| Aaron Zavala | |
|---|---|
.png) Zavala with theHickory Crawdads in 2022 | |
| Texas Rangers | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (2000-06-23)June 23, 2000 (age 25) Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
Aaron David Kenneth Zavala (born June 23, 2000) is an American professionalbaseballoutfielder in theTexas Rangers organization. He playedcollege baseball for theOregon Ducks.
Zavala grew up inKeizer, Oregon and attendedSouth Salem High School, where he primarily played catcher on the baseball team. As a senior, he was named the Oregon Class 6A State Player of the Year after batting .561 with six home runs and 19 RBIs in 20 games played.[1] Undrafted out of high school, he attended theUniversity of Oregon to playcollege baseball for theOregon Ducks.[2]
Zavala played in 43 games with 37 starts as a freshman and batted .273 with nine doubles, 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored.[3] Following that season he playedcollegiate summer baseball for theRidgefield Raptors of theWest Coast League.[4] Zavala hit .418 with 22 RBIs through 15 games during sophomore season before it was cut short due to thecoronavirus pandemic.[5] As a redshirt sophomore, he was named thePac-12 Conference Baseball Player of the Year and was a consensus first team All-American selection after batting for a .392 average with nine home runs, 38 RBIs, 64 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.[6][7]
On July 12, 2021, Zavala was drafted by theTexas Rangers in the second round of the2021 Major League Baseball draft.[8][9][10] He signed with Texas on August 1, for a $830,000signing bonus.[11] During his routine physical before signing, Texas found a "medical anomaly," which led to his signing bonus being over a million dollars under the designated $1,952,300 slot value.[12] Zavala split his professional debut season of 2021 between theACL Rangers of theRookie-levelArizona Complex League and theDown East Wood Ducks of theLow-A East, hitting a combined .293/.419/.400/.819 with 1 home run, 9 RBI, and 9 stolen bases over 22 games.[13][14] Zavala opened the 2022 season with theHickory Crawdads of theHigh-ASouth Atlantic League, and hit .278/.424/.442/.866 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, and 19 stolen bases over 81 games.[15] On July 30, Zavala was promoted to theFrisco RoughRiders of theDouble-ATexas League.[16] Over 30 games for Frisco, Zavala hit .277/.410/.482/.892 with 5 home runs, 21 RBI, and 4 stolen bases.[17] Following the season he played for theSurprise Saguaros of theArizona Fall League. After just 5 games in the AFL, Zavala was diagnosed with a tornUCL and underwent internal brace UCL repair surgery.[18]
Zavala was assigned back to Frisco after completing rehab, and returned to game action on May 16, 2023.[19] Zavala struggled mightily in 2023, hitting just .194/.343/.285/.627 with 5 home runs and 40 RBI, while striking out 159 times over 426 at-bats.