AAA: Round Rock 7, Toledo (DET) 1
Round Rock: 14 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 3-4, 3 GB
SP David Buchanan: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 78 P / 49 S, 1.93 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Matt Festa: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 3-5, SB (3)
1B Blaine Crim: 4-5, 2 2B
3B Cody Freeman: 3-5, 2B
LF Kellen Strahm: 2-3, BB
Emiliano Teodo matched Tuesday’s effectiveness if not excitement. He escaped an inherited two-on, one-out situation in the 5th with two easy flies before tacking on some strikeouts in the 6th. The sinker topped at 98.3 and averaged 96.6, more than two tics below Monday. Teodo can throw as hard as almost anyone, but not always, it seems. I noticed the same in his Spring Breakout outing.
Dustin Harris hit a single at 109.7 MPH off the bat, a full three above his previous high in the regular season. Like last year, his hard-hit rate is nothing special in the early going, but at least he’s produced evidence of a higher ceiling. Blaine Crim hit three balls 100+ because he’s Blaine Crim.
Evan Carter missed his second straight night.
OF Sam Haggerty was placed on the Injured List. He’d been removed after running the bases late in Thursday’s contest.
AA: Frisco 5, Corpus Christi (HOU) 7
Frisco: 7 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 0-1, 1 GB
SP Winston Santos: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 56 P / 36 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1.1 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 6.75 ERA
RP Travis MacGregor: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 1-4, BB, SB (1)
RF Josh Hatcher: 3-4, SB (1)
C Cooper Johnson: 1-3, HR (1), BB
Winston Santos was outstanding for two innings, but in the 3rd he confirmed my Daily Primer statement about single-inning pitch counts. Two called strikeouts, a seven-pitch walk, and two lengthy appearances resulting in hits pushed his count to 30, so he was removed. Before then, nearly half of opposing swings resulted in misses, but Corpus batters fouled off a bunch of pitches in the 3rd. Still, he fanned six of 13 batters (video), and maybe in a mid-season game he would’ve been given a shot at closing the inning.
Alejandro Osuna made a terrific running catch on the track with his back to the plate.
SS Sebastian Walcott was 1-5 with a hustling blooped double.
Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Aberdeen (BAL) 3 (12)
Hub City: 10 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 9 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 1-0, tied for 1st
SP David Davalillo: 3 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 45 P / 26 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Paul Bonzagni: 3.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 2.45 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Julian Brock: 2-5, BB
RF Keith Jones II: 2-5
David Davilillo was a little wild but otherwise matched the form I saw in the Spring Breakout game, not allowing a hit or even much in the way of hard contact across three innings. The run scored on a walk, stolen base, error and sac fly. Last year, Davilillo put three runners on base via walks or hit batters only six times in 22 appearances.
Also like the Spring Breakout, Paul Bonzagni’s outing was more hectic. The homer was cheap, traveling perhaps 330 and clearing just to the left of the 310′ sign in the right field corner.
Joey Danielson, a highlight of my Surprise trip, worked out of a couple of jams to extend the game in the 9th and 10th innings. In the 9th, a bunt single and intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, but Danielson induced a pop and struck out the next batter on a nifty slider.
2024 top picks C Malcolm Moore, LF Dylan Dreiling and 2B Casey Cook all were 1-6. Moore didn’t have a fun night behind the dish, allowing a passed ball and throwing well wide of second for an error on an attempt to nab a runner. Aberdeen swiped five bases against him, but in reviewing the footage, I think I can safely place most or all of the blame on the pitchers for at least three of them. On two occasions, Moore didn’t even bother to throw.
Hub City’s first stolen base belongs to 1B Arturo Disla (1-3, BB), who I’ve decided is the largest position player in affiliated ball unless I see someone bigger (I have done no research). Disla took off against a napping pitcher and slid under the tag. Down a run in the 9th, the Spartanburgers scored on singles by Disla (who at that point was pulled for a pinch-runner), Keith Jones II and SS Esteban Mejia.
Lo-A: Hickory 7, at Kannapolis (CHW) 4
Hickory: 7 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 9 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 1-0, tied for 1st
SP Caden Scarborough: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 53 P / 30 S, 3.00 ERA
RP Nick Lockhart: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Dalton Pence: 2 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 4.50 ERA
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 SB (2)
C Ben Hartl: 2-3, 2 HBP
3B Rafe Perich: 1-4, 2B, BB
Hickory scored three in the 8th and 9th to reverse a late three-run deficit. Kannapolis was largely responsible for the first three, hitting two batters and committing a error that plated two. LF Maxton Martin’s double was the only hit. In the 9th, RF Marcos Torres led off with a triple. A single by CF Yeremi Cabrera, another hit batter, a Martin sac fly and 3B Rafe Perich double would follow.
Making his third professional start three days after his 20th birthday, 2023 6th-rounder Scarborough began by striking out the side (two looking, one swinging) with almost nothing but 95-96 MPH fastballs. After a five-pitch 2nd, Scarborough would suddenly lose the handle, walking three after a single to force in a run. He introduced more sliders as the evening progressed but wasn’t getting much action, mostly relying on a fastball that he could place near the inside and outside borders for success.
Unlike Bonzagni’s above, the homer by Lyle Miller-Green off Dalton Pence’s fifth professional pitch was not cheap. Pence, an above-slot 11th-rounder with a high-rising fastball, had to deal with a walk, double and couple of steals but avoided any further damage.
Not to diminish his accomplishments, but 2024 14th-round catcher Ben Hartl led something of a charmed life last summer, hitting .381/.481/.432 at low-A Down East and even getting some action and two hits with AAA Round Rock. He reached four times last night.
Surprise fave Perich performed to plan, seeing 24 pitches in his five trips to the plate and collecting a walk and opposite-field double.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Houser
AA: Bratt
Hi-A: Gonzalez
Lo-A: Molina