Round Rock 1B Blaine Crim Promoted to Texas

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Welcome to The Show, Blaine! The Texas Rangers announced that the club selected the contract of . Crim will join the team at Globe Life Field tonight as the Rangers get set for their series opener with the Seattle Mariners at 7:05 p.m. CT.

Crim has been on the Express active roster since September 13, 2022. Among players selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, he has appeared in more MiLB games than any other player (590). Since he made his professional debut for Short Season Spokane in 2019, he leads all of MiLB in hits (668) and RBI (420) and is tied for second in doubles (130) while sitting at sixth in home runs (110).

Since his Triple-A debut in 2022, the 27-year-old has appeared in 308 games for the E-Train and has owned a slash line of .286/.373/.486/.859 with 71 doubles, eight triples, 49 home runs, 201 RBI, 198 runs scored and 153 walks. In his last game with the Express on Wednesday in Sugar Land, Crim became just the ninth Express player to ever reach 200 RBI. He is one of 16 players to appear in over 300 games for the Express and is ninth in club history in doubles and tied for seventh in home runs.

To open 2025, Crim slashed .313/.365/.565/.930 with six doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 25 RBI, 17 runs scored, 10 walks and 21 strikeouts. He is tied for the Pacific Coast League lead in home runs. Against left-handed pitching this year, Crim is 12-for-23 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 10 RBI and three walks.

He was named PCL Player of the Week for March 31-April 6 when he hit .520 (13-for-25)/.600/.880/1.480 with four doubles, a triple, a home run, nine RBI, seven runs scored, five walks and only two strikeouts. One homer was a walk-off against Toledo on April 2.

In 2024, Crim was named the Round Rock Express Most Valuable Player. He appeared in 134 games while slashing .277/.370/.469/.839 with 33 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs and 86 RBI. He collected his fourth consecutive season with at least 20 home runs and 80 RBI. He posted a 32-game on-base streak from June 27-August 10. After slashing .204/.312/.348 in 68 games to open the 2024 season, he hit .412/.503/.588 in his next 34 games.

Crim was named the Texas Rangers "True Ranger" award recipient in 2023 for representing the organization's core values both on and off the field. Among PCL hitters in 2023, he finished fourth in hits (143), tied for fourth in doubles (31) and eighth in OPS (.891) while tied for second in extra-base hits (58).

In 2022, Crim was named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star and led all Rangers minor league players in homers (24), RBI (96), extra-base hits (51), and total bases (250). In 2021, he was named a High-A East League All-Star after batting .300 with 20 home runs and 61 RBI over 73 games with High-A Hickory. In his professional debut season in 2019, Crim was named MVP of the Northwest League while playing for Spokane.

The Mobile, Alabama native was originally selected by the Rangers in the 19th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi.

Round Rock and Sugar Land will get set for game four of their series at Constellation Field tonight with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT. Express RHP Adrian Houser (1-1, 7.06) will face Space Cowboys LHP Colton Gordon (2-0, 2.59).

For more information on the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and X!

[AP1]should we say "selected the contract"? which one sounds cooler lol?

[LF2]I would say 26 man mention here and the 28 man mention in next paragraph confuses me as someone not super familiar with that detail