AAA: Round Rock 4, Sacramento (SFO) 3
Round Rock: 6 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 52-45, 6 GB
SP Cole Ragans: 6 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 88 P / 50 S, 3.32 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 1-3, HR (2), BB, SB (4), .294/.429/.706
3B Andy Ibanez: 1-3, 2B, BB, .248/.303/.406
Runs allowed in Ragans’ AAA starts: 0, 0, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 7. Not in that order.
Yerry Rodriguez was pulled after just three batters (including two outs) and 17 pitches in the 7th. That worried me, but then I noticed he’d thrown 36 pitches two days ago. That intrigued me. He’s thrown on one day of rest three previous times, never dealing more than 28 in the opening game of each group and never more than 41 combined. As I tweeted last night, this isn’t akin to back-to-back outings (sometimes a tell that promotion is imminent), and it could well be nothing, but… it caught my eye. Rodriguez is on the 40-man roster and yearns for his MLB debut. My thought is the Rangers would want some clarity on his outlook heading into 2023, as 40-man spots are so precious, and the club has many tough decisions in the offing.
AA: Frisco 6, at Springfield (STL) 12
Frisco: 5 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 19 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 13-12, 5 GB, 49-45 overall
SP Tim Brennan: 3.1 IP, 8 H (2 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 74 P / 49 S, 3.77 ERA
RP Josh Smith: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 345.00 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, HR (10), .316/.361/.448
DH Trey Hair: 2-4, 2 HR (17), .238/.294/.524
Justin Slaten allowed two homers and five runs in 1.2 innings. Since a three-week IL stint, he’s surrendered 13 runs in five innings and has more walks than strikeouts. The 2019 3rd-rounder is among a host of potential 40 candidates come November.
Trey Hair homered twice and pitched the 9th. Who needs Ohtani?
High-A: Hickory 3, Rome (ATL) 5
Hickory: 6 hits, 4 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 13-15, 5 GB, 51-43 overall
SP TK Roby: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 80 P / 59 S, 5.17 ERA
RP Theo McDowell: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Luisangel Acuna: 1-3, BB, SB (27), .321/.419/.495
2B Keyber Rodriguez: 2-4, 2B, .267/.320/.353
TK Roby was fine, As was Theo McDowell, but Destin Dotson (1.2 IP) allowed three runs for the first time in 22 appearances as a Crawdad. Thomas Saggese and Aaron Zavala couldn’t extended hit streak of nine and eight games, respectively.
Low-A: Down East 2, at Charleston (TAM) 8
Down East: 4 hits, 0 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 14-13, 5.5 GB, 47-46 overall
SP Gavin Collyer: 2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 54 P / 35 S, 4.34 ERA
RP Juan Mejia: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 8.56 ERA
LF Daniel Mateo: 2-4, 3B, .277/.320/.418
Daniel Mateo tripled last night and has 32 steals, but he’s also sitting there with more homers (9) than doubles (7) like he’s Rob Deer or something.
Regularly a starter in the DSL, Juan Mejia threw four innings for the first time in 52 US appearances.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Allard
AA: Leiter
Hi-A: Vanasco
Lo-A: TBD
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Cole Ragans suffered his worst pro outing to date, allowing six runs in 3.1 innings. Ten years ago yesterday, a healthy Kyle Hendricks was skipped in the Myrtle Beach rotation.