Texas Rangers Prospects: Offseason Rankings #1-5

The Texas Rangers have a lot of intriguing prospects heading into the 2020 season, as all possess gobs of potential, and seem to have very bright futures.

The Texas Rangers top five prospects are a group of players that have insane potential, and look like they could play big roles with the team in the future and for years to come.

#5 Leody Taveras OF

Taveras, 21, has been a prospect that fans of the Texas Rangers farm system have known about for many years now, and it is finally looking like his MLB debut will occur sooner rather than later. Taveras possesses an extremely high ceiling, and his bat finally came around last season, as he hit .279 across high-A and AA. He is also a terrific defender, and has extremely good speed, as he stole 32 bases in 2019.

Outlook: Taveras was added to the 40-man roster during the offseason, and he will likely start the year in AA, but there is a good chance fans could see him make his way to the majors this season as a September call-up.

#4 Cole Winn RHP

Winn was taken 15th overall by the Texas Rangers in 2018, and did not make his debut in the minors for the team until 2019. In his first pro season, Winn, 20, struggled mightily at first, especially with walks, but got better down the stretch, and posted a 3.65 ERA across his last ten starts of 2019 at the A level. He has an above average trio of pitches (fastball, slider, curveball), and has an average changeup to go with average control, but has loads of potential to keep an eye on.

Outlook: Winn completed just his first minor league season in 2019, and the way it ended, it looks like he could potentially move through the minors well, and possibly make his debut by 2023.

#3 Sam Huff C

Huff, 22, just came off a breakout 2019 season, where he flew through prospect rankings, establishing himself as a top 100 prospect across baseball, as well as the catcher of the future for the Rangers. In just 30 games at A ball for Texas, he mashed 15 home runs, and continued mashing in high-A, as he added 13 more. Huff looks like he could potentially become the catching version of Joey Gallo, looking at his minor league numbers (lots of K’s and HR’s).

Outlook: Despite likely starting 2020 in high-A, it is likely that Huff is not too far down on the Rangers depth chart for catching, even though the team would like to keep him in the minors, he could potentially debut as soon as 2021.

#2 Hans Crouse RHP

Crouse, 21, was the second round pick by the Texas Rangers in the 2017 draft, and has shown dominance on the mound since his arrival. He struggled in A ball in 2019, likely due to playing through bone spurs. He has a plus fastball, paired with an above average slider, and is working to develop a third pitch, which would help solidify him as a prospect that should stay a starter, rather than falling into the bullpen.

Outlook: Crouse has been a fun prospect to keep up with since the Rangers drafted him out of high school, and likely will continue to be that way, as he could find his way into the majors as soon as 2022.

#1 Josh Jung 3B

Jung, 21 (22 next month), tore apart college pitching over the course of his career at Texas Tech, and continued to do so with the Texas Rangers, as he hit .316 across 44 games in the minors for the club. He won co-Big 12 Player of the Year with fellow Rangers prospect, Davis Wendzel in 2019, and looked to be the one of best hitters of the prospects in his draft class. He can play every infield position, but profiles best as a third baseman, and the only issue he really has is that he does not hit for much power.

Outlook: Jung was a great draft pick for the Rangers in 2019, and will be a lot of fun to watch develop throughout years to come, and he could for sure be a player that flies through the minor leagues, and make it to the show as soon as 2021.