2008 Texas Rangers Organizational Depth Report

rank...name...position...ETA

1. eric hurley, RHSP - mid 2008
2. blake beavan, RHSP - 2011
3. brandon mccarthy, RHSP
4. kasey kiker, LHSP - 2009
5. michael main, RHSP - 2011
6. douglas mathis, RHSP - april 2008 - sleeper
7. omar poveda, RHSP - late 2009
8. edinson volquez, RHSP
9. luis mendoza, RHSP - late 2008
10.daniel ra herrera, LHRP - mid 2008

the depth of this system has been helped greatly by the last two drafts. kiker, beavan, and main all have tremendous potential. beavan's best pitch is his turbo sinker, kiker's is a power curve, main's is a 100 MPH 4 seamer. also added through the past two drafts are danny ra herrera and brennan garr. another young pitcher, omar poveda flashes an above average changeup, and would be featured more prominently on this list if he had less propensity for flaring up. as it is, he's probably the pitcher that i underrated most on this list.

douglas mathis is the exact type of pitcher that has been undervalued in the last decade. pitchers with his profile, mediocre stuff, low K rate, average K/BB ratio, and high GB%, don't tend to get a lot of recognition until they have a few productive seasons at the major league level. i think mathis will have his first such season in 2008.


Spotlight: Brandon Mccarthy

Mccarthy appears to have changed his profile from pitching off of a high 90s 4 seam fastball when he was in the white sox bullpen to throwing a low 90s 2 seam fastball for texas in the rotation. seeing as his ERA went from being near 10 through april, to the mid 3s from may to august, i think this change has had the desired effect. mccarthy also employs a high 70s change, and a loopy mid 70s curve.

his stuff has taken a step back since moving from chicago to texas, and he still misses with his location too often to be relied upon as a top of the rotation starter. his curve is average, his change is average, his fastball is average.

but he's big, and when at his best, hitters look uncomfortable against him, taking half swings, and just missing hitting the ball on the nose. unfortunately, in texas, even a half swing can turn into a round tripper on a regular basis, so the next step for mccarthy is to make sure that when he misses, he misses down.