ARLINGTON — The apple doesn’t fall far from the major league team.
The Texas Rangers were devoid of offensive consistency and carried by the best pitching staff in franchise history this season. Their farm system is thin on premier hitters and stocked with intriguing arms.
Put it this way: Their minor league player of the year, Cody Freeman, hasn’t played in the minor leagues since Aug. 10 and isn’t a consensus top-30 prospect in the organization. Their minor league pitcher of the year, David Davalillo, beat out a number of other breakout arms to claim his prize.
The 23-year-old right-hander posted a 2.44 ERA in 107 innings split between High-A Hub City and Double-A Frisco in his fourth professional season this year. He’s the seventh-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline’s system leaderboard; Baseball America slates him eighth.
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He, Freeman, right-hander Eric Loomis (reliever of the year), outfielder Yeremy Cabrera (defender of the year) and catcher Cal Stark (True Ranger award winner) were presented with their honors before Wednesday’s game vs. the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Field.
“My velocity was the main key here,” Davalillo said through interpreter Andres Antonini. “Obviously I grew into my body a little more, got bigger and stronger, and that is what allowed me to not only throw harder but also be able to to throw different pitches to get hitters out.”
Davalillo, whom the Rangers signed for $10,000 after the New York Mets released him three years ago, has arguably the best “pitchability” in the system according to internal evaluators. He does not have the same high-octane velocity that right-handers Caden Scarborough or Winston Santos boast, but, Davalillo’s five-pitch mix and ability to locate makes him effective.
He throws a four-seam fastball, slider, cutter, curveball, sinker. His fastball velocity climbed to 90-95 mph this season and he believes that he has “two or three miles per hour left in me.”
“I like to go based off what I’m seeing out of a hitter and how the hitter is reacting to my pitches,” Davalillo said. “So that two or three miles per hour simple gives me an extra fire in me to blow it by hitters.”
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