SP Adrian Houser: 8.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 92 P / 61 S, 5.03 ERA RP Codi Heuer: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.00 ERA CF Alejandro Osuna: 2-4, 2 2B SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, 2B, .188/.297/.212
Adrian Houser held a no-hitter into the 7th and nearly tossed a shutout.
Alejandro Osuna had two opposite-field doubles down the line. One was a bloop that took a funny hop, the other a soft liner (76.7 MPH but honestly looked sharper off the bat), but they count as much as any blast off the wall.
After 28 games without an extra-base hit, Jonathan Ornelas has two in two days.
AA: Frisco 12, Corpus Christi (HOU) 9 Frisco: 12 hits, 7 walks, 4 strikeouts Opponent: 12 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts Record: 21-14, tied for first
SP Kohl Drake: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 76 P / 53 S, 2.96 ERA LF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, 3B, BB, .256/.434/.439 SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, HR (), BB, .252/.360/.409 RF Abi Ortiz: 3-4, 2B, HR (5), .268/.348/.463 2B Cam Cauley: 2-3, 2B, BB, SB (12), .232/.307/.360
Abi Ortiz ended the game with a grand slam, capping a seven-run 9th. Sebastian Walcott homered in the 8th to Corpus’s lead to four. Kohl Drake went walkless for the first time but allowed a season-high six hits, all for extra bases.
SP Aidan Curry: 1.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 7 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 52 P / 31 S, 8.15 ERA DH Keith Jones II: 1-4, HR (4), BB, .248/.408/.396 1B Arturo Disla: 2-4, BB, .238/.299/.402 CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-5, HR (3), .224/.331/.353
Boy, another tough day at the office for Aidan Curry. He’s striking out plenty of batters (on the whole, not yesterday), but nothing else is working out. Hub City has been outscored 29-12 in the 1st inning. Since consecutive 1-0 wins, the Spartanburgers have lost eight of ten.
SP Kamdyn Perry: 3 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 55 P / 29 S, 6.65 ERA RP Brock Porter: 2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.15 ERA CF Yeremi Cabrera: 3-4, 3 2B, .206/.342/.258
Kamdyn Perry’s line isn’t good (.267/.366/.372) but isn’t bad enough to warrant a 6.55 ERA. Unfortunately, his strand rate is awful, courtesy of last night and an earlier outing in which nearly everyone who reached base scored. Perry also has a combined no-hitter and another in which he threw five no-hit innings.
Yesterday’s 47 pitches were a season high for Brock Porter. Opponents are hitting .181/.314/.306 with 13 hits and 14 combined walks and HBPs.
Today’s Starters AAA: TBD AA: Stephan Hi-A: Curtis Lo-A: Privette
Five Years Ago Yesterday I wrote about changes to the summer draft, various mock drafts (with some names you might not wish to see).
I screwed up a spreadsheet intended for today’s “2007-2024” item, so I uploaded my sporadic 2020 reports through mid-May to the website.
SP Gerson Garabito: 2.2 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 68 P / 36 S, 11.74 ERA RP Codi Heuer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.07 ERA CF Alejandro Osuna: 0-3, 2 BB DH Justin Foscue: 1-4, HR (6), .292/.393/.496 1B Blaine Crim: 1-5, HR (8), .308/.359/.575 RF Kellen Strahm: 1-3, 2 BB, SB (13), .276/.375/.440 C Cooper Johnson: 1-3, HR (1), 2 BB, .176/.263/.353
OF Alejandro Osuna made his AAA debut. Righty Emiliano Teodo has been activated from his injury rehab at the complex.
Is it Cole Winn time? He hasn’t pitched in three days, and even if Chris Martin doesn’t need an IL trip, Winn would appear to be atop the depth list. He still hasn’t allowed an earned run, he still hasn’t allowed an extra-base hit, and opponents are hitting .147/.256/.147. To be clear, nobody produced these results without some luck, the question is how much.
Opponents are hitting and slugging .118 when they make contact on fastballs. The league rates are .358 and .582, respectively. Nearly all of the hard contact against his has rocketed directly into a glove. By my count, 14 balls in play against him have been what I classify as soft (meaning below-average exit velo but not at a favorable angle for a bloop hit) or unlucky (harder than average but tending to be caught on the fly). Ordinarily, three or four would be hits, but against him there have been none. He’s also allowed an unusually low hit rate against contact that usually results in a single.
A bunch of his Statcast metrics fall close to the league average. On the whole, he’s not been especially effective at getting strikes (also reflected in his 13% walk rate), getting ahead in the count early, or inducing more chases and misses on out-of-zone pitches. The slider is the go-to, with a 43% whiff rate (league is 35%).
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t think he’s pitching badly, but I would say the amount of luck contributing to that 0.00 ERA is more than I expected.
Another thing I noticed was that he’d apparently junked his cutter, as Statcast doesn’t show a single one in 2025. But then I noticed a fair number of “sliders” over 90 MPH, and I charted his horizontal movement against his velocity for all pitches classified as sliders:
A ha. A gap of 1.2 MPH near the middle of this group plus a noticeable arm-side shift on the faster pitches. I’d call most of the yellow group cutters.
The current repertoire: 4-seamer: avg. 94.6, 30% of pitches Sinker: 94.4, 22% Cutter: 91.3, 10% Slider: 86.3, 23% Curve: 83.1, 9% Splitter: 88.9, 6%
AA: Frisco 14, Corpus Christi (HOU) 20 Frisco: 15 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts Opponent: 18 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 20-14, tied for first
SP Daniel Missaki: 0.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 6 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 35 P / 22 S, 5.74 ERA RP Jenser Lara: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.50 ERA LF Aaron Zavala: 3-6, HR (3), .244/.426/.410 SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-5, HR (3), SB (8), .244/.352/.382 1B Abi Ortiz: 3-5, 2B, HR (4), .252/.331/.420 RF Josh Hatcher: 1-4, HR (5), BB, .261/.281/.461 CF Cam Cauley: 1-5, HR (3), SB (11), .221/.294/.344
Yes, 20-14. The final score hints at a back-and-forth affair, but no. Corpus Christi scored six in the 1st and led 9-0, 14-4 and 19-5 at various points. In an extreme example of not letting a pitcher throw too much in one inning, start Daniel Missaki was pulled in the middle of an at-bat after his 35th pitch.
Frisco’s three straight losses and Midland seven-game win streak have placed the Riders in a first-place tie for the first time in a while.
Is Aaron Zavala better? He’s hitting .429/.543/.679 during an eight-game hit streak to pull in slugging percentage for the season up to .410, a figure that might not impress, but he’s never slugged higher than .353 in any month since returning from an elbow injury in early 2023. Toward the end of 2022, Zavala appeared a lock to at least reach the Majors and potentially start in left (maybe not for the Rangers, but somewhere). He returned from that injury a different hitter, sad to say, still possessed of terrific plate discipline but with much less frequent and meaningful contact.
SP Leandro Lopez: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 71 P / 44 S, 2.13 ERA RP Eric Loomis: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1.42 ERA
The Burgers committed three errors in Greenville’s three-run 1st and had only two hits. Leandro Lopez was fairly successful against that backdrop, although one error was his.
SP Ismael Agreda: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 69 P / 44 S, 2.49 ERA RP Dalton Pence: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.38 ERA RP Michael Trausch: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.86 ERA RP William Privette: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.54 ERA LF Maxton Martin: 2-4, BB, .294/.333/.460 CF Yeremi Cabrera: 2-4, SB (10), .183/.327/.204 3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, 2B, SB (2), .204/.323/.320
In 33 games, Hickory has two no-hitters and two one-hitters. Per Mark Parker, statrter Ismael Agreda dealt a 95-96 fastball early and 93-94 with lesser command late. I saw him touch 97 in Surprise, but his one inning I saw was too quick to offer much.
Elsewhere Toronto released catcher Matt Whatley and designated RHP Dillon Tate for assignment. Washington signed RHP Adrian Sampson. Angels righty Carl Edwards Jr. is headed to Mexico. Cleveland added pitchers Kolby Allard and Matt Festa to the 40. Reliever Jesse Chavez has probably been signed, released, and re-signed by the Braves today, who knows anymore.
Today’s Starters AAA: TBD AA: Drake Hi-A: Curry Lo-A: Perry
Rangers Farm Report: Games of Sunday 11 May Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 4, at El Paso (SDG) 8 Round Rock: 6 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts Record: 18-21, 8 GB
SP Cory Abbott: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 74 P / 50 S, 6.75 ERA RP Robby Ahlstrom: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.00 ERA RP Cole Winn: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA CF Kellen Strahm: 2-4, BB, .274/.366/.442 DH Jake Burger: 2-3, 2B, HR (2), .391/.462/.696
Hardest-hit balls in PCL: Dominic Canzone, 115.5 Denzel Clarke, 115.2 Jake Burger, 114.2
Burger’s 90th-percentile exit velocity of 109.6 is the highest in the PCL, and his EV50 (average of top 50% of velos) is 14th of 145 with at least 20 balls in play. Now, Jake Burger did just spend a week in El Paso, and his 21 balls in play aren’t exactly a huge sample, but it’s safe to say he’s hitting the ball firmly. He’s also only struck out twice in 23 pate appearances. Here’s an updated chart of contact and 90th-percentile exit velo. The fainter circles are other PCL hitters. The big red dot is the league average.
3B Cody Freeman is interesting. He had a full-season strikeout rate of 17% entering the season, impressive, but not otherworldly. Upon reaching AAA, he’s cut that rate nearly in half to 9%. He’s making contact on 84% of swings on pitches outside the zone, which is otherworldly compared to the league rate of 54%. He’s also hitting 53 points higher than his previous best. I see some luck in that stat, but regardless, he’s having a fine season.
AA: Frisco 1, at San Antonio (SDG) 2 Frisco: 3 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts Opponent: 2 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts Record: 20-13, 1 G up
SP Trey Supak: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 5 SO, 84 P / 57 S, 1.71 ERA 1B Abi Ortiz: 1-3, BB, .237/.320/.377
Frisco again lost 2-1 on a late homer, this time a solo version in the 8th by Brandon Valenzuela off Gavin Collyer.
SP Jose Gonzalez: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 68 P / 42 S, 2.31 ERA RP Josh Sanders: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA RP Josh Mollerus: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.30 ERA RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.62 ERA LF Keith Jones II: 2-3, BB, .245/.405/.372 SS Casey Cook: 2-4, .176/.267/.216
Casey Cook made his first professional start at shortstop. He was almost exclusively a corner outfielder at UNC, mostly left, and made only two appearances at second base compared his 42 so far as a pro.
Lo-A: rain
The game won’t be rescheduled. Hickory heads home for two weeks to face Kannapolis and Myrtle Beach.
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024 The steal-king during 2007-2024 was… I don’t know.
Ryan Strausborger leads the organization over this period and has the two highest season totals without being caught, but he never attained more than 31 in any season. Nothing against him, certainly, but if I polled the 100 readers with the most knowledge of Texas’s minor league history over this period, how many would pick Strausborger? Probably not even ten. Jose Vallejo was more prolific and successful over his career, but at the age of 22 (his last in the system), his attempts dwindled. (He’s also hurt by my cutoff, “losing” his 24 steals at low-A Clinton in 2006.) Bubba Thompson might be the best combination of career, individual seasons, success rate and how often he ran, but a sizable portion of his career occurred during the more favorable post-2020 period.
Most steals, season (full-season only): Jayce Easley, 70 (2021) Fast Freddy Guzman, 56 (2007) Elvis Andrus, 54 (2008) Julio Borbon, 53 (2008) Eric Jenkins, 51 (2016)
AAA: Round Rock 8, at El Paso (SDG) 14 Round Rock: 15 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts Opponent: 15 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 18-20, 7 GB
SP Robert Dugger: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 72 P / 38 S, 23.63 ERA RP Peyton Gray: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.76 ERA 1B Jake Burger: 2-6, HR (1), .350/.435/.500 DH Kyle Higashioki: 1-5, 2B 3B Cody Freeman: 3-5, 2B, .328/.372/.500 SS Jonathan Ornelas: 3-3, BB, HBP, .176/.292/.176
Look at the schedule next time, Mr. Dugger. If you’d said “I can’t start work until Tuesday, I’ve, uh, got to help my cousin move this weekend,” you’d have made your first start in Round Rock instead of El Paso.
Dane Dunning gave up six runs and retired five batters.
Jonathan Ornelas had 36 extra-base hits three years ago in AA and 28 his first season in AAA. This year, none. He’s always been among the most grounder-inclined hitters in the PCL. If we could combine Ornelas’s exit velocities, which remain strong, and Dustin Harris’s launch angles, we’d have a terrific MLB hitter.
AA: Frisco 1, at San Antonio (SDG) 2 Frisco: 6 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts Opponent: 4 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts Record: 20-12, 2 G up
SP Mitch Bratt: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 SO, 75 P / 52 S, 1.59 ERA RP Larson Kindreich: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA RP Ryan Lobus: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3.20 ERA SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-4, 2B, .246/.356/.368 LF Aaron Zavala: 1-2, 2 BB, .221/.429/.368 1B Josh Hatcher: 1-3, 3B, BB, .271/.286/.458
In the 9th with Frisco up 1-0, CF Alejandro Osuna dove but failed to snare Kai Murphy’s sinking liner, resulting in a leadoff triple. As I looked up the catch probability needed to justify the dive (versus conceding a single), Mission Romeo Sanabria smashed a no-doubt two-out walk-off homer.
Mitch Bratt reached double-digit strikeouts for the first time. Bratt has 39 strikeouts and five walks in 31.2 innings. He’s been among the best pitchers in the system in 2025, and at 21, he’s quite young for the level. Bratt should be taken seriously as a back-of-rotation candidate.
SP DJ McCarty: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 70 P / 34 S, 11.34 ERA RP Anthony Susac: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.42 ERA 3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, HR (2), BB, .217/.282/.304 2B Casey Cook: 1-3, BB, .163/.259/.204
2024 3rd-rounder Casey Cook’s trouble converting balls in play to hits has persisted. He’s striking out at a reasonable rate (22%) but has a .219 average on contact compared to the league’s .331. Cook has been grounder-heavy, but that doesn’t fully explain the situation. He’s hitting .189 on grounders (178th of 200 in high-A with at least 20), .125 on flies (145th of 176 with at least 20) and .455 on liners (231st of 239 with at least 10). I don’t have Statcast data at this level, but I would assume (or at least hope for) some bad luck.
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024 The best strikeout-avoider during 2007-2024 was infielder Hanser Alberto, who fanned in 233 of his 2,537 full-season plate appearances, a 9.2% rate. OF Eduard Pinto was lower (7.8%) but had only 40% of Alberto’s trips to the plate, so I awarded Alberto. Five of the best 24 single-season K rates (min. 300 PA) belong to him. He fashioned an eight-year, five-team MLB career with a .269/.292/.381 line and 12% K rate. In 2019, he qualified for the batting title with 550 PA and hit .305, eight-best in the AL. His Orioles were terrible, but that wasn’t his fault. Now 32, he’s still active in Mexico.
Best SO%, season (min. 500 PA): Yangervis Solarte, 7% (2012) Jared Prince, 8% (2011) Zach Granite, 8% (2019)
Best SO%, season (min. 400-499 PA): Tomas Telis, 7% (2011) Julio Borbon , 9% (2009) Hanser Alberto, 9% (2014)
Best SO%, season (min. 300-399 PA): Eduard Pinto, 5% (2015) Hanser Alberto, 7% (2018) Eduard Pinto 7% (2016)
Best SO%, career (min. 900 PA) Eduard Pinto, 8% Hanser Alberto, 9% Tomas Telis, 10%
Fewest SO per H, career (min. 900 PA): Eduard Pinto, 0.31 Hanser Alberto, 0.35 Tomas Telis, 0.37
AAA: Round Rock 4, at El Paso (SDG) 3 Round Rock: 9 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 19-18, 7 GB
SP Ty Blach: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 73 P / 52 S, 0.00 ERA 1B Jake Burger: 2-3, BB, .357/.471/.357
Newcomer Ty Blach missed 11 bats, mostly with the change. He signed last week and pitched in the Complex League opener. He’s pitched 520 MLB innings for the Giants and Rox.
Cole Winn still hasn’t allowed an earned run but was on the mound when the game ended. An errant throw from 3B Cody Freeman put a runner on first to start the 9th. After a sac bunt and two walks (one intentional), Oscar Gonzalez hit a hard, high chopper than just eluded 2B Justin Foscue to plate the winning run.
David Buchanan signed with Taiwan’s Fubon club. Now his release makes more sense. Not that he was pitching well for Round Rock, but he was a Triple A Inning Eater, the type whose run-prevention prowess is almost secondary to organizational needs.
Baltimore outrighted reliever Walter Pennington. The Orioles had claimed him off waivers from Texas. Finally pitching in real games, he walked six of ten batters across outings with high-A Aberdeen and AAA Norfolk.
AA: Frisco 4, at San Antonio (SDG) 3 Frisco: 4 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts Record: 20-11, 3 G up
SP Ben Anderson: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 84 P / 51 S, 6.29 ERA
Frisco had only four hits, but the Missions committed at least that many defensive mistakes including three meaningful errors. Bryan Magdaleno walked a couple and gave up two runs in two innings. He’s having a devil of a time control-wise, walking or hitting 14 in 9.2 innings and dealing strikes on only 51% of his pitches.
Hi-A: Hub City 1, Greensboro (PIT) 3 Hub City: 4 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts Opponent: 8 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts Record: 17-14, tied for first
SP David Davalillo: 6 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 76 P / 46 S, 1.37 ERA CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-4, SB (13), .271/.339/.299 C Julian Brock: 2-3, 2 2B, BB, SB (3), .171/.244/.300
David Davalillo pitched well, again, but Greensboro crept ahead late with runs off Willan Bormie and Joey Danielson.
SP Mason Molina: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 71 P / 41 S, 4.50 ERA RP Luke Savage: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.23 ERA 1B Maxton Martin: 2-5, 2B, .294/.325/.471 DH Pablo Guerrero: 2-4, 2B, HR (3), .250/.293/.389 3B Rafe Perich: 1-3, 2 BB, .188/.310/.302 2B Antonis Macias: 2-3, 2B, BB, SB (1), .234/.413/.325
Pablo Guerrero has six hits including two homers in his last four games. Nobody’s expecting him to be Vlad or Vlad Jr. or Vlad anything, but he is a first baseman, so keep the big hits coming.
I knew Rafe Perich would be the type to reach base even when slumping, but I didn’t think he’d be hitting .188 into mid-May. He’s 2-for-26 with 11 walks in his last nine games. Plenty of time, though.
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024 Texas’s ultimate walk machine during 2007-2024 was Jayce Easley, a 2018 fifth-rounder. Drew Robinson has the most, courtesy of a lengthier career, and Trevor Hauver has the most in a season, but for me, Easley had the best combination of high walk rate, a long-enough career, and dependence on walks. In 321 full-season games, Easley drew 214 walks and had 203 hits, one of only two players in the system with more freebies than hits (current Ranger Ian Moller is the other). 2021 was especially fun: 78 walks, 76 hits, 70 stolen bases.
I might have arrived at a different conclusion (like Johnny Whittleman) had I adjusted my data for seasonal league-wide walk rates, which have risen considerably post-covid. A 15% walk rate isn’t what it used to be. But after an exhausting work deadline and two-thirds of a glass a wine, the only adjustments were to my positioning on the couch.
Easley was released last summer and is currently the offensive coordinator for his high school team in Glendale, AZ.
Most walks: Drew Robinson, 424 Preston Beck, 333 Johnny Whittleman, 322
Most walks, season: Trevor Hauver, 93 (2022) Aaron Zavala, 89 (2022) Johnny Whittleman, 89 (2008)
Highest walk rate (min. 900 PA): Jayce Easley, 18% Ian Moller, 17% Trevor Hauver, 16%
Highest walk rate, season (min. 300 PA): Trevor Hauver, 21% (2022) Jayce Easley, 19% (2021) Nick Vickerson, 18% (2014)
Walk/hits ratio (min. 900 PA): Ian Moller, 1.06 Jayce Easley, 1.02 Nick Vickerson, 0.98
Walk/Hit ratio, season (min. 300 PA): Trevor Hauver: 1.26 (2022) Marcus Smith, 1.22 (2022) Aaron Zavala, 1.09 (2023)
AAA: Round Rock 5, at El Paso (SDG) 4 Round Rock: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts Opponent: 3 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts Record: 18-18, 7 GB
SP Adrian Houser: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 8 SO, 91 P / 53 S, 6.46 ERA RP Luis Curvelo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.63 ERA CF Kellen Strahm: 2-3, BB, 2 SB (12), .277/.371/.465
Jake Burger had the game’s hardest ball in play (114.2) and another at 98 but was 0-3.
Emiliano Teodo pitched a scoreless rehab inning with two strikeouts at the complex. (And 2024 5th-round MIF Devin Fitz-Gerald hit his first homer, and 3B Yolfran Castillo was 2-5 with a walk and two steals.)
AA: Frisco 12, at San Antonio (SDG) 6 Frisco: 12 hits, 5 walks, 15 strikeouts Opponent: 8 hits, 9 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 19-11, 3 G ahead
SP Josh Stephan: 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 60 P / 35 S, 9.10 ERA CF Alejandro Osuna: 1-4, BB, .306/.383/.450 SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-4, 2B, BB, .252/.361/.369 LF Aaron Zavala: 2-3, 2 BB, .190/.393/.349 DH Abimelec Ortiz: 3-5, 2 2B, .214/.296/.350
Frisco scored four in the 9th to break open what was a closer game than the final score alleges. The Riders are the league’s only team better than average in both runs scored and allowed. Everyone reached safely except Josh Hatcher, who was hitting an even .400 early but is 4-for-44 with one walk in his last 11 games.
SP Caden Scarborough: 4 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 67 P / 41 S, 4.03 ERA SS Chandler Pollard: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 SB (16), .321/.398/.346 1B Pablo Guerrero: 2-4, .240/.279/.346
Pollard’s 16 steals leads the system; others with double digits are Kellen Strahm, Anthony Gutierrez and Cam Cauley. The MiLB leader is Cleveland prospect Tommy Hawke with 33 in 29 games. That’s a lot.
The Carolina League has bad control (14.4% BB/HBP rate). Hickory was worse early but at 14.1% has slid below the league average recently. Aiding that cause is none other than Caden Scarborough, who’s walked or hit only eight of 91 batters faced. He’d been quite wild previously, and based on what I saw in March, control wasn’t going to be a prominent feature of 2025. He’s been terrific lately.
Today’s Starters AAA: TBD AA: Anderson Hi-A: Davalillo Lo-A: Molina
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024 The best tripler in the system during 2007-2024 was OF Engel Beltre, one of the more exciting yet frustrating prospects to grace the Texas system. He leads the organization with 46 during that span. In 2012, he collected 17 plus 17 doubles and 13 homers. For his career, 24% of his extra-base hits were triples.
A strong alternative is OF Chris Garia, who hit more triples (27) than doubles (24) in his career. In 2014, he had seven doubles, 11 triples and four homers, so a full 50% of his extra-base hits were triples.
Jonathan Ornelas played left field yesterday so the second time this season. Texas promoted OF Marcus Smith from Hub City, but that’s just a “we need a guy” situation.
While I’m happy for Blaine Crim, of course, it’s telling that Justin Foscue did not get the call, as he was already on the 40 and is hitting the same as ever plus a few extra singles.
AA: Frisco 6, at San Antonio (SDG) 1 Frisco: 12 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts Opponent: 0 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts Record: 18-11, 3 G up
SP Kohl Drake: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 79 P / 49 S, 2.42 ERA RP Ryan Lobus: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 3.38 ERA RP Skylar Hales: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 6.34 ERA DH Sebastian Walcott: 2-5, SB (7), .252/.361/.369 LF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, BB, .190/.393/.349 3B Keyber Rodriguez: 2-5, 2B, 3B, .345/.394/.476 1B Abi Ortiz: 2-5, .214/.296/.350 SS Cam Cauley: 3-4, HR (2), .220/.307/.330
The Texas system threw its third no-hitter of the still-young season. One was an eight-inning version that Hickory lost 1-0 and might not appear wherever the record-keepers keep their records, but it’s not for others to tell us what’s worth remembering. Anyway, Kohl Drake handled the first 18 outs, Ryan Lobus the next four, and Skylar Hales the final five.
Frisco hadn’t thrown a no-hitter since July 2011, when Joe Wieland took care of business all by himself in the same stadium. He threw 109 pitches as a 21-year-old, an impossibility today. His next start would be in the same stadium but wearing a different uniform, as he would be traded to San Diego with Robbie Erlin for reliever Mike Adams at the deadline. The Rangers were really strong that year and might have won the World Series had the season not been cancelled. A pity.
Sebastian Walcott peaked at an OBP of .409 and slug of .451 about two weeks ago, after which he’s batted .148/.207/.148. Long season.
Abi Ortiz through 26 games played at the same level in 2024 and 2025: Line: .222/.288/.374 in 2024, .214/.296/.350 in 2025 Hits: 22 both years Extra-Base Hits: 10 last year, 8 this year Walks: 9 last yeaar, 10 this year Strikeouts: 21 last year, 29 this year
Hi-A: Hub City 7, Greensboro (PIT) 5 Hub City: 8 hits, 4 walks, 15 strikeouts Opponent: 5 hits, 9 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 17-12, 1 G up
SP Aidan Curry: 4.1 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 87 P / 48 S, 5.51 ERA RP Anthony Susac: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.64 ERA RP Josh Mollerus: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.63 ERA RF Yeison Morrobel: 2-4, 2B 3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-4, .224/.284/.282
Yeison Morrobel batted third and acted like it in his first game back fro the lef injury.
I’ve been doing this long enough to avoid prematurely suggesting a player has turned a corner. After his best start in two years, Aidan Curry matched a season-high four walks. He’d actually avoided that trouble through four, but difficulty in putting away batters resulted in walks to three of four batters on a total of 24 pitches in the 5th.
SP J’Briell Easley: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 68 P / 43 S, 2.70 ERA RP Brock Porter: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2.65 ERA
In the 10th, Hickory put runners on the corners with none out, but every subsequent batter struck out. In the bottom half, Augusta’s Nick Montgomery “singled” off the very top of the wall in left-center off the first pitch from Jake Jekielek to drive in the gift-runner.
Brock Porter missed on nearly half his pitches but managed to record outs in two of three three-ball counts. 2B Antonis Macias isn’t especially K-prone but donned the platinum visor last night.
Today’s Starters AAA: TBD AA: Stephan Hi-A: Trentadue Lo-A: Scarborough
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024 The most doubles-intensive batter during 2007-2024 was 3B Johnny Whittleman. The leader isn’t obvious like Guilder Rodriguez with singles. Jared Hoying hit the most, and Chad Tracy’s 41 were the most in any one season, but Whittleman was near the top in both categories and tended to make doubles a higher percentage of his hits. 2008 was the standout year, when he hit 38 doubles out of 121 hits between high-A Bakersfield and Frisco. He achieved the pinnacle of doubledom on July 10th, hitting three doubles, driving in one, and scoring three times in a 6-2 victory.
Most doubles (full-season only): Jared Hoying, 163 Chad Tracy, 153 Drew Robinson and Preston Beck, 150
Doubles as % of hits: Johnny Whittleman, 29% Cristian Santana, 27% Mitch Moreland, 26%
Doubles as % of PA: Mitch Moreland, 7.2% Julio Borbon, 6.6% Curtis Terry, 6.4%
AAA: Round Rock 7, at El Paso (SDG) 9 Round Rock: 14 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts Opponent: 13 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts Record: 17-17, 7 GB
SP Ryan Garcia: 4 IP, 7 H (2 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 73 P / 43 S, 12.46 ERA RP Joe Barlow: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4.11 ERA SS Ezequiel Duran: 2-5, 2B, HR (4), .346/.393/.673 1B Jake Burger: 1-4, BB DH Justin Foscue: 2-4, HR (5), BB, .307/.409/.500 3B Cody Freeman: 2-4, 2B, BB, .320/.366/.490 CF Sam Haggerty: 3-5, 2B, HR (1), .316/.389/.405
Jake Burger had a bloop single in his first AAA appearance.
Sam Haggerty’s chances of returning to the Majors improved with the departure of Leody Taveras, so I’ll point out that his Statcast figures back up his impressive line. He’s making plenty of singles-oriented contact, and while I see some luck on grounders, he’s hit only one ball in excess of 45 degrees (essentially an automatic out) all season.
AA: Frisco 2, at San Antonio (SDG) 9 Frisco: 5 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts Record: 17-11, 2 G ahead
SP Daniel Missaki: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 1 SO, 60 P / 35 S, 4.20 ERA CF Alejandro Osuna: 1-3, 2B, BB, .318/.390/.467 LF Aaron Zavala: 1-1, 2B, 2 BB, .169/.381/.339
Recently, the Express active roster appears to contain fewer than the maximum 28 players. Since Taveras won’t be joining, the AAA outfield now consists of Haggerty, Kellen Strahm, Trevor Hauver, and Alex De Goti, an infielder whose eight OF starts in 2025 are already the most of his career. That is all to say, if the Rangers wanted to promote someone from Frisco, maybe a stocky 22-year-old born in Mexico who can hit for average and power and swipe a bag, I’d sign off on that.
SP Leandro Lopez: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 77 P / 45 S, 1.77 ERA LF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, 2B, .261/.355/.380 RF Keith Jones II: 1-4, HR (3), .263/.436/.421 DH Arturo Disla: 1-4, HR (4), .240/.302/.427
Historically wild Leandro Lopez has an 11% walk rate, not bad by modern standards, and opponents are hitting only. 194/.299/.247.
I had no idea what to expect from Keith Jones, a money-saving 9th-round sign from New Mexico State. He crushed the ball as a senior (.367/.472/.710) but did so in the sprawling, video-game environment of the Western Athletic Conference. Even with a high-A assignment, he’s an above-average 23 years old. Such players might have little leeway for extended slumps, but Jones has reached in 22 of 24 games including seven with at least two walks.
SP Kamdyn Perry: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 73 P / 44 S, 4.95 ERA LF Maxton Martin: 1-3, HR (2), .302/.330/.481 1B Pablo Guerrero: 2-3, HR (2), .240/.275/.354
Kamdyn Perry, co-owner of Hickory’s no-hitter in April, tossed another five hitless innings. Augusta would single against Michael Trausch the next inning and put at least one runner in scoring position in the final four frames, but only one would score.
Movement Texas released Round Rock reliever Hunter Strickland, who immediately signed with the Angels. Catcher Cooper Johnson was promoted to Round Rock, and recently signed Kale Emshoff replaced him at Frisco. OF Yeison Morrobel, injured in the Spring Breakout game running to first, was assigned to high-A Hub City after a brief stay at the complex. Catcher Jesus Lopez was assigned to the complex. I could have sworn he was on Hickory’s injured list, but that transaction was either deleted or only existed in my head.
Per local scribes, righty Robert Dugger signed a minor deal with Texas. Dugger was the leader of Round Rock’s rotation in 2023. He spent part of last year in Korea (with no success, sad to say) and had been in Oaxaca to start 2025. MLB Trade Rumors suggested the possibility of a spot start or long relief with the Rangers, and I suppose that’s the upside, but in general I’d say he’s mostly here to bolster a thinned-out Express staff. Texas also signed 29-year-old Cory Abbott, who threw 104.2 not particularly enchanting innings for the Cubs and Nats during 2021-2023. He had been pitching in the Mexican League as well.
Today’s Starters AAA: Garabito AA: Drake Hi-A: Curry Lo-A: Easley Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024 The most single-heavy Texas Rangers minor league hitter during 2007-2024 was Guilder Rodriguez. In six seasons and 2,502 plate appearances, Rodriguez batted .256/.335/.288. 498 of his 555 hits, or 90%, were singles, the highest career percentage of any Ranger with at least 200 hits. He never collected more than 13 extra-base hits in any season and had a career total of two homers. My writeup for the first: “Guilder Rodriguez entered Saturday with 534 games, 1,863 plate appearances, and zero home runs. Now he has one.”
Rodriguez also holds the records for highest percentage of singles in a season with 97%. In 2012, he doubled on April 30 and June 6. That was it. He batted .219/.303/.226 with 56 singles.
Texas had acquired him in the minor league phase of the 2008 Rule 5 draft. I can’t say for sure, but I believe he was eligible for free agency five times as a Ranger but always re-signed. In 2014, Rodriguez was rewarded for years of service with a promotion to the Majors, a highlight of Texas’s otherwise dismal season. In his sixth game, he tallied his first hit, a single to left against the Astros, and would later score. In the 7th, he would line a go-ahead RBI single, and Texas would hold on for a 4-3 victory.
Most singles: Engel Beltre, 554 Hanser Alberto, 506 Guilder Rodriguez, 498
Highest % of Hits For Singles (min. 200 hits): Guilder Rodriguez, 90% Yonny Hernandez, 85% Carlos Garay, 83%
Highest % of Plate Appearances For Singles (min. 200 hits): Carlos Garay, 25% Luis Sardinas, 22% Julio Borbon, 21%
Evan Carter has officially been recalled. Seattle has claimed OF Leody Taveras.
Playing Time Carter has played 21 of Round Round’s 33 games, 18 of those in the field for the entire game. He’s played three consecutive days three times, and last Tuesday through Thursday was the first set in which he played in the outfield every inning. Last week was the first time he’s played five games, although two consisted of a doubleheader in which he played a total of eight innings. He’s never had a week without two consecutive days off.
The Rangers commence a set of 13 straight games tonight. Best I can tell, they might face only righties in the first seven games. That’s better for Carter from a hitting perspective but does bump into the stamina issue. He’s not going to start seven in a row.
Batting In General Carter has a slash of .221/.333/.416, good for a 97 OPS+ using last year’s park factors, and he’s improved as the season has progressed. Eight of his 17 hits are for extra bases. He’s walking plenty and not striking out too much.
He’s very air-oriented. His median launch angle of 23 degrees is in the 92nd percentile among PCL hitters with at least 25 balls in play, and is grounder rate is near the bottom.
Against Righties Carter is hitting .262/.366/.508 with a 14% walk rate and 22% strikeout rate against righties. His hard-hit rate is below average (31% compared to 39% for other PCL lefties against righties), but his top-end exit velocity is above average.
Opposing righties are working him out of the zone low/away more than the typical LHB. He’s swung through some changes, which is understandable, but to his credit he’s almost completely ignored fastball, sinkers, and would-be back-door sliders.
Against Lefties As I’ve mentioned, the Pacific Coast League doesn’t have many lefty pitchers relative to MLB, so Carter’s opportunities against them have been limited to just 17 plate appearances in 21 games. He’s hitting .063/.211/.063 with a softly lined single, three walks and seven strikeouts following a hitless spring. Frankly, some of the at-bats just haven’t been competitive. Sliders have been especially vexing; he’s missed on nine of 14 swings (64%). Of eight recorded balls in play, Carter has one hard hit (95+ MPH) and a median exit velocity of 79.4, about eight below the average of lefty-on-lefty league-wide results.
At all levels including postseason, Carter hasn’t homered against a lefty in 175 plate appearances, the most recent coming on the final day of the 2022 AA regular season.
Running/Stealing/Defending No issues, I’m happy to say. Carter’s acceleration and speed are fine. He’s gained some extra bases purely on speed out of the box and an awareness of exactly how long an outfielder will need to get the ball to second or third.
Thoughts Ignoring the needs of the parent club, I’d be inclined to keep Carter in AAA a little while longer. Perhaps a couple of series playing five games out of the weekly six and no more than one day off, assuming his body doesn’t protest. Maybe an indication that he shouldn’t automatically be replaced against a lefty.
The parent club is awfully needy, though. The good news is the Rangers don’t require the October 2023 version of Carter (although that would be swell). They just need him to clear the low bar of what Leody Taveras offered during the season’s first 35 games. Texas inexplicably has one of baseball’s worst offenses, and even a still-rebounding Carter should provide a boost.
That abbreviated doubleheader I mentioned in the Playing Time section was important, as he came off the bench to pinch-hit against a righty in the last inning (and homered!). He’ll be seeing those situations as a Ranger.
The Rangers dismissed offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker and placed OF Leodys Taveras on outright waivers after Sunday’s win. Someone on bluesky asked when the Rangers would make changes (beyond the Burger demotion). I hadn’t answered, and I can’t find his post now, but the answer in my head was 40 games, roughly the seasons’ quarter mark. The Rangers themselves decided an extra week would be a waste of time.
Should Ecker have been fired? Ultimately, it does come down to results, but as to how much responsibility he bears, I don’t know. I’m not in the room, I’ve no idea to what extent his methods had run their course. Frustratingly, Texas’s results can be pinned firmly on just four players.
“Everyone Else” is hitting well (which isn’t to say every individual in that group is, particularly Adolis Garcia), while the others… well. Semien is the oldest and perhaps in the midst of inevitable decline, although hopefully not at the currently drastic rate. Pederson are the two newcomers. Saying “they were fine until they joined the Rangers” seems a gross oversimplification, but you could at least say so in knowledgeable company without being mocked to your face. Still, I’d expect improvement irrespective of who’s in charge of hitting.
As for Taveras (sigh), maybe this is who he is. That’s deeply disappointing, as he has the ability to be (and for a while, actually was) a strong defensive centerfielder whose bat would play well enough to start, if at the bottom of the order. Statcast still rates him above average defensively in 2025, but he sure doesn’t meet the eye test. At the plate, he’s chasing more often but also taking more called third strikes. All of his advanced metrics are dreadful.
Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll almost certainly head to Round Rock rather that take free agency and forfeit the rest of his salary. Does Evan Carter replace him? I’ll leave that for another day (maybe tomorrow!), but the short version is I’m not overly enthused about the idea right now, and if the Rangers were 20-15 with an extra 30 runs scored instead of 17-18, I’d be even less so. But then, if the Rangers were five games above .500, Taveras probably would have contributed to that, and these paragraphs are never written. Carter would very likely be an improvement on Taveras, at least against righties, so the circumstances may require his retrieval.
AAA: Round Rock 13, at Sugar Land (HOU) 0 Round Rock: 15 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts Opponent: 2 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts Record: 17-16, 6 GB
SP Michael Plassmeyer: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 53 P / 36 S, 4.97 ERA RP Cole Winn: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA RP Luis Curvelo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.94 ERA 3B Ezequiel Duran: 2-5, HR (3), .340/.392/.617 SS Cody Freeman: 2-5, 2B, .313/.355/.479 CF Kellen Strahm: 2-4, HR (4), HBP, .278/.369/.489 RF Trevor Hauver: 3-5, 2B, HR (4), .243/.339/.421
The Express have used 26 pitchers including 11 starters in 33 games. That’s just a description, not a criticism; most of the league competition has similar usage.
Cole Winn has no earned runs and an opposing line of .145/.255/.145 in 21.2 innings. Cody Freeman has started the last two days at short. Texas successfully outrighted IF Nick Ahmed to Round Rock.
SP Florencio Serrano: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 39 P / 24 S, 6.14 ERA RP Ryan Lobus: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 3.12 ERA RP Larson Kindreich: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, SB (6), .245/.363/.372 2B Keyber Rodriguez: 3-4, 3B, SB (6), .333/.388/.427 CF Cam Cauley: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 SB (10), .207/.302/.293
Sebastian Walcott’s line has dwindled recently thanks to a 2-for-22 spell with no extra base hits. He’s not striking out much at all, just not accomplishing much with the contact. No worries.
SP DJ McCarty: 0.1 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 32 P / 16 S, 12.83 ERA RP Eric Loomis: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA CF Anthony Gutierrez: 3-4, .283/.353/.315
Rome batted around in the 1st against DJ McCarty. Eric Loomis stranded three.
Hi-A: Hub City 0, at Rome (ATL) 2 (7) Hub City: 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts Record: 15-12, tied for 1st
SP Jose Gonzalez: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 66 P / 45 S, 2.37 ERA CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, SB (6), .250/.350/.364
Not long ago, Hub City ranked near the middle of the league in runs scored despite a weak slash line. Unfortunately, last week’s regression to the mean involved fewer runs, not more hits. The Burgers scored eight runs in the six-game series, and five came in a single game.
SP Ismael Agreda: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 67 P / 40 S, 3.24 ERA RP Brock Porter: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.00 ERA RP Dalton Pence: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.68 ERA DH Maxton Martin: 2-4, 2B, .301/.324/.456 LF Marcus Torres: 2-4, 3B, SB (2), .214/.313/.393
Hickory avoided a six-game sweep but was outscored 30-14 in the series. The pitching was close to ideal, as 21-year-old Ismael Agreda no-hit the Fireflies through five, Brock Porter was back on point, and former UNC closer Dalton Pence retired the final six in order on 24 pitches.
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024 The 10th-best full-season team during 2007-2024 is the 2008 Frisco Roughriders.
Not the best team ever, but arguably the most famous. Among those who spent significant time in Frisco and would make their MLB debuts that season or in the next two years were Elvis Andrus, Julio Borbon, Chris Davis, John Mayberry, Manny Pina, Max Ramirez, Thomas Diamond, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter. Andrus (.295/.350/.367) spent the entire season there.
The busiest pitchers weren’t necessarily the best, so Frisco’s run prevention was only league-average, but the offense led in runs scored (adjusted for park) and OPS+. Davis and Ramirez were on fire before moving on, Borbon carried the flame as a midseason addition, elder OFs Ben Harrison and Dustin Majewski were OPS machines, and OF Steven Murphy led the squad with 20 homers. One of the highlights of my baseball career was watching the AA debut of Holland and seventh start by Neftali Feliz on consecutive nights in August.
The playoffs were deeply annoying. Frisco swept a strong San Antonio squad in three games and entered the best-of-five championship against the 62-78 Arkansas Travelers, which limped into the playoffs with a 36-34 first-half record, were 26-44 in the second, and somehow swept a much better NW Arkansas in the opening round. Despite having Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz lined up to start four of five potential games, The Riders lost in five, scoring a total of ten runs.
