Just looking through the mlbtraderumors blog and saw that Buster Olney has some other suggesting that the Rangers FO is overvaluing their prospects. What are your thoughts?

Of course they would say that. They want them. Every prospect not named profar is on the table. But, hes the #1 prospect in baseball. Did the angels overvalue trout? or the nationals overvalue strasburg and harper? TB and david price and evan longoria? The rangers are holding pat for the right move. Is 2 yrs of Dickey worth profar? IMO no. James shields? Hell no.

Probably.

Its hard to say right now. Not knowing what their trade discussions have been, we just cant tell. I think we will be able to tell once the season rolls around. It seems the Rangers older prospects all have a low ceiling high floor projection (besides the obvious one) and all their younger guys are the opposite with high ceiling low floor.

I do think the Rangers need to reassess their assets. They are loaded on the left side of the IF and have good OF depth. There is no reason to keep that depth when there are more pressing needs. So in that aspect I can see how they are overvaluing their players (not necessarily prospects.

If they thought that they could get Justin Upton for Mike Olt, then they are definitely overvaluing Mike Olt.

I'd also argue that they are overvaluing 2 years of Andrus, but Andrus isn't a prospect.

Jason Kubel... the next Big Ranger signee? Where is this focus going...

No.

Texas has 3 of top 50 prospects, 4 of top 100, and Martin is arguably in the 101 tp 110 range.
The farm system is consistently top 5 in recent years, with another wave coming.

I'd say they know exactly what the value of their prospects are. However, in what way they choose to manage that asset is something that is best determined by their own internal strategic vision.

Matters not what some anonymous mail clerk might have to say to some overrated sports media mouthpiece.

With the recent changes in the draft $$$ limitations and the international signing limitations and the way MLB is pushing for international prospects to be subject to the draft, the way prospects are valued has changed. How dramatically is open for debate, but its pretty obvious which side of the fence the rangers fall on.

One year of Dickey. Martin would be a lot higher than 101. Dont forget Odor, Sardinas, Ramirez, Alfaro and Buckel, who are/have recently been in the top 100, depending on who you read.

Actually 3 and maybe 4 years of Dickey at an average of a little over 10 million a year.

They're PROSPECTS for a reason. There's a world of difference between an MLB player and a prospect. Smoak was a very highly touted prospect.

All that glitters isn't always gold.

Good point Ronald.

I don't necessarily think so. Tampa fleeced the Royals so that set the market perceptions in the public of a top prospects value. The Blue Jays followed suit. The difference between the two moves? The Blue Jays are legit close to win now and their roster reflects that mantra (although many feel that both the Blue Jays and Royals overpaid). The Royals? That roster is not appreciably better in the short term and and aren't going to be realistic contenders to win the division, much less the AL. Perception matters apparently, but they BOTH paid a ridiculous price IMO.

We'll know in a few years. It almost always comes down to whether you can consistently make solid contact against big league pitching. If Profar ot Olt can then they were not overrated. If they can't, they were. Scouting and projection still matter.

I think we have so much information about prospects in 2012, that there are such things as sure bets. Scouting reports used to only be valuable when discussing Major League players. Then it moved into the higher levels of the Minor Leagues, then to the lower levels, then to the high school level.

It's not a mistake that Mike Olt and Jurickson Profar turned into the players they've become. There's a lot of scouting that has to do with it, and the other half is the development. The Rangers excel in both facets. That's why, even if it's been an uneventful offseason, I trust Jon Daniels if he's not willing to move those guys.

Comparing everything to Justin Smoak or 'insert prospect that didn't pan out here' is a mistake.

Yes, I'm sure the Rangers overvalue their own prospects, but because we have so many good ones, I can't blame them.

Personally, on the smoak front, I think the seattle ballpark has gotten into his head. I remember one at bat against holland where he was smashing ropes foul trying to get way out in front of the ball and then striking out on something slow. I dont remember that being his M.O. I remember him trying to stay back and use the whole field more. He has the power to hit it out to center and oppo. I'm not saying hes a superstar by any means or that he could have been, but I do think it has hurt his development some.

I don't think the price the Blue Jays paid for Dickey is as bad as the Royals for Shields and Archer, unless the PTBNL is Matt Moore or somebody.

I guess another angle is with the success the Rangers have had the last 3 years, teams are trying to make them pay up. Why would TB want to send us Shields when we have knocked them out if the playoffs 2/3 years? They can trade him to the Royals and they really aren't s threat to TB in the AL picture. Add that with they know what the Rangers have and want to maximize their return they are using the Rangers as leverage against teams and GM's that are more desperate to win. A bit of a perfect storm.

What are you talking about, Andy?

Oops. I meant Davis.