http://tinyurl.com/6meoho This is a strong group, including three products of the Rangers' Latin American scouting and development program and arguably the prospect who enjoyed the most meteoric rise in status of any prospect in the game last summer. One of these guys has scouts comparing him to Johan Santana and another is drawing Scott Kazmir comps. That's not me talking, or the Rangers talking. It's opposing scouts. It was a close call between those two for the top spot on this list. Make the jump and find out who sits atop this extremely promising group. =============================================================================== 5) Juan Grullon -- 6'2", 185 lbs. (2007 Int'l F.A.) -- DOB: 3 / 04 / 1990 I'm going off of numbers and rumors here. The 18 year old Grullon averaged an unbelievable 12.56 strikeouts per nine innings in the DSL, while holding the opposition to a .202 batting average. An 18 year old lefty at any level who is that unhittable has something special. 2009 Projection: No idea. It will be interesting to see if he jumps ahead to Spokane in June when short season leagues get going. =============================================================================== 4) Miguel de los Santos -- 6'1", 180 lbs. (2006 Int'l F.A.) -- DOB: 7 / 10 / 1988 Coming off of Tommy John surgery that cut short his debut in 2007, Miggy averaged 14.2 strikeouts per nine for the AZL Rangers in 2008, his second pro season. He wields a plus-plus curve, a 90ish sinking fastball and a developing change. He's also a young man with plenty of desire and a good work ethic. 2009 Projection: An assignment to full-season Class-A Hickory is likely. =============================================================================== 3) Tim Murphy -- 6'2", 200 lbs. (2008 3rd Rounder) -- DOB: 5 / 07 / 1987 Murphy is a terrific athlete who was a top center fielder during his first two years at UCLA and a strong quarterback / safety prospect in high school, but during his third and final year at UCLA he committed fully to pitching and posted a 3.34 ERA while fanning 110 in 102 innings and holding the opposition to a .227 batting average. Murphy's hallmark is his aggressiveness. He isn't afraid to challenge hitters with a 88-92 mph fastball that he moves around in the strike zone. His out pitch is a plus 11-5 bender and his changeup is a usable pitch. He dominated righties in both of his minor league assignments last summer. In spite of being a third-year college draftee, Murphy is not a very experienced pitcher. He didn't pitch at all as in his first year at UCLA I(and played summer ball in the Northwoods League where he was ranked the seventh best prospect). He pitched part time in his second year, making a dozen relief appearances. He only ascended to the Bruins' rotation last spring when a teammate came down with an illness. Murphy signed quickly and was assigned to Spokane where he posted tremendous numbers and earned notice as the Northwest League's eighth best prospect according to Baseball America. He held the circuit to a .152 batting average while posting a K/9 of 10.91. He moved on to Clinton for a cameo in the MWL where he made three successful starts, posting an ERA of 2.40 and limited opponents to a .214 batting average. Murphy drops his arm behind his knee in his delivery and is slow to get it back up into a load position. One scouting report I've seen suggests that this is the reason he has difficulty repeating his delivery. Then again, there was once a lefty who played in Los Angeles who sort of did the same thing and he was pretty good. Bright, athletic, confident and skilled. Not a bad package. 2009 Projection: I suspect that the Rangers will challenge Murphy with an assignment to Bakersfield to begin the season and he could find himself in Frisco before the year is over. =============================================================================== 2) Martin Perez -- 6'0", 165 lbs. (2007 Int'l F.A.) -- DOB: 4 / 04 / 1991 Martin Perez turned 17 in April and two months later, he made his professional debut in the Northwest League, where the average age is almost 23. The last time a pitcher who had just turned 17 in April made his professional debut not in the DSL or the AZL or the GCL, but in the NWL was probably 2003 when the Mariners assigned a big Venezuelan kid named Felix to their affiliate in Everett, Washington. Two years and two months later, he was pitching in the big leagues. Perez should have been overmatched, no matter his talent. But he ended the season with the circuit's seventh best ERA (3.65) and was ranked the league's second best prospect by Baseball America. Perez had scouts on that circuit issuing Johan Santana comps. Perez whips off an 88-92 mph fastball with incredible life that has touched 94 mph on occasion, what many believe was the best curve in the NWL and a change. I had the chance to see him pitch in Surprise this spring and I was knocked out by his stuff, but I could never have imagined that he would throw his first pitch in a professional game for Spokane. He is far from physically mature and looks very much like a kid who would be considered smallish in an American Legion game. The Rangers are thoroughly knocked out by Perez in every way. Minor league pitching coordinator Rick Adair said of Perez: "Martin just loves being a pitcher. He has three plus pitches. When he first signed, it was kind of a tough read. He was a little cocky. Probably didn't really get what being a professional was all about. He's grown up so much this year in every way. When you talk to Martin about pitching, his eyes just light up. Get big. He's passionate about it. He's very animated in talking about pitching. He's a sharp kid. He's got a fast arm and a body that isn't very big yet. We've just got to be careful in handling his work load. But between his stuff and his intensity about pitching, he's got a chance to be very special." I asked Jon Daniels if he had to choose between Derek Holland and Perez, he couldn't bring himself to make that call, though he suggested that Perez probably has the biggest upside of any pitcher in the system. 2009 Projection: Tough case. In many ways -- mentally and in terms of talent -- Perez needs to be challenged with an assignment to Class-A Hickory, but he pitched 61.2 innings in 2008 and there are some concerns about pushing him too far, too fast given his lack of physical maturity. He may stay back in Surprise for a few weeks before reporting to the Sally League, but he's certain to spend most of the year in the Hickory rotation. =============================================================================== 1) Derek Holland -- 6'2", 185 lbs. (2006 25th Rounder DFE) -- DOB: 10 / 9 / 1986 The pitching equivalent of Ian Kinsler back in 2004 when Kinsler went from obscure 17th rounder to one of the top hitting prospects in baseball in the course of a year. Holland enjoyed perhaps the most meteoric rise of any prospect in baseball last year and, like Kinsler, those who saw him were convinced that it was no fluke. Holland went 7-0 with a 2.40 ERA and an 8.36 K/9 in 17 starts for Clinton. Then he moved on to the extremely hitter-friendly Cal League and was even better, going 3-1 with a 3.19 ERA, and fanning 37 while walking only five in 31 innings of work. You just don't see pitching prospects tear through the Cal League like that very often. But it was in Frisco that Holland's stock really shot through the roof. In four starts against Texas League hitters, Holland erected a 0.69 ERA, punched out 29 while walking just six in 26 frames and held the opposition to a .163 batting average. And his fastball started lighting up the Dr. Pepper Ballpark gun at 98 mph. So how did Holland shoot from anonymous to star prospect? "There's a lot that goes into that," says Rick Adair. "He was 88-92 when he came to Spokane [in 2007]. We thought maybe he'd turn into a 92-93 mph guy eventually. We certainly never thought we'd see anything like 98. But everything we did with Derek worked and that's really a credit to him. He's got tremendous baseball intelligence. He understood from the very beginning what he was doing. You'd ask him a question and he'd give you a good answer. He understands pitching and his own body extremely well. "He's very consistent not only in his approach to pitching and his preparation, but in his delivery. Every pitch, every game, in every situation, he looks the same. He worked extremely hard. He's extremely competitive. Every now and then, somebody just comes along," said Adair -- who paused to correct himself. "Actually, I've never seen somebody improve so much, so fast in my time coaching. How do you not get fired up about a guy like that?" Holland is a power lefty who drives his lively fastball to both sides of the plate and seems to have a good feel for his changeup which he uses sparingly, but effectively. When I saw him, he was consistent with an 80 mph slurvy slider and all three pitches look exactly the same coming out of his hand. The Ohio native uses his whole body to generate power and repeats his delivery as well as any Frisco pitcher I've ever seen. He gets remarkable hip separation that allows him to generate power from both his torso as well as his legs. Though his delivery is a bit unusual -- he has a pronounced bend in his back that adds an element of deceptiveness -- I would be surprised if he had any physical problems because of the consistency and efficiency of his motion. 2009 Projection: Holland will likely open the season in the Oklahoma City rotation and will arrive in Arlington by July. He projects as a legit number two starter. --

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