Considering the number of players that have cycled through Texas this season, the Rangers were conservative in their roster expansion, only adding 3B-L Hank Blalock, 1B-L Travis Hafner, 1B/OF-R Jason Hart, LHP Ben Kozlowski, RHP Colby Lewis, and RHP Rudy Seanez to their September squad.

Texas never should have broken camp with Blalock in the majors. Their third round draft pick from 1999 split last season between A+ Charlotte in the Florida State League and AA Tulsa in the Texas League, spending no time in AAA. Once demoted to AAA this season, Blalock hit .307 with a .363 OBP and .457 SLG on 119 H, 1 3B, and 8 HR with a 34:61 BB:K and 2/3 SB% in 387 AB. Although those numbers aren't on par with his performance in A+ and AA, at this point he should probably work out any lingering growing pains in the majors. His September production already indicates an improvement. He's currently starting around five times a week and pinch-hitting on his off days.

We discussed Hafner and his excellent AAA season in early August when he replaced the injured Todd Hollansworth on the roster. Hafner remained with the team until the last week of August when he was demoted so that the Rangers could add Todd Greene to the team. I'm really not certain why they felt such an urgent need for Greene, as even with Ivan Rodriguez and Bill Haselman under the weather, Mike Lamb could have caught if needed. Hafner played fairly regularly in the first half of August, primarily as a DH. However, his recent sporadic playing time seems to have taken a toll on his production. If limited to pinch-hitting for the remainder of the season, the 25-year-old won't have an opportunity to put up impressive numbers. Hafner could break camp with the Rangers in 2003 depending on the club's off-season moves.

Hart returned to the Pacific Coast League, playing for Oklahoma this season after spending last year with the A's affiliate at Sacramento. The 25-year-old appears to have a contact problem, as he only hit .263 with a .356 OBP and .475 SLG on 135 H, 32 2B, 1 3B, and 25 HR with a 68:122 BB:K and 1/1 SB% in 514 AB this year. He still offers considerable power with good plate discipline, but his upside is limited until he raises his batting average. Hart spent two days in the majors in mid-August, as Texas activated Hart when they placed Frank Catalanotto on the DL and demoted him when Hollandsworth rejoined the team. Catalanotto is out for the season with a broken hand sustained in the Rangers' August 16th game against Toronto from a Mark Hendrickson pitch.

I reported on Kozlowski in April when the Rangers acquired him from the Braves for LHP Andy Pratt. Kozlowski advanced from A+ Charlotte to AA Tulsa mid-season after compiling a 76:25 K:BB with 63 H and 2 HR allowed in 79 IP for a 2.05 ERA at A+ in 12 starts over 21 appearances. In 8 AA starts, the 22-year-old compiled a 41:22 K:BB with only 28 H and 3 HR allowed in 52 IP for a 1.90 ERA. He definitely needs time in AAA before he's ready for the majors, but at this point Kozlowski is a highly promising starting prospect for the Rangers.

As he has to be on the 40-man roster anyway, the team probably wants him to dispense with the pressure of making his major league debut this month. He started for the Rangers yesterday, allowing only 6 H in 5 innings but posting a horrible 3:8 K:BB. Hopefully Texas has learned from their mistakes this year and will allow him sufficient time in AAA next season before adding him to the rotation, especially since he's only 22. The lefty will likely make one more start before the end of the season.

Colby Lewis really needed more time in AAA when the Rangers attempted to use him earlier this season, and Texas further aggravated the situation by pitching him in relief rather than in the starting role to which he was accustomed. Over the course of the season, Lewis compiled a 99:28 K:BB with 100 H and 4 HR allowed in 106.2 IP for a 3.63 ERA at AAA. He's moved into the Rangers' rotation this month and will deserve a job as a starter next season.

Rudy Seanez hit the DL in early June with biceps tendinitis, from which he would have returned sooner had he not undergone surgery to repair a herniated disc. He's resumed a relief role since rejoining the team. Only an elevated walk rate belies his injury troubles this season.

Jovanny Cedeno, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in June of 2001, was supposed to undergo an exploratory procedure earlier this month to discover if he now has torn his rotator cuff. The results of that surgery have not been reported, but if his rotator cuff was torn, he'll likely also miss most of next season.

Once the AAA playoffs concluded, the Angels added four more players to their roster, including SS-S Alfredo Amezaga, C-R Sal Fasano, RHP Lou Pote, and RHP Francisco Rodriguez. Regardless of the fact that they'll likely grab the wild card even if they miss the division title, I think the organization made a poor decision in leaving these players in the minors when they were in a hotly contested division race.

While we've discussed the others in the past, Rodriguez is making his major league debut. Anaheim signed him as a nondrafted free agent out of Venezuela in 1998. After two seasons in the A+ California League, he advanced to Arkansas in the AA Texas League in 2002. Rodriguez compiled a 61:15 K:BB with 32 H and 2 HR allowed in 41.1 innings of relief for a 1.96 ERA at AA before Anaheim promoted him to AAA Salt Lake. At AAA, he practically repeated the performance with a 59:13 K:BB, 30 H and 1 HR allowed in 42 IP for a 2.57 ERA. Although another half season of AAA experience might be wise, Rodriguez should be able to contribute to the Anaheim pen now and certainly could break camp with the team next year. In his 2.2 IP in the majors, he has struck out seven while walking none and allowing only one hit.