AAA: Round Rock 3, El Paso (SDG) 4
Round Rock: 7 hits, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 7 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 25-16, tied for first
SP Jake Latz: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 59 P / 36 S, 4.79 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 7.36 ERA
RP Demarcus Evans: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 9.00 ERA
RP Dan Winkler: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 3.78 ERA
3B Davis Wendzel: 1-4, HR (6), .208/.293/.377
CF Josh Smith: 1-4, BB, SB (6), .261/.369/.373
Not to detract from his success, but Davis Wendzel hit one of the softest homers possible: 90 MPH off the bat at an angle of 30 degrees. Computer error crossed my mind, but MLB hitters have 28 homers at that speed during 2019-2021, although none at a 30-degree angle. It’s not impossible, just very rare.
Demarcus Evans is back. Evans had pitched during spring training but spent the first six weeks of the season without an assignment. His fastball was in the 90-92 range, significantly lower than his peak but actually a tick or two higher than what I saw last September and heard in March. The curve (75-78) has returned as the primary breaker. These are velocity ranges necessitating better command than Evans has traditionally shown, so we’ll see how this transpires.
AA: Frisco 8, Corpus Christi (HOU) 2
Frisco: 9 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 21-17, 2 G up
SP Cole Ragans: 6 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 3 BB, 9 SO, 99 P / 57 S, 2.83 ERA
RP Grant Anderson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1.61 ERA
RP Fernery Ozuna: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 2.89 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-3, 2B, BB, .289/.357/.533
2B Ezequiel Duran: 2-4, 2B, .299/.352/.556
LF Dustin Harris: 3-4, 2 HR, (7), SB (8), .268/.362/.472
Dustin Harris had a day. He’s now homering at a slightly better pace than 2021 and drawing more walks/HBPs. In the other direction are his average (.268 vs. 327) and strikeouts 22% vs. 15%).
High-A: Hickory 15, at Greenville (BOS) 11
Hickory: 14 hits, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 21-16, 2 GB
SP Owen White: 5.2 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 6 R, 4 BB, 8 SO, 95 P / 61 S, 5.08 ERA
LF Trevor Hauver: 3-4, 2 2B, HR (4), BB, .233/.393/.400
Hickory mostly singled Greenville to death: two from Aaron Zavala, Evan Carter, Frainyer Chavez, and Cody Freeman. Trevor Hauver is getting his name in the report more frequently, and not for drawing walks. Hauver’s slugging percentage was a lowly .227 just a week ago. Since then: three homers, two doubles, three singles.
Owen White had a mixed night. Plenty of strikeouts, hard to hit, but three of four hits were triples or homers.
Low-A: Down East 1, at Carolina (MIL) 2
Down East: 6 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 15-23, 6.5 GB
SP Mitch Bratt: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 53 P / 35 S, 4.09 ERA
RP Damian Mendoza: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2.08 ERA
RP Dylan MacLean: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.25 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 2-4, .345/.421/.509
DH Marcus Smith: 1-4, HR (3), .157/.336/.303
Dylan MacLean is Texas’s 4th-round pick from 2021, assigned to Down East late last week. I didn’t mention it previously because I mixed his name with the similarly named DJ McCarty, an undrafted signing who pitched alongside MacLean last summer with similar, walk-heavy results. MacLean was the last of the five 2020 picks (Foscue, Carter, Roby, MacLean, Saggese) to reach full-season ball and was exceptionally wild in rookie ball, with 19 walks, three hit batters and six wild pitches in 17 innings). Conversely, in four innings with Down East, his totals in those three negative stats are zero, zero and zero.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Alexy
AA: Slaten
Hi-A: Englert
Lo-A: Santos
Five Years Ago Yesterday
In a 5-0 victory for Round Rock, Jurickson Profar drove in the final run on a ten-pitch, bases-loaded walk. Oft-clobbered Allen Webster threw seven scoreless. My daughter cheered for the correct team (instead of her favorite uniform color), ate a grilled cheese sandwich and ran the bases after the game.