Justin Foscue

Justin Foscue
Foscue with the Round Rock Express in 2023
Texas Rangers – No. 56
Second baseman / First baseman
Born: (1999-03-02) March 2, 1999 (age 25)
Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 5, 2024, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through September 3, 2024)
Batting average.083
Home runs0
Runs batted in1
Teams

Justin Connor Foscue (born March 2, 1999) is an American professional baseball second baseman and first baseman for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected 14th overall by the Rangers in the 2020 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut on April 5, 2024.

Amateur career

Foscue attended Virgil I. Grissom High School in Huntsville, Alabama, where he played baseball.[1] In 2017, his senior year, he hit .318 with six home runs,[2] earning All-State honors.[3] Undrafted in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, he fulfilled his commitment to play college baseball at Mississippi State University.[4]

In 2018, Foscue's freshman season for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Foscue appeared in 58 games, batting .241 with three home runs and twenty runs batted in (RBIs).[5] As a sophomore in 2019, he moved from third base to second base[6] and slashed .331/.395/.564 with 14 home runs, sixty RBIs, and 22 doubles over 67 starts.[7][8][9] He earned All-SEC First-Team honors.[10] That summer, he played for the United States collegiate national team.[11][12][13] In 2020, Foscue's junior year, he hit .302 with two home runs and 16 RBIs over 16 games before the college baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

Professional career

Foscue with the United States national collegiate baseball team in 2019

The Texas Rangers selected Foscue in the first round, with the 14th overall selection, of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[15] He signed with the Rangers on June 19 for a $3.25 million signing bonus.[16] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

To begin the 2021 season, Foscue was assigned to the Hickory Crawdads of the High-A East.[18] He missed the whole month of June and the beginning of July after suffering a rib injury.[19] He received a cortisone injection and rehabbed with the Arizona Complex League Rangers before returning to Hickory on July 10.[20] From July 9 (his last rehab appearance) to July 23 (with Hickory), Foscue homered in eight consecutive games, tying the Major League Baseball record.[21] In early August, he was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Central.[22] Over 62 games for the 2021 season, Foscue slashed .275/.371/.590 with 17 home runs and 51 RBIs.[23] He played in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros after the season, hitting .257/.416/.529/.944 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.[24][25] He opened the 2022 season with Frisco on the injured list with a back injury.[26] Over 101 games with Frisco, he slashed .288/.367/.483 with 15 home runs, 81 RBIs, and 31 doubles.[27]

Foscue spent the 2023 season with the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, hitting .266/.394/.468/.862 with 18 home runs, 14 stolen bases, and 84 RBI.[28] On November 14, 2023, Texas added Foscue to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[29]

Foscue was optioned to Triple–A Round Rock to begin the 2024 season.[30] On April 2, 2024, Foscue was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[31] He made his debut on April 5, and collected his first hit on April 7.[32][33] However, Foscue was placed on the injured list on April 8 with an oblique strain.[34] He was transferred to the 60–day injured list on April 13.[35] Foscue was activated from the injured list on June 26 and stayed in the minors.[36] Foscue got called up for the second time in his career on July 20.[37] He played that day and recorded a hit and a run.

References

  1. ^ McNelley, Justin (July 2016). "Alabama comes up short in Southeastern Underclassmen Shootout". wsfa.com.
  2. ^ Boyette, Daniel (May 24, 2017). "Mississippi State signee Justin Foscue headlines Huntsville All-City baseball team". al.
  3. ^ Report, Times Staff. "14 county baseball players named All-State". Gadsden Times.
  4. ^ Baseball, G. H. S. (December 15, 2016). "Justin Foscue Signs with Mississippi State".
  5. ^ Journal, Logan Lowery Daily (August 7, 2018). "Foscue confident he could compete as a freshman". Daily Journal.
  6. ^ Horka, Tyler. "'A pure hitter': How Justin Foscue has stabilized Mississippi State's offense". The Clarion Ledger.
  7. ^ "Mississippi State baseball position preview: Infield". The Commercial Dispatch. February 12, 2020.
  8. ^ Horka, Tyler. "Mississippi State baseball has the pieces for 'nice depth' at infield positions". The Clarion Ledger.
  9. ^ "Foscue Ready to Make Diamond Dawg Baseball History". GenesPage.com.
  10. ^ Horka, Tyler. "Mississippi State, Ole Miss players receive All-SEC baseball honors". The Clarion Ledger.
  11. ^ Villicana, Paloma (July 3, 2019). "Huntsville native makes it to USA college national baseball team". waff.com.
  12. ^ "Former Alabama HS stars named to USA National team". al. July 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "Forty-One USA Baseball Alumni Selected in the 2020 MLB Draft". USA Baseball. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  14. ^ Coleman, Joel (May 4, 2020). "Season cut short: Foscue, Westburg may have seen last at-bats for MSU". Flex BLOX CMS.
  15. ^ Weaver, Levi. "'I found my true swing': How Justin Foscue became the Rangers' first-round pick". The Athletic. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  16. ^ Journal, Dalton Middleton Daily (June 19, 2020). "Foscue first MSU draftee to sign pro contract". Daily Journal. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  17. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Cancelled". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  18. ^ "Where will Rangers' top prospects begin '21?". MLB.com. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  19. ^ "Rangers' Justin Foscue: Dealing with bruised rib". CBSSports.com. May 27, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  20. ^ Dykstra, Sam (July 16, 2021). "Healthy Foscue homers twice for Hickory". MLB.com. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Harrigan, Thomas (July 25, 2021). "Rangers prospect has HRs in 8 straight games". MLB.com. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  22. ^ Halicke, Chris. "Rangers Minor League Notes: Six Players To Frisco IL, Foscue Highlights Wave of Promotions". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  23. ^ Weaver, Levi. "Which Rangers prospects will make their debut in 2022? First is best, it appears". The Athletic. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  24. ^ Callis, Jim (October 21, 2021). "Foscue making up ground in Fall League". MLB.com. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  25. ^ Boor, William (October 26, 2021). "Foscue homers, drives in 4 in AFL". MLB.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  26. ^ "Here's where Rangers Top 30 prospects are starting '22". MLB.com.
  27. ^ "Justin Foscue Stats, Fantasy & News".
  28. ^ Postins, Matthew (April 20, 2023). "Watch: Justin Foscue Homers for Round Rock". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  29. ^ "Rangers' Justin Foscue: Selected to 40-man roster". CBSSports.com. November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  30. ^ "Rangers' Justin Foscue: Sent to Triple-A". cbssports.com. March 27, 2024.
  31. ^ "Sources: Rangers calling up top prospect Justin Foscue". espn.com. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  32. ^ McFarland, Shawn (April 6, 2024). "Texas Rangers No. 6 prospect Justin Foscue makes MLB debut: 'Everything I've dreamed of'". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  33. ^ McFarland, Shawn (April 7, 2024). "Texas Rangers rookie Justin Foscue gets first hit, RBI of major league career". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  34. ^ RotoWire Staff (April 8, 2024). "Rangers' Justin Foscue: Lands on 10-day IL". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  35. ^ "Rangers Place Brock Burke On 15-Day Injured List". mlbtraderumors.com. April 13, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  36. ^ "Rangers Option Ezequiel Duran, Select Derek Hill, DFA Yerry Rodríguez Amid Series of Roster Moves". mlbtraderumors.com. June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  37. ^ "Rangers' Justin Foscue: Called up Saturday". www.cbssports.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.