‘Overlooked’ Foscue enters season with edge
SURPRISE, Ariz. — He has done nothing but hit since the Rangers drafted him in the first round. If anything, though, it seems like the road to the majors with the organization is fuzzier than ever for Justin Foscue.
He kind of likes it that way.
Foscue, who turns 25 on Saturday, was the club’s first-round pick in the pandemic-shortened 2020 draft. Since then, the club has done nothing but stack obstacles in front of him. Not intentionally, mind you. It just kind of happened.
“I’ve been overlooked my entire career,” Foscue said recently at Rangers camp from a locker tucked hard against one of the exit doors. “I was drafted in the first round in 2020 and I’ve gotten better every year, and I seem to drop on prospect lists, but I’m not trying to be a top prospect; I’m trying to be the best … I can be. That’s where my head is at. I’ve flown under the radar here and at Mississippi State. It drives me. It motivates me.
“I don’t want to say to prove people wrong, but it motivates me to make them try to believe in me.”
The second baseman says this with not a hint of anger at all. One can be driven and edgy without being angry. The edge is necessary. Though he’s posted an .850 or better OPS each year since he turned pro, the goalposts keep moving.
Barely a year after drafting Foscue, the Rangers sent Joey Gallo to the New York Yankees and got back a pair of more defensively versatile infielders in Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran. They were all teammates briefly at advanced Class A Hickory in 2021. Smith and Duran have been in the majors since 2022.
Four months after the Gallo trade, the Rangers signed Marcus Semien and Corey Seager to long-term contracts and announced Semien would play second. Semien does not need relief. He’s played all but 11 of his team’s scheduled games over the last six seasons. The signing effectively blocked Foscue at second.
Last July, the Rangers drafted outfielder Wyatt Langford, an exceptionally advanced hitter. And while they will never compete for the same position in the field, Foscue is very much having to battle Langford for a spot on the roster. Barring a trade, the only spot open among position players is to primarily get at-bats at DH.
“I think you have to look at (it) as a few guys are competing for a spot on this club,” manager Bruce Bochy said when asked if Foscue and Langford were competing for a spot.
So, could Foscue and Langford both make the club?
“Well, we’re not ruling anything out, I’ll leave it at that,” Bochy said. “You know, as we get deeper (into) spring, I can answer that a little bit better. You don’t know where we’re going to be injury-wise or what the needs of this club are. So, is that a possibility? I guess you could say ‘yes.’ ”
Emphasis on possibility, not probability.
Bochy also added Foscue is not being “overlooked” by the Rangers.
After all, it would be foolish to dismiss Foscue entirely. He’s a discerning hitter with legitimate power. In 2023, he managed to nearly double his walks from 45 to 85 and reduce his strikeouts from 70 to 66 in 100 more plate appearances. He put together an .862 OPS. The automated strike zone at Class AAA helped, he said. It was impressive. There’s no other way to say it.
“He’s got an advanced ability to game-plan,” offensive coordinator/bench coach Donnie Ecker said. “It’s low chase, high walks, low strikeouts. When you go through the volatility of a season, where you naturally go through ups and downs, having that natural ability to game-plan and understand the strike zone is a great profile to have in your back pocket. It will help you stay consistent.”
Then again, Langford’s slash line was .360/.480/ .677. Foscue’s numbers were impressive. Langford’s were seemingly impossible.
Foscue also understands this. He doesn’t blame the Rangers for signing Semien or Seager or drafting Langford. But they are real and significant obstacles.
It raises the question if Foscue would have more value to the Rangers in a trade than on a roster. Foscue understands this, too. If the Rangers do make a move to acquire pitching before the deadline, he could possibly be asked for in a deal.
“It enters my head, of course,” Foscue said. “Just wondering where my future could be. You always think about what your career is going go look like. Right now, with Texas, it’s tough to see a path for me to even just play every day. So of course, I think about it. But I don’t have any control of it. All I can do is show up every single day and be a part of this organization.” Even if it is as an unintentionally overlooked part.