Texas Rangers: Where does Kolby Allard fit in the prospect rankings?

Now that the Texas Rangers have acquired Kolby Allard from the Atlanta Braves, it is time to see where he fits within their farm system’s rankings.

On Tuesday, the Texas Rangers dealt Chris Martin to the Atlanta Braves for Kolby Allard. MLB.com has Allard rated as the 16th best prospect in the Texas Rangers farm system, after being ranked tenth with the Braves. Personally, I think he is in the top ten for the Rangers, and for our Nolan Writin’ rankings, we’re going to add him into the prospect list I made earlier this month in the 6-15 rankings.

Allard slots into the rankings at #7, dropping Anderson Tejeda and all of those below him down a spot in the rankings. Allard looks like a safe bet to become a #4 or #5 starter, and could possibly climb higher if he finds a way to bring his velocity back up.

He once was the #1 lefty prospect in baseball, but has had a fall from grace in that time due to his drop in velocity. He will likely stay in Triple-A, as the Texas Rangers get him acclimated to their organization, but could compete for a spot in the rotation during Spring Training, and likely be given some opportunities to start.

Given that the Texas Rangers only major move this trade season was to send Chris Martin to Atlanta, it likely means that the rotation for the rest of the season is going to consist of Mike Minor, Lance Lynn, Adrian Sampson, Ariel Jurado, and Pedro Payano for right now. Should one of the last three fall out of the rotation, it seems unlikely the Rangers would let Allard start in the majors over Taylor Hearn, Joe Palumbo, and maybe even Jesse Chavez.

Regardless of what the Texas Rangers do with Kolby Allard this season, the future outlook for him and the Rangers is very bright. This was a quality move for Texas that falls into the low-risk, high-reward category.