Texas Rangers minor league promotions

The Texas Rangers have minor league promotions which were announced over the past day or two, with several players making the jump from low-A Hickory to high-A High Desert, and from High Desert to AA Frisco.

Most notably, outfielder Ryan Cordell has been promoted from High Desert to Frisco, and is starting in center field for the Roughriders tonight.  Cordell, an 11th round pick out of Liberty in 2013, spent most of 2014 in Hickory before getting a late season promotion to high-A Myrtle Beach, and has spent all of this year in High Desert.  In his two stints in high-A, Cordell has put up a .310/.375/.549 line in 389 plate appearances, with 13 steals in 19 attempts, 35 walks and 66 Ks.  Cordell moved to shortstop at the start of the year, but that conversion didn't really take, although he's played from third base as well, and is someone whose athleticism gives him the chance to be able to perform well enough at various positions that it could give him future value as a bench player in the majors.

Also going from High Desert to Frisco is Alex Burg, the catcher/1B/DH who has been tearing up the Cal League.  He turns 28 in August, so he's not really a prospect, but he's been credited with be a positive influence and mentor to the players at High Desert.

Meanwhile, five players from Hickory have been promoted to High Desert -- pitchers John Fasola, Adam Parks and David Perez, and infielders Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Tripp Martin.  Kiner-Falefa is a 20 year old who was a 4th round pick in 2013, and can play all the infield positions.  He didn't hit for much power at Hickory, but had a .272 batting average and a .354 OBP, with some positive reports about his bat.

Most intriguing of that group, however, is David Perez.  The 22 year old 6'5" righthander generated a bunch of buzz for his electric stuff (and his inability to figure out where it was going) when he pitched for Spokane in 2011 as an 18 year old, but Tommy John surgery derailed him and has had him off the map for a while.  This year, though, Perez has been working in relief, and has an 0.93 ERA in 29 IP over 6 games, allowing 8 runs (3 earned) with 37 Ks against 14 walks.  He's someone who could have an impact as a reliever at some point if he can keep this up.