Rangers Minor League report: Feb. 26

02/26/2006
Hot topic: The Rangers have a new director of player development. Scott Servais was hired in December after Dom Chiti joined the Major League staff as the bullpen coach.
Servais was a scout for the Colorado Rockies last year. After retiring from a 14-year professional career, which included parts of 11 seasons in the Majors as a catcher, Servais was the Cubs' roving Minor League catching instructor.
"There's a certain structure and style put in place by Dom Chiti and [field coordinator] Mike Brumley and I've taken that and run with it," Servais said. "One of the reasons why I jumped at this opportunity is because I know those guys and their style. It's a very aggressive detailed structure of how to go about the game.
"Everything from drills, hitting approach, same with the pitchers, what's being taught with mechanics and it's the same from top to bottom."
On the move: Third baseman Travis Metcalf has been brought over from the Minor League side because Aarom Baldiris was late in arriving from Venezuela. The move has helped Metcalf get some exposure with the Major League staff and he has taken advantage of it.
Metcalf was the Rangers' Minor League Player of the Year in 2005 after batting .291 with 22 home runs and 94 RBIs at Class A Bakersfield. He is expected to start the season at Double-A Frisco.
"His defense is a lot better than maybe the level or age he is playing at," Servais said. "He's pretty good throwing and with his range, and his bat looks like it's going to play with power."
On the pine: Catcher Taylor Teagarden, the third-round pick last year out of the University of Texas, is in Major League camp but still sidelined after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow during the offseason. Manager Buck Showalter met with him on Friday.
"I told him to think about what's ahead of him and not behind," Showalter said. "I told him that if we could have it over again, we'd do the same thing and draft him. We like this guy. We're willing to wait and get it done right."
Names in the game: Minor League hitting instructor Brook Jacoby was a candidate to be the Major League hitting coach if Rudy Jaramillo had been hired as the New York Mets manager.
Now Jacoby will be responsible for Major League hitters next month when Jaramillo leaves the team to undergo surgery for prostate cancer.
"I'm really happy to have a guy like Brook around, who knows me and what I teach," Jaramillo said. "He'll do great."
They're No. 1: Thomas Diamond, the Rangers' No. 1 pick in 2004, is going to get a serious look for the fifth starter spot. John Danks, the top pick in 2003, is also in camp but he looks like he'll start either at Double-A Frisco or Triple-A Oklahoma. Drew Meyer, the 2002 top pick, isn't in camp but could get time during the exhibition games while Michael Young is playing for the United States in the World Baseball Classic. Meyer has been passed by Ian Kinsler and Joaquin Arias on the club's organizational depth chart, but the Rangers think he could end up being a utility player at the Major League level.
Class of '05: Outfielder John Mayberry Jr. is one of about 60 players working out early on the Minor League side. Showalter has stopped by several times to watch him take batting practice and said, "He's impressive." A guy to watch is Steven Murphy, a 14th-round pick out of Kansas State. He was the MVP in the Northwest League last year, batting .306 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 62 games. Said Servais, "It's fun to watch his intensity and what he brings to the mix."
What they're saying: "A left-handed catcher ... he's what they look like." -- Showalter on Billy Killian, the 19-year-old catcher acquired from the San Diego Padres

Source: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/