Righty Emiliano Teodo has shoulder fatigue and was placed on the IL, hopefully not for long. Based on the MLB and Baseball America rankings, Texas’s top minor-level pitching prospect in good health is either Kohl Drake or David Davalillo. IF Nick Ahmed replaced Corey Seager on the Texas roster. Ahmed had not played in Round Rock since re-signing two weeks ago.
Texas also designated LHP Walter Pennington for assignment. The return for Michael Lorenzen last summer, Pennington was among the earliest optioned players this spring, and at the time Dane Dunning was waived, I’d expected Pennington to be the one removed. Pennington did not pitch in Round Rock but was not on the IL, instead occupying a spot on the rookie roster.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 2, Las Vegas (ATH) 1
Round Rock: 4 hits, 7 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
SP Jack Leiter: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 60 P / 40 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Dane Acker: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 4.50 ERA
CF Evan Carter: 1-3, 2B, BB, .178/.362/.289
SS Ezequiel Duran: 1-2, 2 BB, SB (1)
2B Jonathan Ornelas: 1-2, BB, .122/.229/.122
I covered Leiter yesterday. Evan Carter’s double was impressive not for its velocity but how he achieved it. He lined medium-hard between left and center and was instantly at full speed, beating the throw with a slide. Any hesitation would result in a single or single-plus-tag-out. Alas, Carter then tried to steal third and was caught. He later walked and scored (along with Zeke Duran) on a Blaine Crim single.
AAA: Round Rock 2, Las Vegas (ATH) 1 (7)
Round Rock: 5 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 13-10, 3 GB
SP Ryan Garcia: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 63 P / 41 S, 3.38 ERA
RP Cole Winn: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Ezequiel Duran: 1-3, HR (1)
RF Trevor Hauver: 2-3, 2B, .244/.341/.423
Ryan Garcia is back from whatever ailed him. The 2019 2nd-rounder reached AAA last summer and was impressive, if not enough to merit a 40 spot. Cole Winn pitched well again (but so did Jacob Latz and Caleb Boushley in the Majors).
Former Ranger Zak Kent made his MLB debut with three innings of one-run ball for Cleveland.
AA: Frisco 6, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 2
Frisco: 9 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 3 walks, 18 strikeouts
Record: 12-5, 3 G up
SP Kohl Drake: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 SO, 71 P / 46 S, 2.92 ERA
RP Peyton Gray: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.61 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 2.70 ERA
RF Abi Ortiz: 1-3, BB, SB (1), .294/.429/.471
LF Josh Hatcher: 2-4, 2B, .400/.397/.633
Kohl Drake fanned ten. Watch them all here. His K rate after three starts in 38%. Josh Hatcher already has eight multi-hit games in 14 played.
Hi-A: Hub City 4, Greenville (BOS) 3
Hub City: 9 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 10-7, tied for first
SP Kolton Curtis: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 53 P / 33 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Larson Kindreich: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Keith Jones II: 2-3, BB, SB (5), .255/.417/.362
1B Arturo Disla: 2-4, .271/.348/.441
Kolton Curtis made his first 2025 appearance and first at high-A. The undrafted 20-year-old has drawn attention for a four-pitch mix headed by a change. He sported a 2.85 ERA with few hits and many walks at Down East last year. Anthony Gutierrez (1-5) slashed an opposite-field single with two out in the 9th to bring in Quincy Scott with the winning run.
Lo-A: Hickory 0, Salem (BOS) 4
Hickory: 4 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 17 strikeouts
Record: 8-9, 2.5 GB
SP J’Briell Easley: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 53 P / 36 S, 0.82 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 3.68 ERA
Brock Porter pitched well again, resulting in a second-straight outing with no walks or hit batters. Per in-person observer Mark Parker, Porter’s fastball was in the 93-94 range, a touch higher than I’d previously heard. Irrespective of velocity, he’s struck out 14 of 40 batters and allowed only two hits, so he’s obviously got something going on. The undrafted Easley fanned half of his opponents and missed 14 bats.
Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Stephan
Hi-A: Trentadue
Lo-A: Scarborough
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The fifth-worst* full-season team in a Rangers-affiliated league during 2007-2004 is the 2021 Low-A Fredericksburg Nationals.
Team Record: 44-76
Run-Differential Record: 39-81
Component Record: 42-78
The Washington-affiliated FNats played against Down East in what was named the “Low A East” because MLB’s commandeering of the minors didn’t include league naming rights. The Nats were also a “new” team (relocated from Woodbridge, VA) in a new stadium (I’ve been there, it’s nice). Covid vaccines were available, albeit with difficulty, and outdoor sporting events were among the safest of social activities. What a glorious time for baseball!
Except the Nationals began the season with 15 consecutive losses, and not a bevy of frustrating one-run losses like the unlucky ’13 Mudcats I covered yesterday. No. Fredericksburg was outscored 154-39, a margin of 7.7 runs per game, losing six by at least 11 runs and another six by margins in the four-to-six range. During this period, Fredericksburg hit .164/.273/.213 with only 14 extra-base hits, while opponents hit .308/.408/.502 with 63 extra-base hits. There are longer streaks in recent history (AAA Rochester’s 19 straight in 2022, for example), but Fredericksburg’s might be the most lopsided in terms of how the games transpired. The Nats were never unlucky. As shown above, across the season they actually won more games than expected based on their run differential and components.
After finally winning, they commenced a decent stretch of competitiveness (14-16) including a 4-2 series against a strong Down East squad. They then lost six straight and would play .350 ball until the final week, when they prevented a higher ranking on this list with a four-game win streak.
A handful of Nats eventually graduated to the Majors, the most successful to date being OF Jacob Young, who was drafted that summer and assigned to Fredericksbug in August, and lefty Mitchell Parker, who started three of those opening 15 losses but would escape to high-A in July.
As you’ll discover soon, Fredericksburg wasn’t even the worst team in the league.
* I debated excluding 2021 or at least the low-A level from the rankings. Covid ruined 2020, plus the short-A level had been eliminated. A good number of players occupied that uneasy ground between “too good for the complex” and “not quite ready for full-season ball,” and all were rusty and lacking thorough evaluation. Organizations probably had never faced as tough a task as populating their low-A teams that year. That said, the parent clubs of the two 2021 teams in my top five had weak farm systems, especially in depth, and both fielded poor squads throughout the system with the lone exception of one club’s AA team.