The Texas Rangers have one of the better minor league systems in all of baseball, but most of that talent is in Low and High-A.  While it would be awesome to see Joey Gallo get a September call-up, the likelihood of him being able to handle big league pitching at this stage of his development is low.  Sure, he could hit 5 home runs in 50 September at-bats, but he might also strikeout 45 times – which by the way would be awesome!  Can you imagine, a .000 BABIP and .400 Slugging percentage.

The Rangers surprised the baseball world when they promoted Roguned Odor on May 8th.  Through the early going, Odor has held his own, slashing .290/.315/.478 in 69 at-bats.  He’s hit two home runs but has yet to attempt a stolen base.  The skill set is intriguing and with Profar likely gone for the year, fantasy owners should consider Odor in 12-team mixed leagues.  Luke Jackson has the highest upside on the pitching side and could see time on the Texas roster in the second half.

1. Next in Line Infield Prospects

• Adam Rosales (2B, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Low
• Luis Sardinas (SS, Double-A) – Fantasy relevance: Medium – PROMOTED: 4/20/14
  
• Roguned Odor (2B, Double-A) – Fantasy relevance: High – PROMOTED: 5/8/14
  

Notes: Luis Sardinas made his big league debut on Sunday, April 20th and went 1-1.  While he’ll have limited fantasy impact unless Elvis Andrus faces an injury, he has the skill-set to be quite valuable on a fantasy team.  He makes great contact, controls the strike zone well and has plus speed while playing plus defense at shortstop.  Roguned Odor has Jason Kipnis type of fantasy impact and with his promotion, has the chance to shine.  It’s going to be tough as he only has 263 at-bats above High-A but the talent is there.

2. Next in Line Outfield Prospects

• Kensuke Tanaka (OF, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Low

Notes: The Rangers have Michael Choice as their depth in the outfield and it’s a good thing as there is little on the farm that will make an impact during 2014.

3. Next in Line Pitching Prospects

• Nick Tepesch (RHP, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Low – PROMOTED: 5/14/14
  
• Scott Baker (RHP, Triple-A) – Fantasy relevance: Low – PROMOTED: 5/7/14
  
• Luke Jackson (RHP, Double-A) – Fantasy relevance: Medium
• Alec Asher (RHP, Double-A) – Fantasy relevance: Low

Notes: Scott Baker and Nick Tepesch are known quantities and while they could provide short-term value for your fantasy team, they profile as back-of-the-rotation starters.  Luke Jackson and Alec Asher, both in Double-A are legitimate prospects and could see Texas by the end of the summer.  Jackson has the better profile with a fastball that sits 90-93 MPH and an above-average curve ball but struggles to throw consistent strikes.  He puts too many batters on-base which is leading to some ugly innings.  Asher is a fastball/slider pitcher with his fastball sitting 90-93 MPH.  He has better control at this juncture than Jackson and is a pitcher in which fantasy owners need to become familiar.

4. Next in Line Relief Prospects

• Neftali Feliz (RHP, Triple-A)  – Fantasy relevance: Medium

Notes: If the stuff returns, he has the profile of a closer, but with Joakim Soria pitching well, it might not happen in 2014.