The Top 11 are listed below. See the article for the full list.
Five-Star Prospects
1. Martin Perez, LHP
Four-Star Prospects
2. Jurickson Profar, SS
3. Tanner Scheppers, RHP
Three-Star Prospects
4. Engel Beltre, CF
5. Michael Kirkman, LHP
6. Robbie Erlin, LHP
7. Jake Skole, OF
8. Luis Sardinas, SS
9. Jorge Alfaro, C
10. Mike Olt, 3B
11. Roman Mendez, RHP
It's evident that the crux of the Rangers' minor league strength lies in the lower levels of the organization. Of the players listed, only Perez, Scheppers, Beltre and Kirkman have seen time above A+ ball and six guys (Profar, Skole, Sardinas, Alfaro, Olt and Mendez) have never played in a full-season league. As a result, you're likely to see lots of fluctuation in this list throughout the year as more reports and data becomes available for these lower level guys.
For the trio of Scheppers, Kirkman and Beltre, 2011 represents a vital juncture in their development. If Scheppers can maintain his health while proving that he can sustain his command well enough to be a starter, he could vault up the rankings. If Kirkman can continue to reduce the exorbitant walk rate that has plagued him throughout his career, he could give the Rangers depth in the ML rotation that they could desperately need. As for Beltre, there's a yawning chasm in CF that needs to be addressed at some point. Julio Borbon has done nothing to assuage fears that his bat is over-matched at the ML level and Josh Hamilton is too injury-prone to play significant time there. If Beltre can develop some semblance of plate discipline, the CF spot is his to keep.
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