Month: June 2024

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, @ Oklahoma City (LAD) 6 (7)
Round Rock: 4 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts

SP Jack Leiter: 3 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 3 SO, 72 P / 46 S, 4.63 ERA

AAA: Round Rock 11, @ Oklahoma City (LAD) 10 (7)
Round Rock: 12 hits, 9 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 31-28, 6.5 GB

SP Johnny Cueto: 1.1 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 7 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 52 P / 29 S, 6.06 ERA
RP Chasen Shreve: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.42 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 1-3, HR (6), .251/.351/.390
DH Davis Wendzel: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .286/.394/.519
RF Sandro Fabian: 2-3, HR (7), 2 BB, .318/.376/.536
2B Jax Biggers: 2-3, 3B, BB, .268/.408/.341

Three Jack Leiters pitched yesterday afternoon. Leiter One barely escaped the 1st, allowing four runs on six hits. His fastball tended to drift lower within the zone, an often dangerous area for him. Four hits (including one over the fence) came after 1B Davis Wendzel couldn’t quite snare a sharp two-out liner, but I wouldn’t pin anything on him. Although the bullpen was active, Leiter was permitted to face another batter with 31 pitches on his ledger, a point at which I think most in the system would be pulled. Leiter Two finished the 2nd on just eight pitches, fanning one and misses three bats (and for the evening, Leiter had six swinging strikes out of nine swings with his slider). Leiter Three needed 29 pitches in the 3rd and walked the bases loaded before inducing a final popup.

Consecutive iffy outings should scotch the idea of returning to the Majors for the time being. Obviously, I don’t want him to fail, but some level stability might suit him. Rediscover the early season success, build on that, then see what if any role might be available to him on a big league club that (I hope) will be contending for the postseason with several currently IL’ed pitchers back on the mound.

Johnny Cueto decided not to take free agency at the beginning of the month, giving Texas a few more chances to decide whether to bring him up. Last night won’t help. Three walks preceded a Trey Sweeney slam in the 1st, and three of four batters reached safely in the 2nd.

Opponents are batting .069/.191/.13 against 33-year-old Chasen Shreve. He’s yet to allow a hit on a grounder. He has the team’s best first-strike rate at an amazing 78%, but he’s walked nine batters in 19 innings. Best as I can tell, he hadn’t thrown a pitch harder than 91.7 MPH until last night, when he threw six exceeding that speed and topping at 93.3. Shreve had taken free agency at the end of April but re-signed two weeks later. I have no idea what any of this means.

AA: Frisco 3, @ Corpus Christi (HOU) 0
Frisco: 6 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 35-19, 3 G up

SP Ben Anderson: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 78 P / 52 S, 4.15 ERA
RP Steven Jennings: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.89 ERA
RP Tyler Owens: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.18 ERA
DH Liam Hicks: 0-2, BB, 2 HBP, SB (1), .269/.380/.339
2B Max Acosta: 2-3, BB, SB (10), .248/.311/.321

Ben Anderson and friends combined on a four-hit shutout. Liam Hicks didn’t have another multi-hit game but managed to get plunked twice. That’s a decent part of his on-base repertoire, but the Rangers don’t have anyone in the top 100 in the minors in HBP. San Antonio’s Ripken Reyes is second in the minors with 16 following last year’s unearthly 49.

Hi-A: Hickory 9, Greenville (BOS) 4
Hickory: 10 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 23-31, 8 GB

SP Mitch Bratt: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 3 SO, 83 P / 52 S, 5.18 ERA
RP Luis Ramirez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.12 ERA
SS Cam Cauley: 2-4, HR (2), .192/.242/.292
C Konnor Piotto: 2-3, BB, SB (5), .247/.308/.381
RF Anthony Gutierrez: 3-4, 3B, .287/.320/.415

Cam Cauley drilled his second homer, and Anthony Gutierrez tripled to the right-center gap for the second time in three days (if not quite so hard, and with some assistance from the CF).

Texas released righty Yohanse Morel, acquired in 2022 for reliever Albert Abreu. He’d spent his entire time with the Rangers at Hickory, showing improvement last year and even garnering some ink from Baseball America for his “breakout slider.” Control problems persisted, however, and two years after the trade he seemed no closer to promotion to AA. Morel would have been able to declare free agency after the season. He’s been replaced in Hickory by 2019 32nd-rounder Michael Brewer, who split between Frisco and Hickory last year.

Lo-A: Down East 3, @ Salem (BOS) 7
Down East: 7 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 29-24, 3.5 GB

SP Paul Bonzagni: 3.2 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 6 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 75 P / 50 S, 4.32 ERA
RP Kohl Drake: 4 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 2.25 ERA
C Julian Brock: 2-4, 2B, .230/.297/.321

Only half of the Bonzagni/Drake tandem found success last night, as the former allowed more than three runs for the first time. Last year’s 12th-rounder pitched mostly in relief for Southern Illinois and Weatherford College. Drake has 51 strikeouts and just seven walks in 32 innings. He’s a 2022 11th-rounder from Walters State Community College in Tennessee, where Brett Martin and Chad Bell are fellow alumni.

Today’s Starters
AAA: White
AA: Krauth
Hi-A: Montalvo
Lo-A: TBA (Gonzalez / Larsen due up)

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas Tech SS Josh Jung was 2-5 with a solo homer in an 8-6 win over Oklahoma State. 2nd-rounder Ryan Garcia of top-ranked UCLA allowed three runs in a surprising 3-2 loss to Michigan. In the old days (2019), the college season didn’t end until after the draft.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, @ Oklahoma City (LAD) 3
Round Rock: 6 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 30-27, 6 GB

SP Adrian Sampson: 5 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 93 P / 56 S, 4.37 ERA
RP Brock Burke: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.86 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.89 ERA
RP Grant Wolfram: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.79 ERA
LF Dustin Harris: 1-4, BB, SB (14), .256/.358/.383
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 1-3, BB, SB (4), .264/.310/.358

Sampson was Sampson, and three relievers combined to no-hit the Baseball Club* and maintain the one-run lead. Technically, this was the completion of Tuesday’s suspended game, and as the announced starter, Jack Leiter appears in the box first with a bunch of zeros trailing after his name. I suppose that since he completed his pre-game warmup at least once, maybe twice, Texas decided not to send him out the next day. What was supposed be a doubleheader was truncated to a single game, and they’ll play two today, headlined by Leiter.

IF Justin Foscue (oblique) returned to action with the rookies in Surprise, collecting a single and walk in five trips to the plate.

* That’s the name. Oklahoma City Baseball Club.

AA: Frisco 4, @ Corpus Christi (HOU) 8
Frisco: 9 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 34-19, 3 G up

SP Ryan Garcia: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 93 P / 51 S, 4.81 ERA
C Liam Hicks: 3-4, 2B, BB, .272/.374/.343
SS Frainyer Chavez: 2-3, BB, 2 SB (11), .253/.355/.342

Frisco lost again to the mighty Hooks, but second-place Midland lost as well. Liam Hicks has four multi-hit games in his last seven. Hicks began the season with five straight two-hit games, but between those hot stretches he batted .194/.313/.242. Still, he’s the answer to a question perhaps only I would ask: What if Hanser Alberto could draw walks? Hicks doesn’t smash the ball but has a .272 average built on a remarkable 10% strikeout rate, and he’s walked or been hit in 15% of his plate appearances.

Hi-A: Hickory 4, Greenville (BOS) 0
Hickory: 7 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 22-31, 7.5 GB

SP Ryan Lobus: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 80 P / 56 S, 1.99 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 3.74 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-3, HR (4), .208/.333/.346
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 1-2, 2B, HBP, 2 SB (13), .267/.302/.378

Sebastian Walcott banged his fourth homer and improved his OBP to an even .333, above the league rate of .327. Quite impressive for someone who won’t turn 19 until next March. Five years older but also impressive is Ryan Lobus, who has struck out 55 and walked 10 in 40 innings amongst Hickory and Down East.

Hickory played as the Llamas last night, part of MiLB’s “Copa de la Diversión,” described as “a season-long event series specifically designed to embrace the culture and values that resonate most with Minor League Baseball teams’ local U.S. Hispanic communities.” I’d say it’s as much about selling more merchandise as anything, but some of the designs (including Hickory’s) are glorious, and I own a Llama shirt, so who am I to judge. I have a Llama logo for you today as a little treat, because you’ve been so polite and picked up after yourself.

Lo-A: Down East 11, @ Salem (BOS) 2
Down East: 15 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 29-23, 3.5 GB

SP Brayan Mendoza: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 77 P / 48 S, 2.61 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.46 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 3-4, BB, .239/.352/.483
DH Jesus Lopez: 2-5, 2B,, HR (3), .293/.348/.423
C Beycker Barroso: 4-4, 3B, HR (1), BB, SB (1), .353/.500/.647
2B Chandler Pollard: 3-4, 2B, 2 SB (19), .241/.291/.276

Gleider Figuereo posted his first three-hit game of the year. Fresh off the IL, Jesus Lopez knocked his third homer and doubled. Chandler Pollard is hitting .308/.352/.354 since the end of April. His power and walks remain down from last season in the complex league, but he’s resumed his contact.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Leiter / Cueto
AA: B. Anderson
Hi-A: Bratt
Lo-A: TBA

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas announced lefty Joe Palumbo would make his MLB debut in a doubleheader against Oakland. My thoughts at the time: “Palumbo isn’t what I’d call fully ready, but he’s probably the best choice… He’s a work in progress, incorporating a new changeup grip and occasionally struggling with his control. Still, he’s had the best season of Texas’s top-four rotation prospects. At times, he’s been dominant. If he can give four or five innings and keep the Rangers in the game, I’ll be happy.” He did that, more or less, giving up four runs in his fourth and final inning after three zeros. Texas led 6-4 and would go on to win 10-5.

More recently, Palumbo had been out of baseball for nearly a year after the Rangers released him in May 2023. He signed with indy Hagerstown in April but was released yesterday, having walked 17 and allowed 13 runs in 15.1 innings. 1B Curtis Terry and RHP Nick Gardewine are also with Hagerstown.

Box Scores

AAA: wet

Round Rock and Oklahoma City waited over an hour because of light rain, but heavier rain fell within five minutes of the first pitch. Blaine Crim splashed an RBI double to left before the umps suspended the proceedings in the middle of the 1st at OKC. They’ll finish this one today and add a seven-inning contest afterwards. We’ll see if originally scheduled starter Jack Leiter takes the mound or is pushed back.

AA: Frisco 1, @ Corpus Christi (HOU) 7
Frisco: 5 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 34-18, 3 G up

SP Josh Stephan: 4.2 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 82 P / 52 S, 5.79 ERA
RP Bryan Chi: 3.1 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 5.25 ERA

Break up the Hooks. Corpus Christi was 15-30 eight days ago but took five of six at then-division-leading Midland and stopped Frisco’s nine-game winning streak last night. Josh Stephan allowed three runners and faced two over the minimum through the 4th on just 52 pitches, but he couldn’t escape the 5th.

Hi-A: Hickory 5, Greenville (BOS) 3
Hickory: 9 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 21-31, 8.5 GB

SP DJ McCarty: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 85 P / 51 S, 4.18 ERA
SS Cam Cauley: 1-3, BB, 2 SB (5), .188/.242/.268
3B Sebastian Walcott: 3-4, 2B, .199/.328/.321

On an 0-2 count, Anthony Gutierrez (1-4) gapped center and right perfectly for a two-run triple in the 8th to regain the lead. Earlier, Sebastian Walcott doubled in Cam Cauley, and Alejandro Osuna and Yosy Galan executed a delayed double steal with Galan sliding home.

Cauley has a six-game hitting streak with a .320/.393/.440 line. Like several of his teammates, he’s been hitting better lately. Hickory has a solid .271/.334/.412 line over the last two-plus weeks.

Lo-A: Down East 5, @ Salem (BOS) 6
Down East: 11 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 28-23, 4.5 GB

SP David Davallilo: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 78 P / 48 S, 1.88 ERA
SS Echedry Vargas: 2-5, 2B, 2 SB (8), .242/.304/.355
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-5, 2B, 3B, .227/.343/.477
C Julian Brock: 2-4, BB, SB (3), .224/.293/.311

Down East scored single runs in each of the last five innings, but Salem scored in four of those innings and walked off victorious with an RBI single against a drawn-in infield. The Woodies stole six bases against various pitchers and catcher Brooks Brannon, making his first full-season appearance of 2024.

Catcher Julian Brock, a fairly advanced college hitter out of Louisiana Lafayette in 2023’s 8th round, is hitting .254/.342/.409 over the last 30 days after a slower start. He also snared an extremely wild pitch in the 9th that would have scored the winning run for Salem, although his heroics ultimately only delayed defeat.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Leiter? / Sampson
AA: Garcia
Hi-A: Lobus
Lo-A: TBA

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Both the parent club and AAA Nashville lost 12-11. The Rangers were down 8-2 early and scored six in the 9th to close the gap against Baltimore, while Nashville’s Josh Fields allowed four 9th-inning homers in Reno to relinquish an 11-7 lead. Fields, a May free-agent pickup, was actually decent more often than not, but the bad days were epic. He would be released and out of pro ball by the end of the month.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 0, El Paso (SDP) 7
Round Rock: 5 hits, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 29-27, 5.5 GB

SP Peter Solomon: 4.1 IP, 8 H (3 HR), 7 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 88 P / 56 S, 6.00 ERA
RP Cole Winn: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.26 ERA
CF Jose Barrero: 2-3, .163/.247/.349

The Express were 2-4 against the Chihuahuas including three losses by at least seven runs. After two weeks averaging 3.2 runs per game, Round Rock has fallen to last in the league in runs scored, a ranking that holds even after adjusting for park effects. Honestly, the offense isn’t that bad, certainly better than Salt Lake and roughly equal to three or four others in terms of underlying numbers, but the partial or total absences of JP Martinez, Justin Foscue, Elier Hernandez, and Davis Wendzel from the 2023 squad have made a large difference. Cole Winn was quietly effective again.

Incidentally, after a three-game acclimation to Japan with the farm club, Hernandez is hitting .375/.423/.542 in six games with Yomiuri. The Central League is batting a miserly .235/.298/.324 and scoring 2.96 runs per game, so Hernandez might already be the league MVP.

Johnny Cueto was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week for last Thursday’s six scoreless innings. Not quite on par with his complete game in the 2015 World Series, but close. Cueto had a June 1 opt-out but per local media has given the Rangers another three days to decide whether to call him up. I don’t have a strong opinion. The statcast data underlying his swell top-line numbers (2.40 ERA, 2 BB, 11 SO in 15 innings) is just okay. He could probably replace a couple of pitchers on the roster without any harm, but it’s hard to see him making a sizable difference in the club’s future.

AA: Frisco 5, @ San Antonio (SDP) 2
Frisco: 11 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 34-17, 4 G up

SP Emiliano Teodo: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 4 SO, 76 P / 46 S, 2.06 ERA
RP Andy Rodriguez: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2.73 ERA
RF Josh Hatcher: 3-5, .315/.354/.470
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 2-4, .299/.353/.494
C Cooper Johnson: 2-2, 2 BB, .265/.367/.485

The Riders cannot be stopped, contained, impeded, hindered, forestalled, or fettered. An eighth straight victory placed them four up with 18 to play in the first half. During this stretch, they haven’t allowed more than three runs. Next, Frisco visits Corpus Christi, which holds the league’s worst record but did just take five of six on the road from formerly division-leading Midland.

Emiliano Teodo walked three and hit two, tying for his most free passes issued this season, but managed to complete five inning on an efficient count.

Hi-A: Hickory 7, @ Winston-Salem (CHW) 9
Hickory: 9 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 20-31, 9 GB

SP Aidan Curry: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 77 P / 51 S, 9.27 ERA
LF Yosy Galan: 1-3, BB, SB (12), .179/.282/.366
C Konnor Piotto: 2-3, HR (2), HBP, .234/.333/.372

Hickory averaged 5.7 runs and 10.8 hits per game last week, easily the season highs in any series, but could only effect a split with the Dash. True, Hickory’s outburst came against the league’s worst pitching, but let’s not quibble. Unlike Teodo, Aidan Curry has struggled with efficiency. He’s averaged 20.8 pitches per inning, resulting in only one start of more than four innings.

Lo-A: Down East 9, Fredericksburg (WAS) 6
Down East: 13 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 28-22, 4.5 GB

SP Kolton Curtis: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 69 P / 47 S, 1.95 ERA
RP Victor Simeon: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5.14 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-5, .222/.342/.461
1B Arturo Disla: 3-4, 2B, .281/.378/.444
2B Chandler Pollard: 2-4, 2B, SB (17), .223/.279/.250

Down East took four of six from second-place Fredericksburg but lost two games in the standings to Carolina, which swept lowly Delmarva. Kolton Curtis isn’t striking out everyone in sight (21%) but has held the opposition in check quite well. He’s undrafted and at 19 (now 20) was the youngest pitcher on the staff entering the season.

I’d mentioned the high error counts of Echedry Vargas and Gleider Figuereo, and in re-running the league numbers I do find the Wood Ducks slightly worse than average in errors, but they compensate in terms of turning balls in play into outs, turning double players, and avoiding an excess of stolen bases and passed balls. On the whole, it’s an average defense. Figuereo has maintained his much-improved power this season.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
I wrote a draft preview. Here’s a quick summary of everyone linked to the Rangers at the time. Quicker summary: Texas did just fine.

SS CJ Abrams (6th, Padres, 4.6 WAR) — Rushed to the Majors, took a while to get his feet under him but was able to stick at short, lacking OBP but plenty of power and speed.

LHP Nick Lodolo (7th, Reds, 3.9 WAR) — The former Horned Frog undermines a decent walk rate with a slew of hit batters, and he can be homer-prone, but he’s not why Cincy is in last. He’s looking like a fine pick.

3B Josh Jung (8th, Rangers, 3.0 WAR) — The consensus pick, and obviously Texas’s selection. The injuries are annoying, but he’s developed the hope-for power and defended perhaps more ably than expected. A solid selection.

OF Hunter Bishop (10th, Giants) — This poor guy is living the worst timeline. Lost 2020 to covid (along with everyone else), then several months to a shoulder injury in 2021, then all of 2023 to elbow surgery. He’s in AAA now but is batting .242/.325/.394 on a corner and turns 26 this month. 

LHP Alek Manoah (11th, Blue Jays, 7.4 WAR) — The standard-setter for a while. Lights-out in 2021-2022, then a 2023 so poor he returned to the minors. He’d seemed to regain most of his former effectiveness but is now dealing with elbow trouble.

3B Brett Baty (Mets, 12th, -0.8 WAR) — Recently demoted to AAA. Baty managed to stick at third (and in fact has never spent a minute at first base) but hasn’t hit well enough to carry any position. Imagine being a Mets fan.

OF Corbin Carroll (16th, Dbacks, 6.5 WAR) — Monster rookie season, pre-emptive contract extension, sub-replacement WAR so far in 2024. Surely he’ll recover.

RHP Jackson Rutledge (17th, Nationals, -0.2 WAR) — Rutledge has advanced steadily and made his MLB debut last September but didn’t crack the Washington rotation in March and isn’t hastening a promotion with his AAA performance.

3B Kody Hoese (25th, Dodgers) — Hoese has a .244/.301/.367 line in 333 minor league games. Now 26, he’s hitting better in AAA (.289/.344/.440) but would appear to need that and more to revive his former status.

RHP Matthew Allan (89th, Mets) — And you thought Cole Ragans had a trying trek through the minors. Multiple injuries (and the covid season) have kept Allan off the mound since 2019.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, El Paso (SDP) 6
Round Rock: 8 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 10 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 29-26, 5.5 GB

SP Owen White: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 6 BB, 3 SO, 99 P / 55 S, 4.69 ERA
CF Jonathan Ornelas: 3-5, 2B, BB, .263/.307/.355
SS Davis Wendzel: 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, .292/.397/.538

Six walks from Owen White are a career-high, as are the 99 pitches. On the upside, nearly everything hit hard was grounded, and the soft shots were airborne. Davis Wendzel is hitting .267/.371/.400 since rejoining Round Rock.

AA: Frisco 5, @ San Antonio (SDP) 3
Frisco: 13 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 33-17, 3 G up

SP Dane Acker: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 36 P / 23 S, 3.16 ERA
RP Steven Jennings: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.12 ERA
RP Seth Clark: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 3.06 ERA
RP Reid Birlingmair: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.09 ERA
LF Kellen Strahm: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, SB (9), .292/.386/.405
C Liam Hicks: 4-5, 2B, .261/.366/.323
2B Frainyer Chavez: 3-4, 3B, SB (9), .245/.348/.338

Dane Acker’s line doesn’t seem poor enough for an early removal, but he needed 36 pitches to face just six batters, the last of which reached on an error by CF Daniel Mateo (a soft fly that was no gimme but catchable). The bullpen held firm as the offense mounted a gradual comeback. Tied at three in the 9th, Frainyer Chavez singled and stole second, Kellen Strahm was intentionally walked, and Liam Hicks and Aaron Zavala hit RBI singles.

Hi-A: Hickory 6, @ Winston-Salem (CHW) 9
Hickory: 16 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 20-30, 9 GB

SP Winston Santos: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 80 P / 56 S, 2.33 ERA
DH Alejandro Osuna: 3-5, HR (5), .263/.321/.444
LF Yosy Galan: 2-5, 3B, .175/.275/.367
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 3-5, 2B, .272/.306/.358

The Crawdads have reached double-digit hits in four straight games after four in their first 46. They’ve lost two of them, but I’ll make that trade. Winston Santos suffered his worst night of the season, really just a worst inning, as he worked three scoreless before allowing four runs in a 31-pitch 4th.

Lo-A: Down East 3, Fredericksburg (WAS) 0
Down East: 7 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Record: 27-22, 4.5 GB

SP Alejandro Rosario: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 SO, 66 P / 47 S, 1.44 ERA
RP Kai Wynyard: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.80 ERA
1B Erick Alvarez: 2-4, HR (1), .235/.301/.345

Goodness. Alejandro Rosario decided his five scoreless innings and nine strikeouts last week were the appetizer. For the season, Rosario has a 40% strikeout rate, second-best in the Carolina League behind Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson, who has moved on to high-A. Rosario will as well at some point, barring something unfortunate. His upper-90s fastball with a slider and change are beyond the ability of most low-A hitters.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Solomon
AA: Teodo
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: TBA

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Jacob Latz threw seven innings for Down East, one-and-one-third fewer than the entirety of his college career. The Wood Ducks won 7-0 to improve to 39-17.

Box Scores

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.