Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced the organization’s 2026 minor league award winners:
Tom Grieve Player of the Year – INF Rafe Perich
Nolan Ryan Pitcher of the Year – LHP Dalton Pence
Reliever of the Year – LHP Louis Marinaro
Defender of the Year – INF Yolfran Castillo
True Ranger Award – RHP Evan Siary
PRE-GAME CEREMONY: The honorees will be presented with their awards at Globe Life Field in a ceremony prior to the Rangers game on Saturday, September 19 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Perich, 24, slashed .315/.401/.586/.987 (140-444) across 116 games between High-A Hub City and Double-A Frisco, belting an organization-high 27 home runs with 4 triples, 31 doubles, and 92 RBI. The switch-hitting corner infielder led Texas minor leaguers in average, slugging, and OPS (min. 350 plate appearances). His 62 extra-base hits were the most by a Rangers farmhand since Curtis Terry in 2019 (63). Perich was named South Atlantic League Player of the Month in May with Hub City and was promoted on May 29 to Frisco, where he tallied a Texas League-high 27 doubles the rest of the year. The Allentown, Penn. product capped 2026 by batting .358 (29-81) in August and .400 (14-35) in September, registering a season-high-tying 5 RBI in his final regular season game last Friday at Wichita. Currently the club’s 19th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, Perich has totaled 33 home runs and 147 RBI in 221 career games since being selected in the 7th round of the 2024 MLB Draft from Lehigh.
Pence, 24, has combined to post a 6-4 record with a 2.44 ERA (31 ER/114.1 IP), 45 walks, 117 strikeouts, and a 1.163 WHIP figure over 24 games/22 starts with Hub City (A+), Frisco (AA), and Round Rock (AAA) this season. He has averaged 9.2 strikeouts per 9.0 innings while holding opponents to a .208/.292/.340/.632 slash with 11 home runs. He has produced the lowest ERA of any Texas minor league pitcher with at least 55.0 innings in 2026, posting the 3rd-most strikeouts and 3rd-lowest WHIP (min. 70.0 IP). Over his last 8 games/7 starts with Round Rock since an August 1 promotion, Pence has gone 4-1 with a 1.82 ERA (7 ER/34.2 IP), holding Triple-A batters to a .208/.308/.320/.628 slash line. The Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for August 3-9, Pence is currently ranked as Texas no. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Pence, a Gastonia, N.C. native, owns a career 2.56 ERA and 1.103 WHIP in 55 games/40 starts over two professional seasons (2025-26) in the Rangers organization after being selected by Texas in the 11th round of the 2024 MLB Draft from the University of North Carolina.
Marinaro, 22, converted all 8 save chances and went 7-2 with a 3.08 ERA (18 ER/52.2 IP) in 36 relief appearances for Single-A Hickory in 2026, his first professional season. The southpaw allowed just one home run on the year (0.17 HR/9) and ranked highly among Rangers farmhands in both saves (2nd) and wins (T4th), as he was one of 6 pitchers across Minor League Baseball with 8-or-more saves and 7-or-more wins. Marinaro ended the regular season on a 9-game scoreless run, totaling 14.0 shutout frames with 16 strikeouts from August 6 through September 4. An undrafted free agent signing by Texas in 2025, the Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. native permitted only one run in 20.1 innings after the All-Star break (0.44 ERA) for the Crawdads.
The 19-year-old Castillo has been selected for the Rangers' season fielding honor after twice winning the club's monthly defensive award in 2026 (May and August). He combined for a .973 (12 E/447 TC) fielding percentage over a campaign spent primarily with Hickory, appearing at both shortstop (107 G) and third base (13 G). Castillo posted a .973 fielding pct. as a shortstop with Hickory, the 2nd-highest figure among all non-first basemen/catchers at the A-ball level with 400-or-more total chances, trailing only shortstop Brady Ebel in the Milwaukee organization. Tabbed as the Rangers’ 5th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, the Venezuela product batted .288/.390/.416/.806 with 8 home runs, 26 doubles, 4 triples, and 58 RBI over 120 games with Hickory (A) and Hub City (A+). His 55 stolen bases on the season, all with Hickory, led the Carolina League. Signed as an international free agent in January 2024, Castillo has a career .289 batting average in 243 games within the Texas organization.
Established in 2019, the True Ranger award highlights a player who represents the core values of the organization in a positive light both on and off the field. The 22-year-old Siary went 7-3 with a 3.30 ERA (40 ER/109.0 IP) and 98 strikeouts in 22 starts for Single-A Hickory this year, leading Carolina League qualifiers in both ERA and WHIP (1.10). An 8th-round selection in the 2025 draft from Mississippi State, the Havelock, N.C. native punctuated his 2nd professional campaign with 6.0 scoreless innings in Game 2 of the Carolina League South Division Series last Thursday at Charleston.
– RANGERS –