AAA: Round Rock 10, Sacramento (SFO) 7
Round Rock: 10 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 53-45, 5 GB
SP Kolby Allard: 4.2 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 2 R, 5 BB, 4 SO, 87 P / 50 S, 3.99 ERA
RF Bubba Thompson: 3-5, HR (13), .301/.353/.470
LF JP Martinez: 1-2, HR (3), 2 BB, .316/.480/.842
3B Andy Ibanez: 3-5, 2B, .261/.313/.420
C Matt Whatley: 2-4, HR (1), .278/.409/.500
Bubba Thompson will finish July with the most doubles (4, to date), homers (5), and walks (11) of any month. As to whether that translate to a promotion… I don’t know. I feel room on the active roster is available, and a 40 spot could be cleared with a trade. Thompson’s having a fine year, albeit with some concerns that I’ll discuss later.
JP Martinez seems to have acclimated to Round Rock successfully.
AA: Frisco 4, at Springfield (STL) 1
Frisco: 7 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 14-12, 4 GB, 50-44 overall
SP Jack Leiter: 5.2 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 80 P / 50 S, 5.80 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, HR (11), BB, .318/.364/.457
2B Justin Foscue: 2-5, 2B, .274/.361/.433
Jack Leiter was better, and for three innings he was ideal statistically, needing just 28 pitches to retire nine straight, two on strikeouts. The 4th presented the first troubles, as Leiter worked around two walks. Julio Rodriguez (not that one) hit a solo homer in the 5th, and another walk and the only other hit ended his night in the 6th.
Texas’s top two 2021 picks are teammates, as the Rangers promoted OF Aaron Zavala to Frisco. In his first AA action, Zavala predictably walked twice in four trips to the plate. At Hickory, he batted .278/.424/.441 with a league-leading 68 walks.
High-A: Hickory 4, Rome (ATL) 5 (11)
Hickory: 7 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 13-16, 6 GB, 50-44 overall
SP Ricky Vanasco: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 76 P / 45 S, 5.16 ERA
RP John Matthews: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 4.58 ERA
RF Evan Carter: 2-5, 3B, .268/.366/.465
CF Jayce Easley: 2-4, 2B, BB, SB (12), .241/.364/.371
Rome inched to victory with single runs in the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th. Ricky Vanasco missed plenty of bats but had four three-ball counts in addition to the two walks.
Evan Carter’s nine triples lead the organization and rank fourth across the full-season minors.
Low-A: Down East 7, at Charleston (TAM) 8 (10)
Down East: 11 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 14-14, 6.5 GB, 47-46 overall
SP Josh Stephan: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 87 P / 59 S, 3.47 ERA
2B Maximo Acosta: 3-5, 2 2B, 2 SB (27), .276/.354/.385
RF Daniel Mateo: 2-5, 3 SB (35), .279/.322/.417
SS Cam Cauley: 1-4, BB, 2 SB (24), .195/.286/.272
C Liam Hicks: 1-5, HR (1), .257/.413/.400
Attempting to close the 9th with a 7-3 lead, the usually reliable Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa allowed four runs on five hits, three for extra bases. Another double in the 10th ended the game.
Down East stole eight bases.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Winn
AA: Weems
Hi-A: Ahlstrom
Lo-A: TBD