AAA: Round Rock 2, Albuquerque (COL) 15
Round Rock: 8 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 18 hits, 7 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 19-21, 3.5 GB, 56-58 overall
SP Chase Anderson: 1.2 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 51 P / 31 S, 7.36 ERA
That wasn’t pretty. The story is Robby Ahlstrom pitching on consecutive days. The Express trailed 12-1 in the 9th when he surprisingly replaced a struggling Kyle Barraclough. At that point, I’d expect catcher Matt Whatley or IF Frainyer Chavez before any other pitcher, especially one who’d pitched the night before. Ahlstrom had retired a side Tuesday on a brisk eight pitches. The results weren’t great: a walk, a softly lined single and a hard double before he could record the final out. Still, his situation is worth watching. Although I doubt anything is imminent, that the Rangers wanted to see him pitch on consecutive days is noteworthy.
AA: Frisco 6, Springfield (STL) 7
Frisco: 7 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 23-18, 1 GB, 67-43 overall
SP Dane Acker: 6.1 IP, 11 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 86 P / 66 S, 3.32 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1.96 ERA
RF Josh Hatcher: 2-4, 2B, .297/.344/.432
That wasn’t pretty, either. Frisco led 6-3 in the 9th, but a couple of annoyingly soft hits, some harder ones, and CF Alejandro Osuna’s misplay of a fly resulted in four runs off Andy Rodriguez. Dane Acker threw a career-high 66 strikes but surrendered a career-high 11 hits.
Springfield’s starter was Markevian “Tink” Hence, baseball’s #51 prospect per MLB Pipeline. Hence tossed four scoreless innings with one baserunners and six strikeouts.
In 2020, I participated in a mock draft for… someone. For the life of me, I can’t find the correspondence with the organization on email or twitter. Some prospect/fantasy web publication whose name I’ve forgotten. Anyway, I cosplayed as Texas GM, picking for the Rangers in the first three rounds. My picks:
1/14. RHP Reid Detmers — I wanted Garrett Crochet, but my opposing GMs were extremely focused on velocity, and he and all the rocket arms were gone by the time I selected. I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about Detmers but reckoned he could become a #3 or #4 starter in short order, and that he did, although 2024 has been a mess. Detmers was actually selected 10th overall. If I remember correctly (maybe not), Justin Foscue was still available when I picked.
2/50. C Dillon Dingler — In real life, Dingler was the first pick in the 2nd round by Detroit and made his MLB debut three weeks ago, a little later than expected given he was drafted out of Ohio State, but catchers take time. He was batting .308/.379/.559 for AAA Toledo. I’m pretty sure nobody in the mock drafted Evan Carter.
3/86. RHP Tink Hence — Having ended up with a couple of college guys with moderate ceilings in the first two rounds, I wanted more risk and fun in the 3rd and fell in love with the skinny Arkansas youngster while doing my research. My vague recollection was a body and arm that offered projection, plus he was actually throwing four pitches. Texas picked TK Roby. Hence was taken by the Cards 63rd overall.
I drafted quite well, if I may say so. While it was great fun, and I wish I had multiple years of mocks to revisit, the amount of research needed for me to feel comfortable with my selections was considerable. I was asked to participate in 2021 but didn’t have the time.
Hi-A: Hickory 7, @ Hudson Valley (NYY) 5
Hickory: 12 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 23-21, 6 GB, 51-59 overall
SP Paul Bonzagni: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 81 P / 55 S, 2.61 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Dylan Dreiling: 3-5, 2B, .333/.524/.400
DH Sebastian Walcott: 1-4, BB, SB (19), .254/.344/.432
1B Quincy Scott: 3-4, .226/.324/.290
2B Theo Hardy: 2-2, HR (1), 2 BB, .400/.533/.800
2nd-round pick Dylan Dreiling is off to a fine start. At the opposite end of the spectrum is 1st-rounder Malcolm Moore, who is 1-for-19 with a walk, two HBPs, and seven strikeouts. I analyzed the pitch data and don’t see anything especially worrying. The opposing strike rate against him is only 57%, but several early favorable counts haven’t panned out. His swinging strike rate is 12% of all pitches and 32% of swings. That miss rate on swings is probably slightly high (I don’t have high-A data, but the AAA miss rate is 26%) but not alarmingly so. The primary issue is just one hit on 11 balls in play, which no professional hitter endures over the long haul. I’d categorize his start as superficially frustrating rather than concerning.
Lo-A: Down East 3, @ Lynchburg (CLE) 6
Down East: 9 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 21-18, 4.5 GB, 56-48 overall
SP Josh Trentadue: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 44 P / 31 S, 4.70 ERA
1B Ben Hartl: 1-3, 2 BB
LF Antonis Macias: 2-4, 2 2B
RF Wady Mendez: 4-5, 2 2B, .246/.322/.325
19-year-old Antonis Macias batted .350/.519/.463 in 30 games with the rookies before joining Down East. Texas signed him in July 2022. Although listed as a catcher, 14th-rounder Ben Hartl spent about three-quarters of his time at first with Kansas.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Leiter
AA: Rocker
Hi-A: Tiger
Lo-A: TBA
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco lost at Corpus Christi and would hop a bus to Amarillo for a game the next night. Trips over 500 miles were supposed to include a day off but could be approved without one on an ad hoc basis, and they were, routinely.
Down East rival Fayetteville’s pitching staff set the (then high-A) Carolina league record for strikeouts with 1,287, and the season wouldn’t end for another 20 days. Fayetteville bested its own record of 1,272 set the year before. “Fayetteville is probably going to surpass the previous record by over 200,” I wrote, and the Woodpeckers would finish with 1,476, the most ever by 204.