Justin Grimm to the Rangers
In doing so, Grimm becomes the 107th former Hickory player to receive a call-up to the major leagues. He is the first player from the 2011 Crawdads squad to play in the majors.
Grimm came to the Crawdads the following spring after the Rangers selected him in the 5th round in the 2010 June amateur draft out of the University of Georgia.
A native of Bristol, VA (Virginia High), he pitched for Crawdads the first two months of the 2011 campaign. In nine starts, Grimm was 2-1 with a 3.40 ERA, striking out 54 batters in 50.1 IP, allowing only 18 walks. His best start for the Crawdads came on May 12 at Savannah, when he pitched seven shutout innings of six-hit baseball, while striking out five. He also had an 11 strikeout game (2 runs, 4 hits) vs. Kannapolis on May 1.
Grimm was promoted to Myrtle Beach on May 27, where he finished the season with the Pelicans with a 5-2 mark in 16 starts.
This season at AA-Frisco, he was 8-3 with a 1.87 ERA in 13 starts and was selected to participate in the Texas League All-Star Game.
Grimm will be the first former Crawdad to start a game for the parent-club Rangers since the current affiliation began in 2009.
He is the 5th former Crawdad player to receive a first-time call-up to the majors, following Robbie Ross, Matt Hague, Joe Wieland and Jordy Mercer.