Inside The Rangers

Rangers Farm Notes: Jung Hitting, Huff Mashing, Frisco Dealing

Even in a rebuild, there are reasons to be excited about the future of the Texas Rangers.

Chris Halicke

At 35-55, the Texas Rangers are on their way to their fifth straight losing season, the longest streak since the franchise moved to Texas in 1972. The Rangers are, however, in a rebuild, so it wasn't necessarily unexpected to finish near the bottom of the standings.

With that in mind, more eyes have been focused on the Rangers farm system this season. After all, if the team is going to compete in the next couple of seasons, the Rangers need to hit on some of these prospects.

Coming into the season, the experts did not think too highly of the Rangers farm system. Both MLB.com and Baseball America put Texas in the bottom third of their preseason rankings, with the lack of impact talent and pitching health wielding the greatest criticism.

The addition of Vanderbilt's Jack Leiter in the MLB Draft adds an impact arm to the system, and will likely be ranked the club's No. 1 prospect when the next rankings are released. But Leiter has yet to throw his first professional pitch. So in this minor league update, we are going to focus on what has happened on the farm to date.

•How long until Curtis Terry gets a call-up? Triple-A Round Rock hasn't produced the same level of optimism as the RoughRiders up in Frisco. However, Terry has been one of the standouts there.

Through 59 games, Terry is slashing .293/.373/.572/.945 with 15 home runs and 47 RBI. He's always been known for his bat, but the Rangers may be taking their time with the 24-year-old first baseman. Prior to this season, Terry had never logged an inning above High-A.

Either way, Terry is making it difficult for the Rangers to keep him at Round Rock. It would be a bit of a shock if Terry doesn't get a shot in Arlington sometime soon, maybe even after the trade deadline.

•If you're looking for optimism in the Rangers farm system, all you have to do is take a quick drive up to Frisco. The RoughRiders are tied for the second-best record in all of Double-A at 34-29. The starting rotation is not only fun to watch, but they are very, very good. The lineup currently features some of the best hitters in the organization. Before some of these guys move on, you need to plan a visit to watch this fun team play.

•That Frisco rotation....

Cole Winn and Hans Crouse are pitching like top prospects. Jake Latz has had his ups and downs, but has shown plenty of potential. A.J. Alexy has been dominant. Yerry Rodriguez and Ronny Henriquez have been fun to watch too. If you're looking for an arm that might be able to beat Jack Leiter to the big leagues and make a big impact, look no further than Frisco right now.

•Top prospect Josh Jung is doing a lot of the things that were expected of him when he came back from a stress fracture in his foot. Despite only playing 23 of the RoughRiders' 63 games, Jung is already fourth on the team with 21 RBI, along with a solid slash line of .297/.373/.495/.867 and five home runs.

•Remember when catching prospect Sam Huff hit a 511-foot home run in Arizona a couple of weeks ago? Well, he didn't quite match that this week, his 495-foot homer against Springfield on Wednesday left many in amazement as it sailed out of the ballpark.

•Josh Stowers was one of the two prospects acquired in the Rougned Odor trade — a trade that very few thought would materialize. Now, Stowers leads the RoughRiders with 12 home runs. What if — just, what if — the Ranges fleeced the Yankees on this one?

Now, there are still improvements to be made. A .206 batting average in Double-A is a bit low. Even so, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about this guy. Same as Joey Gallo, we're not going to write off a player because of a low average.

•Justin Foscue, the Rangers' first-round pick in 2020, has dealt with a rib injury most of the season. But now he is back and mashing the ball. His overall slash line over 19 games is .254/.363/.597/.960 with six home runs and 12 RBI. If he can stay healthy, he may get a call-up to Frisco before the season ends if he keeps raking.

•Luisangel Acuña, the little brother of Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., is doing very well in his first full professional season. He's slashing .282/.373/.437/.810 with six home runs and 39 RBI in 58 games. He's also stolen 21 bases. There is obviously a lot of intrigue with Acuña because of the DNA he shares. 

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Chris Halicke
CHRIS HALICKE

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