Last winter, I had Chris Davis as the No. 1 Texas Rangers prospect and Taylor Teagarden at No. 3. Neither was on the 40-man roster -- Teagarden wouldn't be Rule 5 Draft-eligible until after the 2008 season, and Davis wouldn't be until after 2009 -- and since both were coming off a season in Class A with a month in Double-A, the Rangers probably expected both to build off breakout 2007 seasons and put themselves in the picture this year.

But even the most optimistic couldn't have anticipated this much, this soon. Davis, in less than half a season in Texas, has 15 home runs, 43 RBIs, and an .868 OPS. Teagarden, in a much smaller sample, has displayed the defensive prowess expected of him but has created a surprising amount of damage at the plate, with six extra-base hits in seven games.

This is an organization unafraid to push its prospects when they prove to be ready for the challenge. And in many cases, the players are making it pay off.

As the Minor League seasons are finished, with the exception of the league championship series that Oklahoma and Frisco are battling in, this will be my final weekly ranking of the Rangers' top 20 prospects. I'll revisit the list with monthly updates over the offseason.

This week's Top 20 Minor League prospects:

1. NEFTALI FELIZ, RHP, Double-A Frisco (No. 1 last week)

After a breakout 10-6 record with a 2.69 ERA between Clinton and Frisco, Feliz gave up two earned runs on eight hits and four walks in 13 playoff innings, with one eight-inning stretch between his two starts in which he allowed just one hit and fanned 11. He finishes the season with 170 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings, and will still be 20 years old when the 2009 season begins.

2. DEREK HOLLAND, LHP, Double-A Frisco (2)

There aren't many franchises whose list wouldn't lead off with Holland, and I've fought a temptation to put him at the top of this one. His season just got better and better, starting with a 7-0 record and a 2.40 ERA in 17 Clinton starts (.228 opponent batting average), followed by a 3-1, 3.19 ERA mark in five Bakersfield starts (.185), and then a 3-0, 0.69 ERA mark in four Frisco starts (.163). The left-hander capped his year off with two brilliant playoff efforts for the RoughRiders, going 1-1 with a 0.61 ERA and scattering eight hits and three walks in 14 2/3 innings, setting a dozen down on strikes. Count his playoff work, and the 21-year-old went 14-2 with a 2.12 ERA at three levels in his first full pro season, with 169 strikeouts in 165 1/3 innings and only three home runs allowed.

3. ELVIS ANDRUS, SS, Double-A Frisco (3)

With the exception of Eric Hurley (between last summer and this spring), the Rangers haven't had one of their top prospects spend a full year in Triple-A since Ian Kinsler in 2005. Andrus, who hit .295/.350/.367 in a full year with Frisco (and .316/.381/.474 so far in the playoffs, including a double and triple Wednesday night) and didn't turn 20 until two weeks ago, stands to settle in with the RedHawks in April. How long he'll remain there will be a fascinating question.

4. MICHAEL MAIN, RHP, Low A Clinton (4)

Pitching mostly against significantly older competition, Main has a 2.90 ERA in 23 starts over his two pro seasons. He's got explosive stuff to go along with the solid results, and there's projection for more.

5. JUSTIN SMOAK, 1B, Low A Clinton (5)

Not signing until mid-August, Smoak's sample size was small, but the Rangers' first-round pick showed very little rust, hitting .304/.355/.518 in 14 regular-season games for Clinton and then going 3-for-8 with a double and a walk in the LumberKings' brief playoff run.

6. MAX RAMIREZ, C, Triple-A Oklahoma (6)

Ramirez has struggled since returning three weeks ago from a hip injury (.250/.300/.444 in 36 regular-season at-bats and .160/.300/.440 in 25 playoff at-bats), but it doesn't diminish the spectacular season he had, hitting .347/.439/.628 in the Minor Leagues with home runs off Roy Oswalt and Scot Shields in his abbreviated look with Texas. One way or another, he'll benefit from what should be a trade or two involving the Rangers' catching corps this winter and will look to make a bigger big league impact in 2009.

7. JULIO BORBON, CF, Double-A Frisco (8)

Borbon hit .322/.363/.427 between Bakersfield and Frisco and, like Andrus, should start the 2009 season in Oklahoma City. There are lots of moving parts in the Rangers' outfield blueprint as the 2008 season ends, and Borbon's eventual arrival as a player who can run everything down in center field and do damage on the basepaths absolutely factors into the plans.

8. BLAKE BEAVAN, RHP, Low A Clinton (7)

A 6-foot-7 power pitcher who walks only 20 batters in over 120 innings? In his first pro season? As a teenager in a league full of hitters four years older? Beavan went 10-6 with a 2.37 ERA in 23 LumberKing starts, and while you couldn't ask for more than that out of the Irving product, whom the Rangers drafted with the 2007 first-round pick they received from the Astros as compensation for the departure of free agent outfielder Carlos Lee, there's no reason not to expect even more going forward.

9. KASEY KIKER, LHP, High A Bakersfield (9)

After a string of three straight quality starts from Kiker as June turned to July, the Rangers began to limit his pitch count in an effort to manage his overall workload. Three poor starts to end the season raised his ERA from 4.18 to 4.73, but the 20-year-old, among the youngest pitchers in the Cal League, struck out 111 batters in 121 2/3 innings and issued only 37 walks.

10. MARTIN PEREZ, LHP, Short-Season A Spokane (10)

Think about when you were 17. Sure seemed like more than a five-year difference between you and those 22-year-olds you knew, huh? Perez posted a 3.65 ERA in 15 starts against lineups full of 22-year-old hitters, striking out 53 of them in 61 2/3 innings. He finished strong, posting a 1.42 ERA over his final five regular-season starts.

11. ENGEL BELTRE, CF, Low A Clinton (11)

Beltre needs to do a better job of getting on base, given his ability to impact a game with his legs, and needs to improve against left-handers generally, but he's still just 18 and has a set of raw skills that stand out in this organization -- and would in any other.

12. NEIL RAMIREZ, RHP, Short-Season A Spokane (12)

Like Beavan, Ramirez was a 2007 first-rounder but didn't debut until 2008, and he quietly had a sensational season, holding Northwest Leaguers to an anemic .166/.321/.285 line and striking out 52 batters in 44 innings. Still just 19 years old, the right-hander had a 1.37 ERA over his last six appearances, bringing his season mark down to 2.66.

13. WILMER FONT, RHP, Rookie-Level Arizona League (13)

Font has a 5.04 ERA and only 50 innings under his belt over two pro seasons, but the 18-year-old possesses Feliz/Holland-esque velocity and a prototype 6-foot-4 workhorse's frame. The Rangers understandably took no chances in 2008 with his minor shoulder and knee issues. Font has 67 strikeouts in those 50 frames and has surrendered only three home runs.

14. WILFREDO BOSCAN, RHP, Short-Season A Spokane (15)

The wave of pitchers from Latin America has been so substantial the past couple of years that Boscan gets lost in the crowd, but there's no pitcher in the system who can boast his combination of groundball efficiency (1.50 groundouts for every flyout this year, after a 4.00 rate in 2007) and strikeout-to-walk dominance (more than 6-to-1 in 2008). In his first year stateside, the lanky 18-year-old put up a sparkling 9-1 record with a 3.12 ERA.

15. OMAR POVEDA, RHP, High A Bakersfield (16)

Poveda may be the toughest 40-man roster decision for the Rangers this November. The Venezuelan is just 22-30 with a 4.29 ERA in four pro seasons but, still just 20, has been among the youngest pitchers in his league every season and has an advanced feel for pitching, striking out 440 and issuing only 139 walks in 450 2/3 innings. He's not ready, but will Texas risk exposing him to the Rule 5 Draft?

16. JOSE VALLEJO, 2B, Double-A Frisco (17)

Vallejo, on the other hand, is a lock to be added to the roster. A lifetime .253/.316/.309 hitter coming into 2008, the switch-hitting speed merchant hit .292/.345/.415 between Bakersfield and Frisco this year, showing power for the first time and stealing 42 bases in 46 attempts. He committed only seven errors in his two-plus months in Double-A.

17. TOMMY HUNTER, RHP, Triple-A Oklahoma (19)

Coming back from a scary freak accident in which he was hit in the face by a ball during batting practice, Hunter defeated Iowa on Sunday to send Oklahoma to the PCL championship series, giving up one run over six innings. It's been a storybook year for the 22-year-old, who in his first full pro season went 13-8 with a 3.41 ERA in 25 regular-season starts on the farm and made three big league starts. In 180 2/3 innings (including his playoff win), Hunter issued only 39 walks.

18. MITCH MORELAND, 1B/RF, Low A Clinton (15)

A college closer, Moreland mopped up two Clinton losses late in the season, striking out three in two innings of work. But it was his bat that led the Rangers to draft him in last year's 17th round, and he made the decision look great in 2008. Moreland led the Midwest League with a .936 OPS, 250 total bases, and 99 RBIs in 123 games, and he hit 18 home runs, fifth-most in the league.

19. ROBBIE ROSS, LHP, Unassigned (UR)

When I head to Fall Instructional League in Surprise, the 2008 second-rounder is right at the top of the list of the players I'm most interested in seeing. Over the last couple of years, the Rangers went from empty to spilling over in catcher prospects. Now it seems the organization's stock in high-upside left-handers is following suit.

20. ANDREW LAUGHTER, RHP, Double-A Frisco (UR)

Like Hunter, Laughter has made a phenomenal run in his first full pro season, but as a 2007 college senior taken in the 10th round, his instant development into a fast-track prospect has been much more unlikely. The big reliever posted a 3.52 ERA and 12 saves between Bakersfield and Frisco (not including Wednesday night's save of the RoughRiders' 4-3 win in Arkansas), with 45 strikeouts and 23 walks in 61 1/3 innings. He gave up only three home runs (after yielding none in 31 innings last year) and induced twice as many groundouts as flyouts.

Off the list this week: Marcus Lemon, Reinier Bermudez