Leonys Martin: Get used to that face, you'll be seeing it soon Naturally, I was at the Frisco RoughRiders game against the Midland RockHounds. The home team won, 7-4.
Here are some thoughts as I astutely scout the Rangers' farm system:
1. It was nice of Chris Mobley to throw batting practice for the RockHounds. Oh. Wait a sec. He was actually pitching.
2. Oakland's farm system sucks. Granted, most of their talented kids are in the Majors. Still, I took a glance at Baseball America's top 100 prospects and they had two: No. 63 Grant Green and No. 91 Chris Carter. Green's on the RockHound's roster. He did not play.
3. I was interested in seeing Fabio Castillo and Adalberto Flores in action. Luckily, Mobley sucked so badly I got that chance. Flores worked three scoreless innings. He's listed at 6-7, but I was at field level and he did not look 6-7. He also doesn't throw like a giant. With no official (or accurate) radar gun reading, I suspect his fastball was going in the low 90s. He was a tad wild at first. Failed to really locate his mid-70s curve until his final two frames. By then, he was cruising. Castillo went two scoreless. He's on the Rangers' 40-man roster, so there's a more than zero percent chance we'll see him in Arlington this year. He has not been very good this year; in fact, last night was probably one of his better outings.
4. Leonys Martin will be the Rangers' centerfielder in 2012. Book it. In the second inning as the RockHounds batted around, Martin prevented a run on a hit. Took the ball in the mid-outfield area and simple rocketed a strike to home with no bounce. It was more of a strike than anything Mobley had. Later, the RockHounds set a couple of pitches on a ride and Martin tracked them down in the outfield. In one night, he showed just how good he is in the outfield. Nothing against Julio Borbon, but Martin exceeds him in every way.
5. With Engel Beltre, the Rangers may have two of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball. You wonder if both will still be in the system at year's end.
6. Josh Hamilton looks put out by rehabbing.
7. Tommy Mendonca has seven walks all year. I saw two of them last night.
8. Sad I missed Mike Bianucci and a decent starter.
