Texas Rangers Minor League Top Performances of June

Double-A Frisco RoughRiders

May 17, 2015; Frisco, Tx, USA; A general view of Dr. Pepper Ballpark during the game between the Corpus Christi Hooks and the Frisco RoughRiders. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Batter

Drafted in the 4th round of the 2010 MLB Draft, infielder Drew Robinson has continued to show off his ability to reach base and his power. Robinson had his best hitting numbers for a single month so far this season, hitting .250/.406/.583 with seven home runs in in 25 games. While Robinson struck out 25 times in his 106 plate appearances, he managed to walk 19 times which is the reason for his high on-base percentage.

For the season, Robinson is now hitting .232/.373/.476 with 15 home runs and 44 RBI in 306 plate appearances. He has shown a lot of improvement from his time in AA and AAA last year where he combined to hit .198/.288/.376 with 12 home runs in his 407 plate appearances. In 100 less plate appearances, Robinson has drawn 10 more walks and has 57 less strikeouts.

At just 23 years old, Robinson still has time to show more improvement at the plate and could end up providing depth for a team that has been turning out top middle infielders prospects every year. If Robinson continues to hit like this he will be making his second appearance in Round Rock and will look to repeat the success he had in June.

Robinson was named the Texas League Offensive Player of the Week on MiLB.com for his performance last week for hitting .409/.480/.818.

Honorable Mention: Nomar Mazara hit .272/.333/.565 with seven home runs and 21 RBI in 25 games. Mazara will remain at the center of trade conversations for the remainder of the month with performances like he had this month.

Pitcher

With the graduation of Chi Chi Gonzalez to the majors, Jake Thompson has taken over as the top pitching prospect in the Rangers’ farm system. Thompson had a 10-5 record with a 3.12 ERA in 129.2 innings in 2014. He has followed that up with a 6-5 record and a 3.77 ERA in 74 innings so far in 2015. Batters are hitting .264/.333/.378 off him this season and he has given up just four home runs in 320 plate appearances.

In the month of June, Thompson had a 1-2 record but managed a 2.95 ERA in 21.1 innings over his four starts. His best start of the month came against the Tulsa Drillers on June 6 when he gave up just one run on seven hits across seven innings. Thompson has pitched in 14 games this season and kept a solid workload, having pitched over 85 pitches in eight of his last 10 games and has pitched over 100 pitches twice.

Thompson was part of what has been a great trade for the Texas Rangers. The Rangers gave up Joakim Soria in exchange for Thompson and Corey Knebel who was later used in a trade to acquire Yovani Gallardo, the Rangers best pitcher this season. Thompson will likely make an appearance in Round Rock this season and then start 2016 with them with hopes of making his first major league appearance by the end of 2016 as part of a rotation that could consist of Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Martin Perez, and Gonzalez.

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