Davis Wendzel Explained

Davis Wendzel
Team:Cincinnati Reds
Number:88
Position:Infielder
Birth Date:23 May 1997
Birth Place:Irvine, California, U.S.
Bats:Right
Throws:Right
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:April 9
Debutyear:2024
Debutteam:Texas Rangers
Statleague:MLB
Statyear:June 27, 2024
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.146
Stat2label:Home runs
Stat2value:1
Stat3label:Runs batted in
Stat3value:2
Teams:

Davis McKee Wendzel (born May 23, 1997) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers. He played college baseball for the Baylor Bears and was selected in the first round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Rangers, for whom he made his MLB debut with in 2024.

Amateur career

Wendzel attended JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California.[1] Unselected in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at Baylor University to play college baseball for the Baylor Bears.

In 2017, Wendzel's freshman year at Baylor, he appeared in fifty games (47 being starts), hitting .301 with eight home runs and thirty RBIs, earning a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.[2] [3] As a sophomore in 2018, he started 58 games and batted .310 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs.[4] After the season, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 37th round of the 2018 MLB draft, but did not sign.[5] He played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks that summer.[6] [7] In 2019, his junior season, he hit .367 with eight home runs, 42 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in 46 games and was named the 2019 Big 12 Co-Player of the Year (along with Texas Tech's Josh Jung).[8] [9]

Professional career

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers selected Wendzel in Competitive Balance Round A, with the 41st overall pick, of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[10] [11] On July 3, 2019, Wendzel signed with the Rangers for a $1.6 million signing bonus.[12] After signing, Wendzel sat out of game action while rehabbing a thumb injury that he suffered in June while playing for Baylor.[13] On August 22, he was assigned to the Arizona League Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League and made his professional debut.[14] On August 30, Wendzel and the AZL Rangers won the 2019 Arizona League championship.[15] Wendzel finished the 2019 season with the Spokane Indians of the Low–A Northwest League.[16] Over seven games between the two teams, he batted .316 with one home run.[17]

Wendzel did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Central.[19] On May 27, he was placed the injured list with a hamate bone fracture, and was activated in mid-August.[20] After the end of Frisco's season in mid-September, he was promoted to the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A West.[21] Between 63 games played with Frisco, Round Rock, and Arizona Complex League Rangers, Wendzel hit a combined .238/.346/.399/.745 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs.[22] Wendzel spent the 2022 season back with Round Rock but missed a brief period due to injury.[23] Over 83 games, he slashed .212/.293/.407 with 17 home runs and 51 RBIs.[24]

Wendzel began the 2023 season assigned to Round Rock. Over 124 games, he hit a combined .236/.361/.477/.838 with 74 RBIs and 30 home runs.[25] He led the Pacific Coast League for home runs with Jake Scheiner and Trey Cabbage.[26] On May 29, he was named Pacific Coast League player of the week[27] and on June 8, Pacific Coast League player of the month.[28] Wendzel is noted for his hitting against left-handed pitchers[29] as well as fielding capabilities, with an average fielding percentage of .958, including 60 double plays.[25] In 130 games for Round Rock, he batted .236/.361/.477 with 30 home runs and 74 RBI.

On April 9, 2024, Texas selected Wendzel’s contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time.[30] On April 25, against the Seattle Mariners; Wendzel collected his first major league hit, a single, after pinch hitting for Evan Carter against pitcher Gabe Speier. In 27 games for Texas, he batted .128/.163/.234 with one home run and two RBI. Wendzel was designated for assignment by the Rangers on July 29.[31]

Cincinnati Reds

On July 30, 2024, Wendzel was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for cash considerations.[32]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Playing the next stage. Orange County Catholic. Dan Arritt. March 6, 2018. August 22, 2019.
  2. Web site: Texan-by-choice Wendzel making waves as Baylor's middle-of-order slugger. Brice Cherry. Waco Tribune-Herald. March 21, 2019. August 22, 2019.
  3. Web site: Texas Tech, TCU haul in Big 12 baseball top awards - Statesman U. Kevin Lyttle. Austin American-Statesman. May 23, 2017. August 22, 2019. June 5, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190605030837/http://collegesports.blog.statesman.com/2017/05/23/texas-tech-tcu-haul-in-big-12-baseball-top-awards/. dead.
  4. Web site: Bradford, Langeliers, Wendzel named D1Baseball Preseason All-Americans. January 22, 2019. 25 ABC KXXV. August 22, 2019.
  5. Web site: Three Lions: Trio of JSerra Alums Selected in MLB Draft. Zach Cavanagh. The Capistrano Dispatch. June 22, 2018. August 22, 2019 .
  6. Web site: Standouts from Cape Cod PDP event. MLB.com. Blake Richardson. July 10, 2018. August 22, 2019.
  7. Web site: #8 Davis Wendzel . pointstreak.com . September 23, 2021.
  8. Web site: MLB draft: Texas Rangers use top picks on college players who could end up with Spokane Indians. The Spokesman-Review. Dave Nichols. June 4, 2019. August 22, 2019.
  9. Web site: Big 12 coaches honor Jung as co-player of the year. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Don Williams. May 21, 2019. June 4, 2019.
  10. Web site: Former JSerra players Davis Wendzel, Chase Strumpf selected in MLB Draft. Steve Fryer. June 3, 2019. Orange County Register. August 22, 2019.
  11. Web site: The Rangers weren't done drafting Monday with Jung at No. 8. Here's who else they added. Jeff Wilson. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. June 3, 2019. August 22, 2019 .
  12. Web site: Jung, Wendzel reach agreements. MLB.com. T.R. Sullivan. July 2, 2019. July 3, 2019.
  13. News: Briefly: Wendzel injured his thumb while playing for Baylor. The Dallas Morning News. Evan Grant. August 2, 2019. August 22, 2019.
  14. Web site: Wendzel helps AZL Rangers reach semis. MiLB.com. Jordan Wolf. August 28, 2019. August 28, 2019.
  15. Web site: Hernandez leads Rangers to AZL title. MiLB.com. Jordan Wolf. August 31, 2019. September 1, 2019.
  16. News: Spokane Indians season ends in Tri-Cities. Staff Report. The Spokesman-Review. September 6, 2019. September 21, 2019.
  17. Web site: Rangers' Davis Wendzel: Impacted by injury in 2019. April 2020 .
  18. Web site: 2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled. April 8, 2024. mlb.com. en.
  19. Web site: Where will Rangers' top prospects begin '21?. .
  20. Web site: Rangers prospect Davis Wendzel out with hamate bone fracture. May 27, 2021.
  21. Web site: Rangers promote Cole Winn, Davis Wendzel and Sam Huff to Triple-A Round Rock. September 24, 2021.
  22. Web site: Levi Weaver. March 7, 2022 . Rangers prospect Davis Wendzel is prepared to fill in wherever he's needed: 'Anywhere, I'm ready' . March 13, 2022 . The Athletic.
  23. Web site: March 31, 2022 . Preliminary 2022 Round Rock Express Roster Announced . April 1, 2022 . MiLB.com.
  24. Web site: Davis Wendzel Stats, Fantasy & News .
  25. Web site: Davis Wendzel Stats, Fantasy & News . November 16, 2023 . MiLB.com . en.
  26. Web site: 2023 Pacific Coast League (PCL) Minor League Baseball Leaders on StatsCrew.com . November 16, 2023 . www.statscrew.com . en.
  27. Web site: Express INF Davis Wendzel Named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week . November 16, 2023 . MiLB.com . en.
  28. Web site: Express INF Davis Wendzel Named Rangers Minor League Player of the Month . November 16, 2023 . MiLB.com . en.
  29. Web site: August 19, 2023 . 4 Texas Rangers minor leaguers who should be eligible for the postseason . November 16, 2023 . Nolan Writin' . en-US.
  30. Web site: April 8, 2024 . Rangers Select Davis Wendzel . April 8, 2024 . MLB Trade Rumors . en-US.
  31. Web site: Rangers Make 11 Roster Moves. July 30, 2024. mlbtraderumors.com. en.
  32. Web site: Cincinnati Reds Land Infielder Davis Wendzel Ahead of Trade Deadline in Deal With Texas Rangers. James. Rapien. SI.com.

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