The Texas Rangers have represented the pinnacle of baseball for the past couple of years. They have won two World Series in a row and have the most dangerous lineup to go against as well as a fairly dominant pitching staff. However, the Los Angeles Angels, their main division rival who has stolen the team’s last two major free agents, have come in and thrown cash at every free agent, a popular trend in LA right now. The Rangers have lost all-star hitter Josh Hamilton and catcher Mike Napoli and traded Michael Young for virtually nothing.

Experts have pegged the Rangers as being out of serious contention for the next couple years.  Their off-season was touted a failure after they failed to put together a trade for Justin Upton. With all of this, it may seem like the Rangers are in rough waters, but they may just be able to make it out dry.

Signing Lance Berkmen and A.J. Percinsky will soften the blow of their off-season losses. They also have two of the best position prospects in the league with Mike Olt and Jurikson Profar.

Olt has the ability to play many positions including left field. He  could push current left fielder David Murphy over to center and take over the corner outfield spot himself. If the Rangers don’t decide to make that move, he can still be a large asset off the bench as a utility man and provide rest for many of the Rangers’ starters, allowing them to stay healthy throughout the season.

Profar, however, seems stuck in a deep ditch with Andrus just getting extended for eight years.  It’s a hard choice as to what to do with him, but it’s a problem that any team would love to have.  Profar is a serious trade chip at any point in the season.

The pitching staff is questionable as former relievers Alexi Ogando and Neftali Felix are making the move to the starting rotation. Oganda was the long reliever for the Rangers last year and definitely has the stamina and the stuff to be a good four or five starter. Feliz is coming off Tommy John surgery and will have a slow comeback, but Derek Lowe can easily fill in his spot. The Rangers rotation one, two and three is fantastic with Matt Harrison, Derek Holland and almost perfect-game-winner Yu Darvish leading it off.

The Rangers have indeed stepped down a slot in performance, but they can make up ground quickly. Young stars like Olt, Profar, Holland and Darvish can lead Texas to a World Series starting today. The Rangers will most likely not win the World Series this year, but one can never rule them out. Texas is down, but most certainly not out.