Before the season began, Texas Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar was named the top prospect in baseball by both MLB.com and Baseball America and gives the Rangers several options moving forward for the shortstop/second baseman — keep him for years or trade him for a stud at the deadline, someone like Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price, perhaps.
So there was likely a collective gasp from the Rangers front office folks on Tuesday night when reports starting surfacing that Profar had left Triple-A Round Rock's game in Las Vegas with an apparent hand injury after fouling a ball down the right field line while batting left-handed.
The status of Profar's injury isn't known yet, but you know there are several in the Rangers' organization who lost a little bit of sleep on Tuesday night.
With that said, Profar hasn't been setting the world on fire in his first season in Triple-A at the ripe ol' age of 20.
In 27 games for Round Rock, Profar is hitting .223 with an on-base percentage of .333 with two homers and 13 RBIs to go with a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts.
Profar, of course, famously homered in his first big-league game last September after hitting 14 bombs with 62 RBIs for Double-A Frisco prior to his September call-up. He was 16-for-20 on stolen base attempts.
When Elvis Andrus signed his long-term extension on April 1, and with Ian Kinsler doing the same last year, the Profar situation is a bit clouded in regards to what his future holds in the Rangers organization. But you can bet he'll have a positive impact somehow, at some point, whether it's on the field or in bringing back the motherload in a blockbuster trade.
