SURPRISE, Ariz. — In late January, after the Texas Rangers swung a deal that sent significant prospect capital east to improve the major league roster, general manager Ross Fenstermaker rationalized the club’s moves as “the price we pay in order to compete.”
Oh, yeah, they’ve paid a price.
The Rangers have dealt eight top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline’s evaluations, since last summer’s trade deadline. They shipped three to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed pitcher Merrill Kelly to bolster their rotation midseason and another five to the Washington Nationals for MacKenzie Gore last month to do the same thing. That’s the cost of big league improvement.
It’ll also ding the depth of a farm system. The Rangers have the No. 22 farm system per ESPN, the No. 24 farm system per Baseball America and the No. 25 farm system per USA TODAY. The success of the farm system, much like the major league roster, will be predicated on how a number of position player prospects respond to down seasons.
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Baseball America, which hasn’t ranked the club’s system this low since the 2021 season, said it “needs major rebounds from its near-proximity prospects to supplement the big league roster.”
Their collective progression will determine where the farm stands this time next year. Until then, we continue our daily countdown of The Dallas Morning News’ top 30 prospects.
No. 11: OF Dylan Dreiling
Age: 22
Height/weight: 5-11, 197
B/T: L/L
Who he is: The Rangers selected Dreiling out of Tennessee in the second round (65th overall) of the 2024 MLB draft and signed him to a $1.28 million bonus. He was a premier college hitter and was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player two years ago when he went 13 for 24 with 3 home runs in Omaha, Neb. He had both a game-winning two-run home run against Texas A&M and a walk-off hit against Texas A&M during the CWS.
Why he’s here: Dreiling’s production began to match his predigree last season after a lackluster first season of professional baseball. He slashed .198/.340/.279 in 21 games at High-A Hickory after he was drafted, and last season, at High-A Hub City, he improved with a .226/.319/.381 slash line with 12 home runs in 110 games.
He trended in the right direction and posted a .826 OPS (and an encouraging 0.57 walk-to-strikeout ratio) in final 31 games at Hub City last season. His swing has looked smoother in camp this year and his elite bat speed has helped generate top-end exit velocities. The 38.7% swing percentage he posted last season suggests, as Baseball America said, that Dreiling “needs to become more aggressive.” For reference, only five qualified hitters swung at a fewer percentage of pitches in the major leagues last season.
What’s his future: Dreiling played 69 games in center field for Hub City last season and, though he displayed growth at the position over the course of the year, is likely a corner outfielder in the future. That means that he’ll need to get the most out of his bat. His peripheral numbers suggest that his power is real and his discipline is an asset. This season, against more advanced pitchers, he’ll need to mesh both with a touch more agression to help unlock his full offensive capabilities.
Where he’ll start; MLB ETA; Double-A Frisco; 2027
Rangers’ top 30 prospects
No. 30: RHP Mason McConnaughey
No. 29: OF Braylin Morel
No. 28: RHP Frandel Pineda
No. 27: LHP Josh Trentadue
No. 26: RHP Paul Bonzagni
No. 25: OF Maxton Martin
No. 24: LHP Ben Abeldt
No. 23: OF Paulino Santana
No. 22: LHP Dalton Pence
No. 21: RHP Izack Tiger
No. 20: OF Anthony Gutierrez
No. 19: RHP Jacob Johnson
No. 18: OF Paxton Kling
No. 17: RHP Emiliano Teodo
No. 16: 3B Jack Wheeler
No. 15: C Malcolm Moore
No. 14: UTIL Cam Cauley
No. 13: Leandro Lopez
No. 12: Elian Rosario
No. 11: OF Dylan Dreiling
Nos. 10-1: Coming soon…
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