AAA: Round Rock 1, El Paso (SDP) 9
Round Rock: 4 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 29-25, 5.5 GB
SP Kyle Barraclough: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 2 SO, 84 P / 45 S, 4.43 ERA
C Sam Huff: 2-4, 2B, .261/.364/.479
A virtual repeat of Wednesday’s 8-0 loss plus no internet in the media booth, leaving voice Rylan Kobre to wonder if he was talking to himself. (He wasn’t; MiLB.tv had the feed, not that he had much positive to describe.) The repeat included Antoine Kelly failing to complete an inning because of wildness (two walks) and hard-hit balls (two at 103+ off the bat). The upside is Kelly did rediscover his velocity, throwing 94-98 instead of Wednesday’s 87-94.
AA: Frisco 4, @ San Antonio (SDP) 1
Frisco: 7 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 32-17, 3 G up
SP Nick Krauth: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 75 P / 54 S, 5.86 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2.31 ERA
C Cooper Johnson: 1-3, HR (4), BB, .242/.333/.470
LF Geisel Cepeda: 2-3, BB, SB (5), .213/.295/.298
Frisco won a seventh straight while trailing Midland lost both ends of a doubleheader to Corpus Christi, the worst team in the league. Former Tiger Cooper Johnson is the second catcher but ranks third on the team in homers behind Cody Freeman (6) and Josh Hatcher (5).
Hi-A: Hickory 4, @ Winston-Salem (CHW) 1
Hickory: 10 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 20-29, 8 GB
SP Joseph Montalvo: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 62 P / 45 S, 2.50 ERA
RP Jackson Kelley: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.55 ERA
C Ian Moller: 2-2, 2 BB, SB (6), .212/.325/.288
LF Yosy Galan: 2-3, BB, .165/.271/.348
3B Ben Blackwell: 3-4, 2B, .185/.287/.235
For the first time, Hickory record dougle-digit hits in three consecutive games. I can’t perform any statistical trickery to get you to believe Ian Moller’s line is good, but he is hitting about the same as last year but at a higher level, and he had a nice May (.254/.360/.349).
After fanning 11 last week, Joseph Montalvo showed he can be effective without them, too. Montalvo is very fly-prone and not immune to homers, but plenty of strikeouts and few walks have more than compensated for that.
Lo-A: Down East 2, Fredericksburg (WAS) 6
Down East: 4 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 26-22, 4.5 GB
SP Jose Gonzalez: 6 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 63 P / 50 S, 1.38 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, BB, .222/.347/.462
Gonzalez tossed a career-high six innings on only 63 pitches, of which the Nationals swung at an absurd 70%. He’s struck out 41 against just seven walks in 32.2 innings. The 22-year-old out of Venezuela had a fairly generic career leading into 2024 and certainly has the system’s most generic name, so I’m not an expert on his background. Here’s an older highlight video.
2023 7th-round righty Izack Tiger made his belated debut for the rookies last night, allowing a run on three hits in two innings. Last year, Tiger made enough of an impression to join to Down East roster for the playoffs after a handful of complex-league outings.
Today’s Starters
AAA: White
AA: Acker
Hi-A: Santos
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Jonathan Hernandez had his best AA start, striking out ten and walking none in seven scoreless innings. “Something to build on, I hope.” Well, hmm, about that: Hernandez’s next six starts would produce a 6.25 ERA and matching peripherals, and by August he’d move into a relief role.