Melvin Novoa Set for Arrival in Washington in 2023
WASHINGTON, Pa. (April 4) – The Washington Wild Things have announced catcher Melvin Novoa, a former Rangers farmhand and Nicaragua native, will arrive to the club this season after being signed prior to the 2022 season. He was unable to get to the team last season due to visa issues.
Novoa played for Nettuno 1945 in Italian Serie A in the summer of 2022 and had six doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI in 29 games with the team. In winter ball, he played in the Nicaraguan Winter League, slashed .259/.380/.398 with three homers, six doubles and 24 RBI in 31 games.
All of that came after he spent six seasons in the Rangers’ farm system and reached Double-A.
He spent time in 2021 with the Frisco RoughRiders (AA, TEX) and hit five home runs with 15 RBI in 28 games (99 plate appearances). He also doubled for eight of his 26 hits, which brought his average to .310 for the year. He split time as a designated hitter and catcher and threw out 40% of would-be base stealers while behind the plate (8/20).
"Melvin brings veteran leadership to our club. He has a lot of experience in international ball [Team Nicaragua] as well as in affiliated with Texas," said manager Tom Vaeth. "It gives us another guy with Double-A experience that we can add to the mix. We look for him to be a catalyst in the middle of our lineup."
The 26-year old played in the Dominican Summer League in 2014 with the Rangers before jumping to Rookie Ball in 2015 in the Arizona League. Between the two seasons in fall and summer rookie ball, he clubbed 17 doubles, six home runs and drove in 55.
In 2017, Novoa played for Low-A Spokane before splitting time between A ball and Advanced-A for the next two seasons. In 2018, he combined to play in 88 games between (A+) Down East and (A) Hickory and hit six home runs with 37 RBI. In 2019, he played 17 games with Down East before playing 85 with Hickory.
In all, he played in 345 games in the six seasons with Texas, slashed .246/.308/.396 and drove in 175 runs with 75 doubles, three triples and 33 home runs.
The most up to date roster is available on the Wild Things’ website. The league’s transaction page is available here.
