successful regular- and post-season. As reported earlier this week, the challenge is for these teams once deemed to be nothing more than doormats of the league to contend over multiple seasons. That is the challenge of the low- to mid-revenue making clubs going forward.

The easiest to digest piece of this article is actually  the pdf chart showing all of the salary break downs by division and leagues.

Excellent read if you got the time from one of best sites regarding the business side of baseball operations.

BEST DRAFT

1. Rangers
2. Royals
3. Giants
4. Twins
5. Red Sox

BEST POWER HITTER
1. Pedro Alvarez, 3b, Pirates (1)
2. Justin Smoak, 1b, Rangers (1)
3. Eric Hosmer, 1b, Royals (1)
4. Gordon Beckham, ss, White Sox (1)
5. Brett Lawrie, c/inf, Brewers (1)

BEST PRO DEBUT
High School Players
1. Jaff Decker, of, Padres (1s)
2. Mike Montgomery, lhp, Royals (1s)
3. Aaron Hicks, of, Twins (1)
4. Joe Wieland, rhp, Rangers (4)
5. Jarek Cunningham, 3b/ss, Pirates (18)

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/draft/draft-dish/2008/267079.html

Just theRanger Relevant Stuff...Well look at that, Rangers draft is rated #1.  Nice to see Weiland getting the spotlight though.The Rangers complete draft report card comes out with the rest of the AL West on Oct 27th.

International Signing Wrapup Chat

Q: Joseph Wall from Fort Worth, TX asks:
What is your opinion of Escobar, the LHP the Rangers signed? I read that he can already touch 92 mph and has good feel for a curve and change. That velocity seems pretty impressive to me for a lefty his age. Thanks for the chat.
A:

Ben Badler: A good lefty, good bloodlines and reasonably priced. The body is a little more mature than most Latin Americans his age, and he's usually working more in the high-80s. That is good velo for a lefty his age, and he shows the ability to spin his breaking ball already, which is obviously a good sign at that age.

Q: Elliot from Youngstown OH asks:
Abner Abreu was the slugging star of the GCL this summer, leading the league in SLG, HR, 2B, TB. His younger brother was supposed to be better. Is he and has he signed?
A:

Ben Badler: Yes, his younger brother Esdras signed with the Rangers. They sound like similar players, including both the raw power and the strong questions that Abner will have to answer about his plate discipline.

Not a lot of  Ranger's stuff.... Like to hear that Escobar can spin a breaking ball at his age, though...

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/international-affairs/2008/267060.html

MLB.com is doing their  MLB team  minor league reviews with the Rangers being released today.

They cover the Rangers Players of the year with the preseason and current picks, and the some of the major movers in the minor league system. They also have a 2007 draft recap as well.

LINK

Interesting read that doesnt cover any where as much information you get here, but interesting to see the view of a relative outsider instead of  the our everday sources

Stats Inc. Baseball Index

                  All Ranks are just for AL only

Hamilton is 3rd in the AL with 9 SF, Kinsler tied for 10th with 7

Padilla, even with the missed time is tied for 3rd with 12 hit batters, and Rupe is tied for 6th with 10

Padilla is tied for 4th with 10 wild pitches

Padilla leads the AL in Balks with 3 (2 in 1 inning)

KInsler is 3rd in Fly/Pops Hit

Young is 9th in Grounders hit

Kinsler is tied fo 1st with being picked off 3 times

Brandon Boggs is7th, Vazquez 11th, in % of piches taken (Salty didnt make the pitches per game #)

Kinsler is 2nd in Runs/Times Reached Base

Kinsler is tied for 4th with 8 steals of 3rd.

Josh Hamilton is the 7th least likely guy to GIDP when its possible to GIDP, Boggs 10th, CD is tied for 20th

Kinlser is 1st with a .413 with runners in scoring position.

Bradley is 2nd in BA Late & Close, but  they don't really give a descriptor of that stat

Kinsler is 2nd in Leadoff OBA with a .377

Kinsler is tied for 3rd on extra bases taken as a  runner

David Murphy is 3rd with a .347 BA afte the 6th inning

Cat is6th in BA with 2 strikes at .261

MB is 4th (.480), Kinsler 6th (.459), and Hamilton 10th (.430), in BA of fist pitch in play

Hamilton is 2nd with 54, and Kinsler is tied fir 9th with 48, and MY tied for 18th with 45, in Multi hit games

Kevin Millwood is tied for 3rd with giving up 6 triples

Millwood is tied for 3rd with 24, Feldman tied for 6th with 20, of SB allowed

Feldman is tied for 7th (24), Padilla  13th (21) , and Rupe is tied for 14th with 20, in GIDP induced

Feldman and Rupe are tied for 3rd in GDPs Induced/GDP Situation

Padilla is 2nd with a Run Support per 9 IP of 6.25

CJ is 9th in Games finishes at 41

Krod is first with 63 save opportunities, the next closest in the AL is Nathan with 42

FX2 is 8th in First Batter Efficiency with a .140 Jack Benny is tied for 16th with a.179

FX2 is tied  for 3rd with 6 blown saves, Wight tied for 9th with 5, CJ fo 14th with 4...(Texas,LAA, and Seattle all have 3 on the list)

Wight is tied for 2nd with 6 Bullpen Wins

Wright is 3rd with 6 and FX2 tied for 4th with 5, in bullpen losses

Wright tied for 1st with 69 appearances

Rupe is tied for 1st (81) and Wright is 2nd (78.1) in relief innings

% CS off Catchers (with PCS) Laird  is 7th in AL, % CS off Catchers (no PCS, 3d in AL...What is PCS?

Boggs, Hamilton and Byd are all tied for 14th with 7 OF assists

Bradley 7th, Hamilton 13th in ISO Power

Hamilton tied for 1st (120), Kinsler 11th (105), MB tied for 12th (103), in Runs Created

MB 2nd, Hamilton 13th, in Secondary Average

Kinsler 3rd, Hamilton tied for 9th in Power/Speed Number

Unfortunately I cant reverse sort on this Database, so i cant find a lot of the pitching numbers I was looking for, including Inherited runner info, but this is a nice random sample of Ranger production this season.

Ohhh and just as an added bonus

                                Current Disabled List

I was going to Publish the complete injury history for the team, but it has 83 entries, and it was to depressing.

I figured it would be a good idea to make a single thread to dump all of the late minor league signings ...

So far it seems like the major stumbling blocks are with Alonso, Crowe, and Hosmer.

 Dykstra's hip might lead to problems aswell.

Looks like Melville and Posey has signed...

So out of the top 11, Alvarez, Hosmer, Matsuz,  Alonso, Crowe and Smoak are unsigned. Feilds, Dykstra and Cole, fill out the rest of the unsigned 1st rounders.

According to Will Carrol at BP

Well Milton and Everday Eddie lost a possible destination today

"The Yankees have reportedly acquired both Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates.
No word yet on the return, but Melky Cabrera is still in the game for the Bombers. The team's top prospect, Austin Jackson, might be involved for that kind of return"

Hopefully Horne doesnt get moved and can be acuired for Laird or Laird +

3 in the top 30

7. Elvis Andrus - SS Rangers - DOB: 08/26/88 - ETA: 2010
Previous rankings: 2006 #110, mid-2006 #96, 2007 #129, mid-2007 #109, 2008 #30

.291/.350/.346, 1 HR, 39 RBI, 62/24 K/BB, 37 SB in 309 AB (AA Frisco)

Andrus is more than merely holding his own lately. The Texas League's youngest player is hitting .327 in 119 at-bats since returning from a fractured finger last month. He's also swiped 10 bases in his last 10 games. Andrus is still figuring out exactly what he can do on a baseball field. He's on his way to becoming an above average defender at shortstop and his swing is starting to result in fewer grounders and more liners. He's never been one to be blown away by fastballs. With 12 homers in more than 1,400 professional at-bats and just 13 extra-base hits total this year, he still isn't showing any real power. However, that's perfectly acceptable at age 19. At worst, he figures to be good for 10-15 homers per year in the majors by the time he's in his mid-20s. The Rangers will have reason to move Michael Young back to second or to third in 2010.

20. Neftali Feliz - RHP Rangers - DOB: 05/02/88 - ETA: Aug. 2009
Previous rankings: none

6-3, 2.52 ERA, 55 H, 106/28 K/BB in 82 IP (A- Clinton)
2-0, 2.65 ERA, 11 H, 17/6 K/BB in 17 IP (AA Frisco)

It was well known that the Rangers landed a top-notch talent when they picked up Feliz as part of the Mark Teixeira deal, but no one could have predicted that he'd come this quickly. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Dominican was still in Rookie ball when the deal was struck, and he entered this year having thrown 71 1/3 innings in two seasons in the U.S. Now he's in Double-A after being promoted earlier this month. Feliz has a .193 average against this year, and he's surrendered only two homers in 99 innings. He overpowers hitters with a 94-98 mph fastball, and both his curveball and changeup have really come along since he first debuted. I pegged his ETA as 2011 in the Rangers' preseason top 10, but it now looks like there's a real chance of him contributing next year.

27. Taylor Teagarden - C Rangers - DOB: 12/21/83 - ETA: April 2009
Previous rankings: mid-2007 #135, 2008 #34

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/features/column.aspx?sport=MLB&columnid=2&articleid=30730&pg=1

Lets try and come up with some serious locations for some of the Rangers trade chips. The teams would require both need and prospects to get our trade chips.

Bradley-
Ariz (Byrnes out for the season and Upton going to the DL, would love Scherzer...)
Mets (Alou out for the season, Church has concusion issues, but iffy minor league system)
Stl (needs more to protect Pujols, would love Rasmus but....)
Tampa Bay ( would love to take ride in their minor leagues..., might not want Milton becasue of precived attitude)
Boston (Papi would have to be really hurt, which comsidering he just started taking BP...)
Min (just doesnt seems like thier type of move, better off working the left side of the IF)
NYY( Matsui needs another knee, and Hank can't wait)

THe NL teams are one that i ahve already seen discussions on both in print adn on message boards..

That leaves Millwood and Padilla, Laird/Salty/MadMax/Teagarden, Everyday Eddie, Cat, and Jamey Wright...

Add what other teams might be interested, and take a whirl at some of the other guys on the list...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/allstar08/news/story?id=3472772

In advance of the All-Star Game selections on Sunday, ESPN.com surveyed 32 of ESPN's top baseball minds to find out which players should be starting in the 79th Midsummer Classic on July 15 at Yankee Stadium. Following are the voting results and the choices at each position

Its not a surprise that Texas has 4 starters, the bigger surprise the margin with Kinsler 26 more than Perdoria, Young 10 more than Jeter, Bradley 22 more than Manny, and Hamilton getting 32 votes to lead the  OFers...