ARLINGTON,TX — Willie Calhoun has found his groove during his current nine-game hitting streak.

Calhoun, an MLBbro, who was the prize acquisition in the trade that sent ace Yu Darvish to the Dodgers, will be an important part of the success of Texas,  both now and in the future.

It’s that time of year in Texas and the 26-year-old Calhoun is the heating up along with the weather.

He extended his career-long streak with  a 2-4 performance against the Boston Red Sox.

During the streak Calhoun is 13-for-36 with a .361 batting average with two home runs,  four RBI and seven runs scored.

​​When Calhoun joined the Rangers, they were right on the brink of being contenders, so losing Darvish, one of the best pitchers the team had since Nolan Ryan, was questionable to some.

Calhoun was a magician with the bat, as he was one of the best minor league hitters in all of baseball and one of the top prospects in the Dodgers organization.

He was drafted by L.A. in the 4th round of the 2015 MLB draft out of Yavapai College.

Calhoun chose to go to college even after the Rays selected him late in the 2013 draft.

In 2016 he was picked to be a part of team USA for the All Star Futures game.  That season he hit .254 with 27 home runs and 88 RBIs for the Tulsa Drillers.  He would then go on to win MVP of a Fall Stars game after going 3-3 with a home run against many of the game’s top prospects.

In his short time with the Rangers, Calhoun’s career has seen many highs and lows.

He made his major league debut for the team on September 12 of 2017.  In 13 games he hit .265 with a .353 slugging percentage to go along with four RBI’s and one home run.

He spent most of 2018 and part of 2019 in the minor leagues as it was tough to get Calhoun to be a consistent part of the Rangers lineup.

It wasn’t until Elvis Andrus suffered an injury in 2019 that Willie was called up. However, an injury plus the addition of Hunter Pence saw Willie moving up and down many times that season as well.  This despite hitting .269 with 21 home runs and 48 RBIs in just 83 games.

We all say 2020 is a year we want to throw away; and injuries tried to ruin Calhoun.  


On March 20, he was hit in the jaw by a Julio Urias fastball during one of the last spring training games of the year.

He then missed the official start to last season with a strained hip flexor and then was sidelined for the month of August with a hamstring injury.

He began this season on the Injured List with a groin strain. Since his return, Willie looks like he is on a mission.

Saturday night he went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and a go-ahead two-run home in the sixth inning on the first pitch of his at bat.

This was the second straight Saturday Calhoun had a go-ahead or game-tying home run as his ninth inning home run in Chicago off closer Liam Hendricks.

Sunday also makes six straight game in which Willie has gotten a hit while in the leadoff spot.

He’ll look to extend his streak tomorrow as the Rangers travel to Minnesota to face the Twins and American League MVP candidate and MLB Bro Byron Buxton.

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