It's no secret that there are two top prizes this year at the trade deadline: Cole Hamels and Zack Greinke. Personally, I believe that Greinke is a top five pitcher in all of baseball and should be considered the top prize, but I digress.
It appears that the Rangers think highly of Greinke, too. According to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, the Brewers sent a scout to watch AA Frisco -- Texas' AA affiliate, which is chalk full of prospects.
If the Brewers are serious about dealing Greinke, and they should be, then the Rangers are as good a bet as any team in baseball to land him -- if they want. Coming into the season, the Rangers had the top-ranked farm system, per Baseball America.
Naturally, the Rangers have some prospects worth watching at AA. First and foremost is Jurickson Profar, who might very well be the top prospect in baseball. As a 19 year old in AA, Profar is hitting an absurd .293/.371/.479, with nine home runs, nine stolen bases, and a slick 39/49 BB/SO ratio.
Though some (delusional) Brewers fans likely covet Profar, the bottom line is this: he's not being traded. There are probably two players in all of baseball that the Rangers would trade Profar for (hint: one of them plays for the Angels, the other, the Nationals), and a two-month rental of Greinke is not going to cut it. Profar will not be traded.
There are plenty of arms in AA, but the hot topic of discussion is likely Mike Olt, who is ranked as the No. 11 prospect in all of baseball, according to Baseball America's midseason top 50 ranking. Olt has taken a major step forward with his bat, hitting .300/.406/.590, with 22 home runs in 75 games.
The problem is, however, that the Rangers have an All-Star third baseman of their own for a few more years in Adrian Beltre. It's a good problem to have too much talent, and this is one of those cases. If Olt's bat truly is this good, then, unlike what I said in the spring, it should be able to play at first base, if the Rangers want to go that route.
Still, with the Brewers desperate for a third baseman, it seems likely that they will target Olt in a trade. Is that unreasonable for two months of one of the very best pitchers in baseball? I'm not sure that it is unreasonable, but I'd understand if the Rangers held onto Olt, instead of having two months, with no guarantee of an extension, of Greinke.
The Rangers have plenty of worthy pitching prospects in AA, too. Cody Buckel could easily be seen as expendable, as could Barrett Loux.
There's lots of talent on Frisco's roster, but my money is on saying the Brewers insist on Olt, at least until the end of July. They're in no rush to deal him, and they're probably going to (rightfully) ask for the sun, the moon and the stars until they have to deal Greinke.