Rangers announce changes to pro, amateur, and international scouting staffs

The Texas Rangers announced the following changes to the club’s scouting staffs today, as well as some additional transactions in the organization:

PROFESSIONAL SCOUTING

• Promoted Greg Smith to Special Assistant, Major League Scout
• Hired Chris Briones as Pro Scout

INTERNATIONAL SCOUTING

• Promoted Jim Colborn to Senior Advisor, Pacific Rim Operations

AMATEUR SCOUTING

• Promoted Mike Grouse to National Crosschecker
• Hired Clarence Johns as National Crosschecker
• Promoted Randy Taylor to Midwest Crosschecker
• Named John Booher as Southeast Crosschecker
• Hired Casey Harvie as West Coast Crosschecker
• Named Jay Heafner as Area Scout in South Texas and Louisiana
• Named Takeshi Sakurayama as Area Scout in Northeast (NY, NJ, MA, CT, RI, ME, VT)
• Named Frankie Thon as Area Scout in South Florida and Puerto Rico
• Hired Doug Banks as Area Scout in Four Corners (AZ, NM, CO, UT)
• Named Steve Watson as Area Scout in Texas
• Hired Jonathan George as Area Scout in Mid-Atlantic (MD, PA, DC, DE, VA, WV)
• Hired Cliff Terracuso as Area Scout in North and Central Florida
• Named Ryan Lakey as Video Scout

OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSACTIONS

• Hired Don Kalkstein as Sports Psychology Consultant
• Promoted Matt Klotsche to Manager, Baseball Operations
• Named Joey Prebynski as Assistant Advance Scout
• Named Paul Kruger as Assistant, Player Development and International Scouting
• Hired Mitchell Webb as Video Coordinator and Research Analyst
• Promoted Brian SanFilippo to Manager, Media Services
• Hired Rob Morse as Manager, Publications and Media Relations

Smith has been promoted after two seasons as a pro scout for Texas, as this will be his 28th season to work in baseball.  Colborn, a former major league pitcher and coach, had served as Director of Pacific Rim Operations since being hired in December 2007.  Grouse, a member of the Midwest Scouts Association Hall of Fame, enters his 21st season with Texas after previously holding the title of Central Crosschecker.  Taylor, a member of the Texas Scouts Association Hall of Fame, enters his 26th season with the Rangers after a long stint as the club’s area scout in Central/Southern Texas and Louisiana.

Briones played nine professional seasons in the minors and most recently served as hitting coach for Yakima, Arizona’s affiliate in the Northwest League.  He was originally selected by Texas in the 26th round of the 1995 June draft and played in the Rangers organization in 1995-96.  Johns joins the Texas organization after working as a crosschecker and regional supervisor for Houston.  Booher, who spent the previous two years as a pro scout for Texas, moves over to the amateur side.  Harvie has 10 years of experience, most recently with LA of Anaheim, and rounds out the amateur crosschecker staff.

Heafner takes on a new territory after previously working in the Northeast, where his signees include Mike Olt.  Sakurayama is in his second season with Texas, first as a full-time area scout, after four seasons as an international scout with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Rakuten Golden Eagles.  Thon has added South Florida to his coverage while continuing to scout in Puerto Rico.  Banks begins his first season as a scout after previously working for the big league club as a batting practice pitcher and bullpen catcher from 2009-11.

Watson, George, and Terracuso are all in their first seasons as scouts in the Texas organization.  Watson is in his first season as a scout.  During his playing career, he was drafted three times (Minnesota-1993; Kansas City-1994 and 1995) and was part of a Galveston Community College team that won the NJCAA National Championship in 1994.  George is in his first year as a scout after eight seasons as a minor league pitcher in the Colorado and Cincinnati organizations.  Terracuso was previously with Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Kalkstein returns for a second stint with the Rangers, as he was previously the club’s Director of Performance Enhancement from 1995-2005.  He has been the Director of Sport Psychology for the Dallas Mavericks since 2001 and was the Sport Psychology Consultant for the Red Sox from 2005 through last season.

Klotsche will be in his fifth season with the Rangers, assisting with arbitration preparation and through various research studies and statistical analysis.  He assists all departments across baseball operations.  Klotsche earned bachelor of science degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and his juris doctorate from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Prebynski previously served as a video coordinator/research analyst, where he oversaw all video responsibilities while also conducting numerous research projects for baseball operations.  He went to the University of Texas-Arlington, where he was also Director of Baseball Operations while earning a master’s of arts in communication and an MBA at the school.