AAA: Round Rock 5, at Oklahoma City (LAD) 3
Round Rock: 10 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 57-50, 5 GB
SP Kohei Arihara: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 84 P / 51 S, 4.88 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 6.75 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 2-4, 2B, BB, .245/.375/.509
DH Sam Huff: 1-4, HR (17), BB, .259/.344/.546
Josh Jung was 1-5 with two strikeouts. My tweet of his Tuesday homer got some traction including some not-quite-joking pleas to bring him to Arlington immediately. I don’t think anyone in the front office has flat-out said he’ll reach the Majors in 2022, but it does look that way. And about halfway through last year’s turn in AAA, I thought he was ready and hoped he’d be the Opening Day 3B in April. That said, we’re talking a guy with zero MLB experience coming off a serious injury, so we need to read a Mo Willems book. Also, while I think he’ll be a steady starter providing much more than what Texas has received form the position (0.1 WAR to date), he’s not a savior. For the moment, I’m just happy he seems no worse for wear after another absence.
Chase Lee has allowed one run in his last 12 innings. After that exceptionally rough introduction to AAA, he’s resumed matching his performance in Frisco. Even with the improvement, Lee has a 7% swinging strike rate in AAA. Every other Express hurler with at least 300 pitches has a rate above 10%.
AA: Frisco 3, San Antonio (SDG) 0
Frisco: 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 2 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Record: 21-14, 2 GB, 57-47 overall
SP Tim Brennan: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 3 SO, 58 P / 41 S, 3.14 ERA
RP Matt Wivinis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Grant Wolfram: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 5.02 ERA
RP Grant Anderson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 3.06 ERA
2B Justin Foscue: 3-3, BB, .292/.375/.493
LF Kellen Strahm: 2-4, 2B, .289/.408/.415
Frisco limited the Mission to two singles, a walk, and three hit batters. Fernando Tatis Jr. did nothing except take a base after being hit, and starter Tim Brennan has a swinging strikeout of Tatis that can lead off his resume even when he’s 40 and applying for an office job.
Justin Foscue didn’t homer but reached safely four times. Who knows, maybe in two years he’ll be an established Major Leaguer and we can name him as another example of how fitful minor league development can be. Texas doesn’t have to worry about his 40 status until next November. Preferably, a 14th-overall pick out of college will beat that deadline.
Dustin Harris is on the seven-day IL.
High-A: Hickory 8, at Greenville (BOS) 12
Hickory: 10 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 15-23, 11 GB, 53-51 overall
SP Bradford Webb: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 49 P / 27 S, 11.12 ERA
RF Jayce Easley: 1-3, HR (4), 2 BB, .248/.383/.383
DH Trevor Hauver: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, .219/.377/.411
2B Thomas Saggese: 1-5, HR (13), .309/.358/.497
C Randy Florentino: 2-4, 3B, .277/.364/.366
Since the All-Star break, Hickory has a -1 run differential but is 6-11 including a 2-6 mark in one-run games. That’s not how you want to imitate the parent club.
Hickory’s offense has the firepower come out ahead in these softball-score games, but 13 runs is a big ask. Thomas Saggese now owns Hickory’s homer lead by himself. I hadn’t thought of Jayce Easley as a homer threat but he’s up to four in 44 games after hitting one in all of 2021.
LHP Larson Kindreich is on the seven-day IL.
Low-A: Down East 2, at Fayetteville (HOU) 1 (7)
Down East: 2 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 76 P / 47 S, 3.86 ERA
RP Kai Wynyard: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.08 ERA
2B Maximo Acosta: 1-3, 2B, SB (33), .276/.355/.391
CF Daniel Mateo: 1-3, HR (10), .278/.323/.423
Low-A: Down East 0, at Fayetteville (HOU) 5 (7)
Down East: 3 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 18-20, 7 GB, 51-53 overall
SP Jose Corniell: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 60 P / 39 S, 5.51 ERA
C Ian Moller: 1-3, BB, .201/.366/.344
1B Miguel Villarroel: 1-2, BB, .273/.365/.364
I didn’t notice Down East had a doubleheader scheduled until the first game was over. The second game made up a June rainout. The Woodies managed a split despite scraping together only five hits across 14 innings.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Allard
AA: Leiter
Hi-A: Englert
Lo-A: TBD (Teodo’s turn)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
With the exclamation “we are a big-league city,” San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg reiterated his focus on securing a major sports franchise for his city, quashing the idea of a downtown replacement for the Missions’ west-side Wolff Stadium. New home or not, the Missions were already confirmed to join the AAA Pacific Coast League in 2019 and at the time seemed a likely destination for the Rangers once their affiliation in Round Rock ended.