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Below are the players and rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Texas Rangers:
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Zack Bird
Zachary Alston Bird (born July 14, 1994) is professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Zack Bird was born in Jackson, Mississippi on July 14, 1994, to parents Eugene and Glenda Bird. Bird was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 9th round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi. He chose to sign with the Dodgers, rescinding an agreement with the University of Southern Mississippi, where he had originally chosen to play college baseball. Bird began his career with the Arizona League Dodgers in 2012 and then split 2013 between the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League and the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League. He was 4–9 with a 5.38 ERA in 28 appearances (20 starts) between the two levels. In 2014 he spent the entire season with the Loons and was 6–17 with a 4.25 ERA in 26 games (24 starts). Bird began 2015 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League, where he was 5–7 with a 4.75 ERA in 19 games (17 starts).
On July 30, 2015, in a three-team trade, the Atlanta Braves acquired Bird, Héctor Olivera, Paco Rodriguez and a competitive balance draft pick for the 2016 MLB Draft, while the Dodgers acquired Mat Latos, Michael Morse, Bronson Arroyo, Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilán, and José Peraza, and the Miami Marlins acquired minor league pitchers Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham, and Kevin Guzman. Bird was assigned to the AA Mississippi Braves. He began the 2016 season with the Carolina Mudcats. Bird was assigned to the Danville Braves on June 15, but had been returned to the Mudcats by June 23, when Danville's Opening Day roster was announced. At the end of the season, the Texas Rangers selected Bird in the Rule 5 draft.
Michael De León
Michael De León (born January 14, 1997) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop in the Texas Rangers organization.
De León was signed by the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in July 2013. He made his professional debut the next season with the Hickory Crawdads. He also spent time with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and Double-A Frisco RoughRiders. After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League, where he became the youngest player in the history of the league.
Brady Dragmire
Brady John Dragmire (born February 5, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Dragmire attended Bradshaw Christian High School in Sacramento, California, and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 17th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays and made one appearance for the team that season, allowing three earned runs in one inning. He remained in the Gulf Coast League for the 2012 season, making 15 appearances out of the bullpen and pitching to a 0–3 win–loss record, 1.14 earned run average (ERA), and 14 strikeouts in 23 2⁄3 innings pitched. In 2013, Dragmire was promoted to the Rookie-Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League, and made 14 appearances, 8 of which were starts. In 50 innings pitched, he posted a 3–2 record, 2.16 ERA, and 40 strikeouts.
Dragmire continued his progression through the Blue Jays minor league organization in 2014, pitching with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts. Pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, he appeared in 43 games and put up a 3–6 record, 2.92 ERA, and 45 strikeouts in 77 innings. He spent the entire 2015 season with the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays and struggled throughout the year, posting a 2–2 record, 5.26 ERA, and 57 strikeouts in 63 1⁄3 innings pitched. In the offseason, Dragmire pitched in nine games for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, and posted a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings. On November 18, 2015, Dragmire was added to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster, to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He was assigned to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats to open the 2016 minor league season. He would make 45 relief appearances in 2016, and post a 4–6 record, 4.38 ERA, and 41 strikeouts in 72 innings. On September 27, Dragmire was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Chris Smith.
On October 5, 2016, Dragmire was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. The Pirates designated him for assignment in November, and he was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers on December 2. He was designated for assignment by the Rangers on December 13, and reclaimed by the Pirates the following day. After signing Daniel Hudson on December 21, the Pirates designated Dragmire for assignment once again. He was claimed by the Rangers on December 23. On January 19, 2017, Dragmire was designated for the fourth time in the 2016 offseason. After clearing waivers, he was outrighted off the 40-man roster on January 27.
Brady Feigl
Brady Matthew Feigl (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Feigl played college baseball at Mount St. Mary's University from 2009 to 2012. He missed his junior year in 2011 due to a torn labrum. A year after graduating college, Feigl signed with the Atlanta Braves as an undrafted free agent in October 2013 after he impressed a Braves scout at Mount St. Mary's Scout Day. Feigl was signed by Braves' scout Gene Kerns. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Rome Braves and was later promoted to the Lynchburg Hillcats. In 2015, the Braves invited Feigl to spring training, where he competed for a spot on the opening day roster. Though he spent most of spring training in minor league camp, Feigl was viewed as having a good chance of making the team, due to the release of James Russell. Feigl instead began the 2015 season with the Gwinnett Braves, where he injured his elbow in his Triple–A debut against the Durham Bulls on April 10. Eleven days later, Feigl underwent Tommy John surgery, performed by James Andrews.
On December 8, 2016, the Braves traded Feigl and Tyrell Jenkins to the Texas Rangers for Luke Jackson.
Ti'Quan Forbes
Edward Ti'Quan Forbes (born August 26, 1996) is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Texas Rangers organization.
Forbes attended Columbia High School in Columbia, Mississippi. As a senior, he hit .427 with three home runs and 32 runs batted in (RBI). Forbes was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Rangers and made his professional debut with the Arizona League Rangers. In 48 games, he hit .241/.338/.282 over 174 at-bats.
Ronald Guzmán
Ronald Enmanuel Guzmán Rodríguez (born October 20, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman in the Texas Rangers organization.
Guzmán signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in 2011. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the Arizona League Rangers. He played for the Hickory Crawdads in 2013, 2014 and the start of 2015. He finished 2015 with the High Desert Mavericks and played in the Arizona Fall League after the season. Guzmán started 2016 with the Frisco RoughRiders. The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster after the season.
Mike Hauschild
Michael Hauschild (born January 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Hauschild attended Beavercreek High School in Beavercreek, Ohio and played college baseball at the University of Dayton. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 33rd round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 2016 Rule 5 draft.
A. J. Jiménez
Antonio J. "A. J." Jiménez (born May 1, 1990) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Jiménez was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 9th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. After signing with the team, he was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays and played in 19 games during the 2008 season, batting .191 with five RBI. In 2009, Jiménez was promoted to the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts and recorded a batting average of .263, in addition to hitting three home runs and 31 RBI. Jiménez played for Lansing, as well as the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays in the 2010 season, hitting a combined .299 with five home runs and 55 RBI over 72 games. His entire 2011 season was played with Dunedin, where he hit .303 with four home runs and 52 RBI in 102 games played.
Jiménez was promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2012 but played only 27 games that season, hitting .257, before undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He was added to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster on November 20, 2012. In 2013, Jiménez played for Dunedin initially, batting .429 in nine games, before being promoted to New Hampshire. In 50 games with the Fisher Cats, he batted .276 with three home runs and 29 RBI. Jiménez was selected to appear in the 2013 All-Star Futures Game, and was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on August 17, 2013. He batted .233 in eight games with the Bisons in 2013. While it was believed that he would be called up to Toronto for the September roster expansion, irritation in his surgically-repaired right elbow ruled him out for the rest of the season. Jiménez started the 2014 campaign with the Fisher Cats, and was promoted to the Bisons on May 26. He was placed on the disabled list on August 5, and activated on August 27.
Jiménez was optioned to the Buffalo Bisons on March 18, 2015. He was assigned to New Hampshire on April 16, and brought back up to Buffalo on April 23. In June he underwent left wrist surgery. Jiménez remained on the disabled list through the end of the season. He played in just 28 games in 2015, batting .194 with nine RBI. On March 28, 2016, Jiménez was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays to make room on the 40-man roster for Jesús Montero. He cleared waivers, and was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo on April 7. Jiménez played 67 games with Buffalo in 2016, and hit .241 with four home runs and 28 RBI. On November 7, 2016, Jiménez was added to the 40-man roster. He was designated for assignment on February 9, 2017, and released on February 13.
On February 17, 2017, Jiménez signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization and was invited to Major League spring training.
Ariel Jurado
Ariel Bolívar Jurado Agrazal (born January 30, 1996) is a Panamanian professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Jurado signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in December 2012. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Dominican Summer League Rangers. In 2014 he pitched for the Arizona League Rangers. Jurado spent 2015 with the Hickory Crawdads and was named the Nolan Ryan Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the Rangers after going 12–1 with a 2.45 earned run average (ERA) with 95 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 99 innings. He started 2016 with the High Desert Mavericks and was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders during the season.
Luis La O
Luis Yander La O Camacho (born December 9, 1991) is a Cuban professional baseball third baseman in the Texas Rangers organization.
La O was signed by the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in January 2017.
Matt Lipka
Matthew F. Lipka (born April 15, 1992) is a professional baseball player in the Texas Rangers organization.
Lipka attended McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas. The Atlanta Braves selected Lipka in the first round (35th overall) of the 2010 MLB Draft. In 2011, the Braves had Lipka shift to center field.
Lipka played for the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in 2013, and the Mississippi Braves of the Class AA Southern League in 2014. He returned to Mississippi to start the 2015 season. Lipka was reassigned to Mississippi to begin 2016. By mid-June, he had been promoted to Gwinnett. He finished 2016 with a .243 batting average and 3 homers. After the season, Lipka became a free agent and signed with the Texas Rangers.
Josh Morgan
Joshua Brandon Morgan (born November 16, 1995) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Texas Rangers organization.
Morgan attended Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, California. Morgan was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Rangers and made his professional debut with the Arizona League Rangers. He was later promoted to the Spokane Indians. He finished the year hitting .322/.436/.347 in 56 games. Morgan played 2015 with the Hickory Crawdads and 2016 with the High Desert Mavericks.
Pedro Payano
Pedro Julio Payano (born September 27, 1994) is a Dominican American professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Payno signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in July 2011. He made his professional debut that season with the Dominican Summer League Rangers and pitched with them in 2013, 2014 and 2015. He also pitched with the Arizona League Rangers and Hickory Crawdads in 2015. Payano pitched 2016 with Hickory.
Juremi Profar
Juremi Gregorius Profar (born January 30, 1996) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball infielder in the Texas Rangers organization.
Payno signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in 2012. He is the brother of big leaguer Jurickson Profar.
Cole Ragans
Cole Gatlin Ragans (born December 12, 1997) is an American baseball pitcher. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft out of North Florida Christian High School.
Drew Robinson
Drew Elliott Robinson (born April 20, 1992) is an American professional baseball utility player who is currently in the Texas Rangers organization. He is presently with the Triple-A Round Rock Express, having reached that level for the first time in 2014.
Robinson was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and attended Silverado High School. He was drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft and began his professional career that season. Upon being drafted, one sources said, "he profiles as a potential solid starting corner outfielder at the Major League level."
With the Arizona League Rangers in 2010, Robinson batted .286 with a .406 on-base percentage in 44 games. He split 2011 between the AZL Rangers and Spokane Indians, hitting a combined .200 with four home runs and 30 RBI in 51 games. For the Hickory Crawdads in 2012, Robinson batted .273 with a .409 on-base mark, hitting 13 home runs with 67 RBI, 10 steals and 86 walks in 123 games. He won his first Player of the Week honor that year. In 2013, Robinson batted .257 with eight home runs, 70 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 122 games for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, earning another Player of the Week honor. With the Frisco RoughRiders and Round Rock Express in 2014, Robinson batted .198 with 12 home runs and 45 RBI in 96 games; in his first taste of Triple-A, he batted .304/.467/.522 with one home run and five RBI in eight games. He played for the RoughRiders and Express again in 2015, batting .235 with 21 home runs, 66 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 87 walks between them; again he performed well at Triple-A, batting .304 in 23 at-bats. He led the Texas League in home runs that year. He was a MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2015 and earned another Player of the Week. In the offseason, he played for the Indios de Mayaguez in Puerto Rico. Going into 2016, Baseball America named him the #30 prospect in the Rangers system. He began 2016 with Round Rock.
He has played in major league spring training in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
Connor Sadzeck
Connor William Sadzeck (born October 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Sadzeck was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 45th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft out of Crystal Lake Central High School in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He did not sign and attended Howard College. He was then drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 11th round of the 2011 MLB draft. He missed the 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season.
Matt Smoral
Matthew Vincent Smoral (born March 18, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Smoral attended Solon High School and was drafted in the supplemental first round (50th overall) of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. The 50th selection was awarded to Toronto for the loss of free agent Frank Francisco. He had been considered by many to be one of the top high school pitchers available, but suffered a broken foot shortly before the draft that lowered his draft position. Smoral had a commitment to attend the University of North Carolina, but signed with the Blue Jays for a $2 million signing bonus instead. He played his first professional season in 2013 with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, where he made 15 appearances (5 starts), and posted a 0–2 record, 7.01 earned run average, and 27 strikeouts over 25 1⁄3 innings. Smoral began the 2014 season with the Bluefield Blue Jays, and was promoted to the Low-A Vancouver Canadians on August 8. In 14 total appearances (8 starts), he posted a 4–3 record with a 3.19 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 53 2⁄3 innings pitched. Smoral battled injuries in the 2015 season that limited him to just 13 appearances for Bluefield and the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays. He would pitch to a 1–0 record, 7.53 ERA, and 21 strikeouts in 14 1⁄3 innings. He played the entire 2016 season with Vancouver and struggled greatly, posting a 13.15 ERA with 16 walks in 13 innings pitched.
On December 8, 2016, Smoral was selected by the Texas Rangers in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft.
Leody Taveras
Leody Taveras Salazar (born September 8, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder in the Texas Rangers organization.
Taveras signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in July 2015. He made his professional debut in 2016 with the Dominican Summer League Rangers and was later promoted to the Arizona League Rangers and Spokane Indians that season. Prior to the 2017 season, Baseball America ranked him as the best prospect in the Rangers system.
Jose Trevino
Jose Trevino (born November 28, 1992) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Texas Rangers organization.
Trevino attended St. John Paul II High School in Corpus Christi, Texas and played college baseball at Oral Roberts University. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the sixth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut with the Spokane Indians. He played catcher, third base and second base. In 2015, Trevino played for the Hickory Crawdads and became a full-time catcher. After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League. In 2016 he played for the High Desert Mavericks and won a minor league Gold Glove Award. He played in the Arizona Fall League after the season for the second consecutive year.
Yeyson Yrizarri
Yeyson Yrizarri Cruz (born February 2, 1997) is a Venezuelan-born Dominican professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the Texas Rangers organization.
Yrizarri signed with the Rangers for a $1.375 million signing bonus in July 2013 . Due to injuries in the Rangers’ system, the Rangers promoted Yrizarri to the Round Rock Express of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in June 2015. The Rangers returned him to the Spokane Indians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, where he was selected to appear in the All-Star Game.
In 2016, Yrizarri began the season with the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League.
Yrizarri's uncle, Deivi Cruz, played in Major League Baseball.