AAA: Round Rock 6, at Sugar Land (HOU) 3
Round Rock: 10 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 23-17, 2 GB, 67-47 overall
SP Alex Speas: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 32 P / 21 S, 3.38 ERA
RP Marc Church: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.25 ERA
RP Jonathan Hernandez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 1.61 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-3, HR (6), BB, HBP, .254/.366/.360
1B Blaine Crim: 2-4, 2B, .287/.391/.503
C Matt Whatley: 2-4, HR (4), .222/.299/.341
Alex Speas and company held the vanilla Sugar Land offense in check. Speas became Round Rock’s 27th starting pitcher of the season. Despite or perhaps because of that, the Express have the league’s best nominal and park-adjusted run prevention in the league. The cutter reigned supreme. Speas, Church, Hernandez, and Scott Engler combined to throw 54, of which 28 (52%) resulted in a called or swinging strike. That’s about double the team rate for all pitches.
In his first AAA appearance since September 2021, Scott Engler allowed two runs in an inning. Engler had undergone elbow surgery in 2022. The 2016 16th-rounder offered a 93-96 fastball, 88-93 cutter, and a few upper-80s sinkers and changes. Engler had a decent chance at reaching the Majors before the injury and is trying to regain that status. He’s been around long enough to have become a free agent and re-sign.
After a trip out west with no plate appearances, Jonathan Ornelas’s bat awakened refreshed and eager to work.
Texas released catcher Kevin Plawecki.
AA: Frisco 2, Tulsa (LAD) 7
Frisco: 6 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 22-18, 2 GB, 53-55 overall
SP Nick Krauth: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 81 P / 49 S, 6.55 ERA
CF Evan Carter: 1-3, BB, SB (18), .278/.407/.442
The option of Jonathan Ornelas pushed Jax Biggers back down to AA and Jayce Easley to high-A. Also back in Frisco is reliever Danny Duffy, while Florencio Serrano returned to Hickory.
Ex-Ranger Ricky Vanasco threw a scoreless 9th for Tulsa, his tenth in a row without an earned run. In that span, he’s fanned 19 and walked four in 14 innings. He topped out at 98 last night. The Dodgers successfully ran Vanasco through waivers after acquiring him in trade for Texas when the Rangers designated him for assignment. Vanasco didn’t pitch in a real game for nearly a month after switching clubs. I believe he can become a free agent this fall if unprotected on the 40.
Hi-A: Hickory 9, Rome (ATL) 3
Hickory: 11 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 5 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 30-12, 4 G up, 57-46 overall
SP Emiliano Teodo: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 9 SO, 74 P / 49 S, 4.69 ERA
RP Seth Clark: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.89 ERA
SS Max Acosta: 2-4, HR (9), .253/.300/.381
DH Geisel Cepeda: 2-4, 2B, .296/.375/.380
LF Yosy Galan: 1-3, HR (3), BB, .274/.336/.472
2B Benjamin Blackwell: 3-4, 2B, .278/.316/.500
Emiliano Teodo delivered his best outing of the season.
Wyatt Langford was 0-4. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel rated him baseball’s #6 prospect, best among the elite top tier of the 2023 draft class. Evan Carter is 14th, and Sebastian Walcott comes in at 38th.
Texas released RHP Wyatt Sparks. Drafted in 2018’s 23rd round, Sparks tossed only 87 innings due to injuries and the covid-lost 2020. Back in 2023, Sparks struggled to retire batters outside of low-A Down East.
Lo-A: Down East 3, at Charleston (TAM) 1
Down East: 8 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Record: 23-20, 4 GB, 60-44 overall
SP Luis Ramirez: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 29 P / 21 S, 4.01 ERA
RP Dylan MacLean: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 2.94 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-4, .219/.303/.337
RF Quincy Scott: 1-3, BB, SB (1), .500/.541/.559
LF Jojo Blackmon: 2-4, 2B, SB (22), .211/.308/.366
Adrian Rodriguez entered with an out in the 9th up 3-0 but a pond filled with ducks (not Wood Ducks). Rodriguez walked a batter but retired the other two. Dylan MacLean had retired 16 straight before surrendering three singles, and the outing was his longest of the season despite the late trouble. Blackmon and Scott maintained last week’s hot hitting.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Dugger
AA: Bremer
Hi-A: TBA
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
As you probably heard, Bubba Thompson was claimed by the Royals and assigned to AAA Omaha. Five years ago, Thompson was 2-5 with a triple for low-A Hickory. Sam Huff and Matt Whatley, current teammates in AAA, were both 2-4.