'I learned a ton': Zavala on first pro season

ARLINGTON -- Rangers prospect and 2021 second-rounder Aaron Zavala has had a travel packed 2021.

The outfielder started the year in his hometown of Eugene, Ore., in college at the University of Oregon, attending classes and traveling across the Pacific Northwest throughout conference play.

Zavala, the Rangers’ No. 18 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, currently holds a number of hitting records for the Oregon baseball program, including on-base percentage (.525), runs (65) and walks (50) en route to Pacific-12 Conference Player of the Year honors this past spring.

Then he went to Surprise, Ari., in August after being selected by the Rangers in the second round of the 2021 Draft, and was shipped off to North Carolina after being promoted to the Low-A Down East Wood Ducks.

In October, he concluded his first professional season in Fort Worth, Texas, as the club wrapped up instructional league with a Texas Tour, where a number of prospects faced four college baseball teams in the state before going their separate ways for the offseason.

Zavala wound up back in Surprise in the offseason, working with Texas coaching on a variety of things to get him prepared for Spring Training. He’ll end the year right back where he started, in Eugene with his family for the holidays after a long few months of work at the Rangers Surprise complex.

“I’m just out at the complex [in Arizona], lifting, hitting, throwing, defense stuff, all that, just normal offseason work and definitely enjoying the weather,” Zavala said. “Just another day. Another dollar.”

In Surprise, he’s been working with ​​Texas’ Minor League strength and conditioning coach Logan Frandsen and High-A Down East hitting coach Eric Dorton to ramp up and get ready for Spring Training.

Zavala’s bat and offense is the biggest standout of his game; the 21-year-old is an average to above average defense at the corner outfield spots that makes him a solid all-around prospect for the Rangers.

But improving his defense has still been an emphasis this offseason.

“That was a big thing in instructs that we're working on just improving routes, getting more reps and gaining experience,” Zavala said. “I'm still relatively new to the position. I didn’t start playing until my sophomore year of college. So I’m just still just trying to learn and be a sponge and continue to grow. That was the big thing that we focused on and then just kind of taking those things I learned and applying them this offseason and just trying to try to make the most of it.”

Zavala said it was tough leaving his home to start for the next chapter, but he was ready and willing to take the step for this opportunity with the Rangers.

“It was a good first experience after I had ended the year in Down East with a lot of great guys,” Zavala said. “I learned a ton and hopefully I learned enough to be able to go into the offseason and make some adjustments to perform next year.”

He noted that the lifestyle is a lot easier now than it was in college since he doesn’t have to worry about anything other than baseball. So Zavala thrived in their first years of professional ball, starting in rookie ball in Surprise.

Zavala played just seven games in rookie ball before earning a quick promotion to Low-A Down East in North Carolina. Over 22 games between the Wood Ducks and Arizona, he slashed .293/.419/.400.

Though he received a quick promotion, Zavala said he wasn’t really focused on anything other than performing as well as possible as he transitioned from college ball to the Minors.

“I was just kind of going out there and playing,” Zavala said. "Whenever I got the opportunity to go out and just go play in general, I was ready. I'd say it was definitely different [than college]. I was just finding different adjustments I need to make in terms of my routine and all that. So like I said, I was just using this as a learning experience, head into the offseason and be able to look forward.”