Davis Wendzel

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Davis Wendzel
Davis Wendzel Frisco Roughriders AA Baseball.jpg
Wendzel with the Frisco RoughRiders in 2021
Texas Rangers
Third baseman
Born: (1997-05-23) May 23, 1997 (age 24)
Irvine, California
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Davis McKee Wendzel (born May 23, 1997) is an American professional baseball player in the Texas Rangers organization. Considered one of the Rangers' top prospects, he is known for his polished hitting, strong fielding, and ability to play multiple infield positions.[1][2] He played college baseball for the Baylor Bears.

Amateur career[]

Wendzel attended JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California.[3] Unselected in the 2016 MLB draft, he enrolled at Baylor University to play college baseball for the Baylor Bears where he'd go on to become an All-American thirdbaseman and Big 12 Conference Baseball Player of the Year.

In 2017, Wendzel's freshman year at Baylor, he appeared in fifty games (47 being starts), hitting .301 with eight home runs and thirty RBIs, earning a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.[4][5] As a sophomore in 2018, he started 58 games and batted .310 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs.[6] After the season, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 37th round of the 2018 MLB draft, but did not sign.[7] He played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks that summer.[8][9] In 2019, his junior season, he hit .367 with eight home runs, 42 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in 46 games and was named the 2019 Big 12 Co-Player of the Year (along with Texas Tech's Josh Jung).[10][11]

Professional career[]

Davis Wendzel steps to the plate for the Frisco Roughriders vs Midland Rockhounds. Photo by Eddie Kelly @bigedmachine

Wendzel was selected by the Texas Rangers in the Competitive Balance Round A, with the 41st overall pick, of the 2019 MLB draft.[12][13] On July 3, 2019, Wendzel signed with the Rangers for a $1.6 million signing bonus.[14] After signing, Wendzel sat out of game action while rehabbing a thumb injury that he suffered in June while playing for Baylor.[15] On August 22, he was assigned to the Arizona League Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League and made his professional debut.[16] On August 30, Wendzel and the AZL Rangers won the 2019 Arizona League championship.[17] Wendzel finished the 2019 season with the Spokane Indians of the Class A Short Season Northwest League.[18] Over seven games between the two teams, he batted .316 with one home run.[19]

Wendzel did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Central.[20] On May 27, he was placed the injured list with a hamate bone fracture, and was activated in mid-August.[21] After the end of Frisco's season in mid-September, he was promoted to the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A West.[22]

References[]

  1. ^ "Rangers Top Prospects".
  2. ^ "Five Prospects to Watch as Rangers Minor League Season Begins".
  3. ^ Dan Arritt (March 6, 2018). "Playing the next stage". Orange County Catholic. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. ^ Brice Cherry (March 21, 2019). "Texan-by-choice Wendzel making waves as Baylor's middle-of-order slugger". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Kevin Lyttle (May 23, 2017). "Texas Tech, TCU haul in Big 12 baseball top awards - Statesman U". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  6. ^ "Bradford, Langeliers, Wendzel named D1Baseball Preseason All-Americans". 25 ABC KXXV. January 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  7. ^ Zach Cavanagh (June 22, 2018). "Three Lions: Trio of JSerra Alums Selected in MLB Draft". The Capistrano Dispatch. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  8. ^ Blake Richardson (July 10, 2018). "Standouts from Cape Cod PDP event". MLB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  9. ^ "#8 Davis Wendzel". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Dave Nichols (June 4, 2019). "MLB draft: Texas Rangers use top picks on college players who could end up with Spokane Indians". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Don Williams (May 21, 2019). "Big 12 coaches honor Jung as co-player of the year". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  12. ^ Steve Fryer (June 3, 2019). "Former JSerra players Davis Wendzel, Chase Strumpf selected in MLB Draft". Orange County Register. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Jeff Wilson (June 3, 2019). "The Rangers weren't done drafting Monday with Jung at No. 8. Here's who else they added". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  14. ^ T.R. Sullivan (July 2, 2019). "Jung, Wendzel reach agreements". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  15. ^ Evan Grant (August 2, 2019). "Briefly: Wendzel injured his thumb while playing for Baylor". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  16. ^ Jordan Wolf (August 28, 2019). "Wendzel helps AZL Rangers reach semis". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  17. ^ Jordan Wolf (August 31, 2019). "Hernandez leads Rangers to AZL title". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  18. ^ Staff Report (September 6, 2019). "Spokane Indians season ends in Tri-Cities". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  19. ^ "Rangers' Davis Wendzel: Impacted by injury in 2019".
  20. ^ "Where will Rangers' top prospects begin '21?".
  21. ^ "Rangers prospect Davis Wendzel out with hamate bone fracture". 27 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Rangers promote Cole Winn, Davis Wendzel and Sam Huff to Triple-A Round Rock". 24 September 2021.

External links[]

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