Texas’s A-Level Affiliates Switch Again
Me, May 2023: “Unlike so many moves of yore (‘South Atlantic’ teams in New Jersey, western Kentucky, northern Ohio), relocation to Spartanburg doesn’t create a scheduling headache. Spartanburg could conceivably rejoin high-A, creating a rival just down the road in Greenville, and Hickory would fit comfortably in the low-A Carolina League if desired.”
I can’t remember if someone else floated the idea or it just popped into my head, but in any case, the new Texas affiliate in Spartanburg (Hub City) will indeed become a member of the high-A South Atlantic League in 2025, while the Crawdads drop to low-A, where they played from 1993 through 2019. While Spartanburg proper actually has a smaller population than Hickory, the general area has more people (although not by a huge margin). The distance between Texas’s A-level affiliates will decrease from 260 to 90. Hickory will lose nearby rivals Asheville, Winston-Salem, and Greensboro but gain Kannapolis. Hub City has a natural rival in Greenville; per the linked story, they’ll meet 24 times next season.
As for Kinston, once again losing MLB-affiliated baseball, I wrote about that situation last May. To my eyes (which don’t have a law degree but frequently peruse contracts), the Rangers lease with Kinston appeared very easy to break. Kinston was also likely facing a massive capital outlay to bring the stadium up to required standards, and I wondered whether that would be a worthwhile use of public funds. Asheville recently approved $38.5 million in renovations to McCormick Field. Modesto, a much larger city, will be losing its low-A club because of a purported $32 million in needed park improvements.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 8, @ Albuquerque (COL) 7
Round Rock: 10 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 11-10, 3 GB, 48-47 overall
SP Adrian Sampson: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 71 P / 38 S, 5.83 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1.86 ERA
3B Ezequiel Duran: 1-5, HR (1), .190/.215/.317
RF Sandro Fabian: 1-5, HR (12), .285/.353/.480
1B Blaine Crim: 3-4, HR (8), .249/.358/.393
LF Trevor Hauver: 1-3, HR (4), BB, .194/.325/.208
I’m glad I’m not reporting this from Albuquerque/Colorado’s perspective, mainly for how this specific game transpired, but also, imagine covering the Rockies. Down two in the 9th, Jax Biggers singled. With one out, Ezequiel Duran barely beat out a potential double-play grounder, and CF Greg Jones couldn’t execute a sliding catch of Andrew Knapp’s two-out shallow fly. Up stepped Sandro Fabian, who smacked a very mid-mid fastball 441 feet for a go-ahead two-run homer.
Trevor Hauver hit an inside-the-park homer. Hauver is, shall we say, not famous for his speed, but his liner to center eluded a diving CF Greg Jones and dribbled to the 428′-deep triangular cut-out.
Ezequiel Duran isn’t forcing a return to Arlington yet. Compared to his MLB figures, his exit velocity is down and his grounder rate is up. That’s probably just sample size. Some actual issues are swinging and missing first pitches at more than double the league rate (17% vs. 8%), and, not coincidentally, a 3% walk rate.
The Isotopes are 36-61. Until I read this article ($ link), I didn’t realize Albuquerque hadn’t posted a winning season since 2013. All but one of those seasons were as a Colorado affiliate. That’s hard to do. (Spanning over five decades, no Texas full-season affiliate has more than six consecutive losing seasons.) Some organizations value winning in the minors more than others, but you’d think a minor league team would occasionally finish above .500 simply by accident. Losing that consistently takes diligence. While it’s understandable that the Rockies would have trouble recruiting AAA pitching depth, they’re not alone in this regard, and fellow thin-air squads at El Paso, Reno, and Las Vegas have been competitive (Salt Lake is on a five-year losing streak).
AA: Frisco 5, Tulsa (LAD) 0
Frisco: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 13-9, 2 GB, 57-34 overall
SP Cody Bradford: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 22 P / 17 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Ben Anderson: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 SO, 4.09 ERA
RP Andy Rodriguez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 1.79 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.49 ERA
2B Max Acosta: 1-3, HR (4), .262/.324/.367
1B Josh Hatcher: 2-4, HR (8), .288/.330/.431
C Cooper Johnson: 1-2, HR (8), BB, .241/.342/.466
Cody Bradford’s second mound appearance since early April went swimmingly. Bradford tossed an inning in Arizona last Friday. He and his three new besties combined to shut out the team scoring a league-high 5.4 runs per game.
Hi-A: Hickory 7, Greenville (BOS) 5
Hickory: 5 hits, 10 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 14-11, 1.5 GB, 42-49 overall
SP Aidan Curry: 6 IP, 3 H (2 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 81 P / 56 S, 6.95 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-5, HR (8), .242/.336/.415
C Ian Moller: 1-3, BB, 2 SB (11), .232/.362/.304
Sebastian Walcott untied the game in the 7th with a three-run homer.
Ian Moller has reached safely in 14 consecutive games (.349/.500/.442).
Aidan Curry allowed two homers but on the whole has slowly rounded into better form lately, particularly tamping down on excess walks. He could very well be someone whose end-of-season stats inspire groans but is actually on the upswing.
Lo-A: Down East 2, Fayetteville (HOU) 1 (10)
Down East: 7 hits, 3 walks, 17 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 3 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 10-14, 6.5 GB, 45-44 overall
SP Paul Bonzagni: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO, 51 P / 38 S, 3.90 ERA
RP Luke Savage: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 4.94 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2.00 ERA
2B Echedry Vargas: 3-5, 3B, 2 SB (18), .268/.322/.432
3B Esteban Mejia: 1-4, HR (2), .219/.313/.384
A 2nd-inning single quickly erased any hope of Down East’s second no-hitter in two weeks, but Paul Bonzagni exceeded his previous high in strikeouts by three despite facing only 16 batters. Singles by Echedry Vargas and Danyer Cueva in the 10th plated the winner.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Brennan
AA: Garcia
Hi-A: Rosario
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
A slow day. Ten years ago, Texas traded reliever Joaquim Soria for pitching prospects Jake Thompson and Corey Knebel. Neither would pitch in Arlington but would be included in packages for Yovani Gallardo and Cole Hamels, respectively, both crucial to Texas’s mid-2010s success. Knebel is currently with AAA Charlotte, while Thomson has spent the past four seasons in Mexico.