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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Indians notebook: Leody Taveras, the Rangers’ fourth-ranked prospect, called up to Spokane

A top Rangers prospect will be making a stop in Spokane.

Leody Taveras, 17, was promoted to Spokane from the AZL Rangers, according to a tweet from Ben Bader of Baseball America.

Taveras is the fourth-ranked prospect in the Rangers’ organization, according to MLB.com, and was the third-ranked international prospect, according to Baseball America, when he signed with Texas in July 2015. He was hitting .278 with 15 RBIs with the AZL Rangers before the call-up.

He is the younger cousin of former major league outfielder Willy Taveras, who played for the Astros, Rockies, Reds and Nationals from 2004 to 2010. Taveras is from Teneras, Dominican Republic.

This is the scouting report on Taveres, per Baseball America:

“At 6-foot-1, 165 pounds, Taveras is a switch-hitter with a sweet swing and a chance to have five average to plus tools. He’s a good athlete with a well-balanced combination of speed, arm strength and projectable power.”

Taveras will join a six-man Spokane Indians’ outfield and will likely see a lot of time in center field.

Tejeda, Kendrick, Evans also promoted

Joining Taveras from the Arizona Rookie League is Anderson Tejeda, Clyde Kendrick and Demarcus Evans.

Tejeda, 18, was hitting .293 with 23 RBIs in 133 at-bats for the AZL Rangers before being called up. He split time between shortstop and second base with the AZL Rangers.

Tejeda is from Bani, Dominican Republic, hailing from the same city as Indians infielder Luis Terrero.

Kendrick, a left-handed pitcher, has a 3.60 ERA in seven appearances out of the bullpen for the AZL Rangers this season. Evans, a right-handed pitcher, has made six starts for the AZL Rangers, posting a 3.10 ERA. 

Shortslef called up to Hickory

Right-handed pitcher Jacob Shortslef was promoted to Low-A Hickory, according to the Northwest League website. Shortslef was 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five starts this season for the Indians. 

Bolin, Merrigan sent down to AZL Rangers

Spokane Indians outfielders Travis Bolin and Josh Merrigan were sent down to the AZL Rangers, presumably to get more playing time. Bolin and Merrigan combined to play in 36 games this season, each hitting .231 and .236, respectively. 

Turner shines in All-Star game

Spokane third baseman Xavier Turner was named the Northwest-Pioneer League All-Star Game MVP after going 3 for 3 with a home run on Tuesday.

Three other Indians — Seth Spivey, Chad Smith and Tyler Ferguson — also saw action. Spivey had an RBI, Smith was 1 for 2 and Ferguson went three up, three down to pitch a scoreless seventh.

Next up

Spokane travels to Salem-Keizer, starting a five-game series with the Volcanoes on Thursday. 



Josh Horton
Josh Horton is a summer intern at The Spokesman-Review and is covering the Spokane Indians baseball team.





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