Kumar Rocker takes the mound tonight.
Here’s my reviews of his first and second AAA starts, and videos of most of his swinging strikes and slow-motion versions of his repertoire..
Michael Baumann of FanGraphs posted a nice summary of Rocker’s current success against the backdrop of his irregular, uncertain ascent to the Majors.
Adam Morris of Lone Star Ball offers his thoughts as well.
Jarrett Seidler and Tom Jackson of Baseball Prospectus summarizes the history and delves into his repertoire at length ($$ link).
Lance Brozdowki has a 12-minute video of Rocker’s repertoire, aided by some video shot by yours truly.
That should keep you occupied until the actual game starts.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 6, Sacramento (SFO) 5
Round Rock: 8 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 10 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 30-34, 6 GB, 67-71 overall
SP Adrian Sampson: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 2 SO, 91 P / 50 S, 5.57 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.78 ERA
RP Marc Church: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.60 ERA
C Sam Huff: 3-4, 2 2B, .246/.308/.407
LF Trevor Hauver: 1-3, HR (8), BB, .229/.345/.381
CF Kellen Strahm: 1-3, BB, SB (10), .250/.362/.333
Sam Huff had a fine evening, smacking three hard liners for two doubles and a 7th-inning RBI single that broke a 5-5 tie. Unfortnately, Huff has truly struggled since around the beginning of June, hitting .231/.270/.357 with a very respectable 20 doubles but only four homers in 64 games. His walk rate is down from 14% in 2023 to 8% this year, while the strikeout rate has increased from 24% to 32%. As to his future, I think the likelihood of him being on the 40 next April is very low. If he is, he’d be the #2 catcher (or #3, if Texas went that route) on the active roster because he’s out of options. But if the Rangers considered him a viable #2, I think he’d have more than his four 2024 MLB plate appearances. If he’s in the organization next season, I’d say the most likely way is by sliding through waivers.
AA: Frisco 3, @ Amarillo (ARI) 1
Frisco: 8 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 37-28, , 81-53 overall
SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 67 P / 45 S, 4.89 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.17 ERA
RP Dane Acker: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.08 ERA
SS Max Acosta: 3-4, HR (8), .280/.344/.417
Winston Santos finished the regular season with consecutive solid outings. For the season, he posted a 3.67 ERA with 34 walks and 138 strikeouts in 110.1 innings split between Hickory and Frisco. Last year, he fanned only 88 against nearly the same number of batters faced. Despite some homer-proneness upon promotion to Frisco, on the whole he was much less likely to surrender the long ball. All told, a fine and encouraging season. He’ll be added to the 40 in a couple of months.
Max Acosta had missed a few days and watched Sebastian Walcott’s debut Tuesday from the dugout. Last night, he offered evidence that he deserves to play as well. A while back, I mentioned him as someone who’s produced decent if modest numbers that don’t assure a promotion each year, but he gets promoted and hits just as well. His current line of .280/.345/.417 would be his best if it holds. And he’ll probably join Round Rock next March.
Walcott was 0-3 as a DH.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Garcia
AA: Bratt