OF Dustin Harris has been added to the Futures Game roster, joining Jack Leiter. The game is scheduled to begin Saturday at 6pm CDT (coinciding with the final innings of six MLB games and the beginning of Red Sox – Yankees and Brewers – Giants). The game is on Peacock Premium (11 million subscribers). The game will last seven innings (19 pitchers are on the combined rosters).
FanGraphs has updated its farm rankings and placed the Rangers sixth behind Baltimore (which still includes Adley Rutschman), Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Arizona. Seattle is 15th, Oakland 21st, Houston 27th, and Los Angeles 28th. Preseason rankings of the Rangers by other major publications were between eighth and tenth.
Baseball America updated its top-100 prospect list:
37. RHP Jack Leiter (preseason #25)
39. 3B Josh Jung (26 pre-injury)
43. OF Evan Carter (unranked)
52. IF/OF Ezequiel Duran (unranked)
86. RHP Owen White (unranked)
RHP Cole Winn, ranked 52nd before the season, is no longer listed. The folks at BA had Carter eighth on the Rangers before the season, so they’ve had an epiphany.
Rookie Recap: Games of 4-10 July
Scores: 9-1 (Giants), 7-3 (Dodgers), 13-12 (Dodgers), 10-6 (M’s), 23-6 (Royals)
Record: 19-7, 5.5 G up
RHP Aidan Curry (age 20): 6.0 IP, 1 R, 3 H (HR), BB, 12 SO, 3.18 ERA
RHP Eury Rosado (21): 5.0 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 6 SO, 7.63 ERA
RHP Adrian Rodriguez (21): 2.0 IP, BB, 4 SO, 5.00 ERA
RHP Ivan Oviedo (19): 3.0 IP, 3 H, 4 SO, 3.57 ERA
RHP Alberto Mota (19): 2.2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 SO, 0.77 ERA
IF Miguel Villarroel (20): 6-19, 3 2B, HR (1), 3 BB, HBP, .351/.433/.509
OF JoJo Blackmon (19): 6-21, 3B, 2 HR (5), 4 BB, SB (7), .292/.427/.569
IF Gleider Figuereo (18): 3-8, 2 3B, HR (4), BB, HBP, .259/.400/.667
IF Frandy Almonte (18): 4-8, 2B, 3 BB, HBP, 3 SB (5), .321/.500/.357
C Jesus Moreno (21): 12-23, 2 2B, 2 BB, 2 HBP, .352/.429/.463
The Rangers have won nine straight and scored 62 runs in last week’s five games.
JoJo Blackmon’s five homers lead the team. Gleider Figuereo and Frandy Almonte were part of Texas’s ’20-’21 signing group. Figuereo I’ve mentioned before, because he’s hitting the snot out of the ball every week. Almonte is listed at 5’8″ and 150 pounds. He’s played a little more sparingly and roamed between third, short, second, left, and center. As with last year’s Dominican Summer League campaign, he’s walking (11) more than striking out (6).
Undrafted Aidan Curry is as close as Texas has to a workhorse in the complex league, leading with 21.1 innings in six starts. Last Monday, he struck out 12 in six innings; his total of 34 leads the team.
Yesterday, 17-year-old CF Anthony Gutierrez went 0-3 in his stateside debut. The Venezuelan was Texas’s premier signing from the 2021-2022 international class, ranked the #6 international prospect in that class and Texas’s current #15 prospect. Gutierrez batted .352/.410/.511 with two homers in 22 Dominican Summer League games. He is now the youngest on the squad (beating out Danyer Cueva and Gleider Figueroa, both recently 18) and first Ranger to play in the US who wasn’t alive when I got married. Lord.
Comparisons are tricky because some teams (like the Rangers) usually play nine-inning games while others play only seven, but statistically, I’d venture that Texas has the best offense in the league and a middle-of-the-pack pitching staff.
Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Bradford
Hi-A: Roby
Lo-A: TBD (Collyer)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
The system was off for the All-Star break.