Richard Durrett has passed away at 38

Today we all lost one of our own, as ESPN Dallas's Richard Durrett collapsed and died from an apparent brain aneurysm. He was 38 years old. 

If you follow the club you've surely read Durrett's articles, probably seen him covering the Rangers on TV, or heard him on the radio. He began working for ESPN.com in 2009, and wrote for the DMN before that. He leaves behind a wife and two children. 

Richard Durrett was beloved in the Rangers community, so today is a very sad day. 

Joey Gallo, Chi-Chi Gonzalez promoted to Double-A Frisco

On Sunday, the Texas Rangers announced that both 3B Joey Gallo and RHP Alex "Chi-Chi" Gonzalez will be promoted to Double-A Frisco from High-A Myrtle Beach, where they were -- along with Jorge Alfaro -- the most hyped prospects on the talent-rich 41-20 (.672) Pelicans squad. 

To their credit, Gonzalez, but particularly Gallo, have held up their ends of the bargain. Chi-Chi exits the Carolina League with a 2.62 earned run average in 65.1 innings, with a 17.8% strikeout rate, and an impressive 5.8% walk rate. Known as a strike-thrower with an excellent cut-fastball, Gonzalez was expected to rise quickly through the system after the Rangers took him in the first round out of Oral Roberts last year. 

Joey Gallo, on the other hand, has been a boom-or-bust prospect since day one. In the two years prior to this one, Gallo's strikeout rate rose from 34% in 2012 to 37% in 2013, while his walk rate decreased from 18% to 10.8%. His power has always been considered 80-raw on the 20-80 scale, but with all the Ks it would have never played up at the big league level. 

However, Gallo is an ideal example of why it's not typically wise to give up on prospects when they're only 20. Strikeouts are probably always going to be an issue -- based on his profile as a (super) Three True Outcomes hitter -- but you can believe the Rangers organization will continue surrounding him with the best coaches and mentors they have to offer, as prospects like this don't come around too often. After hitting .323/.463/.735 (222 wRC+) with a minor league-leading 21 HRs in the Carolina League, Joey Gallo's upside is truly scary, and it's sensible why the Rangers waited until draft time -- where they will add a bunch of new faces to the lower levels -- to give him his next challenge at Double-A.

For what it's worth, in his updated top-25 prospects list, Keith Law ranks Gallo 25th. He is the only Ranger on the list. 

Texas Rangers First Ten Draft Picks Of 2014

Here is a list of the Rangers draft picks through the first ten rounds:

Round 1, pick 30 -- Luis Ortiz, RHP, Sanger HS (CA)

Round 2, pick 59 -- Tiquan Forbes, SS, Columbia HS (MS)

Round 3, pick 95 -- Josh Morgan, SS, Orange Lutheran HS (CA)

Round 4, pick 126 -- Brett Martin, LHP, Walters State CC 

Round 5, pick 156 -- Wes Benjamin, LHP, Kansas

Round 6, pick 186 -- Jose Trevino, 3B, Oral Roberts

Round 7, pick 216 -- Nick Green, RHP, Indian Hills CC 

Round 8, pick 246 -- Erik Swanson, RHP, Iowa Western CC 

Round 9, pick 276 -- Doug Votoloto, CF, Central Arkansas

Round 10, pick 306 -- Seth Spivey, C, Abilene Christian

Unfortunately, these are high school and college players, so I know next to nothing about them. If you would like some context into the draft class, Lonestarball has a good writeup with information you can actually use. 

However, if we're taking inventory, the Rangers took three high school prospects (in the first three rounds), and the rest are college players. There are three infielders -- though Tiquan Forbes could move to center field eventually -- a catcher and a toolsy outfielder, and five pitchers. 

Since the latest collective bargaining agreement, the Rule 4 draft isn't as cut-and-dry as it used to be, particularly with respect to draft pick compensation and the newly conceived slot values. Basically, instead of simply drafting the best player available and signing him to whatever he was worth, teams are now given a pool of money -- based on how much each respective slot in the draft is worth -- and they get to use it to sign picks in the first 11 rounds. So if the club drafts a couple, or several, prospects and signs them well below slot value, they can compile the difference and use it to help sign a pick who wants more than his slot. 

This might sound like nonsense by this point, but Joe Sheehan summed it up perfectly in his latest newsletter: 

From a team standpoint, draft isn't about taking individual players any more. It's about assembling the best package of players for the budget allowed -- it's Fantasy Rule 4 Draft. So while the players will be picked in order of some approximation of their projected future performance, there will be a lot of variance from pick to pick as some teams take the best available player, and others take the best available player who will sign for the amount that gives them flexibility with later picks.

There are still a ton of picks left to be made, but these are the ones worth remembering for now. 

June 3 AL West Playoff Odds

Since I haven't put one of these up in awhile, I figured now was a good opportunity to do so.

Today's AL West playoff odds are courtesy of Baseball Prospectus. As you'll notice, the Rangers still haven't made up any ground in the division, at least according to the oddsmakers, and with Texas and Seattle sharing similar records, it won't surprise me to see some separation over the next month or so, as there will be quite a few divisional matchups during that time.

As always, these are likely to change many times over the course of the season, but I still rather enjoy having a look every now and again.

So, Joey Gallo is breaking baseball right now

To begin 2014, 20 year-old 3rd base prospect Joey Gallo received the ambitious assignment to start at High-A Myrtle Beach. As talented as Gallo proved to be in his first two minor league campaigns (he generated 62 homers in just 170 minor league games), some of his detractors reasonably cite an historically atrocious strikeout rate, that went from 30% in 2012 up to 37% in 2013. 

So it comes in somewhat surprising fashion, I suppose, that he has held his own (and then some) in the Advanced-A Carolina League so far this year. In only 185 plate appearances, Gallo already has 18 home runs, and is currently rocking the most imposing triple slash line (.342/.459/.795, 234 wRC+) in all of Minor League Baseball. 

More importantly, though, has to be the progress he's made in the strikeout department. He's cut his strikeout rate from 37% down to 23.8%, and his walk rate has improved from 10.8% in 2013 to 17.8% this year. Basically, he's playing out the dream scenario of what he hoped he would turn into. To play up to his potential, Joey Gallo has to make contact; the more contact he makes, the less pitchers will want to pitch to him. That has been reflected in his K/BB rates so far this season, though even when they have pitched to him he's been destroying the ball. 

He has eight more HRs than the second highest figure in the league. His 33 walks are nine more than the next-best total. His 43 runs are six more than #2. He has the highest average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage of anyone with at least 150 plate appearances in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League. HIS ISO IS .482 FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, 180 points higher than White Sox prospect Courtney Hawkins, who checks in at #2. 

I've already wasted almost 300 words telling you what you already know: At age-20, Joey Gallo is beasting on Single-A pitching. With how aggressive the Rangers generally push their uber-prospects, a promotion to Frisco figures to be on the horizon sooner rather than later. What he does at Double-A will give us a more accurate portrayal of what we can expect from Gallo; now that he's mastered Single-A, we need to see what he can do where the pitching is more advanced. 

This is a prospect to get real excited about.