Texas Rangers Prospect Aaron Zavala Makes Season Debut

Aaron Zavala, a Texas Rangers Top 30 prospect, returned to the field for his 2023 debut with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders on Wednesday.

Zavala batted leadoff and played right field. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the RoughRiders’ 10-4 win over Amarillo.

Zavala had surgery for a torn UCL in the offseason. It was not a full reconstruction, so it did not require Tommy John surgery.

Zavala, the No. 8 prospect in the Rangers system per MLB.com, suffered the injury during Arizona Fall League action in October. At the time, the Rangers pegged the timetable for his return between May and June.

Zavala played in just five games in Arizona, as he batted .200 with a home run and an RBI. He walked five times and struck out six times.

Zavala started the 2022 season with High Class-A Hickory and was promoted to Frisco on July 30. For the season he batted .277/.420/.453/.873 in 111 games (114-for-411) with 89 runs, 186 total bases, 18 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs and 62 RBI. He walked 89 times, struck out 108 times, stole 14 bases and was caught stealing six times.

The Rangers drafted Zavala in 2021 out of the University of Oregon in the second round. Zavala was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year after he set three Oregon hitting records.

His pro career didn’t start right away due to a health abnormality. But he managed 22 games with the Rangers’ Arizona Complex League rookie team and their Low Class-A Down East team, batting .293/.419/.400/.819 with one home run and nine RBI.

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