I may be very late to this party, and if I am then I apologize but I have in the past year really started getting into prospect talk and evaluation. I discovered a Baseball America podcast recently and have truly only listened to two episodes. The most recent episode (11-28-12) has a discussion on the AL West farm systems and they spend a good amount of time talking specifically about the Rangers. I found it to be really interesting.

One thing that stood out to me was a discussion on Jorge Alfaro. The guys on the show said at they didn't think Alfaro would end up being a catcher at the big league level but it is his power that will keep him around. If this is the case then the Rangers truly don't have anything in the cupboard catching-wise. As of right now there is no Soto, no Nap-Nap, no nothing on the farm. It really makes me curious as to what the Rangers WANT to do long term at the position. Interesting times ahead.

THis is a perfect exampel of why you don't get rid of your top end prospects! just 2 yrs ago we had so many catchers in the system we didn't know what to do with them all! now we don't have any!!!!

No Joe, it means that those C-Prospects never evolved into expectatons.
Taylor T just yesterday, barely got tended in Baltmore. Big Miss with TT?
Nada.

I have a hunch a lot of organizations don't have much in the way of good catcher prospects.

What a grand canyon between Alfaro's HOF ceiling and his abysmal floor.

Guys, Alfaro is, what, 19? His window of development hasn't even come close to materializing. Prospects at that age advance from year to year (both personally and through the minor league affiliates), and someone that young will go through his growth, a lot like a freshman turning into a sophomore, then a sophomore into a junior, then a junior into a senior. Maybe he ascends rapidly at some point, or maybe it's a slow roll. Dude is only 19. Still at least 3-4 years before we should be determining if the guy is who everyone thought he would be.

As for the former troika of Rangers catchers, let's all not pretend like any of them were slam dunks. They each had their limits. For Max Ramirez, people liked his bat but not his glove. And he couldn't stay healthy. For Teagarden, people liked his glove more than his bat, and he also had a problem with injuries. Saltalamacchia was supposed to be the whole package, and he had his own specific issues. Plus, he was really a head case in a lot of ways. Didn't communicate well with the organization. Was kind of a loner in the clubhouse.

None of them worked out, but I don't think it's a case study of why we should or shouldn't trade prospects before they turn into another Ramirez or Teagarden, or whether the Rangers are to blame for their development.

Shit happens.

Joe Mauer anyone? He is WAY over paid; The Twins might pay part of his salary. Or Ryan Doumit also of the Twins? Matt Treanor? OMG are we down to that level? This is a sad state of affairs for our beloved Rangers. I'm pretty sure JD will not let us down, so we can look forward to a trade at the winter meetings.

I don't think this really says, "We should have kept X catcher." I think what this demonstrates is the difficulty in finding a catcher with multiple tools. Catching is a offensive-premium position. There's a reason a catcher can get away hitting .220. Put things in perspective... teams are willing to roll with very mediocre catchers on an otherwise amazing roster.

We were *very* spoiled in having Napoli go HAM during the 2011 season. That's *not* the norm for any player, let alone catcher. When you come across a great defensive catcher with good communication with pitchers, it's tough to not play him--the thinking is that any offense they produce is a plus. If Alfaro turns out to project to a non-catching position, that's fine, he's no bust. If he can put defense and hitting together as a catcher, he'll rocket to the majors.

There's a reason he's already a four star prospect.

Do we still have a phone number for Pudge?

I wonder if PIT would now be interested in trading Michael McKenry since they signed Martin? Might be a younger guy to keep an eye on as a possible platoon or backup type.

SF has Posey and Hector Sanchez and obviously Posey is going nowhere. Belt is at 1st.

Get Sanchez!

I listened to the podcast, thank you for finding it. The Rangers top 10 comes out Dec. 5 FYI.

I do not think they were saying that he could not stick at catcher. I just think they were talking about his other possibilities if he didn't stick (since catcher is the hardest postion to stay at). They mentioned how raw he was b/c he was a 3rd basemen before signing with the Rangers and also that he might have to move to 1st/RF. But they also lauded at how athletic he is and said he might be the most athletic prospect in the system.

Either way he is still years away, and the Rangers need someone yesterday so it will be interesting to see what happens.

@Olful -- funny you should say that. He's actually working with our MiLB teams to help developing their catchers. Here's to hoping he can have Alfaro knocking on the door by 2015.

Alfaro had barely played any catcher when the Rangers decided to try to make him into one. He has a lot to learn and he's still at least 3 years away. So who cares if some writer may have jumped off the bandwagon of him being a catcher? The Rangers haven't, and they would have the best read on what makes most sense to work on.

He had barely played any catcher when the Rangers signed him. So far he's only had a couple years to develop while he also has to work on developing hitting skills. They say his arm is out of this world, his power potential is amazing, and he has to work on catching skills.

We're currently playing showcase events in front of college coaches and scouts as well as area scouts for pro teams. The talent level is pretty consistent throughout all the positions and pitching. However, the drop in the talent level, on a comparative basis to the other positions, for catchers is almost jaw-dropping. It's why when you find one that's really good he shoots up the charts as a prospect. There's just a dearth of talent at the position.

I think we should bring Pudge and Bengie Molina out of retirement. Current crop of possibilities can't be a whole lot better than those two, and they're both fan favorites (especially Pudge). And just for sh!ts and giggles.

Pudge was 19 when he arrived. When ya got "IT", ya got it.
Not tendering Soto tells me theres basically an agreement
in Trade/sign, with someone. Dotting the I's and crossing the T's?
Soto would have been a good backup, but Rangers passed.
Very interesting. ;>D

Non-tendering Soto says less than you are assuming. It means they didn't want to pay him what tendering would have cost. But it doesn't mean he's leaving. Many who analyze such issues think part of JD's plan at catcher is that Soto (after non-tendering) will be back.

I'm not assuming anything. I understand the system. You ARE correct,
but with a shortage of ANY team catching and also on market, our
Rangers are rolling the dice in a tough corner. Therez more to just
scratching the surface on this one. This may be the "can't believe deal"
deal JD always comes up with.

"Soto would have been a good backup, but Rangers passed" - - Or not. Knew what they wanted for one piece in the C rotation, and how to get it at the price that made sense.

Precisely, ansel.