Remember when Jurickson Profar was the top prospect in all of baseball? It wasn't that long ago, back in 2012 and 2013. Then, he suffered injuries and missed the entire 2014 season and the entire 2015 season, even though he did get back in time to play some minor league games this August before the minor-league season ended.
Now, Profar is trying to work his way back by playing in the Arizona Fall League, reserved for prospects and guys who are usually a couple of years away from sniffing the big leagues. And so far, so very, very good.
Profar is homering, doubling, stealing bases, walking and anything else good you can think of. One thing he isn't doing is striking out.
In Profar's five games with the Arizona team, he has hit safely and driven in at least one run in each of them and has struck out just once while walking five times.
So what's the future hold for Profar? Do the Rangers try to trade Elvis Andrus (and cash) and plug Profar in at shortstop to form a middle infield of Profar and Rougned Odor that would take you to 2030, give or take a couple of years? It's appealing, but what's more likely is the Rangers look to re-establish some value for Profar this fall and next season in the minors, then move him to a willing suitor for a missing piece — possibly a starting pitcher or right-handed bat?
Just a thought, the Padres are being run by former Rangers exec A.J. Preller, who's plenty familiar with Profar and happens to have a big right-handed bat (Justin Upton) and a right-handed pitcher the Rangers heavily covet (Tyson Ross). Not saying Profar could land both, or even one, by himself, but if he can prove he can play at the same level he was before, he could go a long way toward it.
