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Crouse is expected to open the season at High-A Down East, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
Crouse, who ranks higher on some prospect lists than the 18th-ranked Rangers slot on RotoWire's prospect ranking, is coming off surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow that cut short his 2019 season. Perhaps it was that issue that led to a rise in home runs (1.2 per nine innings) and drop in strikeout rate (7.8) over 87.2 innings at Low-A Hickory. His normally mid-90s fastball was down a bit, while his slider was also less effective than a season prior. With the bone spur removed, Crouse entered camp healthy. Presuming the fastball and slider return to normal, the right-hander likely needs a third pitch other than his average changeup to continue fulfilling expectations at the advanced levels of the minors.
