Baseball America’s Top 10 Prospects for the Texas Rangers.

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Baseball America has released their top 10 prospects for the Texas Rangers. The list is below and surprises abound.

1. Joey Gallo
2. Jake Thompson
3. Jorge Alfaro
4. Nomar Mazaro
5. Nick Williams
6. Alex Gonzalez
7. Luis Sardinas
8. Ryan Rua
9. Luis Ortiz
10. Josh Morgan

Gallo topping the list is hardly a surprise. He has the highest ceiling in the system, perhaps the highest ceiling in the all of the minors. Gallo has the potential to be a superstar if he starts making consistent contact.

Thompson vaulting Alfaro is beyond shocking. Thompson was acquired in the Joakim Soria trade alongside Corey Knebel. Thompson has the potential to be a two or a three in the Rangers’ rotation and could join the team in 2015. Thompson definitely has some upside with the potential to have two or three plus pitches and some durability.

Alfaro fitting in third is a surprise given that the conventional wisdom has been that Alfaro is the second best prospect in the system.

Nomar Mazara, Nick Williams and Alex Gonzalez all fit in well at 4, 5 and 6. It seems these three should all be above Thompson. Mazara has been climbing the rankings quickly and had a good year developmentally in 2014. Nick Williams has all the talent in the world and it appears the only thing that could keep him from being a star in the bigs will be his approach. If he develops an approach at the plate and becomes a more patient and selective hitter he could be a true star in Arlington. Gonzalez is an exciting pitching prospect and many see him as the best pitching prospect in the system.

Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Luis Sardinas and Ryan Rua look like they could be serviceable major league players. Sardinas is a glove first, light hitting prospect. He is not a sexy prospect by any measure but he has the stuff to be a major leaguer. Rua’s prospect status has slowly but consistently climbed over the last two years. His quality showing at the major league level likely helped his case a lot.

Luis Ortiz being below Sardinas and Rua is a little surprising. Sardinas and Rua have low ceilings while Ortiz has unlimited ceiling. Jon Daniels has mentioned how happy they were to get Ortiz late in the first round this year. Daniels has said that he believes Ortiz can be a Felix Hernandez type pitcher if he reaches his ceiling.

Josh Morgan is another good middle defender with a low offensive ceiling. He beats out players like Luke Jackson, Corey Knebel, Lewis Brinson, Ronald Guzman, Travis Demeritte, and Keone Kela. Luke Jackson is the most notable snub here. Jackson was regularly a top five prospect over the previous year in most prospect lists for the Rangers. He struggled greatly after a promotion to AAA so BA really penalized Jackson for his poor showing. Brinson and Guzman are two other interesting omissions that got left off the list after struggling some in 2014.

All in all, the Texas farm system appears to be in great shape with high ceiling talent at every level. They have potential contributors in the future at most positions. The future is bright in Arlington.