Kenny Holmberg leads baseball’s future with the Round Rock Express

ROUND ROCK, Texas — Kenny Holmberg has been with the Texas Rangers organization for a while. He joined the Rangers organization in 2009 and served as a manager for many teams in the Rangers’ minor league system. Today, he serves as the manager of the Round Rock Express, the Rangers’ AAA-level baseball team.

Holmberg will be leading the Express in 2022 as they compete for a Triple-A West title at the Dell Diamond. Holmberg is expected to work alongside many of the Rangers’ top prospects, including third baseman Josh Jung and pitcher Cole Winn.

Holmberg’s days in baseball started more than twenty years ago, as he played at Dunedin High School in Dunedin, Florida. He was a 49th-round draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2001, but he chose to play in college instead. He competed at St. Petersburg College in 2002 and 2003, and he then played for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2004 and 2005. He was a first-time NAIA All-American in 2005 as an infielder.

Holmberg was drafted again in 2005, this time in the 22nd round by the Milwaukee Brewers. He played 338 games in the minor leagues from 2005 to 2008, making it up to the Advanced-A Brevard County Manatees in 2008. He had a .272 average with 34 home runs in his four seasons of play.

It wasn’t long until Holmberg was hired by the Ranger organization. He became a coach for the Dominican Summer League Rangers in 2009. He became the manager for the DSL Rangers in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, in 2011, leading the team to a 41-30 record.

He moved on to be the manager of the Arizona League Rangers from 2013 to 2015. He had an 86-81 record with the team during those three seasons. Among the future major league players he managed included Joey Gallo, Nick Williams and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Holmberg’s next managerial stop in the Ranger organization came in Spokane, as he managed the short-season-A Spokane Indians to a 38-38 record.

Today, Holmberg has made it up to the Round Rock Express, where he led the team to a 61-58 record in his first year in 2021. The team finished in seventh place in the Triple-A Final Stretch competition established for the 2021 season. The team went 6-4, finishing three games behind the Final Stretch champion Durham Bulls. The Express did beat out the 5-5 El Paso Chihuahuas and 4-6 Sugar Land Skeeters for the best Final Stretch record among Texas-based teams.

The 2022 minor league season will show some semblance of normalcy, as it will get back to a longer schedule and will include a better variety of opponents. But whatever happens, Holmberg will be there to lead the Round Rock Express with the goal of getting the team out further.

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