Updates on four Texas Rangers prospects out of action as minor-league seasons open
Three of the Texas Rangers’ four full-season minor-league affiliates opened their seasons Tuesday night, snapping a drought of more than 600 days between games after the 2020 season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But of note are the players who weren’t on Opening Day rosters.
Chief among them is top prospect Josh Jung, the third baseman who needed surgery in March for a stress fracture in his left foot. The week hasn’t been a complete loss for the 2019 first-round pick, though, as he was allowed to start rehabbing without the protective boot he’d been wearing.
The Rangers say Jung could be ready by late May or early June.
“He’ll be in Arizona for the next couple weeks as we start building up just in terms of getting his workload up,” assistant general manager Mike Daly said. “The biggest thing is we’re just focusing back on getting him healthy. Where he starts between Double A or Triple A, that will be an organization decision toward the end of the month.”
Catcher Sam Huff, the Rangers’ No. 2 prospect, underwent surgery last week on his right knee and won’t be ready to for seven more weeks. He will be limited to designated hitter when he does return.
Right-hander Hans Crouse isn’t injured, but he wasn’t with Double A Frisco on Tuesday as he awaits the birth of his first child in California. Daly said that Crouse, another top-10 prospect, is throwing while away from the team and could make his 2021 debut May 12.
Crouse did not participate at the alternate camp site last season or pitch in instructs as he tended to his fiancee.
“We’ll get him into Frisco and make sure he has enough time to get built up and be ready to go,” Daly said. “The 12th is the day that we have, but that could move up.”
Outfielder Bayron Lora will open the season in the Dominican Summer League, though not because of a fatal car accident he was involved in nearly two months ago. Lora, 18, was driving a truck that went off a highway in the Dominican Republic, and a passenger was killed.
“We’ll have a little more clarity here in the next couple weeks,” Daly said.
Lora, who signed a $3.8 million bonus in 2019, continues to work out as the legal process plays itself out. Daly said that the Rangers discussed starting Lora in the Rookie League this summer and that their decision was not based on his situation.
The Rangers have two teams in the DSL and will be able to get Lora more at-bats there than had he opened in rookie ball.
