The many hits of Jonathan Ornelas

Some players go about their seasons without a care in the world when it comes to statistics and records. Some really care.

With Frisco already clinching their 2022 playoff appearance going into the last game of the season, RoughRiders manager Jared Goedert gave Jonathan Ornelas a rare day off, leaving him out of the lineup.

Before the game, Ornelas popped into Goedert’s office and asked to play. Why? Ornelas was two hits away from tying the single-season RoughRiders record for hits, 157 by Joaquin Arias in 2005.

Through the first nine innings, Ornelas was 1-for-5 and with the RoughRiders leading 7–4 going into the bottom of the ninth, it looked unlikely. That was until the Northwest Arkansas Naturals scored three runs and sent the game into extra innings.

In the 10th, Ornelas laced a two-run single to left for his 157th hit of the season, forever cementing himself in the Frisco record books. Though he was thrilled with tying the record, he was frustrated with another stat: he fell one hit shy of finishing with a .300 batting average, ending the year hitting .299 (157-for-525).

With or without the stats that he envisioned; the Double-A level pushed him as a baseball player.

“Frisco taught me a lot,” Ornelas said. “A higher level meant a higher level of competition. The competitiveness was higher and people weren’t really developing things anymore. So it kind of meant that guys were attacking you at your weaknesses that they could feel like they could use to get you out.”

Coming out of high school as a third-rounder, Ornelas initially drew comparisons to Javier Baez for his defensive ability. As he rose through the ranks of the Rangers’ system, he found the shortstop position to be particularly crowded, especially after Texas traded for Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith and Trevor Hauver in 2021.

That caused him to move out of his natural position more often, but he embraced it.

“I think [Frisco] was massive in my defensive development. I love playing short, but being able to move over to third, playing second base and eventually playing a couple of games in the outfield too was pretty essential because now I can say that I have reps everywhere and I can play anywhere. Whatever gets me in the lineup.”

He still found himself at shortstop for 86 of his 123 games that season, but ended up playing games at third, second and centerfield as well.

He was at shortstop through most of the RoughRiders’ playoff run, where he excelled. In the four games, Ornelas hit .421 (8-for-19)/.450/.421/.871 with four RBIs and four runs scored. The Riders swept through those four games that postseason, emphatically ending their run with a come-from-behind win in Wichita. Down 2–0 in the seventh, the Riders stormed back to win 7–5 in 10 innings.

More than anything, it was the players around him that pushed him and the comeback.

“That game was up and down. The way things turned around so quickly was incredible. They had the momentum all game, going up early, and then it was a big rally, we just grinded. I think a big reason why we were able to win that kind of game was that we were just able to trust each other. The same core principles that they preach up here in the big leagues apply in the minors as well: the pass-the-baton vibe.

“Winning it all was awesome. It was a great group of guys, we meshed really well. It was crazy the kind of bond that we had. It was not even just on the field, it was off the field. You don’t find that on every team, so I am glad we got to put that all together and put it to good use.”

Ornelas then graduated from Frisco and spent 2023 with the Round Rock Express. In August, following a Brad Miller injury, Ornelas received the call he had dreamed up since he started his baseball journey: he was going to the Major Leagues.

“It was surreal. You never really expect it, so it is always a surprise. I was just so happy. I didn’t have any words. I almost cried. It was very emotional and it was so cool to call my parents and tell them that they were going to get on a flight and be in Oakland to witness me in my first big league game. It was crazy, just a lot of emotions.”

His debut was not the normal one you think of. On August 7th in Oakland, he was called off of the bench to pinch run for Mitch Garver in the eighth inning of a 3–3 game. He then scored the go-ahead run when Travis Jankowski bounced into a fielder’s choice.

“I was more nervous than I thought for pinch-running. My stomach was turning, there is just a bunch of stuff going on. But I was happy, I was just happy to get it out of the way. I think being able to pinch run helped me for when I had my first defensive appearance and my first plate appearance because it got some of the nerves out. When I eventually got to do all those other things, I felt a lot more comfortable.”

His first MLB hit didn’t come until September 15th, which would be his only MLB hit of the season. He played in just eight games, going 1-for-7.

Whether it is the hits record in Frisco or the one hit that he had during his big league time, stats do not define Ornelas’ impact on any roster. No matter what, Jonathan Ornelas is a big leaguer, but he could just be starting to add to that hit total in The Show.