"The Future is (Almost) Here" ...well, part of it anyway

When the Rangers' gaggle of high-upside ,(mostly) teenaged prospects gathered in Surprise last fall for instructional league action, they were issued T-shirts that proclaimed "The Future Is Here" (like the one you can see Julio Borbon sporting in the Scott Lucas photo to the left).      

Not many of those kids reported to camp on Thursday (minor league camp doesn't open up for another couple of weeks), but several players from the Rangers farm have received invites to the big league camp and here are some thoughts on what's at stake for those guys:

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In all likelihood, Eric Hurley will not break camp in the Rangers rotation this year, but you can be sure that he'll do everything in his power to make the decision to send him back to Oklahoma an extremely difficult one for Jon Daniels and Ron Washington.    Hurley is not quite a finished product, but he's awfully close and given his history of getting off to red-hot starts to every season, it's a good bet that he's arrived in Arizona in mid-season form.   The intense Hurley is hungry to be a big leaguer, and now that he's been invited to the dinner table, they're going to have a tough time getting him to leave.   I have a little bit of concern that Hurley will put so much into trying to make the big league club this spring that he'll pay the price during the regular season.   

Chance of breaking camp with the Rangers:   none

Chance of becoming a Ranger this summer:  possible;  certain to be there in September.

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Remember back in 2005 when Ian Kinsler, coming off of a ridiculous breakthrough year split between Clinton and Frisco, was invited to big league camp and then proceeded to hit .327 and slug .612 while finishing 11th in all of baseball with eight spring doubles?    Still, Kinsler had no shot to break with the big club because he was blocked by Alfonso Soriano.   Chris Davis is in big league camp coming off of his Kinsleresque 2007 season.   Now that he's been moved across the diamond back to first base, he's "blocked" by Ben Broussard.   If Davis does this spring what Kinsler did in Surprise three years ago -- and he might -- the future is going to become painfully clear to Broussard.   

(Catch a glimpse of Davis doing what Davis does here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mlpr16p3co&feature=related)

Chance of breaking camp with the Rangers:   none

Chance of becoming a Ranger this summer:   realistic.   And I'll bet my money that he's the Rangers starting first baseman no later than opening day 2009.

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Elvis Andrus is going to be taking grounders next to Michael Young this spring and I think it's safe to say that the notion that Young will need to move away from short sooner rather than later will come squarely into focus, even for Young himself.    Standing next to Andrus every day will do nothing more than illuminate Young's defensive shortcomings.   There's no chance at all that Andrus will break camp with the Rangers this year.   But hopefully, he and Young will form a bond and when Andrus is ready to take over in a year or so, Young will happily move along to left field.

(Catch a glimpse of Elvis running the bases here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjYN2y8iJXU)

Chance of breaking camp with the Rangers:   none

Chance of becoming a Ranger this summer:  none

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German Duran's clearest path to the big leagues is as a utility man who can play all around the infield and maybe a little in left field.  Thus, he's "blocked" by Ramon Vasquez.    He hasn't had an at-bat in Triple-A yet, but if he rakes this spring and satisfies Washington that he can provide at least servicable defense at second, short and third (in small doses), it wouldn't be difficult to find a spot on the 40 man roster for him since it would obviate the need for Ramon Vazquez, whose contract makes him expendable.

Chance of breaking camp with the Rangers:  there's a small chance that Duran's big league career will start in a month and a half.

Chance of becoming a Ranger this summer:  pretty good.  If something happens that puts Kinsler on the DL for an extended period of time, he'll probably get a look if they can find a way to squeeze him onto the 40-man roster.

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Reliever Kea Kometani will not break with the big club, but this is his chance carve out a space for himself in the back of Mark Connor's and Ron Washington's minds.   He's bringing one of the nastiest pitches in the organization to camp in his diving splitty.    Now that his velocity has crept up to the 93-94 range, he's got the stuff and the personality that the Rangers can eventually count on to get them out of tough jams in the middle innings.

Chance of breaking camp with the Rangers:   none

Chance of becoming a Ranger this summer:   realistic.   If he builds on his Arizona Fall League success, Kometani may be one Scott Feldman meltdown away from his big chance.

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There's no question whatsoever that Taylor Teagarden is going to be the best all-around defensive catcher in camp.   Every manager who has ever had him delivers some version of "he's the smartest player I've ever worked with."     By the end of this camp, you can be sure that Washington, Connor and Matt Walbeck will be enamored of Teagarden and will eagerly await his arrival in Arlington.

(Catch a glimpse of Teagarden doubling for Bakersfield here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGKK3CfEnRc)

Chance of breaking camp with the Rangers:   none

Chance of becoming a Ranger this summer:   possible, but not likely.  Here's the only scenario I can think of that lands Teagarden in Arlington before September:   Laird breaks camp as the starter with Melhuse as his backup and Saltalamacchia in OKC;  Laird gets traded in July, and in August, Teagarden could get a shot to platoon with Salty, whose .226 average against LHP ranked 23rd among 27 big league catchers with at least 100 at-bats against LHP last year.

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Joaquin Arias says that he's going to be ready to go when camp opens.    He'd better be.   His career is probably on the line.

Chance of breaking camp with the Rangers:   none

Chance of breaking camp with the Royals:   more realistic than breaking with the Rangers