Married Cori...has three children: Elvis, Michael and Lucía...His older brother, Erold, played in the Yankees and Tampa Bay organizations from 2000-08...Erold was in Minor-League spring training camp with the Rangers in 2011, and the two played in the same game on 3/15 at Los Angeles-NL.
2022
Combined to hit .249/.303/.404 (133-535) with 32 doubles, 17 home runs, 58 RBI, 66 runs scored and 18 stolen bases in 149 combined games with Oakland and the White Sox...His 17 homers and 49 extra-base hits were the second-highest totals of his career, while his 149 games and 32 doubles were his most since 2017...Slashed .271/.309/.464 (49-181) with eight doubles, nine home runs, 28 RBI, 11 stolen bases (11 attempts) and a .994 fielding percentage (1 E/162 TC) with the Sox after being signed as a free agent on 8/19...Batted .289/.329/.513 (44-152) with nine home runs, 24 RBI, 23 runs scored and 10 stolen bases over his final 36 games and led off in each of Chicago’s final 33 contests...Was Oakland's Opening Day shortstop on 4/8 at Philadelphia...homered with three RBI on 4/11 at Tampa Bay...homered in back-to-back games on 5/24-25 at Seattle...recorded two doubles in consecutive games on 5/31-6/1 vs. Houston...Was released by the Athletics on 8/17 and signed with the Sox as a free agent on 8/19 for the remainder of 2022...Made his White Sox debut as the starting shortstop on 8/19 at Cleveland (0-4)...hit safely in nine consecutive games from 8/27-9/5, going 15-37 (.405) with three doubles, three homers, nine RBI, six runs scored and six multi-hit efforts...Went 2-4 with three RBI and a game-tying double on 8/22 at Kansas City...hit his first home run with the White Sox on 8/31 vs. the Royals...Recorded a season-high four RBI and scored his 1,000th career run on 9/3 vs. Minnesota...posted three straight multi-hit and multi-RBI games from 9/8-10...Hit his first career leadoff homer on 9/8 at Oakland as part of back-to-back homers with Yoán Moncada...started a stretch of three consecutive multi-RBI games from 9/8-10...Collected his 500th career extra-base hit on 9/13 vs. Colorado...Homered in three of his final five games of the season, including a leadoff shot on 10/1 at San Diego (off Mike Clevinger)...Finished the season with 1,997 career hits.
2021
Hit .243 with three home runs and 37 RBI in 146 games in his first season with the A’s after spending his first 12 years with the Texas Rangers...The batting average was his lowest over a full season (hit .194 in 29 games in 2020)…also had his lowest on-base percentage (.294) and OPS (.614) over a full season and his second lowest slugging percentage (.320)...Had the second lowest OPS and slugging percentage in the majors and the fifth lowest on.base percentage in the American League...His OPS was sixth lowest in Oakland history and his slugging percentage was eighth lowest...His runs (60), hits (121), walks (31) and stolen bases (12) were his lowest in a season of 100 or more games…his average of 6.68 plate appearances per strikeout was the second worst mark of his career...Hit .269 (90-for-334) with all three of his home runs and a .680 OPS against right-handed pitchers compared to .190 (31-for-163) with a .478 OPS against left-handers...All three of his home runs were solo shots and all came in the sixth inning or later...Batted .225 at home and now has a .219 career average in the Coliseum, which is his lowest batting average in a ballpark with 100 or more at bats...Hit .154 with a .366 OPS in interleague play, .257 with a .651 OPS against AL competition...Appeared exclusively at shortstop on defense where he played in 143 games, including 141 starts…has now played 1,771 career games in the field, all at shortstop…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he has the eighth longest career-opening streak of appearing only at shortstop in Major League history behind Derek Jeter (2674), Luis Aparicio (2583), Ozzie Smith (2511), Alan Trammell (1910), Roger Peckinpaugh (1857), Miguel Tejada (1846) and Leo Cardenas (1828)...Committed 15 errors, which was fifth most among AL shortstops...Also went 0-for-2 as a pinch hitter...Tied for eighth in the AL in reaching base on an error (7)...Led the A’s with 72 starts batting ninth and 37 starts hitting eighth…also started 17 games batting second and 15 hitting seventh.
2020
Was hampered by a back injury for much of the season and batted .194/.252/.330/.582 with three home runs and seven RBI in 29 games with Texas…while he appeared in less than half the Rangers’ games in the abbreviated campaign, it marked his lowest batting average, slugging percentage and OPS in any season…his batting average was above .200 following just two games all season: July 29 (.235) and Aug. 1 (.208)…produced a negative baseball-reference WAR figure (-0.5) for the first time in his career…all 29 of his games came at shortstop and he now has 1628 career games in the field, all at short…according the Elias Sports Bureau, he has the eighth longest career-opening streak of appearing only at shortstop in Major League history (seventh is Leo Cardenas with 1828 from July 25, 1960-July 27, 1973)…had two stints on the 10-day injured list: Aug. 20-30 (lower back strain) and Sept. 12 (Game 2) through the end of the season (back strain)…his back ailment was a facet joint sprain, which is a ligament in the left side of his lower back…while the condition did not require surgery, he received treatment in the form of injections on Sept. 14…set a Rangers record with his 12th consecutive Opening Day start on July 24 against Colorado, all of which have come at shortstop…broke the previous mark of 11 by Ivan Rodriguez and Michael Young…went homerless over his first 21 games before going deep three times over a seven-game stretch from Sept. 1-11…his only game with multiple strikeouts was July 31 at San Francisco…did not have multiple runs scored in any game and his lone multi-RBI effort was July 29 vs. Arizona…three of his eight walks came in the second game of the season on July 25 vs. Colorado…had five walks in is final 27 games and 102 plate appearances…collected his 300th career double Aug. 5 at Oakland.
2019
Ranked among A.L. leaders in singles (6th, 122) and AB (10th, 600)…on 10-day injured list from 5/15-24 with a right hamstring strain…led the Rangers in hits (165) and multi-hit games (47), was 2nd in batting average (.275), games (147), runs (81), and triples (4-tied), and ranked 3rd in RBI (72) and doubles (27-tied)…started 146 games at shortstop and one as the DH…finished as the all-time Globe Life Park in Arlington (1994-2019) leader in steals (157), ranking 2nd to only Michael Young in games (814), hits (866), runs (451), doubles (152) and triples (34).
2018
In a season slowed by his 1st career disabled list stint, Andrus posted career lows in games (97), runs (53), hits (101), RBI (33) and steals (5)…had never played fewer than 145 G in any ML season…went 1-for- 24 with 3 BB, 3 SO, and one run scored over 7 G on injury rehabilitation assignment with Frisco (5 G) and Round Rock (2 G) before his return from the DL. Posted 1500th career hit on 7/23/18 vs. OAK…held .327 (17-52) BA over first 14 G last season when he went on DL…after return from DL on 6/18, batted .245/.289/.347/.636 (84-343) in final 83 G…had .205 (32-156) BA over final 41 G beginning 8/11…career-high 19 G hit streak from 7/15-8/8 (.345, 29-84) was T2nd-longest in MLB in 2018… it was T16th-longest in Texas history, longest since an Adrián Beltré 19-G run from 7/16-9/15/11…in 2017, his .354 BA (28-79) in close and late situations ranked 5th in the A.L…his .293 (225-767) career avg. in close-and-late PA's is 8th-best in majors since 2009 (600+ AB's), including ranking 2nd in MLB with .318 (90-283) mark since start of 2015 (min. 200 AB)… only player ahead of him in that span is Adrián Beltré (.322).
2017
Started 158 of 162 games // 157 at SS, 1 as DH…made starts in every spot in the batting order, just the 4th player in Rangers history to accomplish that feat (others // Billy Sample in 1983; Mike Hargrove and Ken Henderson in 1977)…his 2017 included first 4 starts ever in cleanup slot // 4/23 vs. KC, 5/4 at HOU, 5/5-6 at SEA…became just the 15th player in ML history (since 1933) to have 100+ H, 20+ 2B, 20+ SB, and 50+ RBI before the All-Star break in a season, and just the 4th on the list to not be selected for that year's ASG (others LAA's Devon White in 1987, CIN's Bobby Tolan in 1972, and CIN's Vada Pinson in 1963)…Andrus was part of the A.L. ASG Final Vote last season, which was won by KC's Mike Moustakas.
2016
Established career highs in the slash categories with a .302 average, .362 OBP, .439 SLG, and .800 OPS in 2016…also had career highs in home runs (8), RBI (69), and extra-base hits (46), all while posting his fewest strikeouts (70) in any season…the team-high .302 avg. was 10th in the A.L., his 1st career .300 season, 2nd highest among ML SS (LAD's Corey Seager-.309)…his .800 OPS ranked 2nd among Rangers (Beltre-.879) and 3rd among A.L. shortstops to only HOU's Carlos Correa (.804) and BOS' Xander Bogaerts (.802)…had 222 total bases, 2nd-highest total of his career (238 in 2012)…according to STATS LLC, Andrus' line drive percentage of 26.2% was the highest of his career, highest among qualifying Rangers, and 13th-best in the A.L…ranked among A.L. leaders in triples (T3rd, 7), sac flies (T5th, 7), stolen bases (T7th, 24), average vs. LHP (1st, .348), average with RISP (1st, .378), and plate appearances per strikeout (10th, 8.1)…twice won Rangers Player of the Month honors (April and Sept./Oct.), 1st such selections in his career.
POSTSEASON
Has started each of Rangers' 42 playoff games since 2010 at shortstop, T2nd-most games for any A.L. player in that span (52-Mike Napoli, 42-Josh Hamilton)… is Texas' all-time postseason leader in hits (46), steals (9), games, multi-hit games (14), and at-bats (173), and ranks 2nd in runs (21) to Nelson Cruz (26)…had team-high 4 hits in 2016 ALDS loss vs. TOR, hits in all 3 games, and has an active 10- game postseason hit streak in Arlington (.390, 16-41)…hit lone postseason HR in 2016 ALDS G3 at TOR, the only such HR ever by a Texas SS, which had been the only position (outside of pitcher) without a playoff HR for the Rangers…had hits in 3 of 5 games in 2015 ALDS…went 2-for-4 in club's loss to BAL in 2012 A.L. Wild Card Game…in 2011, batted .235 (16-68) in the 17 playoff games, hitting safely in 11 of those…was 2-for- 14 in ALDS vs. TB, a pair of singles in Game 3…batted .240 (6-25) in the 6-game ALCS vs. DET with lone stolen base of postseason coming in Game 6…had a .276 (8-29) average in the World Series against STL, hitting safely in Games 2-6… scored the winning run in top of 9th of Game 2…was team leader in at-bats (68), hits (20), and steals (8) in 2010 playoffs, as 8 SB remain T5th-most ever in a single postseason…had a .294 overall average with 4 RBI…hit safely in each of 1st 12 playoff games (5-ALDS; 6-ALCS; 1 WS) at .333 (18-54), tying 3rd-longest hit streak to begin postseason career in baseball history…matched Nelson Cruz for most hits in the ALDS (8), youngest player to lead or tie a playoff series in hits since Mets' Gregg Jeffries had 9 at age 21 in 1988 NLCS vs. the Dodgers…had steal of home on double steal in the 1st inning of ALCS Game 2 vs. NYY, the 1st steal of home in a playoff game since ANA's Brad Fullmer in Game 2 of 2002 WS vs. SF.
2015
After a slow start to the year, Andrus rebounded and was a key part of the offense in the Rangers' surge to the postseason…for the year, batted .258 (154-596), setting career highs with 7 HR and 160 games, adding a team-high 34 doubles along with 62 RBI…compiled his highest OPS (.667) since his All-Star season in 2012 (career-high .727) and posted 2nd-most total bases (213) in his career (238 in 2012)…career lows in average, on-base pct. (.309), and pitches per PA (3.69)…had a team-high 159 starts, appearing in all but 2 games for Texas.
2014
In his 6th ML season, led Rangers in games (157), plate appearances (685), at-bats (619, 8th in A.L.), singles (tied-125), doubles (career-high 35, T10th in A.L.), sac flies (7), and sac hits (9, T4th in A.L.)...joined Michael Young (2005-06-07-08) as only Texas shortstops with at least 35 doubles in a season...ranked 2nd on team in runs (72), hits (163), and total bases (206), finished 3rd in walks (46) and extra-base hits (38), and was 4th in RBI (41)...the 72 runs tied a career low (also 2009)...team-high 21 GIDP's, T3rd in A.L. and T9th-most in a season in club history...his 38 extra-base hits were 2nd-most of his career (43 in 2012), but had career-low one triple after 3+ triples in each of his first 5 seasons...his .263 avg. and .314 OBP in 2014 were both career lows...started 152 games at short and 4 at DH.
2013
Led the A.L. in singles (143) and sacrifice bunts (16) and tied for 3rd in steals (42)…topped the Rangers in runs (91), walks (52), and stolen bases, was 2nd in games (156), at bats (620), and hits (168), ranked 3rd among qualifiers in on-base percentage (.328), and was 4th in batting (.271)…set career highs for RBI (67), steals, sac flies (6), and strikeouts (97)… was the only ML player with at least 90 runs, 60 RBI, and 40 steals… started 145 games at short and 10 as the DH…played for Venezuela in World Baseball Classic, going 2-for-7 with 2 RBI and 2 stolen bases in 2 games.
2012
Had the best offensive season of his major league career, ranking 2nd in the A.L. in triples (9), singles (137) and infield hits (38), all team bests, while also placing among the league leaders in at bats (T6th, 629) and hits (11th, 180)...was among the Rangers leaders in games (2nd, 158), at bats (2nd), hits (2nd), stolen bases (2nd, 21), average (3rd, .286), and runs (5th, 85)...established career highs for batting average, games, at bats, hits, total bases (238), doubles (31), triples, and extra base hits (43)...tied for the 4th-most triples in Rangers history, most since Michael Young had 9 in 2004...was one of 7 A.L. hitters with at least 60 RBI, 80 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases...started 154 games at shortstop and 4 as the DH...SELECT COMPANY: Andrus batted .286 with 180 hits and 62 RBI in 2012...over the last 9 seasons since 2004, the only other A.L. shortstops with minimums of a .285 average, 180 hits, and 60 RBI in a season are Derek Jeter (5 times), Michael Young (4), Miguel Tejada (3), and Orlando Cabrera (1)...BATTING: Had a .230 average in his 1st 15 games through April 22 before batting .382 (39-102) over next 26 games, improving to .325 on May 20...hit .213 (17-80) over next 20 games through June 13 before batting .313 (86-275) in next 68 contests to give him a .301 mark through Sept. 2...hit .216 (24-111) in final 29 games...produced a season-best 4 hits on 3 occasions: May 13 and August 1 vs. LAA, and August 19 at Toronto...posted a season high 13-game hitting streak, July 7-25; an 11-game streak, April 30-May 11; and a 10-gamer, June 23-July 3...5th in the A.L. with runners in scoring position at .350 avg. (49-140) and ranked 4th in the circuit with a .319 mark in the 7th inning or later...in win May 13 vs. LAA, had 3 hits with RISP...his .316 (24-76) avg. in late and close situations was best among Rangers and 11th in A.L...had similar home/road splits in most categories, posting .287/.346/.373 at home and .286/.351/.384 on the road...was 2nd hitter in the order for a 2nd straight year, with 149 starts in no. 2 spot and 5 starts as leadoff man...despite ranking 3rd on club with 57 walks, had 2 longest walk-less streaks of his career: 19 games (Aug. 17-Sept. 7) and 15 games (Sept. 13-28)...MISCELLANEOUS: Had career-high 32-game on-base streak from April 9-May 14, longest in A.L. and tied with the Cubs' Brian LaHair (April 8-May 15) for longest such streak in the majors in 2012...reached base safely in 37 consecutive starts, April 20-May 20...matched career high with 4 runs scored on May 8 at Baltimore, when he was on base for all 4 Josh Hamilton home runs...had A.L.-high 22 runs in May, 2nd-highest monthly total of his career (24 in May 2010)...his 10th inning RBI single gave Texas an 11-10 victory on August 1 vs. LAA after club trailed 6-0 in the 3rd inning...became the first Ranger ever with a triple and another extra-base hit (2B) in one inning on Sept. 14 vs. Seattle (8th)...had a sac bunt in 3 straight games, Sept. 22-24, T2nd-longest streak in team history...was 6-for-17 (.353) in 4 games as the designated hitter...only months with more than one non-start were May (2) and August (3)...played for Magallanes in Venezuelan Winter League, batting .234 (15-64) with a homer and 8 RBI in 17 regular season games and .325 (25-77) with 2 HR, 6 RBI and 18 runs in 23 playoff games.
2011
Playing the majority of the year at age 22, was among the A.L. leaders in sacrifice hits (3rd, 16), caught stealing (T4th, 12) and stolen bases (37)...ranked among team leaders in steals (1st), hits (2nd, 164), runs (2nd, 96), games (150), at-bats (587), walks (3rd, 56), on-base percentage (3rd, .347), and batting (4th, .279)... established career highs in average, runs, RBI (60), doubles (27), stolen bases, games, on-base pct., total bases (212), and OPS (.708)...after hitting leadoff for most of 2010, batted in the 2nd position for most of year with just 9 starts in the top slot...his 96 runs were the 2nd-most of any ML shortstop (Jose Reyes, 101), the youngest player to score at least 96 runs since Carlos Beltran in 1999...only younger Ranger with that many runs was Ruben Sierra, who was 21 when he scored 97 runs in 1987 (age as of June 30)...also ranked 2nd among A.L. shortstops in walks.
2010
Led the Rangers in walks (64) and ranked among club leaders in games (3rd, 148), runs (3rd, 88), hits (4th, 156), and hit by pitches (T3rd, 5)...averaged 4.02 pitches per plate appearance, 2nd-best among Texas regulars (Murphy-4.08 P/PA)...placed 4th in the A.L. with a .347 (42-121) average with runners in scoring position, batting .500 (13-26) in that situation through May 17...moved into the leadoff spot on April 18 at Yankee Stadium and made each of his final 133 starts batting 1st...among A.L. leadoff batters, ranked 2nd in walks (58) and T4th in runs scored (86).
BATTING: Had a .331 average (45-136) over 1st 38 games through May 18, his highest figure all year after season's 1st 10 games...hit .213 (26-122) in next 28 games from May 19-June 20, dropping to .275...hit safely in final 8 games in June at .455 (15-33) to rise from .275 to .296...beginning July 1, hit .236 (70-297) over final 74 games...became just the 3rd Ranger with 3 hit streaks of at least 13 games (14 games, April 28-May 14 and Aug. 8-24; 13 games, May 23-June 8), joining Ruben Sierra (3 in 1991) and Michael Young (3 in 2008) ...only other players with multiple hit streaks of 13+ games in 2010 were Ichiro Suzuki, Miguel Cabrera, Mark Ellis, Matt Holliday, and Corey Hart (all 2 each) with Orlando Cabrera in 2009 with Oakland and Minnesota the last with 3 such streaks in one year...matched career high with a pair of 4-hit games, May 13 vs. Oakland and July 30 at Los Angeles (AL)...had 3 hits on July 18 at Boston to snap 0-for-26 drought.
ALL-STAR: Selected to 1st All-Star team via player voting, finishing 2nd to the fan-elected Derek Jeter...at 21 years, 10 months was Texas' 2nd youngest All-Star ever behind Ivan Rodriguez (20 years, 8 mos.) in 1992...pinch-ran for Jeter at 1st base in the 6th inning of July 13 game in Anaheim and was caught stealing by Brian McCann on a strikeout by Paul Konerko, the next batter...grounded out against Brian Wilson in 8th inning in A.L.'s 3-1 defeat.
POSTSEASON: Started all 16 playoff games at shortstop, hitting .294...at 22 years, 44 days on day of Game 1 of ALDS, was the youngest Ranger to ever appear in a playoff game...was team's postseason leader in at bats (68), hits (20), and steals (8) and ranked 3rd in average and runs (8)...tied for 5th most steals ever in a single postseason...hit safely in each of 1st 12 playoff games (5-ALDS; 6-ALCS; 1 WS) at .333 (18-54) before going 2-14 in final 4 games of the fall classic...matched 3rd longest hit streak to begin postseason career in history...fielded .957 (3 E/69 TC). Was 8-for-24 (.333) in the ALDS against Tampa Bay with 2 hits each in Games 2, 4, and 5...matched Nelson Cruz for most hits in the series, youngest player to lead or tie a playoff series in hits since Mets' Gregg Jeffries had 9 at age 21 in 1988 NLCS vs. the Dodgers...after 1st inning leadoff single and stolen base scored all the way from 2nd on Josh Hamilton groundout for Texas' 1st run in 5th and deciding game...also hit .333 (9-27) with 4 steals in ALCS versus New York...had a pair of hits and 2 SB in Game 2, including steal of home on double steal in 1st inning...was 1st steal of home in a playoff game since Anaheim's Brad Fullmer in Game 2 of 2002 WS vs. San Francisco...went 3-for-5 in Game 4...was 3-for-17 in World Series vs. the Giants with 2 hits in Game 3.
MISCELLANEOUS: Exited in 3rd inning Sept. 4 at Minnesota with tightness in right hamstring, and missed final 5 games of road trip Sept. 5-9, his 1st time to miss consecutive starts in his big league career (2009-10)...hit a walk-off bases loaded single in the 9th inning on April 23 vs. Detroit on night Rangers were honoring Elvis Presley...at 21 years, 8 months, was youngest Texas player with a walk-off hit since Ivan Rodriguez on May 24, 1992...had 54 runs scored in 1st 74 games through end of June (0.73 R/G), but just 34 runs in final 74 games (0.46 R/G)...went 23 games without an extra-base hit, June 9-July 4, longest streak by a Ranger since Michael Young went 24 games, June 16-July 15, 2007...had 2 extra-base hits (doubles) over final 39 games beginning Aug. 13... did not play winter ball after 2010 season.
2009
In first major league action, ranked among American League leaders in sacrifice bunts (T4th, 12), triples (T5th, 8), stolen bases (6th, 33/9th in majors), and bunt hits (T7th, 6)...led club in triples, steals, sac bunts, bunt hits, and infield hits (19) and ranked among team leaders in hits games (2nd, 145), singles (2nd, 97), hit by pitches (T2nd, 6), hits (4th, 128), runs (4th, 72), times on base (4th, 174), runs created (5th, 63), walks (6th, 40), and total bases (7th, 179)...averaged a GIDP every 120.0 at-bats, the third best ratio among qualifying A.L. players...his 2.46 ground ball/fly ball ratio was fifth best in the majors and 2nd-best in the A.L., trailing only Derek Jeter (2.63) in that category.
2008
The youngest player to appear in the Texas League all season, Andrus batted .295 with 4 home runs, 19 doubles, 82 runs, 65 RBI, and 54 stolen bases in 118 games with Frisco (AA)...rated by Baseball America as league's best defensive shortstop and no. 5 prospect after the season...ranked as one of the top 40 prospects in baseball by both Will Lingo (no. 32) and John Manuel (no. 37) at that publication...also rated as a top baseball prospect by both ESPN.com (no. 39) and MLB.com (no. 21)...had play hampered and missed 16 days after suffering a fractured finger on his right hand in late May, but did not go on the disabled list...his career-high 54 steals led all players in the Rangers organization and ranked 2nd in the league...his .295 average ranked 4th in the Texas League...despite the missed time and appearing in fewer games than 2007, still established career bests in average, runs, hits, and RBI...was starting shortstop for the World Team in the 2008 Futures Game at Yankee Stadium on July 13, going 0-for-1 with a walk, stolen base, and run scored...went 0-for-3 for South Team in Texas League All-Star Game on June 25 in Springfield, Mo., a 7-3 South win in 10 innings...also selected to the Texas League Postseason All-Star team.
2007
Split season with pair of High-A clubs, combining to bat .257 (127-495) with 5 home runs, 22 doubles, and 49 RBI in 126 games for Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League and Bakersfield in the California League...established career highs in games, at-bats, runs (78), hits, total bases (170), walks (54), and stolen bases (40)...he was the youngest player in the Carolina League, 4thyoungest in the Cal League...he was the 8th-youngest player to appear in the top 3 levels of the Minor Leagues in 2007, and more than doubled the number of games played by any other player on that list...Andrus was the youngest player in the Minors to spend the duration of the season at the High-A level or better...over final 31 games combined in the two organizations, batted .315 (40-127) to raise final average from .236 to .257...hit primarily second in batting order the entire season...batted 100 points higher in road games (.301, 83-276) vs. home games (.201, 44-219)...was successful in 22 of his final 25 steal attempts with Myrtle Beach, including a stretch of 16 straight without being caught from May 4-June 12...had 3 steals on June 1 (G1) at Frederick...selected to World Roster for Futures Game on July 8 in San Francisco, going 0-for-2...pinch-hit in 5th and grounded out to short against Luke Hochevar, then struck out swinging against Clayton Kershaw in the 7th and final inning...made his Bakersfield debut on Aug. 1 at Visalia, the day after the trade was finalized, going 0-for-5...went just 4-for-21 (.190) in his first 5 games with the Blaze, but would bat .326 (29- 89) the rest of the way...went 4-for-5 on Aug. 15 at High Desert, posting season highs for hits and runs (4)...had no errors in last 13 games for Blaze...named to Arizona Fall League's Top Prospects Team after batting .353 (18-51) with a .411 on-base pct. for West Division champion Surprise Rafters...hit safely in 12 of 15 games for Surprise despite being youngest player in the league...named 3rd-best prospect in the Carolina League by Baseball America after the season...was rated no. 65 on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects prior to the season.
2006
Spent entire season at Rome (A), ranking sixth among all Braves minor leaguers with 25 doubles and 23 stolen bases, and seventh with 67 runs scored...was selected to SAL All-Star squad as a utility infielder after hitting .281 with 32 RBI in the first half...played in 2 games for Magallanes of Venezuelan Winter League...was named Atlanta's second-best prospect by Baseball America following the season, fourth-best prospect in the South Atlantic League.
2005
Earned MVP honors for the Gulf Coast Braves (Rookie)...led the club in hits (49), on-base pct. (.377), stolen bases (7), runs scored (26) and walks (19)...reached base safely via hit or walk in 35 of 46 contests...was honored by the Braves organization as GCL July Player of the Month when he batted .351 (27-77) with 15 RBI...his overall .293 average was ninthbest among Braves minor leaguers...earned promotion at end of year to Danville (rookie) on Aug. 29 and hit .400 in the Appalachian League championship series....selected as Braves' second-best overall prospect by Baseball America following the season.
