AAA: Round Rock 4, @ Salt Lake (LAA) 14
Round Rock: 7 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 20 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 25-25, 5 GB, 62-62 overall
SP Chase Anderson: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 76 P / 47 S, 6.94 ERA
RP Marc Church: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.61 ERA
RP Owen White: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.52 ERA
CF Sandro Fabian: 1-4, HR (17), .278/.353/.476
2B Justin Foscue: 1-5, HR (8), .286/.429/.484
1B Blaine Crim: 1-5, HR (14), .272/.370/.441
The opposition swung at six Owen White sliders and missed four, all in-zone. If White is affixed to a relief role in the long run, he really needs one of his offerings to miss more bats, and the slider is most likely. Both his four and two-seamers generate below-average whiff rates.
Blake Taylor (0.1 IP, 5 R) and Reid Birlingmair (0.0 IP, 6 R) will not be sending you a postcard from the Beehive State.
Unofficially, Jake deGrom is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday in Round Rock, and Kumar Rocker will make his AAA debut on Wednesday. Pitching for OKC Wednesday will be rehabbing Dodger Yoshinobu Yamamoto. If you haven’t visited the Dell Diamond, the next two nights are beckoning.
AA: Frisco 6, San Antonio (SDP) 3
Frisco: 8 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 28-23, 2 GB, 72-48 overall
SP Kohl Drake: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 78 P / 49 S, 4.91 ERA
2B Max Acosta: 1-2, 2 BB, SB (25), .265/.324/.375
3B Cody Freeman: 2-3, HBP, SB (13), .264/.322/.443
RF Abimelec Ortiz: 3-4, 2B, HR (11), .231/.313/.383
Sachse native Kohl Drake matched a season-high six innings and season-low one hit in what was not technically his AA debut but close enough. Drake offered a fastball, change, curve, and cutter. Abi Ortiz is hitting .310/.405/.531 in his last 30 games.
Hi-A: Hickory 5, Bowling Green (TAM) 4
Hickory: 6 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 28-25, 6.5 GB, 56-63 overall, elimination number 6
SP David Davalillo: 5 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 74 P / 50 S, 3.12 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.00 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-3, BB, SB (4), .213/.362/.277
C Malcolm Moore: 1-3, BB, .149/.245/.255
RF Yeison Morrobel: 1-4, HR (7), .202/.281/.298
The Crawdads fashioned a series split and held a very strong offense to 3.3 runs per game, and they went 7-8 against the Hot Roads in the second half. Unfortunately, those Hot Rods are 25-11 against everyone else. Yeison Morrobel hit a two-out grand slam in the 8th following walks from Dylan Dreiling, Cam Cauley, and Malcolm Moore. Morrobel’s offense has fallen off a cliff in the second half: .143/.237/.218 including a nine-game hitless streak ad a 20-game stretch with only five hits. Bryan Magdaleno has six scoreless high-A appearances and 12 straight overall stretching back to the beginning of July with Down East.
Lo-A: Down East 4, Delmarva (BAL) 5
Down East: 9 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 24-25, 6.5 GB , 59-55 overall, elimination number 7
SP Willian Bormie: 3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 68 P / 46 S, 3.57 ERA
RP Luke Savage: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 4.19 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
C Julian Brock: 3-4, .248/.322/.376
Down East lost four of six to the league’s worst team and scored only 11 runs. The combination of pitching and defense remains the league’s best, surrendering only 3.2 runs per game in the second half. Three other teams stand between the Wood Ducks and division-leading Fredericksburg, so the 6.5-game deficit undersells the task at hand. Down East travels to Myrtle Beach this week and hosts Augusta for the team’s final homestand.
2024 3rd-rounder Casey Cook had the best week, hitting .353/.450/.412. Cook has yet to play anywhere but second, a position he saw only twice in three years at UNC.
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Josh Jung was 3-5 with a double in Hickory’s 10-4 victory against Greensboro, lowering the magic number for a playoff spot to four with eight to play.