2014 Offseason

[True Rangers Fan]

Scheppers working toward major role in bullpen | texasrangers.com

This statistic blew my mind:

"in 2014, the Rangers were outscored, 94-48, in the eighth inning alone."

 

[scotsman1948]

Scott Baker signs with the Yankees

 

[jta4437]

1. Joey Gallo, 3B
2. Nomar Mazara, RF
3. Jorge Alfaro, C
4. Jake Thompson, RHP
5. Alex Gonzalez, RHP
6. Luis Ortiz, RHP
7. Lewis Brinson, CF
8. Luke Jackson, RHP
9. Anthony Ranaudo, RHP
10. Yeyson Yrizzari, SS

Overview
The Rangers' system remains, as usual, full of young athletes with huge upside, with a sprinkling of physical starting pitchers who are fairly close to the majors. The Rangers tied the Twins with six players in the top 100, and have a few more players who should appear on the list next year. Brinson, their first-round pick in 2012 -- 10 picks ahead of Gallo -- is a hyperathletic center fielder with crazy bat speed, big raw power, and plus defense in center. He made a lot of strides in 2014: repeating low-A, cutting down on his swing and his strikeouts, but his deficiencies were exposed in high-A -- especially covering the outer third -- and missing about 150 PA to injuries didn't help. Jackson remains an enigma, showing starter stuff and missing a lot of bats, but he's struggled to stay in his delivery for 100 pitches; he's 22 with great strikeout rates and has been healthy for three years, so it makes all the sense in the world to leave him in the rotation. Ranaudo, just acquired in exchange for lefty Robbie Ross, is major league ready, pitching 90-95 mph with some deception, but lacks the third pitch right now to be a major league starter.

Ryan Rua (11) is a great story, a 17th-round pick from Division II Lake Erie College in Ohio; he became the school's first-ever big leaguer when he reached the majors last year. (The school, which boasts a popular equine studies program, only started admitting male students in 1986.) He went from a dead-pull approach in 2013 to using the whole field last year, cutting his strikeouts substantially, trading some homers for singles -- but since the former approach wasn't likely to work at higher levels, his adjustments are probably what got him to the majors. I think he's a quality bench guy who might become a fringe regular in left; the fact that he can play third on occasion and fake a few other positions should help him stay in the majors for a while.

Travis Demerritte (12) gets bonus points for leading the Sally League in homers at age 19; he gets, uh, points off for being second in the league in strikeouts and hitting just .211. He played solid defense at second base and showed that his pull power will play, but has to work on going the other way and adjusting to off-speed stuff from left- and right-handers. Left-hander Andrew Faulkner (13) crushed the Carolina League, working 92-94 with a little natural cut and locating to both sides while boasting an average slider, but struggled when working from the stretch in Double-A after a late-season promotion. I like his aggressiveness and think he could grow into a fourth or fifth starter. Nick Williams (14) has pull power and some natural feel to hit, but his approach is just awful, with no plate discipline or demonstrated ability to make adjustments; even in the field, it's all physical gifts, no aptitude.

Shortstop Michael de Leon (15) played the whole year in the Sally League and even went to the AFL, all at age 17; thus he was like a high school junior playing full-season baseball. He can absolutely play shortstop but his swing isn't going to work -- not if he wants to do anything but make weak contact, with a major leak regardless of which side he's hitting from.

The Rangers took Delino DeShields Jr. in the Rule 5 draft from Houston, where he'd worn out his welcome with a dismal performance in Double-A and a poor attitude. He's a 60 runner now, down from 80 in high school, and probably has to play left field after he couldn't handle second base and lost the speed that had him in center. He has to make the major league club or be returned to the Astros, although it might be best for him if Texas and Houston can work out a trade to get him a fresh start but also let him return to the minors.

2015 impact
Ranaudo and Gonzalez could both see time in the Rangers' rotation this year; Gonzalez is probably the fourth- or fifth-best starting pitcher in the organization, period. Rua would be a better left-field choice than Jake Smolinski, with more pop and better on-base skills; he could also be a 450 at-bat utility guy who plays left, third, first or DH as needed.

The fallen

Ronald Guzman, who received a $3.3 million bonus in 2011 when the Rangers also gave $5 million to Mazara, repeated low-A in 2014 after a broken hand ended his 2013 season early. His performance was worse across the board, with a .218/.283/.613 line that wouldn't work at any position, much less at first base, where Guzman has to play. He's still just 20 but at some point has to at least show some semblance of a hit tool.

Sleeper

Yrizzari, who is mostly made of the rare earth element yrizzarium, was one of Texas' main Latin American signings in 2013, signing for $1.35 million; he has a simple, rotational swing and great hand-eye coordination, jumping right to the AZL as a true 17-year-old last year. The Rangers tend to be aggressive with their teenaged position players and I wouldn't be shocked to see him in low-A Hickory at some point in 2015.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

 

[ESPN Refugee]

 

[ESPN Refugee]

 

[saddles]

Good moves by the Red Sox and Yankees.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Good moves by the Red Sox and Yankees.

For the Red Sox that remains to be seen. Don't know what the Yankees did.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Scott Baker signs with the Yankees

Now I see what the Yankees did. I liked what Baker did for us.

 

[donaldson79]

For the Red Sox that remains to be seen. Don't know what the Yankees did.

Ross and Ogando are rather large question marks to me. Wouldn't be giving them any atta-boy's at this junction.

Bake is a good pickup for the Yankees though.

 

[saddles]

Ross and Ogando are rather large question marks to me. Wouldn't be giving them any atta-boy's at this junction.

Bake is a good pickup for the Yankees though.

As little as they spent on Ogando it is a good move for them.

 

[DT LUNA]

Ross and Ogando are rather large question marks to me. Wouldn't be giving them any atta-boy's at this junction.

Bake is a good pickup for the Yankees though.

Low risk high reward type of thing.

 

[donaldson79]

Low risk high reward type of thing.

Definitely true.

But a guy like Ogando, although the investment is quite low (as you and Bennie have pointed out), it's still like building one's house on sandy soil to me.

I hope he remains healthy. But honestly, I'm glad the Rangers didn't waste anymore time or resources investing in a guy who seems to be an injury in waiting.

 

[WilltheThrill]

So at this point, how does our bullpen look, assuming the rotation is Darvish, Holland, Gallardo, Lewis, and Detwiler? I might be forgetting someone, but I think our candidates are:

Feliz, Scheppers, Ranaudo (or Detwiler), Martinez, Tepesch, Mendez, Bonilla, Klein, Tolleson, Fujikawa, Patton, Claudio, Edwards, Eickhoff, Jackson, Chi-Chi

Who makes the cut?

 

[jta4437]

So at this point, how does our bullpen look, assuming the rotation is Darvish, Holland, Gallardo, Lewis, and Detwiler? I might be forgetting someone, but I think our candidates are:

Feliz, Scheppers, Ranaudo (or Detwiler), Martinez, Tepesch, Mendez, Bonilla, Klein, Tolleson, Fujikawa, Patton, Claudio, Edwards, Eickhoff, Jackson, Chi-Chi

Who makes the cut?

Eickhoff, Jackson, Chi-Chi, Ranaudo, Tepesch, Martinez and maybe Bonilla all probably start in a minor league rotation, whether it be AA or AAA, IMO

But I'm seeing Feliz, Scheppers, Claudio, Edwards, Fujikawa, Klein, Mendez, Patton, Tolleson and maybe Bonilla fighting it out with a couple MiL guys

 

[scotsman1948]

Rangers have signed lefty Juan Perez

 

[romeo212000]

Rangers have signed lefty Juan Perez

Not bad.

 

[RevSader]

Not bad.

Probably to a minor league deal I read, but not totally sure.

Edit. For sure looks like a minor league deal, so they don't necessarily have to clear up a spot on the 40 right?

 

[romeo212000]

Probably to a minor league deal I read, but not totally sure.

Edit. For sure looks like a minor league deal, so they don't necessarily have to clear up a spot on the 40 right?

That's correct.

 

[donaldson79]

The Rangers have signed lefty Juan Perez, Eddy writes. The 36-year-old Perez did not pitch in 2014, but he was effective coming out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen the previous year, posting a 3.69 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 31 2/3 innings with a fastball that reached into the mid-90s. Before that, Perez had pitched in brief stints with the Pirates, Phillies and Brewers.