One September callup we want for each MLB team

Texas Rangers: Willie Calhoun

The Rangers did not fold up their tents and call it a season after trading away Yu Darvish at the deadline. They’ve gone on a bit of a run and remain on the fringes of the AL playoff picture. A strong month of September with plenty of chances to ding the Mariners and Angels could push them to the top of the jumbled heap of Wild Card contenders.

Willie Calhoun was one of the key pieces to come back to the Rangers in the Darvish trade and he is ready for his MLB debut. The second baseman (future left fielder) is up to 29 home runs in the minors this year and has only 58 strikeouts in 122 games. He has a very mature approach to hitting and his combination of contact ability and raw power is not seen in many prospects. His bat-to-ball skills are reminiscent of a young Howie Kendrick who could fall out of bed and hit .300 but never had much power in his prime.

Calhoun’s defense is not good enough to stick at second base for much longer, and he has begun playing some left field this year at Triple-A. He may already better hitter than Delino DeShields who has been serving as the Rangers left fielder. DeShields has a .712 OPS in 93 games.

The best option for the Rangers in September if they hope to make up ground and snag a playoff spot would be to make Calhoun the starting left fielder and keep DeShields as a defensive replacement for him past the seventh inning.