Rex de la Nuez

Rexford de la Nuez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 180 lb.

• School California State University Los Angeles
• High School Herbert Hoover High School

• Born January 17, 1968 in Glendale, CA USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Rex de la Nuez made it to AAA as a player then became a scout.

De la Nuez was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the 22nd round of the 1989 amateur draft, one round before they took Derrick White. He had a good debut that summer for the Elizabethton Twins, hitting .321/.432/.539 with 9 homers and 47 runs in 55 games. He was 7th in the Appalachian League in average (between Rob Stiegele and Brent McCoy), was third in OBP, ranked 4th in slugging, placed 8th in runs, was 8th in walks (37) and tied for 6th in home runs. He helped Elizabethton to a title and was named to the league's All-Star outfield alongside Melvin Nieves and teammate Mike House.

With the 1990 Kenosha Twins, Rex batted .245/.364/.383 with 20 steals in 30 tries as a backup outfielder. A starter with the '91 Visalia Oaks, he had a very good year, with a batting line of .308/.433/.456, 39 steals in 49 tries, 84 walks and 78 runs. He was among the California League leaders in average (3rd after Matt Mieske and Jim Eppard), OBP (behind the same two), OPS (behind the same duo), walks (3rd after Mieske and Enoch Simmons) and steals (tied for 7th with Mieske). He did not win All-Star honors this time, as Mieske was joined by Marc Newfield and J.D. Noland.

De la Nuez hit .268/.376/.437 with 34 doubles and 69 walks for the 1992 Orlando Sun Rays. He was 4th in the Southern League in walks (between Aubrey Waggoner and Ben Shelton) and tied Nigel Wilson for the SL double lead. Repeating in the SL with the '93 Nashville Xpress, the Cal State LA alumnus batted .236/.407/.378 with 71 runs, 93 walks and 23 steals while only being caught four times. He finished third in OBP (behind Carlos Delgado and Ed Giovanola), 9th in steals and 3rd in walks (behind Delgado and Rich Becker). He was one walk behind Becker for the lead in the Twins system.

While productive in his time in the Twins chain, he was then let go and spent 1994 in the independent leagues, with the Sioux Falls Canaries (.210/.314/.311 in 30 G) and the Mobile BaySharks (.263/.404/.342 in 11 G). Signing with the the Detroit Tigers, he put up a .263/.368/.417 line for the 1995 Jacksonville Suns, spelling Eric Danapilis in left, Glen Barker in center and Tim Leiper in right; he fielded .992.

De la Nuez spent the next two seasons in the Mexican League. In 1996, he hit .269/.437/.465 for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos, with 60 runs and 65 walks in 67 games. The next year, he batted .316/.451/.439 for the Algodoneros de Torreon. He ended his 10-year playing career in 1998, hitting .263/.341/.331 in 33 games between the Somerset Patriots and Nashua Pride.

Overall, Rex had batted .268/.395/.421 in 737 minor league games, with 496 walks, 125 steals in 170 tries, 69 homers, 459 runs and 356 RBI.

He later was a California scout for the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds, signing Brennan Bernardino, Brad Boxberger, Tim Crabbe, Matt Leonard, Jon Moscot, Juan Perez, Josh Ravin, Josh Roenicke, Chris Valaika and Randy Yard.

Sources

• 1990-1999 Baseball Almanacs
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros
• An interview with de la Nuez