Top 5 Rangers That Nobody Knows in the Fall Instructional League

The Rangers announced their roster for the fall instructional league a few days ago.

Play began October 5th and goes through November 14th.

Since there was no minor league season, this gives the Rangers a chance to gauge where some of their prospects are. If you follow the Rangers then you know the prospects that top everyone’s list.

The Rangers also have some players, who because of injury or age were not as heralded or well known. 2020 could have been a breakout year for them had they played. I have already written about the Under The Radar prospects. I went at it differently for this one.

These are the Top 5 players that most Rangers fans don’t know well, but maybe they should, in no particular order.

Osleivis Basabe // SS

A part of the 2017 international signing class, Basabe has been overshadowed by Maximo Acosta or Chris Seise when it comes to the SS position.

Basabe put up some nice numbers in the 89 professional games he has played. He has hit .334 with a .825 OPS. He hasn’t shown much power but he is 20 years old now. Power comes with maturity and body growth.

Mason Englert // RHP

Englert was the 4th round pick in the 2018 draft out of Forney, Texas. He went 14-2 his senior year of high school and lead Forney deep into the playoffs.

Before Englert would throw a live pitch for the Rangers he was diagnosed with a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery. Healthy, he was supposed to make his pro debut this year.

Owen White // RHP

White was the 2nd round pick in 2018 out of China Grove, NC. Much like Englert, White also suffered a UCL tear and never threw a pro inning before having the same surgery. He is also healthy and was looking forward to making his pro debut. Both White and Englert need to face some hitters.

Thomas Saggese // SS

Saggese was the 5th round pick in the weird COVID draft of 2020. I say weird because the Rangers took a few players that nobody had going that high in the draft. Saggese had some scouts scratching their head, the way Evan Carter did in the second round of the 2020 draft. But Rangers Kip Fagg said that Saggese was stolen in the 5th. COVID put an end to his season where he had some eye-popping numbers.

He hit .422 his junior year with 10 HRs in 32 games. His senior year he was hitting .440 with 3 HR’s in just 7 games before being shut down because of COVID.

Luisangel Acuna // SS

Acuna is the younger brother of Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. He also has superstar potential. Acuna was signed by the Rangers in July of 2018.

He played the 2019 season for the DSL Rangers and hit .342 in 51 games, with an OPS of .893 and a couple of HRs. He is still only 18 and was probably set to play stateside in 2020. He will be one of the younger players in the Fall Instructional League.

These five guys probably don’t register on the average Ranger fan radar. When prospects are mentioned, they all seem to talk about Josh Jung, Sam Huff, Hans Crouse, etc…but these 5 guys are names that need to be watched.

They all have the potential to be Top 100 prospects in all of baseball.

Now they need to prove it.

Featured Image: Dallas Morning News/Mason Englert & Owen White