AAA: Round Rock 6, at El Paso (SDP) 7
Round Rock: 12 hits, 4 walks, 15 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 14-9, 1 GB, 58-39 overall
SP Seth Nordlin: 2.2 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 5 BB, 0 SO, 68 P / 32 S, 6.32 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.00 ERA
2B Justin Foscue: 1-3, 2 BB, .268/.390/.470
RF Elier Hernadez: 3-5, HR (16), .308/.370/.533
DH Blaine Crim: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .280/.396/.500
Ben Gamel homered off Grant Anderson to end it.
In 23 second-half games, Round Rock has used 11 starting pitchers, and only six starts have exceeded four innings. The median is just 2.2 innings. As scheduled, Marc Church will become Round Rock’s 26th starting pitcher tonight, which I believe will be a record for a Texas AAA affiliate.
AA: Frisco 19, at Wichita (MIN) 10
Frisco: 19 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 8 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 13-10, 2 GB, 44-47 overall
SP Ryan Garcia: 4.1 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 5 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 86 P / 52 S, 7.04 ERA
CF Luisangel Acuna: 4-5, 2B, HR (7), BB, 2 SB (41), .315/.379/.452
LF Evan Carter: 2-5, 2B, HR (11), BB, .298/.413/.471
SS Thomas Saggese: 3-5, HR (15), HBP, .311/.378/.513
DH Trevor Hauver: 3-6, 2B, HR (9), .259/.377/.437
1B Josh Hatcher: 2-6, HR (5), .308/.337/.513
C Scott Kapers: 2-6, HR (5), 227324398
After scoring nine runs in Tuesday’s first inning, Frisco again obliterated Wichita’s pitching, which as of midseason was the league’s worst (10% more runs than average, 115 opposing OPS+). Thomas Saggese tied last year’s 15 homers with a rocket off the LCF scoreboard in the 1st. Evan Carter followed with a 2nd-inning grand slam. Down 12-8 in the 9th, Wichita offered as sacrifice catcher David Banuelos, who recorded two outs and then allowed four homers to the next seven batters, including Hauver, Hatcher, and Kapers in order. Frisco hosted the Wind Surge in May and lost all five games by a combined 28 runs.
Hi-A: Hickory 0, Hudson Valley (NYY) 7
Hickory: 6 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 17-8, 3.5 G up, 44-42 overall
SP Nick Lockhart: 3.1 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 53 P / 34 S, 1.50 ERA
RP Luis Tejada: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.29 ERA
C Cody Freeman: 2-4, 2B, .226/.278/.400
I sold Cam Cauley very short yesterday, crediting him with two doubles on Tuesday when in fact he homered twice. The Rangers have video. As for yesterday’s game… did you know that when the Hudson Valley Renegades came into being in 1995, their parent club was the Texas Rangers? The Renegades switched to the nascent Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays in 1997 as the Rangers vacated short-season ball for a year. Hudson Valley and Tampa Bay would be partners for 24 years until the elimination of short-season ball, whereupon the Renegades jumped to high-A with the Yankees.
Lo-A: Down East 0, at Fayetteville (HOU) 4
Down East: 4 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 11-15, 4.5 GB, 48-39 overall
SP Aidan Curry: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 76 P / 45 S, 2.24 ERA
RP Jackson Leath: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 2.37 ERA
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 1-3, BB, .245/.314/.315
Aidan Curry and Jackson Leath pitched well. The offense continued to slide, although it was only the second shutout of the second half.
Texas assigned 12th-round RHP Paul Bonzagni to the rookie squad, the first 2023 pick to receive a roster spot.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Church
AA: Krauth
Hi-A: Corniell
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas traded LHP Cole Hamels to the Cubs for reliever Eddie Butler, minor league righty Rollin Lacy, and a player to be named, eventually revealed as OF Alexander Ovalles. Butler never pitched for a Major League organization beyond 2018, nor did Lacy, who was shipped out as part of the omnibus Jurickson Profar trade, was injured, and never again appeared in a game. Ovalles was sent to Tampa Bay as part of the Nathaniel Lowe trade and is hitting .228/.344/.279 in AA.