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Thompson, Winn earn Double-A Central recognition

Winn captures Pitcher of the Year, Thompson named All-Star
October 6, 2021

FRISCO, Texas (October 6, 2021) – Major League Baseball honored Bubba Thompson and Cole Winn as part of their Double-A Central Postseason All-Star Team on Wednesday. Thompson was named an All-Star as an outfielder while Winn took home the Pitcher of the Year award. Winn spent the entirety of the

FRISCO, Texas (October 6, 2021) – Major League Baseball honored Bubba Thompson and Cole Winn as part of their Double-A Central Postseason All-Star Team on Wednesday. Thompson was named an All-Star as an outfielder while Winn took home the Pitcher of the Year award.

Winn spent the entirety of the 2021 campaign with the RoughRiders before being promoted to Triple-A Round Rock after the conclusion of the Double-A season. With the RoughRiders, the Longmont, Colorado native was one of the best pitchers in all of Minor League Baseball, going 3–3 with a 2.31 ERA over his 19 starts, striking out 97 to 26 walks over 78.0 innings. Where he truly excelled was limiting base runners. Among those who threw at least 70 innings in the minors, his .143 batting average against was the best in baseball while his WHIP (0.82) was third and his ERA was ninth. Including his time in Round Rock, Winn finished the season 4-3 with a 2.41 ERA. Winn is the No.3 overall prospect in the Rangers system by MLB.com while also placing No.60 on MLB.com's top 100 rankings.

Winn is the third RoughRiders pitcher to win Texas League/Double-A Central Pitcher of the Year, joining Blake Beavan (2010) and Barret Loux (2012).

Thompson had the best year of his minor league career, slashing .275/.325/.483 with Frisco. Thompson did his damage primarily from the leadoff spot in the Riders order, and played more games in center field than any player at any other position — except Matt Whatley at catcher (69 games to Thompson’s 65). Thompson also found himself all over the Double-A Central leaderboards. He finished the year first in the league triples (nine), tied for first in extra-base hits (48), second in hits (118), tied for fourth in runs (73), fifth in doubles (23), seventh in steals (25) and 10th in slugging percentage (.483). Thompson ended the season as the Rangers No.28 prospect per MLB.com.

The centerfielder is the fifth RoughRiders outfielder to be named a Postseason All-Star in the league, alongside Craig Gentry (2009), Engel Beltre (2012), Nick Williams (2015) and Ryan Cordell (2016).

The rest of the Double-A Central Postseason All-Star Team:

MVP: M.J. Melendez (Northwest Arkansas)

Pitcher of the Year: Cole Winn (Frisco)

Manager of the Year: Ramon Borrego (Wichita)

Top MLB Prospect: Bobby Witt Jr. (Northwest Arkansas)

Catcher: M.J. Melendez (Northwest Arkansas)

First Base: Nick Pratto (Northwest Arkansas)

Second Base: Michael Busch (Tulsa)

Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr. (Northwest Arkansas)

Third Base: Miguel Vargas (Tulsa)

Outfielder: Stone Garrett (Amarillo)

Outfielder: Bubba Thompson (Frisco)

Outfielder: Julio Rodriguez (Arkansas)

Designated Hitter: Ryan Noda (Tulsa)

Right-Handed Starter: Cole Winn (Frisco)

Left-Handed Starter: Jared Koenig (Midland)

Reliever: Darin Gillies (Arkansas)

For more information about the Frisco RoughRiders, visit RidersBaseball.com or call 972.731.9200.

About the RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance for 15 consecutive seasons (2005-2019). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. Since then, the new ownership group, together with the City of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise enhancements, investing over $8 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, InTouch Grille, Riders Outpost Team Store and the world's largest water feature in a sports facility, the massive Lazy River. These enhancements earned the Riders and the City of Frisco Ballpark Digest's prestigious "Best Ballpark Renovation" award for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than 160 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including current Rangers players Jose Trevino, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Taylor Hearn. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact [email protected]