Skylar Hales #96

Skylar Dhiraj Hales…Pitched three seasons at Santa Clara University, combining to go 9-10, 4.38 ERA (76 ER/156.1 IP) with 168 strikeouts (9.7 SO/9) in 51 games (13 starts)…Was a Second Team All-West Coast Conference selection as a junior in 2023 after posting a 6-5 record with four saves, 3.42 ERA (21 ER/55.1 IP) and 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings figure over a team-leading 22 appearances (one start)…Spent the summer before his sophomore campaign with the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast League…Registered the seventh-highest maximum pitch velocity (96.6 mph) among prospects who participated in bullpen sessions at the 2023 MLB Draft Combine held at Chase Field in Phoenix…Prepped at Reno (Nev.) High School, where he starred in both baseball and basketball…As a junior in 2019, helped lead the Huskies to a runner-up finish in the Nevada State Championship as he was named First Team All-High Desert League as a reliever after posting a .201 opp. BA…Was a basketball team captain during his senior 2019-20 season, averaging 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game…Father, Bradley, was a collegiate swimmer at UCLA…In his free time, enjoys playing ping pong, spikeball, cornhole, billiards, foosball and board games.

2024

Went 4-0 with 10 saves, a 3.18 ERA (20 ER/56.2 IP), 66 strikeouts and 17 walks in 44 relief outings for Hickory (A+) and Frisco (AA) in his second professional season…Opponents batted .237/.300/.326/.625, including .246 BA vs. RHB and .207 BA vs. LHB…Was on seven-day injured list from 4/27-5/7 with right triceps tendinitis…Allowed eight R-ER in first four games with Hickory, but was scoreless in 13 of final 16 games for the Crawdads (2.18 ERA) before earning a mid-season promotion to Frisco on 6/25…Went 3-0 with four saves, a 2.10 ERA (seven ER/30.0 IP), 31 SO and eight BB in 24 games for the ‘Riders in his first career Double-A action…Made two appearances in Texas League Division Series vs. Midland (one R-ER/1.1 IP)…Is rated among the top prospects in the Rangers organization by Baseball America (No. 25) and MLB Pipeline (No. 28)…After the regular season, made seven appearances for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League and notched one save.

2023

Went 0-1, 4.22 ERA (five ER/10.2 IP) over seven relief outings for the ACL Rangers (Rk.) and Down East (A) in his professional debut…In a limited sample, saw much more success against right-handed batters (.042/.042/.167/.208) than lefties (.385/.467/.846/1.313)…Yielded at least one ER in his first three games from 7/31-8/11, but was scoreless over his final four games from 8/18-9/8 (8.0 SHO IP, one H, one BB-one IBB, seven SO in latter span)…Selected by Texas in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft (signing scout: Gabe Sandy)…Signed on 7/19.