MVN: Most Valuable Network

Those of us who fervently obsess over Texas Rangers baseball year-round and maintain at least some degree of familiarity with the organization's deep cache of minor league talent probably already know just how much industry publication Baseball America thinks of this club's future.

On Wednesday, Baseball America executive editor Jim Callis noted in passing that, in his esteemed opinion, Texas possesses the top farm system in all of baseball.

Today, Callis expanded further upon that line of thought in bestowing even more high praise upon the Rangers - and their master architect, general manager Jon Daniels - for their remarkable, nigh-unprecedented ascension through baseball's organizational talent rankings:

General managers Jon Daniels and Billy Beane have aggressively traded veterans for prospects since realizing they needed to overhaul their clubs to compete with the Angels. Daniels got started first after Texas dropped into last place early in 2007.

In return for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay, Daniels extracted five players from the Braves: catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and lefty Matt Harrison, who already have contributed in the majors; righthander Neftali Feliz and shortstop Elvis Andrus, both on the short lists of the game's elite prospects at their positions; and lefthander Beau Jones.

[...] Armed with extra picks and a willingness to exceed MLB's slotting guidelines, Texas has mined the draft as well as any club the last two years. Just before the 2007 draft, the Rangers signed lefthander Derek Holland as a draft-and-follow, and now Holland is touching 98 mph. They added more pitching help with first-rounders Blake Beavan and Michael Main and sandwich picks Neil Ramirez and Tommy Hunter, picked up their leadoff man of the future in outfielder Julio Borbon and an intriguing bat in third baseman Matt West.

This year, Texas snatched up first baseman Justin Smoak and lefty Robbie Ross, who had no business dropping to the 11th and 57th overall picks, even if it cost a combined $5.075 million to sign them.

[...] The Rangers reportedly were willing to go as high as $5 million on [Michel] Inoa, but losing him still couldn't take the luster off how productive they've been internationally. The cream of the crop is Venezuelan lefty Martin Perez, who drew Johan Santana comparisons this summer as the youngest player (17) in the short-season Northwest League.

Published concurrently with Callis's assessment is Baseball America's Texas League Top 20 Prospects list, which features four incredibly gifted young Rangers that, with any luck, will enjoy far more cumulative success at the big league level in the years to come than the quartet of young Rangers (Laynce Nix, Ramon Nivar, Adrian Gonzalez and Juan Dominguez) that made cameo appearances on that same list five years ago.

The complete list and scouting reports on the four Rangers that received recognition today comes after the jump.

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TEXAS LEAGUE PROSPECT RANKINGS

1. Dexter Fowler, OF, Tulsa (Rockies)

2. Chris Davis, 1B, Frisco (Rangers)

3. Kyle Blanks, 1B, San Antonio (Padres)

4. Vin Mazzaro, RHP, Midland (Athletics)

5. Elvis Andrus, SS, Frisco (Rangers)

6. Daniel Cortes, RHP, Northwest Arkansas (Royals)

7. Jess Todd, RHP, Springfield (Cardinals)

8. Julio Borbon, OF, Frisco (Rangers)

9. Max Ramirez, C, Frisco (Rangers)

10. James Simmons, RHP, Midland (Athletics)

11. Aaron Cunningham, OF, Midland (Athletics)

12. Kila Ka'aihue, 1B, Northwest Arkansas (Royals)

13. Daryl Jones, OF, Springfield (Cardinals)

14. Steve Garrison, LHP, San Antonio (Padres)

15. Will Inman, RHP, San Antonio (Padres)

16. Jon Jay, OF, Springfield (Cardinals)

17. Kevin Jepsen, RHP, Arkansas (Angels)

18. Fernando Salas, RHP, Springfield (Cardinals)

19. Casey Weathers, RHP, Tulsa (Rockies)

20. Chris Johnson, 3B, Corpus Christi (Astros)

TEXAS LEAGUE SCOUTING REPORTS (RANGERS ONLY)

Chris Davis (186 AB, .333/.376/.618, 13 HR, 13 BB, 44 K, 5 SB):

Davis terrorized the TL for 30 games at the end of 2007 and 46 at the start of this season, slugging 25 homers. He earned a promotion to Triple-A in late May and to Texas a month later, homering in his first two big league starts and never looking back. He has huge power to all fields and has shown the ability to hit for average despite a propensity for striking out.

A third baseman in his first stint with Frisco, Davis moved to first base this year after his footwork and actions were found lacking at the hot corner. He looked much better at his new position, and he fits the offensive profile there as well. He has plus arm strength and below-averge speed.

Elvis Andrus (482 AB, .295/.350/.367, 4 HR, 38 BB, 91 K, 54 SB):

The TL perks up whenever a teenager comes strolling through, and managers often did a double-take this season as the 19-year-old Andrus showed his talent throughout the summer. He was one of four Frisco players who joined the Rangers in the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007, along with Feliz and lefthanders Matt Harrison and Beau Jones.

Briefly slowed by a finger injury in May, Andrus hit .311 with 36 RBIs from June 1 to the end of the regular season. Texas would like to see him improve his two-strike approach, but he's a leadoff hitter in the making. He has plus speed and ranked second in the league with 53 steals (in 70 attempts). He also has solid gap power for a middle infielder.

Andrus has all the tools to excel defensively, with plus range and arm strength, soft hands and fine instincts. Like most young shortstops, he needs to get more consistent. He made 32 errors in 109 games, many on hurried throws.

Julio Borbon (255 AB, .337/.380/.459, 5 HR, 14 BB, 32 K, 17 SB):

Just as he had been for high Class A Bakersfield, Borbon became a catalyst for Frisco after joining the club in late June. He hit .337/.380/.459 while demonstrating most of the skills a team wants in a leadoff hitter. He showed the ability to drive the ball for occasional gap power, slap groundballs to take advantage of his plus-plus speed and bunt.

Borbon still can tighten his strike zone, and he needs to improve his basestealing ability. He did swipe 17 bases in 60 games but he also got caught 11 times. He uses his speed to intercept hits in the gaps or flyballs in the alleys, and while his arm is nothing special, it's playable in center field.

Max Ramirez (243 AB, .354/.450/.646, 17 HR, 37 BB, 56 K, 2 SB):

For the first time in three years, Ramirez didn't change organizations at the trade deadline. His hitting remained a constant, however, as he led the TL in on-base percentage (.450) and slugging (.646) before a promotion to the major leagues. He returned to the minors a month later, but his time with Frisco opened eyes.

Ramirez works counts and drives the ball to all fields. He should produce for average and power, and his bat could carry him at a less challenging defensive position. It may have to, because questions linger about whether Ramirez can stick at catcher. A former third baseman, he has arm strength but hasn't had much success throwing out basestealers, erasing just 24 percent while giving up 52 swipes in 44 TL games. He's still learning the nuances of receiving and calling games.

Neither Neftali Feliz nor Derek Holland pitched enough innings at Frisco to qualify, but it doesn't seem a stretch to think that both would have easily garnered top-15 recognition solely on the basis of their Texas League work if they had tossed the requisite number of innings.