Texas Rangers Rookie Has Come a Long Way, Named Team’s MiLB Player of the Year

Cody Freeman's breakout season for the Rangers is one of the team's better stories.

Sep 17, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman Cody Freeman (39) reacts to his RBI single against the Houston Astros in the second inning at Daikin Park. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Over the past half decade, the Texas Rangers have built a large portion of the roster from outside the organization. And it paid off, with the team winning the first World Series in franchise history in 2023. They did so on the back of free agent stars like Nathan Eovaldi, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.

The franchise has done a better job over the past couple years of building from within. They drafted Wyatt Langford, who looks like a future superstar, and even starters Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker have contributed at the big league level. Sebastian Walcott is even a top ten prospect in baseball.

But one prospect that came out of nowhere this season was Cody Freeman, who went from unknown to Baseball America's (Subscription Required) Rangers Minor League Player of the Year.

Freeman’s Monster Breakout

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Prior to 2025, Freeman had never really been a highly touted prospect. Standing at 5'8", he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. Not a prototypical size, he wasn't even ranked on Baseball America's Rangers list coming into this year.

He struggled during his first three years of pro ball. Although he hit double-digit home runs in two of the three seasons, he never hit over .245, and his career high OPS was .728 in Single-A. He struggled to make it to Double-A, playing one game there in 2023 and it wasn't looking great.

He kept grinding and set career highs all over the board in 2024, hitting .264 with 14 home runs and a .752 OPS. After playing in the Arizona Fall League last season, he was able to make the leap to Triple-A for 2025, where he announced himself.

Despite only playing 97 games, he led the Pacific Coast League in batting average (.336), was fifth in OPS (.931), and hit a career high 19 homers while driving in 71 batters. What was extremely encouraging was his improved approach at the plate, where he struck out just 37 times compared to 32 walks and had a .382 OBP.

"It's nothing too much different than what I've done in the previous years. It's just part of the development and part of the reason we have minor league levels. You tru to strive each and every year, and each and every day," Freeman explained to Baseball America.

He was able to parlay his development into becoming a contributor in the majors.

In 34 games this season, the 24-year-old is hitting .236 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. His OPS sits at .626, but he's still acclimating to the level of competition.

Regardless of how he has been hitting, Texas loves him for other reasons.

"He is a catalyst. He's a spark for the club, the way he plays but also getting hits and finding a way to get on base," manager Bruce Bochy said.

Freeman hasn't been that superstar yet, but he's been an important presence in the clubhouse for a team that narrowly missed the playoffs. Teams love those kinds of fiery players, and Freeman has proven he's still that player even when he's not hitting at the highest level he's capable of.

The utility player has been able to resurrect his career in a huge way this season, beating out top prospect Sebastian Walcott for the award given by Baseball America. That's big for a player who just two years ago was still at High-A.

Should he continue on this trajectory, he has a good chance of being a big contributor next year, too.