Zachary Joseph Reks (born November 12, 1993) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and Texas Rangers. He has also played in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pro ...

Amateur career

Reks attended

Carl Sandburg High School Carl Sandburg High School, Sandburg, or CSHS, is a public four-year high school located at the intersection of La Grange Road and Southmoor Drive in Orland Park, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part ...

Orland Park, Illinois Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703. Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Chicago ...

. He played one year of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

before transferring to the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

as a student. After not playing for two years he joined the

Kentucky Wildcats baseball The Kentucky Wildcats baseball team represents the University of Kentucky in NCAA Division I college baseball and competes in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The current head coach of the Wildcats is Nick Mingione. Ke ...

team as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

in 2016. He played two seasons at Kentucky, before being drafted by the

in the 10th round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Reks spent his first professional season with the

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitche ...

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

and

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

, batting .317 with two home runs over 47 games between the three teams. He played 2018 with Rancho Cucamonga and the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, slashing .303/.374/.424 with five home runs and forty RBIs in 88 games. He started 2019 with Tulsa before being promoted to the

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

. He played in 121 games total with a .291 average and 28 homers with 93 RBI. The Dodgers added Reks to their 40-man roster after the 2020 season and was promoted to the majors for the first time on June 21, 2021. He had been hitting .341 with five homers and 19 RBI for Oklahoma City at the time of his call-up. He made his MLB debut the same day, as the starting

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He had two at-bats in the game, a strikeout and a lineout to center. He was returned to the minors the following day. Reks had 10 at-bats in six games for the Dodgers and struck out seven times. In the minors, he hit .280 in 87 games for Oklahoma City, with 19 homers and 67 RBI.

Texas Rangers

On November 22, 2021, Reks and Billy McKinney were traded to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. He recorded his first MLB hit on April 30, 2022 off

Bryce Elder Bryce Cason Elder (born May 19, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Elder played college baseball at the University of Texas at Austin, and was drafted by the Braves in the fift ...

of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. Reks was designated for assignment on July 16, 2022. He was released on July 20.

Lotte Giants

On July 20, 2022, Reks signed with the

of the

. On November 18, 2022, Reks re-signed a one-year deal for the 2023 season worth $1.3 million. In 2023, Reks played in 55 games for Lotte, but struggled with a knee injury which hobbled his production; in 203 at–bats, he hit .246/.338/.345 with 4 home runs and 30 RBI. On July 11, Reks was released by the Giants following the signing of Niko Goodrum.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reks, Zach 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Chicago Major League Baseball outfielders Los Angeles Dodgers players Texas Rangers players Lotte Giants players Air Force Falcons baseball players Kentucky Wildcats baseball players Ogden Raptors players Great Lakes Loons players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Tulsa Drillers players Estrellas Orientales players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Oklahoma City Dodgers players Round Rock Express players Military personnel from Illinois