Prospect to Know: Michael Bianucci

Michael Bianucci was originally drafted by the Angels in round 23 of the 2007 draft but decided to spend another year with the Auburn Tigers. The Rangers drafted him in the eighth round of the 2008 Amateur Draft. Bianucci is currently a designated hitter for the Frisco RoughRiders, he bats and throws right.

Bianucci is off to an excellent start this season. In 94 at bats on the season he is .319/.375/.606. His eight home runs is tied for second in the Texas League,  and is seventh in the league in RBIs with 20. Right now the DH is crushing the ball against left handers, currently batting .379/.438/.793. His OPS is an impressive 1.231 against leftys.

Here is some more information about Bianucci from “Contemplating the Crawdads”, a blog following the Rangers Single-A affiliate. Mike only spent part of the season with the Crawdads in 2009 before being promoted to High-A Bakersfield.

"During his freshman year at Auburn, Bianucci hit .359 in 181 AB’s with 8 HR, 31 RBI, 9 BB, 47 SO’s. In his sophomore year, Mike’s average slipped to .326 but he hit 6 more HR’s and walked 20 more times while striking out 14 fewer times. After his first two years at Auburn, some scouts thought Bianucci could go as high as the 5th round in that year’s MLB draft. Bianucci ended up falling to the 23rd round where he was drafted by the LA Angels.Bianucci’s defense hurt his value. He was drafted by the Angels as a third baseman where he would have been below average. As an outfielder Bianucci is described as only “adequate.” Another fear scouts had about Mr. Bianucci was that his bat might not be as potent in a wood-stick environment.Disappointed by his unexpected fall in the 07 draft, Mike returned to Auburn for a third year where he continued to shine offensively in the best conference in college ball. His offensive numbers during his junior season were similar to his sophomore year, but Bianucci continued to increase his BB ratio by drawing 37 walks, an improvement from only 9 BB’s total his freshman season.So we have a player that improved every year with the bat, disappointed with the glove, unexpectedly fell in the 07 draft to the 23rd round, decided to stay in Auburn for a third year, and was rewarded with an 8th round selection by your Texas Rangers."

We’ll keep you posted on his performance throughout the season. Also keep an eye out on trade rumors, he may be part of a package of  any Texas Rangers prospects involved.

-Jonathan