Rangers' Blaine Crim Among Hottest Hitters in Triple-A; 'Definitely Good for the Confidence'
There might not be a hotter hitter to start the year in Triple-A than Rangers prospect Blaine Crim.
After hitting 20 home runs and an .840 OPS last season for Round Rock, Crim landed back in Triple-A to begin the 2025 season. After posting two solid offensive seasons there the last two seasons, he didn’t let the repeat assignment factor into his play as he has gotten off to one of the hottest starts in all of minor league baseball.
“I think I am just trying to be on time for heaters in the zone and taking an A swing in my counts,” Crim said of his hot start. “I feel like that keeps me locked in to my approach. I think the hot start is definitely good for the confidence going forward. Last year was not a good start for me, so hopefully this feeling stays for a while.”
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The 27-year-old earned a non-roster invite to big league camp this spring and got into 17 games. While only having one extra base hits during his big league camp, Crim still was able to post a .714 OPS after resting up over his offseason.
“This was my first offseason not playing winter ball so I tried to enjoy resting and hanging out with my wife,” Crim noted. “I didn’t really get to work swinging a bat consistently until January this year so it was a nice break. I just tried to get bigger and stronger and come into spring heavy and strong this year. The big league games are nice just to see how those arms attack guys in certain situations. It’s nice to see how the veteran hitters approach at bats and I try to learn from those guys.
The quiet offseason paid off for Crim as he won Pacific Coast League Player of the Week for March 31-April 6. He batted .520/.524/.730/1.254, which was good for 1 HR, 4 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBI over the six game series against Toledo last week.
“It was nice to win that for sure,” Crim said. “We had a good week offensively as a team, so I was in a lot of situations to succeed and that always helps. My early goals are just focusing on hitting the ball hard through the middle of the field and not miss my pitches when they come.”
After the hot start, the clock is ticking for the Rangers to give a shot to Crim at the major league level. When that moment comes, it will be a much deserved MLB debut.
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