This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON -- When Jonathan Ornelas made his MLB debut on Aug. 7, 2023, it was rather uneventful. He appeared in eight games (two starts) for Texas down the stretch and went 1-for-7 with four strikeouts.

Just this homestand, Ornelas (the Rangers’ No. 30 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) has collected his first big league extra-base hit, RBI and multihit game.

“It was just awesome to kind of get the first one out of the way [this year],” Ornelas said. “I definitely got some more nerves out of the way and all that good stuff. Just anything I can do to help the team win. It’s awesome.”

A third-round pick as an Arizona high schooler in 2018, Ornelas flew under the radar as a prospect until a big year with Double-A Frisco in 2022. That season, he led the Texas League in hits (157) while ranking eighth in batting (.299), and he won the Rangers' Minor League Defender of the Year Award after playing four positions.

Ornelas didn't perform as well at Triple-A Round Rock in 2023 (.727 OPS in 114 games), but he was on the 40-man roster, and he found himself with a handful of big league at-bats and a World Series ring to his name by year’s end.

Less than a year later, he’s clearly more comfortable at the plate at this level.

“I wouldn't say it's a big difference [between this year and last], but you definitely feel just the comfortability,” Ornelas said. “You can definitely feel how the first couple times, you're anxious and you want to do as much as you can to help the team. You just have so much nervousness and anxiety to get that first hit or whatever it is. Now, kind of getting all that stuff out of the way, having been into games, having some at-bats, I definitely feel more comfortable. I'm still trying to do whatever I can to help the team win.”

Ornelas has been projected as a bench player in the big leagues, but in a short stint this year, he’s looked like an actual contributor to the club as opposed to solely a utility man.

Ornelas won’t be an everyday player for the Rangers right now. With Corey Seager and Marcus Semien manning the middle of the infield and the duo of Joshes (Jung and Smith) at third base, he’s blocked at every relevant position.

But what matters most is contributing when you get the opportunity.

“It's definitely a tough job,” Ornelas said. “It's definitely one of those things where you try to find your flow up here. Then you just never know. Anything can happen, but I just try to do my job and play well. I'm not really into doing anything else. … All in all, baseball is baseball. So the hitting aspect is pretty much the same everywhere you go. You still have to find a way to put the baseball in play, find a way to put the ball in the barrel. I'm just trying to put together some good advice, regardless of where you are.”

Manager Bruce Bochy noted that Ornelas is having the type of at-bats that they like to see from young guys who come up from Triple-A sporadically. He’s not passive at the plate, he’s looking to do damage without being overly aggressive and chasing pitches outside of the zone.

It’s exactly what the Rangers need from an extra infielder batting in the nine-hole.

“Good for him,” Bochy said. “He gives you good defense, he can run and the bat’s just getting better with him. It's not an easy job for a young kid. Sometimes it takes experience, but he faced good pitching and got a nice hit. It's good to see him aggressive. A lot of the time, they come up and they're thinking too much, but he let it go.”