Scott Lucas

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, at El Paso (SDP) 6
Round Rock: 13 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 29-21, 5 GB, 60-65 overall

SP Trey Supak: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 68 P / 44 S, 6.04 ERA
RP Alexis Diaz: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 2.80 ERA
SS Cameron Cauley: 2-4, 2 2B, SB (33), .271/.369/.438
DH Diego Castillo: 1-1, 2 BB, SB (6), .307/.381/.436
1B John Taylor: 2-4, 2B, BB, SB (11), .268/.393/.433
2B Keyber Rodriguez: 3-5, 2B, SB (5), .245/.321/.444

DH Logan O’Hoppe (0-2) was pulled in the top of the 5th. I can’t tell you anything more than what I saw, which was his apparent absence from the dugout late and during post-game hi-fives. An inning later, LF Alejandro Osuna was pulled. 

Cam Cauley is hitting .370/.438/.778 in six games since returning to Round Rock.


AA: Frisco 5, Wichita (MIN) 7
Frisco: 10 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 24-26, 3 GB, 63-55 overall

SP Aidan Curry: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 0 SO, 35 P / 18 S, 5.49 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 5.91 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 3-5, .296/.374/.518
C Malcolm Moore: 2-4, 2B, HR (7), .211/.299/.401

Curry couldn’t escape the 1st. His previous outing was a capable start for the AAA Express. Malcolm Moore had his first game with multiple extra-base hits since early June. 

I don’t believe Frisco has ever been swept at home under the six-games-per-week format instituted in 2021. They did lose five straight at home to Wichita prior to a rain-cancelled series finale in 2023. 


Hi-A: Hub City 6, at Rome (ATL) 0
Hub City: 11 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 9 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 20-33, 7.5 GB, 54-65 overall

SP Ben Detaeye: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 70 P / 42 S, 8.31 ERA
LF Casey Cook: 2-3, 3B, HBP, .193/.313/.385
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-5, 2B, .245/.343/.448

Indy pickup Ben DeTaeye has been walk-prone but had a whale of a start last night. Anthony Susac, Luimy Munoz and J’Briell Easley combined to walk or hit eight in four innings but allowed just one hit. 


Lo-A: Hickory 7, Delmarva (BAL) 2
Hickory: 8 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 36-16, 6.5 G up, 70-46 overall

SP Jacob Johnson: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 63 P / 36 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Brandon Jaenke: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Paulino Santana: 2-4, SB (22), .267/.386/.442
RF Deward Tovar: 2-4, HR (16), .238/.320/.446
C Josh Springer: 3-4, .301/.376/.368

Jacob Johnson was a little more runner-prone than usual and finally allowed a run in his 4th low-A start, but it was very unearned. He was pulled immediately after the leadoff batter in the 4th reached on an error, and the batter later scored.  

Today’s Starters
AAA: Veneziano
AA: Townsend
Hi-A: Segura
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Plenty of minor league teams will play with a two-man bench consisting of a catcher and utility player, but because of covid knockouts and a late scratch of Jonah Heim, the MLB Rangers’ substitutes consisted of C/1B Yohel Pozo and 1B Curtis Terry. 

Owen White reached a season-high four innings with one run and three strikeouts in low-A. He’d missed much of the season to a broken hand suffered when he slammed the ground in frustration after an error. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 15, at El Paso (SDP) 7
Round Rock: 15 hits, 13 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 28-21, 6 GB, 59-65 overall

SP Adam Macko: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 49 P / 33 S, 5.63 ERA
2B Cameron Cauley: 2-5, HR (11), .268/.366/.431
DH Logan O’Hoppe: 2-5, 2B, HR (3), .300/.395/.571
CF John Taylor: 1-3, 3 BB, .264/.390/.427
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-5, HR (10), BB, .268/.357/.433
RF Orlando Martinez: 2-6, 3B, HR (2), .297/.365/.469

Yesterday was nominally a bullpen game, but it’s interesting that Adam Macko’s two longest outings of the season (in terms of pitches) are his two most recent. Macko was a starter until shifting to long relief last August. He relied heavily on a slider that was responsible for eight of his nine missed bats. 

Logan O’Hoppe’s homer was only the 21st-hardest hit of the evening (97.5), but he lofted it high just beyond the wall in left-center. Under current rules, the minimum Texas can offer him in 2027 is $2.1 million, which would be a 20% cut from this year’s salary. O’Hoppe could and would counter with higher, of course. Texas could also conceivably non-tender and re-sign O’Hoppe for less, but that would require his approval. I expect Texas would want to see what he could do in Arlington first. Rosters expand in ten days, and Elias Diaz is hitting .176/.202/.242 since Independence Day. The word ten days ago was that Kyle Higashioka was soon to begin a throwing program. 

In a perfect world, Texas has a cheap and rejuvenated O’Hoppe behind the dish in 2027. The Rangers have no internal candidates for an MLB role next year. 

Cam Cauley homered off Jose Leclerc, who has twice allowed three runs in an inning this week against the Express. Coming back from a shoulder injury, Leclerc has been roughed up in AA and AAA and wouldn’t appear to be part of San Diego’s playoff stretch drive. 

John Taylor played center for the third time in his career and first in nearly a month. He’s made about 15% of his AAA defensive starts in the grass. I thought he appeared a little tentative there earlier this summer, but that’s understandable. 

Round Rock has averaged nearly ten runs per game against a poor staff in a hitter-friendly environment. 


AA: Frisco 1, Wichita (MIN) 4
Frisco: 4 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 24-25, 2 GB, 63-54 overall

SP Cole Stasio: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 43 P / 27 S, 4.15 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 3.2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 4 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 4.91 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-3, BB, .310/.384/.531
3B Rafe Perich: 2-3, 2B, BB, .313/.393/.593

Wichita broke open a scoreless game in the 8th when Brock Porter walked three straight and surrendered a homer to Andrew Cossetti. Porter did retire the next two batters before leaving, albeit on three-ball counts. He has allowed only two hits and fanned nine in 7.1 AA innings but has walked ten. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, at Rome (ATL) 6
Hub City: 3 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Record: 19-33, 7.5 GB, 53-65 overall, elimination number 8

SP Caden Scarborough: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 75 P / 54 S, 5.03 ERA
RP Wily Villar: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 6.75 ERA
1B Brandon Crabtree: 1-2, 3B, BB, HBP

Caden Scarborough was at 54 pitches with five runs allowed through two, the kind of night that might have ended there, but he pushed through two more flawless innings. Scarborough didn’t register a strikeout and missed only four bats out of 42 swings. 

Brandon Crabtree is Texas’s 2026 16th-rounder from Catawba College, a two-hour drive from Spartanburg depending on traffic. He was listed as a third baseman by the Rangers when drafted, but he played mostly at first this season in college and exclusively there so far with Hub City. 

Hub City’s plight is worse than their elimination number suggests; I can’t find a division-winning scenario without at least a 12-2 finish plus some help. 


Lo-A: Hickory 3, Delmarva (BAL) 0
Hickory: 7 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 35-16, 6.5 G up, 69-46 overall, magic number 9

SP Moises Morales: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 68 P / 52 S, 3.32 ERA
RP Jake Barbee: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
1B Kaden Carpenter: 1-2, 2 BB, SB (5), .242/.370/.470
2B Josh Owens: 1-2, BB
C Sebastian Baquera: 2-3, .282/.372/.385

Jake Barbee was up to 96 in his three scoreless innings. In limited data available from the complex, he peaked at 94.8 and sat 92. Kaden Carpenter’s ankle injury Thursday night proved insignificant. 

Josh Owens and Seong-Jun Kim (0-4) played up the middle together for the first time in low-A. Yolfran Castillo had a night off and played in only four of six games last week after a stretch of 21 straight. He’s seen a modest downturn in his second-half production, still solid but with fewer balls in play tallying hits. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Supak
AA: Curry
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Reliever Nick Snyder made his MLB debut with a clean 9th in a blowout of Boston. Snyder’s pre-professional mound work consisted of 2.2 innings in juco, and he’d begun the year in high-A. He’s spent most of his career dealing with injuries, and after 2021, he would throw only 39 MLB-affiliated innings. Snyder spent 2023 with the Rangers and 2024 with the Phils but never took the mound. Mexico’s Union Laguna squad released him in May. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, at El Paso (SDP) 6
Round Rock: 13 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 27-21, 6 GB, 58-65 overall

SP David Davalillo: 5.2 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 79 P / 51 S, 5.36 ERA
1B Alejandro Osuna: 3-5, 2 2B, SB (8), .292/.388/.416
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, HR (9), .267/.355/.425
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, HR (12), BB, .227/.302/.430

In four starts since returning to AAA, Davalillo has a 67% strike rate and one walk in 19 innings. He also owns a decent if not thrilling 21% K rate and a below-average 8% swinging strike rate. Bat-missing is the discussion I thought we’d have about him when he reached AAA, but he had to go give us all a scare by forgetting how to throw strikes. 


AA: Frisco 4, Wichita (MIN) 8
Frisco: 5 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 24-24, 1 GB, 63-53 overall

SP Jack Leiter: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 59 P / 38 S, 12.00 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.66 ERA
RF Yeison Morrobel: 1-4, HR (3), .290/.330/.495

Wichita discovered they could hit a Major League pitcher in the 3rd, collecting four runs on an error, walk, double and homer. Leiter departed after an opening walk in the 4th. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Rome (ATL) 5
Hub City: 5 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 19-32, 7 GB, 34-32 overall

SP Case Matter: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 16 P / 13 S, 6.75 ERA
SS Evan Morrison: 2-4

Morrison is Texas’s 10th-rounder out of Grand Valley State. 


Lo-A: Hickory 7, Delmarva (BAL) 4
Hickory: 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 34-16, 5.5 G up, 68-46 overall

SP Evan Siary: 7 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 79 P / 59 S, 3.09 ERA
CF Paulino Santana: 1-5, HR (14), .268/.389/.445
1B Pablo Guerrero: 1-2, HR (7), 2 BB, .339/.452/.579
C Josh Springer: 2-3, HR (), BB, .289/.368/.358
DH Seong-Jun Kim: 1-4
2B Josh Owens: 1-4

Kim and Owens had their first full-season starts as batters. Kim pitched yesterday, and Owens had pinch-hit once. 

Evan Siary has seven straight starts with two or fewer runs. I suppose a question is whether he might join Hub City for the final two weeks or hang around so he can pitch in Hickory’s postseason (assuming the Dads reach it). There’s also nothing preventing the Rangers from moving him up and bringing him back, but that isn’t how they typically operate. 

LF Kaden Carpenter turned his ankle out of the box on a grounder and had to be replaced. 

Texas assigned 2025 12th-round righty Jake Barbee to Hickory. He had a 9.42 ERA in 14.1 innings at the complex but the peripherals aren’t so bad. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Stasio
Hi-A: Scarborough
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Josh Jung was 0-3 with a walk in his AAA debut. 

Per local media, Sebastian Walcott has progressed enough provide optimism that he will play in the field at some point this season. There’s also speculation of whether that defense and bat might be on display in Arlington. 

The case for adding Walcott is simple if fraught with uncertainty: If you are genuinely committed to reaching the postseason and believe he’ll be better than someone currently on the roster, you add him. For example, since the All-Star break, Nicky Lopez is hitting .195/.247/.220, Justin Foscue .191/.240/.298. Surely Walcott could offer more than that. Or if not Lopez or Foscue, then perhaps Cody Freeman. Walcott is hitting .291 and slugging .519 in AA, and he’s not just floating in the current of increased offense across the minors. He’s pummeling the ball. He’s a potential star, and we all remember Evan Carter’s debut, right?

And while there’s no reason to be displeased with what he’s accomplished since returning. his AA production isn’t unblemished. After going 1-for-14 with six strikeouts in his last three games, Walcott’s OBP of .341 is below the park-adjusted league average of .350. Adjusted league averages of BB+HBP and strikeouts are 13% and 24%, respectively, but he’s at 7% and 27%. His contact rate is only 69%. 

Where might Walcott play? His natural position is short, but obviously he’s not supplanting Seager (assuming good health). Walcott has played third, and that could be where he spends most of his career, but his schedule for getting up to speed defensively appears to overlap with Jung’s recovery timetable. I mentioned Lopez, but Walcott has never played second base. Doesn’t mean he can’t, but it would be new. There’s a potential future of right field with Nimmo shifting to DH, but that’s not happening in 2026 with a capable Joc Pederson around. 

Right-handed DH, bench bat and spot starter at short and third (and maybe second)? That might work, although a part-time role limits his potential  contribution. 

Another negative is outside Walcott’s control but no less pertinent. He doesn’t require 40-man placement until after 2027. Presumably, he’ll force his way on before then, but imagine this scenario: Walcott is added to the active roster this season, contributes little, is clearly in need of more seasoning in AAA or even AA in 2027, but because of a work stoppage he’s prohibited from playing minor league games. That’s not great. 
If I’m truly of the mind that Walcott could help the 2026 Rangers, and medical staff give their approval, and he’s comfortable, I’m escorting him to the airport to play for AAA Round Rock in the field. If either promotion or defensive duty feels premature, I’m inclined to shut down the talk soon, if not immediately. In 13 days, the Rangers’ number of remaining games will equal what remained when Evan Carter made his 2023 debut. Honestly, the idea does feel premature, but so did Carter’s promotion. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 14, at El Paso (SDP) 2
Round Rock: 20 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Record: 27-20, 5 GB, 58-64 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 6 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 76 P / 53 S, 3.45 ERA
LF Alejandro Osuna: 2-4, 2B, BB, .278/.380/.389
3B Cameron Cauley: 4-5, 2 HR (10), .266/.363/.424
C Logan O’Hoppe: 2-4, HR (2), BB, HBP, .283/.386/.533
RF Aaron Zavala: 3-5, .264/.354/.416

For a second straight day, Logan O’Hoppe had the hardest-hit ball in AAA, this one a homer to left. Cam Cauley homered to left and right-center.

Speaking of, Dalton Pence’s first and fourth pitches of the afternoon were taken deep by El Paso. Despite that, he threw strikes and walked none. Pence was exceptionally reliant on his slider; it accounted for 61% of his pitches, and he gained eight calls and six whiffs with it. 


AA: Frisco 8, Wichita (MIN) 9
Frisco: 9 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 24-23, 1 GB, 63-52 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 85 P / 46 S, 6.59 ERA
RP Leandro Lopez: 2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 7.24 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1.71 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 3-4, BB, .310/.383/.533
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, 2B, .311/.390/.593
2B Max Wagner: 1-4, HR (18), .252/.347/.551

Frisco again lost in frustrating fashion, although yesterday didn’t include a lost lead. After a one-out Wilian Bormie walk with the score tied in the 9th, SS Corey Joyce couldn’t handle a potential inning-ending grounder, and a follow-up single plated Wichita’s go-ahead run. 

A reader asked about Malcolm Moore. He hasn’t gone anywhere. My tendency is to use a player’s inclusion in the stat recap as an impetus for discussion, but since homering on the 4th, Moore is hitting .200/.310/.240 with nine strikeouts in seven games. He has a sub-.600 OPS dating back to the beginning of July. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, at Rome (ATL) 1
Hub City: 10 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 1 hit, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 19-31, 6.5 GB, 53-63 overall

SP Connor O’Hara: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 65 P / 46 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Luimy Munoz: 2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.82 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 1-3, BB, .242/.379/.383

25-year-old Connor O’Hara excelled in his high-A debut. O’Hara went undrafted in 2025 out of George Mason and was briefly a Red but didn’t make an appearance. He had been at indy Hagerstown. 

Max Martin’s hamstring injury turned out to be minor, but Quincy Scott’s collision with the wall has forced an IL placement, and Marcos Torres has joined him. 


Lo-A: Hickory 5, Delmarva (BAL) 9
Hickory: 9 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 33-16, 5.5 G up, 67-46 overall

SP Seong-Jun Kim: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 28 P / 18 S, 0.00 ERA
RP William Privette: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2.79 ERA
CF Jamaurion McQueen: 2-4, BB, .350/.458/.350
LF Paulino Santana: 1-3, 2B, BB, .269/.390/.441
3B Kolby Branch: 2-3, 2B, BB, .210/.258/.258

19-year-old Seong-Jun Kim had a successful full-season debut. Longtime Friend of the Report Mark Parker reports that Kim’s fastball was in the 95-96 range (and I heard a 94) augmented with a change and curve. Hickory’s CF cam appears to be out of commission, leaving just a high view from the press box, so reviewing the video doesn’t help much.

Josh Owens pinch-hit in the 9th and popped out. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Davalillo
AA: Leiter
Hi-A: Matter (bullpen)
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco was swept in a doubleheader. I wrote that not too long ago. The entry one month from today will be much worse. Seattle prospect Matt Brash took a no-hitter into the 7th that was broken up by a Josh Jung single. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, at El Paso (SDP) 3
Round Rock: 9 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 26-20, 5 GB, 57-64 overall

SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 74 P / 53 S, 7.99 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2.10 ERA
DH Logan O’Hoppe: 2-5, 2B, .269/.359/.482
3B John Taylor: 2-4, BB, .266/.390/.440

Two of the hardest-hit balls in AAA yesterday belonged to Logan O’Hoppe: 111.1 MPH for a lineout and 110.2 for a single. He also hit a 106.2 MPH double. His uniformly poor Statcast data in MLB has been unformly wonderful in AAA: 50% hard-hit rate, low whiff rate, greedy on in-zone first pitches but patient overall and not chasing much. He’s only caught three of his last ten games, and that’s not entirely the presence of rehabbing Danny Jansen. 

Reliever Wilian Bormie was shipped down to Frisco. While his production in Round Rock wasn’t awe-inspiring, such a move had never crossed my mind. It might not be a demotion per se, and we’ll see how long it lasts. Like a fair number of Round Rock relievers, Bormie’s fastball control has hampered his overall success. His strike rate with the four-seamer is only 45%. 

Sugar Land lost, so the Express picked up a game. The Space Cowboys are playing OKC, who are also ahead of the Express, so Round Rock can’t gain ground on both on any given day. 


AA: Frisco 9, Wichita (MIN) 10
Frisco: 13 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 24-22, tied for first, 63-51 overall

SP D.J. McCarty: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 88 P / 48 S, 7.16 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 4-5, 2 2B, HR (14), .308/.388/.591
2B Max Wagner: 2-4, HR (17), .252/.349/.543

The good news is Frisco’s first-half division title means I don’t have to employ the “if Frisco falls short, they’ll look back to this game” trope. The bad news is this game. Frisco led 9-4 entering the 9th and 9-6 with none on and two out. Five of the six runs off Austin Roberts were technically unearned because of an opening error by Max Wagner, but he yielded two walks, a two-run homer and grand slam, so use your best judgment. 

Rafe Perich is hitting a goofy .471/.526/.882 during a ten-game on-base streak. Perich played more first than third at Hub City but hasn’t seen the cold corner in over two months. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Rome (ATL) 5
Hub City: 8 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 18-30, 7 GB, 52-62 overall

SP Ismael Agreda: 5.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 5 SO, 85 P / 53 S, 5.89 ERA
2B Casey Cook: 1-4, 2B, BB, .183/.315/.387

RF Quincy Scott suffered a head injury attempting to catch a fly against the wall and had to exit. 


Lo-A: Hickory 12, Delmarva (BAL) 5
Hickory: 16 hits, 10 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 33-15, 5.5 G up, 67-45 overall

SP Alejandro Chiquillo: 2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 60 P / 35 S, 4.89 ERA
RP Geury Rodriguez: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.68 ERA
RP Brandon Jaenke: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.68 ERA
DH Pablo Guerrero: 4-6, 2B, HR (6), .339/.445/.565
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-5, BB, SB (51), .284/.387/.401
1B Kaden Carpenter: 1-3, HR (4), 2 BB, .268/.391/.536
RF Deward Tovar: 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, .234/.320/.439
C Sebastian Baquera: 2-4, 2B, BB, .272/.366/.377
3B Kolby Branch: 4-5, 2B, .186/.226/.220

At the split, Hickory trailed 5-1, staring at a fourth straight loss while their division rivals headed toward deficit-shrinking victories. The Dads responded with 18 runners and 11 runs across the next three innings. Pablo Guerrero and Kaden Carpenter hit three-run homers. 

Alejandro Chiquillo received a visit from the trainer after a seven-pitch walk in the 3rd. After nearly seven minutes of delay seemingly involving his pitching hand (a blister, perhaps), he was allowed to stay in but promptly nailed batter Jemone Nuel in the hip, and that was that. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Pence
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Russell / TBD
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
MLB.com re-ranked their top 100 prospects, and the Rangers placed a surprising five:
1 (12). RHP Jack Leiter (2nd-highest 2021 draftee after IF Marcelo Mayer at #9)
2 (52). IF Josh Jung
3 (66). RHP Cole Winn
4 (90). IF Justin Foscue
5 (100). C/IF Sam Huff
I’ll confess to having no memory of Foscue in anyone’s top 100, but I have previously semi-joked that Texas should have traded him during his torrid month in high-A Hickory, when he hit 12 homers in 19 games. 

Huff is in AAA Norfolk, having accepted his outright assignment earlier this month. In two previous DFA events with the O’s, he briefly became a free agent.

(This is rambling, diffuse and solipsistic and probably shouldn’t have been sent, but hey, it’s an off-day for the minors.)

In early June, Texas signed OF Jarred Kelenic, who’d become a free agent after being outrighted by the White Sox. He’d batted an unremarkable .202/.346/.464 in AAA; his MLB line was .211/.283/.374 in 1,547 plate appearances. In Round Rock, he suddenly channeled Babe Ruth, hitting .340/.431/.620. I was soon receiving emails about the possibility of him joining Texas. On the 18th I wrote:

As a bench player, Kelenic probably doesn’t help or hurt the team relative to other options. If he’s playing often, I’m worried… I’ve found discussions of how Kelenic’s MLB Statcast data has been promising, and he’s had dreadful luck in terms of expected average and slugging versus actual results. Kelenic also turns 27 next month and has over 1,500 MLB plate appearances. At some point, “xBA” and “xSLG” don’t matter. There’s no mean to regress to. His actual performance is the mean. Could Texas get more out of him? Possibly. Enough to meaningfully improve the team’s fortunes? I doubt it. Giving Kelenic a significant role feels desperate. But then, the Rangers are 35-38, contending only because so many AL clubs are playing at the same level. 

The next day, Texas purchased his contract. Manager Skip Schumaker was disconcertingly effusive about the move*, reminding me of some of former manager Chris Woodward’s extravagant predictions**. The suggestion was he’d be the fat side of a platoon. Kelenic received a feature story in the Dallas Morning News containing verbs like “spark” and “boost.” All this for a replacement-level, 85 OPS+ hitter who had passed through waivers twice in seven months. 

This episode changed me. To be more embarrassingly precise, the idea that Kelenic could boost the Texas offense broke my brain for a little while. A 26-year-old has a strong two weeks in the hothouse PCL and now he’s part of the solution? Really? Does this sound like a contending team? Didn’t we endure something similar with Rowdy Tellez?

Ultimately, the talk was just that. Kelenic didn’t play much and was designated for assignment just ten days later. 

About the same time, my brain healed and I gained clarity. I’d spent all of 2025 and a decent chunk of 2026 watching with ever-increasing agitation what I truly believed was an underperforming squad. No longer. The Rangers were average. They might make the postseason, they might not, but regardless, they were average. I accepted that.

I haven’t reduced my watching and listening. I haven’t lost any enthusiasm for my writing. I haven’t become any less of a fan or disassociated. No, I just became a Stoic. In the past two months, both the Rangers and my emotions have hovered within a few games of .500. (Also, at the risk of being Abe Simpson yelling at a cloud, I also don’t find this playoff hunt emotionally compelling. Assuming the White Sox maintain some distance, we have eight teams, all but one below .500 and all but one with a negative run differential, fighting for two playoffs spots. The battles feel random, decided by coin flips.)

Alas, my newfound clarity did not aid my trade-deadline outlook. Given my opinion of the club, selling probably made the most sense. But at the same time, the club was still built for the moment. DeGrom, Eovaldi, Pederson and Nimmo were “win-now” players. Goodness knows the Gore trade was a “win-now” move. Annoyingly, I could argue for either path plus a third. I wrote this the morning after the deadline:

I emailed this to a reader while yesterday was still young: “There’s an argument for standing pat. It’s possible that playing mostly .500 ball but reeling off nine wins in 12 somewhere in there could be enough to get in. It’s such a bland division. That’s an ugly sell as a GM because it’s so passive, though.” I can’t imagine passivity was Texas’s strategy yesterday, but nevertheless the deadline passed with only one deal of modest consequence. 

Writing the team off is easy, especially after last night’s face-plant against the remnants of the Giants, but the Rangers are genuinely still in it. I say that not as a message of hope but as observation of fact. Maybe Bradford and Montgomery will help. Maybe a healthy Leiter will pitch at his best. Maybe Seager will put the team on his back. And maybe none of these happen and the Rangers go on a heater anyway. The AL feels very random, and some random team is going to hit their number on the roulette wheel. Could be Texas.

After the trade deadline, Texas was 55-58, 2.5 games out of 1st in the division and two behind the final wild card. Since then, the Rangers are 6-6 including a seemingly ruinous 2-5 road trip against baseball’s two worst teams, yet they’ve gained half a game in the division and eliminated the entire wild-card deficit. Here’s to passivity!

If the Rangers do reach the postseason, maybe we’ll see some stories about finally playing up to expectations or perseverance or (God forbid) destiny. No. They’re an average club. Even if they do some damage in October, which is quite possible given the nature of baseball plus the loopy playoff format***, they’re average. 

The farm might be slightly better than a few months ago, but any major offseason upgrades to the parent club will have to include major prospects, some you might personally consider untouchable. The alternative is spending money. 

If the message from ownership is “no,” I think the message from the front office should be likewise. The idea of another needle-threading, fringe-of-contention regular season is deeply unpalatable. I’d be inclined at that point to tell deGrom “we appreciate your faith in your teammates, but you need to think about what kind of team you’d like to pitch for in your waning days. Probably not the ’27 Rangers.” It doesn’t have to a be a strip-to-the-studs rebuild, but it will be time to fully conclude this version of the club. 

Between now and my imaginary offseason conversation with deGrom, I hope the Rangers play well. But I’m not going to get too emotional about it. 

* Of course, Schumaker had to speak favorably of him. Any manager would. I would, too. And to be clear, I’m happy to have Kelenic around and think he’s a perfectly decent 5th OF and righty bench bat. He’ll make bank in Japan or Korea next year. 

** In 2019, Woodward suggested Matt Davidson could be one of the league’s best right-handed hitters in three or four years. Davidson was already 28 and had been non-tendered by the White Sox over the winter. A year later, Woodward offered that Leody Taveras might hit 30-35 homers. I just think statements like that at best set unfair expectations for the players and at worst call into question the judgment of the speaker. I don’t think Schumaker’s statements reached even close to the level of Woodward’s, but they did give me pause. 

*** Having three divisions but just two byes and no-reseeding after the first round leads to weird and unfair matchups. There’s a good chance at least one wild card will have a better record than a division winner, and indeed, that’s happened in six of eight previous league-seasons under the current format. What that means is, on six of eight occasions, the #5 seed has faced a tougher first-round opponent than the #6 seed, and the #1 seed has faced the possibility of a tougher first-round opponent than the #2 seed. As it stands, one among Houston, Chicago and the final wild card will be in the ALCS, but two of Tampa Bay, New York and Boston won’t. 

Texas’s farm ranks 20th in the updated rankings of Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, both respectable upgrades over previous rankings. A combination of Walcott and Scarborough returning, no graduations and a favorably reviewed draft infusion spurred the improvement. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 12, Sugar Land (HOU) 5
Round Rock: 13 hits, 10 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 7 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 25-20, 6 GB, 56-64 overall

SP Trey Supak: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 77 P / 40 S, 5.91 ERA
RP Marc Church: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 4.84 ERA
RP Ben Peoples: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3.40 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.47 ERA
LF Alejandro Osuna: 2-4, HR (2), .280/.381/.390
C Danny Jansen: 2-3, BB, .333/.412/.333
2B John Taylor: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .261/.386/.438
CF Orlando Martinez: 2-4, HR (1), BB, .260/.339/.360

Division-leading Sugar Land took four of six. Emiliano Teodo, Wilian Bormie, Ben Peoples and Joe Ross tossed scoreless innings. Marc Church did not but recorded all his outs via strikeout and missed ten bats with his slider and another with a fastball. Up until yesterday, he’d been solid if fairly low-key since returning from injury. I suspect he’ll have several suitors over the winter for a minor deal. 

I usually ignore awards because 1) I’m just not an awards guy, 2) if a Texas farmhand has had a great week, I’ve already covered it, and 3) it doesn’t matter if someone in the league office thinks “our” guy’s great week is slightly better or worse than some guy in Tacoma or Delmarva. That said, given all that beset him during the midseason, I’m happy to pass along that David Davalillo is the PCL Pitcher Of The Week. 


AA: Frisco 8, San Antonio (SDP) 5
Frisco: 11 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 24-21, tied for 1st, 63-50 overall

SP Blake Townsend: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 78 P / 49 S, 4.98 ERA
RF Yeison Morrobel: 3-4, 2 2B, SB (2), .295/.340/.463
LF Marcus Lee Sang: 3-4, HR (12), .301/.368/.469

Frisco averaged 7.7 runs in taking four of six from San Antonio. The “tied for 1st” doesn’t matter since Frisco claimed the first-half title. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, Greenville (BOS) 10
Hub City: 8 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 18-29, 6 GB, 52-61 overall

SP Enrique Segura: 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 70 P / 41 S, 7.07 ERA
DH Paxton Kling: 1-5, HR (7), .245/.384/.392
2B Casey Cook: 1-3, 2B, BB, SB (3), .180/.311/.382
1B Antonis Macias: 2-4, 2B, HR (7), .224/.352/.370

Hub City and Greenville shared the spoils last week. With 19 to play, the Burgers are six back and trail four other teams. Because of other intra-divisional series, I can’t figure out a way for Hub City to take the division with fewer than 12 wins, and even that requires enormous help from others. 

Casey Cook is about as far-removed from his college scouting report as can be imagined. The 2024 3rd-rounder’s ostensible path to the Majors was through a combination of keen eye and contact skills. In a month off the IL in 2026, he’s sitting on a .180 average, a 30% K rate and 8% BB rate, but he also has five homers in just 24 games. 


Lo-A: Hickory 5, at Kannapolis (CHW) 6 (13)
Hickory: 10 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 7 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 32-15, 5.5 G up, 66-45 overall

SP Jesus Lafalaise: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 75 P / 48 S, 4.08 ERA
RP Brandon Jaenke: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.83 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.00 ERA
1B Kaden Carpenter: 2-6, 2B, .264/.375/.491
RF Deward Tovar: 2-5, 2B, BB, .232/.313/.436

Kannapolis had a fruitful week, taking four of six against one of the best teams in the minors to shave two games off Hickory’s division lead. Kannapolis also owns the tiebreaker, as these were the only second-half games between the clubs. Only one game was decided by more than two runs. 

This game was scoreless entering the 11th. In the 10th, JD McReynolds and Michael Trausch managed to prolong the game after a error put runners in scoring position with none out. Thereafter, Hickory’s leads of one, two and two again weren’t enough. Reliever Frank Martinez had a day to forget. Up a run but with runners at the corners, Martinez hastily grabbed a bunt down the line even as catcher Noah Franklin was racing up the line and screaming let it be in the hope of rolling foul. Tie game. Martinez then walked two but got Jake Berkland to swing through a would-be game-ending ball four to force a 13th. Finally, Martinez surrendered an RBI double, walk and two-run triple to end it. 

Jaenke is an undrafted free agent from Minnesota. 

Per local reports, two-wayers Josh Owens and Seong-Jun Kim are Hickory-bound. 

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock was rained out and the other squads were off. I published a late-season review of Baseball America’s preseason top 30, and I thought about reprinting it here, but instead I might save that for a later piece.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, Sugar Land (HOU) 3
Round Rock: 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 24-20, 7 GB, 55-64 overall

SP Aidan Curry: 5 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 83 P / 44 S, 1.80 ERA
RP Adam Macko: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 9.00 ERA
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, HR (11), .214/.290/.411

Aidan Curry had a successful AAA debut aided by only one of 13 balls in play becoming a hit. Curry’s strike rate was only 53%, and he reached seven three-ball counts, but he walked just one and finished five innings with a not-unreasonable 83 pitches. Sugar Land was patient, swinging at only nine of 49 pitches out of the zone. 

Statcast listed a four-seamer, cutter, slider, sweeper, curve and change, and based on the movement profiles, I’m inclined to agree, although his sweeper has enough drop and his curve enough lateral movement to be siblings if not twins. The fastball averaged 92.6 and topped at 94. He missed nine bats, all but two with the cutter or slider. 

Round Rock couldn’t accomplish much against Bryce Mayer, who two weeks ago was manhandling the Riders up in Frisco. Like Curry, Mayer wasn’t missing as many bats at the higher level but wasn’t badly troubled. 

Macko’s slider showed up hungry last night, generating six whiffs on seven swings. Two singles (one firm, one cheap) and a walk in the 7th ended his night, and a Michel Otanez wild pitch plated the run.

IF Jonah Bride (1-3, double) accepted his outright assignment. 


AA: Frisco 7, San Antonio (SDP) 1
Frisco: 10 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 8 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 23-21, 1 GB, 62-50 overall

SP Joey Danielson: 2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 34 P / 25 S, 7.06 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 6 BB, 5 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, 2B, .338/.386/.615
CF Dylan Dreiling: 3-4, 2 HR (21), .304/.378/.533
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, HR (13), .297/.378/.563

Sebastian Walcott has three straight two-hit games and four doubles off the IL. Dylan Dreiling had his third two-homer night of the season. 

I saw this from Frisco’s social media last night…



…and immediately thought “oh no, how many did he walk?” The answer is six, exactly one of every three batters, and 40 of his 77 pitches were taken for balls. But hey, San Antonio came up empty on 14 of 28 swings. Porter can be awfully hard to hit. 

(Nothing at all against the folks in Frisco, to be sure. They have their job, I have mine.)

The promotions of Dalton Pence two weeks ago and Curry resulted in a Frisco rotation of Ben Anderson, DJ McCarty, Dylan MacLean, bullpen, bullpen and Blake Townsend this week. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, Greenville (BOS) 2
Hub City: 9 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 18-28, 5 GB, 52-60 overall

SP Moises Morales: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 37 P / 25 S, 6.00 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.50 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 1-3, BB, SB (28), .246/.388/.384
RF Marcos Torres: 2-4, 2B, .306/.359/.500

Max Martin (1-3) blooped a double the opposite way but reached second grabbing his hamstring and was immediately replaced. 

Case Matter and Jesus Gamez both walked two in their respective innings but managed to keep the Drive off the board.


Lo-A: Hickory 2, at Kannapolis (CHW) 5
Hickory: 7 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 32-14, 6.5 G up, 66-44 overall

SP Jacob Johnson: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 46 P / 30 S, 0.00 ERA
RP William Privette: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-3, BB, SB (50), .282/.385/.401
C Noah Franklin: 1-3, 2B, BB, .260/.422/.360
RF Kaden Carpenter: 2-4, 2B, SB (3), .255/.379/.489

Jacob Johnson didn’t miss as many bats as usual but was no less effective. He hasn’t allowed a run in seven low-A innings. 21-year-old newcomer Anthony Astudillo allowed eight runners and five runs in 2.2 innings. That jibes with his time in Arizona: an 11.08 ERA with matching peripherals. 

William Privette made his belated 2026 debut. Since being picked in 2023’s 13th round out of College of Charleston, Privette has thrown only 49 pro innings, missing all of 2024 and most of this year. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Supak
AA: Townsend
Hi-A: Segura
Lo-A: Lafalaise

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Down East stole six bases to set a record for most low-A steals by a Texas affiliate dating back to 2000, as far as I looked. The Woodies did so in just 99 games. 2021 was wild. Let’s update that list:

Most Texas-affiliated low-A steals, 2000-2026 (highest player in parentheses):

2022: 308 (Marcus Smith, 47)
2021: 290 (Jayce Easley, 70), 120-game season
2016: 216 (Eric Jenkins, 51)
2023: 209 (Anthony Gutierrez, 30)

2000: 202 (Hank Blalock and Brett Cadiente, 31)
2025: 194 (Yeremi Cabrera, 43)
2024: 188 (Chandler Pollard, 39)
2011: 187 (Odubel Herrera, 34)
2003: 187 (Cameron Coughlan (47)

2026: 159 and counting (Yolfran Castillo, 50)

During 2005-2019, the most low-A steals were 266 by Asheville in 2006. In the 2020s, that mark has been surpassed 15 times. Down East set new records in consecutive seasons that were surpassed by Fayetteville’s 334 last year, and Lake Elsinore with 315 to date in 2026 is on pace for yet another record. 

Movement
RHP Wily Villar up to Hub City
RHP Brock Porter up to Frisco
RHP Aidan Curry up to Round Rock

A few days ago, RH Izack Tiger was placed on the IL. Last week, Tiger abruptly left a game in the middle of an opposing plate appearance.

Not to be gloomy, but the Porter promotion feels very “swim-or-sink.” Porter has a combined BB+HBP rate is 18%, which is actually worse than last year. Per usual, he’s squelched contact reasonably well, but not at a level of dominant relievers of yore (Evans, Barlow, Spears for a while) wherein opposing hitters have no chance if they don’t walk. In doing a little research, I’ve found examples of pitchers with his control profile in high-A who’ve not only reached but found success in the Majors, so I’m definitely not writing him off. But at some point he’s going to have to display a level of control previously lacking in his pro career. 

Curry is a swim-or-sink promotion as well but with the critical differences that he’s been pitching quite well, electric at times, and the Rangers want more data to inform their upcoming decision on his future. Curry can become a free agent after the season unless Texas decides he’s worth keeping around.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 0, Sugar Land (HOU) 1
Round Rock: 5 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 2 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 24-19, 6 GB, 55-63 overall

SP David Davalillo: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 76 P / 52 S, 5.71 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.63 ERA
1B John Taylor: 1-3, BB, SB (10), .260/.384/.439

David Davalillo was masterful, permitting nothing but a lone 5th-inning single across six frames. This was the version that reached the top ten of prospect lists. His various offerings were in sync, he avoided the heart of the zone, he threw a high percentage of pitches just in or beyond the border and generated a high 42% chase rate and missed 15 bats, easily his most in AAA. Since returning to AAA, he’s tossed 13.1 walk-free innings. The control lapse that forced a shutdown and adventures with three lower-level squads appears to be eradicated. 

Round Rock didn’t permit a runner to reach second base until the 7th. A double-error-SF sequence with Ryan Lobus on the mound permitted the game’s only run. 

Sugar Land’s second-half resurgence is predicated entirely on pitching, and after Monday’s nine-run outburst, Round Rock has scored just three runs the last three games. 

Rehabbing Danny Jansen did not play.


AA: Frisco 14, San Antonio (SDP) 12
Frisco: 22 hits, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 22-21, 1 GB, 61-50 overall

SP Cole Stasio: 2.2 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 47 P / 34 S, 4.70 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 1-3, HR (14), .293/.373/.529
2B Max Wagner: 2-5, HR (16), .254/.355/.543
CF Dylan Dreiling: 3-5, HR (19), .300/.374/.515
3B Corey Joyce: 4-5, 2B, 9 SB (9), .255/.333/.429
RF Yeison Morrobel: 4-5, 3B, .284/.326/.443
RF Marcus Lee Sang: 4-4, 2B, HR (11), .294/.359/.456

Frisco won the annual game in which the teams play rec-league softball. It’s always a blast and for a good cause (baseball-related economic activity). 

The Riders trailed 10-4 entering the bottom of the 6th. Arturo Disla knocked his career-best 20th homer but later appeared to catch his ankle on the turf fielding a grounder and had to be immediately replaced. 

Most hits by a team without a walk, hit batter or reached-on-error in full-season minors, 2005-2026:
23, Low-A West Virginia (2006)
22, AA Frisco (2026)


Hi-A: Hub City 3, Greenville (BOS) 8
Hub City: 4 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 17-28, 6 GB, 51-60 overall

SP Caden Scarborough I: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 47 P / 30 S
SP Caden Scarborough II: 0.2 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 8 R, 0 BB, HBP, 25 P / 20 4.47 ERA
RP Cole Roland: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 4.58 ERA
RP Wily Villar: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Gleider Figuereo: 2-4, 2B, .243/.342/.454

Caden Scarborough I retired his first 12 opponents in order. 

Caden Scarborough II faced ten batters in the 5th and retired only two. He threw plenty of strikes, but Greenville was on the attack. This also wasn’t a case of a reliever letting three inherited runners score. Cole Roland took the mound with the bases empty. 

Wily Villar handled his high-A debut capably. He turns 28 in a few days and was signed only last May but is an actual relief prospect.


Lo-A: Hickory 3, at Kannapolis (CHW) 4
Hickory: 9 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 32-13, 7.5 G up, 66-43 overall

SP Mason McConnaughey: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 41 P / 26 S, 4.50 ERA
RP Geury Rodriguez: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.88 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-4, SB (49), .282/.384/.401
DH Deward Tovar: 1-4, HR (15), .229/.310/.433

In yesterday’s “five years ago” recap, I mentioned that Jayce Easley in 2021 was the first Ranger in five years to reach 50 steals. Yolfran Castillo is about to become the first in five years as well. With runners amok at the lower levels, I was surprised to find no Rangers reaching 50 during 2022-2025. Bubba Thompson had 49 in 2022, and Anthony Gutierrez stole 48 last year. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Gonzalez listed but no
AA: Curry listed (he’ll be in AAA)
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: Johnson

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Much like Caden Scarborough, Frisco’s Ronny Henriquez retired his first nine but the next seven would reach safely and force his exit. Frisco didn’t score in a doubleheader sweep. At the time, the Riders had the league’s worst offense but best pitching. Frisco still held the league’s best record and a 4.5-game lead on a playoff spot, but, well, we’ll get to that later. 

Worst regular season winning percentages during seasons Y minus three years through Y plus three years, where Y equals year of World Series victory:
Florida (1997): .456
Texas (2023): .463 (to date)
Boston NL (1914): .472
New York NL (1969): .487
Minnesota (1987): .493
Kansas City (2015): .495

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, Sugar Land (HOU) 4
Round Rock: 3 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 24-18, 5 GB, 55-62 overall

SP Jack Leiter: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 48 P / 32 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Dalton Pence: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 3.72 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 3.47 ERA
C Danny Jansen: 1-3
RF Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, HR (10), .216/.295/.405

Jack Leiter was on point. The three strikeouts were consecutive across the 1st and 2nd: two whiffs on fastballs and a Joey Loperfido pity swing on a slider. 

Dalton Pence was not on point, but that’s to be expected to an extent. He was in Spartanburg three months ago, and his walk rate was creeping up well before his promotion to AAA. A reasonable and attractive near-future for him would be drawing some attention next March and putting himself into position as a replacement starter. 

Emiliano Teodo virtually ignored the upper half of the strike zone while rendering the Cowboys helpless. 17 swings resulted in eight fouls and nine whiffs. Since his LB debut and a poor outing upon returning to AAA, he’s reeled off five straight scoreless appearances and fanned 13 of 28 batters. I’d still be leery of using him in a meaningful situation during a playoff hunt, but if the Rangers find themselves playing meaningless ball in the waning weeks and Teodo is still dealing, that could be a means of breaking him in. 

Logan O’Hoppe (1-4, double) continues to play every day. He’s making $2.625 million in his first arbitration year. Even at his best, he’s whiff-heavy, but if Texas can straighten him out enough (defensively as well) he’d be cheaper in 2027 than most anyone on the open market. 


AA: Frisco 6, San Antonio (SDP) 8
Frisco: 10 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 21-21, 1 GB, 60-50 overall

SP Dylan MacLean: 1.1 IP, 3 H (2 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 46 P / 28 S, 4.78 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 2-5, 2 2B, .328/.379/.607
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-5, 2B, HR (18), .296/.372/.505
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, 2B, HR (12), .291/.375/.552

The hitters you’d like to see in the recap are in the recap, but the Missions chased Dylan MacLean in the 2nd. Texas’s 2020 4th-rounder has a 20% K rate, which used to be above average but no longer. His 4.78 ERA doesn’t entice but is actually below the league average of 5.00. He’s doing okay in a tough environment for pitchers. 


Hi-A: Hub City 6, Greenville (BOS) 3
Hub City: 5 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 17-27, 5 GB, 51-59 overall

SP Luimy Munoz: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 21 P / 12 S, 46045.00 ERA
RP Kamdyn Perry: 4.2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, HBP, 3 SO, 9.66 ERA

Kamdyn Perry still had trouble throwing strikes but managed to strand most of the runners. Hub City had only one hit with runners in scoring position but took advantage of the Drive’s miscues and wildness. 


Lo-A: Hickory 5, at Kannapolis (CHW) 3
Hickory: 12 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 32-12, 8.5 G up, 66-42 overall

SP Evan Siary: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 82 P / 52 S, 3.13 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.79 ERA
CF Marco Argudin: 1-4, HR (4), .270/.392/.397
1B Pablo Guerrero: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .327/.450/.541
RF Jamaurion McQueen: 3-5, 2 SB (2), .321/.457/.321
LF Kaden Carpenter: 1-4, HR (3), .225/.360/.475

I don’t want to start posting magic numbers with three-plus weeks to play, but we’re reaching the point where an utter collapse plus a white-hot streak by a competitor will be necessary for Hickory to miss the playoffs. And while not the flashiest pitcher in the system, Evan Siary might be who you want on the mound in Game 1. He sports a 2.29 ERA and 42 strikeouts versus just nine walks in 39 second-half innings. Marco Argudin entered the series with an isolated power of .102 but has two homers in the last three games. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Davalillo
AA: Stasio
Hi-A: Scarborough
Lo-A: McConnaughey

Five Years Ago Yesterday
AJ Alexy fanned nine and walked two in five scoreless AAA innings. Late 2021 was his peak as a prospect. Jayce Easley became the first Texas farmhand to reach 50 steals since Eric Jenkins in 2016.