Minor League Standouts for the Texas Rangers

Apr 5, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nick Martinez (22) throws the ball during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Frisco Rough Riders and the Round Rock Express are under way, and I thought I would take a look at who is off to a good start in both locations. Be sure to keep up with the Texas Rangers top prospects through the series that Brice Paterik is doing right here on Nolan Writin’. We will begin with the standouts from Frisco:

Pitching: ( I only went with pitchers with 4.0 innings pitched and up)

1. Matt West – 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 strikeouts and 2 walks in 6.2 innings pitched in relief

2. Martire Garcia – 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 strikeouts and 2 walks in 4.0 innings pitched in relief

3. Phil Klein – 2-0, 1.35 ERA, 10 strikeouts and 5 walks in 6.2 innings pitched in relief

4. Nick Martinez – 0-0, 1.80 ERA, 4 strikeouts and 2 walks in 5.0 innings pitched (1 start)

5. Jerad Eickhoff – 1-0, 2.25 ERA, 11 strikeouts and 4 walks in 8.0 innings pitched (2 starts)

6. Wilmer Font – 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 4 strikeouts and 4 walks in 4.0 innings pitched in relief

7. Edwar Cabrera – 0-0, 2.45 ERA, 9 strikeouts and 2 walks in 7.1 innings pitched (1 start, 2 relief appearances).

Hitting:  (I only went with batting averages above .250)

1. Chris Grayson – 15 AB, .400/.526/.533, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB and 4 SO

2. Ryan Rua – 28 AB, .393/.500/.607, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB and 3 SO

3. Guilder Rodriguez – 11 AB, .273/.467/.263, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 BB and 3 SO

4. Jake Smolinski – 31 AB, .258/.452/.484, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 10 BB and 5 SO

5. Drew Robinson – 24 AB, .250/.400/.458, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB and 12 SO.

Those are your standouts so far from AA Frisco, Now lets take a look at the standouts from AAA Round Rock:

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Pitching: ( I only went with ERA under 4.00 for AAA)

1. Nick Tepesch – 2-0, 0.69 ERA, 10 strikeouts and 4 walks in 13.0 innings pitched (2 starts)

2. Neftali Feliz – 1-0, 1.93 ERA, 4 strikeouts and 1 walk in 4.2 innings pitched in relief

3. Scott Richmond – 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 5 strikeouts and 2 walks in 8.0 innings pitched in relief

4. Scott Baker – 2-0, 3.75 ERA, 10 strikeouts and 2 walks in 12.0 innings pitched (2 starts)

5. Ryan Feierabend – 2-0, 3.95 ERA, 10 strikeouts and 2 walks in 13.2 innings pitched (3 starts)

Hitting: (I only went with batting averages over .300 for AAA ball)

1. Alex Buchholz – 20 AB, .500/.476/.600, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 0 BB and 0 SO

2. Kensuke Tanaka – 29 AB, .379/.486/.690, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 6 BB and 4 SO

3. Brett Nicholas – 32 AB, .313/.463/.531, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 8 BB and 6 SO

4. Brad Snyder – 42 AB, .310/.408/.500, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 BB and 15 SO

5. Chris Gimenez – 13 AB, .308/.400/.308, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB and 3 SO

And, no surprise, the worst at the AAA level is one Cory Burns, in 6.1 innings pitched, he has walked 4 and allowed 18 hits and 12 runs, all earned, for an ERA of 17.05. Don’t be expecting to see him with the Texas Rangers anytime soon. Hope you enjoyed the little update, I am going to try to update it a couple of times a month.