Dustin Alexander Harris (born July 8, 1999) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Dustin Harris
Harris with the Round Rock Express in 2023
Texas Rangers – No. 38
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1999-07-08) July 8, 1999 (age 25)
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 28, 2024, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.333
Home runs1
Runs batted in3
Teams

Amateur career

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Harris attended Land o' Lakes High School in Land o' Lakes, Florida.[1][2] He was named First Team All-State during his senior season in 2017.[3] Undrafted out of high school in 2017, Harris attended St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida to play college baseball for the Titans. He hit .373 with 33 RBI in 2018.[4] During the summer of 2018, he played for the Worcester Bravehearts of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.[5] He hit .306/.367/.434/.800 with 2 home runs and 42 RBI, and was named a league All-Star.[6][7] Harris committed to transfer to Florida Atlantic University following his sophomore season.[8] In his sophomore season of 2019, he hit .409 with 7 home runs, 42 RBI, and 13 stolen bases.[9] He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 11th round of the 2019 MLB draft, and signed with them for a $250,000 signing bonus.[10][11][12]

Professional career

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Harris split his professional debut season of 2019 between the Arizona League Athletics and the Vermont Lake Monsters, combining to hit .325/.403/.407/.810 with 1 home run and 26 RBI.[13] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On September 18, 2020, Harris and Marcus Smith were traded to the Texas Rangers as the PTBNL's in the Mike Minor trade.[14][15] Harris opened the 2021 season with the Down East Wood Ducks of the Low-A East, hitting .301/.389/.483/.872 with 10 home runs, 53 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.[16][17] He was promoted to the Hickory Crawdads of the High-A East on August 3.[18][19][20] Harris hit .372/.425/.648/1.073 with 10 home runs, 32 RBI, and 5 stolen bases over 37 games for Hickory.[21][22][23] Harris was named the Rangers 2021 Tom Grieve Player of the Year.[24][25] Harris spent the 2022 season with the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League, hitting .257/.346/.471/.817 with 17 home runs, 66 RBI, and 19 stolen bases over 85 games.[26] He represented the Rangers at the 2022 All-Star Futures Game.[27] Harris missed the final two months of the 2022 season due to a left wrist sprain.[28]

On November 15, 2022, the Rangers selected Harris to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[29] Harris opened the 2023 season back with Frisco.[30][31] He was promoted to the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League on June 20, after hitting .245/.374/.406 with 5 home runs, 29 RBI, and 24 stolen bases over 60 games.[32] Over 67 games for Round Rock, he hit .273/.382/.455 with 9 home runs, 31 RBI, and 17 stolen bases.

Harris was optioned to Triple–A Round Rock to begin the 2024 season.[33] In 131 games for the Express, he batted .272/.358/.391 with 10 home runs, 53 RBI, and 35 stolen bases. On September 24, 2024, Harris was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[34]

References

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  1. ^ Sharp, Darek (February 22, 2017). "Regular-season district dominance not enough for Land O'Lakes". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  2. ^ Weiss, Kevin (June 15, 2016). "SAC East baseball team announced". The Laker/Lutz News. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  3. ^ "Texas gets 2 prospects to finish Minor trade". MLB.com. September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Dustin Harris". St. Petersburg College. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  5. ^ "Dustin Harris - Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England - player". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  6. ^ "Eleven Bravehearts Named All-Stars". Worcester Bravehearts. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "2018 Worcester Bravehearts Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  8. ^ Newberg, Jamey (February 16, 2022). "Rangers Prospect Dustin Harris Was off Baseball's Radar. Now He's Texas' Scouting Success Story". D Magazine. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  9. ^ "NJCAA Region 8". NJCAA Region 8. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "A's select 30 players on Day Three of 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft". MLB.com. June 5, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  11. ^ Keith Law (February 28, 2020). "Keith Law's prospect rankings: Oakland A's". The Athletic. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  12. ^ Grant, Evan (March 27, 2022). "Rangers top prospects: Dustin Harris might be best hitting prospect in organization". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  13. ^ Lockard, Melissa (August 31, 2020). "A's give up two rising talents for rotation depth in deal for Mike Minor". The Athletic. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  14. ^ Halicke, Chris (August 31, 2020). "Texas Rangers Trade LHP Mike Minor to Oakland A's for Two Players To Be Named Later". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  15. ^ Weaver, Levi (February 4, 2022). "Rangers prospect and former PTBNL Dustin Harris is changing the narrative on a previously perplexing trade". The Athletic. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  16. ^ Grant, Evan (August 13, 2021). "Rangers' top 20 prospects: Post-trade deadline, midseason reshuffle after a busy July in Texas". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Wilson, Jeff (August 31, 2021). "Dustin Harris Has An Upper-Level Hitting Approach". Baseball America. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  18. ^ Savage, Jason (August 4, 2021). "Hickory Crawdads Newcomer Harris Hits Two Homers in Win". WHKY-TV. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  19. ^ Newberg, Jamey (August 30, 2021). "Texas Rangers 2021 midseason prospect rankings: Nos. 12 through 1". The Athletic. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  20. ^ "Hot Sheet: Baseball's 20 Hottest Prospects From The Past Week (8/24/21)". Baseball America. August 24, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Crawdads, Hickory (October 1, 2021). "Rangers Announce 2021 Minor League Award Winners". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  22. ^ Wilson, Jeff (January 7, 2022). "Rangers Prepare Breakout Prospect Dustin Harris For A Move To The Outfield". Baseball America. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  23. ^ Landry, Kennedi (March 2, 2021). "After 20-20 season, Rangers high on prospect Dustin Harris". MLB.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  24. ^ Landry, Kennedi (October 1, 2021). "Snyder, Winn among Minors Awards winners". MLB.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  25. ^ Callis, Jim; Mayo, Jonathan; Dykstra, Sam (September 30, 2021). "Prospects of the Year for every org". MLB.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  26. ^ "Rangers fill roster by protecting 6 prospects". MLB.com.
  27. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (July 7, 2022). "Here are the 2022 Futures Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  28. ^ Postins, Matthew (October 28, 2022). "Rangers Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Dustin Harris". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  29. ^ Weaver, Levi (November 15, 2022). "Martín Pérez returns to Texas, Dennis Santana traded, 6 added to 40-man roster". The Athletic. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  30. ^ "Dustin Harris Stats, Fantasy & News".
  31. ^ "Rangers' Dustin Harris: Opening season at Double-A". CBS Sports. March 29, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  32. ^ Grant, Evan (June 20, 2023). "Rangers promote top prospects Owen White, Dustin Harris to Triple-A Round Rock". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  33. ^ "Rangers' Dustin Harris: Optioned to minor-league camp". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  34. ^ "Rangers Select Matt Duffy, Promote Dustin Harris". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
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