12:47 pm: Texas placed Calhoun on the 10-day injured list prior to today’s game. Outfielder Jason Martin has been recalled from Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding move.
9:14 am: Rangers left fielder/DH Willie Calhoun fractured his forearm after being hit by a Kris Bubic pitch during yesterday’s game against the Royals, manager Chris Woodward told reporters (including Jeff Wilson). A more definitive timetable for his recovery won’t become clear until he undergoes further testing, but he’s obviously looking at a rather significant absence.
It’s unfortunately the latest in a series of injuries that have befallen Calhoun in recent years. The 26-year-old has spent time on the injured list due to leg issues in each of the last three seasons, and he was struck in the face by a Julio Urías pitch during Spring Training in 2020. Those persistent health problems have kept the promising hitter from picking up more than 337 plate appearances in any single major league season.
Calhoun has made 226 trips to the dish this year, hitting at a league average level (.254/.323/.385). That’s not the high-end offensive output the Rangers are hoping for from a player with limited defensive utility, but Calhoun still seems to have the potential to make more of an impact. He was a highly-regarded offensive player during his time as a prospect, and he looked to be on the verge of a breakout after putting up a .269/.323/.524 line in 2019.
Calhoun hasn’t hit for anywhere near that level of power this year, but he’s been one the game’s toughest players to punch out (11.9% strikeout rate). His batted ball metrics also indicate he’s made more quality contact to this point than his bottom line numbers would suggest. The left-handed hitter is scheduled to reach arbitration eligibility for the first time after the season.
Just another busted Ranger top prospect, like Odor and Mazara and others that I can’t recall.
Profar
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Pretty much all of them that have been drafted over the past ten years. The guy in charge of the Rangers draft, Kipp Fagg, has a horrific track record.
And yes, I know Willie wasn’t drafted by the Rangers. But their draft record needs to be called out
Most prospects don’t work out. This isn’t special to the Rangers. Also Odor, Mazara, and Profar were not drafted.
Gotcha guy strikes again. You know what they mean, and the OP said “top” prospects, not prospects in general. Texas’ record is horrific when it comes to drafting and recruiting/signing, period.
Or, maybe it is about development?
Get em..
It seems like more injuries from being hit this year as well all the other injuries that are piling up. MLB might need to take a year off from baseball and have all the players do Ironman Triathlons. I’d be just as interested in that as I would be in watching the product that MLB is providing us with right now.
Right. Because doing an Ironman triathlon will increase a players’ bone density to the point that a baseball thrown 95 mph won’t cause a break when getting hit. That makes sense.
Something’s gotta give, players are dropping at a ridiculous rate, maybe they should just stop playing baseball. By September, we’ll be playing choose your field and pitcher’s mound as good as first base.
Nope, wrong. Getting HBP will always be part of the game and what you are talking about (injuries this year) has nothing to do with this specific case. You were wrong to connect a broken fn arm with joint injuries. Hold an L and learn for the future.
Also, please remember all the joint and muscle injuries come from a shortened preseason. I wrote all offseason long that opening day should have been May 1 and we should have done playoffs in November this year – if that happens, we see less injuries. But nooo, Manfred is a moron so he decided short offseason = tons of injuries = start “on time”. Manfred isn’t cut out for this job, period. He says and does the wrong thing 100% of the time.
I don’t know if I buy in to your theory that all the injuries come from a shortened preseason. Today’s players have year around access to strength and conditioning facilities, as opposed to players from years past. I’m not saying you’re wrong, it’s just that I haven’t seen any quantitative proof, that the players are injured more this year that in years past.
Pshaw, @whyhazee.
Nobody would watch that.
I find it interesting when people post their disdain in re “modern” baseball on a *baseball site*.
I’m a fan of the team that has embraced those traits more than any other. A lineup jam-packed with TTO guys, an endless parade of specialist, power, match up relievers, & subpar defense & base running.
Yet I’ve still watched/listened to at least part of every game they’ve played except one this season.
Now.
I’ve also tied dozens of flys & read a bunch of hook & bullet rags while watching, as Yankee games haven’t kept me on the edge of my seat very often.
But until the day I die, I am quite sure I will always watch the Jints & Yanks every season until they are eliminated.
Ducky, that’s called being a fan. I like the approach of doing other things while the game is on, and I’ve heard that Itzhak Perlman plays his violin while watching the yankees. So there’s that.
Something is clearly wrong in the conditioning world right now with respect to baseball. There are people who think that going for a run every day would be a horrible mistake. Why? I haven’t the foggiest idea.
I’m waiting for the next big lightbulb moment in baseball when people decide there’s a new magic bullet for success. It’s not old versus new in my mind. It’s just that right now, it ain’t working.
I “pitched” in high school & JUCO.
We definitely ran regularly.
Wait though…you had that great explanation from that study in re construction workers as to why we are seeing this rash of injuries. Have you moved away from that?
I am certainly not smart enough to figure out why this is happening. Seems lots of core & muscle strain type stuff. So my automatic assumption is core work & stretching are being ignored.
& I get it. I was a gym rat for decades.
You don’t get swole with pilates & stretching, bro. So I wonder if this is part of what’s happening. Obviously, I’m not in the gym with them so I’ve no definitive idea.
But being an older – & very active fella, I get that stuff. I hunt waterfowl from my kayaks a lot which is great for your core & stretch at least 15 minutes a day.
Had to get old to see the value though.
But: something needs to be addressed. Baseball isn’t football, man. Hard to rationalize all these injuries.
“Wait though…you had that great explanation from that study in re construction workers as to why we are seeing this rash of injuries. Have you moved away from that?”
Crap, I forget what I said.
My nephew is now rehabbing from his second TJ, barely got to pitch in rookie ball after being drafted. His trainer didn’t want him to run and I don’t get why. My theory with running has always been about building up your endurance to train. What’s better than running at building your endurance? Also, the physiology of a repeated motion could be transferred to pitching and/or hitting. I always struggled with consistency on the mound and found that the repetition of running made it easier to repeat my pitching motion.
I think they do a lot of stretching and core work for baseball. But something must be missing for all these injuries to happen.
It was a report that you compiled as an actuary, I believe? Had to do with interrupted work.
Man.
I even told other posters to hit you up because it made tons of sense.
Yeah, I was never much of a fan of running. But I see a lot of pitchers “lose their legs” early. Manifests itself by throwing high. Dead giveaway.
Could be. Every video I see of baseball players working out they’re lifting.
Like I said, man, I am just not smart enough to figure it out.
I think it was about using hours worked as a base for charging premiums for Workers Comp. The theory was that if you worked less hours you were less likely to be injured. I was thinking that working 40 hours instead of 20 hours didn’t expose you to twice the risk. In fact, the more often you worked, the better you were at staying safe.
I think my connection regarded last season’s 60 games, meaning 100 games missed. Players maybe lost some of their ability to avoid injury.
I’m going through a bunch of personal stuff right now and my brain is kind of fried. I hope what I just said makes sense.
You broke it down really well.
Not a big deal, man.
Ya know, you’ve grown on me, serious.
Sincerely hope things are okay in your life.
Hitters crowd the plate more than ever. That increases the chances of being hit.
Being injured by stray pitches = “health problems”. I find that a unique way of putting it.
It’s called “luck” and Calhoun has none.
I was sitting behind home plate at yesterday’s game. The HBP was pretty ugly.
This poor kid is snakebit.
I was out in section 131 right by the Rangers bullpen and I agree. Looked bad. I was shocked when he stayed in at first.
Darvish from his small Dodger stint sti has a higher WAR than Calhoun 4 years later
Dodgers never seem to have to give up the top end prospects. The didn’t for Darvish or Betts. Lux, May, and Urias would look great in Texas now
Willie Calhoun apparently has the bone density of a 67 year old woman. Guy is always breaking something it seems
Pitch was on a change up. 78.7 mph.
Calhoun crowds the plate. He turns slightly and gets hit. Unfortunately he paid the price.
SUSPEND Kris Bublc IMMEDIATELY !!
This is is absolute top baseball league in the world.
It’s players are supposed to be top performers.
It is long past the time that pitchers and the team’s they play for be held accountable for their lack of control that results in the injury to a member of the opposing team.
The pitcher responsible for throwing the pitch that injures a player should
IMMEDIATELY be SUSPENDED without ANY ROSTER ADJUSTMENTS PERMITTED
for the Full length of time that the injured player is unable to compete at the major league level.