22-year old righty starting pitcher Omar Poveda looks like he will need Tommy John Surgery. He pitched in 24 games (all starts) in Rookie+AA+AAA ball last season and he was 11-6 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Poveda has now pitched in 108 games (103 starts) in his 5 years in the minors and he is 33-36 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. This is a bad break for Poveda who worked his way to AAA-ball last season.

22-year old switch hitting 1B Justin Smoak was the #3 rated prospect in the Rangers’ minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 106 games in Rookie+AA+AAA ball this year and he was 112 for 386 (.290 avg, .853 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 12 homers and 57 RBIs. The Rangers might give him a shot next spring to win the starting 1B job.

The Rangers have recalled 31-year old righty swinging infielder Esteban German from AAA. German has played in 101 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 120 for 373 (.322 avg, .839 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 4 homers, 58 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. German has also played in 366 games in his major league career in which he is 262 for 946 (.277 avg) with 141 runs scored, 7 homers, 102 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. The Rangers hope German hits like he did in the minors as they need some punch with Ian Kinsler out of action.

23-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Chris Davis was having huge problems in the majors before being sent to AAA. He played in 77 games for the Rangers this season and he was 52 for 258 (.202 avg, .671 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 15 homers and 33 RBIs. His biggest problem with the Rangers was that he whiffed 114 times. Davis has improved in the minors and he should get another chance with the Rangers in the near future. Davis has played in 23 games in AAA-ball so far and he is 30 for 94 (.319 avg, .930 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers and 20 RBIs. Davis has only whiffed 20 times since he was sent to the minors so that shows improvement in pitch selection.

The Rangers have finally rewarded 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Nelson Cruz for a job well done in the minors. Cruz has played in 104 games in AAA + rookie ball this season and he is 131 for 383 (.342 avg, 1.124 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 37 homers, 100 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. The Rangers hope that this time Cruz will grab his opportunity and run with it. Cruz has played in 145 games in his major league career and he is 102 for 442 (.231 avg, .667 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 15 homers and 56 RBIs. Too make room on the roster for Cruz the Rangers have designated outfielder Jason Ellison for assignment. Ellison played in 9 games for the Rangers this season and he was 3 for 13 (.231 avg, .517 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 2 RBIs.