This Texas Rangers minor league team is “prospect rich”

SURPRISE, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Relief pitcher Cole Winn #76 of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Cleveland Indians during the fifth inning of the MLB spring training game on March 09, 2021 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Relief pitcher Cole Winn #76 of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Cleveland Indians during the fifth inning of the MLB spring training game on March 09, 2021 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

It’s about time the Texas Rangers‘ minor league system got some respect.

Well, that respect has appeared to arrive, at least in some form, through a recent article by MLB Pipeline, which compiled a list of each MLB team’s most stacked affiliate.

Any guesses as to which Texas Rangers’ minor league affiliate made the cut?

If you guessed the Frisco RoughRiders, you would be correct!

The AA Frisco RoughRiders are the most talented team in the Texas Rangers’ minor league system

That’s right, the Rangers’ AA affiliate was recognized for being the most “stacked” in the organization’s minor league ranks.

Here’s what MLB Pipeline had to say:

"Rangers: Double-A Frisco RoughRidersThe RoughRiders boast the Rangers’ best pitching prospect, right-hander Cole Winn, who sports a 2.87 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings and leads the Double-A Central with a .125 opponent average. The roster also includes several of the better prospects in the system, including righties Hans Crouse and Yerry Rodriguez, corner infielders Davis Wendzel and Sherten Apostel and outfielder Steele Walker. Outfielder Bubba Thompson looks much improved this season and Texas’ top prospect, third baseman Josh Jung, should make his season debut in Frisco after recovering from a stress fracture in his left foot, perhaps as early as next week."

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The most notable prospect at AA Frisco happens to be right-hander Cole Winn, who MLB Pipeline correctly notes as the best pitching prospect in the organization. But there’s so much talent on this team, and that should be wildly encouraging for Texas Rangers fans who are (rightly) worried about the current state of the big league club.

Names like Hans Crouse, Yerry Rodriguez, Davis Wendzel and top prospect Josh Jung figure to make their big leagues debuts by the end of the season, and definitely by 2022.

MLB Pipeline listed a bunch of top-ranked prospects within the organization, but didn’t even mention other fast risers and top performers on that same Frisco team, like infielder Ryan Dorow, converted heat-thrower Fernery Ozuna, lefty Jake Latz, prospect rightys AJ Alexy and Tyler Phillips and the recently promoted pitching prospect Ronny Henriquez.

So yeah, we’d say the Frisco RoughRiders are indeed pretty stacked!

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