Sorry for the lateness. I was out most of yesterday, and, like last Friday, the action on the field didn’t insist on a timely report.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 0, @ Oklahoma City (LAD) 3
Round Rock: 6 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 18-20, 6 GB, 55-57 overall
SP Tim Brennan: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 3 SO, 53 P / 29 S, 5.20 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 1-2, BB, HBP, SB (29), .283/.369/.409
Let’s revisit Sam Huff, whose extended slump I mentioned recently.
March-May (40 games): .267/.367/.486, 7 homers, 23 walks, 51 strikeouts
June-August (41 games): .213/.240/.325, 2 homers, 5 walks, 62 strikeouts
What are the changes in his statcast data from the first period to the next?
Balls: Down from 36% to 31% of all pitches (league average is 38%). A 5% drop may not sound huge, but to give an example from the opposing side, that difference in strikes thrown by a starting pitcher is close to the difference between league-average control and dealing enough walks to get booted from the rotation.
Swinging strikes: From 17% of all pitches to 20%.
Hard-hit rate (95+ MPH): down from 47% to 35%. His velocity has maintained its impressiveness at the top tier, but it now tapers off to a lower median by 3.5 MPH. The percentage of balls in play that I’d classify as either likely or possible homers has fallen from 12% to 5%, and the percentage of likely singles from 21% to 13%.
Zone: His swing rate on out-of-zone pitches has increased from 31% to 45%. His contact rate on these pitches has actually increased slightly, and his results on contact put in play are surprisingly good, but those extra swings are still a major contributor to a ratio of 12.4 strikeouts per walk the last three months. Relative to his career, his season-long ratio of 4:1 is close to his career, and without a reversal of the recent trend, last year’s sharp improvement (1.8 strikeouts per walk) is looking like an anomaly.
AA: Frisco 1, @ Midland (OAK) 4
Frisco: 7 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 23-16, 1 GB, 67-41 overall
SP Emiliano Teodo: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 59 P / 35 S, 1.72 ERA
LF Josh Hatcher: 2-4, 2 SB (18), .296/.344/.432
Emilano Teodo made his second start since someone hit ctrl-at-del the last week of July, and he graduated from 41 to 59 pitches. Teodo has exceeded last season (including the Arizona Fall League) by six innings, and if used typically he’ll make five more regular season appearances.
Hi-A: Hickory 0, Aberdeen (BAL) 4
Hickory: 4 hits, 9 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 22-20, 5 GB, 50-58 overall
SP David Davalillo: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 81 P / 51 S, 3.38 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 3.70 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-3, 2 BB, .254/.344/.434
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 0-1, 3 BB, .247/.316/.326
David Davalillo had a respectable high-A debut. He missed only six bats, fewest in other three months, but he kept the ball in the yard as he had in 15 of 17 outings with Down East. The offense drew nine walks but was 0-11 in at-bats with a walker on base.
Lo-A: suspended, DE up 8-0 top 3
Down East and Myrtle Beach played 16 of 54 scheduled innings last week. One game is definitely cancelled, and one or two more could be depending on how many makeups the league wishes to cram into Down East’s visit to the Pelicans two weeks from tomorrow.
Although it won’t appear in the record until the game is completed, catcher Ben Hartl notched his first professional hit, a two-run single. 3rd-rounder Casey Cook, again playing 2B instead of the left field position most commonly assigned in college, reached on a walk and HBP. Newcomer Antonio Macias drew a walk.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Solomon
AA: B. Anderson
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas’s full-season squads had an aggregate record of 258-209 (.552), already more wins than the previous two years with three weeks to play. The five best winning percentage in my time on the job:
2011: 317-243 (.566)
2014: 312-248 (.557)
2019: 304-247 (.552)
2023: 289-249 (.537)
2008: 300-261 (.535)
2024: 288-199 (.534) so far
The worst season was 2017: 252-305 (.452).