In position: Left Field

Jared Hoying: Bringing his lunch pail

Every year over the past three or four, I've gone through the entire Texas Rangers' franchise, position by position in order to gauge the organizational depth. This has especially been important as prospects have progressed and made it to the Majors. It also helps to discover what prospects might prove valuable in trades.

Previous: Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Shortstop and Third Base.

David Murphy
29 - Texas Rangers
Despite seemingly always being relegated to back-up duty, Murphy eked out 138 games last season notching 26 doubles, 12 home runs and 65 RBI. Most importantly, he got better. Logging less at-bats, he just about matched his walk total and whittled his strikeouts down from 106 to 71. I doubt you'll find a more useful fourth outfielder in baseball.

Michael Bianucci
24 - Bakersfield Blaze
His 2010 numbers dipped quite a bit after 62 extra-base hits in 2009. Still, 18 homers and 23 doubles are nothing to sneeze. And I don't know if anyone noticed, but there are zero guys above him that are not in Arlington. I fully expect Bianucci, if healthy, to get a long look at the upper tiers of the system.

Eric Fry
23 - Bakersfield Blaze
Injuries prevented Fry from getting double-digit at-bats (stuck at nine). Still, he showed more than enough in 2009 (20 doubles ... .329 OBP) to be considered in 2011.

Cristian Santana
21 - Hickory Crawdads
A good argument could be made that Santana has as much upside as any prospect in the system. His 2010 was cut short due to injuries, but he managed, still, 11 homers and 22 doubles. He hit .260, his highest average since 2007, his professional debut.

Jared Hoying
21 - Spokane Indians
The 10th-round pick took professional baseball by storm. He hit .325 with 13 doubles, 10 home runs and five triples in his pro debut, stealing 20 bases and collecting 51 RBI. He was named the Northwest League Most Valuable Player.

Travis Meiners
22 - Arizona Rangers
In 111 at-bats, Meiners -- a 40th-round pick -- hit .279 and wound up striking out just twice more than he walked (16-14). A tad older, Meiners surely caught the attention of someone, somewhere.

Braxton Lane
20 - Arizona Rangers
Logged 34 games and hit .239 while doing it.