Rangers Farm Report: Games of Friday 26 July

Box Scores

AAA: suspended

The Express lead 3-0 in the 4th.

Texas released lefty Triston Polley, The 2019 16th-rounder didn’t throw terribly hard but had a sneaky slider. Unfortunately, intermittent control issues became much more pronounced in 2024, as he walked or hit nearly one of every five batters between AA and AAA.

AA: Frisco 0, Tulsa (LAD) 2
Frisco: 7 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 15-10, , 59-35 overall

SP Kumar Rocker: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 37 P / 26 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Cody Bradford: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.25 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 2-3, 2B, BB, .310/.405/.592
3B Josh Jung: 1-3

Kumar Rocker excelled in his AA debut. The dominant pitches were fastballs (two and four-seamers, 96-99, steadily 97) and power sliders. He added a change, and few other pitches may have been slider variants but flirted with curve status. The tally: 37 pitches, 26 strikes. 11 balls, 6 called strikes. 20 swings, 8 misses, 6 fouls, 6 balls in play. Rocker still has what appears to be a fairly short stride to the plate but nothing like the stiff, halting delivery of 2022’s Arizona Fall league. Particularly compared to his days as Vanderbilt, the delivery is relaxed, lacking the obvious max-effort and falling off the mound. Video.

Josh Jung lined a single to left in his first at-bat, followed by a groundout and swinging K against Dodger prospect Chris Campos.

Hi-A: Hickory 0, Greenville (BOS) 10 (7)
Hickory: 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 11 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 14-14, 3 GB, 42-52 overall

SP DJ McCarty: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 6 SO, 69 P / 41 S, 3.53 ERA

They pulled the tarp in the middle of the 7th. I assume the weather was poor, but after 11 walks (four of which plated runners), two hit batters, two wild pitches, and an error, maybe the grounds crew just said “we’re done” and dared anyone to argue.

Sebastian Walcott and Yosy Galan doubled.

Lo-A: Down East 1, Fayetteville (HOU) 0 (7)
Down East: 6 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 11-15, , 46-45 overall

SP Bryan Mendoza: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 68 P / 50 S, 2.54 ERA
RP Victor Simeon: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.49 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 2-3, 2B, .277/.358/.426
2B Chandler Pollard: 2-2, 2 SB (30), .232/.311/.283

With two out and none on in the 4th, Arturo Disla reached on an infield single and advanced on a balk, wild pitch, and strikeout/wild pitch. Fayetteville had the game’s only hit with a runner in scoring position, but LF Erick Alvarez threw out Chase Jaworsky at the plate.

Brayan Mendoza and Victor Simeon combined on a mini-shutout. Simeon, who impressed me in Surprise, has struck out 31 in 21 innings and allowed only nine hits. His control isn’t good (16% BB/HBP) but good enough when combined with so few hits.

Lo-A: Down East 3, Fayetteville (HOU) 2 (7)
Down East: 3 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 12-15, 6.5 GB, 47-45 overall

SP Kolton Curtis: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 41 P / 24 S, 3.05 ERA
RP Willan Bormie: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.54 ERA
CF Marcos Torres: 1-2, HR (4), .181/.284/.306

Marcos Torres knocked a three-run homer.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Leiter
AA: Garcia
Hi-A: Drake
Lo-A: TBA (Davalillo)

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Josh Jung was 3-4 for low-A Hickory. Las Vegas hit 11 home runs in defeating El Paso 20-11. with 36 days remaining in the season, every PCL team had already allowed more homers than the previous year.