AAA: Round Rock 7, @ Sugar Land (HOU) 2
Round Rock: 9 hits, 7 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 6-4, tied for first
SP Glenn Otto: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 53 P / 33 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Tyson Miller: 4 IP, 2 H ,1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1.29 ERA
3B Josh Smith: 2-5
CF Bubba Thompson: 3-5
Glenn Otto held the Space Cowboys (adieu, Skeeters) scoreless and nearly hitless for four innings. Notably, Otto threw nearly as many curves (10) as sliders (12) and generated two of his three swinging strikes with that pitch. It runs the same speed as his slider (low 80s), has nice depth and sometimes a little slidery run. It certainly provides a different look that makes the upstairs fastball stand out.
Tyson Miller frustrates hitters a his low-slot delivery that looks like it’s coming in from third base. I’ve seen him pitch very well at times, and he might deserve another MLB look at some point. The “might help” group is pretty large.
Bubba Thompson isn’t hitting with Huffian force (no one is) but is making solid contact and isn’t striking out so much (11 in 41 trips). He’s still looking for his first walk. But like my daughter who immediately calls for a parent whenever she misplaces something, he might not be looking very hard. The walks are wherever you put them last, Bubba, keep looking
AA: Frisco 7, @ San Antonio (SDG) 3
Frisco: 13 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 6-1, 1.5 G up
SP Cody Bradford: 5 IP, 3 H ,2 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 73 P / 48 S, 3.86 ERA
RP Fernery Ozuna: 1.2 IP, 2 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1 IP, 1 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 4-5, 2 2B
LF Dustin Harris: 3-4, 2B
C David Garcia: 2-3
Bradford’s three walks match a career high. His motif is control and command,
Chase Lee did what he does. Fernery Ozuna has fanned ten of his first 22 batters. Last year, Ozuna had a pretty good walk rate (8.6%) combined with enough hit batters (4% rate) to push his overall control into the below-average category.
AA pitchers hadn’t received the memo about Dustin Harris’s borderline top-100 prospect status. He was batting .143 with a walk before last night. San Antonio isn’t a hitter’s park — facing prevailing winds and dimly lit — but Blaine Crim likes it just fine, collecting six hits including three doubles in three games.
High-A: Hickory 3, Bowling Green (TAM) 4
Hickory: 8 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 1 walk, 14 strikeouts
Record: 3-4, 3 GB
SP Owen White: 5 IP, 2 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO, 65 P / 42 S, 2.25 ERA
RP Josh Smith: 2 IP, 3 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Thomas Saggese: 1-5, HR (1)
DH Chris Seise: 1-4, HR (2)
We focus on players here, so Bowling Green’s late comeback doesn’t spoil some nice performances. Owen White fanned his last four batters and produced 13 swinging strikes.
Thomas Saggese has his first homer, Chris Seise his second.
Eudrys Manon, fixture of last year’s low-A late innings, was taken deep with two on by ex-Ranger Alexander Ovalles.
Low-A: Down East 3, Kannapolis (CHW) 1
Down East: 4 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 2-5, 4 GB
SP Josh Stephan: 5 IP, 2 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 59 P / 43 S, 2.00 ERA
RP Luis Tejeda: 3.1 IP, 3 H ,1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 4.26 ERA
CF Marcus Smith: 1-3, HBP
Marcus Smith grounded through the infield in the 1st, the first time in 18 plate appearances he’d put a ball in play. After that single, he stole second and then somehow scored on what was classified as an infield single by Jose Rodriguez. Smith has a .300 OBP with three runs and three stolen bases in five games, so for someone with a 67% strikeout rate, he’s actually been productive. It’s nice to see his speed making a difference given his protracted hamstring problems.
Josh Stephan, Luis Tejeda and Bubba Hoopii-Tuionetoa (0.2 scoreless, 1 strikeout) quelled an offense that had scored nearly nine runs per game in the early going.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Latz
AA: Leiter and Ragans (scheduled doubleheader, off-day tomorrow)
Hi-A: Englert and Roby (DH)
Lo-A: TBD and TBD (DH)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco’s Scott Heineman was ejected after arguing a third strike. The man did not like umpires. He once got tossed early in a late-season game with undermanned Round Rock, and the Express had to use a pitcher in the outfield in his place.