WEYMOUTH, Mass. (October 3, 2024) 一 The final weekend of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season saw the 24th all-time MLB debut of a Futures League alumnus, as former Worcester Bravehearts infielder Dustin Harris played in his first of two games for the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.
The 25-year-old Harris, who was recalled last Tuesday from the Triple-A Round Rock Express, appeared as the designated hitter in the final two games of the Rangers’ three-game series sweep of the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
Harris made waiting four days to see his name in the lineup well worth it. A day after drawing two walks to contribute to a 9-8 Rangers win in his debut, he put together a memorable Sunday with three RBI on his first two career hits, including a two-run double in the seventh inning and solo home run in the ninth inning of an 8-0 victory.
Harris was the Oakland Athletics’ 11th-round draft pick out of St. Petersburg College in 2019, only a year after he was a 2018 Futures League All-Star with a .306 average, 16 extra-base hits and 42 RBI in 46 games for Worcester. He was the Futures League’s third-leading run producer while totaling the fifth-most bases (85) and third-most doubles (12) that summer.
Harris continued his key hitting during a playoff run that resulted in the Bravehearts’ fourth and most recent league championship, going 5-for-16 with three doubles, six RBI and four runs scored across four contests.
The native of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., was acquired by the Rangers in a 2020 trade and began this season as their No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America. Harris’ 471 hits and 264 RBI rank second among Texas minor leaguers in the four years since he joined the organization. He hit .272 with 10 homers and 53 RBI in 131 Triple-A games prior to the recall, playing games at left and center field, third base, designated hitter and first base.
Harris’ career features another tie to the Futures League, as his 2019 professional debut included 23 games with the Vermont Lake Monsters, who were then in their final season as an affiliated ballclub in the Oakland organization. After the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 minor league season, the Lake Monsters joined the Futures League for 2021.
With Harris’ debut, Worcester is the second Futures League franchise to produce four MLB alumni. Earlier this season, 2020 Futures League Most Valauble Player Ben Rice finished his climb to the New York Yankees on June 18. The Cohasset, Mass., native and Dartmouth College product has totaled seven homers and 23 RBI over his first 50 games.
The 2024 season marks the third straight in which six former Futures Leaguers made their MLB debuts, bringing the all-time total to 24. The league’s alumni have debuted for 17 and played for a total of 23 of the 30 big league clubs.
The first of five total Futures League alums to play in a MLB game this season was former Bristol Blue and Georgia Tech product Justyn-Henry Malloy, who got the call from the Detroit Tigers on June 3.
After Rice, Merrimack, N.H., native and 2016 Futures League MVP Mickey Gasper became the first league alum to debut for the Boston Red Sox on August 12. Former Brockton Rox pitcher and Boston native Luis Guerrero was the most recent MLB newcomer from the Futures League prior to Harris, earning his own recall from Triple-A Worcester to his hometown team on Sept. 8.
Ben Casparius became the first Futures Leaguer to win his MLB debut as a reliever on August 31 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The native of Westport, Conn., who formerly pitched for the New Britain Bees and the University of Connecticut was the Futures League’s Co-Top Pro Pitching Prospect in 2020, less than a year before being drafted.
Mike Burrows 一 who was rostered to join Harris on the 2018 Worcester Bravehearts before signing his first pro contract 一 also made his MLB pitching debut on Saturday with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Additionally, former Martha’s Vineyard Sharks and Wheaton College catcher Nick Raposo was recalled to the St. Louis Cardinals on June 22, but never appeared in a major league game and has since joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
For the latest news and information on the Futures League all year long, visit thefuturesleague.com and follow the league’s Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram pages.
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