Texas Rangers Minor League Top Performances of June

Class-A Advanced High Desert Mavericks

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

Lewis Brinson is in his fourth season since being drafted 29th overall by the Rangers in 2012. Brinson was a top 100 prospect by Baseball Prospectus heading into the 2013 season and followed that up by hitting .237/.322/.427 with 21 home runs and 52 RBI in 122 games. Brinson went unranked in 2014 and responded by hitting .288/.354/.458 with 13 home runs in 89 games across two levels.

Brinson followed up a solid .275/.359/.435 April performance by hitting .304/.387/.554 in 22 games in June. He hit four home runs, drove in 12 runs, and scored 19 runs himself. High-A is the highest level he has been at in his career and will likely continue to climb the ladder at a rapid pace as he continues to develop his bat. Brinson, 21-years-old, is 1.6 years younger than the average player in the California League and is showing everything the team needs to see from him.

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

The Mavericks had 11 different pitcher pick up a win during the month of June with starting pitchers accounting for just four of those. Of the four starting pitchers with a win, three had just one win while one pitcher had three wins in his four starts. That pitcher with three wins was Richelson Pena who managed a 3-0 record with a 2.49 ERA in 21.2 innings. Pena gave up zero runs in two of his starts during the month and has decreased his overall ERA from 4.98 to 3.83.

The rest of the starting staff’s ERAs for the month were 6.11, 6.48, 7.50, and 6.35 and they combined for a 3-3 record in their 18 starts. Pena is finding success in his first season with the Maveracks and by the end of July will have made more starts than in any of his five seasons in the minors. He needs just 10 more innings to be the most innings he has pitched in a single season. Pena is getting stronger as the season goes on which is a positive sign for a team trying to keep a player as a starter for their whole career.

Honorable Mention: The bullpen for the Mavericks was strong with month, with standout Ryne Slack giving up just three runs in his 19.1 innings for a 1.40 ERA.

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