Texas Rangers Minor League Players of the Week

Mar 3, 2014; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers outfielder Lewis  Brinson against the Cleveland Indians in a spring training game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Batter

Picked in the supplemental first-round by the Rangers in 2011, the 25-year old Zach Cone has struggled to reach the majors, having missed most of 2013 with a torn left Achilles. Cone split his 2014 season between three levels and hit .207/.313/.356 in 382 at-bats. He started 2015 back in High-A and has started to show the promise that the team had hoped for him, having hit .301/.353/.530 with 13 home runs in 249 ABs.

This past week, Cone has been even more impressive, turning in a .444/.500/1.185 performance with six home runs and 12 runs batted in. His week was highlighted by a 3-for-5, two home run performance last Thursday. He even managed to hit a home run in four straight games. Even more impressive is the fact that he only struck out five times in his 30 ABs, less than the number of home runs he hit. Cone is two years older than the average player in the California League and will need to duplicate this success at a higher level before he starts to get more recognition.

Top-10 prospect Lewis Brinson had a solid week, hitting .286/.382/.357 with just one of his eight hits going for extra bases. Brinson managed to draw five walks which is why he was able to have such a high On-Base Percentage. Brinson is just 21 so the team will have more patience with the promotion of Brinson than they will with Cone.

Mar 18, 2014; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Ryne  Slack pitches in the tenth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Surprise Stadium. The Rangers won 7-6 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Pitcher

One of the best weeks across the entire farm system belongs to Richelson Pena. Pena turned in two straight solid performances to give himself three solid starts in a row. Pena had a good 2014 in his first season outside of rookie-ball, going 5-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 72.1 innings.

This week, Pena threw 13 innings over two starts and picked up the win in each. Pena gave up two earned runs over 7 innings and followed that up with a six inning, shutout performance against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. These two starts bring Pena to a 5-4 record for the season, with a 3.82 ERA in 61.1 innings. He has struck out 45 batters to just 10 walks, giving him an impressive 1.47 BB/9.

Looking at the rest of the team, the Mavericks received scoreless weeks from Ryne Slack who threw 4 innings of relief and gave up just two hits and Cole Wiper who pitched 3 innings in his start on Saturday.

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