AAA: Round Rock 9, El Paso (SDG) 4
Round Rock: 12 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 26-16, tied for first
SP AJ Alexy: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 92 P / 55 S, 6.57 ERA
RP Ryder Ryan: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.18 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 7.63 ERA
CF Bubba Thompson: 2-5, SB (21), .319/.331/.426
3B Josh Smith: 3-3, 2B, BB, SB (7), .277/.383/.394
C Yohel Pozo: 2-3, 2 BB, .337/.378/.462
Round Rock scored seven after having two outs and none on in the 5th, aided substantially by El Paso’s sloppy defense. Josh Smith led off with a single, stole second, and was tagged trying to get a head start toward third during Leody Taveras’s at-bat. Smith redeemed himself with a two-run double later in the inning.
Bubba Thompson has been singles-heavy of late and isn’t walking at all, but he’s still reaching at a solid pace. He’s also running at will. By my imperfect count, Thompson has reached first 19 times in his last 13 games, and he’s stolen 14 bases in that span. (I’m using reaching first safely as a very loose proxy for stolen base opportunities; the actual calculations are too onerous to deal with right now.)
My daughter waved at Ryder Ryan and he waved back. A few minutes later, Ryan sent down three Chihuahuas on 13 pitches. Be nice to my daughter and success will follow.
I wasn’t watching AJ Alexy carefully, but the stats matched what I saw.
Nomar Mazara collected three singles and a walk for El Paso. He signed with San Diego in mid-March after spending eight months without a job. Mazara’s hitting .340/.442/.576, which has to be downgraded in the context of where he plays, but on the other hand, he’s also hitting well in the PCL’s small number of pitcher-friendlier parks. Perhaps he’ll get another shot, as the Padres aren’t getting much from their outfield and DH spots right now. Had potential been achieved, Mazara would be in his walk year as a Ranger, gearing toward a free agent contract at the age of 27, or perhaps he’d already signed to an extension. Mazara is younger than Willie Calhoun and Nick Solak.
AA: Frisco 7, Corpus Christi (HOU) 6
Frisco: 14 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 22-17, 2 G up
SP Zak Kent: 1 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 21 P / 16 S, 5.82 ERA
RP Justin Slaten: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 4.57 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
3B Jonathan Ornelas: 4-5, 2B, 3B, SB (2), .362/.399/.497
1B Blaine Crim: 3-5, .300/.364/.536
SS Ezequiel Duran: 2-4, 2B, .304/.356/.561
RF Josh Stowers: 2-3, BB, SB (8), .235/.333/.347
Listed starter Justin Slaten entered after an opening inning from Zak Kent, who’d started Tuesday. Opponents are hitting .091/.206/.091 against Chase Lee, who’s allowed five singles and seven walks as May draws near a close.
In the last two weeks, Frisco has scored 7.4 runs per game (and allowed 7.3). Scoring is up nearly a run per game versus 2021. Ezequiel Duran’s team-leading .561 slugging percentage is only 13th-best in the league, and JP Martinez’s .441 OBP ranks 9th. Jonathan Ornelas’s .362 average does top the league list.
High-A: Hickory 8, at Greenville (BOS) 5
Hickory: 12 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 22-16, 1 GB
SP Mason Englert: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 SO, 88 P / 56 S, 3.60 ERA
RP Spencer Mraz: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.79 ERA
RP Eudrys Manon: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.91 ERA
RF Aaron Zavala: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .275/.442/.400
LF Evan Carter: 2-4, BB, .308/.381/.508
DH Trevor Hauver: 1-3, HR (5), 2 BB, .237/.402/.430
2B Thomas Saggese: 2-4, 2 2B, .268/.321/.394
1B Frainyer Chavez: 2-4, 2B, SB (3), .319/.410/.389
Trevor Hauver batted .500/.609/1.278 with four homers in six games at Greenville. A good reminder not to place too much stock in any small number of games, even those you see in person. Imagine if I’d seen those games from Hauver instead of the .154/.313/.154 line he produced while I visited Hickory.
Hickory took five of six against the Drive, scoring 7.6 runs per game. Aaron Zavala batted .435/.500/.565, Evan Carter .360/.385/.640.
Brought in with a runner on second and a four-run lead in the 5th, Marc Church was unusually hittable, giving up a double and homer to cut the lead to one.
Low-A: Down East 5, at Carolina (MIL) 3
Down East: 9 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 16-23, 5.5 GB
SP Larson Kindreich: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO, 62 P / 41 S, 2.03 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 2-5, 2B, HR (5), SB (11), .348/.420/.539
RF Marcus Smith: 1-5, HR (4), .160/.331/.330
SS Maximo Acosta: 1-3, 2B, BB, .235/.336/.339
Pitching on Sunday for the first time, Larson Kindreich dominated again. Aside from some control lapses, the 22-year-old has been virtually untouchable. Opponents are hitting .151/.266/.208 with no homers.
Two days after losing a four-run lead with two out in the 9th, the Woodies found themselves in a similar situation. Up 5-0 in the final frame, Winston Santos surrendered two singles and a walk to start the inning. All would score and more would reach, forcing Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa’s entrance with two out and the winning run at the plate. A swinging strikeout prevented another amazing comeback by the Mudcats.
Today’s Starters
AAA: off
AA: off
Hi-A: off
Lo-A: off
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Jurickson Profar was 4-5 with two doubles. I was confused as to why he was appearing so frequently in the 2017 reports until I realized I was off on my years. I thought 2016 was Profar’s last lengthy spell in AAA, but no. Profar had been optioned in late April and would spend only about ten more days in MLB in 2017. He was pointedly not recalled in September, leaving him seven days short of another full year of service time and extending Texas’s control through 2020. Offhand, it’s the only prominent example I can recall of the Rangers handling someone’s service time in such a fashion, and even then, this wasn’t a Kris Bryant situation. Profar had received two years of time during 2014-2015 without a single MLB plate appearance, as injuries limited him to a few minor league games. He was Super 2 arbitration-eligible after 2015 despite only 94 MLB games. (Incidentally, Nomar Mazara was on pace to reach the required six years of service for free agency in six years flat, until his hitting troubles prevented it. Texas brought him up less than a week into the 2016 season, and he was never subsequently optioned.)