The Future is Here.

Is it ever.

"This is the future of the Rangers," farm director Scott Servais said. "This is the first wave of players coming. We are going to continue to add to it, but the one thing we tell our players is if they're going to be a part of one organization, there's not a better one than the Rangers. They're going to get an opportunity to be in the big leagues.

"Once they get to the Double-A level, it can happen in a hurry. We've seen that."

Since Jon Daniels took over as general manager two years ago, the Rangers have made a concerted effort to rebuild the farm system and add as much talent as possible. That's hardly a unique goal as many organizations are trying to do the same.

The Rangers have attacked that goal in three ways: through a strong First-Year Player Draft, an increased emphasis on Latin American scouting and in the group of young players they acquired in July for Kenny Lofton, Mark Teixeira and Eric Gagne.

Six of nine players acquired in those trades are in Arizona, including left-handed pitcher Matt Harrison. He is over his shoulder problem and has already pitched once in Instructional League. He'll pitch twice more and then continue pitching in the Arizona Fall League.

Most of these players are still at least a few years away from being in Arlington, and only time will really tell if the Rangers have achieved that goal. But they like what they see on the field in Surprise.

"It's fun to watch," Servais said. "When these kids walk out there on the field and you see how physical they are and their athleticism, it's better than most teams."

There is much to see, hear and breakdown in Instructional League:

Team building: The Rangers want a sense of unity to develop among these players. They expect many of them to play together for many years to come and they want a "team first" attitude to begin right away.

Before the games began, the team held a bowling tournament, and reliever Danny Herrera was the big winner with a score of 249. Dominican Republic outfielder Engel Beltre had the big moment with a strike the first time he ever bowled.

Pitcher Michael Main and shortstop Elvis Andrus, who is from the Dominican and speaks English well, put together a world map to show where everybody is from. Shortstop Marcus Lemon and pitcher Fabio Castillo have led a program that has every player get up and tell his teammates who he is: where he is from, what he likes to do away from the field, what he likes to eat, what his family is like and so forth.

"Some players put up walls between themselves and their teammates," Servais said. "We're trying to break down those walls. We want to bring this whole thing together."

A visit from Sammy: On Tuesday, the Rangers Instructional League players gathered in a room to hear from a special visitor.

"I never thought I would hit this many home runs," Sammy Sosa told them. "But I knew I wanted to hustle, work hard and make my family proud. You can do that too."

Getting to meet baseball's fifth-leading all-time home run hitter has been one of the big highlights of the spring.

"He talked for about 40 minutes, then he signed autographs," Servais said. "It was great. The kids asked a lot of great questions."

Pitching: Rangers scout Mel Didier, who has 53 years of scouting experience and lives in Phoenix, attends the Instructional League every day and has been impressed by the pitching.

"We really have some good-looking pitching," Didier said. "The best I've seen since I've been here. Big strong kids that throw strikes."

That was evident in a game on Tuesday. Servais said the Rangers used seven pitchers in a game and they all threw at least 93 miles per hour.

On Wednesday against the Mariners, right-handers Blake Beavan and Neil Ramirez both pitched. Beavan was the Rangers' first pick in the First-Year Player Draft and Ramirez was the 44th overall pick. Both were late signings and didn't pitch during the regular season.

This was their first professional experience. Beavan retired six straight hitters while Ramirez threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Elvis is in the building: Andrus, one of five players acquired from the Atlanta Braves, may be the most impressive position player in camp. Didier said that defensively, he could play in the Major Leagues right now.

"He's a very special player," Servais said. "Of all the players down here, he has excited me the most. He's on the fast track."

Andrus is expected to play at Double-A Frisco next year.

Whittleman setback: Third baseman John Whittleman was sent home because of a viral infection. It's the only major setback the Rangers have had in instructional league. But the Rangers are not without other top third base prospects. Remember the name Emmanuel Solis, who is 18 and played rookie ball last year. Shortstop Johan Yan has also moved to third base.

Forgotten man: The Rangers acquired a second player from the Chicago White Sox along with pitcher Brandon McCarthy last year.

Center fielder David Paisano, who is 19 and from Venezuela, hit just .203 at Class A Clinton but stole 20 bases and is considered a standout defensive player. Along with Julio Borbon, who has a strained hamstring, and Beltre, Paisano gives the Rangers three legitimate center field prospects.

Bottom line: When asked what excites him the most about Instructional League, Servais was quick to respond.

"The atmosphere that we've developed and changing the culture a little bit," Servais said. "Our kids feel good about being Rangers. We've put an emphasis on winning and the kids like that. They like it when the games mean something and they're not just there to put up a bunch of numbers."

Rangers Instructional League team:

Pitchers: Blake Beavan, Wilfredo Boscan, Jacob Brigham, Fabio Castillo, Chris Dennis, Neftali Perez, Wilmer Font, Brennan Garr, Derek Holland, Tommy Hunter, Beau Jones, Kasey Kiker, Andrew Laughter, Josh Lueke, Michael Main, Kyle Ocampo, Juan Peralta, Martin Perez, Carlos Pimentel, Jorge Quintero, Neil Ramirez, Evan Reed and Robert Wilkins.

Catchers: Leonel De Los Santos, Jonathan Greene, Manuel Pina, Max Ramirez and Cristian Santana.

Infielders: Elvis Andrus, Mauro Gomez, Andres James, Edward Martinez, Marcus Lemon, Mitch Moreland, Emmanual Solis, Wilson Suero, Tomas Telis, Jose Vallejo, Johnny Whittleman and Johan Yan.

Outfielders: Miguel Alfonzo, Engel Beltre, Julio Borbon, David Paisano and Tim Smith.

Arizona Fall League players working out in the instructional league: 3B Chris Davis, 2B German Duran, RHP Scott Feldman, LHP Matt Harrison, LHP Daniel Herrera, RHP Kea Kometani, OF John Mayberry, C Taylor Teagarden.