First-Half Rangers Farm System Stars
The Texas Rangers farm system wrapped up its All-Star Break on Thursday. With all five Rangers affiliates set to begin play on Friday, here’s an update on the organization’s top prospects heading into the second half of the season.
Triple-A Round Rock
Round Rock entered the all-star break winning two of its last three series. Outfielder Bubba Thompson is slashing .299/.348/.461/.809 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI. He is leading all of Triple-A in stolen bases with 43 (13 more than the next closest) and ranks fourth in runs (64). Among PCL leaders, Bubba ranks seventh in BA (.299) and fourth in hits (91). Infielder/outfielder Ezequiel Duran was on a hot streak, going into the all-star break on a nine-game hitting streak (.375, 4 HR, 11 RBI). Duran is slashing .310/.354/.579/.933 across 63 games in the minors this season. RHP Cole Winn is tied for fifth with six wins (6-1, 5.93 ERA).
Double-A Frisco
Frisco entered the all-star break 1-1-1 in its last 3 series. Infielder Jonathan Ornelas ranks fourth in batting average (.323) and first in hits (107) in all of Double-A. He is slashing .323/.370/.459/.852. Outfielder Dustin Harris is tied for seventh in RBI (57) and has hit safely in seven of his last nine games (.316). He is slashing .261/.349/.468/.817 for the year. Infielder Justin Foscue is hitting .306 with two doubles and 11 RBI in July. He is slashing .273/.360/.427/.787 in 56 games. RHP Owen White has been stellar for both Hickory and Frisco this season. For Hickory he went 6-2 with a 3.99 ERA in 58 2/3 innings pitched. He also had 81 strikeouts and 19 walks. In four starts with Frisco, he is 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA in 21 2/3 innings, along with 23 strikeouts and four walks.
High Class-A Hickory
Hickory is 4-8 since July 4. LHP Larson Kindreich went 3-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 38 innings for the Down East Wood Ducks. Since his promotion to Hickory, he is 1-0 with a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings. For the season, he has 55 strikeouts and 20 walks. Outfielder Aaron Zavala has been a league leader for both on-base percentage and walks for most of the season. He is third in OBP (.423) and first in walks (64). Infielder Luisangel Acuna has not registered enough at-bats to qualify for any league leader positions, but he is slashing .310/.407/.489/.896 in 49 games and is entering the break on a 11-game hitting streak. Outfielder Evan Carter ranks 10th in OPS (.840), second in triples (8), eighth in extra-base hits (30) and fifth in runs (54) in the South Atlantic League.
Low-Class A Down East
Down East entered thebreak winning six of its last eight games and moving to withing 2 1/2 games of first place in its division. Outfielder Alejandro Osuna has been its best hitter this season. He entered the break on a nine-game hitting streak and slashing .316/.367/.409/.776 with seven HR and 41 RBI on the year. Osuna has not hit below .312 in a calendar month all season. He ranks sixth in batting average (.316) and 10th in OBP (.403) among all of Single-A. Infielder Maximo Acosta slashed .264/.352/.362/.714 with two HR, 17 doubles and 25 RBI in the first half after a slow start to the season.
ACL Rangers
The ACL Rangers have been the hottest team all season long in the ACL and are currently on a 13- game win streak (longest by a Rangers affiliate this season). Infielder Danyer Cueva has been on a tear, slashing .348/.400/.489/.889 with two home runs and 21 RBI. He has hit safely in 18 of the 23 games in which he has appeared. He ranks fourth in batting average (.348), third in RBI (21) and fifth in hits (32). Outfielder Yeison Morrobel also ranks among the league leaders in Batting average (5th, .341) and OBP (8th, .424). He is slashing .341/.424/.459/.830 with one home run and 16 RBI this season.
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