ESPN and MLB Pipeline updated their top-100 prospects. Sebastian Walcott is the lone Rangers entree on the Pipeline list at #38. Kiley McDaniel at ESPN rates Walcott 47th plus RHP Alejandro Rosario 93rd and RHP Kumar Rocker as a “notable riser” in the 106-150 range.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 7, Albuquerque (COL) 2
Round Rock: 11 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 19-20, 3 GB*, 56-57 overall
SP Peter Solomon: 5.1 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 8 SO, 82 P / 49 S, 7.48 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 1 IP, 0 H (1.5 HR), 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
1B Justin Foscue: 2-5, .267/.442/.431
C Andrew Knapp: 1-1, HR (8), 3 BB, .292/.379/.454
DH Blaine Crim: 2-3, 2B, BB, .271/.375/.425
LF Trevor Hauver: 2-4, 2 2B, .196/.307/.316
The Rangers named Blaine Crim the minor league player of July a couple of days ago, and he’s shooting for another award. Other award winners were Mitch Bratt (starting pitcher), Grant Anderson (reliever), and Frainyer Chavez (defender).
* Sugar Land won the first-half title and leads in the second, so second-place Las Vegas would advance to the playoffs if the season ended yesterday. I’m using Round Rock’s deficit to Vegas rather than Sugar Land above.
AA: Frisco 3, Springfield (STL) 6
Frisco: 11 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Record: 23-17, 1 GB, 67-42 overall
SP Ben Anderson: 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 91 P / 66 S, 3.75 ERA
3B Cody Freeman: 2-4, 2B, .272/.332/.458
1B Abi Ortiz: 3-4, .213/.284/.350
The Texas organization has played 434 full season games this year. How many starts have lasted seven or more innings? Answer at bottom.
Hi-A: Hickory 0, @ Hudson Valley (NYY) 13
Hickory: 2 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 9 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 22-21, 6 GB, 50-59 overall
SP Aidan Curry: 4.1 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 9 R, 3 BB, 4 HBP, 2 SO, 78 P / 43 S, 7.30 ERA
For the final time, or until MLB reconfigures the minors yet again, Hickory traveled to that bastion of the South Atlantic known as Fishkill, New York. I don’t mean to pick on Aidan Curry, but this outing must be chronicled in all its g(l)ory:
1st inning: out, out, hit batter, hit batter, triple
3rd inning: out, out, walk, walk, homer
5th inning: hit batter, walk, hit batter, out, grand slam
Curry walked or hit seven batters, and all would score.
Luis Ramirez replaced Curry after the grand slam, walked his first batter, then allowed a homer. He walked four more subsequent to that but managed to keep them from touching the plate. Adrian Rodriguez, perhaps the most walk-prone pitcher in the system lately, issued only one to ten batters faced and stranded him, though he did allow two runs.
Whatever hopes the Crawdads harbor for the playoffs are complicated by Bowling Green’s 27-14 record and differential of 2.8 runs per game. Hickory hosts the Hot Rods next week.
Lo-A: Down East 0, @ Lynchburg (CLE) 4
Down East: 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 21-17, 3.5 GB, 56-47 overall
SP Thomas Ireland: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 78 P / 48 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
C Julian Brock: 2-4, 2B, .234/.313/.344
8th-round reliever and Arizona alum Anthony Susac made his pro debut and pitched a scoreless 9th. Susac leaned on a slider that tended more downward than sweepy and a fastball for which I heard no speeds but has been clocked in the low-to-mid 90s.
Today’s Starters
AAA: C. Anderson
AA: Acker
Hi-A: Bonzagni
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Hans Crouse threw a season-high 87 pitches for low-A Hickory. He’d been limited by bone spurs. Crouse threw 92 for short-season Spokane in 2018 as a 20-year-old and dealt at least 82 in seven of 13 appearances. Short-season ball doesn’t exist anymore, but if it did, I think the probability of someone that age throwing 90+ pitches would about negative 200%. Low-A Down East, a higher level, has only 11 starts of at least 82 pitches (and none of 90+) in 113 games.
Crouse’s fastball was in the 92-94 range. He rebounded to a steady 94-95 for a while in Frisco in 2021, but the “upper 90s, wipeout slider” guy effectively disappeared in early 2019. His money pitch with the Angels is a 93ish sinker that doesn’t really sink but has plenty of run.
Answer
11.
AAA: Sampson, Shaun Anderson, Leiter
AA: Krauth
Hi-A: Lobus, Santos, Bratt, Bratt, Rosario
Lo-A: Davalillo