AAA: Round Rock 7, Tacoma (SEA) 1
Round Rock: 12 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 8-4, 1.5 GB
SP Cody Bradford: 5 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 87 P / 56 S, 0.55 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 1-4, HR (2)
3B Justin Foscue: 3-3, HR (1), BB, .250/.372/.417
LF Clint Frazier: 2-3, 2B, BB
A rough, rough outing for Cody Bradford. Three walks! A run! Maybe he was under the weather. Maybe this level of competition doesn’t engage him. In any case, his ERA rocketed to 0.55. He’ll work on bringing it down from the stratosphere next week.
Anyway, the Rangers aren’t in need of a starter from the AAA ranks, and nobody on the depth chart is closer than third in line behind Dune Dunning and Cole Ragans, I would think. Should need occur, I would pick Bradford over Cole Winn even though the former isn’t on the 40. I’m not convinced of how Bradford’s stuff would play against top-level competition, but at this moment I’d bet on him over Winn at getting through some innings without critical damage. Hopefully Winn makes such a decision more difficult down the road.
Zak Kent is also on the 40 but sidelined with a strained oblique suffered while warming for last Sunday’s start.
Justin Foscue drove a pitch just over 400 feet for his first homer. After that lengthy hitless stretch to begin the season, Foscue is suddenly sporting a respectable line.
AA: Frisco 7, at San Antonio (SDG) 0
Frisco: 16 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 4-3
SP Nick Krauth: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 59 P / 39 S, 3.00 ERA
RP Ricky DeVito: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Evan Carter: 4-6
SS Luisangel Acuna: 3-5, BB
LF Dustin Harris: 2-4, BB
CF Chris Seise: 2-4, BB, SB (1)
C Scott Kapers: 3-5, 2B, HR (1)
25 baserunners, seven hits with runners in scoring position, but a relatively modest seven runs. Still, Frisco pummeled the Missions for a third straight, outscoring San Antonio 22-2 and drawing 26 walks. Carter, Acuna and Harris bat 1-2-3 in the order and were a combined 6-6 with three walks until Carter struck out with the bases loaded. Carter is hitting .414/.500/.655. He’s played 17 AA games and doesn’t turn 21 until late August, so don’t purchase Rangers tickets for June in expectation of his MLB debut.
Hi-A: Hickory 6, at Wilmington (WAS) 3
Hickory: 17 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 3-2
SP Josh Stephan: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 68 P / 45 S, 1.80 ERA
RP Spencer Mraz: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.00 ERA
RP Eudrys Manon: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF Daniel Mateo: 3-5
DH Geisel Cepeda: 3-5
C Liam Hicks: 1-2, 2 BB, HBP
3B Keyber Rodriguez: 3-5, 2 SB (2)
2B Griffin Cheney: 2-4, BB
22 baserunners, eight hits with runners in scoring position, somehow only six runs. All the rain hasn’t hampered the hitters’ timing. The Crawdads are batting a robust .292/.368/.444.
Lo-A: Down East 5, at Augusta (ATL) 3 (7)
Down East: 7 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 0 walks, 11 strikeouts
SP Jose Corniell: 5 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 8 SO, 70 P / 49 S, 3.86 ERA
RP Dylan MacLean: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.25 ERA
SS Danyer Cueva: 2-4
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-3, 2B, 2 SB (2)
RF Jojo Blackmon: 1-2, 2B, BB, SB (1)
Lo-A: Down East 3, at Augusta (ATL) 1 (7)
Down East: 6 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Record: 5-1
SP Brock Porter: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 57 P / 31 S, 4.50 ERA
RP Matt Brosky: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 4.50 ERA
CF Yeison Morrobel: 1-2, BB
RF Jeferson Espinal: 1-1, BB, HBP, SB (1)
Augusta led 3-1 in the 6th of the opener and 1-0 in the 7th of the nightcap and lost both. In the first game, doubles by Anthony Gutierrez and Jojo Blackmon erased a two-run deficit and created a two-run lead, respectively. In the second, singles by Yeison Morrobel, Ian Moeller, Miguel Villaroel, and Andres Mesa plus a Jeferson Espinal HBP resulted in three runs.
After not escaping the 1st in his pro debut, Brock Porter completed last night’s first inning on 17 pitches. A walk and HBP in the 3rd would lead to a run, but on the whole Porter recovered the control missing from last Friday. Augusta’s camera feed and graphics are not in midseason form, so I don’t have any velocities for Porter. I saw three of the strikeouts, which I believe included a change, slider, and fastball for third strikes.
2022 8th-rounder Matt Brosky fanned six and kept Augusta off the board late, which would prove crucial.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Cody
AA: Roby
Hi-A: Bratt
Lo-A: TBA