Texas Rangers minor-league notebook: Players grab deserved attention with huge performances
(Hickory Crawdads/Ashley Salinas)
Monday is an off day for minor-league players, coaches and support staff, but it’s not an off day at the numerous league offices.
Folks there have awards to hand out, and they found three Texas Rangers minor-leaguers worthy of recognition as players of the week.
Triple A Round Rock infielder Ryan Dorow (Pacific Coast), High A Hickory catcher/infielder Cody Freeman (South Atlantic) and Low A Down East outfielder Yosy Galan (Carolina) were selected a the top players last week in their leagues.
Meanwhile, Round Rock catcher Sam Huff and Double A Frisco infielder Ezequiel Duran were selected to the Prospect Team of the Week by MLB.com. Huff was recalled from Round Rock on Tuesday as the Rangers placed Mitch Garver on the injured list.
The five players combined to hit .443 (43 for 97) with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs. Freeman led the group with 10 RBIs, Huff led with four homers, Duran had a group-high 12 hits, and Galan topped the quintet with a .550 average (11 for 20).
Those five performances took the spotlight from Frisco right-hander Jack Leiter, who allowed only two hits with five strikeouts in six scoreless innings Saturday,.
Frisco left-hander Cole Ragans followed that up Sunday by allowing only two hits and two walks in six scoreless innings Sunday.
Taveras still rolling
Round Rock center fielder Leody Taveras will take a 17-game hitting streak into Wednesday.
Is their ultra slow approach in the development of high school position players, a common approach around the league?
I think it’s relatively new because of the lack of short-season teams. They are also trying to set the preps up for success by making sure they meet certain benchmarks before heading out of Arizona. Blackmon and Morrobel could be the next guys headed to Down East.
Got to see Marc Church with DE last year. Smooth, easy delivery, very fluid. The arm is special. He’s not physically imposing, he’s just a really good athlete who stays in control of his body on the mound, which keeps him around the zone consistently. With “stuff”.
The word is the fastball and slider are plus going on double-plus. I’ve only seen him long toss. If I head that way this spring, I hope he pitches.