Results tagged ‘ Jurickson Profar ’
Our All-Star Picks
In the Texas League, each team is allowed an all-star ballot for the lead broadcaster and a beat writer for their team. With the all-star team lineups being announced today, we decided to pick who we think will make the cut.
Michael Damman
Texas League North:
Catcher-Lars Davis, Tulsa Drillers
First Baseman- Johnny Whittleman, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Second Baseman- Kolten Wong, Springfield Cardinals
Third Baseman- Nolan Arenado, Tulsa Drillers
Shortstop- Josh Rutledge, Tulsa Drillers
Outfielder- Oscar Taveras, Springfield Cardinals
Outfielder- Wil Myers, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Outfielder- Carlo Testa, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Designated Hitter- Ben Paulsen, Tulsa Drillers
Starting Pitcher- Trevor Rosenthal, Springfield Cardinals
Reliever- Steven Geltz, Arkansas Travelers
Texas League South:
Catcher- Ali Solis, San Antonio Missions
First Baseman- Jonathan Singleton, Corpus Christi Hooks
Second Baseman- Jose Martinez, Corpus Christi Hooks
Third Baseman- Mike Olt, Frisco RoughRiders
Shortstop- Jurickson Profar, Frisco RoughRiders
Outfielder- Jeremy Barfield, Midland RockHounds
Outfielder- Brandon Barnes, Corpus Christi Hooks
Outfielder- Cody Decker, San Antonio Missions
Designated Hitter- Nathan Freiman, San Antonio Missions
Starting Pitcher- Justin Grimm, Frisco RoughRiders
Reliever- Jason Stoffel, Corpus Christi Hooks
Jarah Wright
Texas League North:
Catcher- Lars Davis, Tulsa Drillers
First Baseman- Johnny Whilttleman, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Second Baseman- Ryan Mount, Arkansas Travelers
Third Baseman- Nolan Arenado, Tulsa Drillers
Shortstop- Christian Colon, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Outfielder- Oscar Taveras, Springfield Cardinals
Outfielder- Carlo Testa, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Outfielder- Nick Van Stratten, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Designated Hitter- Ben Paulsen, Tulsa Drillers
Starting Pitcher- Trevor Rosenthal, Springfield Cardinals
Reliever- Ryan Dennick, Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Texas League South:
Catcher- Zach Zaneski, Frisco RoughRiders
First Baseman- Jonathan Singleton, Corpus Christi Hooks
Second Baseman- Jonathan Galvez, San Antonio Missions
Third Baseman- Mike Olt, Frisco RoughRiders
Shortstop- Jurickson Profar, Frisco RoughRiders
Outfielder- Jeremy Barfield, Midland RockHounds
Outfielder- Engel Beltre, Frisco RoughRiders
Outfielder- Reymond Fuentes, San Antonio Missions
Designated Hitter- Nathan Freiman, San Antonio Missions
Starting Pitcher- Dan Straily, Midland RockHounds
Reliever- Ross Seaton, Corpus Christi Hooks
The All-Star teams will be announced today at 4 p.m. We will announced who made the cut on our Facebook and Twitter later today.
Sharlon Schoop Interivew, June 3, 20120
Before yesterday’s game, we talked to Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ shortstop Sharlon Schoop about growing up in Curacao and the relationship between his family and Jurickson Profar.
Shot by Jarah Wright and Michael Damman
The Anatomy Of A Hitting Streak
Frisco shortstop Jurickson Profar currently has a 24-game hitting streak going into today’s game against the Midland RockHounds. The hitting streak began on April 19 against the Corpus Christi Hooks. Since then he has posted 16 singles, 11 doubles, 4 triples, and 1 home run. Here’s the breakdown of Profar’s hit parade by game.
Jurickson Profar high fives Brad Hawpe on his way to the dugout after scoring. (Alex Yocum-Beeman)
April 19: Profar hit a single to right field in the top of the sixth inning against Hooks pitcher Erick Abreu.
April 20: In the top of the ninth, Profar singled to center field against Corpus Christi closer Kevin Chapman.
April 21: A double to right field in the top of ninth versus Jake Buchanan scored Guilder Rodriguez and gave Profar another hit.
April 22: Facing former RoughRider and current Hooks pitcher Adalberto Flores, Profar doubled to right field in the top of the eighth inning.
April 23: Profar doubled to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning against San Antonio Missions’ pitcher Keyvius Sampson.
April 24: In the bottom of the first inning, Profar tripled to right field off of Andrew Werner.
April 25: Profar started the game with a single to right field in the bottom of the first against Hayden Beard. A triple to the same place in the bottom of the seventh versus Jeff Ibarra gave Profar his second hit of the game.
April 26: Wrapping up a 4-game series against San Antonio, Profar hit 2 doubles. His first was in the bottom of the third inning against former RoughRiders pitcher Robbie Erlin. The second double came in the bottom of the twelfth against Jeremy McBryde.
April 27: The lone hit of the game for Profar was a triple to center field off of Hooks’ starter Jarred Cosart in the bottom of the first inning.
April 28: Facing starter Ross Seaton, Profar singled to center field scoring Engel Beltre in the bottom of the third.
April 29: Profar singled twice against Jose Cisnero en route to a win over the Corpus Christi Hooks. First, to center field in the bottom of the third and then again in the bottom of the fifth.
Jurickson Profar got a day off on April 30 and watched as the RoughRiders defeated the Hooks 9-4.
May 1: Profar tripled to center field off the arm of Robbie Erlin in the top of the sixth inning during the series opener in San Antonio.
May 2: In his first at-bat of the game, Profar hit a double to center field versus Juan Oramas.
May 3: A single in the top of the ninth inning against Ryan Kelly gave Profar his only hit of the night against the Missions.
May 4: In the series finale Profar hit two singles. Facing Andrew Warner in the top of the third, Profar hit an infield single to the shortstop. In the top of the fifth inning, he followed up with a single to center field.
May 5: Profar went 1 for 4 against Midland with a single to second off of a pitch by Murphy Smith.
May 6: In the second game against the RockHounds, Profar battled against Jonathan Ortiz in the top of the ninth inning before hitting an infield single to second base.
May 7: A line drive to center fielder off of A.J. Griffin allows Profar to double in the bottom of the fifth inning.
May 8: Profar’s only hit of the last game of the series against Midland resulted in a line drive single to right field against Daniel Straily.
The RoughRiders had a day off on May 9, which allowed them to travel to Corpus Christi to face the Hooks for a four-game series.
May 10: Profar went 2 for 6 in game one against the Hooks. Facing Arcenio Leon in the top of the fifth, Profar singled to left field. His second hit would come two innings later with a double to left field off of Erick Abreu.
May 11: In the top of the third inning, Brett Oberholtzer would allow a Profar single to short. Profar would come up big with a solo home run in the sixth inning.
May 12: Profar would hit 3 doubles during a 12-inning battle against Corpus Christi. His first would come in the fifth followed by one in the tenth and the twelfth.
May 13: Facing Hooks’ starter Jarred Cosart, Profar would only go 1 for 4. His only hit was an infield single in the first inning to first base.
May 14: With Sonny Gray on the mound for Midland, Profar singled to right field.
Today the Midland RockHounds will have Shawn Haviland on the mound to face the RoughRiders roster as Profar looks to extend his hitting streak to 25 games. His hitting streak is currently the longest hitting streak in the Texas League so far this season.
Written by: Jarah Wright
2011 RoughRiders’ Awards
The first round of off-season awards are beginning to come in for the RoughRiders. Yesterday we talked about Jurickson Profar being named Low-A Player of the Year by Baseball America, and while the ‘Riders don’t have anything of quite that prestigious, there are certainly some awards of note.
Best Texas League Visiting Clubhouse
We all know there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes in minor league baseball, but there might not be a pair of guys that work harder than C.J. Allen and Philip Fleitman, the ‘Riders Clubhouse Managers. Thanks to their efforts, the RoughRiders won Best Texas Visiting Clubhouse for the second-straight season. These are the two guys that make sure both teams are fed both before and after all home games, do all the laundry, and a LOT more. Congrats to C.J. and Philip. Here’s a pic of the two of them taking some batting practice after the season was over. I’m pretty sure photo credit goes to ‘Riders lefty, Corey Young.
Best Cheap Seats in Dallas
The Dallas Observer recently announced it’s 2011 “Best of” awards, and the RoughRiders won the award for “Best Cheap Seats” in Dallas. They loved how inexpensive our tickets were compared to the local competition (Rangers, Cowboys, Mavs, etc.), and they really loved the swimming pool!
2011 Double-A MiLB Team of the Year
The ‘Riders need your help to win this one. Click here to vote for the ‘Riders as the 2011 Double-A MiLB Team of the Year. The other teams nominated are San Antonio, Harrisburg, Mobile, New Hampshire, and Tennessee. Interestingly enough there are two other Rangers’ affiliates that have been nominated for “Team of the Year” in their respective class. You can vote for Triple-A Round Rock who finished with the all-time best record for a Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate (87-57). You can also vote for the Hickory Crawdads for the best Low-A team in 2011. The ‘Dads finished the year tied for the most wins in the South Atlantic League (79-58).
-AG
Profar Named Low-A Player of the Year
You know a player is good when he plays two levels below the team you cover and there’s a steady buzz about him all season long. That’s the case with Hickory shortstop Jurickson Profar.
It was announced today that the 18-year-old was named the Low-A Player of the Year by Baseball America after hitting .286 with 12 home runs and 65 runs batted in. At such a young age, it’s impressive to note that Profar walked 65 times compared to striking out 63 times. If you take a look at the ‘Riders during the 2011 season, there wasn’t a single Frisco hitter with even 150 at-bats that had more walks than strikeouts. The only guy who came close was Leonys Martin who walked 15 times compared to eight K’s in 135 at bats.
Defensively, Profar impressed as well. In 114 games, all at shortstop, he committed just 22
errors giving him a .955 fielding percentage. If you take a look at Elvis Andrus when he was 18-year-old and playing in the minors, the now Rangers’ shortstop had a combined .949 fielding percentage at the High-A level (Myrtle Beach and Bakersfield).
Think about that for a second. We’re all impressed that Profar played as well as he did in Low-A at 18, but Andrus played at a level higher at the same age. To be completely fair about the comparison (not that this is a fool-proof form of judgement), Elvis managed a .938 fielding percentage in Low-A Rome in the Braves’ system at the young age of 17.
I’ve been surprised countless times, but I’d have to imagine that Profar opens up 2012 with High-A Myrtle Beach, which of course means that there’s a chance he makes his way to Frisco late in the season. I don’t think it would shock anyone if he stayed in the Carolina League for all of next year, but you never know what can happen.
No matter where he plays, it will be a long way from home. The switch-hitter is from Willemstad, Curacao - a tiny little island off the northern coast of Brazil. A population of slightly over 140,000, Curacao was put on the map during the 2004 Little League Baseball World Series by who else but Profar.
11-years-old at the time, Profar was the top statistical pitcher in the ’04 World Series when he went 2-0 with one save over 12.1 innings while striking out 19 studly kids. He batted .313 (5-for-16) with one double, five runs batted in, a run scored, and two strikeouts.
He also played in the 2005 Little League Baseball World Series and posted the third-highest tournament batting average of .389 (7-for-18) to go along with five runs scored and two runs batted in. On the mound he went 1-0, 1.85 ERA over 13 innings with 26 strikeouts.
And have I mentioned that he speaks four languages? Should be fun to watch Profar in Frisco … someday.
- AG
Photos provided by MiLB.com, ESPN.com, and Life.com
Odor Advances; Hamburger, Profar Ousted
The second round of the Minors Moniker Madness was not kind to the Rangers’ farm system. Former RoughRider Mark Hamburger, who made it to the semifinals last season, lost to Fort Myers’ Shooter Hunt in a 4-5 match-up.
Hickory’s Jurickson Profar, a two-seed entering the tournament, lost to seven-seed Callix Crabbe from New Hampshire.
The only Ranger farmhand to advance to the Madness’ Sweet 16 was Spokane’s Rougned Odor. The top seed in the “Farmer Works Bracket,” Odor bested Carolina’s Didi Gregorius to advance. Odor will square off with Hunt in a star-studded Sweet 16.
The Cinderella story belongs to 11-seed Zelous Wheeler. The Huntsville Star will take on seven-seeded Tuffy Gosewisch in the next round. All four one seeds have made it through the first two rounds.
To vote on the Minors Moniker Madness, check out this link.
Hamburger, Profar Advance
ADDITION: Check out this video from the Round Rock Express promoting Mark Hamburger’s candidacy for the Moniker Madness title.
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Former RoughRider Mark Hamburger and highly-touted Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar have advanced to round two of Minor League Baseball’s “Moniker Madness.”
Currently with the Round Rock Express, Hamburger advanced past 13-seed Matthew Szczur. The reliever, who made it to the Final Four last year, will battle Fort Myers’ Shooter Hunt in a 4-5 matchup in the second round.
Profar, the second-best prospect in the Rangers’ system according to Baseball America, earned a two-seed and cruised past Kurt Yacko in round one. The Hickory Crawdad’s next challenge is New Hampshire’s Callix Crabbe.
Rougned Odor, a member of short-season Spokane and a one-seed, also advanced to round two. Odor will square off with Didi Gregorius, who defeated former RoughRider Emerson Frostad in the first round.
Only five double-digit seeds advanced past the first round. There were two 12 over 5 upsets, which marked the most lopsided upset in the first round.
And a personal note–my pick to win it all (Kevin Quackenbush) took down Riley Hornback in the opening round. However, I lost two “Final Four” picks (Billy Spottiswood and Skyler Stromsmoe), so my bracket has been ripped to shreds.
My Moniker Madness
Houston Summers. Will Startup. Dusty Napoleon. Rowdy Hardy. What do these four guys have in common? Well, they are the previous four winners of the Minors Moniker Madness, a 64-person tournament designed to find the best name in Minor League Baseball.
This is not a game for the Justin Miller’s or Ben Snyder’s of the world. This is for names like Bubbie Buzachero, ZeErika McQueen, Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg, and others. Those three did not make the field this year, but those are some of the awesome names that have appeared in previous years.
While a current member of the RoughRiders did not make the list (Davis Stoneburner HAD to be a tough omission), former ‘Rider Mark Hamburger is a four-seed as he tries to improve upon his Final Four showing in ’10. Also, Emerson Frostad is an eight-seed, and Rangers prospects Jurickson Profar and Rougned Odor are highly seeded, too.
It is absolutely an inexact science, as last year’s Final Four contained a pair of 2’s along with an 8 and a 15 (there are four brackets with 16 players in each pool).
I skipped the first two rounds in this breakdown, which means some great names like Tobi Stoner, Shooter Hunt, Jetsy Extrano, Taiwan Easterling, and Dock Doyle won’t get much love even though they have great names.
Below, I document my rationale for the best name in the minors. And yes, the rationale for some is just ridiculous and sometimes unfair.
Sweet 16:
#1 Seth Schwindenhammer over #12 Angelberth Montilla: The Sweet 16 with the most letters goes to the top seed with a 15-letter last name.
#15 Bradley Boxberger over #3 Ben Tottle: Boxberger, the Louisville Bat, takes advantage of a weak half of the bracket to continue his Cinderella run into the Elite Eight.
#4 Mark Hamburger over #8 Emerson Frostad: The battle of the former RoughRiders goes to the man who still plays in the Rangers’ system.
#3 Kevin Quackenbush over #2 Jurickson Profar: Profar is the Rangers’ number two prospect, but he fell to a better last name here. Good run for Jurickson, who should be a fixture in this competition for a few years as he progresses in Texas’ farm system.
#1 Beamer Weems over #4 Maverick Lasker: The Mavericks won the NBA Title, but Maverick couldn’t get past the best name in the Texas League, Beamer Weems of San Antonio.
#6 Skyler Stromsmoe over #7 Tuffy Gosewisch: One of the best matchups of the tournament goes to Skyler, who got the necessary push from his team’s name—the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
#1 Deik Scram over #5 Stetson Allie: Allie made it this far because he was in a weak area of the bracket. Why did he advance over the other three? Well, here’s where the rationale gets good: Allie is from Ohio, and I have a good friend named Allie from Ohio. But Deik takes the cake in this matchup.
#14 Billy Spottiswood over #15 Jerod Yakubik: Another great reason for Yakubik getting this far—he attended the greatest college in the history of the world (Ohio University). But Spottiswood is the man here.
Elite Eight:
#1 Seth Schwindenhammer over #15 Bradley Boxberger: In the most lopsided of the four Elite Eight showdowns, Schwindenhammer earns his second straight Final Four appearance.
#3 Kevin Quackenbush over #4 Mark Hamburger: This, on the flip side, was the toughest of the four matchups. I love Hamburger, and I enjoyed talking to and watching Mark, but Quackenbush is a stud rookie in this competition who is off to the Final Four.
#6 Skyler Stromsmoe over #1 Beamer Weems: Weems lasted a while, but Skyler has alliteration and the “msm” trio in the middle of his last name going for him. Stromsmoe knocks off a top seed.
#14 Billy Spottiswood over #1 Deik Scram: There is always a surprise story in the Moniker Madness, and this Mobile BayBear is off to the Final Four.
Final Four:
#3 Kevin Quackenbush over #1 Seth Schwindenhammer: The top two seeds left have to meet one round early, and it spells another Final Four heartbreak for Schwindenhammer, who lost in the final last year.
#14 Billy Spottiswood over #6 Skyler Stromsmoe: Quite a Cinderella story for Spottiswood, who has probably had the toughest road of anyone to get to this point (Xander Bogaerts, Dock Doyle, Yakubik, Scram). I hope to see Stromsmoe back in this next year. He has staying power.
Moniker Championship:
#3 Kevin Quackenbush over #14 Billy Spottiswood: Quackenbush fulfilled the three things necessary to gaining votes in this competition: (1) a crazy word within his name (quack), (2) a weird letter in a noticeable spot (Q to start his name), and (3) a way to personally connect him to the voter (“Bush” is how you pronounce my last name). Everyone will vote differently, but Quackenbush comes out on top in this person’s mind.
Again, if you want to vote, check out this link. I strongly recommend it. The names are fantastic.
Congrats to Quackenbush!
- Brian
RoughRiders Trade Talk
Last week Stephen Harmon examined some prospects in the Rangers system that have tremendously improved their stock since the start of the season. Now, with the trading deadline approaching this afternoon at 4 p.m. ET, he looks at the Rangers’ top tier prospects who have been linked with trade rumors across MLB.
For starters, the Rangers’ trade yesterday with Baltimore for Koji Uehara has changed things for Texas entering today. Here is what Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas says following the deal:
“Instead of having to make a deal at any cost for Heath Bell, for instance, they can continue to negotiate with the Padres and see if San Diego comes off its high price for Bell. If they don’t, then the Rangers can pass. If they do, then Texas can try to strike a deal. The Rangers are still considered one of the favorites for Bell, so we’ll see what happens there.”
With that as a launching point, here are what people are saying about some future, current, and former RoughRider players.
Robbie Erlin
This 20-year-old lefty has generated a lot of interest in the trade market in the past week. Scouts from the Padres, Mets, and White Sox organizations as well as Rangers’ President Nolan Ryan and GM John Daniels were all on hand at Dr Pepper Ballpark last Tuesday night for Erlin’s start against Midland.
According to Durrent, and as tweeted by Jim Bowden of ESPN.com, the Padres and Rangers were, and possibly still are, close on agreeing to a deal that would send All-Star closer Heath Bell to Texas. The centerpiece in the Rangers package of players that would be shipped to San Diego is rumored to beErlin and/or Joe Wieland who just pitched a no-hitter Friday night. However, the Rangers are hesitant to part with their prospects and believe the Padres’ asking price is too high. On the other hand, Bell is the preeminent closer on the market, and the Rangers have been the most aggressive team pursuing him.
Here in Frisco, Erlin has impressed with his focus and mature composure. Through Erlin’s first eleven games in Frisco, the California native has posted a 5-2 record and a 4.32 ERA. Additionally, he has struck out 61 batters while walking only seven. More amazingly is that the lefty has issued only one free pass through his five starts in July. Listen to Frisco pitching coach Jeff Andrews talk about Erlin and Wieland with Bryan Dolgin of 103.3 FM ESPN.
Joe Wieland
At 21-years-old, Wieland has made a impressed through hist first seven starts – even without his no-hitter.
Robbie Erlin may be grabbing the headlines as the Rangers’ most sought after pitching prospect, but Wieland appears to be equally talented. Both players started the season in Myrtle Beach and have, at times, dominated Texas League hitters.
Said Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, “I talked to a team early this week that told me the Rangers were very high on Wieland and very reluctant to talk about him in deals.”
Martin Perez
Martin Perez, the Rangers number one pre-season prospect according to Baseball America, has also been getting a lot of attention around the rumor mills. However, the Rangers seem unwilling to deal the young left-hander who Keith Law predicts will emerge as a number one or number two starter within five years.
Simply put, Perez appears to be off the market. Keith Law talks with Bryan Dolgin about Perez and Leonys Martin (not on the market).
Tanner Scheppers
The hard throwing right-hander has impressed with his mid to upper 90’s fastball. According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, Scheppers name has come up in a package presented to the Padres for Heath Bell.
For the most part, we haven’t really heard Scheppers’ name tossed around too much in the last couple of weeks. The Rangers’ No. 3 overall prospect (Baseball America) has now made 15 appearances out of the Frisco bullpen and with six walks and 24 strikeouts after spending two separate stints on the disabled list this year.
Jurickson Profar
At 18-years-old, Profar may not be ready for the big leagues for a while, but he is worth waiting for. The Rangers have rejected the Padres offer of a Profar/Derrick Holland package for Heath Bell, reports Baseball Time In Arlington. Similar to Perez, it appears as though Profar is clearly off the market.
The Sunday trade deadline is an exciting time of year in baseball. Thanks to a farm system that is packed with talent from Short-Season Spokane to Triple-A Round Rock, the Rangers have become very active in the rumor mill, as many teams are lured to the Rangers young pitching prospects.
The countdown has been on for a while, but it all comes to an end this afternoon.
