Isiah Kiner-Falefa


Isiah Kiner-Falefa is an American professional baseball infielder and catcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Kiner-Falefa attended Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the fourth round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut with the Arizona League Rangers and spent all of 2013 there, batting.322 with 11 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 41 games. In 2014, he played for the AZL Rangers, Hickory Crawdads, and Spokane Indians where he batted.246 with 16 RBIs in 79 games, and in 2015, he played with Hickory and the High Desert Mavericks, where he batted.296 with 40 RBIs in 98 games. Kiner-Falefa spent 2016 with the Frisco RoughRiders where he compiled a.256 batting average with 27 RBIs in 108 games.
Kiner-Falefa has played numerous positions in the Rangers organization, including shortstop, second base, third baseman and catcher. He played in 2017 with Frisco where he batted.288 with five home runs and 48 RBIs in 129 games. The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season. He opened the 2018 season with the Round Rock Express, appearing in five games before being recalled to the major leagues for the rest of the season.

Texas Rangers

Kiner-Falefa made his Major League debut against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 10, 2018. On April 14, against the Houston Astros, he hit his first career home run. Kiner-Falefa appeared in 111 games during his rookie season of 2018, hitting.261/.325/.357/.682 with 4 home runs and 34 RBI, while playing games at catcher, third base, shortstop, and second base. He opened the 2019 season with Rangers in a catching tandem with veteran Jeff Mathis. Kiner-Falefa was placed on the injured list on June 7, and recalled on August 2 in the role of utility infielder and third string catcher. He finished 2019 hitting.238/.299/.322/.620 with 1 home run and 21 RBI.

Awards

Kiner-Falefa was named the 2018 Texas Rangers Rookie of the Year by the DFW BBWAA chapter.

Personal

Kiner-Falefa is of Samoan, Hawaiian, and Japanese descent. His great-great grandmother is from Fukuoka, Japan.