ARLINGTON -- Outfielder Scott Heineman has been selected as the 2018 Tom Grieve Minor League Player of the Year and right-hander Tyler Phillips has been named the Nolan Ryan Pitcher of the Year.
The Rangers also announced that right-hander DeMarcus Evans has been named the Reliever of the Year and shortstop Ryan Dorow is the Defender of the Year.
All of the award recipients will be honored at the Dr Pepper Texas Rangers Winter Warmup on Friday, Jan. 25 at Texas Live! in Arlington. The new format of the Winter Warmup will honor a number of baseball personalities and feature appearances by Rangers past and present. This year's event will also include country artist Sam Riggs performing in concert following the awards program on the Live! Arena stage.
Heineman, who spent almost all of last season at Triple-A Round Rock, hit .295 with 68 runs scored, 11 home runs and 57 RBIs in 107 games. He had a .355 on-base percentage and a .429 slugging percentage, and he was added to the 40-man roster in November.
Phillips made 23 starts for Class A Hickory and Down East this season, going 12-5 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He averaged 8.6 strikeouts and 1.1 walks per nine innings.
Evans made 35 relief appearances for Hickory, and he was 4-1 with a 1.77 ERA and a .98 WHIP. He struck out 103 batters in 56 innings.
Dorow was in his first full season after being a 30th-round pick in the MLB Draft out of Adrian (Mich.) College. He played in 122 games for Hickory while rotating between second, shortstop and third base. A former Division III All-American, he committed just nine errors through the three positions while also hitting .271 with 12 home runs and 61 RBIs.
The Dr Pepper Texas Rangers Winter Warmup will be held at Live! Arena on the first floor of Texas Live! and will take place from 6-9 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at texasrangers.com/winterwarmup with tables seating 8 or 10 as well as general admission tickets available for purchase. Net proceeds benefit the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation.
Grouse, Fields to be honored
The Rangers are also honoring professional scout Mike Grouse and Minor League medical coordinator Sean Fields at the Winter Warmup.
Grouse has been in the Rangers' organization since 1988, first as an amateur scout, and he is now entering his 11th season at the professional level. He was responsible for the Rangers drafting Ian Kinsler and Travis Hafner as an amateur scout.
Fields is a native Texan from San Angelo with an undergraduate degree from Texas Tech and a Masters from Stephen F. Austin. He spent the past three seasons as the Rangers' medical rehab coordinator.
Start times announced
The Rangers' season opener against the Cubs will begin at 3:05 p.m. CT on March 28 at Globe Life Park, according to the game times released by the club on Wednesday.
Standard game times are the same in 2019 with night games at Globe Life Park beginning at 7:05 p.m., weekday day games at 1:05 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. There are confirmed exceptions for some games and others may be changed pending additions to the schedule of nationally televised games.