The Texas Rangers went a few years where their farm system wasn't that great anymore. That followed a period in the late 2000s when they were widely regarded as the best farm system in baseball, especially after the famed Mark Teixeira trade to Atlanta.
Now, the Rangers' farm system is starting to creep back up in those circles. Fangraphs released its list of the top 200 prospects in baseball, and the Rangers landed 10 players on the list. That was second to only Atlanta and the Chicago Cubs, who each placed 11 on the list.
You know the names by this point. Joey Gallo fronted the list, checking in at No. 16. He was followed by starting pitchings Alex "Chi-Chi" Gonzalez (No. 27) and Jake Thompson (No. 29). After those guys, there is power-hitting outfielder Nomar Mazara (No. 46) and catcher Jorge Alfaro (No. 53).
There is quite a drop after those guys, but that's not the end of the Rangers representation. At No. 117 is last year's No. 1 pick in high school pitcher Luis Ortiz, who has been rising rapidly through the Rangers' system, and he's followed by Travis Demeritte (No. 127), Lewis Brinson (No. 131), Luke Jackson (No. 135), and Nick Williams (No. 136).
As you can see, the Rangers are stocking up again, which is good in many ways, including up-and-coming talent as well as the ability to make some big trades with big pieces of bait. That first group of five, in particular, are promising because they're already all in Frisco and will probably soon be in either Triple-A or in the bigs.
