New York Nine

Now I'd like to think I know a bit about whats going on in baseball, but apparently I've been oblivious of what's been going on down in Arlington, Texas these days. Indeed, if you haven't seen on ESPN.com Keith Law, one of the smarter baseball writers out there, had his annual list of most talented farm systems and there was the Texas Rangers on the top, Texas? Still stranger, according to Law its not even close, the Rangers are stocked with talent from top to bottom, full of power arms and talented athletes, when did this happen? I mean the Rangers aren't exactly the Pirates, they have one of the best young stars in the game in Josh Hamilton, but what can you say about them other than that? In truth, general manager Jon Daniels seems to have done a great deal of deft trading since he got the job three years ago and seems primed to make the Rangers a dangerous team in the years to come.

It seems to have really taken off with the Mark Texiera trade that things really got going for Texas. Two season ago they sent the soon to be free agent to Atlanta for a boatload of prospects that included switch hitting Jerod Saltamachia (I definitely didn't spell that's close enough) Elvis Andrus, slotted to play shortstop next year as well as a young talented first baseman Chris Davis, but it seems that's only the start. Indeed, they've done a great deal in the international market signing Neftali Feliz, Engel Beltre and Carlos Melo and excellent draft picks like Justin Smoak, a right handed pitcher, this year there is an impressive influx of talent coming through the rangers system.

Now I can't say that I know nearly as much about these guys as Law or some of the other guys in field, but I find this intriguing. The rangers seem to have been a perennial door mat the last few years, possessing a great offense year in and year out, but lacking a pitching staff to be a legitimate contender. Now young talent does not always translate into success, there have been plenty of flame outs in baseball, but with such an abundance of talent it seems almost inevitable that the rangers will become a force in this league shortly, just as the rays did last year after years of misery. Time will tell for sure, it's going to be difficult to get a good staff who pitches half of their games in Arlington, but as the Phillies showed last year it is possible to have good pitching in a hitters park. Whatever may happen in the coming years it seems that things will at the very least be interesting down in Texas for awhile with their new found fountain of young talent.