Rangers Farm Report: Games of Friday 2 September

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, Oklahoma City (LAD) 2
Round Rock: 6 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 70-57, 2 GB

SP Zak Kent: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 68 P / 38 S, 1.59 ERA
RP James Jones: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 7.00 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.91 ERA
SS Davis Wendzel: 1-4, HR (13), .212/.290/.402

Zak Kent pitched well in his AAA debut. Jacob Amaya’s triple in the 5th busted the no-hitter, and Amaya scored on a comebacker through Kent’s legs and off second base (the bag, not the player). Kent registered only four swinging strikes, and his strike rate was only 56%, but he walked only one and seemed in control until late when the three-ball counts increased.

Kent threw both a two-seamer and four-seamer in the 91-95 range. The four-seamer has little run and actually cuts some of the time. He doesn’t lose any velocity with the “sinker,” which barely drops more than the ordinary fastball but acquires much more run. Augmenting those are an 82-85 slider, upper-70s curve and mid-80s change. The slider is often an out pitch, but last night’s version was relatively tepid. What worked better was the change, despite a a lower strike rate with it. It often has screwball-like run, and he would throw it inside to lefties and have it run back over the plate for a call or miss. Kent wasn’t overpowering, but he has several pitches with impressive movement, and he was able to harness that movement to obtain a bunch of low and/or weakly hit contact.

Nick Snyder pitched on just one day of rest for the first time since a mid-June game at Tacoma that required a month off. His velocity was fine but he allowed a game-tying homer. Davis Wendzel promptly untied it and walked off victorious by leading off the 9th with his own homer.

Josh Jung was 0-4 with two strikeouts.

AA: Frisco 21, at Amarillo (ARI) 2
Frisco: 23 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 0 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 30-24, 1 G up, 66-57 overall

SP Mason Englert: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 79 P / 56 S, 1.80 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-6, HR (14), .294/.351/.426
DH Aaron Zavala: 3-4, 2 2B, HR (4), 2 BB, .388/.500/.672
3B Justin Foscue: 3-6, 2 HR (14), .289/.369/.492
1B Blaine Crim: 5-6, 2 2B, HR (20), .290/.358/.481
RF Kellen Strahm: 4-6, 2B, .277/.387/.403
LF Trevor Hauver: 1-3, HR (3), 2 BB, .200/.370/.514
CF Josh Stowers: 3-6, HR (8), .222/.331/.365
C Scott Kapers: 2-5, 2B, HR (1), .200/.304/.325

In the first five innings , Jonathan Ornelas, Aaron Zavala, and Justin Foscue came to the plate five times. Frisco sent 41 up men in that span, concluding with an 11-run 5th to take a 19-1 lead. Hauver’s homer, which gave Frisco eight on the night, came off ex-Rangers IF Ti’Quan Forbes.

Meanwhile, making his AA debut in that hitter-friendly environment, Mason Englert calmly quieted the Poodles for five innings.

High-A: Hickory 9, at Aberdeen (BAL) 2
Hickory: 8 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 26-32, 9 GB, 64-60 overall

SP Ricky Vanasco: 5 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 9 SO, 85 P / 54 S, 4.48 ERA
RP Theo McDowell: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.79 ERA
2B Griffin Cheney: 1-2, 2 BB, .063/.286/.063

An oddly muted statistical record for a nine-run night. Liam Hicks, Chris Seise, Cody Freeman, Keyber Rodriguez, and Yenci Pena all reached twice by some combination of singles and walks. LF Josh Hatcher (1-5) had the only extra-base hit. Ricky Vanasco reached nine (or more) strikeouts for the third time this year.

Low-A: Down East 5, Fayetteville (HOU) 1
Down East: 7 hits, 6 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 2 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 30-28, 6.5 GB, 63-61 overall

SP Gavin Collyer: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 79 P / 48 S, 4.63 ERA
RP Florencio Serrano: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 2.53 ERA
CF Marcus Smith: 2-3, 3 SB (45), .180/.331/.264
SS Cam Cauley: 1-3, BB, SB (37), .213/.314/.292
RF Yeison Morrobel: 2-3, 2B, BB

With six steals last night, Down East reached 295, surpassing last year’s 290. Up next: the all-time modern low-A record of 299 set by the 1991 Beloit Brewers.

Down East lacks a no-hitter like Hickory but has six games with just one or two allowed, plus 12 shutouts and 14 one-run games.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Allard
AA: Weems
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Down East split the make-up doubleheader with Buies Creek, requiring the Woodies to win both of the last two games to win the division. Hickory also split a twin bill and needed to win both remaining games and have West Virginia lose one. Spokane’s 3-2 win over Everett meant a win or Vancouver loss on the season’s final day would be enough to advance to the postseason. And the baby Rangers clinched the second-half division title earlier in the day when the Padres lost.