Prospects.
It's been less than a year, but at this point the Rangers wouldn't ask for a do-over on any of the pitchers they drafted on Day One of last June's draft and signed:
1 (17). Blake Beavan, RHP, Irving High School (area scout: Jay Eddings)
1 (24). Michael Main, RHP, DeLand High School (Fla.) (area scout: Guy DeMutis)
1 Supp. (44). Neil Ramirez, RHP, Kempsville High School (Va.) (area scout: Russ Ardolina)
1 Supp. (54). Tommy Hunter, RHP, Univ. of Alabama (area scout: Jeff Wood)
3. Evan Reed (110), RHP, Cal Poly (area scout: Todd Guggiana)
One year ago today, Reed, the least heralded of the group, pitched the ninth inning of a 12-0 Cal Poly win over UC Irvine. Yesterday, Reed was summoned from Clinton to make an emergency start for Frisco in the back end of a doubleheader, and all he did was shut Arkansas out on four hits and no walks over five innings, fanning three. That followed the six scoreless innings he fired for the LumberKings on April 5, a game in which he scattered four Cedar Rapids hits, walking two and setting six down on strikes. That followed the 1-1, 1.91 record he posted last summer between Spokane and Clinton, yielding only 18 hits and 16 walks in 37.2 innings, punching out 34.
Reed hasn't allowed a home run in two years. Nobody took him deep in 42.1 innings during his final season at Cal Poly, and Reed hasn't watched anyone circle the bases as a professional.
One year ago today, Jarrod Saltalamacchia's AA Mississippi Braves had the day off. He was hitting .333/.471/.778 and was two weeks away from an eye-opening promotion at age 21 to Atlanta.
One year ago today, Elvis Andrus's Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans were rained out, giving the 18-year-old shortstop a day off from his relatively sluggish .257/.333/.371 start (which would plummet to .196/.281/.275 before moving in the right direction).
One year ago today, Max Ramirez's Class A Kinston Indians were washed out as well, giving the catcher a break from a punchless .296/.424/.333 start that included one extra base hit in 27 at-bats.
Today, they are no longer Braves or Indians property, instead kicking tail in the Rangers system and making noise that they might need a new challenge. Saltalamacchia is tearing Pacific Coast League pitching up, hitting .364/.447/.667. At Frisco, Andrus has hits in 10 of the first 11 AA games of his career and sports a .326/.380/.391 line. His Frisco teammate Ramirez sits at .263/.391/.579, finding himself in the top 10 in the Texas League in total bases and OPS.
And both Andrus and Ramirez are bowing down to Chris Davis, back from a two-day absence with a sore wrist and hitting .353/.371/.647 for the RoughRiders. A year ago today, he sat at .257/.317/.657 for High A Bakersfield.
It's hard to predict where Reed will be one year from today, not to mention Beavan, Main, Neil Ramirez, or Hunter.
I have a pretty good idea what uniform Saltalamacchia will be wearing one year from today. But I won't even begin to guess where Andrus, Max Ramirez, and Davis could be.
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