GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Rangers Minor League first baseman Preston Beck has set a new club Spring Training record. It may be an obscure record, but it also demonstrates the high regard the Rangers have for a local product of Dallas Bishop Lynch High and UT-Arlington.

Beck, who has been used in 15 spring games this year as a “Just in Case” player by the Rangers, had an infield single in the ninth inning of a 5-2 loss to the Reds on Saturday.

That gives him 14 hits in 52 at-bats in Cactus League games over the past four years. That total marks the highest number of hits ever by a Rangers “JIC” in Spring Training, passing Nate Gold, who was 13-for-56 from 2006-08.

“It’s a good achievement,” Beck said. “It’s hard to get that many at-bats as a JIC. But to get any record is good.”

A “Just in Case” player is one who is not on the official Major League Spring Training roster but is brought over from Minor League camp as an extra reserve for a Cactus League game.

The players are not chosen at random. A player is asked to be a JIC because he has earned it, through his work and attitude in Minor League camp.

“I like him,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “We all like him. He comes over a lot because we want to see him. I think it will eventually lead him to being in big league camp. He is one of those guys who will play in the big leagues because he brings a lot of quality intangibles. He gives you a good at-bat. It’s just one of those things where he is going to have to fight, but I can see him playing in the big leagues.”

Beck was a fifth-round pick of the Rangers in the 2012 MLB Draft. He was a Texas League All-Star in 2016, and was promoted to Triple-A Round Rock later that season. But his progress was derailed by a series of ankle, calf and shin injuries the following year, and he is still fighting to regain his prospect status.

He is 7-for-22 in his 15 games this spring, and the fact that the Rangers have used him so much shows they believe in him.

“They wouldn’t be wasting [at-bats] and giving them away to just anyone, so it’s a good thing that I’ve been able to get in there and make the most of it,” Beck said. “There is always hope. I have a good feeling about this year. I like how I am progressing in all my areas -- offense, defense. We’ll see. It all comes down to what’s available, and how I am doing in the season.”