AAA: Round Rock 3, Reno (ARI) 2 (7)
Round Rock: 8 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 24-18, tied for first
SP Gerson Garabito: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 87 P / 59 S, 2.05 ERA
RP Grant Wolfram: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 6.59 ERA
LF Dustin Harris: 2-3
AAA: Round Rock 4, Reno (ARI) 1 (7)
Round Rock: 7 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 1 hit, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 25-18, 3.5 GB
SP Owen White: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 70 P / 41 S, 5.02 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.22 ERA
RF Sandro Fabian: 2-3, HR (4), .333/.379/.539
DH Sam Huff: 1-2, 2B, BB, .259/.348/.509
LF Dustin Harris: 1-2, BB, .276/.363/.428
Round Rock held the Aces to four hits in a doubleheader sweep. Owen White’s control wasn’t pristine, but he avoided excessive hard contact and missed ten bats, seven on cutters. Garabito has a 30% strikeout rate in AAA and is missing a ton of bats with his slider and curve. Garabito didn’t pitch anywhere outside of winter ball in 2022-2023 and hadn’t shown this combination of high strikeouts and solid control at any point of his career. He’s been quite the find.
Minnesota released righty AJ Alexy from AA Wichita. The ex-Ranger had walked or hit 29 batters in 18.1 innings following similarly rough control with the White Sox in 2023.
AA: Frisco 3, @ Amarillo (ARI) 4
Frisco: 10 hits, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 23-14, 1.5 GB
SP Dane Acker: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 SO, 91 P / 57 S, 3.16 ERA
3B Cody Freeman: 2-4, 2B, .296/.341/.496
2B Keyber Rodriguez: 3-4, 2B, .311/.333/.578
Caleb Roberts’s two-out homer in the 9th off Florencio Serrano ended it. Serrano is one of a handful of pitchers shifting frequently between levels to aid where needed, and while AA isn’t completely out of his range, I don’t think he’d be there under ordinary circumstances.
Dane Acker fanned a career-high nine in just 4.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .205/.315/.321. Acker has one best start and one walk-filled out of seven; the rest have been very strong. I would expect a decent number of AAA starts down the road. Acker was under consideration for a 40 spot last winter (although his omission wasn’t a surprise) and has a good shot again in 2024.
SS Max Acosta (1-2) was injured sliding into second on a double-play grounder and removed.
Hi-A: Hickory 3, Greensboro (PIT) 0 (7)
Hickory: 6 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 1 hit, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Record: 13-24, tied for first
SP Joseph Montalvo: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 79 P / 48 S, 2.77 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.27 ERA
RF Quincy Scott: 2-3, SB (3), .194/.263/.258
DH Yeison Morrobel: 1-2, BB
1B Konnor Piotto: 2-3, ` 2B, .239/.337/.380
Hi-A: Hickory 7, Greensboro (PIT) 5 (7)
Hickory: 6 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 14-24, 7 GB
SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 9 SO, 83 P / 52 S, 1.70 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-1, 2 BB, .184/.306/.289
RF Yeison Morrobel: 3-3, 2 HR (4), .250/.329/.391
Yeison Morrobel doubled last year’s homer total in one game. He had seven homers in 172 pro games before then, but I persist in believing there’s more in the tank, and maybe we’re finally seeing it. After some up-and-down outings, Montalvo has been nearly flawless his last two times out.
Winston Santos:
2023: 10% BB/HBP, 20% SO
2024: 9% BB/HBP, 36% SO
Lo-A: wet
Two today.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Solomon
AA: Teodo
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: TBA x 2
Five Years Ago Yesterday
At high-A Down East, John King had the best start in the system to date: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 SO.