Donations
Thanks to those who’ve donated already. If you would like to participate, you have several options:
1. Via Paypal to scottrlucas@gmail.com(Note! scottrlucas with an “r” in the middle, not scottlucas)
2. Via venmo to @scottrlucas (same thing, needs an “r”)
3. Check or money order to Scott Lucas, PO Box 300453, Austin, TX 78703
4. If you prefer another method, email me (minors@scottlucas.com). Some of you have done so, and I promise I’ll reply. I’ve been out of pocket and probably out of sorts the last week.
Transactions
LHP Walter Pennington — optioned to Round Rock
LHP Larson Kindreich and C Tucker Mitchell — promoted to Frisco
1st-round C Malcolm Moore and 2nd-round OF Dylan Dreilich — assigned to Hickory
RHP Paul Bonzagni, RHP David Davallilo, LHP Bryan Magdaleno — promoted to Hickory
3rd-round OF Casey Clark, 7th-round 3B Rafe Perich, and 14th-round catcher Ben Hartl — assigned to Down East
OF Tommy Specht and IF/OF Erick Alvarez — assigned to Arizona (meaning only unofficial games for them for the time being)
Rankings
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN updated his farm rankings (subscription link) after the trade deadline and draft. He had the Rangers 12th entering the season. Unquestionably, the new ranking would be lower simply because of the graduations of Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford. But how low?
29th. 29th as in, below the Astros at 28th, and just above the ever-lowly Angels at 30th. This is blasphemous, and we need an Inquisition.
But seriously, I lack the expertise to rank farms because I don’t follow other organizations closely enough, which means I’m not really in a position to criticize others. I tend to grade Texas’s system against its past, because that’s where my knowledge is. I’ve followed McDaniel for years; he puts in the work, and his opinions certainly deserve credence. The money quote: “Injuries, regression or lack of performance in the big leagues have been the issue with Justin Foscue, Abimelec Ortiz, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker (now back on the mound), Jonathan Ornelas, Owen White and Brock Porter.” I’d quibble with this take some. To me, the only severe disappointments are Porter and Ortiz. Foscue’s injury was frustrating, but I don’t know that it’s lowered his ceiling. Leiter has his issues, to be sure, but he’s a better pitcher than at this time last year. I can make a case that Rocker’s prospect stature is the highest since he was drafted. As for White, well, my outlook was already pretty gloomy.
There’s a question of who, beyond Walcott, has a good chance at becoming an everyday position player. There’s the seemingly eternal issue of developing a starting pitcher. Still, my snap judgment before I clicked the link was “they’re certainly bottom half… but not bottom five… mmm, 20-24.” 29th seems harsh, but ultimately, that’s just one person’s opinion, not fact. My counterpoints are just opinions, too. Eventually, the players themselves will let us know.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 3, @ Oklahoma City (LAD) 5
Round Rock: 7 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 8 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 15-18, 6 GB, 52-55 overall
SP Tim Brennan: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 0 SO, 54 P / 25 S, 5.40 ERA
RP Matt Festa: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 3.38 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 2-4, 2 HR (9), BB, .282/.365/.408
2B Justin Foscue: 1-3, 2B, BB, .260/.442/.438
Dustin Harris hit a high change and inside fastball at nearly the same speed, angle, and distance.
Texas re-signed Matt Festa, who’d been released last week. The Rangers also signed Chase Anderson because they only had three Andersons in the system after trading Shaun. Chase pitched in AAA Round Rock in 2021 and had been released by the Red Sox a few days ago.
AA: Frisco 1, @ Midland (OAK) 4
Frisco: 3 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 21-13, tied for first, 65-38 overall
SP Ben Anderson: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 SO, 82 P / 51 S, 3.35 ERA
RP Larson Kindreich: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
Midland’s first-half belly flop assisted Frisco’s first-half title claim, but the RockHounds are likely to win the second half and face the Riders in the opening playoff round. They lead San Antonio by 5.5 games and Amarillo by six, and they have the third-best record and best run differential in all of AA. Correcting a mistake from Sunday: Frisco lost once in San Antonio last week, so obviously the Riders aren’t 13-0 at the Missions. I’ll try to last a week before another egregious error.
Hi-A: Hickory 5, Aberdeen (BAL) 3
Hickory: 9 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Record: 20-17, 5 GB, 48-55 overall
SP Paul Bonzagni: 5 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 75 P / 47 S, 3.60 ERA
RP Aidan Curry: 3 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 6.63 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
2B Cam Cauley: 1-4, BB, 2 SB (20), .245/.295/.431
LF Dylan Dreiling: 1-3, 2 BB, SB (1)
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-5, 3B, .252/.341/.435
DH Malcolm Moore: 0-3, HBP, SB (1)
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-2, BB, HBP, 2 SB (30), .251/.308/.333
C Ian Moller: 2-3, 2B, BB
An already interesting lineup became a must-see with the additions of top picks Malcolm Moore and Dylan Dreiling. Dreiling reached on an infield single and two walks. He also stole a base in tandem with Cam Cauley but would be doubled off second on a short fly, preventing what would have been a run-scoring sac fly. Welcome to pro ball. Moore was hit by a pitch.
Sebastian Walcott launched a triple to center between the first pro plate appearances from Dreiling and Moore. Like many before him, Paul Bonzagni suddenly became homer-prone upon promotion to Hickory (he’d allowed four homers in 63 low-A innings), but he otherwise excelled in his first high-A start.
Lo-A: Debby
Two, someday, maybe. The forecast calls for high probability of significant rainfall through Friday, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of this week’s schedule is postponed or canceled.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Solomon
AA: Acker
Hi-A: Rosario
Lo-A: TBD (wouldn’t be surprised at another rainout)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Down East 1B Curtis Terry hit a game-ending three-run homer. Ricky Vanasco struck out two in a perfect 2nd at the Northwest-Pioneer All-Star game. DH Blaine Crim was 3-4 with a walk. The Northwest League advanced from short-season to high-A in 2021, while the Pioneer League operates as a quasi-independent Partner League of MLB.