Announced for the upcoming Futures Game are pitchers Emiliano Teodo and Winston Santos plus infielder Sebastian Walcott.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 11, Sugar Land (HOU) 9
Round Rock: 13 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 4-3, 41-40 overall
SP Tim Brennan: 2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 45 P / 29 S, 4.35 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.82 ERA
1B Justin Foscue: 2-5, HR (2), .220/.418/.390
DH Blaine Crim: 2-4, 2B, BB, .219/.327/.357
RF Trevor Hauver: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .207/.337/.323
2B Jax Biggers: 3-5, 2B, 3B, SB (6), .274/.407/.406
C Matt Whatley: 2-4, 2B, HR (2), .191/.304/.309
Jax Biggers executed a straight steal of home to put the Express up 10-9 in the 7th. Pitcher Nick Hernandez never even threw to the plate.
Tim Brennan is back following another injury absence. Two games into a return from Tommy John surgery, he missed nearly three more months. Brennan tops at around 91 and relies on control and a tremendous grounder rate, although last night’s balls in play were mostly airborne.
Catcher Andrew Knapp (.292/.374/.444) had an took an opt-out. He hit well in Round Rock, and the statcast data mostly approves. He had an above-average rate of 95+ MPH contact that tapered to below-average at the upper percentiles. Knapp has a .210/.310/.313 line in 325 MLB games.
Per a local report, Zeke Duran has been working on swing changes and is expected to play today. He’s been absent since being optioned to AAA.
Since my complaint (really just an observation) about Round Rock’s league-worst offense has resulted in a torrent of runs, I hereby register a formal complaint about the Texas Rangers’ offense.
AA: Frisco 2, @ Arkansas (SEA) 0 (10)
Frisco: 4 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeout
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 17 strikeouts
Record: 5-2, 49-27 overall
SP Josh Stephan: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 86 P / 52 S, 4.36 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1.97 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Tyler Owens: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.45 ERA
LF Kellen Strahm: 1-2, 2 BB, SB (15), .277/.362/.391
SS Max Acosta: 2-4, SB (13), .258/.322/.363
Four Riders combined for an extended five-hit shutout. Josh Stephan is on a four-game streak of no more than one walk and two runs. A slightly inflated homer rate has his opposing slugging percentage at .438 compared to the league average of .372, but his control has been solid.
Hi-A: Hickory 3, Winston-Salem (CHW) 2
Hickory: 5 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 5-5, 0.5 GB, 33-43 overall
SP DJ McCarty: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 89 P / 49 S, 4.24 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 4.23 ERA
RP DJ Peters: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 8.03 ERA
2B Cam Cauley: 2-5, 3B, .233/.284/.350
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-3, BB, .235/.336/.395
Sebastian Walcott has been a little quiet lately, although nothing like first week of the season. Cam Cauley’s mini-run continues. He could use a good second half. A better first might have landed him in Frisco by now. Both his strikeout rate and especially his walk rate have trended backwards compared to 2023 at the same level, but June showed improvement.
Lo-A: Down East 3, Carolina (MIL) 2 (11)
Down East: 5 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 4-6, 3 GB, 39-36 overall
SP Brayan Mendoza: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 79 P / 48 S, 2.58 ERA
RP Alberto Mota: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 5.63 ERA
RP Victor Simeon: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2.93 ERA
LF Jojo Blackmon: 2-4, 2B, BB, .183/.264/.312
3B Esteban Mejia: 1-4, HR (1), .094/.237/.219
Credit Alberto Mota and Victor Simeon for holding Carolina scoreless across two extra frames. Mota has some appeal but was shipped back to Arizona after a couple of wild outings and needed a few weeks to get that out of his system. He’s fanned eight in four scoreless innings since returning.
Today’s Starters
AAA: White
AA: Garcia
Hi-A: Drake
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
International signings were at hand. Unfortunately, Texas’s marquee selection in 2019 was OF Bayron Lora, who would become a colossally expensive bust. For reasons I can’t recall and am not going to research today, his signing was delayed until August, which conveniently pushed his Rule 5 eligibility out a year. That would be of no consequence. Lora batted .218/.413/.401 in one DSL season, was suspended in 2022, and Texas released him in 2023. He hasn’t played since, at least not in a league that would appear on any sites I follow.