Draft
I summarized (with video for many players) Texas’s picks in rounds 3-20 in a separate post.
Rehab
In Arizona, Cody Bradford threw a spotless inning with one strikeout. Kumar Rocker followed with two innings, two hits, a run, a walk, and three strikeouts. Unfortunately, Rocker followed that with an additional inning of five runs and five hits. I wouldn’t worry. One, it’s just AZ, and he’s just getting in the work. Two, four of the hits were grounders, and his control was fine. Some folks in attendance say he touched 100. Two days ago, Brock Porter lasted 2.2 innings while allowing a hit, walking three, and hitting two more. He’s walked or hit 30% of opposing batters in four outings. That’s a much greater concern than Rocker giving up a string of singles. Tyler Mahle and Dane Dunning are expected to pitch in Round Rock tonight.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 6, Oklahoma City (LAD) 10
Round Rock: 10 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 7 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 8-10, 6 GB, 45-47 overall
SP Owen White: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 83 P / 55 S, 5.52 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 2-5, SB (23), .281/.364/.393
C Sam Huff: 2-4, .247/.323/.442
3B Davis Wendzel: 1-4, HR (5), .276/.371/.500
1B Blaine Crim: 2-2, 2 BB, .241/.351/.376
While not victorious, several Express hitters got their licks in against rehabbing Clayton Kershaw. Among six balls hit at least 97 MPH were Davis Wendzel’s homer, both of Blaine Crim’s singles, and one of Huff’s. Kershaw didn’t exceed 91.7, but that’s nothing new.
Owen White threw his hardest four-seamer (96.7) and hardest sinker (97.0) of the year, and his seven strikeouts were a season-high. Run prevention remained close to typical, although he received help from neither his defense nor bullpen.
AA: Frisco 8, @ Wichita (MIN) 5
Frisco: 12 hits, 7 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 8 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 12-7, 0.5 GB, 56-32 overall
SP Ryan Garcia: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 77 P / 47 S, 4.11 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.70 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 2.15 ERA
C Liam Hicks: 1-4, 2B, BB, .263/.366/.358
DH Cody Freeman: 1-2, 2 BB, .276/.332/.457
RF Josh Hatcher: 2-5, HR (7), .289/.331/.430
1B Abi Ortiz: 2-5, 2B, .213/.288/.339
3B Keyber Rodriguez: 1-2, 3 BB, .250/.306/.388
After four days off, Frisco headed all the way to Kansas for just three games. (Did you know Wichita is closer to Frisco than Corpus Christi?) Seven Riders reached safely at least twice. Abimelec Ortiz extended his hit streak to five and has 11 hits and three walks in that span. He hasn’t homered in over a month, but at least he’s getting on base. Ortiz retained his spot on the updated Baseball America top-30 rankings, if barely. Josh Hatcher also hadn’t homered in a month until last night. Between the two dingers, he’d batted .239/.287/.296. Hatcher doesn’t walk much, so his success at any given moment is tied pretty tightly to batting average.
Hi-A: Hickory 4, Greensboro (PIT) 2
Hickory: 6 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 11-11, 3 GB, 39-49 overall
SP DJ McCarty: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 6 SO, 76 P / 51 S, 3.69 ERA
RP Mitch Bratt: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.27 ERA
Sebastian Walcott reached down to lace a curve for a double, and Ian Moller doubled as well. Walcott has a 28% strikeout rate (understandable for his age and level), but I’ve seen several examples of impressive plate coverage. DJ McCarty has allowed a lone run in three straight starts. I don’t think I see the 2020 free agent as a 40-man addition this fall, but he’s once again put forward a nice season and will progress to the next level at some point.
Lo-A: Down East 3, @ Delmarva (BAL) 5
Down East: 8 hits, 8 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 8-13, 7.5 GB, 43-43 overall
SP Brayan Mendoza: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 72 P / 49 S, 2.73 ERA
RP Paul Bonzagni: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 4.27 ERA
SS Echedry Vargas: 2-5, .263/.320/.428
1B Arturo Disla: 1-5, HR (8), .269/.347/.405
LF Wady Mendez: 2-2, 2 BB, .227/.337/.288
Josh Trentadue, who typically pitches several innings in a tandem role, lasted a season-low 0.2 innings and allowed three runs. Arturo Disla knocked his eighth homer but also grounded into three double plays.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Garabito (Mahle, Dunning)
AA: Teodo
Hi-A: Drake
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco’s Brock Burke, James Jones, Jake Lemoine, and Emmanuel Clase nearly combined for a no-hitter. Arkansas batter Jordan Cowan singled down the line and was thrown out stretching for second by LF Brendon Davis. Burke was perfect through five. A few days earlier, Josh Jung headed to low-A Hickory, while 3B Sherten Apostel made room for him by jumping to high-A Down East. Reliever Joe Barlow was promoted to AAA. “Barlow will definitely be added to the 40-man roster this winter, but only if he doesn’t make his MLB debut first,” I wrote at the time. He would definitely not, and didn’t.