Finally home. I spent Friday night in Santa Fe visiting an old friend and most of Saturday in transport, so I didn’t have time for a report until last night. Friday’s games are here: a fairly light day, headlined by some info on Antoine Kelly.
Texas’s new A-level affiliate in Spartanburg, SC, will be known as the Hub City Spartanburgers.
The name isn’t new; a summer collegiate team known simply as the Spartanburgers played there in 2021, and the new team bought the trademark. You can guess the primary mascot, who lacks a name at present. There’s also a spatula (Flip) and pickle (Chip). Hub City is an old nickname derived from the many railroads leading into the city. Primary colors are navy and bright green plus some orange, red, yellow, and brown. That’s a mishmash, but hey, burgers have many colors. There are seven different logos because of course there are, but the uniform tops are simple and sharp, in my opinion.
Hub City will replace Down East in 2025. As it stands, the affiliation is low-A, but I suppose they could swap with high-A Hickory, as Spartanburg is a more heavily populated metropolitan area, and a switch would only minimally affect travel in their respective leagues.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 4, Las Vegas (OAK) 3
Round Rock: 6 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Record: 21-16, 3.5 GB
SP Shaun Anderson: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 71 P / 44 S, 2.53 ERA
RP Aidan Anderson: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0.77 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-3, BB, SB (1), .236/.342/.409
Two the the four Andersons in the organization combined for seven strong innings. As I’ve mentioned, Blaine Crim is hitting better than his slash stats suggest. He actually has the best hard-hit rate on the team, but he seems to be having terrible luck on avoiding enemy gloves.
AA: Frisco 12, San Antonio (SDP) 2
Frisco: 13 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 21-11, tied for first
SP Emiliano Teodo: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 SO, 82 P / 54 S, 2.60 ERA
CF Kellen Strahm: 3-4, 3B, BB, SB (6), .287/.378/.374
C Liam Hicks: 3-5, .227/.331/.291
Emiliano Teodo fanned a season-high nine. He missed 15 bats: 10 sliders, 3 changes, 2 fastballs. I’ve been deeply skeptical of his potential as a starter because of his control, command, and lack of a useful third pitch, but he’s made some serious progress in 2024. While his walk rate is still elevated at 14%, he’s spotting his pitches better, and the change, although still fairly infrequent, has become a genuine bat-misser. He’s yet to allow a homer, and the opposing slash is a meager .188/.297/.208.
Hi-A: Hickory 3, @ Greenville (BOS) 2
Hickory: 4 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 12-19, 4.5 GB
SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 88 P / 61 S, 1.41 ERA
RP Yohanse Morel: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 9.37 ERA
RP Larson Kindreich: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 1.54 ERA
Hickory’s oft-dormant offense had been no-hit through five by Juan Daniel Encarnacion but recorded all four hits and three runs in the 6th against Adam Smith. So much for the invisible hand.
Winston Santos had a nice night bookended by some hiccups: back-to-back triples in the 1st (aided somewhat by Greenville’s Fenway-aping dimensions) and consecutive two-out walks in the 5th before a final strikeout. Yohanse Morel and Larson Kindreich aren’t particularly walk-averse but were on point Saturday with a one-run lead.
Sebastian Walcott walked twice. He still isn’t hitting that much but has improved his walk rate to 14% and isn’t striking out as often.
Lo-A: Down East 4, Lynchburg (CLE) 3
Down East: 5 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 14-17, 7.5 GB
SP Alejandro Rosario: 5 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 71 P / 42 S, 2.20 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 2.08 ERA
DH Jesus Lopez: 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, .318/.385/.435
With two out in the 8th, Erick Alvarez doubled in Gleider Figuereo to tie the game at three, and Jesus Lopez would later scamper home to take the lead on a wild pitch.
Down East is by far the best pitching staff in the league for stinginess with runners in scoring position (.179/.296/.245). That’s not a realistic line going forward, but for now, it’s keeping them in games.
Today’s Starters
AAA: TBA
AA: Stephan
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Hickory infielder Tyler Depreta-Johnson threw two innings, allowing a gift-runner to score in the 12th but shutting down Charleston in the 13th. He then dropped a squeeze bunt to bring home the winning run. Not only had he never pitched professionally, he didn’t pitch in college, and I couldn’t even find an occasion in high school. He would make four more mound appearance in 2019, at least getting by in all but one. He was released in the Great Purge of 2020 (when teams released many players in light of impending contraction and the unlikelihood of a minor league season) but is still active, currently playing for indy Schaumburg.