Evan Carter Leads Texas Rangers April Minor League Award Winners
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Frisco RoughRiders outfielder Evan Carter was named the Texas Rangers Player of the Month for April on Monday.
Triple-A Round Rock left-hander Cody Bradford won the monthly award for starting pitcher, Double-A Frisco relief pitcher Grant Wolfram (reliever) and Frisco infielder Luisangel Acuña (defender).
Carter, 20, batted .343/.500/.543/1.043 (24-70) with four home runs and 20 RBI over 18 games in April.
The Rangers’ 2022 Tom Grieve Minor League Player of the Year completed the month ranked among Texas League leaders in BB (1st, 21), RBI (4th, 20), OPS (5th, 1.043), HR (T8th, 4) and hits (T9th 24). He reached base safely in 17 of 18 games, including eight multi-hit efforts.
Carter is the no. 1 rated Texas prospect and the 35th overall prospect in baseball. according to MLB Pipeline.
Bradford, 25, went 5-0 with a 0.64 ERA (2 ER/28.1 IP) and 25 strikeouts over five starts with Round Rock, holding opponents to a .135/.217/.177/.394 (13-96) slash line.
Selected the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Month for April, Bradford began the year with a 12 1/3 scoreless inning streak and led the PCL in wins, ERA and WHIP (0.77).
An Aledo, Texas native selected by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 2019 draft out of Baylor, Bradford is currently ranked as the 26th-best prospect in the Texas farm system.
The 26-year-old Wolfram did not allow a runner to score in the month of April, tossing 9 1/3 shutout innings over six relief appearances for Frisco. The left-hander limited Double-A opponents to a .097/.125/.129/.254 (3-31) slash line with one walk and 11 strikeouts.
He is in his fifth professional season after being selected by the Rangers in the 18th round in 2018 out of Davenport University.
Acuña, 21, made starts at shortstop (14), designated hitter (4) and second base (3) for Frisco last month, committing just two errors for a .972 fielding percentage. His 12 double plays turned were tied for the most in the Texas League and his 53 assists ranked third. He also ranked third among all Double-A shortstops with a +4.12 IFGB Outs figure and a +3.1 IF Runs mark.
A Caracas, Venezuela native, Acuña entered 2023 as the second-best prospect in the farm system, with MLB Pipeline tabbing him as the No. 63 overall prospect in baseball.
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