AAA: Round Rock 22, at Charlotte (CHW) 13
Round Rock: 21 hits, 13 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 3 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 23-26, 8.5 GB
SP Cory Abbott: 3.1 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 6 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 79 P / 46 S, 10.03 ERA
RP Peyton Gray: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.61 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 3-4, 3 BB, .211/.333/.211
1B Blaine Crim: 3-5, HR (10), BB, HBP, .301/.369/.558
SS Cody Freeman: 3-6, 2B, BB, .277/.326/.413
RF Kellen Strahm: 2-7, HR (5), .247/.349/.397
Round Rock defeated Charlotte 22-13 in a wild Mecklenburg County Men’s D-II (Competitive) Softball League tilt on Friday. The Express led 11-2 after three, but the Knights stormed back to a 13-13 tie before allowed nine unanswered. Round Rock will face DB’s Tavern tomorrow and HINH Insurance Group Sunday.
Texas activated Patrick Murphy after an inning at the complex; he allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings with two strikeouts. Murphy, who spent 2024 in Japan, had been under consideration for a rotation spot but hit the IL late in March. Peyton Gray missed seven bats, mostly with a changeup.
Dustin Harris is still seeking his first extra-base hit but lined three singles and drew three walks. Cody Freeman made his seventh start at short.
Texas traded IF Jonathan Ornelas to Atlanta for cash. I wasn’t expecting him to slide through waivers.
AA: Frisco 3, Midland (ATH) 0
Frisco: 6 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 25-17, 1.5 G up
SP Kumar Rocker: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 34 P / 23 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Ben Anderson: 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 4.54 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, .252/.428/.393
CF Josh Hatcher: 1-4, HR (6), .277/.297/.453
Kumar Rocker looked like he did last summer, overwhelming AA competition in a three-inning rehab. Rocker fanned three on a 98 sinker, clock violation and slider. One hit was true, the other a result of his hesitance to cover first on a grounder to 1B Abi Ortiz. Rocker’s next outing might occur in Round Rock next week, as Frisco will be in Amarillo.
Hi-A: Hub City 4, Rome (ATL) 1
Hub City: 8 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 23-20, tied for first
SP David Davalillo: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 SO, 80 P / 56 S, 0.92 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.96 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1.33 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, HR (5), .228/.331/.379
DH Anthony Gutierrez: 2-4, 2B, .258/.326/.292
David Davalillo matched a career-high ten strikeouts. He hasn’t allowed more than one run in any of eight starts. Dylan Dreiling has been relatively quiet in May but has two homers and a double in the Rome series so far.
Lo-A: Hickory 7, Myrtle Beach (CHC) 8 (11)
Hickory: 9 hits, 8 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 6 walks, 18 strikeouts
Record: 20-22, 3.5 GB
SP Caden Scarborough: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 SO, 71 P / 48 S, 4.55 ERA
2B Antonis Macias: 2-5, BB, .218/.393/.291
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 2-5, BB, SB (11), .223/.352/.289
Caden Scarborough fanned a career-high eight. His 42 on the season (in 29.2 IP) leads the team and ranks fourth in the league.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Garabito
AA: Bratt
Hi-A: McCarty
Lo-A: Molina
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The third-best full-season team in a Rangers-affiliated league during 2007-2024 was the 2021 high-A Bowling Green Hot Rods.
Record: 82-36
Run-differential record: 75-43
Component record: 79-39
No AL organization was better equipped to take advantage of the first āpost-covidā season than the Tampa Bay Rays, so much so that I canāt discuss them fully until Monday. The Rays won 100 games and had probably the best top-to-bottom modern-era minor league performance ever.
In 2021, due to various factors, the league didnāt employ a split-season format, but Bowling Green would have won both halves handily, posting a 39-21 record by the midway point and 43-15 thereafter. I can cherry-pick some mildly soft stretches, but Bowling Green never really slumped. The Hot Road were a modest 8-8 in one-run games and 74-28 (.725) in others. They won ten of 12 against a Hickory squad Iāll discuss down the line. Ā
The offense scored 6.1 runs per game, 19% better than the park-adjusted league average with a 123 wRC+, and the pitching and defense combined to allow 12% fewer runs than average and an opposing wRC+ of 86. Three Rods (Jordan Osar, Grant Witherpoon, Evan Edwards) hit 22-23 homers.
Future success for this group has been limited. A good number have reached the Majors but mostly for cups of coffee, limited utility use or trials that havenāt produced regular roles. Faring best has been righty Taj Bradley, a back-of-rotation starter since 2023. 2B/OF Brett Wisely has played 147 games for the Giants over the past three years, and utility infielder Curtis Mead has remained with the Rays. Great minor league teams donāt necessarily generate great or even average Major Leaguers.