ARLINGTON
The final five Texas Rangers games of 2017 have turned into a tryout camp of sorts for 2018, with young players being given some experience to take with them into the off-season while the coaches and scouts evaluate what they’re seeing.
Chief among them is Willie Calhoun, the prized prospect in the Yu Darvish trade who was called up Sept. 12 but only because Rangers veterans started to break down physically.
That group was shut down Wednesday, after the Rangers were eliminated from postseason contention, and Calhoun has been in the starting lineup to receive regular at-bats since.
For Game 161 on Saturday, he vaulted to the No. 2 spot in the lineup after batting no higher than sixth in any of his first five career starts. A different spot meant a different look for the player who hit 59 minor-league homers the past two years.
Calhoun has been hitting, going 6 for 10 the past three games. In so doing, he has further convinced the Rangers that he is going to hit in the majors and established himself as a bona-fide contender for a spot on the Opening Day roster next season.
“He’s having professional at-bats,” manager Jeff Banister said. “We’ve seen the use of the hands and the barrel. I’ve got to believe that the major-league setting here is for him, there’s high confidence. It took a little while to get him going, but he seems to be in a nice groove.
“Everything that he’s doing now has got to give him great confidence to finish out the year and be able to go into the off-season feeling good about himself and ready to come to spring training and compete for a job.”
Calhoun still has work to do in other facets to make himself a more complete candidate for the 2018 roster. The Rangers have played him only in left field since acquiring him from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Triple A team, and he needs to continue to gain experience after playing second base most of his career.
He hasn’t been a liability in his small sampling there. He’s been better than was advertised, though there are concerns about his arm strength.
Of those who might compete with him, Ryan Rua and Drew Robinson, are more accomplished defenders.
“He just started playing the outfield,” said Delino DeShields, another candidate for left field if the Rangers add a center fielder in the off-season. “He got traded over here for a reason. I feel like he’s going to contribute.”
The speed of the game is already starting to slow for Calhoun, who told himself to treat each game with the Rangers as he did games this season at his Triple A stops in Round Rock and Oklahoma City.
Confidence isn’t an issue for a player who was rated as the Dodgers’ No. 4 prospect when the Rangers acquired him, right-hander A.J. Alexy and shortstop Brendon Davis. Calhoun is the Rangers’ No. 2 prospect behind center fielder Leodys Taveras.
Calhoun’s promotion following injuries to Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gomez and Mike Napoli has allow him to get to know Rangers coaches and players ahead of spring training, so he will be at ease when he arrives to Surprise, Ariz., in February.
When he didn’t start for 10 games, he told Banister that he was spending his time watching how Beltre went about his business. Calhoun studied what pitchers were doing and would talk about what he saw.
That kind of experience and exposure should give him a boost of confidence and possibly a head-start as he vies for a job.
“I’m obviously going to feel confident regardless of what happens,” said Calhoun, who connected for his first career homer Wednesday against Justin Verlander. “I have no control over that [winning a job]. I’m just going to give it my all and go out there and give it 100 percent every day.”
The Rangers have no complaints about what they’ve seen from Calhoun as the end of their season turned into a tryout camp for 2018.
“He’s going to be a good player,” DeShields said. “He’s a scrappy player. Hits the ball hard, and that’s what you want.”
Jeff Wilson: 817-390-7760, @JeffWilson_FWST
Oakland | 000 | 002 | 011 | — | 4 | 8 | 1 |
Texas | 041 | 002 | 10x | — | 8 | 13 | 3 |
Oakland AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. | |
Semien ss | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .249 |
Joyce rf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .243 |
Nunez lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 |
Lowrie 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .277 |
Davis dh | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .246 |
Healy 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .271 |
Chapman 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .234 |
Maxwell c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .237 |
Canha lf-rf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .207 |
Smolinski cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
Totals 35 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 7 | ||
Texas AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. | |
DeShields cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .268 |
Calhoun lf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .267 |
Andrus ss | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .297 |
Middlebrooks 3b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .216 |
Mazara dh | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .253 |
Gallo 1b | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .209 |
Robinson 3b-ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .221 |
Nicholas c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .254 |
Odor 2b | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .205 |
Hoying rf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .222 |
Totals 34 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 5 | ||
E—Casilla (1), Calhoun (1), Robinson (4), Odor (19). LOB—Oakland 7, Texas 7. 2B—Davis (28), Andrus (44), Odor (21), Hoying (3). HR—Joyce (25), off Bush; Semien (10), off Espino; Gallo (40), off Gossett; Gallo (41), off Castro. RBIs—Semien (40), Joyce (68), Davis (109), Chapman (39), DeShields (22), Calhoun (4), Andrus (88), Gallo 3 (80), Odor (75), Hoying (7). SB—Odor (15), Hoying (3). CS—Robinson (2). Runners left in scoring position—Oakland 3 (Maxwell 3); Texas 5 (Calhoun, Andrus, Mazara, Nicholas, Hoying). RISP—Oakland 1 for 11; Texas 4 for 10. Runners moved up—Healy, Chapman. GIDP—Lowrie, Canha. DP—Texas 2 (Odor, Andrus, Gallo), (Odor, Andrus, Gallo).
Oakland | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
Gossett, L 4-11 | 1 2/3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 6.11 |
Castro | 1 1/3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 4.38 |
Smith | 1 2/3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 6.79 |
Moll | 2/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 10.80 |
Dull | 2/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5.14 |
Casilla | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 4.27 |
Brady | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5.68 |
Texas | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
Cashner, W 11-11 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 99 | 3.40 |
Rodriguez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 6.23 |
Bush | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 3.78 |
Espino | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 6.00 |
Inherited runners-scored—Castro 2-0, Moll 1-0, Dull 1-1. HBP—Bush (Davis). WP—Gossett. Umpires—Home, Tony Randazzo; First, Mike Estabrook; Second, Gerry Davis; Third, Rob Drake. T—3:14. A—32,759 (48,114).
Rangers vs. Athletics
2:05 p.m. Sunday, FSSW
This story was originally published September 30, 2017 11:03 PM.