The Frisco RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, have yet another player earning awards. Scott Heineman was named the Texas Rangers Minor League Defender of the Month, announced Thursday. For the month of June, the outfielder played errorless baseball.
According to the release from RidersBaseball.com:
Heineman did not commit an error in his 19 games during the month of June. The California native has not made an error in the outfield in his past 57 contests and has just one miscue all season. For his career in the outfield (205 games), he has only made three errors.
The Rangers also announced that current Riders pitcher Ricardo Rodriguez has been named the Rangers Minor League Reliever of the Month for June. Rodriguez posted 10 1/3 scoreless innings over six relief appearances with Advanced-A Down East, retiring 32 of 33 batters faced. He earned a promotion to Frisco June 30.
About the Frisco RoughRiders:
The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and play their games at beautiful Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance in each of the last 12 seasons (2005-2016). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. The new ownership group, together with the city of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise improvements over the past two seasons, investing more than $7 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a new state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, InTouch Grille, Riders Outpost Team Store, and the newest and biggest creation, the 174-foot Choctaw Lazy River. The upgrades made prior to the 2015 season earned the Riders and the City of Frisco “Best Ballpark Renovation” of 2015 by Ballpark Digest. The same publication also honored the Choctaw Lazy River as the best ballpark improvement over $1 million for the 2016 season. More than 140 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including All-Stars Chris Davis, Adrian Gonzalez, Ian Kinsler, and Nelson Cruz, as well as current Rangers stars Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor, and Nomar Mazara.
Follow Blake Cole on Twitter (@blakeacole) for more on Scott Heineman and the Frisco RoughRiders.
*All images are courtesy of the Frisco RoughRiders.