Opening Weekend 2023 Program

WELCOME TO RIDERS FIELD 9/6

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11:05 AM

9/7

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6:35 PM

9/8

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6:35 PM

9/9

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6:35 PM

9/10

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6:35 PM

9/11

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4:05 PM

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We’re on a mission to donate $1 million to local food banks to fight food insecurity. How can you help? Get your next loan from ITCU, or open an account and use a debit or credit card to purchase the things you’re already buying, and we’ll donate a portion of income to local food banks in our communities.

Remember, $50K will go to food banks if a Riders player hits the “Home Run for Hunger” sign in or after the 5th inning. Go Riders!

YOU AND US, FIGHTING HUNGER TOGETHER.

GET 2 FREE ROUGHRIDERS TICKETS TO EVERY SUNDAY HOME GAME! Texas Farm Bureau Members get free tickets to all Sunday home games when they show proof of membership at the Riders Field ticket office. To learn more about Texas Farm Bureau member benefits, visit TexasFarmBureau.org/Sports.

Throughout the 2022 season, two free general admission tickets are offered per Sunday home game to participating teams on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability, weather cancellations, and other unforeseen events. Your current Texas Farm Bureau membership card is required to redeem tickets.

Offer expires on 8/31/2022. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2022 Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Companies.

Double play.

Bonham State Park 56 mi. from Riders Field

Before your next RoughRiders game, visit one of four state parks less than 75 minutes from Riders Field. Scan the QR code or visit tpwmagazine.com/frisco for more info.

LUISANGEL ACUNA POSITION: INFIELDER | DOB: 3/12/02 | HEIGHT: 5’10” | WEIGHT: 181 HOMETOWN: CARACAS, VENZUELA A middle infielder from Venezuela, Acuña split time between High-A and Double-A last year, hitting .317 with Hickory and making the trip to Double-A in August. Spending time at both second base and short, Acuña played 37 games down the stretch and was a critical part of the title run in 2022. Acuña scored twice in the Texas League Championship Game, including the go-ahead run in the 10th inning. The 21-year-old is the younger brother of two-time Silver Slugger and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña.

JAX BIGGERS POSITION: INFIELDER | DOB: 4/7/97 | HEIGHT: 5’11” | WEIGHT: 175 HOMETOWN: MISSOURI CITY, TX Biggers was beckoned back to Texas in 2018 when the Rangers selected him in the eighth round. Originally from Missouri City, Texas, Biggers spent a year at Cisco Junior College in Texas and two years with the Arkansas Razorbacks, making the College World Series at the Junior College level and the Division-I classification. Biggers made his RoughRiders debut in 2021 and hit .281 for Frisco in 2022. With a birthday on April 7, Biggers will spend most of this season as a 26-year-old in his fifth season of pro ball. He has played every position for Frisco except pitcher and catcher.

EVAN CARTER POSITION: OUTFIELDER | DOB: 8/29/02 | HEIGHT: 6’4” | WEIGHT: 190 HOMETOWN: ELIZABETHTON, TENN. Carter couldn’t play for the Rangers farm in 2020 when he was drafted in the second round, but once he debuted in 2021, Carter wasted little time to rack up hits. He notched an .825 OPS with Single-A Down East and had slightly better numbers at the High-A level in 100 games last year before getting the Double-A call-up in September. Carter went 9-for-21, not including his three hits in the clinching game of the 2022 Texas League Championship Series, the last of which was a two-RBI single in the 10th to make the difference in the 7-5 win. He checks in as the No. 2 prospect in the Rangers organization and will turn 21 when the RoughRiders host Corpus Christi on August 29. The 6-foot-2 left-hand hitter has defensive versatility, playing all three outfield positions in his minor league tenure.

FRAINYER CHAVEZ POSITION: INFIELDER | DOB: 5/24/99 | HEIGHT: 5’10” | WEIGHT: 170 HOMETOWN: VALENCIA, VENZ. Chavez grew up in Valencia, Venezuela, but was already well acquainted with the state of Texas when the Rangers drafted him in the 22nd round in 2018. He moved to Little Elm, Texas before high school and was drafted out of Midland College. The 2022 season was his fourth in the Rangers organization and the busiest: Chavez started in High-A, jumped to Triple-A for seven games, returned to High-A for two months, then came up to Double-A Frisco near the end of the season and batted .291. When the RoughRiders claimed the 2022 Texas League Championship, Chavez singled in the 10th inning to score Luisangel Acuña and give Frisco the lead. The RoughRiders held onto that advantage to claim the title, 7-5, over Wichita.

MARC CHURCH POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 3/30/01 | HEIGHT: 6’2” | WEIGHT: 190 HOMETOWN: ATLANTA, GA

An 18th round draft pick four years ago, Church has elevated himself to one of the brightest names in the Rangers organization. A high school infielder, Church has honed his pitching skills in the Rangers organization. Still only 22 years old, Church is rated the No. 20 prospect in the organization. Last year, Church notched a 2.91 ERA in High-A Hickory before a call-up to Frisco for the second half of the season. Church graduated from North Atlanta High School and had his 22nd birthday a week before the season opener.

RICKY DEVITO POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 8/21/98 | HEIGHT: 6’3” | WEIGHT: 195 HOMETOWN: STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.

Devito is a recent addition to the Rangers organization, moving over from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade this March. It’s not the first time a trade has sent Devito to a new team: the former eighth-round by the Atlanta Braves was sent to the Pirates at the 2021 trade deadline. Pitching for the Pirates’ High-A club last year, Devito had a 5.40 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 70 innings. He is originally from Staten Island, New York and played college ball at Seton Hall.

DAVID GARCIA POSITION: CATCHER | DOB: 2/6/00 | HEIGHT: 5’11” | WEIGHT: 201 HOMETOWN: CARACAS, VENZ.

Hailing from Caracas, Venezuela, Garcia is a switch-hitting catcher who has been in the Rangers organization since he was 17. Now 23, Garcia is playing for Frisco for a second year after starting 58 games behind the dish a season ago. He recorded a career-best .993 fielding percentage while adding 11 doubles, a triple and five homers.

RYAN GARCIA POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 1/24/98 | HEIGHT: 6’0” | WEIGHT: 180 HOMETOWN: ARCADIA, CALIF.

The Rangers plucked Garcia out of the Southern California area in 2019, drafting the Pasadena native and UCLA Bruin in the second round. He missed 2020 due to COVID and 2021 due to “Tommy John” Surgery, but returned in June of 2022 after a nearly three-year hiatus. He pitched well in his return, registering a 2.31 ERA in Single-A Down East before making it to High-A Hickory for 10 innings without an earned run. Entering 2023, Garcia had pitched 61.2 innings in his professional career, allowing just 36 hits.

RYAN GOLD POSITION: CATCHER | DOB: 10/10/97 | HEIGHT: 5’10” | WEIGHT: 215 HOMETOWN: MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.

A left-hand hitting catcher from Carolina Forest High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Ryan Gold is spending his first year with the Rangers organization in 2023. Drafted in the 27th round by Toronto seven years ago, Gold reached the Double-A level last year and slugged .445 for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the Double-A Eastern League.

DUSTIN HARRIS POSITION: OUTFIELDER | DOB: 7/8/99 | HEIGHT: 6’2” | WEIGHT: 185 HOMETOWN: LAND O LAKES, FL

With two years of junior college baseball under his belt at St. Petersburg College in Florida, Dustin Harris was drafted by Oakland in the 11th round and was traded a year later to Texas. Harris is one of the most highly touted Rangers prospects, having posted excellent numbers at each minor league stop. He batted over .300 in Down East and Hickory and launched 17 home runs in Frisco last year with 19 stolen bases. Harris has moved around the field defensively, playing mostly at first base until last year, when he started 58 of his 64 games in left field.

TREVOR HAUVER POSITION: OUTFIELDER | DOB: 11/20/98 | HEIGHT: 6’0” | WEIGHT: 205 HOMETOWN: CHANDLER, ARIZ.

Hauver was a Yankees farm hand in 2021 after New York selected him in the third round in 2020. Just 66 games into his pro career, he was sent to Texas in the Joey Gallo trade. He made it to Frisco last year and recorded a .924 OPS once he joined the RoughRiders for the final month of the season. Hauver played for Arizona State, where he was primarily a left fielder but also made appearances at first and second base and right field. He has similarly moved around in the minors, mostly playing second base with the Yankees organization and was transitioned to left field with the Rangers organization in 2022.

SCOTT KAPERS POSITION: CATCHER | DOB: 11/27/96 | HEIGHT: 5’11” | WEIGHT: 198 HOMETOWN: WALKERTON, IND.

A 17th-round draft pick out of Valparaiso University, Scott Kapers made his Frisco debut last year after posting an .816 OPS at High-A Hickory. He notched 61 at-bats with the RoughRiders in the final month and a half of the 2022 season, homering three times in the regular season and drawing 10 walks. He capped off 2022 with a tremendous effort in the Texas League Championship Series, homering twice in the same game at Riders Field to help Frisco take a 1-0 lead over Wichita. He is the only player in RoughRiders franchise history with a multihome run game in the playoffs.

ANTOINE KELLY POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 12/5/99 | HEIGHT: 6’5” | WEIGHT: 205 HOMETOWN: CHICAGO, ILL.

Antoine Kelly is in his fourth year of pro ball and his second with the Frisco RoughRiders. Kelly could have signed with the Padres out of high school when he was drafted in the 13th round, but went to Wabash Valley College in Illinois for one season and was selected in the second round in 2019 by Milwaukee. He was traded in August 2022 when the Rangers sent former RoughRiders pitcher Matt Bush to the Brewers. Kelly is 23 years old and went to high school just outside of Chicago at Maine East High.

NICK KRAUTH POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 9/6/99 | HEIGHT: 6’3” | WEIGHT: 170 HOMETOWN: CONCORD, CALIF.

A 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher, Krauth crossed from one corner of the country to the other before settling down with the Rangers organization. Originally from Concord, California, Krauth transferred from New Mexico to UConn. A terrific start to the 2020 college season — one earned run in 24.2 innings — was enough to get a deal with the Rangers after the NCAA season was cut short. He spent 2021 with Down East, 2022 with Hickory, and elevated to Double-A for the first time this season. Krauth posted a 4.60 ERA in his first two pro seasons. Krauth will celebrate his 24th birthday on September 6, during Frisco’s final homestand of the regular season.

JACK LEITER POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 4/21/00 | HEIGHT: 6’1” | WEIGHT: 205 HOMETOWN: SUMMIT, NJ

The No. 2 overall selection of the 2021 MLB Draft, Leiter made his pro debut last year with the Frisco RoughRiders. About three years younger than the average Double-A player, Leiter struck out 109 batters in 92.2 innings. Strikeouts are nothing new for Leiter, who tied for first in the nation with 179 punch outs in his last season with Vanderbilt. His father is Al Leiter, a three-time World Series champion and two-time All-Star pitcher. Al had an MLB no-hitter in 1996 and Jack followed his father’s footsteps with a college no-hitter in his first SEC start in 2021.

JOHN MATTHEWS POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 1/21/98 | HEIGHT: 6’1” | WEIGHT: 190 HOMETOWN: PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA.

A Rangers draftee in the eighth round in 2019, Matthews is coming off his best pro season so far. Improving from a 6.78 ERA in 2021 with Single-A Down East, Matthews registered a 4.37 ERA last season while pitching most in High-A Hickory. He joined Frisco in September and tossed 3.1 innings to get a taste of RoughRiders baseball before returning for the 2023 season. Matthews pitched for three years at Kent State, making most of his appearances out of the bullpen, and has similarly made about three-quarters of his minor league appearances as a reliever.

THEO MCDOWELL POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 12/2/98 | HEIGHT: 6’4” | WEIGHT: 175 HOMETOWN: ESSEX JUNCTIOIN, VER.

A right-handed reliever from Salisbury, Connecticut, McDowell impressed in Single-A ball last year. McDowell had a 2.69 ERA the first half of last year in Down East, got called up to Hickory and did even better in High-A, with a 2.49 ERA. McDowell pitched in both of Hickory’s two combined no-hitters last year. McDowell was drafted in the 14th round in 2018 and will turn 25 in December.

TRISTON POLLEY POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 12/20/96 | HEIGHT: 6’0” | WEIGHT: 190 HOMETOWN: INDIANAPOLIS, IN

The Indianapolis native stayed near home to play for Indiana State and made the most of his four years with the Sycamores. By his senior year in 2019, Polley was the opening day starter for his home-state team and posted a 2.84 ERA. He was the starting pitcher in ISU’s first NCAA Tournament victory in 24 years.

A week later, the Texas Rangers called his name in the 16th round. In the four years since, Polley has gone 16-5 and posted a 4.63 ERA with Frisco when he got called up in June and pitched in 26 games in a RoughRiders uniform.

TEKOAH ROBY POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 9/18/01 | HEIGHT: 6’1” | WEIGHT: 185 HOMETOWN: HENDERSONVILLE, N.C.

Commonly referred to as “TK,” Tekoah Roby was one of the youngest pitchers at the High-A level last year and held his own with 126 strikeouts in 104 innings and a 4.64 ERA. He will be one of the youngest players at the Double-A level this year; he turns 22 the day after the regular season finale. He was drafted in the third round in 2020 out of Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Florida and is in his third pro season in 2023.

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THOMAS SAGGESE POSITION: INFIELDER | DOB: 04/10/02 | HEIGHT: 5’11” | WEIGHT: 175 HOMETOWN: CARLSBAD, CALIF.

Saggese sped his way to Frisco after getting drafted in the fifth round by Texas in 2020. He made his pro debut in Single-A in 2021, spent most of 2022 in High-A and was promoted to Double-A in September, winning Texas League Player of the Week in the final series of the season. Saggese played the final five regular season games with the RoughRiders, plus all four postseason games, notching a hit in all nine games, most of them for extra bases. In the final game of the 2022 Texas League Championship Series, Saggese singled to score the game-tying run in the 9th inning and push the game to extras, when Frisco won in the 10th.

JOSH SALE

POSITION: INFIELDER | DOB: 07/05/91 | HEIGHT: 5’11” | WEIGHT: 215 HOMETOWN: SEATTLE, WASH.

Sale was the 17th overall selection in the 2010 Draft, but by 2014, he had taken his final at bat in the Rays organization. He then went seven years away from pro baseball before joining the Atlantic League in 2021. He posted a .986 OPS in independent ball, earning a contract with the Rangers for the 2022 season. His first game in minor league baseball in eight years was with Frisco, when he suited up on June 5, 2022. After that one contest, he spent the rest of the year with Triple-A Round Rock, hitting 11 home runs with a .420 slugging percentage.

CHRIS SEISE

POSITION: INFIELDER | DOB: 01/06/99 | HEIGHT: 6’1” | WEIGHT: 196 HOMETOWN: SCHENECTADY, N.Y.

A first-round pick (No. 29 overall) by Texas in 2017, Seise worked his way up to Double-A to open the 2023 season. Drafted out of West Orange High in Winter Garden, Florida, Seise played in the Arizona Complex League and Low-A Spokane in 2017, Single-A Hickory in 2019, High-A Hickory in 2021 and 2022. He spent part of the offseason in the Caribbean, playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League. He spent 547 innings in the field for Hickory over three seasons, all at shortstop.

JUSTIN SLATEN POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 09/15/97 | HEIGHT: 6’4” | WEIGHT: 222 HOMETOWN: HALLSVILLE, TX

A third-round pick in 2018 by the Rangers, Justin Slaten followed his threeyear career with the University of New Mexico by pitching in three seasons so far with the Rangers. Entering 2023, Slaten has logged 150 innings in the minors, mostly between High-A Hickory and Double-A Frisco. Slaten joined the starting rotation for part of 2022 with the RoughRiders but made most of his 25 appearances out of the bullpen, striking out 64 batters in 50.2 innings on the year.

ALEX SPEAS POSITION: PITCHER | DOB:03/04/98 | HEIGHT: 6’3” | WEIGHT: 225 HOMETOWN: POWDER SPRINGS, GA.

Speas is one of the longest-tenured players in the Rangers organization.

Drafted in the second round by Texas in 2016, Speas endured a Tommy John surgery and the 2020 COVID cancellation before reaching Double-A in 2021.

Speas did not pitch in the minor leagues in 2022 but returns to Frisco in 2023. The 25-year-old from Powder Springs, Georgia has an impressive 14.2 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate in his minor league career entering 2023.

NICK STARR POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 12/03/96 | HEIGHT: 6’3” | WEIGHT: 225 HOMETOWN: CONWAY, ARK.

A 6-foot-3 right hander, Starr has played baseball all over the map. Born in Nashville, Tenn., Starr played at Connors State College in Oklahoma and Southern Arkansas University before signing with the Rangers in 2018. He played for the Spokane Indians in 2019 when Spokane was still a Single-A affiliate of the Rangers, made it to High-A in 2021 and spent all of 2022 with Frisco. Starr logged 30.2 innings for the RoughRiders at the back end of the bullpen, posting a 2.05 ERA and finishing 14 games, one of which was the final contest of the season.

Starr got the last out of the Texas League Championship Game to help the Riders win their first league title since 2004.

KELLEN STRAHM POSITION: OUTFIELDER | DOB: 4/25/97 | HEIGHT: 6’1” | WEIGHT: 215 HOMETOWN: EUGENE, OR

A product of San Jose State, Strahm is playing his fourth season in the Rangers organization after Texas selected him in the fifth round in 2019. He played 104 games last year for the RoughRiders, batting .277 with 26 extra base hits and a career-best 42 runs batted in. Strahm spread his time in the field more evenly last year after playing the bulk of his pro ball in center field his first two seasons. He played almost an equal number of games in left, center, and right.

He recorded the final out in left field last year of the Texas League Championship Game, catching a fly ball to leave the tying run at the plate and win the title.

NICK TANIELU POSITION: INFIELDER | DOB: 09/04/92 | HEIGHT: 5’10” | WEIGHT: 214 HOMETOWN: HUNTSVILLE, AL.

Tanielu started his pro career with a team in Texas, but it wasn’t the Rangers.

Drafted in the 14th round in 2014 by Houston, Tanielu spent the better part of a decade in the Astros organization, ending with Triple-A Round Rock when the Express were still an Astros affiliate. After hitting .295 for Round Rock with a careerbest .880 OPS in 2019, Tanielu had to sit out 2020 and returned to Triple-A in 2021 with the Padres organization. He signed with the Rangers organization for the 2022 season and went back to Round Rock in 2022, splitting time between first, second and third base. The former Washington State Cougar turns 31 on Sept. 4th.

OWEN WHITE POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 8/09/99 | HEIGHT: 6’3” | WEIGHT: 199 HOMETOWN: MOUNT ULLA, NC

White was a three-sport star at Carson High School in China Grove, North Carolina and drew college football interest before being drafted in the second round by the Texas Rangers in 2018. Although White had Tommy John surgery in May of 2019, he came back to make his professional debut in May of 2021. A year later, he made it to Double-A and was solid with the RoughRiders. Getting four starts with Frisco, White posted a 2.49 ERA and allowed just one home run in 21.2 innings. White enters the 2023 season ranked No. 3 among Texas Rangers prospects.

GRANT WOLFRAM POSITION: PITCHER | DOB: 12/12/96 | HEIGHT: 6’8” | WEIGHT: 240 HOMETOWN: HAMILTON, MI

A southpaw from Davenport University in Michigan, Wolfram was chosen by the Rangers in the 18th round in 2018. Wolfram spent 2019 with Single-A Hickory, waited out 2020, and returned to Hickory in 2021 when the Crawdads had moved up to High-A. He made the jump to Double-A last year and switched to the bullpen, appearing in 39 games. Wolfram has been consistent in his three professional seasons, moving up a level each year and posting an ERA of 4.28, 4.21 and 4.42 in those three years.

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