LemonA broad look at the year of each minor league affilliate for the Texas Rangers.
Previous: Spokane Indians, Hickory Crawdads and Bakersfield Blaze.
This time, we consider the Frisco RoughRiders.
The Good
Engel Beltre wound up with a .254 average on the season, but I don't think that tells the story of his 2010. For the first half of the season, Beltre was the hottest hitter in the organization. He finished with a .331 average in Bakersfield before the bump to Frisco, where he kept on his torrid pace before slowing down later in the season. Most impressive is his maturation at the plate. He went from 105 strikeouts in 2008, 82 in 2009 to 58 in 2010. If you had a pinpoint a more exciting prospect, Beltre would be in the talk.
If you can swallow the 120 strikeouts, Joey Butler put up some nice numbers at Frisco. He had 42 extra-base hits and a .277 average playing right field. For what's it's worth, the 120 strikeouts were about a 20-strikeout improvement from the previous year. Willie Mays, he is not.
Renny Osuna seemed to play every position on the field and hit .293 with 21 doubles and a career-high 20 steals.
Beau Jones -- the spare part in the Mark Teixeira trade -- posted a 2.91 ERA and struck out 62 in 52 innings.
Tim Murphy walked 24 and struck out 23 in Bakersfield. Gets a call to Frisco. Walks three and strikes out 23. Go figure.
The Bad
Martin Perez paid the Rangers back for skipping High-A by tanking in Double-A. He put up a 5.96 ERA on the season allowing 12 home runs and 50 walks in 99 innings. The good news is that he picked things up late (if that should tell you about the first part of the season) and still struck out more than a hitter per inning. Injuries also tripped up his 2010.
"Disaster" is what you might use to describe former first-round pick Kasey Kiker. That might undersell the word "disaster." His line: 40 IP - 38 runs - 46 walks - 42 Ks.
The most disappointing aspect of Marcus Lemon's career so far is that he tended to be a high-walk, low-strikeout sort, who could get on and steal bases. Instead, over time, the gap between those two numbers has widened.
John Whittleman is done. Hit .201 in 259 at-bats.
At his best, Richard Bleier is great. At his worst, he's extremely hittable. Allowed 191 hits in 164 innings. Struck out just 82.
