Rangers Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Danyer Cueva

The Venezuelan infielder had a tremendous season for the ACL Rangers in his first season in the U.S.

InsidetheRangers.com will review each of the Texas Rangers’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2022 season.

No. 27: SS Danyer Cueva, Arizona Complex League Rangers (Rookie League), Down East Wood Ducks (Low Class-A)

Statistics for 2022: Batted .309/.353/.448/.801 with five home runs and 31 RBI. He scored 39 runs, had 60 hits and 87 total bases. He hit 11 doubles, three triples, struck out 48 times and walked 22 times. He stole nine bases and was caught stealing four times. He played in 49 games, 44 of which were with the ACL Rangers and his final five with Down East.

Season Transactions: On June 6 he was assigned to the ACL Rangers. On Aug. 28 he was assigned to Down East.

Season Summary: Cueva spent his first season on the mainland bettering the numbers he put up in the Dominican Summer League in 2021. With the ACL Rangers, he batted .330/.376/.483/.859 with five home runs and 31 RBI. That was more than enough to earn him a spin at Down East, where he had little time to get comfortable as the Wood Ducks were wrapping up their season. He batted .111/.111/.111/.222 with just two hits in 18 at-bats.

Road Through the Organization: Signed by Texas in the 2020-21 international class, Cueva signed for a $1,025,000 bonus, the second-highest in the class. He’s one of three Venezuelan shortstops in the Rangers’ Top 30 (Luisangel Acuña and Maximo Acosta). He made his debut in the Dominican Summer League and he batted .282/.375/.381 as a 17-year-old.

What’s next: Cueva is just 18 years old, so the Rangers don’t need to be in a rush to accelerate him through the system. He’s also playing middle infield, where the Rangers have a glut of prospects and a pair of long-term answers in shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien (who can play shortstop when needed). The Rangers could send Cueva back to the Dominican for winter league ball. Given how he played in Arizona this summer, the chance of playing for Down East to start 2023 feels like a near-certainty.

Note: Prospect rankings are as of Oct. 4, 2022.

2022 Texas Rangers Top 30 Prospect Wraps:

No. 30: Josh Stephan | No. 29: Mason Englert | No. 28: Marc Church

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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