RHP Owen White has been chosen to participate in the upcoming Futures Game.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 5, Sacramento (SFO) 4
Round Rock: 9 hits, 8 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 7 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 44-30, 6.5 GB, 2nd of 10 teams, first half over
SP Cole Ragans: 4 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 66 P / 40 S, 2.79 ERA
RP Cole Winn: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 7.71 ERA
RP Jonathan Hernandez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 1.13 ERA
CF Bubba Thompson: 2-4, SB (3), .250/.400/.300
RF Elier Hernandez: 2-4, BB, .336/.405/.564
LF Sandro Fabian: 2-4, HR (9), .281/.326/.510
Cole Ragans was similar to Owen White on Friday, tough to hit but lacking his usual control. Cole Winn was solid for a second straight relief outing, relying heavily on a fastball that didn’t overwhelm the opposition but generated plenty of strikes. Elier Hernandez has a hit in 26 straight starts, during which he’s batted .422/.465/.750.
Half-Season Summary:
Offense: 6.1 runs per game (1% worse than park-adjusted league average), .271/.377/.456, 104 OPS+
Pitching/Defense: 5.2 runs per game (16% better than average), opposing line ..259/.355/.398, 85 OPS+
Best Hitter: OF Elier Hernandez (.336/.406/.564, 20 2B/3B, 12 HR, 136 OPS+)
Best Pitcher: LHP Cody Bradford (59.1 IP, 1.82 ERA, .192/.249/.305 oppo line, 22% SO)
If you want JP Martinez (.338/.459/.540, 145 OPS+, but 29 fewer games than Hernandez), that’s fine. My best hitter/pitcher picks are purely performance, unbiased by prospect status. Also, to reiterate the extreme playing environment, park-adjusted league-average runs per game for the Express is 6.2. Someone batting .269/.364/.453 has a 100 OPS+.
AA: Frisco 9, Springfield (STL) 6
Frisco: 13 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 31-37, 5.5 GB, 5th of 5 teams, first half over
SP Nick Krauth: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 61 P / 44 S, 6.48 ERA
RP Alex Speas: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.64 ERA
RP Justin Slaten: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.95 ERA
RP Antoine Kelly: 1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.95 ERA
CF Evan Carter: 2-3, 2B, HR (5), BB, .293/.414/.442
SS Luisangel Acuna: 2-4, 2B, .297/.359/.440
2B Thomas Saggese: 2-4, 2B, .312/.372/.502
DH Aaron Zavala: 2-3, 2B, BB, .207/.361/.319.
Down 6-2 at the stretch, Frisco scored six runs in the 7th, capped by an Evan Carter laser to right.
Alex Speas’ last 15 innings: five hits, four walks, a hit batter, 28 strikeouts (52% of opposing hitters).
Ricky Vanasco hasn’t pitched in a real game since joining the Dodgers. I assume he’s on LA’s Development List but the info is sketchy.
Half-Season Summary:
Offense: 5.5 runs per game (6% better than park-adjusted league average), .253/.355/.401, 104 OPS+
Pitching/Defense: 5.6 runs per game (7% worse than average), opposing line .248/.352/.406, 104 OPS+
Best Hitter: IF Thomas Saggese (.312/.372/.502, 18 2B/3B, 10 HR, 134 OPS+)
Best Pitcher: RHP Owen White (56.1 IP, 3.51 ERA, .205/.302/.313 oppo line, 21% SO)
Hi-A: Hickory 5, at Asheville (HOU) 2
Hickory: 12 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 3-0, tied for first
SP Mitch Bratt: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 71 P / 53 S, 2.91 ERA
RP Seth Clark: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.50 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.07 ERA
DH Abi Ortiz: 1-3, HR (8), BB, .341/.396/.682
C Tucker Mitchell: 2-4, 2B, .268/.386/.408
C Cody Freeman: 3-4, 2 2B, .210/.277/.395
CF Daniel Mateo: 2-4, 2B, .263/.278/.395
Abimelec Ortiz leads the team in homers and ranks 18th in the league. Not bad considering he spent the first six weeks of the season with Down East, for whom he’s still ranked second with seven homers. As I’ve mentioned, Ortiz’s 2022 at Down East wasn’t much to write about, but on the other hand he was 20 and had skipped rookie ball. Ortiz hadn’t hit for average until this season.
Mitch Bratt’s 25% strikeout rate is middle-of-the-park in the Sally League, but his 5% walk rate is among the best. Bratt turns 20 in a week. I suppose he could reach AA in 2023, but I don’t feel any urgency, and spending the entire season in Hickory would not be a disappointment.
Lo-A: Down East 2, at Salem (BOS) 7
Down East: 5 hits, 0 walks, 17 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 2-1, tied for first
SP DJ McCarty: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 47 P / 32 S, 2.00 ERA
RP Dylan MacLean: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.08 ERA
In the 3rd, Salem scored seven runs on three hits and a whole lot of chaos. Adrian Rodriguez retired one of five batters faced. Against him in June, opponents are just 2-for-20 with no extra-base hits, but one of every three batters has reached on a walk or HBP.
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Rehabbing Martin Perez threw five scoreless innings for low-A Hickory. Sam Huff caught Perez and hit his 9th homer, Bubba Thompson was 3-6, and Joe Barlow closed out a 4-3 win with 2.2 scoreless.