Box Scores
Baseball America’s updated top-100 prospect rankings include Kumar Rocker up to #30 and leading all Rangers, followed by Sebastian Walcott (#55), Alejandro Rosario (#86), and Emiliano Teodo (#97).
AAA: Round Rock 1, @ Las Vegas (OAK) 5
Round Rock: 9 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 27-30, 6 GB, 64-67 overall
SP Adrian Sampson: 6 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 8 SO, 94 P / 59 S, 5.72 ERA
RP Marc Church: 2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.14 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 2-4, 2B, .277/.361/.397
Las Vegas’s lone hit with runners in scoring position was a grand slam by Carlos Perez.
AA: Frisco 3, Wichita (MIN) 2
Frisco: 7 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 33-25, first-half champ, 77-50 overall
SP Ben Anderson: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 99 P / 65 S, 3.67 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.52 ERA
RP Ricky DeVito: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.96 ERA
RP Larson Kindreich: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 3.38 ERA
SS Max Acosta: 2-5, 3B, HR (7), .276/.342/.406
This is Monday’s game; the teams had last night off. Max Acosta is hitting .44/.553/.793 in his last eight games, boosting the perennially modest but decent production I’d mentioned a little while back.
Texas promoted righties Alejandro Rosario and Ryan Lobus and lefty Bryan Magdaleno to Frisco from Hickory. Rosario and Lobus were two of the three Rangers listed as “unlikely breakouts” along with Kohl Drake. All three and Magdaleno began the season at low-A Down East, and I saw Rosario and Magdaleno with the Woodies barely over two months ago. In seven outings with the Crawdads, Magdaleno declined to allow a hit in eight innings, walked two, and struck out 14 (54%), and opponents drew air on 39% of swings. In late June, I saw a 96-97 fastball that touched 98 and an 83-84 slider.
Hi-A: Hickory 0, Rome (ATL) 7
Hickory: 5 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 32-29, eliminated, 60-67 overall
SP Aidan Curry: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 78 P / 48 S, 6.44 ERA
DH Malcolm Moore: 1-3, BB, .169/.280/.324
Aidan Curry’s strikeout rate fell from 28% in the first half to 21% in the second, but also declining was the barrage of extra-base hits that kept his Run Average above nine until early July.
Malcolm Moore is hitting .212/.317/.404 in his last 14 games after a very slow start.
RHP Victor Simeon has joined Hickory to replace Magdaleno. He fanned 54 of 148 batters (36%) at Down East ad held opponents to a .132/.277/.240 line.
Rays-affiliated Bowling Green clinched the second-half division title and will advance to the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.
Lo-A: Down East 2, Augusta (ATL) 1
Down East: 10 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 28-30, eliminated, 63-60 overall
SP Thomas Ireland: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 SO, 83 P / 53 S, 2.16 ERA
RP Luke Savage: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 3.95 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Echedry Vargas: 2-4, HR (14), .279/.323/.460
2B Casey Cook: 1-3, 2B, BB, .209/.308/.254
C Julian Brock: 2-4, .258/.325/.386
LF Keith Jones II: 1-3
Thomas Ireland finished the season strong. Drafted in 2021’s 13th round out of Polk State (Junior) College, Ireland missed 2022 after arm surgery and spent more time at the complex this season than last.
Ninth-rounder Keith Jones II singled in his first professional plate appearance but was denied an RBI when Esteban Mejia was thrown out at the plate.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Dunning
AA: Santos
Hi-A: Bonzagni
Lo-A: TBA (Trentadue)
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Nothing happened, as the full-season and short-season leagues ended the day before. AAA Nashville completed what turned out to be the only year as a Texas affiliate with a 13-inning win aided by Andy Ibanez’s 20th homer. Salt Lake led the 2018 PCL with 173 homers; 14 of 16 teams would best that amount in 2019 with the bouncier MLB ball. In extreme getaway-day fashion, AA Frisco dropped the final contest at NW Arkansas 2-0 in a mere hour and fifty-three minutes. At 68-71, the Riders were below .500 and absent from the postseason for a fifth straight year.
High-A Down East lost but finished 87-52 (.626), the best mark by any Texas full-season affiliate since 1993. Low-A Hickory wasn’t far behind at 83-52 (.615), the highest winning percentage from a Texas low-A club since 1989. Finally, Spokane would post its best record (45-31) since 2008. All three would continue to the postseason, all facing pitching staffs which set single-season records for strikeouts in their respective leagues.
Among prospects, Sam Huff led the system with 28 homers, trailed by Curtis Terry (25) and Pedro Gonzalez (23). Demarcus Evans: 0.90 ERA, 100 strikeouts in 60 innings (43% K rate), .119/.266/.175 oppo line.
The Rangers would not renew the contracts of AAA manager Jason Wood, AA manager Joe Mikulik, AAA pitching coach Brian Shouse, or AAA bullpen coach Eric Gagne.
The next regular season game would be in 610 days.