When it comes to farm systems and prospects in baseball, there aren't many guys more knowledgeable than ESPN's Keith Law.
Law recently ranked the Rangers as having the No. 9 system in all of baseball despite selling off several of their top prospects in the Cole Hamels deal last summer, and now he's ranked the Rangers' top 10 prospects.
Law's rankings require an ESPN Insider account to see, but if you don't have one, we'll give you a brief rundown. Five of the Rangers' top 10 prospects are also in Law's Top 100 in all of baseball list — quite impressive given the guys they sold off last summer like Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro and Jake Thompson.
Below are Law's rankings of the Rangers' top 10, and the number in parentheses is their ranking in the top 100 list, where applicable:
1. Nomar Mazara, OF (9); 2. Joey Gallo, 3B/OF (12); 3. Lewis Brinson, CF (32); 4. Dillon Tate, RHP (50); 5. Luis Ortiz, RHP (79); 6. Jairo Beras, OF; 7. Ariel Jurado, RHP; 8. Josh Morgan, 2B/SS; 9. Mike Matuella, RHP; 10. Luke Jackson, RHP.
It's crazy to see how Mazara has pretty much universally passed Gallo on the Rangers' prospect list. It's partly due, I'm sure, to Gallo's struggles at the big-league level last year and also Mazara's incredible run through Double-A and even into Triple-A.
In fact, Law discussed who he thought could have an impact at the big-league level in 2016, and here's what he came up with:
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Gallo has been up already and will likely get a second chance this year, although Mazara is probably the better bet to provide offense in a call-up now. Luke Jackson and Faulkner are potential bullpen options.
