Travis Blankenhorn
Blankenhorn with the Fort Myers Miracle
Washington Nationals
Second baseman
Born: (1996-08-03) August 3, 1996
Pottsville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 15, 2020, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.167
Home runs2
Runs batted in5
Teams

Travis Allan Blankenhorn (born August 3, 1996) is an American professional baseball second baseman in the Washington Nationals organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, and the Nationals.

Amateur career

Blankenhorn attended Pottsville Area High School in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Blankenhorn was a three sport standout high school athlete in football, basketball in baseball. He committed to play college baseball at the University of Kentucky.[1] He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the third round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.[2][3]

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

After signing, Blankenhorn made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Twins and he was later promoted to the Elizabethton Twins. He posted a combined .244 batting average with three home runs and 23 RBIs in 53 games between both clubs. Blankenhorn spent 2016 with both Elizabethon and the Cedar Rapids Kernels where he batted a combined .293 with ten home runs and 41 RBIs in 59 games with both teams.[4] In 2017, he returned to Cedar Rapids, slashing .251/.343/.441 with 13 home runs and 69 RBIs in 118 games,[5] earning Midwest League All-Star honors.[6]

Blankenhorn spent 2018 with the Fort Myers Miracle. In June, he was named a Florida State League All-Star and won the Home Run Derby with 31 home runs.[7] In 124 games with Fort Myers, he hit .231 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs.[8] He returned to Fort Myers to begin the 2019 season[9] before being promoted to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos with whom he was named to the Southern League All-Star Game.[10] Over 108 games between the two clubs, he slashed .277/.321/.466 with 19 home runs and 54 RBIs. Blankenhorn was named the second baseman of the year in the Southern League at the conclusion of the season.

Blankenhorn was added to the Twins 40-man roster on November 20, 2019.[11] On September 14, 2020, Blankenhorn was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his major league debut the next day against the Chicago White Sox, and picked up his first major league hit off of Matt Foster.[12] Blankenhorn only appeared in 1 game for the Twins in 2021. On May 8, 2021, Blankenhorn was designated for assignment.[13]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On May 14, 2021, Blankenhorn was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers.[14] In 3 at-bats for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, he went hitless. He was designated for assignment on May 21.[15]

Seattle Mariners

On May 24, 2021, Blankenhorn was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners and assigned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.[16] In 20 at-bats for Tacoma, Blankenhorn notched 5 hits with 1 home run and 5 RBI.

New York Mets

On June 1, 2021, Blankenhorn was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets.[17] He made his debut the following day, coming in as a defensive substitute for Jonathan Villar. On June 11, he was optioned to the Triple-A Syracuse Mets.

On July 17, Blankenhorn recorded his first career RBI and scored his first run. On July 18, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Blankenhorn hit his first career home run, a 425-foot, 3-run shot off of pitcher J. T. Brubaker.[18] He appeared in 23 total games for the Mets in 2021, batting .174/.208/.391 with a home run and 4 RBI.

Blankenhorn was designated for assignment on April 5, 2022, after the Mets signed John Curtiss.[19] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse on April 8.[20] On July 22, Blankenhorn's contract was selected by the Mets.[21] He was designated for assignment on July 23,[22] and was sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse on July 25.[23] He elected free agency following the season on November 10.[24]

Washington Nationals

On December 14, 2022, Blankenhorn signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.[25] He began the 2023 season with the Triple–A Rochester Red Wings, playing in 108 games and batting .262/.360/.517 with 23 home runs and 75 RBI. On September 1, 2023, Blankenhorn was selected to the major league roster.[26] In 10 games for Washington, he batted .161/.297/.258 with one home run and one RBI. On October 5, Blankenhorn was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Rochester.[27] However, two days later Blankenhorn rejected the outright assignment and elected free agency.[28]

On December 22, Blakenhorn re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league contract.[29]

Personal life

Blankenhorn and his wife, Maci, married in 2020.[30]

References

  1. ↑ Drago, Mike (August 24, 2014). "Pottsville loses all-league Blankenhorn to baseball". Reading Eagle. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  2. ↑ Bollinger, Rhett (January 20, 2016). "Twins draft Travis Blankenhorn to begin Day 2 | MLB.com". M.mlb.com. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  3. ↑ leroy boyer. "HS BASEBALL: Tide's Blankenhorn selected by Twins in MLB Draft – Sports". Republican Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  4. ↑ leroy boyer (August 12, 2016). "Blankenhorn excited over promotion – Sports". Republican Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Travis Blankenhorn Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Kernels with 6 MWL All-Stars, including 4 starters". The Gazette. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Fort Myers' Travis Blankenhorn wins first FSL home run derby". Tampa Bay Times. June 15, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Travis Blankenhorn Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  9. ↑ Sean Barie (April 4, 2019). "What the Fort Myers Miracle are bringing this season - NBC2 News". Nbc-2.com. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Six Blue Wahoos players named to Southern League All-Star Game". Pnj.com. June 6, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  11. ↑ Betsy Helfand (November 20, 2019). "Twins add five to 40-man roster before Wednesday night's deadline". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Travis Blankenhorn Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  13. ↑ "Latest Roster Moves from Twins, Orioles".
  14. ↑ "Dodgers Claim Travis Blankenhorn".
  15. ↑ Harris, Blake (May 21, 2021). "Dodgers add pitcher Nate Jones to 40-man roster". SB Nation. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Mariners Claim Travis Blankenhorn".
  17. ↑ Healey, Tim (June 1, 2022). "Travis Blankenhorn becomes newest member of Mets' bench mob". Newsday. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Conforto HR in 9th, Mets overcome early gaffe to top Pirates". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Mets sign John Curtiss". MLB.com. April 5, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Mets' Travis Blankenhorn: Outrighted to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  21. ↑ Boyer, Leroy (July 23, 2022). "MLB: Blankenhorn called up by New York Mets". Republican Herald. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Daniel Vogelbach celebrates reunion with Francisco Lindor on New York Mets, who also add Michael Perez". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 23, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Mets' Travis Blankenhorn: Outrighted to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  24. ↑ "2022-23 Minor League Free Agents For All 30 MLB Teams". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  25. ↑ "Nationals Sign Matt Adams, Three Others to Minor League Deals".
  26. ↑ "Nationals' Travis Blankenhorn: Added to roster". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Nationals' Travis Blankenhorn: Sent outright to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Travis Blankenhorn Elects Free Agency". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  29. ↑ https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/nationals-re-sign-travis-blankenhorn.html
  30. ↑ "Travis Blankenhorn Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.