I listed Sebastian Walcott as an OF yesterday. He’s a shortstop.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 10, Albuquerque (COL) 5
Round Rock: 16 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 17-17, 5 GB, 61-47 overall
SP Owen White: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 SO, 75 P / 42 S, 5.18 ERA
RP Kyle Cody: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 6.83 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.06 ERA
SS Davis Wendzel: 3-4, 2B, HR (20), BB, .236/.360/.484
1B Blaine Crim: 2-5, 2B, .280/.385/.501
LF Dustin Harris: 1-5, HR (4), .263/.386/.465
3B Dio Arias: 3-5, 2B, .264/.331/.381
C Matt Whatley: 2-4, 2B, HR (3), .213/.290/.317
Owen White was okay, working through some occasional control lapses. What was categorized as a four-seamer had the lowest average velocity of his six AAA appearances: 91.9 MPH. Early on, I wondered on twitter whether they were actually sinkers because of the lack of usual ride. Reviewing the data today, I found an additional three inches of drop compared to his previous appearances, but none of the extra run of his sinker. So, a standard, “old-fashioned” fastball, if you will. Ultimately, the opposition didn’t trouble him too deeply, but in terms of thinking about an injury-replacement call-up or 2024, it wasn’t a standout performance. In 24.1 AAA innings, White has walked or hit 16 and struck out 13.
Chase Lee struck out the side in order on 13 pitches in the 9th. The Isotopes swung at five pitches without so much as a foul. Lee doesn’t become a Rule 5 situation until the end of 2024, but he’ll be up before then. Like Grant Anderson, on his lesser days you’ll wonder how he ever gets anyone out, but when he’s on he’s downright scary.
Say a little prayer for Josh Rogers, who reached the Majors as an 11th-round pick but is homer-prone in the best of circumstances and now finds himself pitching for Albuquerque in the PCL. Rogers has allowed 25 homers in 80 innings this season. In the 4th, he allowed five elevated shots over 100 MPH in a stretch of seven batters, resulting in three homers and two doubles. Four of those hits came after a visit from the pitching coach. The ‘Topes really wanted him to finish four innings. He did not.
During that 4th, Matt Whatley and Davis Wendzel smacked 89 MPH mid-mid sinkers over the wall. Dustin Harris turned on a slider. Watch them all here.
AA: Frisco 6, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 0
Frisco: 6 hits, 10 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 1 hit, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 19-15, 1 GB, 50-52 overall
SP Ryan Garcia: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 79 P / 49 S, 6.69 ERA
RP Reid Birlingmair: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.75 ERA
RP Triston Polley: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.48 ERA
DH Trevor Hauver: 1-2, 2 BB, .258/.374/.429
RF Kellen Strahm: 2-4, BB, .234/.339/.320
2B Frainyer Chavez: 1-4, HR (1)
A trio of Riders held the Hooks to a lone hit, a one-hop double over the fence in the 7th. Ryan Garcia didn’t allow a run for the first time this season. His previous best start (7 IP, 1 R) was two months ago in the same location. That was also the last time any Frisco starter lasted at least six innings.
Hi-A: Hickory 4, at Asheville (HOU) 1
Hickory: 7 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 13 strikeouts
Record: 26-10, 4 GB, 53-44 overall
SP Jose Corniell: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 SO, 86 P / 61 S, 4.02 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 5.95 ERA
1B Abi Ortiz: 1-4, HR (19), .316/.371/.673
CF Daniel Mateo: 1-4, HR (7), .258/.275/.404
C Cooper Johnson: 3-4, HR (1), .241/.388/.329
Hickory has three seven-inning starts this season, one from Josh Stephan in April and back-to-back outings from Jose Corniell.
Abimelec Ortiz has 26 homers between Hickory and Down East. The last Texas minor leaguers with at least 30 were the elder Matt Davidson and Patrick Wisdom in AAA in 2019. The last who you would consider a traditional prospect was Joey Gallo with 42 in 2014.
Lo-A: Down East 1, at Kannapolis (CHW) 3
Down East: 5 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 18-19, 6 GB, 55-43 overall
SP Luis Ramirez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 28 P / 17 S, 4.31 ERA
RP Dylan MacLean: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.05 ERA
RF Jojo Blackmon: 1-2, 2B, BB, .192/.293/.335
Luis Ramirez returned from a month-long IL stint. Jojo Blackmon is the only hitter with an OPS above .700 in the second half (.267/.364/.384).
Today’s Starters
AAA: Otto
AA: Krauth
Hi-A: Teodo
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Off-days and rain, mostly. Hickory’s Demarcus Evans struck out four in two scoreless innings. Since mid-May, he had an 0.76 ERA with a 53% strikeout rate in 23.2 innings.