Willie Calhoun
Introduction
Willie Shawn Lamont Calhoun (born November 4, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Career
Amateur
Calhoun was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 17th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft out of Benicia High School in Benicia, California. He did not sign and attended the University of Arizona to play college baseball. After one year at Arizona he transferred to Yavapai College.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Calhoun was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB Draft. He made his professional debut with the Ogden Raptors and was later promoted to the Great Lakes Loons and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. In 73 games between the three levels, he hit .316 with 11 homers and 47 RBI.
To start the 2016 season, he was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League. He was selected as a starter for the mid-season Texas League All-Star game and selected to the U.S. team for the All-Star Futures Game. At the conclusion of the season, he was also named to the post-season all-star team. In 132 games for the Drillers, he hit .254 with 27 homers and 88 RBI. After the season, the Dodgers assigned Calhoun to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. He earned MVP honors in the Fall Stars Game for top prospects playing in the league when he went 3 for 3 with a homer in the game. He was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers to begin the 2017 season and played well enough to be named the starting second baseman for the Pacific Coast League mid-season all-star team.
Texas Rangers
On July 31, 2017, he was traded to the Texas Rangers (along with fellow minor leaguers A. J. Alexy and Brendon Davis) in exchange for Yu Darvish. He was promoted to the majors for the first time on September 12, 2017.