As we've said several times on these pages, Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor had absolutely no business being in the big leagues in 2014 when he was a 20-year-old with hardly any experience at Double-A and the youngest regular in the big leagues.
With that said, Odor held his own and didn't sink despite being overmatched. In fact, he hit .259 with nine homers and seven triples. In the meantime, he showed to have zero plate discipline and no ability to distinguish between a ball and a strike.
In 2015, it caught up with him. Odor was batting a paltry .144 in 29 games before he was demoted to Triple-A Round Rock on Monday in favor of a career minor-leaguer who's a short-term fix in Tommy Field.
But one Rangers legend, who knows a thing or two about playing second base, believes what we all kind of do — Odor is special, and he will be back in Arlington at some point.
“I believe in this kid. He’s going to be an impact big leaguer,” Michael Young the Star-Telegram's Mac Engel. “Just needs a little more time. He never played in Triple-A. Matter of fact, he didn’t even play half a season of Double-A. He’s still so young. Give him time and you’ll have a championship type second baseman.”
The Rangers have their share of elite prospect second basemen with Odor and former super prospect Jurickson Profar, who is now missing his second consecutive full season. Odor has the leg up in experience, but you just hope his most recent experience hasn't tarnished him forever.
