Top Texas Rangers Prospects Join Round Rock Express for Final Stretch

ROUND ROCK, Texas – A trio of top Texas Rangers prospects are joining the Round Rock Express just in time for the Triple-A Final Stretch! The club’s #3 prospect RHP Cole Winn, #4 prospect C Sam Huff and #11 prospect INF Davis Wendzel were all promoted from the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders to Round Rock on Thursday afternoon. Each of the prospects are seeking their Triple-A debuts with the Express.

The Express open the final home series of the season tonight against the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners affiliate) at 7:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond. The five-game series is set to run from Thursday, September 23 through Monday, September 27. Tickets are available via RRExpress.com.

Winn is scheduled to start for Round Rock in tonight’s series opener against Tacoma. The righty spent the duration of the 2021 season with Frisco, pitching to a 3-3 record to go along with a 2.31 ERA (20 ER/78.0 IP) in 19 games, all starts. Winn struck out a career-high 97 and walked only 26 in what was just his second professional season. The 21-year-old finished his Double-A campaign ranked among Central League leaders in ERA (2nd, 2.31), strikeout rate (2nd, 36.7%), WHIP (1st, 0.82) and opponent batting average (1st, .144). His miniscule opponent batting average also leads all Minor League Baseball pitchers with at least 70.0 innings on the year.

The Longmont, Colorado native was named the starting pitcher for the American League squad at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in Denver, where he allowed a run and recorded a strikeout in an inning of work. He was originally drafted by the Texas Rangers with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 June draft. Winn made his professional debut with the Class A Hickory Crawdads in 2019, going 4-4 with a 4.46 ERA (34 ER/68.2 IP), 65 strikeouts and 39 walks. Through 37 total games, all starts, to begin his Minor League career, Winn is 7-7 with a 3.31 ERA (54 ER/146.2 IP) to accompany 162 punchouts and 65 walks.

Huff joins the Express after posting a .237 batting average (41-173) with five doubles, 10 home runs and 23 RBI in 46 games for the RoughRiders. He heads to Round Rock swinging a hot bat, hitting .303 (20-66) with five doubles, five home runs and nine RBI through his last 18 games in a Frisco uniform. The backstop suffered a hamstring strain during Spring Training and was on the Rangers’ Injured List from April 1 until beginning a rehab assignment with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Rangers on June 28. He hit .276 (8-29) with two doubles, three home runs and six RBI in eight games before being reinstated from the Injured List and joining Frisco on July 17.

The 23-year-old made his Major League debut with the Rangers on September 11, 2020, going on to appear in 10 games for Texas through the remainder of the season. Huff finished with a .355 average (11-31), three doubles, three home runs and four RBI in his first career action in The Show. He was originally drafted by Texas in the seventh round of the 2016 June draft out of Acadia High School in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. In five total seasons at the minor league level, Huff owns a .261 average (362-1386) to go along with 70 doubles, eight triples, 69 home runs and 204 RBI.

Finally, Wendzel joins Round Rock after 45 games with Frisco, where he hit .239 (38-159) with six doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI in his first full season at the professional level. The infielder opened the year with the RoughRiders, hitting .241 (13-54) with a double, two home runs and six RBI in 17 games before suffering a broken hamate bone on May 27. He began a rehab assignment with the ACL Rangers on July 8 before returning to Frisco on July 17. In his first game back with the club, he suffered a wrist injury and was re-added to the Injured List on July 18. He returned to Frisco on August 19 and batted .238 (24-101) with five doubles, four homers and 16 RBI in 27 games prior to his promotion to Round Rock.

The Irvine, California native was drafted 41st overall in the supplemental first round of the 2019 June draft after a prolific career at Baylor University. In three seasons with the Bears, Wendzel hit .326 with 24 homers and 121 RBI across 154 total games. He was named the Co-Big 12 Player of the Year in 2019, sharing the honors with fellow Express teammate INF Josh Jung of Texas Tech. Wendzel led the Big 12 in average (.367) and on-base percentage (.449) in 2019, just one season after helping Baylor to the school’s first-ever Big 12 title in 2018. Through 62 games in the minors after being drafted in 2019, Wendzel owns a .248 career batting average (53-214), seven doubles, a triple, eight home runs and 32 RBI.

With the additions of Winn (#3), Huff (#5) and Wendzel (#11), the Express now have eight of the top 25 Texas Rangers prospects, according to MLB.com, on the club’s roster, including #2 INF Josh Jung, #18 INF Curtis Terry, #20 INF Sherten Apostel, #21 OF Steele Walker, #23 RHP Yerry Rodriguez.

Round Rock closes out the home portion of the 2021 season with a five-game series against the Tacoma Rainiers from Thursday, September 23 through Monday, September 27 at Dell Diamond. Winn is slated to make his Triple-A debut with a start in tonight’s series opener while the Rainiers plan to counter with RHP Robert Dugger (3-5, 7.38). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Single game tickets are on sale now. For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!