| Jonathan Ornelas | |
| Position: | Infielder |
| Team: | Texas Rangers |
| Number: | 21 |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Birth Date: | 26 May 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Glendale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | August 7 |
| Debutyear: | 2023 |
| Debutteam: | Texas Rangers |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | September 3, 2024 |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .138 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 0 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 1 |
| Teams: |
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Jonathan Ornelas (born May 26, 2000) is a Mexican-American professional baseball infielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
Ornelas attended Raymond S. Kellis High School in Glendale, Arizona.[1] [2] In his senior season of 2018, he hit .464 with 15 doubles, six home runs, 29 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.[3] He had committed to the University of Tennessee to play college baseball.[4] Ornelas was drafted by the Texas Rangers with the 91st overall selection in the 3rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft.[5] He signed with them for a $622,800 signing bonus.[6]
Ornelas was assigned to the AZL Rangers and in 48 games hit .302/.389/.459 with 3 home runs, 28 RBI, and 15 stolen bases over 48 games in his professional debut season of 2018.[7] Ornelas spent the 2019 season with the Hickory Crawdads of the Single–A South Atlantic League, hitting .257/.333/.373 with 6 home runs, 13 stolen bases, and 38 RBI.[8] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] Ornelas returned to Hickory (which had moved classification to the High-A East level), hitting .261/.310/.394 with 8 home runs, 9 stolen bases, and 38 RBI.[10] Ornelas spent the 2022 season with the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League.[11] He hit .299/.360/.425 with 14 home runs, 64 RBI, 14 stolen bases, and tied the Frisco franchise record by recording 157 hits in 2022.[12] Ornelas was named the Texas Rangers 2022 minor league Defender of the Year.[13]
On November 15, 2022, the Rangers added Ornelas to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[14] Ornelas was optioned to the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League to begin the 2023 season.[15] On August 7, Ornelas was called up to the major leagues for the first time.[16] He made his debut that night versus the Oakland Athletics as a pinch runner, scoring the eventual winning run in the eighth inning.[17]
Ornelas was optioned to Triple–A Round Rock to begin the 2024 season.[18] He was called up on June 30 following an injury to Corey Seager.[19]