Evan Carter Leads Rangers 2022 Organizational All-Stars

The Rangers' No. 3 overall prospect tops Texas' top organizational players for 2022.

Outfielder Evan Carter, the Texas Rangers’ No. 3 overall prospect, leads the team’s organizational All-Stars as selected by MLB.com.

Carter started the season with High Class-A Hickory and ended it with Double-A Frisco. Carter batted .295/.397/.489/.886 in 106 games (117-for-397), with 86 runs, 21 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs and 73 RBI. Carter was named Baseball America’s Rangers Prospect of the Year for 2022.

Carter was one of three outfielders selected. The other two played with the Rangers in 2022 — Bubba Thompson and Ezequiel Duran. Thompson stole 49 bases and batted .303 with the Round Rock Express, and he was named the team’s Player of the Year. Duran, an infielder making the move to the outfield. With Frisco and Round Rock, he He batted .302 with an .899 OPS and 16 homers.

In the infield, MLB.com selected Liam Hicks at catcher. The 2021 ninth-round pick started with the Arizona Complex League team and ended it with Hickory and batted .327 with a higher on-base percentage (.462) than slugging (.460).

Blaine Crim was the first baseman. Taken in the 19th round in 2019, Crim led the organization with 24 home runs and 96 RBI and is a lifetime .305 hitter in the minor leagues. He finished last season at Round Rock.

Justin Foscue, the Rangers’ first-round pick in 2020, was selected as the second baseman. The No. 5 overall prospect batted .288/.367/.483 with 81 RBI and 31 doubles.

Jonathan Ornelas, who played several positions in the minors last season, was the shortstop. Now the Rangers’ No. 21 overall prospect and a member of the Rangers’ 40-man roster, he led all organizational players with 157 hits, had a career-high 14 home runs and 64 RBI while batting .299.

Thomas Saggese, who earned a promotion to Frisco, was the third baseman. He batted.308 with an .846 OPS and 38 extra-base hits at Hickory. Now the team’s No. 19 prospect, Saggese batted .338 with two outs with runners in scoring position.

Mason Englert was the right-handed pitcher, though he is no longer with the Rangers. The Detroit Tigers selected him in the Rule V Draft in December. In 24 starts he had a 3.64 ERA with an organization-leading 136 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings. He pitched the first seven innings of a no-hitter for Hickory on Aug. 11.

Mitch Bratt, the Rangers’ No. 17 prospect, was the left-handed pitcher. His 2.45 ERA was the lowest among all Rangers pitchers who completed at least 60 innings and he pitched with the Low Class-A Down East Wood Ducks.

Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, a former 30th-round pick 2019, was the reliever. He had eight saves, struck out 67 and finished with a 3.09 ERA.

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