After breakout season, Osuna headlines Rangers' AFL crop

October 21st, 2024

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Rangers already have a formidable outfield with two-time All-Star Adolis García, a pair of potential future All-Stars in Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford, and ball hawking center fielder Leody Taveras.

Texas' top international signee (Paulino Santana), second-round Draft pick (Dylan Dreiling) and Minor League player of the year (Alejandro Osuna) in 2024 are all outfielders as well. Seeking any edge he can get, Osuna is working to refine his game with the Arizona Fall League's Surprise Saguaros.

Signed for $125,000 out of Mexico in October 2020, Osuna idolizes another outfielder with Mexican roots. At 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, he resembles a more compact version of Alex Verdugo, whom he tries to emulate. He has a similar offensive profile to Verdugo, who has hit more for average than power in the Majors.

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Osuna is coming off his best offensive season yet. The Rangers named him their Minor League player of the year after he hit .292/.362/.507 with 18 homers and 17 steals in 102 games between High-A and Double-A. He led the system in slugging, OPS (.869) and wRC+ (143) and set career highs in almost every offensive category.

He said that he didn't make any major changes at the plate but paying attention to smaller details paid off.

"I just tried to focus on the little things with my hitting coaches," Osuna said. "I just tried to put the ball in play and tried to hit the ball very high and then the results came."

The younger brother of former All-Star closer Roberto Osuna and the nephew of ex-big leaguer Antonio Osuna, he did a better job of driving the ball in the air in 2024, and added strength also resulted in power. Osuna has continued to play well in Arizona, going 8-for-23 (.348) with five extra-base hits in his first six games with the Saguaros.

Arizona Fall League overviews:
ALE: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
ALC: CLE | CWS | DET | KC | MIN
ALW: HOU | LAA | OAK | SEA | TEX
NLE: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NLC: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NLW: AZ | COL | LAD | SD | SF

Rangers hitters in the Fall League

Max Acosta, SS/2B: Signed for $1.65 million out of Venezuela in 2019, Acosta is a solid hitter with gap power and the arm strength for shortstop, though he fits better at second base. He had the best year of his career in 2024, slashing .288/.353/.425 with eight homers and 26 steals in 104 Double-A games.

Cody Freeman, 3B: The younger brother of Guardians outfielder Tyler Freeman, Cody is a hit-over-power guy with strong makeup and the versatility to play all four infield spots as well as catcher. He batted .264/.321/.432 with 14 homers and 15 steals in 123 Double-A games.

Rangers pitchers in the Fall League

Josh Stephan, RHP (No. 25): A rare nondrafted free agent signed out of high school ($20,000 in 2020), Stephan is one of the more polished pitchers in the system but missed the final two months of the season with elbow inflammation. He throws strikes with three pitches, the best of which is a low-80s slider with depth, and logged a 4.94 ERA with a 55/17 K/BB ratio in 58 1/3 innings.

Skylar Hales, RHP (No. 28): Hales owns one of the more unhittable fastballs in the Minors, working at 94-97 mph and touching 100 while his low slot and short arm action produce terrific carry and deception. The 2023 fourth-rounder from Santa Clara posted a 3.18 ERA with a 66/17 K/BB ratio in 56 2/3 innings between High-A and Double-A.

Marc Church, RHP: Church's athleticism and arm speed allow him to generate mid-90s fastballs with tremendous carry and mid-80s sliders with two-plane depth when he's on. Signed for an over-slot $300,000 as an 18th-rounder from an Atlanta high school in 2019, he was bothered by a strained rotator cuff for much of this year. He compiled a 3.22 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 22 1/3 Triple-A innings before making his big league debut with a scoreless inning on Sept. 28.

Leandro Lopez, RHP: Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2021, Lopez works mainly with a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 96 and a 78-82 mph curveball that grades as one of the best in the system. He worked just 13 innings in High-A this year before missing the final 3 1/2 months with shoulder fatigue.

Avery Weems, LHP: Acquired in the December 2020 trade that shipped Lance Lynn to the White Sox, Weems parks at 92-94 mph with his fastball and relies heavily on an upper-80s slider that can be a wipeout pitch at its best. He had Tommy John surgery in February 2023 and returned to the mound this September, pitching eight innings between two Class A stops.