John Mayberry Jr., whose father played 15 seasons in the major leagues, heads a foursome of Texas Rangers players who have been assigned to play in Hawai'i Winter Baseball.

The league, which will play a 40-game season on O'ahu, features top minor league prospects in the Major Leagues, as well as Asia. The season begins Oct. 1 and runs through Nov. 22.

Joining Mayberry, an outfielder, will be third baseman Johnny Whittleman, second baseman Jose Vallejo and catcher Emerson Frostad.

Mayberry, 22, was drafted in the first round in 2005 after playing three years at Stanford. He is considered one of Texas' top prospects, ranking as the club's 10th best prospect and "best athlete" in the farm system by Baseball America.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder led the Single-A Clinton Lumber-Kings in hits (123), homers (21) and runs batted in (77).

"I'm pretty happy with the way I finished the season, and I'm looking forward to carrying over the progress I made to the (Hawai'i) Winter League," Mayberry said in a press release.

"The last time I was here, we went snorkeling for 2-3 hours," he said. "We saw all kinds of fish, but we didn't get to see a turtle. I've been told (turtles) are a sight to see, so I'd like to go out there and maybe see a turtle."

Unfortunately, Mayberry won't be assigned to the North Shore Honu (turtle). He'll play for the West O'ahu CaneFires.

Mayberry's father was a two-time All-Star who played for Houston, Kansas City, Toronto and the New York Yankees.

"It's definitely an advantage to have a dad who has the kind of background that he has," Mayberry said in a release. "It was great just to be able to grow up around quality professionals."

The four-team league will play games at Les Murakami Stadium and Hans L'Orange Park.

This is the league's second stint. Operating from 1993-1997, the league featured such future stars as Ichiro Suzuki, Todd Helton, A.J. Pierzynski and Jason Giambi.

For season tickets and information, call 808-973-7247 or go to www.hawaiiwinterbaseball.com.