Willie Calhoun

Willie Shawn Lamont Calhoun (born November 4, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Willie Calhoun
Calhoun at Globe Life Park in Arlington in 2019
Texas Rangers – No. 5
Outfielder
Born: (1994-11-04) November 4, 1994
Vallejo, California
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 12, 2017, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Batting average.258
Home runs24
Runs batted in63
Teams

Career

Amateur

Calhoun was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 17th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft out of Benicia High School in Benicia, California.[1] He did not sign and attended the University of Arizona to play college baseball. In 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2] After one year at Arizona he transferred to Yavapai College.[3] Calhoun signed with Kansas State University out of junior college, but elected to sign a professional contract with the Dodgers.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Calhoun with the Tulsa Drillers

Calhoun was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB Draft.[4] He made his professional debut with the Ogden Raptors and was later promoted to the Great Lakes Loons and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.[5][6] In 73 games between the three levels, he hit .316 with 11 homers and 47 RBI.[7]

To start the 2016 season, he was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League.[8] He was selected as a starter for the mid-season Texas League All-Star game[9] and selected to the U.S. team for the All-Star Futures Game.[10] At the conclusion of the season, he was also named to the post-season all-star team.[11] In 132 games for the Drillers, he hit .254 with 27 homers and 88 RBI.[7] After the season, the Dodgers assigned Calhoun to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. He earned MVP honors in the Fall Stars Game for top prospects playing in the league when he went 3 for 3 with a homer in the game.[12][13] He was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers to begin the 2017 season[14][15][12] and played well enough to be named the starting second baseman for the Pacific Coast League mid-season all-star team.[16]

Texas Rangers

On July 31, 2017, Calhoun was traded to the Texas Rangers (along with fellow minor leaguers A. J. Alexy and Brendon Davis) in exchange for Yu Darvish.[17][18] He was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on September 12, 2017.[19] Calhoun hit .265/.324/.353/.677 with a home run and 4 RBI in 13 games in 2017.

In 2018, Calhoun hit .222/.269/.333/.602 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI in 35 major league games. In 108 games with the Triple-A Round Rock Express, he hit .294/.351/.431/.782 with 9 home runs and 47 RBI.

In 2019, Calhoun was optioned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to open the season.[20] On May 15, he was recalled to replace the injured Elvis Andrus, making his season debut the same day.[21] In the midst of batting .435/.458/.739/1.197, he was placed on the 10-day IL on May 22 with a strained left quad.[22] He was reactivated from the IL on June 17[23] but was optioned back to Triple-A Nashville on July 16 after hitting .225/.267/.408/.675 in second stint in order to clear a spot for All-Star OF/DH Hunter Pence on the roster.[24] On July 25, he was recalled to replace the injured Joey Gallo,[25] and he would play with the Rangers for the remainder of the season. Calhoun would finish the 2019 season batting .269/.323/.524/.848 with 21 home runs and 48 RBI in 83 games.[26]

On March 8, 2020, during a spring training match against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Calhoun was struck by a 95 MPH fastball in the face by Julio Urias. The impact fractured and displaced Calhoun's jaw.[27] He underwent surgery the next day.

References
  1. Matt O'Donnell (June 9, 2013). "Benicia High grad Calhoun taken by Tampa Bay Rays in baseball draft". Vallejo Times Herald. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  2. "Willie Calhoun - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. Thomas Gase (April 25, 2015). "Benicia High graduate Willie Calhoun putting up big numbers for Yavapai". Vallejo Times Herald. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  4. Thomas Gase (June 9, 2015). "Benicia High School graduate Willie Calhoun selected by the Dodgers in MLB draft". Vallejo Times Herald. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  5. Sam Dykstra (July 5, 2015). "Raptors' Calhoun plates career-high five". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  6. Hugh Bernreuter (August 18, 2015). "Dodgers promote infield prospect Willie Calhoun from Great Lakes". Mlive.com. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  7. "Willie Calhoun Register statistics & history". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. Barry Lewis (April 4, 2016). "Drillers' roster set for season opener". Tulsa World. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  9. Eric Stephen (June 14, 2016). "Alex Verdugo, Willie Calhoun among 9 Texas League All-Stars for Double-A Tulsa". SB Nation. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  10. Eric Stephen (June 28, 2016). "Jharel Cotton, Willie Calhoun named to 2016 MLB Futures Game rosters". SB Nation. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  11. Stephen, Eric (August 31, 2016). "Chase De Jong named Texas League Pitcher of the Year". SB Nation. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  12. Bill Plunkett (December 15, 2016). "Dodgers prospect Willie Calhoun not short on confidence". The Orange County Register. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  13. Eric Stephen (November 5, 2016). "Willie Calhoun, Cody Bellinger each homer in Fall Stars Game". SB Nation. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  14. Jacob Unruh (April 25, 2017). "Dodgers: Prospect Willie Calhoun showing progress in field, at plate". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  15. Oklahoma City Dodgers (April 5, 2017). "OKC Dodgers Release 2017 Opening Day Roster". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  16. Eric Stephen (June 28, 2017). "Willie Calhoun, Alex Verdugo lead 4 Oklahoma City All-Stars". SB Nation. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  17. Ken Gurnick (July 31, 2017). "Dodgers get Yu, relief, dazzle at Deadline". MLB.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  18. Joseph Zucker (July 31, 2017). "Yu Darvish Traded to Dodgers from Rangers for Willie Calhoun, A.J. Alexy, More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  19. J.J. Cooper (September 12, 2017). "WHAT TO EXPECT: WILLIE CALHOUN". Baseball America. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  20. T.R. Sullivan (March 21, 2019). "Pence makes Rangers; Calhoun to be optioned". MLB.com. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  21. Steve Adams (May 15, 2019). "Rangers Recall Willie Calhoun, Place Elvis Andrus on Injured List". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  22. Jeff Todd (May 22, 2019). "Rangers Place Willie Calhoun On IL, Recall Delino DeShields". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  23. T.R. Sullivan (June 17, 2019). "Calhoun activated as Pence hits injured list". MLB.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  24. Steve Adams (July 16, 2019). "Rangers Activate Hunter Pence, Option Willie Calhoun, Select Taylor Guerrieri". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  25. Adam J. Morris (July 25, 2019). "Joey Gallo to injured list, Willie Calhoun recalled". Lone Star Ball. SB Nation. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  26. T.R. Sullivan (November 26, 2019). "How Calhoun looks to improve in 2020". MLB.com. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  27. "Willie Calhoun suffers broken jaw after being hit by pitch". FOX News. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
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