Oct 24, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello (48) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning of game one of the 2012 World Series against the San Francisco Giants at AT

Prior to his injury, Martín Pérez appeared to be the favorite to win the No. 5 spot in the Texas rotation, but as it stands now, the Rangers’ best options for the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation have come down to Nick Tepesch and Robbie Ross. Ross, whom was the Rangers’ primary LHP out of the bullpen in 2012, would appear to be the odd man out in the battle for the No. 5 spot in the rotation had LHPs Joe Ortiz and Michael Kirkman not displayed such strong Springs.

Colby Lewis, who missed the majority of the 2012 season due to a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow, appears to be ready to return the Rangers in mid-to-late May and would ideally slide into the No. 5 spot in the rotation, thusly bumping either Tepesch or Ross from the role, but there are obvious questions regarding how effective Lewis will be after rehabilitation, which is evidently giving the Rangers some reason to evaluate external options to fill out the rotation, which is where Rick Porcello enters the equation.

Based on WAR, Porcello is coming off of his strongest season to date. The young righty posted 2.9 WAR with a FIP of 3.91 in 176.1 innings in 2012. Porcello’s 2012 ERA of 4.59 is obviously not awe-inspiring, but don’t forget to take into account the Tigers’ weak infield defense. Porcello is a groundball pitcher and given the discrepancy between Porcello’s FIP and his ERA, it is evident that the Tigers’ weak infield defense is to blame. The Rangers on the other hand have one of the stronger infield defenses in all of baseball. So with Porcello pitching in front of a strong infield defense like the one in Texas, his ERA would correspondingly correlate more to his FIP, making Porcello a very solid No. 3 starter on a playoff team, with room to improve, given that he’s still only 24.

Rick Porcello is obviously a good fit for the Rangers, given his propensity to get groundballs, but what exactly would the Tigers want for him?

Rumors seem to indicate that the Tigers have interest in the Rangers’ Leury Garcia and Nick Tepesch, but I would think that the Tigers would want another prospect in order to agree to a deal. Perhaps a 3-player plackage centered around Luis Sardinas gets a deal done, and if that is the case, it would be a very solid deal on both sides. The Rangers would be acquiring a young and durable groundball pitcher and the Tigers would be acquiring a defensive whiz shortstop in Sardinas, to replace Jhonny Peralta.

Rick Porcello would provide the Rangers with a durable No. 3-4 starter, which sounds decent, until one actually realizes how rare a commodity that true No. 3 starters are in baseball. So there is obvious motivation for the Rangers to attempt to swing a deal, especially given the uncertainty at the bottom of the Rangers’ rotation, and as with any trade rumors, most of this conjecture depends on the Tigers’ asking price, but the Rangers are an ideal fit for Porcello’s services and the Rangers also seem to match up pretty well with the Tigers as trade partners, given the Rangers’ strong middle-infield depth, so only time will tell.

Early scouting reports of Martín seemed to indicate a raw but talented athlete with the kind of toolset that projected a prototypical leadoff hitter. Soon after being signed, Martín spent a quick stint in rookie ball before being called up to Double-A Frisco, where he posted a strong triple slash line of .348/.435/.571 in 112 AB’s. With nothing left to prove in Double-A, Martín was called up to Triple-A Round Rock, where he struggled to the tune of .263/.316/.314 in 175 AB’s, essentially ending any and all presumptuous ideas of Martín becoming the Rangers’ starting CF come October.

After Martín’s struggles at Round Rock in 2011, it became unclear as to whether or not the prospect would seize the starting CF job in Arlington to start the 2012 season, which is why the Rangers made the wise decision to let the youngster prove himself in Triple-A, where Martín’s sophomore season in Round Rock certainly proved to be a rebound.

In 231 AB’s, Martín posted a triple slash line of .359/.422/.610, which definitely ended any assumptions as to whether or not he was ready to prove himself in the show, and down the stretch of the 2012 season, Martín was given a sporadic 46 AB’s with uninspiring results, but then again, such results came as no surprise, given his lack of consistent playing time.

Onto 2013, Martín’s opportunity to enter past the sealed gates of CF in Arlington burst open with Josh Hamilton’s departure to the Angels. And with a strong showing in 2012, Craig Gentry currently stands to be a viable platoon option alongside Martín going forward into the 2013 season.

So who exactly is Leonys Martín?

The common consensus amongst scouts tells of an athletic outfielder that truly belongs in CF. Martín’s best tool is his arm, which has been lauded for both its accuracy and velocity. Scouts have also noted that Leonys Martín has a good sense of the strikezone with solid pitch recognition skills. Making contact isn’t a problem with Martín, as his swing has been reported as being compact and it also exhibits plus bat speed. Defensively, Martín projects to have above average range with plus speed. Essentially, Martín has solid tools across the board with none that stand out as being truly elite. As a prospect, Martín has a high floor with the ceiling of an All-Star CF.

As it stands now, the CF job in 2013 is Martín’s to lose, and it is a fairly safe bet to assume that the Rangers will give Leonys his chance to prove himself at the MLB level in 2013. Given the Rangers’ investment in the Cuban defector, the team feels that at the very worst, Martín will become nothing less than an average starting CF at the MLB level. But I for one think that Martín will surprise some people in the baseball world. Look for Martín to turn some heads in 2013, especially given the notion that he will primarily start against RHPs with Gentry starting against LHPs, which should prove to provide a strong collective WAR from the CF position in Texas in 2013.

There is just something poetic about this image:

C.J. Edwards was named the eighth best prospect in the Northwest League by Baseball America. (photo courtesy of MiLB.com)

In the Arizona Rookie League Edwards threw 20 innings while allowing just 6 hits and no earned runs. In those 20 innings he struck out 25 batters and walked 6. After showing he could dominate rookie leaguers, the men in Baseball Operations decided to send the kid to the low-A Spokane Indians in the Northwest League. While in the Northwest, C.J. continued to show dominance. He pitched 47 innings while allowing 11 runs and striking out 60 batters.

Edwards outshined arguably all of the pitchers on the Spokane Indians’ roster in 2012 and will look to do the same in 2013 no matter where he is placed. Talent-wise Edwards is up there with Alec Asher, Nicholas Tepesch, and like names. If Edwards can put on some muscle he will have a chance to be a freak of nature. How often do you see a 155 pound kid occasionally hitting 94-96 MPH on the radar gun? Uhhhh… not very often.

Baseball America ranked C.J. as the number 8 prospect in the Northwest League last year. Which is high praise for any 20 year old kid, let alone one that was drafted after 1,463 others went before him. If I’m Tim Purpura, the Director of Player Development for the Rangers, I would most definitely send the kid to Hickory for a taste of full-season baseball. I think Edwards (now 21 years old) will continue to improve and eventually become a well-known prospect in the world of baseball.

I thought I would at this perfectly written excerpt I found from an article in September of 2012 by Jason Parks from Baseball Prospectus on C.J. Edwards:

“Most 48th round draft picks don’t develop into players, much less prospects, but C.J. Edwards has a chance to change that tradition. I first stumbled upon the long and limby Edwards during the Fall Instructional League in 2011. I was charting pitches behind the pitchers tasked with charting pitches, and I thought the South Carolina native was one of the many talented Dominican pitchers in the Rangers system. My cultural and linguistic ignorance aside, I didn’t get a chance to see Edwards on the mound until the spring of 2012, where I once again assumed he was Dominican. The 6-foot-2 155 pound righty was easily one of the more interesting arms in camp, with a whippy low-90s fastball that could touch higher and a charming curve that could miss more advanced bats. Edwards carried over his exhibition success to the short-season circuit, where in two stops the 20-year-old arm (now 21) allowed only 32 hits in 67 innings of work, sending an impressive 85 down on strikes. Now in his second instructional league camp, Edwards is already flashing a high quality changeup, a fading low-80s pitch with a little sink that plays very well off his fastball. One would think that escaping the complex league level would represent the height of a 48th round pick’s professional reach, but apparently C.J. Edwards isn’t aware of such limitations, and looks to take another step forward in 2013.” — Jason Parks