AAA: Round Rock 6, @ Sacramento (SFO) 3
Round Rock: 11 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 37-36, eliminated
SP Adrian Sampson: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 10 SO, 98 P / 68 S, 4.73 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 19.29 ERA
DH Justin Foscue: 1-4, HR (1), .200/.429/.350
C Sam Huff: 2-4, 2B, .250/.335/.431
Josh Jung ceased his rehab at Round Rock and joined the Rangers but only as an observer. Apparently he’s a little sore and hopes to feel better in a few days. He’s just like you and me!
Although his velocities remained lower than 2023, Josh Sborz produced his best rehab outing, fanning the side around a walk.
Justin Foscue lined a homer to left.
AA: Frisco 3, @ Midland (OAK) 4
Frisco: 4 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Record: 44-24, division champion
SP Dane Acker: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 90 P / 57 S, 3.00 ERA
2B Max Acosta: 1-3, HR (2), .265/.328/.365
Dane Acker has made 12 AA starts in each of the last two seasons. The rate stats are remarkably similar, with the primary difference being slightly longer outings this season. He’s marginally improved to both his walk and strikeout rates. Avoiding hits (and extra-base hits) is his specialty, avoiding walks not so much. I’m hopeful he could see some AAA action which might provide clarity on whether he’ll be a 40-man addition. I haven’t thought about how many spots might be available, but in terms of potential additions, I’m not expecting a long list.
Midland (39-29) has the fourth-best record in AA, but their division rival is best.
Hi-A: Hickory 2, Bowling Green (TAM) 9
Hickory: 10 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 29-39 overall
SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 81 P / 55 S, 2.80 ERA
2B Cam Cauley: 3-5, 2B, 3B, .228/.285/.345
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-3, 3B, BB, .236/.340/.389
Winston Santos called back to 2023 last night, recording his fewest strikeouts and swinging strikes of the season. Had he struck out eight (admittedly on the high side of expectations), he would have matched last year’s total of 88 Ks in just half a season. Santos’s walk rate is slightly higher than last year, but he’s actually improved his strike rate and is missing far more bats. The tradeoff is strongly in his favor.
Lo-A: Down East 2, @ Fredericksburg (WAS) 6
Down East: 5 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 0-2, 35-32 overall
SP Alejandro Rosario: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 84 P / 59 S, 2.11 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.75 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 3-4, .257/.345/.374
LF Jojo Blackmon: 2-4, HR (2), SB (4), .174/.216/.290
I happened to be in the DC area for a few days and decided to visit Fredericksburg to watch Alejandro Rosario and his Down East pals. Last year’s fifth-rounder from Miami posted pretty bad numbers for the Canes outside of a high strikeout rate, but Texas liked the stuff. So far, he’s been one of the best stories of the season, dominating low-A and improving his control as dramatically as you’ll likely to ever see. His 16% BB/HBP rate as a college junior has declined to 4% in low-A.
Rosario threw a four and two-seamer in the 95-98 range, an 82-86 slider, and 89-92 changeup that I’m told classifies as a splitter per Statcast. Purely in terms of excitement, the four-seamer stands out, but he also offers a sinker that he can move around the zone. As for the other pitches, let me first explain that I saw two Rosarios last night. In innings 1-3, he missed only two bats out of 46 pitches thrown, both on fastballs for strikeouts. Otherwise, he thrived on inducing weak contact in the form of eight grounders and four popups. Rosario nearly didn’t finish the 3rd because of some hole-finding grounders and frankly dire defense behind him, although both runs scoring that inning would be judged as earned. The slider had some slurvy, loopy action that tallied a fair number of calls and fouls but didn’t look like a bat-misser. The change was virtually absent.
The Rosario of innings 4-5 decided less contact was in order. He would miss 13 bats out of 21 swings and 34 pitches thrown. The slider began to dip more away from righties and into the feet of righties. He would end up with seven swinging strikes with the slider compared to five on the fastball and two on the change, which became more common in the later innings and was also effective. He struck out the side after a leadoff double in the 4th, and in the 5th, he added a K of Elijah Greene, 2022’s fifth-overall pick (but struggling badly). Unfortunately, the less-frequent contact would be harder. Three consecutive two-out, two-strike hits, two of them lined doubles, would end his night.
The final line included a season-high seven hits and five runs, but I was duly impressed. He reached three balls only once. The splitter looked like a straightforward, firm change to me, but regardless, it has the makings of a genuine third pitch, not just a tag-along. Rosario has excellent control, a good sense of command (especially for the level), and some old-fashioned power. The Carolina League is a generous environment for pitchers, and we’ll need to see him at a higher level before getting too excited, but the attention is definitely warranted.
23-year-old Bryan Magdaleno doesn’t have a short delivery or deception or a ton of movement (at least to my eyes) or anything fancy. He just rears back and throws upper-90s fastballs mixed with some mid-80s sliders and says “you might be able to hit this but I really doubt it.” Magdaleno has a 35% strikeout and 15% BB/HBP rate, quintessential A-level relief figures nowadays.
Offensively, well, Down East was quiet most of the game. In the 9th, Arturo Disla poked a single to right-center, and Jojo Blackmon followed with a homer the same direction. June isn’t treating the undrafted 23-year-old Disla well, but on the whole he’s showing some patience and plate-coverage skills, if not as much power as you’d prefer from a 1B. Disla is as locked into first as anyone in the organization. It’s probably my imagination, but he might have added some pounds to an already sizable frame since I saw him in March. As for Blackmon, now 21 and picked in 2021’s 11th round, 2024 has been a trial. Repeating low-A, his already-high K rate has increased to 40%, and his once-considerable patience has vanished.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Leiter
AA: Teodo
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
A teaser as the headline. “Hickory’s starting pitcher is listed as TBD.But here’s a question: who would you like to pitch for Hickory today? Maybe someone well-regarded, with a quirky delivery, who’s been absent for a month? That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
Said person is back in the bigs for the first time in three years, and certainly in better position to stay for a while, His MLB debut timing was strange. Take a guess and click for the answer.