Given it looks like we will sign very few players today during our sign deadline, let's sit back and enjoy a good old minors thread.

 TOnight's games are filled with prospecty lefties.

AAA (6:00PM) vs. New Orleans (Marlins) - Martin Perez!!!!

AA - (7:00 PM) vs. Tulsa  - Robbie Ross!!

A+  (5:00 PM) vs. Kinston (Indians) - MDLS!!!

A  (4:00 PM) vs. Lexington (Astros) - Ben Henry

A- (9:00 PM) vs. Boise (Cubs) - Chris Hanna

Rookie  (1:00 PM)

Well, I just lost an hour to Opera being dumb and worthless, so this will be a lot shorter than originally intended. First, the probables for 5/29

AAA - Tomko?

AA - Robert Erlin!!!

A+ - Justin Grimm!!

A - Nick McBride

So, as some of you know, I'm doing the mock farm director thing for John Sickle's site. Here's my current top 5 list for our first 3 picks, with 33 and 37 being combined to one pick. In case you don't follow the Minors thread - apparently Josh Bell wants to play for UT and John Stilson's arm fell off today.

Pick 33, 37

1. Joe Ross, RHP,  Cal HS

2. Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cal HS

3. Tyler Beede, RHP, Mass HS

4. C.J. Cron, 1B, Utah

5. Austin Hedges, C, Cal HS

6. Brandon Nimmo, OF, Wyoming HS?

7. Michael Kelly, RHP, Florida HS

8. Travis Harrison, Bat, California HS

9.  Andrew Susac, C, Oregon

10.  Derek Fisher, OF, Pennsylvania HS

 *Josh Bell would be #1 here if the letter was just a leverage thing.

Pick 87 (Round 2)

1.  DeShorn Lake, RHP, Maryland HS

2. Larry Greene, OF, Georgia HS

3. Preston Tucker, "OF", Florida

4.  Danny Bianchette Jr, 3B, Florida HS

5.  Chris McFarland, Athlete, Texas HS

Round 3

1.  Peter O'Brien, C, Bethune-Cookman

2. Michael Goodnight, RHP, Florida

Help me add more names to the list and or debate the relative merits of the players on them while I send a harshly worded email to Opera. Thanks

For 2011, Texas has picks #33, 37, 83 and 113.

Given the new Ownership group and their relative dearth of picks, I will go into this draft assuming that Jon Daniels and gang have a boatload of money to play with and I will be selecting players accordingly. Signability will still be a concern, but much less of one than it was for last year's draft, for example.

For these picks, I'm inclined to go BPA for the most part, but if there's a tie between prospects, the tie breaker will most likely go to the position player. I will make a list of names that I have in mind for individual picks, and what I'd like everyone to do is to list names that would be fits at those positions. Everyone is welcome to list names that I should consider, though if it's some really esoteric prospect, please provide a link for the masses.

As far as organizational needs, 1B is obviously a big one. While Mitch Moreland is hitting very well, the Ranger's best prospect at 1B is Chris McGuiness. Catcher is another possibility, though probably not within the first 2 picks given the drafting of  Kellin Deglan and the money the Rangers just gave Jorge Alfaro. OF is also another area of weakness, despite the recent signing of Leonys Martin. The Rangers tend to go for athletic OFs rather than the lumbering slugger types, but I have to think Josh Bell is pretty high on their list being both a local guy and a very good bat/decent athlete. If you see any athletic OF guys that belong somewhere on the list, throw them up there.

Thank you!

Picks 33, 37

-If they fall...

Josh Bell, OF, Texas HS

VIDEO

Mikie Mahtook, OF, LSU

Henry Owens, LHP, Cal HS

Andrew Susac, C, Oregon

Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, SC HS

-On the Radar

C.J. Cron, 1B/DH, Utah

Levi Michaels, IF, N. Carolina

Alex Dickerson, "OF", Indiana

Austin Hedges, C, Cal HS

Travis Harrison, OF/3B/1B, Cal HS

VIDEO

Michael Kelly, RHP, Florida HS

VIDEO

Joe Ross, RHP, Cal HS

VIDEO

Robert Stephenson, Author/RHP, Cal HS

VIDEO

Josh "Oh Sh*t" Osich, LHP, Oregon State

VIDEO

Kolten Wong, 2B, Hawai'i

VIDEO

Pick 83

DeShorn Lake, RHP, Maryland HS

Peter O'Brien, C, Bethune-Cookman

Larry Greene, OF, Georgia HS

Cameron Gallagher, C,  Pennsylvania HS

Thursday 4/7/11

Hickory vs. Asheville Tourists (6:00 PM)  - Roman Mendez!

Frisco vs. the Springfield Cardinals(7:00 PM) - Wilfredo Boscan

Round Rock vs. the Iowa Cubs (7:00 PM) - Michael Kirkman!!

4/8/11

Hickory (6:00 PM) - Randol Rojas

Myrtle Beach (6:00 PM) - Neil Ramirez!!

Frisco (7:00 PM) - Martin Perez!!!

Round Rock (7:00 PM) - Eric Hurley!

4/9/11

Hickory (6:00 PM) - W. Matt Thompson! (RAIN)

Myrtle Beach (6:00 PM) - Robbie Erlin!!/Kasey Kiker :(

Frisco (7:00 PM)- Jake Brigham

Round Rock (7:05) Zach Jackson

4/10/11

Hickory (2:00 PM) -DOUBLE HEADER: W. Matt Thompson! (G1) and Justin Grimm! (G2)

Myrtle Beach (1:05 PM) - RESUME SUSPENDED GAME

   (2:05)Barret Loux!

Frisco (4:00 PM) - Miguel de Los Santos!

Round Rock (1:05 PM) - Brett Tomko :)

Shroomer Props

Blake Beavan and Justin Smoak joins fellow 1st round pick Michael Main on the roster of former Rangers prospects who are now with West Coast teams.

The only 1st round pick of that 2007 class who is not in the majors or no longer with the organization goes for the Hickory Crawdads as Neil Ramirez tries to build on his last decent start.

Frisco and OKC both go at 7:00 in games started by Michael Kirkman and Richard Bleier. The person in the minors that benefits the most from this trade might be Marcus Lemon, who has been sitting for Matt Lawson until Lawson's recent departure. Also, please be good Mitch Moreland.

The Blaze send their worst starter Carlos Pimentel to the mound while Miguel De Los Santos goes for Spokane.

Blake Beavan, going for his 11th win, leads a crop of decently intriguing prospects today. Braden Tullis, new to the Hickory rotation, will go at 5:00 PM.

Blake Beavan and Matt Harrison will pitch at 7:00 PM for Frisco and OKC, respectively. The wonderfully named Ezequiel Rijo will go for the Baby Rangers at 8:00PM while Nick McBride goes for Spokane at 9:00 and Wilmer Font goes for Bakersfield at 9:45. I'll probably chart Beavan and Font.

Discussion:

What does the Rangers current Top 10 prospects look like? Is Engel Beltre firmly in the top 5 after a resurgent half season? Does Wilmer Font deserve top 5 consideration? Is Mitch Moreland still in the top 10 discussion after initial struggles in AAA? Where does our recent draftees like Jake Skole or Kellin Deglan rank? Where do we put surgers like Robbie Erlin? For that matter, where do you slot the relief prospects - does Cody Eppley deserve a top 15 spot? Or Josh Lueke? Or Ovispo de Los Santos?

The pitching is a bit on the thin side today, though Richard Alvarez, Matt Thompson and Miguel de Los Santos all toe the mound today, as does Wilfredo Boscan.

The big story today is the promotions of a few CFs, due to a rain delay yesterday, Engel Beltre will make his delayed debut with AA Frisco today in a 2 game double header against the Springfield Cardinals starting at 4:30. Ryan Tatusko will start the frist game for the Riders while Richard Bleier makes up the 2nd game.

Matt Thompson starts for Hickory as they try to deal with the loss of Miguel Velazquez, who has moved on to the Blaze. The game starts at 5:00 PM.

 OKC was the only team exempt from the big changes, but they'll throw out Guillermo Moscoso at 8:00 PM today. In other news, Matt Brown has finally made it back from his injury, all our prayers are answered.

In Spokane, first round draft pick Jake Skole will probably make his first start for the Indians at 9:15 PM. The interesting Miguel de Los Santos will start for Spokane.

Finally, the Baby Rangers will play at 8:00 PM with Richard Alvarez getting the start. Kellin Deglan, the Ranger's other first round pick, has not played since Wednesday, so hopefully he'll get into a game.

Also, while shroomer remains MIA, I will pinch hit for him. It's raw and rough, but it's the best you'll get for now.

Not a lot going on today as most of the upper level clubs in the minors roll out none prospects.

Doug Mathis goes forOKC at 7:05 pm.

Okla. City
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Gentry CF 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .274
Boggs, B LF 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .277
Moreland RF 4 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 .267
Davis, C 3B 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .347
Garko 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .252
Tracy DH 3 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 .253
Iribarren 2B 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
Petit, G SS 4 2 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 .258
Richardson C 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224

Okla. City
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Mathis, D (W, 3-3) 7.0 7 2 2 2 1 1 4.70
Phillips, Z 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.45
Ramirez, E 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5.30

Ryan Tatsuko goes for Frisco at the same time.

Frisco
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Tatusko (W, 6-1) 7.0 4 0 0 3 2 0 3.65
Kiker (H, 1) 0.1 1 2 2 1 1 0 6.21
Snyder, B (H, 6) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.47
Reed, E 0.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.57
Lueke (S, 2) 1.1 1 0 0 1 3 0 2.76

Michael Main pitches for Bakersfield at 9:45

Robbie Ross is the exception, and he pitches first at 6:00

Hickory
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Ross (L, 8-6) 5.2 8 4 3 2 3 1 2.32
Ocampo 1.0 4 5 1 0 0 0 5.22
Nelo 1.1 2 1 1 0 1 0 6.82

Zach Osborne goes for Spokane at 8:30

Spokane
Player AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Pimentel, G CF 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .360
Profar SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
Clark 1B 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .407
Olt 3B 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .292
Nicholas DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 .250
Kudlock RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .250
Hoying LF 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .143
Castillo, Ye C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .105
Selen 2B 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333

and finally, the baby Rangers takes on the failure ridden Dodgers at 8:00pm. Breakout candidate Shawn Blackwellwill pitch for the Rangers.

Early start today in Oklahoma City as the Redhawks  play at 11:05 against the Memphis Redbirds. Journeyman  Michael Ballard makes the start .

Hickory  sends out Niel  Ramirez  at  6:05. Despite having  a  truly awful ERA, Neil has actually lowered his BB% (8.9) and increased his K rate (21%)  so far this year.  He's sporting  a FIP in the low 4s  coming into this outing so it'd be nice to see him bounce back from  a rough start.

Frisco sends the enigmatic Kasey Kiker to the mound at 7:05.  So far this year, Kiker has been everything we thought he was . He's walked even more people than last  year (14% and counting) but struck out  more as well (27%).  At some point, you'd think that someone from Bakersfield would step up and send Kasey to the pen for good.

Finally, at 9:15 , Michael Main starts against the Modesto Nuts.  I'll be  charting for this game.

OKC is going right now with Guillermo Moscoso continuing his recent trend of bland mediocrity. Get it together Guillermo. Salty is rehabbing and Justin Smoak is 2-3 with 2 2Bs.

Frisco is off today.

Bakersfield makes up for another delayed game last night with a double header today. Michael Main takes the mound at 3 to hopefully pitch like he did in his first start while Carlos Pimentel takes the second half of the double header against the Modesto nuts.

Hickory already won their game 3-2 behind a solid effort by Matt Thompson (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 R, 1 BB, 4K) and the bullpen.

With apologies to Jake Brigham (Bakersfield - starting vs. Stockton), Mike Ballard (OKC), and Neil Ramirez (Hickory), we all know what we're here for. Tonight, Martin Perez will make his season debut and will be relieved by Tanner Scheppers when he reaches his pitch count.

The team they'll be facing are the Arkansas Travelers, the hated AA affiliated of the despised Anaheim Angels. First pitch is at 7:05, and I'll try to follow on the Traveler's radio affiliate.

Smoak, Moreland and Ramirez hits, but Redhawks lose in the 10th.

Frisco Lineup truly inept, drop game to Arkansas 1-0.

Crawdad pitching falters, Neil Ramirez might be as bad as Dirkatron thinks.

So I had this long spiel prepared about how Alexi Ogando has waited 5 years for this opportunity to unleash his arsenal upon an unsuspecting Springfield populace, but man that game took everything out of me.

So Alexi Ogando(7:00) looks to continue the Rider's dominance of the Cardinals and Wilmer Font (NOW) looks to put a bad ST behind him. Michael Kirkman (at 7:05) and Carlos Pimentel also pitch tonight. Lets all comb the upper minors rosters for relief pitchers.

-Wilmer and Robbie strikes out the World

-Oklahoma mounts comeback on the backs and bats of Tracy and Smoak

-Ogando strong, the rest of Frisco much less so.

-The Blaze rolls the JetHawks behind strong lineup and bullpen, goes for the 4 game sweep on Sunday.

Tomorrow, a quartet of decent prospects go for the Rangers as Moscoso and Kiker starts for OKC and Frisco respectively at 4:00 pm while Hickory begins at 1 with Net Prospect Guru favorite Matt Thompson and Bakersfield rolls with returnee Kennil Gomez.

BTW, both Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman make their professional debuts today.

Yesterday was the day of the faces of the franchise, tonight there's a lot more prospect goodness in the two lower Rangers franchises.

In Hickory, Bluegrass native Robbie Ross gets his first taste of full season ball. Ross is older than your typical 3rd year HS prospect, but he was pretty awesome for the first half of his Spokane season and only moderately awesome thereafter. Still, his control has been good, he has swing and miss stuff and he's great at keeping the ball on the ground. Let's hope that continues.

-Robbie Ross is as Robbie Ross does.

In Bakersfield, Michael Main looks to rebound from a season filled with ailments. He faces a Lancaster team without a lot of prospects (seeing as it's an Astros affiliate), so this would be a great time for a 6 IP, 5 H, 8K performance. Look for Main's GB% as it will be important for his future success, and is currently trending in the wrong direction.

-Main very solid, Bakersfield mounts a comeback in the 9th

Frisco Roughriders start King Richard the Bleienhearted against the hapless Springfield Cardinals. Why is he King Richard? Well, he is a guy that does some great things. His GB%? It was 57% last year, it was 60+ the few years before. He strikes out a decent amount of folks (17%) and walks almost none (3.2%). His HR rate was awesome (.56/9) and this was all in Bakersfield. Sure, he throws in the upper 80s, but at the very least, he might be an interesting pen piece. Check him out.

-Also, remember to check out the Extra Bases Blog on the Roughrider's site.

-Bleier Solid, but Scheppers Steals the Show

Finally, everyone's favorite young, old pitcher Brandon McCarthy starts for OKC. The entire OKC bullpen was pretty much decimated last night so if Brandon can find a way to give some innings, it'd be fantastic.

-McCarthy solid, the lineup much less so

By the way, shroomer props.

As always, when the Major League team manages to lose in excruciating ways, Rangers fans look to their minor leagues for a pick-me-up. Cheer up Rangers fans, Vlad Guerrero looks other worldly, Nelson Cruz looks dangerous, the rotation looks largely functional to excellent, and there's a full slate of minors games tonight.

Tonight's games start at 5:35 as the Hickory Crawdads send out Mighty Joe Wieland on the road against the Hagerstown Suns. Wieland had an odd year last year, and while nothing about his year was exceptional, he was solid in a number of ways. For one, despite the ugly ERA, Wieland wasn't that wild (6.3% BB), was ok at missing bats (19.2% K) and didn't give up all that many homers (.76 HR/9) despite being 19 years old for the entirety of the season. All that combined with a mid-3 FIP tells you that Wieland is a guy with some breakout potential. The Hagerstown team he will face is a Nats affiliate and like any Nats affiliate they're filled with raw athletes and unrealized dreams.

At 7, the Frisco Roughriders start their season with the pitcher who is not Martin Perez, Tanner Scheppers, Kasey Kiker or Alexi Ogando. That's right, it's Captain Wonderful time. We all know about Blake, wonderful walk rate, good at keeping the ball in the park, and unbelievably terrible at missing bats. I might chart this game to see how his breaking stuff and change has become, as he says that he was working on both on Spring Training. The Riders will face the barren wasteland that is the St. Louis farm system. It will be soul crushingly awful.

At 7:05, The Redhawks begin their season with Derek Holland matching up against a fellow Major League alum James McDonald. It's the first game and the Redhawks defense are laughably awful, so don't freak out if he gives up a couple of runs or a couple of homers. On the other hand, if he does perform like we all know he's capable of performing, then feel free to make 20 fanshots singing his praises and demanding that he replace Rich Harden in the rotation.

Finally, at 9:15 the Bakersfield Blaze begins their season in the hole that is Bakersfield (sorry Colby Lewis) with Wilfredo Boscan on the mound. Boscan suddenly lost his ability to miss bats after coming back from an injury last season, but he still walks very few people (4.3% BB) and gives up very, very few Home runs. Of all our guys in Bakersfield, he might be the guy best equipped to survive it. Boscan got a few praises as having added "good weight" and being "somewhat athletic" this spring, so it'll be interesting to see what he's got. I will probably chart this game.

As always, shroomer props.

Question: Of these four opening day starters, what are your expectations of each? At the end of the season, who will end up having the best year?

OKC starts in 4 minutes, and they take on veteran lefty Shawn Estes and the Isotopes. Max Ramirez is back in the lineup as a DH. Go Max! It's also a "rest day" for Borbon, as he's in LF with Golson in CF today.

Mighty Joe Wieland goes for the Crawfish @ 6, they'll face the Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox), a team with no prospects on its active roster. It's a veteran team, so I'll be charting Wieland tonight. Check LSB shortbus Crops on the Farm for all the latest impact analysis and hot sports opinions about the move.

At 9:30, the Blaze continue their home and home against the San Jose giants, as Blake Beavan takes the hill. The Giants still have a great offense.

Shroomer Props!

I am pretty sure Ron Darling is retarded. My god, that was the worst broadcast I have ever heard, not only did the three broadcasters have all the attention span of a gnat, but there were at least two play-by-plays missed each inning because the three stooges decided that the entire world just had to hear their hot sport opinions about controversial and rarely addressed topics such as David Ortiz's slump and how Texas Rangers traded five aces. Honestly, it sounds like they did all of 5 minutes of research for the only fucking game they had all week. That's just a poorly constructed, lazy broadcast crew, and I hope they all get genital herpes. Except for David Wells, that guy needs to get hit by a truck.

Also, what's with that weird "First Batter Faced" statistic display rather than, you know, things that matter like walk rate, strike out rate, IP, ERA, or even holds and saves. It just reeks of trying too hard.

Today in the minors, the Hickory Crawdads have already gotten it going. Carlos Pimentel has been awesome so far, giving up only 2 hits and 1R in 4IP.

The Bakersfield Blaze tries to earn a series split with the San Jose Giants with Michael Main taking the mound for the Blaze. MM has been lit up by the Giants this year, including that disappointing show down against Tim Alderson. It'll be good to see MM do well against this great lineup.

Omar Poveda goes back to Frisco today. He'll face Northwest Arkansas at 6 PM. The NY Arkansas team has a lot of guys way too old for the Texas League, so it'll be good to see another strong performance from Omar.

Finally, the OKC Redhawks sends out Josh Rupe against the Isotopes and hopes he won't suck too much. Don't hold your breath.

Shroomer Props

Discussion: Fastballs, Fastballs, and More Fastballs

I've done a bit of pitch tracking this year, and while the majority of the announcers cannot properly differentiate between a slider and a curve, the ability to differentiate between fastballs and breaking balls is pretty good. So far, it seems like a lot of the Ranger's top prospects are fastball happy. Neftali Feliz's last start had him around 85% FB. Kennil Gomez's had him at 80%. There were some starts where Wilmer Font uses 90%+ FB. In fact, the only prospects who consistently use their breaking stuff are Kasey Kiker and Blake Beavan, and even Beavan is frequently above 70% FB. What do you think is the reason for our over-reliance on fastballs? Do you think it impacts the development of their breaking stuff? Do you think it's a healthy developmental regimen?

It's a night made for the likes of Brett Perryman as some of the best high-upside Latin talents in the organization goes tonight.

Hickory will play the Greensboro Grasshoppers tonight and Wilmer Font is listed as the probable starter for tonight. The Greensboro lineup is not particularly impressive, so it'll be interesting to see how fastball reliant Wilmer becomes against this lineup of weak hitters.

At 7, the Frisco Roughriders take on the Tulsa Drillers behind Michael Kirkman. The Tulsa lineup is especially weak against lefties, so it'll be good to see Kirkman do well here. Of course, he's also facing the Rockie's best prospect Jhouyls Chacin - a GB machine with a good arsenal, so this weak Frisco lineup might not give him much help.

At 7:05, the OKC Redhawks attempt to take the series from the Memphis Redbirds. Four A pitcher Neftali Feliz will go for the Redhawks, so let's hope for a good game.

Finally, at 9, Kennil Gomez will go for the Blaze against the San Jose Giants. I would like to see Gomez do well against this very good Giants lineup.

Shroomer Props

Discussion: Can You Say no to the Kodiak Bear?

via 2.bp.blogspot.com

This comely fellow is Richard Poythress, his nickname is the Kodiak Bear. He's one of the best bats in this college class, but he's falling because he has the defensive flexibility of a crippled Max Ramirez. However, that bat seems real. Let's say it's draft day, and this fellow is available with the 2nd round pick. He's certainly the best prospect available at this point, but given the Rangers' large amount of talent at 1B, would you take him despite other needs? Likewise, if at some point the Rangers unload Hank Blalock on, say, the Chicago White Sox, and JD is offered someone like Jon Link, a relief pitcher, or the positionally challenged Tyler Flowers. Do you go for the better prospect or the greater position of need?

It's a pretty slow night tonight for the Minors Thread, as the most exciting prospects are currently being delayed by rain in Hickory.

Whenever Hickory gets started, the duo of Martin Perez and Jacob Brigham will take on the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Marlins). The Hoppers have their share of young prospects as well, but they're not exactly performing well, especially 2008 top 10 pick Kyle Skipworth. Overall, the team is pretty weak. (Hickory is now Post-poned)

Also, Mike Bianucci and Matt West fancies themselves as pirates. (Thanks to NC's fantastic Crawdad blog)

In Bakersfield, the Blaze takes on a very good offensive San Jose team, despite the fact that San Jose lost Brandon Crawford to promotion and that Angel V. is once again a hot and cold bat. Tim Murphy starts for the Blaze, and it'd be really nice to see him at least make some progress, I might pitch chart the game to see if anything stands out.

Organizational solider Michael Ballard will take on Tulsa at 7 in Frisco. Without Smoak or any pitching prospects, Frisco is a rather boring team right now.

Finally, Luis Mendoza comes back from his strep throat as the Redhawks take on the Memphis Redbirds.

Shroomer Props

Discussion: Nicknames

With more attention being paid to the ML team, the quality of Nicknames for minor league players have surely suffered, as evidenced by my uttely lame attempt to find a fitting nickname for the Martin Perez/Jacob Brigham combo. Take some time to go over the current nicknames used for minor league players. What nicknames do you use for particular players? Explain the reasoning behind it. Who the hell is cankles, dirk-a-tron? Without a top of the line pitching prospect going, this is the perfect time to do some house keeping.

Three pretty good prospects going tonight for the Rangers.

At 7, Kasey Kiker takes on the Tulsa Drillers, who he faced his last time out - when he lasted 3 2/3 due to high pitch counts. He will face a Tulsa lineup that's one of the worst in the Texas league.

At about 10 minutes later, Guillermo Moscoso takes on a veteran Memphis squad who is quite a tough matchup. I look forward to seeing how Julio Borbon perform for this team as well.

At 9:05, LSB mascot Blake Beavan will take on an ice-cold Visalia Raw Hide team.

Discussion: The Nate McLouth trade

Wow. Did anyone see this coming? The Pirates trade Nate McLouth to the Braves for Gorkys Hernandez (one of the best defensive CFs in the minors last year), Jeff Locke (a lefty with good stuff), and extraneous starter Charlie Morton. This opens up a spot in the Pirates OF for Andrew McCutchen, but I can't help but think that the Pirates did not get optimal value for a player coming off of a very good season, and was still cheap. How does this deal compare with some of the other deals made in the last few years? Is there a more boom or bust OF alignment than Jose Tabata, Gorkys Hernandez and Andrew McCutchen?

Will this officially signal an early start to the trading season? Will it drive a team like the Mets to make a move to keep up?

Shroomer props!

OKC is already deep into their game, trailing 7-4. Josh Rupe gave up all 7 earned runs, as well as 9 hits in his continued effort to prove that he's terrible. Point taken, Josh.

Also, Joaquin Arias, Julio Borbon and Greg Golson have all walked for the second straight game. Golson has 4 walks in his last 6 plate appearances.I don't know what's going on either.

Hickory faces off against Delmarva again T 6:05 tonight, with lefty oddity Yoo-Hee Nam going for the Crawdads. Carlos Pimentel has been sent back to extended, so maybe we'll see the debut of Neil Ramirez pretty soon.

Frisco's Kasey Kiker gets it started at 7:05 against former Rangers affiliate Tulsa. He'll face off against fringe prospect Esmil Rogers, a 23 year old with good control. The Tulsa team, save the very good Jhoulys Chacin, is filled with fringe prospects like Darin Holcomb and Chris Nelson, but they all sport good walk rates and comparatively low strikeout rates. It'll be a good test for KK.

Bakersfield gets going at 9:30 against the hated Stockton Ports, who saw the debut of Jemile "Not Justin Smoak" Weeks yesterday. Michael Main will face off against Ben Hornbeck, who's a lefty with good offspeed stuff that sports a huge strikeout rate. Pray for Engel Beltre tonight.

Discussion: Mitch Moreland

So with his promotion to the Texas League, Mitch Moreland finds himself in an age-appropriate league for the first time in his career. Moreland was named Topps Midwest League player of the year last year, but failed to make BA's league top 20 list or the Rangers top 30 prospects list (he was 31).

Moreland's start this year has been exceptional, but through his career, he's been overwhelmingly consistent. His walk rates and strikeout rates are almost the same this year in Bakersfield as they were last year in Clinton. His performance against righthanders (.921 OPS for his career) is actually inferior to his performance against lefties  (.940 OPS). His strikeout rate has never exceeded 15% in full season ball, and his walk rate has never dropped below 10%. In short, this is not the Mitch Moreland who was drafted in the 17th round in 2007. His plate coverage has improved, and his approach is as good as it gets in the system. In fact, for the year, his wOBA is actually the best of any Rangers prospect (including Pina, Smoak and Bianucci).

So what do you make of Mitch Moreland? Is he a burgeoning slugger or just a guy who's found success against inferior competition? Where does he rank relative to the 2nd tier sluggers of this organization (Bianucci, Max Ramirez)? Is he the 2nd coming of Nate Gold? Emerson Frostad? Or is this legit?

Here's a video of Beltre-Lawson-Moreland hitting against Tim Alderson. Moreland is the third batter.

This article briefly describes Moreland's approach to lefties vs. righties.

Against southpaws, Moreland drags down his personal power expectations even further, and it's reflective in his numbers. While the Amory, Miss. native has a better on-base percentage against left-handed pitchers (.400) than right-handed pitchers (.389), three of his 32 extra-base hits have been against lefties. Moreland insists the numbers bear out a product of design.

"A lot of the times I face lefties when runners are in scoring position," he said, "And I really want to try and get the ball in play, make something happen. I kind of look to hit up the middle or the other way against a lefty."

I just sold my Ford and purchased a Toyota just to spite the city of Detroit.

If you're looking to feel better, this is probably the night to do it.

The Oklahoma Redhawks have a late start at 9 vs. the Las Vegas 51s, now affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. 51 hitters aren't exactly patient, but they have a very veteran (old) lineup including guys like Russ Adams, Jason Lane, and Howie Clark. It's an interesting test for Neftali. He also faces former Rangers great and Buck Showalter nemesis Fabio Castro, who's having a wonderful year so far.

The Roughriders try to win a series against the Midland Rockhounds. The hounds throw out a pretty good lineup, but Chris Carter hasn't hit as well as expected, and the majority of their pop is left handed. It should be a good matchup for Kasey Kiker, if he chooses not to walk/hit the world.

The Blaze send out Richard Bleier, who was rocked his last start, against the Stockton Ports. They'll face Tyson Ross, a second round pick from last year's draft.

Finally, Crawfish Nation sends Carlos Pimentel against Richard Zagones and the Delmarva (delaware, maryland, Virginia) Shorebirds, who might be the least interesting team in the history of existance. Almost all their prospects strikeout a lot and doesn't walk much, we'll have to check if that team is managed by Marlon Byrd.

Discussion:

Look at all the relief arms in the system!

Matt Nevarez is rocking a 38.8 K% and a more-than-acceptable 10.3% BB. (He has struck out 1/2 the batters he faced so far in May, and only walked 5% of them). Setup man Yoon Hee Nam has been good despite his lacking arsenal and Mark Hamburger has an astounding 1.4% BB to go along with a 20% K and a 55% GB.

The entire Bakersfield bullpen save one sports sub-3 ERAs, with the standouts being Zach Phillips (4.4% BB, 28% K, 58% GB) and Evan Reed (13% BB, 23% K, 63% GB). Brennan Garr was also excellent, but he's still walking the world in Frisco.

The OKC bullpen is headlined by old veterans like Brian Gordon and Bryan Corey, but Beau Vaughan (8% BB, 28% K, 39% GB) has been a pleasant surprise.

So to you, who's the best relief prospect in the Rangers system?

Also, leave your worst wishes for the City of Detroit, their professional sports teams, and the curly haired future bust the lions just drafted here.

Shroomer props

Thanks to Shroomer for his site!

Early starts for all of the Rangers minor league affiliates today, and a day off for Frisco after being rained out last night.

For the Crawfish, Cliff Springston still finds himself in the rotation as the Crawdad face Lake County.

Bakersfield sends Michael Main to the mound @ 3 against the league leading Visalia Rawhide. More on Michael Main later.

Finally, OKC starts Tommy Hunter against the Tacoma Rainiers. The Rainiers (Mariners) are almost the complete opposite of their parent team - they have a lot of left handed hitters with a lot of power (Saunders, Clement, Carp, LaHair are all good power hitters), but a generally awful defense highlighted by the fact that Chris Shelton is the current starting 3B for him. This will be a good test for Tommy.

Random discussion:

Is Blake Beavan the best pitching prospect on the Bakersfield Blaze?

Forget the high as pie ERA, currently Blake Beavan is getting more groundballs than he was last year while striking out more hitters (he's up to 17% vs about 15% last year) and still not walking anyone (4.7%). His HR% is the same as it was last year, so it is at least somewhat reasonable that he maintains his current pace. So essentially, Blake has maintained all of his good qualities while improving his weaknesses.

Contrast this with Michael Main. Never mind the struggles he's had this year, MM has never been a great GB pitcher. Even last year his GB% was 31%. This year it's 35%. If anything, it's a wonder that he doesn't have a even worse ERA given that his HR/F is at 4%. At this point, I'm wondering why we accepted Main as a top 5 prospect given his obvious warts. The other peripherals are even uglier, so we'll just brush over it.

As far as the other pitchers go - there's a lot to like and a lot of red flags. Kennil Gomez has an unreal GB% (59%) and a very promising K% (24%), but his BB% is becoming a problem (13%). I still expect his ERA to drop given his uncommonly high HR% for a guy who gets so many ground balls. Michael Kirkman is certainly playing well, but I'm wondering how sustainable his performance is given his low GB% (43%) and his relatively low HR% (2%). He's still a very good pitcher, but just not as good as his surface stats show.

So, what are your thoughts, who is the best pitching prospect for the Blaze right now?

The Twins have 4 picks in the scope of our mock, coming in with

#22

#46

#70

#101

After taking their fair share of HS bats and college arms the last few years, I'm probably going to hope for some more polished bats, but the usual BPA philosophy applies here. I will also account for signability concerns, so it's not very likely you see me draft someone like Jacob Turner when mocking the Twins, despite the fact that he's a very good prospect. I'll come out with some top 10 lists at each draft pick, and we can debate it through then. I'm very open to suggestions as well.

Since the Rangers are in Seattle today, let's celebrate with a minors thread.

After a long rain delay, Elizardo Ramirez takes the mound for the Redhawks looking to bounce back from an absolute schellacing and then an implosion by Pedro Strop in back to back games. Slightly Angry Max is not yet in the lineup tonight.

In Frisco, Kasey Kiker finally gets his shot at the Corpus Christie hooks after being pushed back for uber-prospect Kris Benson.

In Bakersfield, Kennil Gomez is looking to recover his excellent control after having his last outing shorted by a power outage (lol tball joke).

Hickory is off tonight after Martin Perez and Jacob Brigham sent Lakewood home crying.

Discussion:

What is wrong with Julio Borbon? After flying out in his first AB, Julio has been in a death spiral the last few weeks, with his slash numbers being down to .268/.343/.309. That's Drew Meyer awful!

Well, looking at his numbers, his BABIP isn't awfully low (it's at .287), so not all of it is luck. The problem, so far, is his awful GB%. Last year, Julio Borbon's GB% was 59% in Bakersfield and an acceptable 54% during his Frisco breakout. This year, it's up to 64%. Combined with his less-than-optimal 14% LD rate, it's obvious he's not hitting the ball with any sort of authority. Nevertheless, we can expect a slight regression in his BABIP (towards .300 or so), but the utter lack of power after a very encouraging summer is discouraging (his ISOP is 1/3 of what it was at Frisco and 1/2 of what it was at Bakersfield). It's at .043 - he's not hitting for any power in any sort of way.

The good news, though, is that he is working walks (7.4%) and still not striking out (9.3%). So what are your thoughts? Is this an adjustment in his approach or is it just a dude not getting anything to hit or is it just Firebat pulling a clark and small sample size freakin?

Wilmer Font goes for the Shellfish tonight against a Lakewood team that has struggled to hit right handers this year. This will be a pretty good chance for the Crawdads to continue their league dominant way. And he's already struck out the side. He'll be facing a pretty good prospect in Jason Knapp, a 2nd round pick for the Phillies last year who's been absolutely awesome so far, he's struck out 37 and only walked 6 in 24 innings.

In Bakersfield, Blake Beavan takes on the one semi-legitimate prospect in the Stockton Ports rotation - right hander Craig Italiano. Beavan, like Main last night, will be taking on Stockton for the 2nd straight start.

If the Riders go tonight, Kasey Kiker will have a chance to capture the Texas League strikeout lead one night after Omar Poveda captured the T-League wins lead. He'll be facing a Corpus Christie Hooks (Houston) team that are what we thought they were - a lot of AA veterans with a lot of power, but very poor discipline. I'm going to guess KK gets 10+ swinging strikes tonight, again.

The Redhawks and their ace, Doug Mathis, tries to bounce back from a blowout at the hands of the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins). They'll face Daniel Barone.

5/3/09

This is the date of excitement as several top prospects pitch today. Frisco and Hickory start at 2, with the great Kris Benson making a rehab start for Frisco and Martin Perez going for Hickory. This game will be on TV, and the ML staff said they expect Benson to make about 75 pitches. No Kiker tonight, I'm afraid. Benson will face the Corpus Christie Hooks while Martin will take on Lakewood.

At 4, Bakersfield ace Mike Kirkman will face a Stockton Ports team that knocked around Blake Beavan last night. Neftali Feliz takes the mound against a very good New Orleans offense. Their players are pretty patient and hit for pretty good power, so it'll be interesting to see how Happy rebounds from his early season struggles.

It's crazy day for the minors with Turnbow being relieved of his misery and Max Ram being called up to Arlington. No corresponding move made from Frisco yet, but you'd expect Pirate to get the call.

Jared Hyatt, star of the Crops on the Farm blog, goes against former Rangers great John Koronka as OKC takes on New Orleans.

For Frisco, Omar Poveda tries to stay on track by picking up his 4th straight win as he takes on the prospect-less Corpus Christie Hooks.

Bakersfield's Michael Main is trying to just find the tracks as he looks to recover from a bad start against the worst team in all of the minor leagues.

Hickory is already up 4-0 on Lankwood, as Matt West continues his quest to make DA-Tron eat his words. Cliff Springston starts for Shellfish Nation.

It's borderline prospect night tonight with Richard Bleier going for Crawdad Nation at 6 against Lakewood (Phils). Toolbox Anthony Gose and the struggling Travis D'Arnaud highlight this lineup, so if Bleier is as polished as everyone thinks he is, he should have a good night.

(Long story shory - Bleier ok, Matt West good, Mike Bianucci good, Hickory defense - awful)

Guillermo Moscoso starts tonight for Frisco at 7 against San Antonio (Padres)'s Ernesto Frieri. It'd be good to see Moscoso start getting swinging strikes again after that # fell way down since he's been starting.

Organizational depth Michael Ballard goes for OKC against once-great prospect Brett Sinkbeil, who's been struggling for AAA New Orleans (Marlins). Sinkbeil has been lit up pretty regularly this season, so the lineup will hopefully have a good night.

Bakersfield will resume it's game last night with the Modesto Nuts (Rockies), lights and weather permitting. The originally scheduled game with be made up on a double header on May 14th. It's not known if Tim Murphy will go or if Kennil Gomez will continue the game for the Blaze.

Per Jason Cole, Joe Gaetti has been signed to Frisco to replaced the DL'd Gary Majeweski. As seen by the link, the man is a strikeout machine.

Also, fuck Ryan Sweeney.

This was the feel better minors thread, but now the OKC game is canceled and we are Holland-less for the day. Man, I know this balances out over the course of the season, and the Rangers will make one of those insane comebacks some time this year - but seriously...ouch.

God hates Rangers fans so OKC game is canceled today.

Carlos Pimentel has already started to pitch vs. Bowling Green. 3IP, 1H. 1R, 0 BB, 3K so far.

Frisco's game is already postponed tonight.

The Bake goes at 3 with Michael Kirkman (yes, he's still around) going.