The Arizona Complex League and Dominican Summer League begin today. We don’t have official roster for the rookies yet. I will likely cover each game this week and then switch to weekly coverage.I don’t cover the DSL on a daily basis but will check in on occasion. Today’s game includes several signings from January 15 (the major signing date pushed forward from last July), including 17-year-old Venezuelan outfidler Anthony Gutierrez, OFs Jose De Jesus and Wady Mendez, 1B/OF Marcos Torres, and catchers Daniel Bruzual and Jesus Lopez.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 2, Oklahoma City (LAD) 4
Round Rock: 9 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 31-23, 1 GB
SP Nick Snyder: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 24 P / 14 S, 0.73 ERA
RP Tyson Miller: 5 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 5.02 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.75 ERA
RP Jose Leclerc: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 0 SO, 8.10 ERA
1B Zach Reks: 2-3, HR (6), BB, .354/.441/.667
DH Nick Solak: 2-4, 2B, .288/.373/.481
3B Diosbel Arias: 2-3, 2B, BB, .357/.400/.571
Cole Winn was pushed back to Tuesday in Las Vegas, creating a second straight bullpen day, albeit fortified by occasional starter Tyson Miller. Rehabbing Jose Leclerc wasn’t able to complete an inning, consistently missing up and out with his fastball.
Formerly in Hickory, Frainyer Chavez lined an RBI single in the 9th for his first AAA hit, while Frisco fixture Diosbel Arias had a nice day including the front end of a 5-3 double play during Leclerc’s outing. They’re in Round Rock because Ryan Dorow is on the temporary inactive list and Davis Wendzel is active but seemingly unavailable of late. The Express have moved from crowded to undermanned in a hurry.
AA: Frisco 3, at Wichita (MIN) 5
Frisco: 9 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 27-24, tied for first
SP Cody Bradford: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 67 P / 41 S, 7.82 ERA
RP Seth Nordlin: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.00 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, BB, SB (3), .342/.384/.468
Josh Sale struck out three times and walked in his first affiliated action since 2014. Jonathan Ornelas leads the organization and is third in MiLB with 65 hits.
High-A: Hickory 21, at Asheville (HOU) 6
Hickory: 17 hits, 11 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 30-21, 1.5 GB
SP Mason Englert: 4.1 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 90 P / 62 S, 3.65 ERA
RP Marc Church: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.42 ERA
DH Aaron Zavala: 1-5, 3B, 2 BB, SB (8), .264/.426/.377
LF Trevor Hauver: 1-2, HR (7), 3 BB, .242/.421/.444
C Cody Freeman: 1-5, 2 HBP, .250/.343/.419
3B Cristian Inoa: 3-4, 3 2B, 2 BB, .296/.355/.428
2B Thomas Saggese: 3-6, HR (5), HBP, 3 SB (6), .288/.337/.441
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, BB, HBP, .300/.348/.407
RF Angel Aponte, 2-5, 3B, BB, .307/.384/.453
CF Jayce Easley, 2-5, BB, SB (6), .267/.375/.417
1B Jake Guenther: 2-5, HR (4), BB, .215/.312/.431
PH/1B Scott Kapers: 1-1, HBP, .273/.329/.545
I’m sure I’ve listed nine hitters in a recap before, but ten? Maybe not. Everyone reached safely at least twice, including Scott Kapers, who subbed for Trevor Hauver late. Thomas Saggese’s homer was a grand slam.
Hickory scored 60 runs in six games at Asheville and has the best OBP (.362) and the most runs (6.1 per game) in high-A. Unfortunately, because of uneven run distribution and 37 runs allowed, the Crawdads split the series.
Mason Englert had an odd line: 90 pitches in just 4.1 innings despite just three strikeouts, one walk and one other three-ball count.
Luisangel Acuna, Evan Carter and Chris Seise had the day off, much to their chagrin.
Low-A: Down East 3, Charleston (TAM) 4
Down East: 8 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 24-27, 4.5 GB
SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 88 P / 60 S, 3.95 ERA
RP Theo McDowell: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2.75 ERA
RP Jackson Leath: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5.69 ERA
C Efrenyer Narvaez: 1-4, HR (3), .196/.254/.313
Down 4-2 in the 9th, Junior Paniagua singled home Yosy Galan and pushed the tying run to third, but Alejandro Osuna grounded out to end it. 19-year-old Efrenyer Narvaez has surpassed last year’s two homers in six fewer games, but on the whole, low-A has been a challenge compared to the rookie league, where he batted .353/.428/.500.
Today’s Starters
AAA: off
AA: off
Hi-A: off
Lo-A: off
Rookie: TBD
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Drew Robinson homered on the game’s second pitch in a 10-7 win at Colorado Springs. Brett Nicholas and Hanser Alberto also homered.