Guzman, Calhoun vow to step up game next season
Round Rock’s top two prospects reflect on 2017, look ahead.
Ronald Guzman is a long, angular athlete whom scouts hail as the poster boy for what a first baseman should look like.
Willie Calhoun is a short, thick player, a mini-bulldozer trying his best to turn himself into a credible left fielder.
The top two prospects in Round Rock, Guzman and Calhoun, born just two weeks apart in 1994, represent the long and the short of it when looking at the Express’ season.
Guzman, a 6-foot-4, 225-pounder who quietly goes about his business, finished his first full Triple-A season batting .298. He hit a modest 12 homers and drove in 62 runs. He was selected team MVP.
Calhoun, a 5-8, 187-pound fan favorite who plays with a certain panache, batted .300 and was among the Pacific Coast League leaders with 31 homers, 64 extra-base hits and 93 RBI.
Acquired by the Texas Rangers as the centerpiece of their Yu Darvish trade with the Dodgers, Calhoun split the season between Oklahoma City and Round Rock. Neither Guzman nor Calhoun was promoted to the big leagues at the close of Triple-A play.
“I didn’t expect a call-up,” Guzman said. “My main goal is to do everything I can to put myself in position to play for the Rangers next year.
“The only disappointment was that I wanted to hit .300 and fell a little short, but I’m happy. I was much more consistent. I prepared myself better coming into the year, and I didn’t get tired mentally or physically like a couple years in the past. My body, my mind, felt better.”
Guzman’s power is expected to develop as he grows into his long limbs.
Calhoun, who already exhibits tremendous power and is a finished product at the plate, thought the Rangers would give him his first big-league taste.
“I put myself in the best position to get called up and to not get the reward ... that kind of (stinks),” he said. “A tough pill to swallow, but it’s baseball business or whatever.”
Calhoun, often mobbed for autographs after home games, said he needs to go above and beyond because he deals with misconceptions.
“I take a lot of pride in batting .300 and reaching 30 homers, just because of the way I’m overlooked a lot because of my height and my size,” he said.
As he works on converting from second base to left field, Calhoun bristles at talk his defensive play needs to improve. He aims to prove his best spot is not designated hitter. He made no errors in 29 games at Round Rock and just six on the season. In Sunday’s finale, he robbed Oklahoma City’s Kyle Farmer of a home run.
“People who haven’t seen me think I’m a terrible defender just by the stuff they read,” Calhoun said. “If you actually come out and watch me, they think, ‘OK, maybe he isn’t a bad defender at all. Maybe he’s better than average.’ Instead they put too much effort into read- ing and rereading old scouting reports.
“I feel like I make all the routine plays, and I get some outs on hard ones, too. My confidence is really high in my defense right now.”
Guzman, the Rangers’ first baseman of the future, also has improved his glovework.
“I’ve heard that criticism, and I’ve worked really hard on defense, things like footwork and positioning and giving my fielders the best target,” he said.
“There were a lot of positives. At the plate, I cut down my strikeouts, increased my walks and hit for average. This was a good step forward.”
The Express (66-72), who struggled because of a 5.02 staff ERA and 23-45 road record, hope for a turnaround next year, a season that will have a potential affiliation switch from the Rangers to the Astros next September. Express founder Reid Ryan is president of the Astros, and his father, Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, is an executive adviser to the Astros.
“We have enjoyed a great seven-year relationship with the Texas Rangers and look forward to continuing that relationship for the 2018 season,” Express CEO Reese Ryan told the American-Statesman on Wednesday. “Our player development contract is up for renewal at the end of the 2018 season, so we will weigh all of our options at that time.” children attending the high school.
Cedar Park was among the many Texas high schools that contributed to relief efforts for their fellow Texans.
The Texas High School Coaches Association encouraged its members to collect donations last week during season-opening football games. Among the schools to report donations were Brenham ($2,000), Fort Worth Boswell ($1,200), Pflugerville ($1,200) and Cedar Creek ($1,100). The Round Rock school district raised more than $2,000 for the Texas Red Cross, said Dwayne Weirich, the district’s athletic director.
The closest-to-home instance of generosity involves La Grange High, which canceled the first week of classes after severe flooding tied to Harvey besieged the town about 60 miles southeast of Austin. La Grange’s scheduled home football game against Liberty Hill was canceled last week as residents tried to salvage their homes and belongings.
While La Grange football coach Matt Kates spent the weekend helping Leopards boys basketball coach James Magness collect items from his destroyed house, a few other schools dug into their pockets to aid the flooded town.
La Grange school district superintendent Bill Wagner said rival Giddings High collected 300 cases of water. Giddings also donated 30 backpacks filled with school supplies that will be distributed to students in La Grange from pre-K through the third grade.
“We have a healthy rivalry and respect for each other,” Wagner said of Giddings. “In the end, though, we make each other better.”
Argyle High, La Grange’s football opponent this Friday at Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, also gathered donations. Argyle principal James Hill said his school has collected money at football and volleyball games over the past two weeks, and Eagles football captains and cheerleaders will deliver a basket filled with gift cards and a check for $1,300 to their La Grange counterparts before kickoff.
“This is a good opportunity for our kids to learn about compassion,” Hill said. “There are some things that are more important than sports. We’re all Texans, we’re all Americans.”
The most surprising gift has been promised by an unlikely source. The school district in LaGrange, Ind., has “adopted” La Grange, Texas. According to Lauren Harris, a middle school teacher in LaGrange, Ind., schools in her town of 2,600 have a goal of collecting $20,000 for relief efforts in La Grange.
Harris said a “Walk for Awareness” event this Saturday is one way her town hopes to raise money. Donations also will be accepted Friday at the Lakeland Lakers’ home football game in the Indiana town of about 2,600 residents.
Cedar Park’s Bretz was among several fundraisers who said giving aid to hurricane victims was “the right thing to do,” and their efforts will continue during the season.
“I’m originally from Nebraska, not Texas, but when I see the way Texas has responded to Harvey, I’m a Texan now,” Bretz said. “There is something about the pride in this state you just don’t see in other states.”