In 58 career Major League innings coming into Monday evening's series-opener in Arlington, sidewinding Oakland Athletics rookie Brad Ziegler had yielded just a single long ball (to Angels first baseman Mark Teixeira, a game-tying ninth-inning shot last Wednesday) en route to crafting an unbelievable 0.78 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.

Hank Blalock made it two last night, walloping an outside fastball just beyond the fence in left-center field to knot a hotly contested ballgame at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Not a terribly notable home run in the grand scheme of things (particularly given what transpired shortly afterward in extra frames), except that upon further examination, it was actually Blalock's leftmost blast since he curled a Carlos Silva pitch around the left field foul pole at the Ballpark on May 9th, 2006.

We probably haven't seen him bring all three major zones of the baseball field into play this uniformly since back when he was actually an offensive asset to Texas.

I'm not sure if Blalock's .333/.378/.627 performance spanning 82 plate appearances this month (which is amplified by the fact that he has hit safely in 20 of his last 23 games dating back to August 28th) is meaningful enough to place additional pressure on the Rangers to pick up his $6.2 million club option for 2009, but he's certainly trying his best to make things interesting from a competitive standpoint.

And, as Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus suggested to me this morning, a legitimate offensive re-awakening from Blalock could conceivably have an impact on the Rangers' off-season handling of the Milton Bradley situation:

Joey Matschulat: Will, do you have any confidence that Milton Bradley will be able to overcome his innumerable injury problems and play in the outfield on anything more than a part-time basis going forward?

Will Carroll: No, but is that so bad? The biggest issue is that he's going to need time at DH, if not full-time, which reduces some flexibility for the Rangers given their surplus of C/1B/DH types. If Bradley ends up being the mirror image of Harold Baines in temperament but similar in production, that's not bad! A FOT [front-office type] compared Bradley to Paul O'Neill the other day and I didn't see it at first, but the more I think about it, the more I get it.

 

I would note that he wants a long-term deal and I'd be hesitant. Travis Hafner showed that even DHs can be affected by injuries. Three years? Only if I can clear out one of the [Max] Ramirez/Blalock/[Chris] Davis crew.

Luis Mendoza, on the other hand, will probably find himself sent to the back of the relief line, and might well find himself jettisoned from the club's 2009 plans entirely given his inexplicably poor performance on the big league bump this season, which includes bearing the bulk of the responsibility for last night's 11th-inning loss. Dig beyond the 8.66 ERA (50 ERA+) and 1.91 WHIP compiled over 62.1 innings this season, and you'll find a pitcher who has posted an inconceivably poor VORP of -32.0 this season.

That mark represents not only the worst VORP in baseball in 2008, but also the worst single-season VORP in baseball since 2000, when a 23-year-old by the name of Roy Halladay notched a -36.5 VORP over 67.2 innings, remarkably making 13 starts and six additional relief appearances before being demoted to High-A Dunedin to begin the 2001 season - a daring strategy, which the Rangers similarly employed with Edinson Volquez last year, that has since been dubbed the "Halladay treatment."

Two years and a boatload of mental and mechanical adjustments later, he won the American League Cy Young Award. But that's not the point. Rather, the point is that Mendoza will probably have to make some radical changes to his game, or suddenly have the proverbial light bulb go off in his head, in order to convince the organization that he deserves a second extended opportunity in the majors.

I'm intentionally refraining from doing a full writeup on this subject until after the regular season ends, but it bears mentioning right now: the Rangers' defense has converted 67.8 percent of batted balls into outs this season, a statistic which is more commonly known as defensive efficiency. That represents the 21st-worst mark in baseball in the last 55 years.

And people wonder why this pitching staff's ERA is nearly six-tenths of a run worse than its fielding-independent ERA.

ESPN quite often goes way over-the-top in terms of its on-air product, but the network's post-game presentation of Sunday evening's Yankee Stadium finale was absolutely spot-on. I really, really enjoyed that.

On a related note, ESPN Deportes will air a special three-part series from September 28th-30th chronicling former Rangers reliever Ugueth Urbina, who is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence in Venezuela for the alleged attempted murder of four workers on his family's ranch. All three segments will air as part of ESPN's nightly SportsCenter broadcast and repeat on the following morning's SportCenter.

ESPN.com's Buster Olney predicts that if Yankees general manager Brian Cashman remains with the club in 2009, impending free agent Mark Teixeira will ink a lucrative deal with his home-state Baltimore Orioles this winter; if not, writes Olney, the Yankees will snag Teixeira, most probably for something in the general vicinity of eight years and in excess of $120 million guaranteed. No mention of the Angels in his answer.

If the season ended today, Texas would wield pick No. 12 in the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft by virtue of having slid behind the Athletics and back into third place in the AL West standings with last night's 4-3 defeat. The Washington Nationals possess pick No. 9A, a compensation prize for the club's failure to sign 2008 first-round pick and current Fort Worth Cats hurler Aaron Crow.

The Clinton LumberKings have severed their six-year affiliation with the Rangers, opting to sign a new player-development contract with the Seattle Mariners. The Rangers' Low-A affiliate in 2009 will be the Hickory (North Carolina) Crawdads of the South Atlantic League, who play in homer-friendly L.P. Frans Stadium.

BTiA's own Jason Parks departs for Surprise, Arizona on Thursday with a duel purpose: to watch the Rangers' 53-player Fall Instructional League contingent (the entire roster is available here for your perusal), and to hopefully bring us some more innately fascinating minor league insight. He eagerly invites your questions here.

Baseball America's Jim Callis wrote the following of the Rangers' farm system yesterday as part of the latest weekly installment of "Ask BA":

I'd rank Texas ahead of Oakland because I like their depth and their balance of hitters and pitchers a little more. The Rangers have done an impressive job on all fronts recently, picking up talent via trades (Andrus might be the best shortstop prospect in the minors, while Feliz might have the best pure fastball), the draft (getting Smoak and Ross with the 11th and 57th overall picks this year was a huge coup) and the international market (Perez drew some Johan Santana comps in the short-season Northwest League this summer).

 

Just imagine if Texas had been able to sign prized Dominican righthander Michel Inoa this summer after reportedly offering him more than the A's, who landed him for a record $4.25 million.

Beyond Belief, a biographical account of Josh Hamilton's life before his days in Major League Baseball co-authored by ESPN The Magazine writer Tim Keown, will be released on October 14th. The 2008 Hank Aaron Award nominee will conduct a 7:00 p.m. book signing on October 22nd at the Barnes & Noble in The Parks mall in south Arlington.

Dustin Nippert will pitch in the Dominican Winter League later this year with the goal of furthering his development as a viable big league starting pitcher. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Joaquin Arias, Brandon Boggs, Nelson Cruz, German Duran, Travis Metcalf, Max Ramirez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will also participate in winter-ball festivities, with Saltalamacchia targeting November 15th as the day he will report to Leones del Escogido.

Matt Harrison (dead arm) is still scheduled to start tomorrow afternoon's home finale against the Athletics, while Brandon McCarthy (strained flexor tendon, right middle finger) will almost certainly be limited to bullpen sessions the rest of the way.

To close this puppy out, I've included Baseball America's Rangers-centric Northwest League and Midwest League prospect rankings and scouting reports, which you can view after the jump.

To those of you not interested in taking the jump: Enjoy the Rangers' last home night game of 2008.

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NORTHWEST LEAGUE PROSPECT RANKINGS

1. Josh Vitters, 3B, Boise (Cubs)

2. Martin Perez, LHP, Spokane (Rangers)

3. Christian Friedrich, LHP Tri-City (Rockies)

4. Neil Ramirez, RHP, Spokane (Rangers)

5. Conor Gillaspie, 3B, Salem-Keizer (Giants)

6. Wilfredo Boscan, RHP, Spokane (Rangers)

7. James Darnell, 3B, Eugene (Padres)

8. Tim Murphy, LHP, Spokane (Rangers)

9. Jharmidy DeJesus, 3B, Everett (Mariners)

10. Charlie Blackmon, OF, Tri-City (Rockies)

11. Blake Tekotte, OF, Eugene (Padres)

12. Ryan Flaherty, SS, Boise (Cubs)

13. Dennis Raben, OF, Everett (Mariners)

14. Simon Castro, RHP, Eugene (Padres)

15. Tyson Gillies, OF, Everett (Mariners)

16. Matt West, 3B, Spokane (Rangers)

17. Jason Christian, SS, Vancouver (Athletics)

18. Dusty Coleman, SS, Vancouver (Athletics)

19. Cole Figueroa, 2B/SS, Eugene (Padres)

20. Collin Cowgill, OF, Yakima (Diamondbacks)

NORTHWEST LEAGUE SCOUTING REPORTS (RANGERS ONLY)

Martin Perez (61.2 IP, 1-2, 3.65 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 53 K, 28 BB):

It took Perez 14 tries to earn his first pro victory this summer, but his season couldn't be considered anything but a success. After all, he was the youngest player in the Northwest League at age 17 and was making his pro debut after signing out of Venezuela in 2007. He finished seventh in ERA (3.65) and allowed just three homers in 62 innings.

 

Small and wiry at 6 feet and 165 pounds, Perez nevertheless has two plus pitches. He consistently works from 89-92 and touches 94 mph with his fastball, and his power breaking ball may be the best curve in a Rangers system loaded with arms. Perez shows some feel for a changeup, a third potential plus pitch, but it's still a work in progress. He maintains good arm speed and gets good action on it, though it can be too firm.

Neil Ramirez (44.0 IP, 1-2, 2.66 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 52 K, 29 BB):

As with Perez, the Rangers challenged Ramirez by sending him to the NWL to make his pro debut as a teenager. He had little trouble overpowering older hitters, holding them to a .166 average while striking out 52 in 44 innings.

 

Ramirez attacks hitters with a 90-94 mph fastball that touches 96 and has decent life to the arm side. He has shown the ability to change speeds with his fastball, keeping hitters off balance. They can't gear up for it because his curveball is a hard, late-breaking hammer, a true plus pitch.

 

At 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Ramirez also has projection remaining. He's working on a changeup that showed improvement throughout the summer. He has to improve his command and control, but his pure stuff is exciting.

Wilfredo Boscan (69.1 IP, 9-1, 3.12 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 70 K, 11 BB):

Another teenage pitching standout for Spokane, Boscan led the NWL in wins (nine) while finishing fourth in ERA (3.12) and strikeouts (70 in 69 innings). For an 18-year-old, he showed uncanny fastball command and mound presence. He was fearless, working the inside corner and throwing any pitch in any count.

 

Boscan's fastball ranges from 88-92 mph and it tends to sink down and away from righthanders. He changes speeds on his over-the-top curveball, and he gets good late movement on his plus changeup. His 70-11 K-BB ratio ranked second in the league to Loree, who's three years older.

Tim Murphy (32.2 IP, 3-1, 3.03 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 40 K, 15 BB):

A two-way prospect who focused solely on playing the outfield as a UCLA freshman, Murphy has established that his future definitely is on the mound. He drew some Andy Pettitte comparisons in the NWL, where he was one of the best relievers around. His competitive nature makes him a perfect fit for a late-inning relief role, though he also may have enough stuff to serve as a starter.

 

Murphy has a 90-92 mph fastball, but his best pitch is a sharp, over-the-top curveball. If he can improve his changeup and his control (he gave up nearly as many walks as hits), he could move into the rotation. His arm action is long in back, which affects his release point and his ability to locate his pitches.

Matt West (240 AB, .258/.367/.358, 4 HR, 26 BB, 68 K, 1 SB):

After signing as a second-rounder in 2007, West made headlines two months into his pro career when he drew a 50-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. When he returned this summer, he showed a promising bat. He has good bat speed, the ability to drive the ball to all fields and penchant for hammering fastballs.

 

West still is figuring out how to translate his raw power in batting practice into performance in games, and he has a ways to go in solving breaking balls. Though he played shortstop in high school, his size and range profile better at third base. He has a solid arm and average speed.

Baseball America's Nathan Rode later explains in the "Northwest League Top 20 Chat" that Spokane right-hander Carlos Pimentel just missed out from ranking, and identifies West as a "line drive guy" who "punishes fastballs and finds the gaps really well," projecting him as a potential 15-20 HR type in the majors.

MIDWEST LEAGUE PROSPECT RANKINGS

1. Mike Moustakas, 3B/SS, Burlington (Royals)

2. Neftali Feliz, RHP, Clinton (Rangers)

3. Jarrod Parker, RHP, South Bend (Diamondbacks)

4. Ben Revere, OF, Beloit (Twins)

5. Brett Wallace, 3B, Quad Cities (Cardinals)

6. Engel Beltre, OF, Clinton (Rangers)

7. Andrew Lambo, OF, Great Lakes (Dodgers)

8. Philippe Aumont, RHP, Wisconsin (Mariners)

9. Derek Holland, LHP, Clinton (Rangers)

10. Neftali Soto, 3B, Dayton (Reds)

11. Danny Duffy, LHP, Burlington (Royals)

12. Craig Italiano, RHP, Kane County (Athletics)

13. Jordan Walden, RHP, Cedar Rapids (Angels)

14. Justin Jackson, SS, Lansing (Blue Jays)

15. Pete Kozma, SS, Quad Cities (Cardinals)

16. Corey Brown, OF, Kane County (Athletics)

17. Juan Ramirez, RHP, Wisconsin (Mariners)

18. Danny Gutierrez, RHP, Burlington (Royals)

19. Kevin Ahrens, 3B, Lansing (Blue Jays)

20. Trevor Reckling, LHP, Cedar Rapids (Angels)

MIDWEST LEAGUE SCOUTING REPORTS (RANGERS ONLY)

Neftali Feliz (82 IP, 6-3, 2.52 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 106 K, 28 BB)

Feliz may have the most explosive fastball in the minors. He effortlessly sat at 93-94 mph and touched 99 mph with Clinton, and he reached triple digits after jumping to Double-A. Between the two stops, he led all minor league starters by averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

 

"The ball jumps out of his hand," a scout with a National League club said, "and it jumps past bats also."

 

Feliz could rely on his fastball alone to overpower most MWL hitters, but he needs to use his secondary pitches more often. His hard breaking ball shows flashes of becoming a plus pitch and is at its best when he stays on top of it and achieves curveball action, but he tends to slow down his arm and drop his elbow, resulting in a flatter slurve. His changeup is promising, too, though he rarely unveils it.

Engel Beltre (566 AB, .283/.308/.403, 8 HR, 15 BB, 105 K, 31 SB):

The MWL's youngest player at age 18, Beltre also had the highest ceiling among its position players. The league leader in runs (87) and hits (160), he's a fast-twitch athlete with all five tools.

 

Beltre has a very quick, sound swing that generates easy power, and he has the hand speed to turn around quality fastballs. He's more fluid than Revere in center field and on the basepaths, and he also owns a plus arm. The only question with Beltre is his aggressiveness�he walked just 15 times in 130 games�which may create problems at upper levels when pitchers will feed him fewer strikes.

 

"He's a bad-ball hitter," a second American League scout said. "He was swinging at everything, but he hit it, smoking it everywhere. He's ready to hit every pitch."

Derek Holland (93.2 IP, 7-0, 2.40 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 91 K, 29 BB)

A 25th-rounder signed as a draft-and-follow in May 2007, Holland made one of the biggest breakthroughs in the minors this year. He didn't arrive in Clinton with the notoriety of Feliz or first-round pick Blake Beavan, but he had a better mix of pitches than either. Holland's 7-0, 2.40 performance with the LumberKings was impressive enough, but he really opened eyes when he was worked at 94-98 mph deep into games in Double-A.

 

In the MWL, Holland's fastball typically ranged from 91-94 mph. Though his arm action and delivery aren't the smoothest, he achieved nice sink on his heater and commanded it to both sides of the plate. He also showed a slightly above-average changeup and a sweeping 78-80 mph slider.

Jim Callis justifies Michael Main's exclusion in the "Midwest League Top 20 Chat" by noting that Main didn't rack up enough innings to qualify, and additionally states that Blake Beavan landed just outside the top 20. Had Justin Smoak been eligible, he likely would have been ranked second in the league.

Callis also compares Beltre's physical build and game to that of Alfonso Soriano "with the ability to play a quality center field," while identifying his strike-zone discipline as his biggest weakness.