Jaramillo has been the Rangers hitting instructor since the 1995 season, and from 1996 through 2004, the Rangers ranked in the top five in batting average, runs scored, slugging percentage, home runs, and hits. Texas is also only a year removed from leading the majors with 901 runs scored.

But 2009 was a different story, as the Rangers failed to crack 800 runs for the first time since ’95, Jaramillo’s first year on the job. Texas also led the A.L. in strikeouts (1253) and ranked 12th out of 14 teams in walks (472), seeing a 20.6% drop in free passes from last year. The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros have already been listed as potential suitors for Jaramillo.

Well, Tuesday night, they’ll be Young again.

Just two weeks after suffering a significant left hamstring strain, Young is returning to the Rangers lineup. He will bat second and play DH today against Oakland. He intends to be back at third base on Friday when Los Angeles arrives in Arlington for a key three-game series.

“There is a sense of energy and a sense of excitement,” CF Marlon Byrd said. “His presence does that. You can only go so long with out your big bats in the lineup and when we saw his name in the lineup today, there was a spark of energy that everybody felt.”

Young, who has been hitting and doing some running for the last five days, awoke Tuesday feeling good and the idea of returning earlier-than-expected began to percolate in his mind. By the time he left his home for Rangers Ballpark, he was texting team officials that he wanted to test the hamstring out by running bases. After that went well, Young marched into manager Ron Washington’s office and said he wanted in the lineup.

He acknowledged, however, that he is at less than 100 percent in terms of strength and that there is a risk of further injuring the hamstring by playing. The comproise is that he will DH today and Wednesday and longer if necessary. He also will not run the bases at full speed.

“I feel good enough,” Young said. “I’d prefer to go right into the lineup at third base, but if I have to DH, that’s fine. The one thing I’ve learned about hamstrings is the injury possibility increases as the muscle fatigues, so maybe not standing and playing the position for nine innings will help reduce that. I know there is some risk involved, but my goal was to get in the lineup the second I was ready to play. I felt ready today. I wasn’t ready [Monday].”

Said Washington: “As usual, he’s ahead of schedule. He’s pretty excited, and we’re pretty excited. We trust Michael to control himself. He feels like he’s ready to go. The doctors feel like he’s ready to go. So we’re going to let him go. We’re certainly not going to push anything when he’s on the base paths. We might be a little quick with our stop sign in some situations. Because once he gets going, we certainly don’t want him to have to quickly stop.”

While the Rangers offense seemed to rally for a while after Young went out of the lineup, lately the absence of their leading hitter and OF Josh Hamilton (pinched nerve in back) has caught up to them. The Rangers, who scored at least 10 runs in each of three consecutive games in Cleveland, have scored a total of just 10 runs in their last four games.The Rangers have been shutout three times in their last 10 games after getting blanked just six times in their first 130 games.

Young, who is sixth in the AL in hitting at .322, leads the Rangers in on-base-plus-slugging percentage at .900. He ranks 12th in the AL in that department.

Hamilton, who is not expected to return before Friday, began hitting off a tee and some soft tosses on Tuesday.

ARLINGTON – The Rangers want their three best starters to pitch against the Los Angeles Angels this weekend. It remains uncertain whether the club currently considers RHP Kevin Millwood in that trio.

The no-brainers are RHPs Tommy Hunter and Scott Feldman, who will start the first two games of this series in that order. Then comes the Rangers big decision: Whether to pitch the struggling Millwood or go to RHP Brandon McCarthy. Whoever doesn’t pitch on Sunday is expected to pitch next Tuesday at Oakland.

Manager Ron Washington said nothing had been decided and even though Hunter’s name was etched on the dry-erase board for Friday, he said it was a “hypothetical” scenario. Hunter, however, pitched the first complete game of his career on Sunday. The Rangers are 6-1 in his last seven starts. Millwood is on the other end of the spectrum. He lasted just 3.2 innings on Saturday and suffered his third loss in the last four decisions. The Rangers are 1-6 in his last seven starts, during which he has a 5.97 ERA.

Millwood, who needs 4.1 innings to reach a $12 million contract option for next season, threw in the bullpen on Monday for the second straight day. He’s trying to make some mechanical adjustments to his delivery, essentially moving to a more upright stance.

“I felt better,” Millwood said. “I’ve just gotten into some bad habits.”

If Millwood needs a couple of more bullpen sessions to master the adjustment, it might make more sense to move him out of the Los Angeles series entirely and into the series at Oakland that starts next Monday. Millwood could work in the bullpen again Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in anticipation of a Monday or Tuesday start.

Whenever it happens to fall, Millwood will start again, Washington indicated. There has been no discussion of pulling Millwood out of the rotation all together.

“We haven’t had a conversation about that,” Washington said. “It hasn’t even been a thought.”

With the chances of playing tonight at less than 50 percent – that’s just a guess from this end, but the forecast hasn’t gotten any better in the last two hours – Rangers manager Ron Washington unveiled his pitching plans in case tonight’s game is rained out. That would give the Rangers three consecutive days off and change around some pitching plans.

Washington said RHPs Kevin Millwood and Tommy Hunter would start the doubleheader on Sunday. Regardless of what happens Sunday, RHP Scott Feldman will pitch Monday because the Rangers want to keep him pitching on regular rest. On Tuesday, the Rangers would go with LHP Derek Holland and RHP Brandon McCarthy would pitch Wednesday, though those two pitchers could be flip-flopped. If the teams do play tonight, the Rangers would need another starter for Wednesday’s series finale against Oakland. Washington indicated RHP Dustin Nippert could step into that spot.

Also another potential scenario emerges to keep all the games in Arlington if tonight’s game is rained out. It’s possible – though it would require the approval of MLB – that Seattle could be held over a day and the Rangers couyld paly a day-night doubleheader against two different teams. The Rangers could play Seattle in the early afternoon and play their regularly-scheduled game against Oakland at 7:05. There is precedent. Cleveland hosted the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins in such an arrangement in September, 2000.

The divestiture of Diamond got me thinking something else: The Rangers no longer have control of their top draft pick from 2002-2005 and they got very, very little from the quartet of picks, even though the average top selection was No. 12 overall. In total, the Rangers got five games. From Drew Meyer, the 10th overall pick in 2002. He had three hits, all of them singles.

So, I decided to look at what other clubs received from their top picks in that era, characterized by the John Hart-Grady Fuson management team that was formed for 2002 and joined by GM-wannabe Buck Showalter a year later. In short, it’s not pretty, but, surprisingly, five games of contribution was not the worst in baseball.  With that in mind, here’s what you can do with this post:

1. Choose not to read it and move on.
2. Mutter about how little the Rangers got from their top draft picks during the 2002-2005 seasons.
3. Marvel at how far the scouting/player development side has come so quickly despite complete washouts with four consecutive top picks. The Rangers, after all, entered the season as the No. 1-ranked farm system in baseball, according to Baseball America. I suspect they will remain in the top five after this season, even after graduating SS Elvis Andrus, LHP Derek Holland, RHP Neftali Feliz and RHP Tommy Hunter to the big leagues.

It’s your choice. See the glass as half empty, half full or ignore the glass entirely.

• The only team to receive less from its top four picks from 2002-05 was the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs did not receive a single game of big-league time from those picks, which averaged out to be the 22nd highest of the 30 teams. None of the Cubs top four picks remain in the organization. The Yankees, with an average selection of No. 24, had the next fewest games of contribution: 60. But the Yankees still control RHP Philip Hughes (No. 23 in 2004) and 3B Eric Duncan (27), who is at Triple-A.

• The Rangers are one of three teams to no longer control any of their top picks from those four drafts. The Cubs, as previously mentioned, were another. The third? The Atlanta Braves, who traded OF Jeff Francouer to New York earlier this year. Francouer did, however, play 631 games for the Braves.

• It should be noted the Rangers didn’t get completely shutout in those drafts. They picked up 2B Ian Kinsler (17th round) and RHP Scott Feldman (30th) round in 2003. RHP Eric Hurley, who may still have a future with the club after rotator cuff surgery earlier this year, was a first-round selection (No. 30 overall in 2004). Notable players still under control from those drafts include: OF Brandon Boggs (4th in 2004), C Taylor Teagarden (3rd in 2005), RHP Doug Mathis (13th in 2005) and this year’s minor league breakthrough prospect LHP Michael Kirkman (5th in 2005).

• Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Los Angeles Angels, drafting with the 18th highest average pick, have gotten more pitching than anybody from that draft. Two mainstays of the current rotation, LHP Joe Saunders (12th in 2002) and RHP Jered Weaver (12th in 2004) have combined for 93 big-league wins. Detroit ranks second in wins from top picks. They have 62, all from RHP Justin Verlander.

• From a position-player standpoint, no team has gotten more than Milwaukee, which had the second-best average drafting position in those years. The Brewers entered the weekend with 1,526 major league games from their picks, which included 1B Prince Fielder (7th in 2002), INF Rickie Weeks (2nd in 2003) and OF Ryan Braun (5th in 2005). They’ve combined for 309 homers, 914 RBIs and a .278 batting average. Arizona has received 1,220 games from its picks and 135 homers. Nice contributions, but not even close to the Brewers. In the AL, Toronto and Boston have done the best. The Blue Jays have received 935 games from their top picks, which included 2B Aaron Hill. The Red Sox, with the third-worst average drafting position, somehow managed to pluck 2B Dustin Pedroia (65th in 2004) and OF Jacoby Ellsbury (23rd in 2005). For the pitching side, they nabbed LHP Jon Lester at 56th overall in 2002. The one top pick from that era no longer in their system: Rangers OF David Murphy (17th in 2003). And while he only contributed 23 games with the Red Sox, he’s played another 250 with the Rangers.

• Around these parts, it’s chic to cricitize the trade of LHP John Danks for RHP Brandon McCarthy is often ridiculed, but McCarthy is still under the Rangers control and, when healthy this year, has been quite effective. You want to talk about a bad deal of a first-round pick, consider that the Mets traded LHP Scott Kazmir to Tampa Bay for RHP Victor Zambrano during the 2004 pennant race. Zambrano won 10 games for the Mets over the next 2.5 seasons. McCarthy, who turned 26 two months ago, has won a dozen games for the Rangers and figures to be with the team next year, too.

• Take the exercise out one more year to 2006 and the draft work of Tampa Bay (3B Evan Longoria),  San Francisco (RHP Tim Lincecum), Los Angeles Dodgers (LHP Clayton Kershaw) stand out even more. They are three of the 13 teams that have seen the top 2006 pick reach the majors. There are another four that have had the top pick reach Triple-A. Rangers top choice LHP Kasey Kiker (12th) is one of eight to be at Double-A at this point. It should be noted the Rangers intended to pick Lincecum if he had lasted another two selections.

• By the way, only one of the overall No. 1 picks in those four drafts is still with his original team: Arizona OF Justin Upton (2005).

What’s the point of all this?

Well, for one, hopefully no Rangers minor league prospect or prospects will earn a catchy nickname before they do something in the major leagues ever again. Beyond that, there is this: The Rangers seemed to have learned from an era of mistakes. They’ve treated the draft, and more importantly, the scouting leading up to the draft, as holy rituals. On the current roster, 1B Chris Davis (2006), LHP Derek Holland (2006), RHP Tommy Hunter (2007) and OF-DH Julio Borbon (2007) have all shot to the majors. They’ve done a fine job of scouting other clubs as well, evidenced by getting Murphy, Elvis Andrus, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Neftali Feliz and Matt Harrison in deadline deals in 2007.

To think the Rangers began the season in 2009 as the top-ranked farm system in baseball after getting nothing from four drafts between 2002 and 2005 is simply amazing. They have come very far, very fast. And regardless of what happens over the final 26 games of 2009, the Rangers seem poised to be contenders for years to come.

But there is another option to fill the hole created by Young’s hamstring injury: A trade.

Though any player acquired would not be eligible for the playoffs, if the Rangers qualify, the club can still make a deal to help it get to the playoffs. The Rangers are weighing the pros and cons of making a September trade. The biggest decision is whether getting a player who may only play regularly for two or three weeks is worth the price in whatever prospect or prospects the Rangers would have to surrender. The Rangers expect Young to be back before the playoffs begin. Young said he’s hoping to return for a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angeles that begins on Sept. 18.

In the meantime, there are three potentially attractive options out there for the Rangers to ponder. None would cost the Rangers more than $1.5 million in salary for the rest of the year and none have long-term contracts that would require commitments for 2010. A look at those options listed in alphabetical order.

• Garrett Atkins, Colorado: Atkins, 29, has lost playing time to Ian Stewart this season. The Rangers had discussed him as a potential right-handed bat at the trade deadline. Atkins is hitting .274 against left-handed pitching, which would make him a good fit for a lineup that has struggled against lefties, but is hitting only .203 vs. righties. After hitting .286 or higher in each of the last four seasons, Atkins is batting just .229 with a .338 slugging percentage. Though he falls short of qualifying for the NL leaders, that slugging percentage would rank in the bottom 10. Atkins is being paid $7 million this year, leaving about $1.15 million left on his deal. He is under control for one more year, meaning the Rangers could elect to keep him for 2010 by tendering him a contract.

• Melvin Mora, Baltimore: Mora, 37, is hitting .262 with six homers and 37 RBIs. He has a pair of 100 RBI seasons in his career and is versatile enough to move to other positions if need be. In a lot of ways, he’s a more accomplished version of Esteban German. The problem is he’s seen a significant dropoff offensively this season. His .351 slugging percentage is the lowest of his career and down more than 100 points from last year. Also, Mora is due $9 million for this season, leaving roughly $1.5 million left on his deal. It makes him the most expensive of the realistic options.

• Fernando Tatis, New York Mets:  Tatis was once considered the pride of the Rangers farm system and made his debut in 2007 at the age of 22 and was part of the deal that brough the Rangers Todd Stottlemyre and Royce Clayton at the trade deadline in 1998. He had at 34-homer season in 1999, but has never come close to reaching that potential again. He was out of the majors entirely for two years and this season, at 34, he’s been more of a utility player than a third baseman. He has more starts at first than anywhere else. Like the other candidates, he is a right-handed hitter. He enters Wednesday hitting .263 with a .324 OBP and .425 slugging average. His chief advantage is that he is the cheapest of the three. There is only about $300,000 remaining on his $1.7 million contract and he can be a free agent after this season.

Recently re-signed Travis Metcalf apparently is not a primary consideration. If the Rangers don’t acquire a third baseman, they might look at Metcalf as a possible defensive replacement, but he’s had a poor year in the field and at the plate for the Kansas City organization.

Young is receiving an injection of blood platelets to accelerate the healing process.  Here is an on-line discussion about the rather new therapy (Mark Teixeira had it for his hip injury in 2007).

The seven roster additions comes from three pools:

Players activated from the DL: RHP Brandon McCarthy, who will start the second game of today’s doubleheader, LHP Eddie Guardado and INF Esteban German.

Players recalled from minor league assignments: RHP Warner Madrigal and RHP Guillermo Moscoso.

Players purchased from the minor leagues, thus adding them to the 40-man roster: OF Craig Gentry and C Kevin Richardson.

The Rangers began the day with 39 players on the 40-man roster, but needed to add three players since McCarthy, who had been on the 60-day DL, didn’t count against the 40. They created one spot by recalling OF Brandon Boggs and placing him on the 60-day DL with a dislocated left shoulder. The other move was to DFA Diamond.

The club has 10 days to trade, release or outright Diamond, if he clears waivers. Diamond, who turns 27 at the start of next season, missed all of 2007 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and has never really regained his momentum. He was 3-3 with a 6.20 ERA at Double-A Frisco last year and has been pitching in relief, mostly at Frisco this season. He’s 1-3 with a 3.63 ERA in 32 outings for the RoughRiders. If Diamond clears waivers and remains in the Rangers’ organization, he is scheduled to go to the Arizona Fall League this fall. He would, however, also be exposed to the Rule 5 draft in December, so a team could watch him pitch in the fall and then choose him in the draft.

• Columnist Kirk Bohls of the Austin Statesman-American writes that Round Rock could replace Oklahoma City as the Rangers Triple-A afiliate after 2010. There’s nothing in the column to say something is in the works, except common sense. No longer associated with the Astros, it might make sense for Ryan to have a Rangers afiliate. And from a business side, it would make a lot of sense if he’s still the Rangers president or part of the ownership group come next season. It might help the Rangers draw more interested from Austin and the Hill Country. I’ve asked Ryan on a couple of occasions since he took over as Raners president if such a move was in the offing and he’s demurred on those occasions, basically saying any decision is a long way away. Come 2010, the decision won’t so far off in the future.