Former Texas Rangers Reliever Among Minor League Award Winners for July

The Texas Rangers organization’s minor league award winners for July were Blaine Crim, Mitch Bratt, Grant Anderson and Frainyer Chavez.

Jun 7, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Grant Anderson (65) delivers a pitch to the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers announced the organization’s minor league award winners for July:

• Player of the Month – 1B Blaine Crim

• Starting Pitcher of the Month – LHP Mitch Bratt

• Reliever of the Month – RHP Grant Anderson

• Defender of the Month – INF Frainyer Chavez

Crim, 27, slashed .453/.561/.656/1.217 (29-64) with 2 home runs, 7 doubles, 15 RBI, and more walks (17) than strikeouts (11) across 20 games with Round Rock (AAA) in July, ranking among Pacific Coast League leaders for the month in batting average (1st), on-base pct. (1st), times on base (1st, 46), OPS (2nd), slugging pct. (4th), walks (T4th), and hits (T8th). He recorded hits in 18 of his 20 appearances, including a pair of 9-game hits streaks from July 1-11 and July 13-28. The Mobile, Ala. native has spent the entirety of the 2024 campaign with the Express, batting .268/.371/.421/.792 (98-366) with 11 home runs, 21 doubles, and 57 RBI over 101 games/98 starts (91-1B, 7-DH). Crim was originally selected by the Rangers in the 19th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss.

The 21-year-old Bratt went 2-0 with a 0.49 ERA (1 ER/18.1 IP) and 26 strikeouts/3 walks in 4 appearances/3 starts for High-A Hickory last month, limiting opposing batters to a .175/.212/.206/.418 (11-63) slash line. His 0.49 ERA figure in July was the T3rd-lowest mark among South Atlantic League pitchers with at least 15.0 innings pitched in the month, trailing only Hudson Valley’s Trent Sellers (0.00) and Winston-Salem’s Tommy Vail (0.45). The southpaw recorded a season-high 9 strikeouts on July 11 at Bowling Green (ND, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 9 SO) and logged 5.0 scoreless innings in his start on July 3 vs. Winston-Salem (W, 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO).

A Newmarket, Ontario native, Bratt has compiled a 7-5 record, 3.06 ERA (30 ER/88.1 IP), and 95 strikeouts (9.7 SO/9) in 19 games/17 starts for Hickory and Frisco (AA) this season, his fourth in the Texas organization after being selected in the 5th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Georgia Premier Academy in Statesboro, Ga. He is currently rated among the top prospects in the Rangers farm system by FanGraphs (18th), MLB Pipeline (21st), and Baseball America (24th).

Anderson, 27, surrendered just 2 unearned runs over 6 relief outings (6.2 innings) for Round Rock last month, striking out 14 of 29 (48.3%) batters faced. He earned the win on July 20 vs. Oklahoma City after covering the 9th and 10th innings of the Express’ 2-1 victory in extra innings (W, 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R-0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO), recording a season high-tying 4 strikeouts (2x, also July 23 at Albuquerque). The Port Arthur, Texas native has spent the balance of the season with the Rangers, going 0-1, 7.54 ERA (19 ER/22.2 IP) in 18 appearances spanning five stints in the Major Leagues (April 7-17, April 24, May 10-June 11, July 4-7, August 10). He was originally acquired by Texas from Seattle in exchange for right-handed pitcher Connor Sadzeck on April 2, 2019.

Chavez, 25, did not commit an error in 64 total chances over 18 games/15 starts for Round Rock (AAA) and Frisco (AA) in July, appearing defensively at second base (9 G/8 GS), third base (4 G/2 GS), first base (3 G/GS), and shortstop (2 G/GS). The infielder turned 9 double plays last month, including 4 in one game for Frisco on July 3 at Arkansas. Over 84 games this season, Chavez sports a .984 fielding percentage (5 E/307 TC) with 49 twin killings. The Valencia, Venezuela native was originally signed by Texas as an international free agent on June 14, 2018, and has spent all six seasons of his professional career in the Rangers organization.

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