Texas Rangers: It’s all about the prospects now…

It’s the middle of August which is normally a time the standard MLB season really starts to get interesting. The trade deadline has passed and teams are entering the final stretch, jockeying for position, and hopefully separating from the pack. It’s a great time of year…unless you’re a Texas Rangers fan…

Sadly, in recent years this has been the time of year where even the most optimistic of Rangers fans have accepted their fate and committed their fandom to the future.

The focus has changed for the Texas Rangers and their fans this year

After shipping out Kyle Gibson and Joey Gallo, the Texas Rangers aren’t just giving up on the season, but they’re really giving up on next year as well. Gallo was the best homegrown talent in decades, if the Rangers really thought they would be competitive, they’d probably go that extra mile in contract negotiations.

As it stands, they wouldn’t touch Gallo’s demands and subsequently sent him packing for a handful of mid-tier prospects. The underwhelming return was a gut-punch to fans hoping for a can’t miss situation. Instead, it was a pretty fair return and a wake-up call to many.

It’s all about the prospects now. The Texas Rangers have been phasing their youth in and organizing development plans for their windfall of opportunities. Evan Grant, DMN’s top baseball reporter, even spent time away from the Rangers scouting and writing about the farm instead. And ya know what? It was great!

Tracking the young guys is considerably more interesting than tracking the Rangers success/failure.  Top prospects like Josh Jung (3B), Cole Winn (RHP), Sam Huff (C), Justin Forscue (2B), Ezequiel Duran, Even Carter (OF), and Sherten Apostel are far more interesting to follow.

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How quickly they develop will directly impact how quickly the Texas Rangers become contenders. Thinking about the Rangers roster and what it will take to build a competitive team is too darn depressing. I mean, does anyone really think they’re even two seasons from being a contender?

The good news is, the Rangers may have most of their pieces. Once they get in place, they can develop, and that’s when we can see this franchise contend. Throw in a successful free agency period or two and we could be back…

But right now it’s really just for the love of baseball.  It’s about watching and appreciating the progress the Rangers prospects are making. It’s about building.

Sport DFW is hiring Texas Rangers writers! Apply here!

Don’t get bogged down with the team failure of the Texas Rangers this year (or next). Focus on what matters – the prospects. Because nothing is going to happen until they start to develop.