Take a guess.

Hottest Rangers hitter since the All-Star Break? Five guesses. Wrong. Hint: He's younger than John Bannister, Thomas Diamond, Warner Madrigal, Doug Mathis, Guillermo Moscoso, Max Ramirez, Joaquin Arias, German Duran, Travis Metcalf, and Brandon Boggs. Two days before the All-Star Break, Jarrod Saltalamacchia was a .213/.317/.312 hitter in 2008, with 22 walks and 52 strikeouts in 141 at-bats. This is what the 23-year-old has done since then: Twenty big league games: .357/.446/.500, nine walks and 22 strikeouts. He led the team in hitting over that seven-week period. Twenty winter league games: .364/.506/.848, 17 walks and 13 strikeouts. He didn't qualify for the Dominican Winter League batting title (he would have led the circuit in reaching base and slugging if he did), and yet he still tied for third in the league with nine home runs. Four Cactus League games: .600/.636/.900, one walk and one strikeout. All told, in 132 at-bats since July 12, Saltalamacchia is a .379/.491/.705 hitter, with 27 walks and 36 strikeouts. He's doing a better job in the running game as well (cutting down 7 out of 38 would-be basestealers prior to July 12 and 2 of 11 from July 12 on, then 5 of 13 in winter ball, and 1 of 2 so far in camp), and he's earned strong reviews on the progress he's made with the intangibles. Mix in what Taylor Teagarden has to offer (.319/.396/.809 in 16 summer games and 2 for 4 in camp), particularly since Teagarden's right-handed bat could complement Saltalamacchia's left-handed bat well (the switch-hitter has shown to be a far more advanced hitter from that side of the plate), and the Rangers' catcher tandem could do some real damage in the bottom third of the order this year. Turns out Brandon McCarthy hasn't exactly scrapped the curve for the slider, as had been reported in a couple places over the weekend. He's merely introduced a slider to the mix, at least experimentally while in Arizona, and he points out that it's not only more deceptive but also less taxing on his arm than the curve. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that John Hart is a candidate for the newly vacated Washington Nationals general manager's position. Hart – who I think is really, really good in his studio analyst role with MLB Network – is said to be close to Nationals president Stan Kasten. MLB Network's "30 Clubs in 30 Days" Rangers episode will air at 5 p.m. on March 18. In the meantime, old friend Victor Rojas will call six World Baseball Classic games (three for MLB Network, three for MLB International), starting with Max Ramirez's Venezuela club against Frank Catalanotto's Italy squad this Saturday night. Orlando Cabrera is a solid shortstop, but he got just a one-year deal from Oakland, who forfeited a second-round pick to sign him. Makes the A's better in 2009, but Billy Beane won't risk offering him arbitration next winter and chances are Cabrera will explore free agency again. In the meantime, he's not the type of player that would stand to bring a big July return if Oakland is out of the race. And his addition won't offset the potential loss of righthander Justin Duchscherer, who will have an MRI on his elbow today. Milwaukee has shut Eric Gagné down with shoulder soreness. The Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League signed lefthander Ryan Cullen, an old Newberg Report favorite before he was shipped with Aaron Harang to Oakland for Randy Velarde after the 2000 season. Before Kansas City designated utility man Esteban German for assignment on Saturday (to make room on the roster for reliever Juan Cruz), Toronto quietly designated lefthander Fabio Castro for assignment and slid him through league-wide waivers. Castro was outrighted to AAA yesterday. Some notes from the Baseball America Prospect Handbook: Outfielder John Mayberry Jr. is the number 24 prospect for the Phillies, whose system is ranked 12th overall. Outfielder Greg Gilson is number 26 in the top-ranked Rangers system. Lefthander Danny Ray Herrera is not among Cincinnati's top 30 prospects. He completed the trade that sent Edinson Volquez to the Reds for Josh Hamilton. Righthander Jacob Rasner is not among the top 40 White Sox prospects. He went to Chicago with lefthander John Danks and righthander Nick Masset for McCarthy and outfielder David Paisano. Righthander Stephen Marek is Atlanta's number 22 prospect. The 25-year-old Marek – who is two years older than Saltalamacchia himself – was half the Braves' return for Mark Teixeira in July (along with the ordinary Casey Kotchman) and has yet to pitch above Class AA. That turn of events – Atlanta shipping Saltalamacchia, Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, and Beau Jones to Texas in July 2007, not making the playoffs with Teixeira that season, getting off to a poor start in 2008, and flipping Teixeira to the Angels last July for Kotchman and Marek – is one that gets more and more lopsided. Every one of the five players the Rangers got from the Braves has stepped forward significantly since the time that Atlanta traded Teixeira away last summer, the latest example being Saltalamacchia, who, with Gerald Laird out of the picture, has made strides behind the plate and has done nothing but inflict big damage with the bat for the last eight months. =========================================================== To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar. (c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com If you want to be removed from this list, please e-mail me at newbergreport@sbcglobal.net