
AAA: Round Rock 3, at Albuquerque (COL) 5
Round Rock: 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 28-17, 1 G up
SP Spencer Howard: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 82 P / 48 S, 6.28 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 7.02 ERA
3B Josh Smith: 1-3, 2B, BB, .262/.369/.376
Howard’s changeup was his worst pitch in 2021. He dumped it this season and hasn’t attempted to revisit it in AAA. Fastball, cutters, curves.
Daniel Robert (1.2 IP, 4 R) collapsed in a second inning of work, walking four and unleashing two wild pitches. In the entirety of 2021, Robert walked five batters and had no wild pitches.

AA: Frisco 3, San Antonio (SDG) 7
Frisco: 6 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 23-19, 1 G up
SP Jack Leiter: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 92 P / 54 S, 5.90 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-4, HR (10), .307/.366/.567
Leiter needed 29 pitches to complete the 1st and surrendered two runs on two two-out hits, one of which never left the infield. Thereafter, he retired 12 of 13. The 92 pitches were a season high. Opponents are hitting just .235/.326/.313 against him, but the hits have come in concentrated spots, leading to the inflated ERA. Leiter’s strand rate of 43% is the worst in the system by a wide margin.
Crim has three more homers than anyone in the system. If Sam Huff is going to spend substantial time in the Majors, Crim is likely to lead the organization in homers for a second straight year.

High-A: Hickory 12, Winston-Salem (CHW) 5
Hickory: 12 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 25-18, 0.5 GB
SP Ben Anderson: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 72 P / 51 S, 3.03 ERA
RF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, HBP, .282/.440/.397
CF Jayce Easley: 2-3, HR (1), 2 BB, SB (2), .282/.364/.436
3B Keyber Rodriguez: 2-5, HR (4), SB (2), .283/.319/.402
Per Mark Parker, Anderson threw 19 first-pitch strikes to 24 batters and induced 14 grounded outs.
Jayce Easley has work to do to reach last year’s 70 steals, but he’s already tied his 2021 total of one homer. Aaron Zavala is hitting .377/.500/.507 in May.

Low-A: Down East 3, Fayetteville (HOU) 5 (10)
Down East: 7 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 0 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 18-24, 6 GB
SP Robby Ahlstrom: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 8 SO, 71 P / 50 S, 5.54 ERA
RP Damian Mendoza: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.90 ERA
1B Abi Ortiz: 2-4, HR (2), .188/.243/.271
Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa fanned four in two innings but allowed a homer in the 10th. His swinging strike rate of 22.1% is second in the system behind Marc Church.
All the runs against Ahlstrom scored after two out and none on, aided by an error and Ahlstrom’s own wild pitch on a strikeout.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Latz
AA: Ragans
Hi-A: Krauth
Lo-A: TBD
Five Years Ago Yesterday
The Express won their sixth straight. They “were 17-26 just a few days ago, and let me tell you, old and bad AAA teams are no fun at all.” Round Rock had the second-oldest hitters and third-oldest pitchers in the 16-team league. Triple A can be that way sometimes, and I’ve been very appreciative to watch the younger, prospect-heavier squads in 2021-2022.