AAA: Round Rock 3, at Sugar Land (HOU) 4
Round Rock: 6 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 12 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 54-46, 6 GB
SP Dallas Keuchel: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 82 P / 47 S, 2.08 ERA
RP AJ Alexy: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 SO, 6.32 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 2-4, BB, SB (5), .357/.486/.821
Topping out at 89.4 MPH, Dallas Keuchel got the job done around some walks. I didn’t see any of his performance and don’t plan to, no offense. We all know who he is. With Jon Gray to miss at least half of what remains of the season, a spot is available for Keuchel.
It’s also available for Cole Ragans, I would think.
Both Yerry Rodriguez and Hever Bueno walked three consecutive batters in brief appearances. Rodriguez, while not possessed of great control, had never walked three as a reliever. Bueno has always been prone to wild swings in effectiveness, and he’s on the negative end of one right now.
Rehabbing Josh Jung was 1-3 with the rookies.
AA: Frisco 6, Amarillo (ARI) 2
Frisco: 8 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 16-12, 3 GB, 52-45 overall
SP Seth Nordlin: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 62 P / 43 S, 2.68 ERA
RP Grant Wolfram: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 5.27 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-4, .269/.338/.437
SS Luisangel Acuna: 1-3, BB
Luisangel Acuna flared a single to right in his first AA plate appearance and later walked. How Texas handles the infield assignments with his arrival will be interesting. Acuna has never played third. Jonathan Ornelas has ample experience there but has been the primary shortstop since late May and in fact hasn’t played anywhere else since then. Justin Foscue is exclusively a 2B. Perhaps Ornelas will focus on third and spot at the other two positions. He was off last night in favor of rehabbing Brad Miller. Certainly, Acuna’s arrival shouldn’t result in more than a minimal loss of playing time for Ornelas. I wasn’t thinking of him as a serious contender for a 40 spot during last offseason, but I am now.
Sandro Fabian’s three-run homer in the 2nd put Frisco up for good.
Texas released infielder Trey Hair. Signed out of indy ball last year and re-signed over the winter, Hair was actually leading the organization in homers with 17 (tied with Dustin Harris) and had a fine July, but he’s 27 and in AA. At present, Frisco has an infield of Blaine Crim (spotted by Harris), Justin Foscue, Luisangel Acuna, and Jonathan Ornelas, plus Jax Biggers, who was as busy as anyone last month.
Joining Acuna in Frisco is catcher Scott Kapers.
High-A: Hickory 5, Asheville (HOU) 6 (10)
Hickory: 6 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 14-17, 6 GB, 52-45 overall
SP Nick Krauth: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 77 P / 51 S, 5.80 ERA
C Cody Freeman: 1-3, BB, SB (7), .236/.324/.396
Evan Carter (1-4) hit his tenth triple. As noted by Mark Parker, Carter needs one more homer to become only the second Crawdad after Nick Williams to reach the triple-double of extra-base hits (ten doubles, triples and homers). Those who’ve accomplished the feat with the Rangers in the past decade are Drew Robinson and Anderson Tejeda in 2017, Williams in 2013, and Engel Beltre in 2012.
Low-A: Down East 3, Frederick (WAS) 4 (10)
Down East: 8 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 14-15, 8 GB, 47-48 overall
SP Mitch Bratt: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 68 P / 43 S, 2.04 ERA
RP Florencio Serrano: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 3.24 ERA
SS Maximo Acosta: 1-4, BB, 2 SB (27), .275/.355/.383
RF Marcus Smith: 2-4, BB, .275/.355/.383
LF Yosy Galan: 2-4, 2B, BB, .230/.323/.426
Yosy Galan’s double tied the game in the 9th, but Down East subsequently loaded the bases with none out and couldn’t bring the winner home. Another zero-out, three-on opportunity in the 10th produced only one run after the Nationals scored twice in the top half. Frederick leads the division by an increasingly wide margin, so the Woodies badly need some victories this week.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Miller
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Kindreich
Lo-A: Santos (Down East has a listed starter for the first time I can recall)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Jeffrey Springs fanned four in two scoreless innings for Down East. Despite leading the organization in strikeouts and a full repertoire, he’d been switched to relief to minimize control/command issues. The move quickly proved worthwhile, as Springs would make his MLB debut the following July. In 2022, Tampa Bay rebuilt him up to starting again in May, and he’s been solid (3.14 ERA) despite a high homer rate.