AAA: Round Rock 3, at Reno (ARI) 11
Round Rock: 9 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Record: 9-10, 4 GB
SP Gerson Garabito: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 46 P / 30 S, 15.19 ERA
3B Cody Freeman: 2-4, 2B, .362/.396/.574
Dane Acker, Hunter Strickland and Michael Plassmeyer were also victimized. Round Rock hitters had the three hardest-hit balls and six of the top seven by distance, but the score says Reno blowout. Evan Carter played again and was 0-4 with three strikeouts. Cody Freeman is back from the IL.
AA: Frisco 2, Amarillo (ARI) 6
Frisco: 7 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 9-4, tied for first
SP Ben Anderson: 2.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 67 P / 40 S, 9.58 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 5.79 ERA
LF Wyatt Langford: 1-3, BB
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-4, 2B, BB, .255/.368/.426
Walcott doesn’t have a homer at Riders Field but has come close in each of the last three games. Wyatt Langford is wearing a #9 jersey with no name on the back and mismatched pants, as is custom.
Hi-A: Hub City 2, Bowling Green (TAM) 7
Hub City: 4 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 7-6, tied for first
SP David Davalillo: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO, 53 P / 39 S, 0.79 ERA
RP Florencio Serrano: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Marcus Smith: 1-3, HR (1), .143/.333/.357
Check that line again. Would you believe Bowling Green had only one baserunner through five, that on a strikeout / wild pitch? Unfortunately, the video feed was absent so I can’t describe David Davalillo’s performance beyond the box score. Despite curiously low pitch counts in all three starts, Davalillo has fanned 19 in 11.1 innings.
Seth Clark spent much of 2024 at AA Frisco and had been nearly flawless back in high-A, but not last night. With two out and a runner on first, a short fly landed for a single, and LF Marcus Smith’s throwing error plated the runner and placed the batter on third. After that: walk, single, HBP, single, walk, grand slam.
Lo-A: Hickory 0, at Charleston (TAM) 1
Hickory: 4 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 0 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Record: 7-6, 1 GB
SP Mason Molina: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 75 P / 53 S, 3.29 ERA
RP Michael Valverde: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.79 ERA
RP Jake Jekielek: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
Check that lline again. Hickory has thrown two no-hitters this season but only won one. Starter Mason Molina permitted no runners and only three balls out of the infield in six innings, all to RF Yeremi Cabrera. Michael Valverde retired three straight to bring Hickory within six out of a perfect game. The problem was the Crawdads hadn’t scored either, so they were focused on more than just history.
Alas, the first ball in play to LF Maxton Martin would end in horror, as the short fly deflected off his outstretched glove for what was initially ruled a single but changed to an error. SS Luis Marquez had raced a long distance from near second base (in position against a left-handed batter) in an attempt to reach the ball and probably spooked Martin, who seemed slightly off-line and then stabbed at the ball at the last moment. It was certainly an easier play for him, but I’d guess no one took charge or heard his teammate’s attempt to do so.
After a forceout, a walk and hit batter loaded the bases. Jose Monzon hit a sac fly to score the game’s first run. The Crawdads maintained the no-hitter after the scoring revision but found themselves three outs from defeat. Martin singled in the 9th but was stranded.
Hickory has allowed only 67 hits or 5.2 per game, easily the league’s best, but has walked or hit 79.
Today’s Starters
AAA: tbd
AA: Bratt
Hi-A: McCarty
Lo-A: Mejia
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The best offense since 2007 in a Rangers-involved league is the 2012 high-A Winston-Salem Dash, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The Dash outscored the park-adjusted league average by a ridiculous 34%, 5.73 runs per game versus an average of 4.29. Winston-Salem hit.278/.350/.444, leading the league in all the slashes plus 135 homers, 30 more than any other team. The team record of 87-51 easily led the league, and they would knock off the Rangers-affiliated Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2-1 before succumbing to an ordinary Lynchburg squad in the finals. In my playoff preview, I’d called for a Dash sweep Myrtle Beach based on an offensive advantage deemed “really, really, really large,” as the Pelicans comparatively had the league’s worst offense and seemingly underplayed their 74-65 record.
The Dash’s primary shortstop and occasional 2B was Marcus Semien, who hit .273/.362/.471 with 14 homers and 36 other extra-base hits in 107 games. He would make his MLB debut with Chicago the next year, play in the postseason three straight seasons with Oakland, and spend a year in Toronto before signing with you-know-who. Others to reach MLB included IF Yolmer Sanchez, catcher Kevan Smith, and OF Trayce Thompson. Of those three, only Thompson played much in high-A, leading the squad with 22 homers.