It's rare that a team has a great minor league system after trading away several big prospects, seeing others hit the big leagues at young ages and is one of the top teams in baseball at the big-league level. But that's exactly the position the Texas Rangers seem to be in after Baseball Prospectus released their top prospects list.
BP's Jason Parks has seven Rangers listed in his top 101 prospects, highlighted by middle infield prospect Rougned Odor and catcher Jorge Alfaro, who is seen as the Rangers' catcher of the future and was pretty much the reason the Rangers brought in Pudge Rodriguez to serve as a catching instructor.
The list doesn't end there, as it includes starter Chi-Chi Gonzalez, shortstop Luis Sardinas, recent acquisition Michael Choice, raw talent Nick Williams and slugging third baseman Joey Gallo. As Rangers blogger Jamey Newberg pointed out, the Rangers' seven in the top 101 is seven more than the Los Angeles Angels and nearly as many as the rest of the AL West combined. Houston, Oakland and Seattle combined to land nine guys on the list.
Let that sink in a bit.
The Rangers have seen Jurickson Profar, Leonys Martin and Martin Perez ascend to the big-league level and have traded guys like C.J. Edwards and Mike Olt, yet, they're still right up there with the best farm systems in baseball. It's pretty remarkable.
You never win anything with "best farm system" awards. Look at the Houston Astros, who are said to have the best farm in baseball. That's where the Rangers used to be, and since they've gotten good, you wouldn't expect them to still be there. But they are, and that's a major feather in the cap of the Rangers' front office.
