Buster OlneyVerified account @Buster_ESPN 3m3 minutes ago The Dodgers have sent three minor-leaguers to the Rangers for Yu Darvish; not Verdugo.
Jon Morosi says Willie Calhoun is coming to Texas. Calhoun, 22, is a bat-first guy who is currently slashing .298/.357/.574 for AAA Oklahoma City. A fourth round pick in 2015, Calhoun is playing second base and left field for Oklahoma City, but profiles as a left fielder or DH long-term. Calhoun was #74 on the BA mid-season top 100 list.
Jeff Passan ✔@JeffPassan Source: Dodgers send Calhoun, Alexy and Davis to Rangers for Yu Darvish. Deal done.
Calhoun went from a homerless season at Arizona in 2014 to leading all junior college players with 31 homers at Yavapai (Ariz.) in 2015, prompting the Dodgers to draft him in the fourth round. He had one of the best pro debuts in his Draft class and backed it up by leading the Texas League in total bases (236) and RBI (88) after jumping to Double-A for his first full season. Calhoun also finished second in the TL in homers (27) and strikeout rate (one per 8.6 plate appearances), demonstrating his rare combination of hitting ability and power. A left-handed hitter, he has a quick bat and a knack for making contact, and he might do even more damage once he learns to wait a little better for pitches he can drive. He could be a .280 hitter with 20 or more homers per season at his peak. That would be quality production for a second baseman, but Calhoun probably won't remain in the infield. His quickness, hands and arm all grade as below average at second, though he has worked hard on his defense. An outfielder and third baseman at Yavapai, he's most likely to wind up in left field and has begun playing there this year.
Jeff Passan ✔@JeffPassan Replying to @JeffPassan A.J. Alexy is a big RHP just a year out of HS who's punching out a lot of guys in A ball. Could grow into frame and gain velo. Upside play. Jeff Passan ✔@JeffPassan Brendon Davis is a classic Rangers athlete play. He's a huge -- 6-4 -- and skinny infielder. Big flameout risk. Also monster upside.
Im ok with whatever we got. Better than getting jack shit then he leaves after the season. I know he likes it here but i wonder if being traded shuts the door on him resigning here.
The Fangraphs top 100 MLB prospect list is out, and the Texas Rangers have placed three prospects in the top 100. Center fielder Leody Taveras, who is 18 years old and in low-A Hickory, is #48 out the list. Close behind him is Willie Calhoun, the LF/DH currently toiling at Round Rock who was acquired in the Yu Darvish trade — Calhoun is at #54. First baseman Ronald Guzman, also at Round Rock, rounds out the group, coming in at #96. Cole Ragans, the lefty pitcher who the Rangers used their first pick in 2017 on, is in the “Others Considered” category. Among other prospects with some Ranger ties, Jorge Alfaro is at #80 while Nick Williams is in “Others Considered.” Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz, sent to Milwaukee in the ill-fated Jonathan Lucroy/Jeremy Jeffress trade, are at #13 and #66, respectively. Brandon Woodruff, drafted by the Rangers in 2011 (but not signed), is at #55.
The Metroplex stealing something from other parts of Texas and trying to make it their own. A truly shocking development.
It's nice. I love the current park but the roof will be a lifesaver. Nothing super interesting about the new park but it'll be a nice ballpark.
If I don't make a journey south for a game by mid June I just wait until next season. The roof will be phenomenal.
I don't know what I expected, but Ive always thought Minute Maid is kind of meh. Current park is literally perfect minus the obvious issue. This sucks.
"Oh hey let's put a flagpole and a hill in center field it will be so awesome and unique " - City of Houston
The idea to design a ballpark that looks similar to literally the worst ballpark in the country was pretty dumb
"let's take out the flagpole and hill in centerfield bc if we had it the rangers would just try to copy it anyways." - the city of houston
That's the problem though. Minute Maid is pretty much what you get when you have to have a roof. I don't even think they did a bad job with Minute Maid, and having a ballpark downtown is way cooler than having one in Arlington. But the BPIA literally made you feel good just from its aesthetics. Minute Maid makes you feel like you're in George R Brown with a baseball field in the middle of it. Sterile and not special at all.
The roof is expensive as shit so it's tough to make it look good. It's like when people buy a loft and paint the exposed plumbing and ac stuff.
Honestly, it looks a hell of a lot nicer than Minute Maid, and will have top notch amenities. Unless you live in Arlington and have to pay for the damn thing, there is no real reason to bitch. Well, except for the fact that they aren't sure if they'll be able to grow grass in it and might go with turf.
Here's a reason to bitch. It's ugly as shit and the magic of baseball is captured much less in a glorified warehouse. Have you been to any games at Minute Maid? That's not where you dream of playing as a kid. I've been to a playoff game. It couldn't even touch the atmosphere of the playoff and World Series games I went to at the ballpark. The A/C is pretty boss though.
The roof will open behind the 3rd base side, so the whole monstrosity won't be looming over the outfield when it's open. I'm sure the roof opened up a hell of a lot more than it is in Houston, which is never. Y'all will survive. Also, the roof as well as the more open stadium will let a lot more natural light in than the coffin that is Minute Maid
In my dreams, the BPIA was my field of dreams. But seriously. I don't know if you have ever been to Minute Maid, but it's like a baseball team leased the space from a warehouse. And I like the astros. Next year I will have access to behind home plate tickets there. It doesn't touch the ball park.
You're talking to someone that grew up in an astros household bc that was the only team they could get on the radio in Amarillo. I chose the Rangers on my own bc of Nolan Ryan and all the other great 90s players. Still love everyone especially Pudge. Now my Dad and my whole family cheer for the Rangers. One of my best childhood memories was my pops waking me up way before time to go to school. I thought he was dragging me out to the ranch to work cattle, but he threw me in his suburban and got on the highway and waited for me to ask where we were going once I realized we weren't going to the ranch. My mind exploded when I figured out we were going to the Rangers playoff game against the Yankees. This was 1996. Thats about a 6 hour drive. I had a Juan Gonz bomb go ten feet above my head. I thought it was going straight into my outstretched glove. That was my first visit to the temple and Ive always been in love with that park since. Genuinely sad we are losing it but I know this was the right move. It really is just too hot.
I'm worse. Spoiler I grew up a Cardinals fan (dad is from STL and his whole side of his family are diehards). But Juan Gonzalez and Pudge were my favorite players growing up. One year, after visiting the states on our way back to Mexico my pops got us opening day tickets; one of my favorite memories is sprinting around the bases at the BPIA while my dad struggled to keep up and dropped all the swag I got that day. I got Pudge's brother to go into the locker room to get my hat signed by Pudge for me because I was a gringo little shit that could speak Spanish. Love the BPIA, sad to see it go, but understand the reasons. /csb