Rangers Pitching Prospect Leads June Team Awards

The Texas Rangers announced their organizational awards for the month of June for their minor-league system.

Owen White, who was promoted from High Class-A Hickory to Double-A Frisco in June, was named the Texas Rangers Starting Pitcher of the Month on Thursday, one of four minor-league team awards for the month. 

Frisco outfielder Kellen Strahm was named the Player of the Month, Round Rock pitcher Yerry Rodriguez was named the Reliever of the Month and Frisco infielder Jonathan Ornelas was named the Defender of the Month. 

White, 22, went 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA in four games/starts between Hickory and Frisco in June, as he earned a promotion to Double-A on June 23. The right-hander was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week for June 27-July 3 following a no-hit effort in his Double-A debut on July 1 vs. Corpus Christi (5.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO). White has gone 9-2 with a 3.59 ERA (32 ER/80.1 IP) in 15 games/14 starts this season, leading all Texas minor leaguers in wins (9) and strikeouts (104). In the most recent prospect list updates, White was named as a top 100 overall prospect by Baseball America (no. 86) and MLB Pipeline (no. 94).

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

Strahm, 25, posted a .347/.434/.528/.962 (25-72) slash line with 3 home runs, 4 doubles, 7 RBI, and 14 runs scored over 21 games for Frisco (AA) in June, including a 12-game hitting streak from June 4-21. His team-best .347 batting average last month ranked 5th in the Texas League. Strahm, who has played all three outfield positions for the RoughRiders this year, is in his third minor league season since he was selected by Texas in the 5th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of San Jose State University.

Rodriguez, 24, posted a 1.54 ERA (2 ER/11.1 IP) and .125/.222/.250/.472 opponent slash line over 9 outings for Round Rock (AAA) in June, striking of 20 of 45 (44.4%) batters faced. Over a longer 15-game span from May 18-July 4, the right-hander logged a 0.95 ERA (2 ER/19.0 IP) while holding the opposition 6-for-62 (.097). This is the first season for Rodriguez to be working as a full-time reliever.

Ornelas has served as the primary shortstop for Frisco (AA) in 2022, while also seeing some action at third base, second base, and center field. He has made 38 straight starts at shortstop since May 25, committing just 4 errors at the position over that span (.976 fielding pct.). Ornelas’ season fielding percentage over 56 starts at shortstop is .971 (7 E/241 TC), which would be the best mark of his career over a full season at the position. In addition to his fielding prowess, Ornelas boasts a Texas League-best 102 hits and the circuit's second-best batting average (.325).