Bruce Bochy Ready to Meet 'Deep' Rangers Minor League System
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Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy knows about second baseman Marcus Semien and shortstop Corey Seager. But he also knows about Josh Jung, too.
The Rangers rookie third baseman was top of mind as Bochy spoke about the Rangers minor league system on Monday. When he took over the San Francisco Giants in 2007, that organization was starting to send prospects to the Majors. By 2010 — when the Giants beat the Rangers in the World Series — that player development was paying off.
Pitchers like Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner were home-grown talents for the Giants. So was catcher Buster Posey, who anchored all three title teams, and infielder Brandon Belt, who joined the Giants in 2011 and was part of their title runs in 2012 and 2014.
Bochy gets why the Rangers have such a well-regarded minor league system and knows from experience why it’s important to sustained success.
“This system, it's known for how strong it is,” Bochy said. “So I think that's what excited me as much as anything is what can happen even beyond next year.”
The Rangers minor league system was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 6 system in August. The Rangers have steadily moved up those rankings the past two years. The Rangers were ranked No. 24 in the 2020 mid-season rankings, No. 21 in the 2021 preseason rankings, No. 11 in the 2021 mid-season rankings and No. 9 in the 2022 preseason rankings.
Plus, the Rangers have six prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100 overall prospects — Jung (No. 36), pitcher Jack Leiter (No. 45), outfielder Evan Carter (No. 56), pitcher Owen White (No. 59), second baseman Justin Foscue (No. 78) and pitcher Brock Porter (No. 89).
Jung made his Major League debut in September and will likely graduate from the rankings in 2023, as he is anticipated to be the starting third baseman next season.
He wasn’t the Rangers’ only rookie in 2022. Players like outfielder Bubba Thompson, infielder Ezequiel Duran and infielder/outfielder Josh Smith made their debuts, too.
“That’s why I touched on not just the core players, but how deep their system is,” Bochy said. “That's how you not only win, but you sustain winning, is those kids that come up through your system and I think they've done a great job in their draft and in developing these young kids and you're starting to see it now. You saw it last year with Jung and you know, you got some that are really knocking on the door now.”
Further down the line, Porter was a high school star who was the Rangers’ fourth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, where the Rangers also selected former Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker in the first round.
Rocker and Porter are part of a cadre of pitching talent in the farm system, where 16 of the Rangers’ Top 30 MLB.com prospects are on the mound.
Rocker is one of several top prospects playing in the Arizona Fall League.
What impressed Rangers owner Ray Davis was how much Bochy knew about the minor-league system when they met with him as part of the second interview for the job in Nashville.
Bochy is looking forward to spring training so he can start putting faces with names.
“I'm going to try as much as I can to get these young kids out there during these spring training games so I can get to know them even more, even on the lower level,” Bochy said.
Bochy agreed to a three-year contract with the Rangers on Friday. He is the 20th full-time Rangers manager, but the first to come to Texas having previously led a team to a World Series title as a manager.
Bochy has a record of 2,003-2,029 with the San Diego Padres (1995-2006) and Giants (2007-19). He was the National League Manager of the Year in 1996.
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