Rangers' Farm System 11th In MLB Pipeline Rankings

In the middle of a possibly historic losing season, there is hope for the Rangers and their fans for the future

MLB Pipeline recently ranked the prospects from all MLB teams. The Rangers had five prospects listed in the top 100 with recent picks Jack Leiter, Josh Jung, Cole Winn, Justin Foscue, and Sam Huff all making appearances.

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The success the Rangers had on the field in the early-2010's was in a large part due to their farm system at the time. An influx of young talented players being groomed and trade for and called up at just the right time helped the Rangers to two consecutive American League pennants. 

That farm system has suffered a bit in recent years and even as recent as 2020, the club's minor league system was ranked 21st overall in MLB's preseason 2020 ranking. It dropped even further at the midseason mark to 24th, before returning to 21st for the 2021 preseason ranking.

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Now, after an active trade deadline and a good draft, Texas can boast the 11th best farm system in all MLB, per the Pipeline:

11. Texas Rangers
2021 preseason rank: 21
2020 midseason rank: 24
2020 preseason rank: 21
Top 100 Prospects: Jack Leiter, RHP (No. 12); Josh Jung, 3B (No. 52); Cole Winn, RHP (No. 66); Justin Foscue, 2B (No. 90); Sam Huff, C/1B (No. 99)

The Rangers could set a franchise record for losses, but there's hope for the future because they may have more legitimate prospect depth than any other organization. Their four best prospects are their four most recent first-round selections -- Leiter (2021), Jung (2019), Winn (2018) and Foscue (2020) -- but there is plenty of talent stacked up behind them too. Texas has added talent via later choices (Huff, outfielder Evan Carter), trades (middle infielders Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran) and international signings (middle infielders Luisangel Acuna and Maximo Acosta).

The Rangers are on pace for another top-five draft pick in 2022, and executives and general manager Chris Young have a huge opportunity here to return the organization to the glory of 10 seasons ago if they continue to draft, trade for, and develop young players properly.

Time will tell if the 11th best farm system in 2021 translates to an AL-best organization down the road.

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