The Texas Rangers have been enamored with Cameron Cauley's talent for a while. That's why he was with the Major League club earlier this season.
When they're allowed to expand their roster to 28 players on Sept. 1, the Rangers are likely to call up a position player and a pitcher. Logan O'Hoppe was a candidate to be that position player, but the Rangers called up him up on Sunday as they needed more offense in the lineup.
With O'Hoppe in the Majors now, Cauley is playing like an infielder that wants back in the Majors. A recent award puts him in position to be that player next week.
Cauley was named the Pacific Coast League's player of the week on Monday for Aug. 17-23 after his week for Triple-A Round Rock. It was the third week in a row that a Rangers prospect won a PCL award. Dalton Pence won the pitcher of the week award for Aug. 3-9 and David Davalillo did the same for Aug. 10-16.
The Express were in El Paso last week and Cauley showed off his bat and his versatility. He batted .407 with four home runs, three doubles, 10 RBI, four walks and four stolen bases for one of the best offense weeks of any Rangers prospect this season. Meanwhile, he played five different positions in the field - third base, center field, left field, second base and shortstop.
The versatility is critical for Cauley to be that player the Rangers call up on Sept. 1. Texas still has third baseman Josh Jung on the injured list, and he is not expected to be ready before September. Texas is moving players like Ezequiel Duran and Cody Freeman to different positions on a regular basis. In addition, Texas needs a right-handed bat to platoon with left-handed hitting center fielder Evan Carter .
He was invited to Major League spring training on a non-roster invite and impressed the organization, but not enough to claim an opening-day roster spot. He's spent his entire minor league season with Round Rock, where he's slashed .273/.370/.450 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI. He leads the PCL with 34 stolen bases. He's never been caught in 34 attempts, which is the most of any player in the minor leagues this season.
This is the perfect week for Cauley to have a big week as president of baseball operations Chris Young and his staff consider which players can help them best as they try to win the American League West.
In 28 games with the Rangers, he slashed .207/.281/.345 with a home run and an RBI. He played second base, shortstop, center field and right field so Texas already knows the versatility. The time is coming for Cauley to re-join the Rangers for the stretch drive.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as How Cameron Cauley is Playing for Promotion When Rangers Roster Expands .
