Ortiz boasting tantalizing power in Texas’ farm system.
This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
PHILADELPHIA — Abimelec Ortiz isn’t exactly what you would call a speedster. At 5-foot-10 and 230 pounds, the Rangers’ No. 11 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, doesn’t particularly need it either.
Ortiz has 60-grade power, and he uses every bit of it. Signed for $20,000 as an undrafted free agent in 2021, Ortiz flew under the radar for much of his first two seasons of pro ball between the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League and Single-A Down East. But in 2023, he finally broke out with High-A Hickory.
Ortiz led the Minors in slugging (.619) and ranked fourth in homers (33) and OPS (.990) in 2023, when he was named South Atlantic League MVP and the Rangers’ Minor League Player of the Year.
“Abi has made a lot of progress in our system,” said Rangers assistant general manager for player development Ross Fenstermaker at the end of last season. “He’s got tremendous raw power that he’s been able to translate to the game a lot more frequently in 2023. He repeated the level [Single-A Down East], but passed the test pretty early on and carried it into [High-A] Hickory.
“He’s got a good eye at the plate and he’s got a good plan. He simplified some things and can still really do some damage in the box.”
