
AAA: Round Rock 14, at Albuquerque (COL) 3
Round Rock: 18 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 29-18, 1 G up
SP AJ Alexy: 5.1 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 93 P / 54 S, 6.39 ERA
CF Josh Smith: 4-6, 2 2B, 3B, .277/.380/.428
LF Steele Walker: 5-6, 3 2B, .297/.375/.500
1B Zach Reks: 1-4, HR (3), BB, .306/.404/.529
DH Nick Solak: 1-5, HR (3), .290/.333/.419
SS Ryan Dorow: 3-4, 2B, BB, .259/.338/.397
Josh Smith had a double, triple and single by the 4th. In a last chance at a cycle, Smith settled for a 393-ft. double. Smith doesn’t generate top-tier velocity. Of the team’s 106 balls off the bat at 104 MPH or better, Smith has just one. (Leody Taveras has 16, Bubba Thompson 10.) Smith compensates with a heavy dose of line drives and low flies at medium-high velocity. That and a keen eye have him succeeding in AAA despite only 111 pro games entering 2022.
Steele Walker was 5-5 with three doubles but flared out to left in his bid for a sixth.
In this environment, my only concern with AJ Alexy is his walk/HBP total, and he was… okay.

AA: Frisco 10, San Antonio (SDG) 6
Frisco: 12 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 24-20, 1 G up
SP Zak Kent: 5 IP, 10 H (2 HR), 6 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 89 P / 63 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Jose Leclerc: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 1-3, HR (7), BB, SB (13), .304/.420/.539
1B Blaine Crim: 2-4, 2B, .308/.372/.564
C Matt Whatley: 2-4, 2 HR (2), .205/.225/.410
LF Kellen Strahm: 3-4, .182/.339/.239
After two outs to start the 7th, Frisco scored five to reclaim the lead. A loss would have removed them from first place for the first time all season.
JP Martinez has my support in his quest for a 20/20 season. Last year he was 5/20. I hold my faith that Kellen Strahm is not a .182 hitter.
Zak Kent had nine swinging strikes. His miss rate for the season is 8.4%, less than half of his 2021 figure. He’s also already five walks short of his total from last year.

High-A: Hickory 7, Winston-Salem (CHW) 3
Hickory: 6 hits, 9 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 26-18, 0.5 GB
SP Owen White: 6 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 91 P / 57 S, 4.99 ERA
RP Destin Dotson: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1.13 ERA
SS Luisangel Acuna: 1-4, HR (3), BB, .283/.389/.545
2B Keyber Rodriguez: 2-4, 2B, .299/.336/.418
3B Cody Freeman: 2-4, 2B, .239/.319/.405
Acuna briefly held a 3/4/5 slash line after homering in his first at-bat. That’s too much to ask going forward, I think, but he’s off to a fine start despite a hamstring injury.
Owen White’s walk rate is decent. His strikeout rate is strong. His homer rate is… not great. White has allowed two homers in three of eight starts. Several Hickory starters had multi-homer issues in 2021, and that trend has continued into this season. Hickory is a homer-friendly park, but not that friendly. Opponents are hitting .223/.297/.460.

Low-A: Down East 4, Fayetteville (HOU) 3
Down East: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 20-24, 5 GB
SP Mitchell Bratt: 4 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 8 SO, 64 P / 38 S, 3.60 ERA
RP Larson Kindreich: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 2.06 ERA
RP Leury Tejada: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 5.40 ERA
1B Tucker Mitchell: 2-4, 2 2B, .176/.322/.284
LF Daniel Mateo: 1-4, HR (2), .234/.291/.328
I don’t usually list ordinary, scoreless one-run outings, but congrats to Leury Tejada for a boring 9th after so many wild comebacks by the Wood Ducks and their opponents lately.
Tandem starters Bratt and Kindreich combined to strike out 15 of 34 batters.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Allard
AA: Slaten
Hi-A: Englert
Lo-A: TBD
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Deja vu: Rehabbing in Frisco, Jose Leclerc threw a scoreless 5th.In the 6th, Frisco allowed a team-record 13 runs. Both Shane McCain and Joe Filomeno gave up six without retiring a batter.