With the Texas Rangers now on a road trip that will take them to face the Houston Astros and then to the Tampa Bay Rays before returning home to host the defending American League champion Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians in a seven-game homestand starting next Monday, the Rangers' Double-A affiliate, the Frisco RoughRiders, have returned home and start a homestand of their own, on Tuesday night against the San Antonio Missions, the San Diego Padres' Double-A affiliate, at Dr Pepper Ballpark.
So, for Ranger fans venturing over to Collin County to catch a game and see some future Rangers, who should they watch for? Well, here are a few names:
JOEY GALLO, 3B
Of course, the big name to see in Frisco is the man who currently sits atop every Rangers top prospect list and that is slugging third baseman Joey Gallo. The Las Vegas native missed the first few weeks of the 2015 season after having ankle surgery during spring training and to date Gallo has played in 10 games and was hitting .371 with no home runs and five RBI.
Gallo's rep is that he's a guy who epitomizes the term true outcome of either a home run or a strikeout. In 68 games with Frisco in 2014, he smashed 21 homers and drove in 56 runs in 250 plate appearances. However, Gallo also struck out 115 times in 2014 for the 'Riders. So far in 2015, he has struck out 12 times in 35 at-bats, which is actually a lower strikeout rate (34.2 percent) than he has for his career in pro ball to date (40.4 percent)
The good news is the Rangers appear to have no intentions of rushing Gallo up to Triple-A Round Rock, his ankle surgery earlier this year ensured that, so he is sure to be in Frisco at least through the end of the first half of the season. Then, depending on how Gallo has performed in the Texas League, it wouldn't be shocking to see him moved up to the Pacific Coast League. Heading into this season, he had 1,056 career at bats in the minors over three seasons, a solid number from an experience standpoint.
JORGE ALFARO, C
Gallo might be the one name Ranger fans, both of the casual and more serious persuasion, both know but Jorge Alfaro, the organization's top catching prospect has to rank as a close second. The Colombian-born backstop is hitting .306 with 2 HR and 7 RBI through 19 games with Frisco. Alfaro is also sporting an OPS of .839 and has struck out 23 times already compared to earning just three walks.
Strikeouts are one of the big knocks on him as he needs to become more disciplined at the plate, but it's hard to deny the raw power this young South American catcher has. As for his defensive game, Alfaro isn't terribly effective at throwing out opposing base runners, at least not yet, but he clearly has all the tools, namely a stellar arm, to become a force behind the plate as he continues moving up.
There is some question about whether he projects as a catcher in the future or if he would transition either to first base or the outfield? Well, those questions appear to be on hold at least for now as Alfaro, still only 21, is Frisco's full-time catcher. However, it remains to be seen if he will get a look at first or in the outfield in Double-A this season, that and the question of how long it will be before he, like Gallo, gets bumped up to Round Rock. Alfaro is currently the Rangers' No. 2 prospect.
NOMAR MAZARA, OF
Since this talented Dominican received a $4.95-million bonus, then a record for an international amateur, when he signed with Texas in 2011, expectations are understandably high surrounding Mazara, who only recently turned 20.
Mazara spent the bulk of 2014 with Low Single-A Hickory, hitting .264 with 19 HR and 73 RBI for the Crawdads before earning a late-season promotion. And once in the Texas League, Mazara hardly looked out of place as he hit .306 with 3 HR and 16 RBI in 24 games with the 'Riders.
So far in 2015, he is hitting .282 and 9 HR and 23 RBI through 21 games. Mazara, who struck out 121 times in 2014 between Hickory and Frisco, has thus far whiffed 19 times in 78 plate appearances in 2015.
Just seeing his sweet swing in batting practice, it's not hard to see why the Rangers liked him so much nearly four years ago when they signed him. But as his age illustrates, Mazara is still raw yet no less intriguing, so Frisco could be where he stays for the bulk if not all of 2015 with maybe a late-season promotion to Round Rock in the cards. He is Texas' No. 3 prospect.
JAKE THOMPSON, P
A Dallas Fort Worth area product out of Rockwall-Heath High School, Thompson came over in the summer 2014 trade which sent closer Joakim Soria to the Detroit Tigers. The big righty appeared in seven games for Frisco in 2014, going 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA and 44 strikeouts.
Thompson's command can come and go at times, as evidenced by the 18 walks he issued in his 35 2/3 innings with the 'Riders, but considering he was pretty new to Double-A after making just two starts for Detroit's Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League, Erie, prior to the trade, that number is excusable.
One number which is encouraging is that Thompson, the Rangers' No. 4 prospect, has a history of keeping the ball down as a guy who doesn't allow a ton of home runs. He allowed three for Frisco in 2014 but had already allowed two through his first four starts of 2015.
Still, Thompson, who is 2-2 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP through five starts in 2015, is only 21 but appears to be on a rather fast track to reach Arlington as soon as this fall. If he pitches as well as those in the Ranger front office think he can, then his stay in Frisco could be short and he could be promoted by midseason.
And if Thompson's progression continues in the PCL, then he could very well be a September call-up and make his big-league debut this fall.
NICK WILLIAMS, OF
Much like Gallo, Alfaro, Mazara and Thompson. Williams also got a taste of what life was like in the Texas League in 2014. A Galveston native, Williams hit .226 in 15 games with Frisco last season after hitting .292 with 13 HR and 68 RBI in 92 games with High Single-A Myrtle Beach, where he was a Carolina League All-Star for both midseason and the postseason.
Now 21, Williams, who had committed to play college ball at Texas A&M before opting instead to sign with the Rangers, who selected him in the second round of the June 2012 Amateur Draft. He struggled initially in adjusting to the higher caliber of pitching in AA compared to the sort of hurlers he had seen in Myrtle and in 2013, his first full season in pro ball, at Low Single-A Hickory, where he was a South Atlantic League All-Star after hitting .293 with 17 HR and 60 RBI. So far in 2015, Williams is off to a solid start, hitting .297 with 2 HR and 10 RBI in 24 games with the 'Riders.
Williams' 2014 numbers after he made the jump to Double-A illustrate just how tough that transition was for the native Texan. However, he looks like a much different and more comfortable player so far in 2015 both at the plate and in the field.
His pedigree states that he is one of Frisco's better candidates to be a Texas League All-Star in 2015 and considering he's already been one in both the South Atlantic and Carolina Leagues, there isn't any reason to doubt he could make it three-for-three this summer by appearing in the TL's Midseason Classic.
As far as how long Williams could remain in Frisco, that remains to be seen but if he performs well, seeing him move up a level before the end of 2015 is pretty likely for the Rangers' current No. 7 prospect.
OTHERS TO WATCH
Alec Asher, P - This Florida native might have something to prove in 2015 after dropping from being a top-15 Ranger prospect on several lists to now ranking in the 20s after the perception that he had lost some of his stuff in 2014. But all Asher, a fourth-round pick in 2012, did last season was rank among the TL leaders in WHIP (second), wins (tied for third), innings (fourth) and strikeouts (fifth). Through his first five starts of 2015, he is 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA and a WHIP of 1.38. He remains a solid innings eater for a talented Frisco rotation and an integral part of 'Riders pitching coach Jeff Andrews' starting staff.
Andrew Faulkner, P - After going 10-1 at Myrtle Beach in 2014 with a 2.07 ERA and 100 strikeouts over 104 1/3 innings, Faulkner was not only promoted to Frisco but he was also named the Carolina League's top pitching prospect in 2014. In seven games (six starts) with the 'Riders, he was 2-4 with a 4.99 ERA in 30 2/3 innings. Faulkner has a solid fastball as his primary pitch and his changeup is a nice accompaniment. However, there is some question about his future as a starter if he can't effectively throw his breaking ball or slider on a consistent basis.
