27-year old righty swinging Ian Kinsler is the man for the Rangers as he turned in a 30/30 year for them in 2009. They hope that he can stay healthy enough to repeat those numbers again in 2010. Kinsler played in 144 games for the Rangers last season and he was 143 for 566 (.253 avg, .815 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. Kinsler is also a decent defensive player despite making 11 errors in 144 games at 2B for the Rangers last season as he showed off really good range there. He is one of the more complete players in all of baseball right now.

30-year old righty swinging Khalil Greene will be the Rangers’ top utility man on the infield in 2010. He is a natural shorstop who didn’t play any 2B last season so he will have to learn it in spring training. He does have pretty good power for a middle infielder so he could be a nice asset for the Rangers if he comes to spring training healthy and focused.

25-year old righty swinging Joaquin Arias is a player the Rangers still like. He can play all over the infield defensively. He played in 2 games at 2B for the Rangers last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing poor range there.

31-year old righty swinging Esteban German played in 6 games at 2B for the Rangers last season and he made 1 error while showing below average range. It’s going to be hard for German to make the team but he gives the Rangers really nice depth at 2B.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: A

Righty starting pitcher Charlie Hough couldn’t throw hard enough to dent a couch. He succeeded from making the ball dance without spinning throwing the knuckleball. He pitched 11 years for the Rangers and he pitched in 344 games (313 starts) in which he was 139-123 with 1 save, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Hough even knuckled his way to the All-Star game in 1986 when he pitched in 33 games (all starts) and he was 17-10 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Hough is all over the Rangers’ record book. He is the Rangers’ all-time leader in games started (313), complete games (98), wins (139), innings pitched (2,308) and strikeouts (1,452). Hough is also #4 in games pitched (344), #9 in ERA (3.68) and he is #3 in shutouts (11) in Rangers’ history. Charlie Hough was one of the best pitchers in Rangers’ history despite rarely getting a pitch anywhere near 85 miles per hour.

23-year old lefty swinging Chris Davis will battle 23-year old switch-hitting Justin Smoak for the starting job at 1B this spring. Davis has the clear lead in this competition based on his major league experience. He played in 113 games for the Rangers last season and he was 93 for 391 (.238 avg, .726 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 21 homers and 59 RBIs. His main problem has been his whiffing as he did it 150 times last season. With that in mind I never see him really having too much of a batting average but if the Rangers can accept that he could put up 35-40 homers in 2010. In 100 games at 1B last season Davis only made 3 errors which is pretty good. I think he will be able to handle it defensively even though he is a natural 3B.

Justin Smoak is one of the best prospects the Rangers have. He played in 106 games in Rookie+AA+AAA ball last season and he was 112 for 386 (.290 avg, .853 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 12 homers and 57 RBIs. Smoak does show decent plate discipline as he did walk 75 times last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: C

The Rangers have signed 34-year old righty swinging Toby Hall to a minor league deal. He last played in the majors in 2008 with the White Sox. He has played in 686 games in his major league career and he is 616 for 2,350 (.262 avg, .671 OPS) with 211 runs scored, 46 homers and 269 RBIs. It’s a longshot that Hall will be able to help the Rangers in 2010 but it never hurts to bring in a player with his kind of experience.

The Rangers have designated 24-year old righty swinging outfielder Greg Golson for assignment to make room on the roster for recently signed Khalil Greene. Golson played in 1 game for the Rangers last season and he was 0 for 1 with a whiff. He also played in 123 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 118 for 457 (.258 avg, .642 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 2 homers, 40 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The Rangers will likely keep him if he clears waivers but they won’t shed a tear if some team claims him.

UPDATE: The Rangers have traded Greg Golson to the Yankees for SS/3B/1B Mitch Hilligoss and cash considerations. 24-year old righty swinging Mitch Hilligoss played in 51 games in A-ball last season and he was 38 for 163 (.233 avg, .582 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 14 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played four years in the minors and he has played in 367 games in which he is 387 for 1,406 (.275 avg., .676 OPS) with 185 runs scored, 7 homers, 134 RBIs and 69 stolen bases. The Rangers didn’t get much for Golson but the return they got is better than letting him go for nothing.