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Sam Huff (baseball)

Sam Huff
Huff with the Round Rock Express in 2022
Texas Rangers – No. 55
Catcher
Born: (1998-01-14) January 14, 1998 (age 26)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 11, 2020, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.262
Home runs10
Runs batted in20
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Samuel Nicholas Huff (born January 14, 1998) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020.

Amateur career

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Huff attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona.[1] He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the seventh round, with the 219th overall selection, of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[2] He signed with the Rangers for a $225,000 signing bonus, forgoing a commitment to Grand Canyon University.[3]

Professional career

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Huff spent his first two professional seasons with the Arizona League Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League, hitting .330/.436/.485/.921 with 1 home run and 17 RBI in 2016, and .249/.329/.452/.781 with 9 home runs and 31 RBI in 2017. He played the 2018 season with the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League, hitting .241/.292/.439/.731 with 18 home runs and 55 RBI.[4] He opened 2019 back with Hickory, hitting .333/.368/.796/1.164 with 15 home runs and 29 RBI over 30 games.[5] He was promoted to the Down East Wood Ducks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League on May 9.[6][7] Huff was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game.[8] Huff hit a two-run home run off of Ben Bowden in the seventh inning to tie the game, and was awarded the 2019 Futures Game Larry Doby Most Valuable Player award.[9] Huff has named a 2019 Carolina League Year-End All-Star.[10] Huff produced a .262/.326/.425/.751 slash line with 13 home runs and 43 RBI for Down East.[11][12][13]

On September 10, 2020, the Rangers selected Huff's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[14] He made his major league debut the next day against the Oakland Athletics. In 10 games for Texas in 2020, Huff hit .355/.394/.742/1.136 with 3 home runs and 4 RBI.[15]

On April 23, 2021, it was announced that Huff would undergo surgery on April 28 to remove a "loose body" from his right knee, requiring eight weeks of recovery.[16] On May 4, Huff was placed on the 60-day injured list as he recovered from the surgery.[17] On July 17, Huff was activated off of the injured list.[18]

Huff played 46 games in Double-A with the Frisco RoughRiders prior to being promoted to Triple-A Round Rock on September 23, 2021. In Frisco he hit an average of .237 with 10 home runs and 23 runs batted in.[19] Following the 2021 season, Huff played for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.[20] Huff split the 2022 season between Texas and Round Rock. With Texas, he hit 240/.303/.372/.675 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI over 44 games; with Round Rock, Huff hit .260/.336/.533/.868 with 21 home runs and 50 RBI over 63 games played.[21]

Huff was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to begin the 2023 season.[22] He played in 21 games for Texas. batting .256/.289/.512 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI. Huff was again optioned to Triple–A Round Rock to begin the 2024 season.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Smith, Nick (May 1, 2016). "AHS catcher Huff following in his father's footsteps". arcadianews.com. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  2. ^ Obert, Richard (June 10, 2016). "Arcadia's Sam Huff first Arizona high school player taken in MLB draft". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  3. ^ James, Chris (June 18, 2016). "Rangers Reach Agreement With Draft Pick Sam Huff". NBC DFW. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  4. ^ Parker, Mark (May 20, 2018). "Internal fire burns bright for Crawdads' Huff". Hickory Daily Record. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  5. ^ Jamey Newberg (March 30, 2019). "Everything about Sam Huff's game is big, including the question that he's answered at every turn". The Athletic. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  6. ^ Adam J. Morris (May 9, 2019). "Sam Huff promoted to Down East". Lone Star Ball. SB Nation. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  7. ^ Jamey Newberg (March 21, 2019). "Rangers prospect Sam Huff may be an outlier for his position, but there's a catch". The Athletic. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  8. ^ Jim Callis (June 28, 2019). "Here are the 2019 Futures Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  9. ^ Anthony Castrovince (July 7, 2019). "Rangers prospect Huff wins Futures Game MVP". MLB.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  10. ^ Matt Present (August 22, 2019). "Four Wood Ducks Claim Year-End Honors". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. ^ T.R. Sullivan (September 19, 2019). "Pipeline names Rangers Prospects of the Year". MLB.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  12. ^ Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Mike Rosenbaum (September 5, 2019). "30 prospects who had big seasons in the Minors". MLB.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  13. ^ Jamey Newberg (August 22, 2019). "Long-term looks: Sam Huff gears up to settle Rangers' situation behind the plate". The Athletic. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  14. ^ T.R. Sullivan (September 10, 2020). "Slugging prospect Sam Huff joins Rangers". MLB.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  15. ^ Levi Weaver (October 6, 2020). "'Looks like a 10-year vet': How Sam Huff became the 2020 Rangers' silver lining". The Athletic. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  16. ^ "Guzmán, Huff both set for knee surgery". MLB.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  17. ^ "Rangers' Sam Huff: Shifts to 60-day IL". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  18. ^ "Rangers Reinstate Sam Huff from 60-Day IL, Designate Tyler Phillips".
  19. ^ "Sam Huff Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History".
  20. ^ Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, and Sam Dykstra (October 6, 2021). "Here are the Arizona Fall League rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Postins, Matthew (November 7, 2022). "Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps: Sam Huff". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  22. ^ "Rangers' Sam Huff: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  23. ^ "Rangers' Sam Huff: Missed out on Opening Day roster". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
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