AAA: Round Rock 8, at Oklahoma City (LAD) 5
Round Rock: 6 hits, 8 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 56-50, 6 GB
SP Tyson Miller: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 SO, 80 P / 44 S, 4.94 ERA
RP Ryder Ryan: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.14 ERA
RP Nick Snyder: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 5.87 ERA
LF Nick Solak: 1-4, HR (7), BB, .286/.378/.497
3B Josh Jung: 1-3, HR (1), 2 BB, SB (1)
Josh Jung homered to left in his first game outside Maricopa County in nearly ten months. The pitcher was Dellin Betances, he of 394 innings and 36 saves in MLB. Perhaps just as impressively, he saw 21 pitches and swung at only seven. Jung’s homer wasn’t a rocket (95 MPH) but provides evidence that his February shoulder surgery hasn’t diminished the pull-side power he’s developed in the organization.
AA: Frisco 5, San Antonio (SDG) 6
Frisco: 7 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 20-14, 3 GB, 56-47 overall
SP Seth Nordlin: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 64 P / 33 S, 3.10 ERA
RP Triston Polley: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.79 ERA
2B Justin Foscue: 1-4, HR (10), .284/.367/.488
DH Kellen Strahm: 2-3, .285/.407/.409
I’ve run that Foscue/podcast joke into the ground, so let’s just enjoy video of his tenth homer of the season and sixth in the last 12 games.
Rehabbing Fernando Tatis Jr.: double, walk, walk, triple.
High-A: Hickory 5, at Greenville (BOS) 6
Hickory: 7 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 15-22, 10 GB, 53-50 overall
SP Nick Krauth: 4 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 73 P / 44 S, 5.85 ERA
CF Evan Carter: 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 SB (21), .278/.372/.474
RF Angel Aponte: 2-4, HR (3), .268/.335/.373
Evan Carter has four steals in his last three games. Even so, his success rate is a sub-par 65% compared to the league rate of 76%. He’s a full-throttle runner, a feature playing into his ten triples. Texas tends to unleash the youngsters and let them (hopefully) learn from their mistakes. Both Hickory and Down East lead their leagues in caught-stealing.
Low-A: Down East 5, at Fayetteville (HOU) 6
Down East: 6 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 16-21, 7 GB, 49-54 overall
SP Mitch Bratt: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 80 P / 47 S, 2.35 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.50 ERA
CF Daniel Mateo: 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, .277/.323/.414
RF Yosy Galan: 1-4, HR (13), .221/.310/.418
C Ian Moller: 2-4, 2 HR (4), .198/.363/.313
Ian Moller smacked a couple of above-the-belt fastballs into the stands in left-center. Moller is strange, especially for a young catcher. He gives the appearance of a power hitter, but entering Tuesday he had five extra-bases hits and an .071 isolated power in 42 games. That is young IKF territory. His strikeout rate is a fairly high 25%, but his swinging strike rate is a low 9.7%. Why the difference? He’s exceptionally patient, with a system-best 20%, slightly ahead of standard-bearers Aaron Zavala and Trevor Hauver. The downside of that patience is more called strikes. I’m not going to complain about a patient hitter, and if Moller develops as hoped, more power will appear in the box scores.
Adrian Rodriguez made his low-A debut with a fastball ranging from 95 to 101 and a low-80s curve. The one pitch I saw at 95 might’ve even had a little cut, but that could be wishcasting on my part. Rodriguez brought his BB/HBP rate down from 29% in 2021 to 12% this year, still high but tolerable. Rodriguez is far from refined, but the curve is more than a show pitch. He can throw it for strikes and often enough to befuddle hitters cheating on that elite velocity. Texas drafted Rodriguez with its last-ever 39th-round pick in 2019.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Arihara
AA: Brennan
Hi-A: Kindreich
Lo-A: TBD (Winston Santos’s turn)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas claimed righty reliever Jhan Marinez on waivers from Pittsburgh. Some of these historical anecdotes, I remember well, some trigger vague memories upon re-reading, and some, like this, are complete blanks to me. Marinez hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2018 and was out of affiliated ball until this March. He signed with the White Sox and tossed 24 not-great innings for their AAA club before a season-ending injury.