By Scott Lucas
I’ve selected Texas’s minor-league position players of the “month” covering May 10th through June 9th. Listed stats cover that period only. General requirements: minimum 70 plate appearances (except catchers) and limited to homegrown or traded-for prospects plus others who conceivably could help the Rangers this season.
1. Engel Beltre (20 years old, CF, High-A) – Beltre’s post-homer antics went viral two weeks ago. You should notice him for his .391/.402/.576 line. He appears to have abandoned the modestly improved patience displayed in April (just one walk in 98 plate appearances) but is making the strongest contact of his career.
2. Chris Davis (24, 1B/3B, AAA) – Davis batted .333/.416/.545 with an organization-high five homers. I still don’t see him back in Arlington any time soon. What role does he fill? Backup 1B/DH? Left-handed bench bat? Emergency 3B? None is in high demand. He’s better off playing every day in Oklahoma City and resuscitating his value (in trade).
3. Cristian Santana (21, LF, Low-A) – Santana batted .271/.340/.529 with four homers and a decent number of walks. As I’ve mentioned, every hit is vital to Santana, who is three-peating Low-A following two homer-happy but otherwise dismal seasons.
4. Matt Lawson (24, 2B/COF, AA) – Terrific contact, improved patience, decent power. Lawson (.319/.430/.447) continues to be the surprising leader of a Frisco offense that’s played better than I expected.
5. Brandon Boggs (27, CF, AAA) – Boggs (.276/.385/.469) will never hit for average and strikes out more than you’d like. He also can cover center field capably, draws a ton of walks (18 last month, most in the organization), and has some pop in his bat. I understand why Texas prefers Craig Gentry, but I’d like to see Boggs get another chance.
6. Joey Butler (24, RF, AA) – Throughout the season, Butler (.265/.333/.451) has been a slightly less productive version of Matt Lawson. Aside from Justin Smoak, Butler is the only batter from Texas’s 2008 draft to reach AA.
7. Jared Prince (24, RF, Low-A) – In terms of assessing prospect caliber, you can safely ignore the statistics of a 24-year-old hitter in Low-A. That said, Prince (.324/.425/.533) had the best month of anyone in the system. His 14 extra-base hits led the farm.
And some underachieving hitters:
Mike Bianucci (23, LF, High-A) – Bianucci batted .159/.216/.236 and struck out in 30% of his appearances. He’s been unlucky, batting an impossibly low .219 when he makes contact, but the power has also largely disappeared.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (23, C, AAA) – Saltalamacchia’s throwing problems in mid-May coincided with a severe decline at the plate. Salty was batting a stellar .367/.418/.583 in his first three weeks in OKC. He corrected his behind-the-plate issues relatively quickly but batted a meager .153/.219/.322 in the ensuing month. Three homers in 15 games are the sole positive.
Next, my selections for Texas’s minor league pitchers of the month. “FIP” stand for fielding-independent pitching. It estimates the pitcher’s ERA based on his rates of homers, walks, and strikeouts, and it assumes average-quality defense and an average number and distribution of hits allowed.
Rotation:
1a. Blake Beavan (21 years old, AA – 1.98 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 0.7% HR, 1% BB, 15% SO) – Beavan doesn’t generate a ton of movement on any of his pitches but has learned to spot them nearly perfectly. Beavan faced 136 batters last month. He permitted one homer and two walks. Though I don’t feel Texas is in a particular hurry to promote him to AAA, I do expect him to earn at least a handful of starts there.
1b. Robbie Erlin (19, Low-A – 2.00 ERA, 2.28 FIP, 0.0% HR, 7% BB, 27% SO) -- Erlin threw five perfect innings in his first start and allowed a total of six runs across his next four. He’s four innings short of qualifying for the Sally League leader boards. Otherwise, his 1.39 ERA for the season would lead the league.
3. Omar Beltre (28, AAA – 1.62 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 0.0% HR, 11% BB, 28% SO) – Beltre successfully transitioned to a starting role during the past month and worked up to 81 pitches in his last appearance. Side soreness kept him off the mound last week. Last night, he was listed as the Saturday starter, but he’s been held back again in favor of Geoff Geary.
4. Robbie Ross (20, Low-A – 1.13 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 0.0% HR, 5% BB, 16% SO) – Ross would rank higher if not for the worst start of his professional career ( 5.2 IP, 10 H, 7 R) on May 16th. Ross hasn’t accumulated many strikeouts, relying instead on a league-leading 65% groundball rate.
5. Wilmer Font (20, High-A – 2.77 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 1.8% HR, 14% BB, 25% SO) – The stats don’t include his final start for Low-A Hickory. The youngest pitcher in the California League struggled in his first appearance, after which he yielded only one earned run in three starts and tallied six more strikeouts than hits allowed.
Incidentally, OKC’s Michael Kirkman led the organization in walks (22) and strikeouts (33) last month.
Relievers:
1. Beau Jones (23, AA – 0.68 ERA, 1.11 FIP, 0.0% HR, 2% BB, 43% SO) – Jones was shipped to Bakersfield last June after several subpar Frisco appearances culminating in one exceptionally dreadful outing. In 52 innings since then, Jones has posted a 1.20 ERA, struck out 34% of his opponents, and held them to a .184 average.
2. Alexi Ogando (26, AAA – 3.46 ERA, 1.57 FIP, 0.0% HR, 9% BB, 36% SO) – He’s in the Majors. Two uncharacteristically wild outings inflated his ERA.
3. Pedro Strop (25, AAA – 0.00 ERA, 1.74 FIP, 0.0% HR, 7% BB, 35% SO) – Strop has looked much better during the season than when I saw him this spring. He’s pitched well enough to earn a couple of brief stints on the Texas roster, and he’s reentered the discussion of who might help the Rangers down the road.
And some underachieving pitchers:
Martin Perez (19, AA – 10.69 ERA, 6.36 FIP, 3.6% HR, 11% BB, 14% SO) – With the critical caveat that Perez is a 19-year-old in AA, he sure had a lousy month. Opponents reached at a .430 clip, and he averaged over 21 pitches per inning. Don’t worry.
Brennan Garr (26, AA – 7.50 ERA, 6.57 FIP, 5.1% HR, 5% BB, 12% SO) – The reliever posted the highest FIP in the system and allowing three homers in just 12 innings.
I’ve selected Texas’s minor-league position players of the “month” covering May 10th through June 9th. Listed stats cover that period only. General requirements: minimum 70 plate appearances (except catchers) and limited to homegrown or traded-for prospects plus others who conceivably could help the Rangers this season.
1. Engel Beltre (20 years old, CF, High-A) – Beltre’s post-homer antics went viral two weeks ago. You should notice him for his .391/.402/.576 line. He appears to have abandoned the modestly improved patience displayed in April (just one walk in 98 plate appearances) but is making the strongest contact of his career.
2. Chris Davis (24, 1B/3B, AAA) – Davis batted .333/.416/.545 with an organization-high five homers. I still don’t see him back in Arlington any time soon. What role does he fill? Backup 1B/DH? Left-handed bench bat? Emergency 3B? None is in high demand. He’s better off playing every day in Oklahoma City and resuscitating his value (in trade).
3. Cristian Santana (21, LF, Low-A) – Santana batted .271/.340/.529 with four homers and a decent number of walks. As I’ve mentioned, every hit is vital to Santana, who is three-peating Low-A following two homer-happy but otherwise dismal seasons.
4. Matt Lawson (24, 2B/COF, AA) – Terrific contact, improved patience, decent power. Lawson (.319/.430/.447) continues to be the surprising leader of a Frisco offense that’s played better than I expected.
5. Brandon Boggs (27, CF, AAA) – Boggs (.276/.385/.469) will never hit for average and strikes out more than you’d like. He also can cover center field capably, draws a ton of walks (18 last month, most in the organization), and has some pop in his bat. I understand why Texas prefers Craig Gentry, but I’d like to see Boggs get another chance.
6. Joey Butler (24, RF, AA) – Throughout the season, Butler (.265/.333/.451) has been a slightly less productive version of Matt Lawson. Aside from Justin Smoak, Butler is the only batter from Texas’s 2008 draft to reach AA.
7. Jared Prince (24, RF, Low-A) – In terms of assessing prospect caliber, you can safely ignore the statistics of a 24-year-old hitter in Low-A. That said, Prince (.324/.425/.533) had the best month of anyone in the system. His 14 extra-base hits led the farm.
And some underachieving hitters:
Mike Bianucci (23, LF, High-A) – Bianucci batted .159/.216/.236 and struck out in 30% of his appearances. He’s been unlucky, batting an impossibly low .219 when he makes contact, but the power has also largely disappeared.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (23, C, AAA) – Saltalamacchia’s throwing problems in mid-May coincided with a severe decline at the plate. Salty was batting a stellar .367/.418/.583 in his first three weeks in OKC. He corrected his behind-the-plate issues relatively quickly but batted a meager .153/.219/.322 in the ensuing month. Three homers in 15 games are the sole positive.
Next, my selections for Texas’s minor league pitchers of the month. “FIP” stand for fielding-independent pitching. It estimates the pitcher’s ERA based on his rates of homers, walks, and strikeouts, and it assumes average-quality defense and an average number and distribution of hits allowed.
Rotation:
1a. Blake Beavan (21 years old, AA – 1.98 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 0.7% HR, 1% BB, 15% SO) – Beavan doesn’t generate a ton of movement on any of his pitches but has learned to spot them nearly perfectly. Beavan faced 136 batters last month. He permitted one homer and two walks. Though I don’t feel Texas is in a particular hurry to promote him to AAA, I do expect him to earn at least a handful of starts there.
1b. Robbie Erlin (19, Low-A – 2.00 ERA, 2.28 FIP, 0.0% HR, 7% BB, 27% SO) -- Erlin threw five perfect innings in his first start and allowed a total of six runs across his next four. He’s four innings short of qualifying for the Sally League leader boards. Otherwise, his 1.39 ERA for the season would lead the league.
3. Omar Beltre (28, AAA – 1.62 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 0.0% HR, 11% BB, 28% SO) – Beltre successfully transitioned to a starting role during the past month and worked up to 81 pitches in his last appearance. Side soreness kept him off the mound last week. Last night, he was listed as the Saturday starter, but he’s been held back again in favor of Geoff Geary.
4. Robbie Ross (20, Low-A – 1.13 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 0.0% HR, 5% BB, 16% SO) – Ross would rank higher if not for the worst start of his professional career ( 5.2 IP, 10 H, 7 R) on May 16th. Ross hasn’t accumulated many strikeouts, relying instead on a league-leading 65% groundball rate.
5. Wilmer Font (20, High-A – 2.77 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 1.8% HR, 14% BB, 25% SO) – The stats don’t include his final start for Low-A Hickory. The youngest pitcher in the California League struggled in his first appearance, after which he yielded only one earned run in three starts and tallied six more strikeouts than hits allowed.
Incidentally, OKC’s Michael Kirkman led the organization in walks (22) and strikeouts (33) last month.
Relievers:
1. Beau Jones (23, AA – 0.68 ERA, 1.11 FIP, 0.0% HR, 2% BB, 43% SO) – Jones was shipped to Bakersfield last June after several subpar Frisco appearances culminating in one exceptionally dreadful outing. In 52 innings since then, Jones has posted a 1.20 ERA, struck out 34% of his opponents, and held them to a .184 average.
2. Alexi Ogando (26, AAA – 3.46 ERA, 1.57 FIP, 0.0% HR, 9% BB, 36% SO) – He’s in the Majors. Two uncharacteristically wild outings inflated his ERA.
3. Pedro Strop (25, AAA – 0.00 ERA, 1.74 FIP, 0.0% HR, 7% BB, 35% SO) – Strop has looked much better during the season than when I saw him this spring. He’s pitched well enough to earn a couple of brief stints on the Texas roster, and he’s reentered the discussion of who might help the Rangers down the road.
And some underachieving pitchers:
Martin Perez (19, AA – 10.69 ERA, 6.36 FIP, 3.6% HR, 11% BB, 14% SO) – With the critical caveat that Perez is a 19-year-old in AA, he sure had a lousy month. Opponents reached at a .430 clip, and he averaged over 21 pitches per inning. Don’t worry.
Brennan Garr (26, AA – 7.50 ERA, 6.57 FIP, 5.1% HR, 5% BB, 12% SO) – The reliever posted the highest FIP in the system and allowing three homers in just 12 innings.
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