Came across this on espn.com, thought it was worth a share:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/51224/mlbs-super-sweet-16-prospects-coming-to-a-pennant-race-near-you

4 from St. Louis, 3 each from Tampa Bay and Texas, 2 from Arizona. I think it's interesting that there are none listed from a few contenders (Yankees, Phillies, Giants, Angels, Blue Jays), which I guess means there is little help available for them should a major player go down with an injury or just flat out suck this year.

Barring injuries in ST, it looks like Profar and Olt will start the season in Triple A, and Perez may be the 5th starter. For the sake of a discussion, out of the 18 listed, who will have the biggest impact this year, if any? Will any of them see a decent amount of playing time this year?

AlanElmore, I really liked what I saw out of Profar. I was one of those against moving Elvis this winter. From what I saw, he could use 100 more AB's in AAA. In addition, the club has the motive of retaing control over the player, if Profar is kept in the minors for roughly a couple of months. I don't think Profar is a better SS than Andrus. And, with this pitching staff, defense against right handed hitters will be a strength. Outside of Darvish, NONE of our pitchers overwhelm me.

I like Olt's bat. He may start the season with the Rangers. This is especially the case should Nellie Cruz get B-slapped by Selig. He'll help soften that major blow.

I heard a lot about Martin Perez before his extended stay here, last year. Forget any numbers. How did you feel after watching him? I was underwhelmed. I started asking myself, out of guilt, why I felt this way. Was it because:

a) Perez was sold as a possible Top of Rotation Pitcher
b) Perez was/is young and I was rushing his development
c) Perez looked, for all the world, like a lifetime Middle of Rotation Pitcher
d) I was desperate for someone to step up and be Colby Lewis

I think Robbie Ross will emerge as the #5 starter. The club will then move to find a LHP to replace him in the pen.

Speaking of Perez, I got a similar feeling watching Tanner Scheppers. There was the potential to be very solid, but I couldn't see anything else. I HOPE I'm wrong.

Peace

"I think it's interesting that there are none listed from a few contenders (Yankees, Phillies, Giants, Angels, Blue Jays)"

I found that odd too until I started thinking about their farm systems:

Yankees - they have stock-piled some nice prospects but almost every position is blocked by someone making a ton of money... so until those players either die or get traded, their prospects are going to sit in the minors.

Phillies - they have traded away all of their good prospects to acquire veteran arms/bats. The cupboard is bare and the next 3 or 4 years is going to be a rough time for Phillies fans because the future is anything but bright.

Giants - don't have a good reason here... but they obviously know what they're doing so why mess with success, ya know?

Angels - Like the Phillies, they have nothing left and most positions are blocked. They don't even have good pitching prospects anymore. They gave a pretty good chunk of money to Joe Blanton. That pretty much tells you they have nothing in the minors. I wouldn't even want Blanton as my long reliever/spot starter.

Blue Jays - they traded several good prospects but their GM is a sharp kid and I'm sure he has a plan to replinish the farm while remaining a contender... ala Jon Daniels.

@drsuess - the answer to your question is undoubtedly b) Perez was/is young and I was rushing his development.
He's a pup.
Think about Holland when he came up. One game he was lights out and then the next 3 or 4 games he was terribly inconsistent and not just game to game, but inning to inning he was erratic... and still is.
I believe Perez is going to have some serious growing pains. He's 21 yrs old and is still learning HOW to pitch. I suspect he's going to follow a similar path as Holland and Harrison where it's going to take a good 3 or 4 yrs to iron out the wrinkles and become a consistent, good pitcher.
The scouts love(d) him. He was a top 3 prospect through those years where our farm system was ranked in the top 5. If only 1 or 2 people him rated that high, then I would agree that maybe he never had good stuff to begin with and we over-hyped him... but that wasn't the case, and from a pure stuff perspective he has the ability to be a #1 or #2. We just need to be patient with him and I think pitching at the back-end of the rotation is the right thing to do. It's low pressure and he can jfocus on improving and learning how to pitch instead of only worrying about getting the W. Just my 2 cents...

I think having Profar play full-time in AAA is best as well. He needs to be playing all the time, and he won't be able to with the Rangers. I like Elvis, and would like to see him signed long-term and paired with Profar at 2B starting in 2014...not sure what to do with Kinsler though. Trade? Outfield?

I have to admit I was not impressed by Olt's showing late last season. I think full-time duty in AAA is needed for him also. I also don't think Cruz is going to be suspended, but I wonder how the story will affect his performance.

I agree with you about Perez...I was underwhelmed by him. After hearing so much hype, I guess we should have expected it would be hard for him to live up to it. There's still time for him to be a solid SP.

Alan and Pablo....great info. To say the least, this season is going to be interesting from a variety of angles. It has the feel of something fragile.

I say this because, if the Rangers get off to a slow start, I'm not sure about the fan's patience levels (or that of the FO). I'm hoping for a fast start. Pitching problems could undermine the Angels, again. Oakland may be the best club in this division. However, again, no one seems to be talking about them.

Peace

drseuss
I'm not sure what to think about our Rangers yet, and I'm not sure what I would consider a slow start for this team?? I do think we have the pitching to contend this yr if we can string a few runs.
The Angles don't scare me at all!!! the remind me of the 90's Rangers all power and no pitching.
Houston 5th place nuf said
Seattle is probably a yr or 2 away but they could be a sleeper. I fear them more than the Angels.
Oakland I know they are the pick this yr because of how they finished the season last yr but I don't think they can pull it off back to back seasons.
If the Rangers can avg 3 or 4 runs a game they win the division because the pitching and defense will keep them in it all season.

Joe C, I agree with your assessment of the Mariners. They slapped the Rangers around on a few occasions last season (including a 20+ run game). For the Rangers, playing those pitching-rich, Pacific Coast teams, in their parks, has been like displaying a crucifix to Dracula.

On the point about the Angels/90s Rangers, that's not all that's going on. The seeds of destruction have been sown into that franchise by Artie Moreno. Signing an aging Albert Pujols to a 10 yr/250M contract, on top of the disastrous move to throw crazy money at Vernon Wells, will slowly wear away at the club's foundation like acid.

Josh Hamilton's numbers will go down. Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco are the only players, in immediate memory, to produce Superman-like numbers on the left coast (Griffey Jr. in the Kingdome isn't the same). Those guys, with the exception of Big Mac's rookie year (49 HR), were all taking megadoses of stuff guys pump into farm animals. IF he stays healthy and IF he keeps his mind clear, he'll give them just slightly more than Torii Hunter did, IMO. You still have to pay Trout and Trumbo. Oh, by the way, an injury to cog-like 2b Kendrick and/or SS Aybar would be more hurtful than people are noticing.

I didn't verify this, but in 2011 Vernon Wells produced the lowest OBP of any regular OF since 1887. No, not 1987. 1887. Had to laugh when I heard this. True or not, this illuminates the decay, in progress, at the foundation of the Los Angeles/Anaheim/California/Orange County Angels.

The Rangers are in a much better fiscal condition. However, decisions on how and when to play young players looms. Remember the early 2000s Rangers? Instead of trusting younger players, they were importing end-of-the-career types like Ken Caminiti and Andres Galarraga. Flash forward. Although the situation is different, today we see players like Lance Berkman and AJ Pierzynski on the roster.

A slow start for our Rangers? I'd say 8 games back, in mid-May, making us roommates with the Astros and looking up at Seattle.

Peace