Rangers Farm Report: Games of Sunday 28 April

Yesterday, I piggybacked off a tweet from Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News about Wyatt Langford’s magical “ability” to get robbed by umpires. Entering Sunday, Langford led the Majors with 21 incorrectly called strikes, nearly all of them outside and middle or low. Langford had 98 called strikes in 2024, so roughly one of every five called strikes were wrong.

Is that a high percentage? Seemed so, but I had no concrete comparison at the time. On further review: yes, yes it is. Of 165 batters with at least five incorrectly called strikes in 2024, Langford’s 21% rate is seventh-highest. Last year, among the top 300 batters in called strikes taken, only two had a higher percentage of wrong calls (Luis Garcia Jr. and Bryan Reynolds), and the average for all players is about 12%. Given Langford’s 77 correctly called strikes, a league-average number of misses would be 11 rather than 21.

Box Scores

AAA: canceled

A morning storm extended well into the afternoon, thwarting Round Rock’s outstanding drainage system. Sad for the folks who showed up for nothing, but for me, this day always has other plans (see below).

Because of those plans, I’d taken only a perfunctory look at Saturday’s box, but later I saw that starter Collin Wiles exited with some sort of arm injury in the 4th. His fastball is upper 80s nowadays but had dipped to around 85 in his final inning, and the video is heart-wrenching. Wiles already missed most of 2018 and part of 2019 after Tommy John surgery, and a shoulder issue eliminated his 2023. He’d been out of contract until signing with Texas just 11 days ago, and Saturday was his second appearance. I’m not optimistic, but hopefully the news isn’t too bad. I remember watching a similar outing by Nick Snyder in June 2022 and thinking he was done for at least the rest of the season, but he returned in just three weeks.

AA: Frisco 5, Amarillo (ARI) 6 (10)
Frisco: 7 hits, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 2 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 12-9, 1 GB

SP Josh Stephan: 4 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 52 P / 34 S, 8.44 ERA
RP Ricky DeVito: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 9.00 ERA
RP Seth Clark: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.00 ERA
RP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
C Liam Hicks: 1-3, HR (1), HBP, .253/.322/.342
DH Cody Freeman: 2-4, HR (3), .286/.351/.471

Coming back from a recurring back issue, Josh Stephan is on a very restricted diet: 42 pitches in his first start, 52 yesterday. Frisco still owns the worst walk rate in AA at 13% but issued no more than three in any of the last five games.

Hi-A: Hickory 6, Asheville (HOU) 11
Hickory: 8 hits, 9 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 8-12, 3.5 GB

SP Florencio Serrano: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 47 P / 33 S, 3.00 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 3.38 ERA
DH Tucker Mitchell: 3-4, 2B, HR (3), .222/.300/.413
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-2, 3 BB, SB (1), .188/.297/.297

Speaking of 13% walk rates, that is what Sebastian Walcott has after yesterday, an amazingly quick progression from someone who was taking an absurdly high percentage of called strikes in the early going. He’s hitting .278/.422/.417 in his last ten games.

Lo-A: Down East 8, @ Fayetteville (HOU) 5
Down East: 13 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 10-10, 4.5 GB

SP Josh Trentadue: 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 68 P / 39 S, 5.17 ERA
RP Luke Savage: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 4.91 ERA
RP Kolton Curtis: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 1.59 ERA
C Jesus Lopez: 2-4, BB, .276/.354/.431
2B Erick Alvarez: 4-4, 2B, 3B, .423/.448/.577

19-year-old Kolton Curtis has held the opposition scoreless in three of four outings, all of which have been at least four innings.

Also 19, Erick Alvarez has bounced around places and positions in his two seasons stateside, hitting .189/.296/.243 in 12 low-A games last year between two complex league stints while manning the four corners and second base.

Yesterday (well, not quite, but it’s a better picture)


Five Years Ago Yesterday


Ten Years Ago Yesterday

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Saturday 27 April

RHP Brock Porter has been transferred to the complex league. Porter has a sub-50% strike rate in all three starts and has walked or hit 17 batters. Recall that Jack Leiter received the same treatment last summer, and while he didn’t return to AA a transformed man, he was certainly better and on the right track. The rookies start their season this Saturday, about six weeks earlier than usual, so we might see some action from Porter in Arizona before he heads back east.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, Salt Lake (LAA) 6
Round Rock: 7 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 12-14, 5 GB

SP Collin Wiles: 3.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 57 P / 30 S, 8.10 ERA
RP Danny Duffy: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 3.60 ERA
RP Chasen Shreve: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.61 ERA
RP Grant Anderson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.59 ERA
CF Derek Hill: 3-6, 2B, HR (3), SB (5), .343/.395/.557

With the exception of 30 games in Toledo in 2022, Derek Hill has always hit very well in AAA, and the offseason pickup has continued to produce in Round Rock. Danny Duffy had one of his better outings. As it stands, I doubt he’d be an option for Arlington. Despite the 3.60 ERA, he’s walked 13 in 15 innings, and the fastball has averaged 90.3 MPH, about 3 MPH below his typical level in MLB.

AA: Frisco 4, Amarillo (ARI) 3
Frisco: 6 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 12-8, 2 GB

SP Emiliano Teodo: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 SO, 77 P / 52 S, 3.78 ERA
RP Andy Rodriguez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 4.09 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, 2B, .263/.434/.368
1B Josh Hatcher: 2-4, HR (3), .362/.400/.553

Bottom of the 9th, two out, two strikes, two-on, two-run deficit. Josh Hatcher drilled an opposite-field fly off the home run terrace roof. I’d guess an unobstructed distance around 390 feet, quite impressive for an oppo shot. Aaron Zavala and Liam Hicks had singled in front of him.

Emiliano Teodo fanned a season-high eight. He’s allowed only two extra-base hits this season, both doubles, none since his first start three weeks ago.

Hi-A: Hickory 3, Ashville (HOU) 2
Hickory: 3 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 9 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 8-11, 3.5 GB

SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 86 P / 58 S, 0.44 ERA
RP Jackson Kelley: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2.45 ERA
RP Jacob Maton: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.00 ERA
C Tucker Mitchell: 2-4, 2B, .164/.258/.291

In his first four outings, Winston Santos has averaged an additional four strikeouts per start versus his 2023 output. He’s second in the system with 31 strikeouts, trailing only Jack Leiter’s 33. Another welcomed trend is the absence of hit batters. He plunked 16 last year, most in the organization and South Atlantic League.

Hickory scored everything on a 3rd-inning double by Tucker Mitchell following walks from Quincy Scott, Ben Blackwell, and Yeison Morrobel.

Lo-A: Down East 1, @ Fayetteville (HOU) 3
Down East: 3 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 9-10, 4.5 GB

SP Alejandro Rosario: 3.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 57 P / 37 S, 1.17 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 1.98 ERA
DH Wady Mendez: 2-4, HR (1), SB (4), .167/.310/.208
CF Marcos Torres: 1-3, BB, .091/.200/.114

The second pitch of the game was caught by a fan in the first row of the right field seats, courtesy of Wady Mendez, but that would be all for the Woodies. Down East is hitting .197/.295/.289, not quite as bad as it appears because of league and park effects, but it ain’t great.

Wilian Bormie is off to a nice start, fanning a third of his opponents and holding them to a line of .163/.260/.233.

Today’s Starters
AAA: S. Anderson
AA: Stephan
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: TBA

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Joe Barlow struck out the side in the 9th to set up Ryan Dorow’s walk-off homer for Down East.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Friday 26 April

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 9, Salt Lake (LAA) 4
Round Rock: 12 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 12-13, 5 GB

SP Adrian Sampson: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 91 P / 56 S, 5.61 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.00 ERA
CF Derek Hill: 3-5, 2B, SB (4), .343/.395/.557
3B Dustin Harris: 2-4, BB, .274/.337/.429
1B Blaine Crim: 3-5, 2B, 2 HR (5), .231/.358/.474

RBI Alert! Blaine Crim drove in seven yesterday. About a week ago, I mentioned Crim had a weak line despite hitting really hard. Since then: .379/.526/.793 with three homers and three doubles. He’s seventh on the team in OPS among regulars but has the best combination of contact rate (78%) and 90th-percentile exit velo (106.6). As to what this portends for his immediate future, probably nothing. Crim was available in the last two Rule 5 drafts but had no suitors. I thought perhaps Milwaukee might take a chance because first base was a black hole for them last year, but on the other hand, teams contending for the postseason aren’t typically looking to the Rule 5 draft for everyday hitters. The Brewers gave $36 million to Rhys Hopkins instead.

Amazingly, Crim can’t become a minor league free agent until after 2025. He was a $5,000 senior signing in 2019. It’s absurd that clubs retain the rights of players like this for seven years, but the rules treat 16-year-olds and 22-year-olds equally in that regard.

AA: Frisco 3, Amarillo (ARI) 2
Frisco: 9 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 11-8, 2 GB

SP Dane Acker: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 8 SO, 87 P / 61 S, 1.47 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2.00 ERA
RP Steven Jennings: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 5.40 ERA
C Liam Hicks: 2-4, .250/.317/.306
1B Abi Ortiz: 2-4, .266/.351/.438
RF Josh Hatcher: 2-4, HR (2), .362/.400/.553

Liam Hicks had batted .079/.122/.105 in the nine games between two-hit games, albeit with only four strikeouts.

Like Blaine Crim, Josh Hatcher was a cheap senior sign, a 5th-year senior, in fact, whether due to injury or covid I’m not sure. Although drafted in 2022, he’s been in AA since last summer. Hatcher doesn’t walk much but has periods of terrific production, and the start of 2024 is one of those.

Hi-A: Hickory 4, Ashville (HOU) 5
Hickory: 7 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 6 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 7-11, 3 GB

SP Joseph Montalvo: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 69 P / 43 S, 5.23 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 7.45 ERA
LF Yeison Morrobel: 1-3, 2B, BB, .182/.308/.255
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-4, HR (1), .186/.262/.305
RF Anthony Gutierrez: 3-4, SB (9), .276/.300/.362

Sebastian Walcott hit his first high-A homer.

Skylar Hales has a 9% walk rate and 36% strikeout rate but a 7.45 ERA because all the baserunners have come in bunches.

Yeison Morrobel has a 27% K rate, not good but what passes for league-average nowadays. He hits the ball in the air reasonably well. He’s got some muscle. And somehow he’s got an isolated power of .073, actually up from last year’s .040. There has to be more in there.

Lo-A: Down East 1, @ Fayetteville (HOU) 3
Down East: 5 hits, 0 walks, 15 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 9 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 9-9, 4.5 GB

SP Kyle Larsen: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 58 P / 30 S, 4.66 ERA
RF Wady Mendez: 2-4, 2B, .167/.310/.208
C Jesus Lopez: 2-4, .259/.333/.426

It’s the 1960 World Series writ small: Down East has outscored Fayetteville 20-18 but lost three of four. (The Yankees outscored Pittsburgh 55-27 but lost four games by a total of seven runs).

Today’s Starters
AAA: Wiles
AA: Teodo
Hi-A: Santos
Lo-A: TBA

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Hickory’s Sam Huff hit his 10th homer, tying him with Round Rock’s Yordan Alvarez for the minor league lead. Unfortunately, Round Rock was not a Texas affiliate at the time. In 16 games against Texas-affiliated Nashville, Alvarez batted .349/.447/.698, reaching base 34 times and hitting six homers. And then he joined the Astros.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Thursday 25 April

Spartanburg will announce its team name on May 11th. Down East is expected to relocate to South Carolina in 2025.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, Salt Lake (LAA) 0
Round Rock: 5 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 1 hit, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 11-13, 5 GB

SP Jack Leiter: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 SO, 86 P / 53 S, 2.66 ERA
RP Aidan Anderson: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0.00 ERA
RF Sandro Fabian: 2-4, 2 2B, .397/.429/.616
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-2, BB, .308/.352/.431

In his first start since his MLB debut, Jack Leiter manhandled the Bees, notching 19 swinging strikes out of 40 swings, including nine with the fastball and eight via slider. His changeup, which took an unexpectedly strong supporting role last week, was once again relegated to cameos. While his overall strike rate was fine, he did suffer some occasional control lapses. Still, this was essentially a Vandy-era performance: “Sure, I walked a few, but how are you going to get them home?” Not to diminish his outing, but Salt Lake already had the worst strikeout rate in AAA. Leiter capitalized on the opponent’s tendencies. I couldn’t be there in person, as on Thursdays I rage against the dying of the light by playing softball, but the Express have video.

In the 9th, Sam Huff walked and scored from first on Sandro Fabian’s gapped double.

AA: Frisco 13, Amarillo (ARI) 5
Frisco: 15 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 10-8, 2 GB

SP Nick Krauth: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 82 P / 52 S, 8.04 ERA
RP Bryan Chi: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 4.50 ERA
1B Abi Ortiz: 3-5, 2B, 3B, .250/.343/.433
RF Josh Hatcher: 1-5, HR (1), .349/.391/.488
3B Cody Freeman: 5-5, 2B, 2 HR (2), SB (1), .305/.379/.475

Cody Freeman had himself a day. Freeman is no longer catching and is in fact playing exclusively at third, whereas in 2023 he mostly caught and dabbled at second in addition to 3B duties.

Abimelec Ortiz broke out of a week-long chill (2-for-27, but only 6 Ks). Overall, he’s performed pretty well, if not yet generating the heat of 2023. At 22, Ortiz is the team’s second-youngest hitter, and at this time last year he was repeating low-A.

Hi-A: Hickory 7, Asheville (HOU) 2
Hickory: 8 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 7-10, 3.5 GB

SP Luis Ramirez: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 63 P / 37 S, 4.05 ERA
RP Jacob Maton: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3.38 ERA
1B Konnor Piotto: 2-4, 2B, 3B, .235/.364/.412
2B Devin Hurdle: 3-4, .316/.435/.368
C Ian Moller: 1-3, BB, SB (2), .156/.270/.219

On Education Day, Hickory’s schoolkids learned not to ignore undrafted bottom-third hitters, as #7 Konnor Piotto and #8 Devin Hurdle provided five of the team’s eight hits.

Lo-A: Down East 2, @ Fayetteville (HOU) 3 (10)
Down East: 5 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 9-8, 4.5 GB

SP Paul Bonzagni: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 54 P / 35 S, 1.69 ERA
RP Kohl Drake: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 1.08 ERA
RP Case Matter: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2.45 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-5, HR (4), .245/.412/.547

Another walk-off loss. With the gift-runner on second, 3B Gleider Figuereo threw wide to first on a grounder, and 1B Arturo Disla’s throw to the plate short-hopped and evaded catcher Julian Brock.

Paul Bonzagni’s strikeout rate drifted to below 10%, but he’s not issuing walks and surrendering almost nothing but singles.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Sampson
AA: Acker
Hi-A: Montalvo
Lo-A: TBA (Rosario / Bormie maybe)

Five Years Ago Yesterday
“The fear is that he’ll let an inning get away from him, forcing an early exit and further stressing the bullpen” is what I wrote preceding Taylor Hearn’s debut, and that fear unfortunately manifested. Worse still, Hearn suffered an injury and wouldn’t pitch in another real game for 16 months. Emmanuel Clase tossed 1.1 scoreless in his AA debut.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Wednesday 24 April

My video of Max Scherzer from last night.

Waiver-claimed lefty reliever Kolton Ingram. Ingram was a $1,500 senior sign out of Columbus State in 2019’s 37th round and summarily released along with hundreds of other unneeded minor leaguers during the covid summer of 2020, so from a cosmic standpoint he’s already playing with house money. He signed with the Angels and made his MLB debut last year, allowing five earned runs in 5.2 innings. He’s since bounced to the Tigers, Mets, and Rangers, all via waivers. Ingram has an unusually broad mix for a reliever, offering a 93ish fastball, cutter, slider, sweeper, and change.

Jared Walsh declined his AAA assignment and took free agency. What a strange arc. A job-winning.250/.368/.458 spring, a nine-start on-base streak with a .314/.385/.457 to begin the season, then a 1-for-21 with 10 strikeouts that cost his employment in the organization.

Johnny Cueto will presumably join what was already the second-oldest pitching staff in AAA and become the ninth member of its over-30 club. The “back end of rotation for good team” phase of his career might have ended in 2021 with the Giants, but we’ll see. In the meantime, he’ll provide some stability to a squad that has already used 27 pitchers including 12 starters in 23 games.

Houston fell to 7-18. I can’t find any record of a team starting 7-18 and finishing with a winning record. The Juan Gonzalez-led Detroit Tigers of 2000 lead the pack at 79-83.


Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, Salt Lake (LAA) 12
Round Rock: 12 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 4 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 10-13, 5 GB

SP Max Scherzer: 2.1 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 52 P / 32 S
LF Dustin Harris: 1-3, HR (4), 2 BB, .260/.322/.429
1B Blaine Crim: 3-4, 2B, BB, .217/.360/.391

The results don’t matter. The story is Max Scherzer pitched in a real game in April, on pace for a mid or late-May return to Arlington, at least a month earlier than the most optimistic forecast from last December. Scherzer allowed two homers, one on a centered change to Jason Martin (who homered off Owen White the night before) and a top-of-zone fastball to Cole Tucker. He also missed bats on 11 of 22 swings, in particular frustrating righties with the slider. His velocity topped at 93.8. There was some concern in-game about his velo being well below normal, but the readings on the new scoreboard at the Dell Diamond aren’t linked to Statcast and are at present wildly inaccurate.

Ex-Ranger Hans Crouse threw 0.2 innings for Salt Lake and allowed an inherited run to score. Jimmy Herget closed the 9th.

AA: Frisco 2, Amarillo (ARI) 4
Frisco: 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 9-8, 2 GB

SP Ben Anderson: 6 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 77 P / 56 S, 2.45 ERA
RP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Andy Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.60 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-3, HBP, .260/.433/.380

Ben Anderson produced a quality start on just 77 pitches. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa was finally semi-mortal, surrendering his first run (albeit unearned) and walking two.

Hi-A: Hickory 4, Ashville (HOU) 1
Hickory: 9 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 6-10, 4.5 GB

SP Mitch Bratt: 6 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 8 SO, 88 P / 62 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Jackson Kelley: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.89 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, .182/.262/.255
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-3, 2B, BB, 3 SB (8), .241/.268/.333
LF Yosy Galan: 1-4, HR (4), .229/.282/.629
RF Daniel Mateo: 3-4, 2 2B, SB (3), .300/.389/.367

Per Mark Parker, Mitch Bratt looked as good as he’s ever seen, relying more heavily on the fastball to thwart the Tourists.

Sebastian Walcott is hitting .296/.406/.370  in his last seven games, a vast improvement over the opening week-plus when taking pitches was only a 50-50 proposition for a ball and swinging was 50-50 for contact. Like almost everyone on the roster, Anthony Gutierrez’s line is still in recovery mode, but he’s produced three straight two-hit games. While he’s still looking for his first homer, he hit his fifth doubles, and surpassing last year’s 11 in 78 games seems assured.

Lo-A: Down East 10, @ Fayetteville (HOU) 4
Down East: 13 hits, 8 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 9-7, 4.5 GB

SP Brayan Mendoza: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 70 P / 37 S, 3.14 ERA
RF Tommy Specht: 1-4, BB, HBP, .237/.333/.263
C Jesus Lopez: 3-6, 2B, .261/.346/.457
1B Arturo Disla: 2-5, BB, .280/.419/.360
2B Erick Alvarez: 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 SB (2)

Six Woodies reached safely three times, those listed plus LF Marcus Smith (1-3, 2 BB) and newcomer 3B Esteban Mejia (02-, 3 BB).

Today’s Starters
AAA: Leiter
AA: Krauth
Hi-A: Ramirez
Lo-A: TBA

Five Years Ago Yesterday
The Rangers announced Taylor Hearn would make his MLB debut. My summary: “I wouldn’t say he’s ready. At times, he’s struggled to throw any of his pitches for strikes, and he’s walked or hit 13 out of 84 batters faced (15%). He’s been tough to hit (.200 opposing average), but many of the hits have been hard (.414 slugging percentage). The fear is that he’ll let an inning get away from him, forcing an early exit and further stressing the bullpen. On the other hand, Hearn has struck out 26 in just 20 innings (31% rate). Despite the control lapses, he has the stuff to defeat MLB hitters and is capable of producing a line that will have you calling for his permanent addition to the rotation. I’m hopeful that he can keep Texas in the game into the middle innings and give you an idea of what’s to come.”

Hans Crouse allowed a run in six innings for low-A Hickory.






Rangers Farm Report: Games of Tuesday 23 April

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 8, Salt Lake (LAA) 5
Round Rock: 12 hits, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 10-12, 5 GB

SP Owen White: 5.1 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 85 P / 55 S, 6.62 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 7.20 ERA
DH Elier Hernandez: 3-5, HR (2), .313/.418/.522
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, 2B, .300/.328/.433

Owen White was okay, not allowing any walks until his final batter. Of note was his changeup, usually not more than a tacked-on part of his repertoire but definitely featured last night. He threw 12 and generated five misses on seven swings. To provide some context, in 52 AAA innings in 2023, White issued a total of five swinging strikes on changeups. In the 4th, he struck out Willie Calhoun and Chad Wallach with them. It has some horizontal movement but is aimed toward the center of the plate laterally, making it a string-pull that catches the bottom of the zone or lands just below. It was a pretty darn good pitch. White’s fastball has improved slightly on the whole in 2024 but still isn’t its old self and topped at 94.0 last night. If the fastball is what it is going forward, he really needs another pitch to step up, and last night, the change fulfilled that duty.

Salt Lake’s 2-3-4 hitters were ex-Rangers RF Jason Martin, 1B Charles Leblanc, and DH Calhoun. Martin took an early White mid-mid fastball deep. Also on Salt Lake is former Ranger Tyler Thomas, acquired in 2018 from the Cubs for reliever Jesse Chavez, as you doubtlessly recall. Thomas now features a side-armed slo-mo slider that is tough to time but looks hittable, and eventually it was.

Max Scherzer will make his first rehab start in Round Rock tonight. Texas signed 38-year-old RHP Johnny Cueto to a minor league deal.

AA: Frisco 7, Amarillo (ARI) 12
Frisco: 11 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 9-7, 1 GB

SP Ryan Garcia: 4.1 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 85 P / 57 S, 8.76 ERA
CF Kellen Strahm: 2-5, HR (1), .277/.351/.354
SS Max Acosta: 2-4, .286/.349/.357
3B Cody Freeman: 3-4, 2B, .255/.333/.314

Rehabbing Josh Sborz fanned two around a lined single. Podcast partner Michael Tepid captioned the first strikeout perfectly.

Hi-A: Hickory 3, Ashville (HOU) 4
Hickory: 7 hits, 4 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 5-10, 4.5 GB

SP Brock Porter: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 6 BB, 3 SO, 68 P / 31 S, 6.48 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 9.39 ERA
RP DJ McCarty: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.84 ERA
1B Tucker Mitchell: 2-3, BB, SB (1), .191/.296/.340
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-3, BB, .157/.246/.235
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-4, SB (5), .216/.231/.294
2B Ben Blackwell: 2-4, 2B, 2 SB (5), .154/.327/.231

Brock Porter. Let’s start with the good. Like last year, he has been very hard to hit. Opponents are batting .143 with a .250 slugging percentage. (Last year’s corresponding numbers were .161 and .202.) Only 63% of opposing swings result in contact.

Now the bad, which can be summed in two words: Why swing? Porter’s 46% strike rate is the worst of 143 South Atlantic League pitchers with at least 100 pitches thrown. 77% of pitches taken have been balls, well above average. He’s walked 13 and hit four more in 8.1 innings, resulting in otherworldly walk/HBP rate of 37% and opposing OBP of .467. Yes, he’s missing plenty of bats when opponents swing, but they’re only swinging at three of every ten pitches. In 2023, Brock Porter had four starts with more balls than strikes. In 2024, he already has three.

The silver lining is this is essentially an exaggerated version of 2023. In last year’s first three starts, He had a 52% strike rate, walked or hit nine in eight innings, produced an opposing line of .185/.389/.222. The rest of the season, he remained hard to hit while pulling his walk/HBP rate down to 16%, still elevated but at least at a level that would allow him to operate normally.

Lo-A: Down East 7, @ Fayetteville (HOU) 8
Down East: 10 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 8 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 8-7, 4.5 GB

SP David Davallilo: 4.2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 8 SO, 77 P / 54 S, 2.19 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .250/.429/.521
1B Arturo Disla: 2-5, 2B, .267/.411/.356
DH Jesus Lopez: 1-3, HR (2), BB, .225/.326/.425

So you like shrimp, eh? Well, have all the shrimp in the world! Alberto Mota walked the bases loaded and then walked in the winning run for Fayetteville in the 9th. Mota walked tn in 25 innings last last and struck out 41, so who knows what this is about. Gleider Figuereo continues to be one of the system’s best hitters in the early going.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Scherzer
AA: B. Anderson
Hi-A: Bratt
Lo-A: B. Mendoza

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas promoted reliever Emmanuel Clase to Frisco after six high-A appearances. A scouting report from Brandon McCarthy:

Back in the day, I used to alternate between Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Going On (shown above) and Neil Young’s On The Beach as twitter avatars, because all hip young social media influencers like make heavy use of cultural references from the early 1970s. (Now it’s a Goya painting.)

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Sunday 21 April

Note: For those who only read me via email, sorry for the delay. I was attempting some site improvements, and the news day was pretty slow.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, @ Sugar Land (HOU) 3
Round Rock: 5 hits, 7 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 5 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 9-12, 5 GB

SP Shaun Anderson: 5 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 73 P / 42 S, 1.80 ERA
RP Jonathan Hernandez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 2.70 ERA
CF Derek Hill: 2-4, 2B, HR (2), SB (3), .339/.403/.589
RF Elier Hernandez: 1-3, 2B, BB, SB (1), .290/.405/.468
1B Blaine Crim: 1-1, 3 BB, .194/.329/.371

The Space Cowboys swung at seven Jonathan Hernandez sliders and two changes. All were swinging strikes. Hernandez’s velocity remains diminished, topping at 96.2 MPH yesterday in contrast to last year’s average velocity of 97.7. The lack of velocity is a concern, but he’s been effective most of the time. Conceivably, he could stay in Round Rock on rehab until early May. (EDIT: Hernandez was activated late Monday afternoon, and RHP Owen White and C Sam Huff were optioned to AAA. Presumably C Jonah Heim will be activated Tuesday.)

Shaun Anderson spent the winter out of contract but not out of shape, delivering five innings just days after being signed. A reliever for most of his MLB career, Anderson started 25 games between AAA Lehigh Valley and Korea’s Kia in 2023.

AA: Frisco 4, @ Arkansas (SEA) 9
Frisco: 9 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 10 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 9-6, tied for first

SP Josh Stephan: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 0 SO, 42 P / 22 S, 20.25 ERA
SS Max Acosta: 2-4, .269/.339/.346
LF Geisel Cepeda: 2-3, BB, .176/.263/.176

In his 2024 debut, josh Stephan pitched a scoreless 1st but was removed during a 28-pitch, 10-strike 2nd. He’d only walked four in one game once previously, so it’s safe to say his four-walk inning is a first. Stephan missed a decent chunk of 2023 to a back injury. He’d pitched in Surprise in March but was further delayed.

He has company. Frisco leads AA with 101 combined walks and HBP in 131 innings.

So far in Frisco, Max Acosta is doing what he did in low-A and high-A, putting up numbers that don’t exactly pop off the screen but are near the league average and pretty good considering his age. Acosta will be 21 all season.

Hi-A: postponed

Hickory hosts Houston’s Asheville affiliate next.

Lo-A: canceled

Down East heads down to Fayetteville to take on Houston’s low-A partner this week.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Starts of the year to date:
Jason Bahr (hi-A), 15 April: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 SO
Tyler Phillips (hi-A), 10 April: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO
Hans Crouse (lo-A), 10 April: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO
Tyler Phillips (hi-A), 16 April: 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO
Tim Brennan (lo-A), 15 April: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO

So far in 2024, Texas’s  two A-level squads have no starts of at least six innings and only three of five or more. A different era, even if only five years ago.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Saturday 20 April

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, @ Sugar Land (HOU) 11
Round Rock: 14 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 12 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 8-12, 6 GB

SP Collin Wiles: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 62 P / 42 S, 10.80 ERA
RF Sandro Fabian: 4-5, .393/.433/.589
2B Jonathan Ornelas: 3-5, .302/.339/.434

Collin Wiles had a Jack Leiter MLB start: quick and clean odd innings, a troublesome 2nd he escaped, a troublesome 4th he couldn’t. Yerry Rodriguez (1 IP, 3 R), Jesus Tinoco (1.2 IP, 2 R), and Blake Taylor (1 IP, 1 R) couldn’t help. Florencio Serrano walked five in 0.2 innings. He had scant experience above high-A until recently.

Round Rock put 21 runners on but stranded 15 and lost two others on the bases.

AA: Frisco 8, @ Arkansas (SEA) 4 (10)
Frisco: 11 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 9-5, tied for first

SP Emiliano Teodo: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 67 P / 39 S, 3.86 ERA
RP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Triston Polley: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 6.00 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-5, 2B, .244/.418/.390
RF Josh Hatcher: 2-4, 2B, BB, SB (2), .387/.424/.484

Emiliano Teodo didn’t miss many bats but handled the Travelers without too much trouble. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa has five scoreless appearances with one walk and a 45% strikeout rate.

We’ve got a week and change to go, but Aaron Zavala is looking to slug better than any month of 2023, when he topped at .316 in May.

Hi-A: Hickory 0, @ Greensboro (PIT) 8
Hickory: 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 5-10, 3.5 GB

SP Aidan Curry: 3 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 84 P / 53 S, 7.36 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 3.00 ERA
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-4, 2B, .191/.208/.277

Aidan Curry dominated low-A but has found high-A much different, allowing at least three runs in four of five starts (including two to end 2023).

Here’s today’s puzzle: “Sebastian Walcott singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jack Brannigan. Sebastian Walcott out at 2nd, catcher Geovanny Planchart to first baseman Maikol Escotto.” What happened? Answer below.

Lo-A: Down East 0, Delmarva (BAL) 6
Down East: 4 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 8-6, 4 GB

SP Kolton Curtis: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 70 P / 46 S, 2.25 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 2.84 ERA

19-year-old Kolton Curtis found trouble for the first time in three appearances, while Saturday night partner Josh Trentadue rebounded but a rougher previous outing. Both have nice overall lines.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBA
AA: Krauth
Hi-A: Porter
Lo-A: TBA

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Sam Huff homered in both ends of Hickory’s doubleheader. Tyreque Reed doubled twice and walked for Down East. Reed batted .198/.283/.347 for AA Portland last year. He signed with an indy team recently.

Answer: Walcott grounded to shortstop, who widely overthrew first. After passing first base, Walcott turned toward second and then reversed. The ump ruled he’d committed to second, and the catcher backing up the play threw to the first baseman who tagged him out.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Friday 19 April

A fine night for the starting pitchers.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, @ Sugar Land (HOU) 3
Round Rock: 10 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Record: 8-11, 5 GB

SP Adrian Sampson: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 82 P / 61 S, 5.66 ERA
3B Dustin Harris: 2-5, 2 SB (7), .281/.319/.438
RF Sandro Fabian: 2-4, 3B, BB, .353/.400/.569

Now in the dual role of establishing his depth bona fides and saving management from having to call up me or Walter Johnson to pitch (probably Johnson), Adrian Sampson delivered seven innings on just 82 pitches. Newcomer Jimmy Robbins tossed a scoreless 8th.

Regarding Owen White’s promotion, he’s pitching better than his 7.30 ERA and better than during 2023, but under ordinary circumstances, I really doubt he’d be getting the call.

AA: Frisco 4, @ Arkansas (SEA) 0
Frisco: 7 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 1 hit, 5 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 8-5, tied for first

SP Dane Acker: 4.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 85 P / 51 S, 0.68 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 2.25 ERA
CF Kellen Strahm: 2-4, BB, .260/.356/.300
LF Geisel Cepeda: 2-3, BB, SB (1), .129/.206/.129

Frisco carried a no-hitter into the 7th. An honest liner from Hogan Windish broke it up. A preceding walk and later steal put the tying run at the plate and two in scoring position with one out, but Robby Ahlstrom fanned the next two. Dane Acker has yet to allow an extra-base hit and has strike out 37% of his opponents. I don’t know that he’s quite that good, but he’s certainly aiming toward a promotion to AAA and 40 spot. And, under the circumstances, who knows what else.

Hi-A: Hickory 5, @ Greensboro (PIT) 3
Hickory: 6 hits, 8 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 17 strikeouts
Record: 5-9, 3 GB

SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 SO, 86 P / 59 S, 0.57 ERA
RP Yohanse Morel: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 5.63 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-5, 2B, .136/.224/.227
3B Marco Soto: 1-2, 2 BB

What if Winston Santos just kept getting better until he opened new realms of math and physics with more strikeouts than batters faced? Maybe we’ll find out. Santos fanned a personal-best 12, including a stretch of nine in ten batters interrupted by a walk. He, too, has yet to allow an extra-base hit, and 40% of opponents have walked back to the dugout.

20-year-old Marco Soto was a late March acquisition from Philly in exchange for catcher Jose Godoy, himself an offseason acquisition to bolster AAA. Soto hadn’t played in full-season ball until very recently.

Lo-A: Down East 9, Delmarva (BAL) 1
Down East: 9 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 8-5, 3 GB

SP Alejandro Rosario: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 52 P / 35 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 2.53 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-5, 2B, .250/.421/.523
DH Julian Brock: 1-4, BB, .234/.308/.298
1B Arturo Disla: 1-4, 2B, BB, .278/.447/.361
C Jesus Lopez: 1-4, BB, .216/.310/.351

In his pro debut, 22-year-old Alejandro Rosario shut down the Shorebirds for four innings. Rosario posted some college numbers that might have you wondering about his fifth-round selection: a 7+ ERA in his sophomore and junior years, 22 homers and 90 BB/HBP in 134 innings. The Rangers think they can get more out of mid-90s sinker that has touched 100 (from what I’ve read) plus a slider and change.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Wiles
AA: Teodo
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: TBA (maybe Trentadue / Curtis)

Five Years Ago Yesterday
No report because of multiple rainouts.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Thursday 18 April

Had you not seen Jack Leiter professionally until yesterday, he offered a reasonable facsimile of his career to date. Periods of dominance, period of missing control and command for which he was punished.

I was amused to see him retire the first batter on two low fastballs and a change, a stark contrast to his AAA method of attack. I wasn’t expecting many cutters as Detroit offered only three lefties in its lineup, but he didn’t throw a single one. Leiter instead dealt a higher percentage of curves and changes. Leiter hadn’t recorded a called or swinging strike on a changeup in three AAA starts, but he notched two of the former and one of the latter yesterday. It’s been such an inconsequential part of his repertoire that I’ve wondered if he might ditch it, but instead it was a decent-looking and useful pitch, and in his MLB debut of all places. A notable absence was any misses on sliders. And even though he’s a power pitcher with good movement, he needs his command. The upper third of the zone (or just above it to induce swings) belongs to him. Anywhere else is a ball or potential trouble. While nothing left the yard, Detroit’s hard-hit rate against Leiter was a lofty 67%.

Although it sounds homerish in light of seven runs in 3.2 innings, I was pleased with his MLB debut. He showed what he’s capable of.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, @ Sugar Land (HOU) 7
Round Rock: 11 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 7-11, 6 GB

SP Danny Duffy: 2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 1 SO, 48 P / 24 S, 5.06 ERA
DH Blaine Crim: 2-4, HR (3), HBP, .170/.274/.358
RF Elier Hernandez: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .306/.424/.469
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-5, 2B, .271/.314/.417

Relievers Marc Church (shoulder strain) and Daniel Robert are on the IL, joining righty Tim Brennan and lefty Antoine Kelly. Jack Leiter and Cole Winn are with Texas. So, who is pitching for the Express these days. New to the organization and team are righties Collin Wiles and Shaun Anderson and lefty Jimmy Robbins.

Wiles is the familiar face, Texas’s 2012 supplemental first rounder and a Ranger for ten seasons, after which he joined the A’s and tossed 9.2 MLB innings with a 4.66 ERA. He does not appear to have pitched anywhere in 2023. Anderson is one of several hundred players the Rangers claimed and re-waived during their fallow period. He was in the organization for two weeks and made two appearances for the Express in 2021. He’d been a free agent since last November. Anderson has a 5.84 ERA in 135.2 MLB innings, most of them occurring in 2019. Texas acquired the 26-year-old Robbins for cash from the Blue Jays. The 2019 20th-rounder has limited experience in AAA, compiling a 15.00 ERA in nine innings. Walks have troubled him at the upper levels.

Blaine Crim’s poor slash line caught my eye because didn’t I realize he’d started in such a slump. On further review, he really hasn’t. All the underlying data are solid, or at least not out of the ordinary. The problem is Crim doesn’t have any base hits on grounders and is hitting only .200 on velo/angle combinations that should yield a single more often than not. That’s some seriously bad luck.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Ornelas has one of the best hard-hit rates on the team and a 90th-percentile exit velo of 104.6, but 60% of his balls in play have had a negative angle. He’s batting and slugging .278 on those, compared to a .500 average and 1.000 slugging percentage on the rest.

AA: Frisco 1, @ Arkansas (SEA) 6
Frisco: 2 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 7-5, 1 GB

SP Kohl Drake: 1.1 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 4 R, 6 BB, 3 SO, 68 P / 37 S, 27.00 ERA
RP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Andy Rodriguez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.86 ERA

Facing its own staffing issues, Frisco needed LHP Kohl Drake to start last night. Now 23, the 2022 11-rounder hadn’t pitched above low-A. Unfortunately, Drake’s occasional control issues at the lower levels were persistent last night, and both his innings exceed 30 pitches, a rarity in the minors.

Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa is off to a fine start including no walks and eight strikeouts in four scoreless innings.

Hi-A: Hickory 6, @ Greensboro (PIT) 9
Hickory: 6 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 4-9, 4 GB

SP Joseph Montalvo: 2.1 IP, 5 H (6.75 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 65 P / 35 S, 6.75 ERA
RF Yeison Morrobel: 1-3, BB, HBP, .250/.386/.333
LF Quincy Scott: 1-4, HR (1), .143/.211/.257
C Ian Moller: 2-3, 2B, BB, .174/.240/.261

Yeison Morrobel is tracking closely to his 2023 so far: plenty of walks (or HBPs), a respectable strikeout rate, not so much power. He’s a young 20 and fairly inexperienced for the level, having missed most of last season in low-A to injuries.

Lo-A: Down East 8, Delmarva (BAL) 2
Down East: 11 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 7-5, 3 GB

SP Jose Gonzalez: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO, 64 P / 43 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Case Matter: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.86 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, 2 BB, .231/.423/.513
1B Arturo Disla: 2-5, 2B, .281/.452/.344
DH Jesus Lopez: 1-3, HR (1), BB, .212/.297/.364

22-year-old Jose Gonzalez struck out nine of 13 batters. Last year, he threw four pitches in low-A. I’m not describing his repertoire. I mean he threw four pitches, retiring the one batter he faced. Prior to that, he posted a 5.40 ERA in 30 complex innings, but the peripheral were better.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Sampson
AA: Acker
Hi-A: Santos
Lo-A: TBA

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas recalled lefty Brett Martin for his MLB debut. He would throw a scoreless 9th in a 7-2 loss to Houston. Martin missed all of 2023 with a shoulder injury and became a free agent. Best as I can tell, he remains unsigned.