A short report, as I’ve got more travel in the immediate future. Travel better-suited to covering minor league ball.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 5, at Reno (ARI) 6
Round Rock: 10 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 19-11, 1 G up
SP Kolby Allard: 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 30 P / 17 S, 9.00 ERA
RP Tyson Miller: 4 IP, 3 H ,1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 3.43 ERA
DH Steele Walker: 1-4, HR (2)
C Yohel Pozo: 2-4, HBP, .312/.346/.468
3B Ryan Dorow: 1-1, HR (2), .256/.337/.439
Allard was replaced after allowing a walk and two singles to open the 2nd. Allard threw only 30 pitches compared to 51 in his first start. Maybe the weather played a part; temperatures were in the 40s with gusty winds and snow flurries, and everyone in the dugout and stands looked dressed for a November college football game in Michigan. No thanks.
Steele Walker homered for the second day in a row.
AA: Frisco 8, Arkansas (SEA) 2
Frisco: 12 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 17-10, 3 G up
SP Cole Ragans: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 SO, 96 P / 57 S, 2.25 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1.1 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Fernery Ozuna: 1 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2.51 ERA
CF Jonathan Ornelas: 3-4, BB, .375/.412/.469
2B Justin Foscue: 2-3, 2B, HR (2), 2 BB, .310/.406/.586
Cole Ragans tossed six scoreless innings for the first time since July 2017, and his 96 pitches are the most thrown by a Texas minor leaguer in 2022.
Jonathan Ornelas played CF for the second time all season. Both starts there have come in the absence of JP Martinez, placed on the IL three days ago. Ornelas reached safely 13 times in the six-game series. Hard to argue with his first month in AA. Justin Foscue also reached 13 times (three singles, three doubles, homer, six walks).
High-A: Hickory 1, at Winston-Salem (CHW) 5
Hickory: 5 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 13-12, tied for first
SP Jesus Linarez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 25 P / 19 S, 3.55 ERA
RP Owen White: 4.2 IP, 4 H ,5 R, 2 BB, 8 SO, 4.70 ERA
SS Luisangel Acuna: 1-3, 2B, BB
1B Cody Freeman: 2-4, SB (2), .243/.325/.457
This was the completion of Friday’s game. White retired his first 11 and 12 of 13 before an exceptionally messy 7th inning, when five reached and scored against him.
High-A: Hickory 4, at Winston-Salem (CHW) 0
Hickory: 5 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 14-12, 2 GB
SP Mason Englert: 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 80 P / 47 S, 3.20 ERA
RP Joe Corbett: 1 IP, 1 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.61 ERA
DH Chris Seise: 2-3, 2 2B, .221/.268/.494
Englert departed two outs shy of his longest outing without a run allowed. He wasn’t in trouble when pulled; presumably he’d just reached his pitch/batter limit.
Aaron Zavala was 0-4 with four walks across the two games. Cody Freeman singled and walked.
Low-A: Down East 2, at Kannapolis (CHW) 1
Down East: 9 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 12-15, 5.5 GB
SP Winston Santos: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 3 SO, 70 P / 50 S, 4.64 ERA
LF Alejandro Osuna: 2-3, 2B, BB, .325/.398/.506
3B Junior Paniagua: 3-4, HR (1), .181/.231/.292
Junior Paniagua came to the plate with a one-run deficit, a runner on, and a .239 slugging percentage. He improved that mark considerably with his first homer of the season. The 20-year-old hit five last summer in Arizona, so this wasn’t a Guilder Rodriguez or early-career IKF unicorn shot.
I’ve been calling Santos “Victor” much of the season, even though he’s not new to the organization. Victor Santos pitched for the Rangers in 2003, regrettably for all involved (7.01 ERA). Winston has posted back-to-back strong outings after a so-so start, and he was solid in rookie ball last summer.
Today’s Starters
AAA: off
AA: off
Hi-A: off
Lo-A: off
Five Years Ago Yesterday
I mentioned Blake Beavan (back in affiliated ball for the first time in two years), Michael Choice (signed by Milwaukee after release from Baltimore), Tomas Telis (called up by the Marlins), and Neil Ramirez (DFA’ed by Toronto).
As for where they are now: Telis will visit Round Rock this week as a member of the OKC Dodgers. Michael Choice continues to ply his trade in Mexico. Beavan’s reentry wouldn’t last long; he was injured (I think) after seven starts and released for the final time that November. Ramirez doesn’t appear to have pitched since 2019.