...Thumbs up for Jurickson Profar...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Jurickson Profar made his Major League-debut in 2012 and then played in nine games for the Texas Rangers, hiting 3-for-17.
All his hits were extra-basehits, as two were a double and one a homerun.
On September 2, Profar made a memorable Major League-debut, as he homered in his first at bat in an 8-3 win vs. Cleveland Indians.
In 2013, Profar began the season in Triple-A, playing for Round Rock Express.
On May 19 of that year, he was recalled to the big league-team and played in 85 Major League-games for the Rangers.
He finished the season with a .234 batting average (67-for-286) with 11 doubles and six homeruns, scoring 30 runs and batting in 26.
With that, he had a promising big league-career ahead of him.
Unfortunately, he suffered a torn muscle in his right shoulder during Spring Training and on March 30, 2014, he was placed on the disabled list.
He was activated again early November.
It was hoped that he could return to action again this season.
But as he kept being bothered by the injury, Profar underwent surgery to his right labrum in February and was placed back on the disabled list.
As recovery would require a long time, he missed his second consecutive Major League-season.
Recovery went very well and on August 27, the Texas Rangers assigned Profar on a rehab assignment to the Hickory Crawdads (Single-A).
For the first time since September 27, 2013, he returned to action in a regular season-game on August 27.
He was the designated hitter for Hickory in a game against Charleston RiverDogs (New York Yankees) and went 1-for-4.
On September 1, Profar hit a solo-homerun for the Crawdads in a 6-3 loss at Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles).
Two days later, he had a good outing, hitting 3-for-5 and batted in two runs in a 9-4 win vs. Rome Braves (Atlanta Braves).
...Jurickson Profar hitting for the Netherlands Baseball...
...Team during the 2013 World Baseball Classic...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
While being with Hickory, he got to play with his younger brother Juremi Profar.
He played in nine games and batted .273, collecting nine basehits in 33 at bats.
Profar hit one double and also homered once, while scoring two runs and batting in five.
After having played in his ninth consecutive games for Hickory on September 4, the Rangers assigned him to Frisco RoughRiders (Double-A) the next day.
With Frisco, Profar appeared in three games and was 2-for-10 (.200) with one double and one RBI.
He played in his first game on September 5, going 0-for-4 vs. Midland RockHounds (Oakland A's).
Profar also played for Frisco in the next two days, going 1-for-4 and 1-for-2, respectively.
In his last game, he batted in a run with a sacrifice fly in a 6-4 loss vs. Midland.
This also was Frisco's last game of the season.
The team finished in third place in the overall standings of the South Division in the Texas League.
In the rehab assignment, Profar was limited to hitting only, while following a prescribed throwing program to strenghthen his shoulder.
But by playing in 12 consecutive games, he moved a bit closer to return to action full time.
And with that, he also moved closer to making his comeback in the Major League-team of the Texas Rangers.
|
Jurickson Profar on his way back
FRISCO, Texas (USA) -
Curaçao-born infielder Jurickson Profar of the Texas Rangers is on his way back, recovering from a shoulder-injury that has sidelined him the past two seasons.
The 22-year old second baseman/short stop, who was the number one prospect in the Major League a few years ago, suffered a torn shoulder muscle during Spring Training in 2014 and underwent surgery in February of this year.