Ever since Ian Kinsler went on the disabled list back in mid-May and Jurickson Profar was called up, it was mostly under the assumption that the 20-year-old super-prospect would return to the minor leagues when Kinsler returned from his rib injury.
Now that time is here, and both players are on the team's 25-man roster while Leury Garcia was sent down to Triple-A Round Rock as Profar will take on Garcia's role of super-utility man, but perhaps a bit more of an expanded one.
Profar made his first big-league start at third base on Sunday, as Adrian Beltre was the team's designated hitter with Kinsler at second base and Elvis Andrus at shortstop, so expect Profar to get time there every now and again, as well as second base and shortstop — his more natural positions. And with the way David Murphy is playing this year, don't be shocked when Profar starts to see some time in left field as he's already begun shagging fly balls with outfield coach Gary Pettis.
This season, Profar is hitting .277 and is one of the few guys on the roster that has been hitting the ball over the past 10 days or so. In his 83 at-bats, he has three doubles, two homers, seven RBIs and 17 strikeouts. He's attempted two steals and has been caught both times.
The ideal plan for Profar would be for him to go back to Round Rock and play every day, but with the way the Rangers' offense is struggling at the moment, they had no choice but to keep him on the big-league roster. In this role, expect Profar to get three or four starts per week at various places, and if he keeps it up Ron Washington will have to find a way to play him more, but for a 20-year-old, a lack of consistency could have a negative impact on his performance.
