Month: May 2025

On Monday, Texas designated IF Jonathan Ornelas for assignment and claimed OF Michael Clement off waivers from Pittsburgh.

I can’t say I expected Ornelas to be pushed off the 40 this soon, but I had thought about thinking about it. He was on his last option and has backslid in AAA, with his isolated power in AAA dropping from .106 in 2023 to .075 last year to .029. Ornelas has XBH-worthy exit velocity undercut by a huge number of grounders. Among Express hitters with a decent number of trips to the plate, Ornelas’s average exit of 91.5 on balls hit 20 degrees or higher is the best on the team, but his rate of airborne balls is the worst. Of the 465 hitters with at least 350 PA in AAA the past three seasons, Ornelas’s 58% grounder rate is second highest. Since he has an option and is versatile, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were claimed.

This was a straight-up swap, as Helman is utility depth, having played second, short, center and right for AAA Memphis this season before being waived by St. Louis, nabbed by Pittsburgh and immediately re-designated. The 28-year-old was drafted in 2018’s 11th round out of Texas A&M and briefly reached the Majors last year with Minnesota, collecting three hits in ten trips to the plate. He sports a career line of .257/.331/.445 in 214 AAA games. Replacing Helman in Pittsburgh was former Ranger Nick Solak, who hadn’t swung a bat in the Majors since 2022 but had been hitting well in AAA.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, at Charlotte (CHW) 1
Round Rock: 8 hits, 7 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 22-24, 8.5 GB

SP Dane Dunning: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 54 P / 37 S, 7.07 ERA
RP Ryan Garcia: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 7.79 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-5, 2B, .287/.350/.545

Venturing east of Nashville for the first time, the Express won the opener of the six-game series in Charlotte. OF Marcus Smith homered, singled twice and stole two bases. He has a Sam Huff-esque batting profile so far with a high miss rate but shockingly solid contact when he connects. Smith has a .714 slugging percentage in Round Rock and a .291 percentage in his other 1,044 professional plate appearances. “Nobody knows anybody. Not that well,” as a movie character once said.

Incidentally, Adrian Houser signed with the White Sox. He did not start for AAA Charlotte last night against Round Rock, instead throwing six scoreless for the Sox themselves en route to a 1-0 win against Seattle.

Instead, Charlotte’s starter was a different ex-Ranger, Owen White, who yielded two runs in five innings. White missed 16 bats last night and has one of the better swinging-strike rates among International League starters, but it hasn’t translated into a strong K rate or effectiveness in general. He’s outpitched his 5.31 ERA, but not by much.

AA: Frisco 3, Midland (ATH) 12
Frisco: 7 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 6 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 22-17, -1.5

SP Trey Supak: 1.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 39 P / 27 S, 2.93 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-5, .258/.436/.412

Frisco scored 39 runs over the course of five early weekday games over the past three weeks but lost three. Trey Supak has pitched well enough to maintain a sub-3.00 ERA despite yesterday’s pounding. Frisco led the division by three games two weeks ago but has gone 5-7 since while Midland won 11 of 13.

Hi-A: Hub City 3, Rome (ATL) 6
Hub City: 3 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 20-20, 2 GB

SP Leandro Lopez: 6 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 73 P / 50 S, 2.30 ERA
RP Dylan MacLean: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 SO, 6.00 ERA
LF Keith Jones II: 0-1, 3 BB, .277/.439/.437
CF Dylan Dreilng: 1-4, HR (4), .220/.329/.356
C Julian Brock: 2-4, .170/.262/.266

Leandro Lopez has a 9.2% BB/HBP rate compared to the league’s 12.8%. Never thought I’d see the day. Opponents are hitting .220/.292/.280 with a 27% strikeout rate. With 33 walks, Keith Jones II has usurped the organization lead from Aaron Zavala, which is saying something.

Lo-A: Hickory 2, Myrtle Beach (CHC) 1
Hickory: 3 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 19-20, 3.5 GB

SP Ismael Agreda: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO, 78 P / 51 S, 2.03 ERA
RP Kai Wynyard: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 2.35 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 1-3, BB, .207/.333/.345

21-year-old Ismael Agreda has three straight scoreless outings of five innings. Agreda’s free pass rate is still a hefty 14%, but that’s an improvement over last year, and he’s been very tough to hit.

Hickory scored two in the 8th on a wild pitch and bases-loaded walk. Myrtle Beach cut the deficit on a Chandler Pollard error after two walks and two passed balls.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Blach
AA: Drake
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: Perry

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
A few weeks ago, I discussed the unluckiest team and the five genuinely worst teams in a Texas-affiliated full-season league during 2007-2024. This week, we do the opposite.  The luckiest team during 2007-2024 was the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League, an opponent of high-A Down East during 2019.

Team record: 82-56
Run-differential record: 71-67
Component record: 63-75

KC-affiliated Wilmington was, generously, a .500-level club that won nearly 60% of its games. The Blue Rocks were a ridiculous 41-18 in one-run games and 41-38 in all others. They had a genuinely solid pitching staff but a dismal offense, not only scoring a league-worst 3.5 runs per game but being lucky to do so, as their 87 OPS+ and wRC+ indicated about 0.4 fewer runs per game than they actually scored. They weren’t especially lucky in RISP situations, either. Honestly, I don’t have a good explanation for what they did.

Wilmington rather annoyingly would go on to win the league title despite averaging an even three runs per game and being outscored across ten games. Robert Garcia threw 1.1 scoreless innings in relief of Kris Bubic in the deciding game.

Texas officially signed 18-year-old Korean RHP/SS Seong-Jun Kim, Per local media, the intent to to develop him at both positions. Don’t look for his name in the stats in 2025, as he’ll be heading back to Korea to finish his primary education.

Also, the beats say Kumar Rocker’s live bullpen session on Sunday went well, and absent further issues he’ll commence a multi-game rehab assignment. I couldn’t say when or where, but Frisco hosts Midland this week, while Round Rock heads to Charlotte and returns to face Reno next week.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, Oklahoma City (LAD) 4 (10)
Round Rock: 5 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 21-24, 9 GB

SP Gerson Garabito: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 58 P / 37 S, 8.44 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 0.2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 8.18 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 1-4, HR (9), BB, .283/.348/.543
3B Jonathan Ornelas: 1-3, 2 BB, SB (3), .204/.339/.235

One out from a 3-0 shut out, Blaine Crim homered to send the game to extras. Jonathan Ornelas and Alejandro Osuna preceded him by getting hit. Round Rock again trailed and was an out from defeat, but Kellen’s Strahm’s two-run single.

OF Alejandro Osuna’s first week in AAA concluded with a line of .286/.474/.500 in four games. Osuna had only one hard hit out of eight in play, but he found some empty spots in the defense. He was particularly good at avoiding chases, and when he did, his contact rate was well above average.

Round Rock visits White Sox-affiliated Charlotte this week for one of the handful of interleague matchups.

AA: cancelled

Frisco and Corpus don’t meet again in the first half, so this won’t be rescheduled. The Riders host division-leading Midland this week. They were last year’s two best teams in the Texas League and are again leading the pack in 2025.

Hi-A: Hub City 6, @ Greenville (BOS) 3
Hub City: 6 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 20-19, 1 GB

SP Jose Gonzalez: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 41 P / 24 S, 3.24 ERA
RP Josh Sanders: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.35 ERA
RP Willan Bormie: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0.90 ERA
RF Keith Jones II: 2-3, BB, SB (8), .280/.430/.441
C Julian Brock: 1-2, 2 BB, .156/.252/.256
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, HR (4), .212/.275/.331

Hub City’s oft-quiet offense managed a stout 5.8 runs per game this week. Greenville is glad to be rid of Keith Jones II, who batted .417/.533/.708 and reached safely 16 times.

Lo-A: Hickory 2, Kannapolis (CHW) 5
Hickory: 4 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 10 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 18-20, 3.5 GB

SP Dalton Pence: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 47 P / 33 S, 2.91 ERA
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 2-4, .229/.354/.303

Pence’s five strikeouts were a season high. Yeremi Cabrera has a six-game hit streak with 11 hits. Before that, he was 0-for-14 with eight strikeouts. Funny game, baseball.

It’s early, but Hickory is on pace for 55 homers, which would easily be the fewest by any Texas-affiliated low-A team since at least 2007 (probably the fewest of any full-season club, but I haven’t checked yet). Down East hit 76 last year in a tougher park. In fairness, the entire league isn’t hitting many, with the average team on pace for just 70.  Rafe Perich leads the Crawdads with five.

Elsewhere
IF Alan Trejo is a free agent again. Colorado called him up immediately after acquiring him from the Rangers for cash. He’d never hit much for the Rockies previously and didn’t this time, and after being outrighted he took his leave.

The Angles called up Hunter Strickland, who’d left the Rangers two weeks ago. I didn’t see anything to suggest he’d get a chance in Arlington any time soon.

Rule 5 catcher Liam Hicks is hitting .282/.357/.482 for the Marlins. His slugging percentage in 190 AA games was .361. Maimi swiped him from Detroit last December following his deadline trade from Texas. As I’ve mentioned, I doubt the Rangers would have added him to the 40, either. More power to him.

Sam Huff isn’t hitting much (.190/.239/.286, 1 HR) but has maintained an MLB paycheck. The Giants are 28-19 despite getting next to nothing from their catcher. Top dog Patrick Bailey is hitting .185/.237/.252, albeit with exceptional defense.

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
For the final look at pitchers, I wanted to measure how well they helped themselves with some “little things” that either don’t appear in typical stat tables or tend to be ignored. Each pitcher gets a point for a GIDP and caught stealing and loses a point for each steal, hit batter, wild pitch and balk. Then I indexed that sum per 100 batters faced. I could’ve adjusted for eras and assigned run values to each component, but I decided to keep things simple. Most pitchers had net negative scores, but nearly everyone atop these lists was positive. This is, admittedly, a pretty random assortment of names, but some are interesting. As always, everyone on the list is or was at least marginally a prospect; I’ve omitted AAA vets and the like.

The best starting season was produced by Ryan Tatusko, who was also featured yesterday for his two homers allowed in 100 innings in 2010 preceding his trade (with Tanner Roark) to Washington. The best relief season belongs to Wes Littleton in 2007. That’s a little bit of a cheat since he was no longer technically a prospect, having pitched 35 MLB innings the year before, but I wanted to include him because he pitched 32 AAA innings without a single hit batter, wild pitch, balk or stolen base allowed. (He also walked only eight and allowed a reasonable 31 hits, but two terrible outings out of 23 boosted his ERA to an unsightly 5.01.)

Best at net steals plus avoiding hit batters, wild pitches and balks, per 100 batters, min. 90 IP:

Best at all that stuff mentioned above, per 100 batters, min. 30 IP:

Best, 400+ IP career:

Best, 300-399 IP career:

Best, 200-299 IP career:

Best, 100-199 IP career:

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, Oklahoma City (LAD) 7
Round Rock: 6 hits, 7 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 20-24, 9 GB

SP Cory Abbott: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 66 P / 44 S, 7.56 ERA
RP Luis Curvelo: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.18 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 2-4, BB, 2 SB (6), .186/.273/.186

Dustin Harris spent a month with the Rangers but is still trying to get on track with the Express. I’ve discussed his below-average exit velos at length, but he’s always hit for average and drawn plenty of walks.

AA: Frisco 4, Corpus Christi (HOU) 6
Frisco: 7 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 22-16, tied for 1st

SP Mitch Bratt: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 8 SO, 81 P / 56 S, 2.21 ERA
3B Sebastian Walcott: 1-5, HR (5), .241/.344/.387
C Ian Moller: 2-4, HR (2), .140/.283/.220

Sebastian Walcott has three homers in his last five games.

Last night’s three runs were the most allowed by Mitch Bratt this season. Like David Davalillo, Bratt said “hey, what if I get better at walks and strikeouts.”
2024: 8% BB/HBP, 26% SO
2025: 6% BB/HBP, 32% SO

Ian Moller is playing more frequently with Cooper Johnson’s advance to AAA. He’s always walked frequently but hasn’t shown as much with the bat, and the assignment to AA was aggressive given his past. He’s matched last year’s two homers in only one-fifth the plate appearances, so that’s something.

Hi-A: Hub City 6, @Greenville (BOS) 5
Hub City: 9 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 19-19, 2 GB

SP DJ McCarty: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 73 P / 41 S, 10.45 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 1.80 ERA
DH Keith Jones II: 2-5, 2B, HR (5), SB (7), .270/.418/.435
1B Arturo Disla: 2-4, 2B, .250/.304/.419

Hub City led early, trailed late and scored the tying and go-ahead runs on sac flies by Cal Stark (scoring Arturo Disla) and Quincy Scott (scoring Danyer Cueva).

The Rangers signed 14 draft picks from four-year schools last summer. Seven are already in high-A:
1. C Malcolm Moore (hurt)
2. OF Dylan Dreiling
3. IF Casey Cook
8. RHP Anthony Susac
9. OF Keith Jones II
16. RHP Eric Loomis
17. RHP Joey Danielson

Of the others, five are at low-A Hickory and two are recovering from injury.

Lo-A: Hickory 11, Kannapolis (CHW) 6
Hickory: 12 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 18-19, 3.5 GB

SP Mason Molina: 5.1 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 8 SO, 75 P / 50 S, 3.95 ERA
SS Chandler Pollard: 2-4, 2B, BB, .287/.369/.324
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 2-4, HR (1), HBP, .219/.349/.295
C Ben Hartl: 2-3, HBP, .197/.324/.246
3B Rafe Perich: 2-3, 2B, HR (4), BB, .209/.331/.355

Yeremi Cabrera hit his first full-season homer in 52 games. Cabrera isn’t exactly beefy but slugged .571 for the rookies last year and .559 in the Dominican Summer League in 2023. Mason Molina matched the season-high eight strikeouts in his Texas debut.

Transactions:
I’d written up some moves but neglected to actually place them in a report, so let’s get caught up. Texas released RHP Adrian Houser (presumably at his request/demand), but he could return. IF Justin Foscue is on the IL. C Jesus Lopez is back in Hickory. Righties Paul Bonzagni and Nick Lockhart were transferred to the 60-day IL. Bonzagni had come down with elbow inflammation last month. Lockhart missed all of 2024 and made only one appearance this season. I saw him throwing a 94-96 sinker with an 89 change and 82-83 slider in March.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Supak
Hi-A: Gonzalez
Lo-A: Pence

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
17 Rangers have pitched at least 30 full-season innings in a season without allowing a homer, led by CJ Edwards’ 93.1 innings across 18 appearances. That is also Edwards’ career total as a Ranger, because he was traded that season with others for Matt Garza. The leader in homerless innings among relievers is the unheralded Ryan Turner, a soft-tossing late-round 2007 pick who pitched well for low-A Clinton in 2008 but was never heard from again. Zach Phillips began pitching in 2005 and is active today in Mexico; only once has he allowed more than one homer per nine innings while pitching at least 30 in a season.

HR+ is the index of homers per plate appearance relative to the league and park. Lower is better.

Best relative HR%, min. 90 IP season:
CJ Edwards — 93.1 IP, 0 HR, 0 HR+ (2013)
Reid Anderson — 117.1 IP, 2 HR, 19 HR+ (2018)
Andrew Faulkner — 94 IP, 2 HR, 22 HR+ (2012)
Ryan Tatusko — 100 IP, 2 HR, 24 HR+ (2010)
Derek Holland — 150.2 IP, 3 HR, 28 HR+ (2008)

Min. 30 IP, 0 HR, top five by innings:
Ryan Turner — 67.2 IP (2008)
Francisco Mendoza — 66.2 IP (2015)
Cody Buckel — 59.7 IP (2014)
Brady Feigl — 58.2 IP (2018)
Beau Jones — 52.2 IP (2010)

Best relative HR%, 400+ IP career:
Zach Phillips — 486 IP, 22 HR, 53 HR+
Andrew Faulkner — 486 IP, 26 HR, 64 HR+
Nick Martinez — 452 IP, 26 HR, 68 HR+

Best relative HR%, 300-399 IP career:
Robbie Ross Jr. — 368 IP, 19 R, 53 HR+
Chi Chi Gonzalez — 384 IP, 18 HR, 56 HR+
Sal Mendez — 368 IP, 21 HR, 63 HR+

Best relative HR%, 200-299 IP career:
Ben Rowen — 229 IP, 6 HR, 31 HR+
Demarcus Evans — 200 IP, 10 HR, 44 HR+
Phil Klein — 258 IP, 10 HR, 44 HR+

Best relative HR%, 100-199 IP career:
AJ Murray — 157 IP, 6 HR, 35 HR+
Kendy Batista — 128 IP, 5 HR, 38 HR+
Corey Young — 180 IP, 7 HR, 38 HR+

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 2, Oklahoma City (LAD) 8
Round Rock: 7 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 20-23, 8 GB

SP Dane Dunning: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 55 P / 32 S, 7.88 ERA
RP Ryan Garcia: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 10.13 ERA
RP Robbie Ahlstrom: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3.60 ERA
RF Marcus Smith: 2-3, 2B, BB, SB (1), .333/.520/.778

I do wish Dane Dunning could show enough to re-enter the long-man discussion, either to actually help the Rangers or have someone take him off Texas’s hands. I harp on the difficulty (sometimes the impossibility, in certain locations) of pitching well in the PCL environment, maybe to the point where it seems we can just ignore the stats, but that’s not really true. Pitchers capable of retiring Major League hitters will succeed here.

I hadn’t paid much mind to Marcus Smith because he’s just here to help out, but darned if he isn’t really helping out. He was part of the Mike Minor trade with Oakland in 2020, arguably the primary part, but was swallowed whole by the strikeout monster in 2022 and hurt much of 2021 and 2023. He’ll become a free agent after the season.

AA: Frisco 6, Corpus Christi (HOU) 5 (11)
Frisco: 9 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 22-15, tied for first

SP Ben Anderson: 6 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 77 P / 50 S, 5.34 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaeno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 5.40 ERA
RP Jenser Lara: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 3.86 ERA
1B Abi Ortiz: 2-4, HR (6), 2 BB, .275/.358/.481
CF Josh Hatcher: 2-6, .266/.289/.445

Josh Hatcher walked it off for the Quesos, as they were called last night. Abi Ortiz is hitting .485/.553/.879 with three homers and four doubles during an eight-game hitting streak.

Hi-A: Hub City 3, @Greenville (BOS) 2
Hub City: 8 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Record: 18-19, 2.5 GB

SP David Davalillo: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 80 P / 53 S, 1.08 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.23 ERA
RF Keith Jones II: 2-4, BB, .264/.418/.400
1B Arturo Disla: 2-5, 2B, .242/.299/.402
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, SB (7), .224/.333/.344
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-2, 2 BB, .207/.274/.306

David Davalillo, 2024:
8% BB/HBP, 25% SO

David Davalillo, 2025:
6% BB/HBP, 36% SO

Davalillo will be prominent in the 40/R5 discussion in six months, quite possibly in the category of “not ready for MLB now but too promising to leave off the 40.” An uptick in velocity and improved control have him shredding the Sally.

Lo-A: Hickory 2, Kannapolis (CHW) 5
Hickory: 9 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 17-19, 3.5 GB

SP Caden Scarborough: 3.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 69 P / 45 S, 4.85 ERA
RP Grant Cherry: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 2.70 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2.70 ERA
LF Maxton Martin: 2-4, HR (3), .293/.336/.474

Righty Grant Cherry signed with Texas as an undrafted free agent out of Long Beach State.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Bratt
Hi-A: McCarty
Lo-A: Molina

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The best season for control by a starting pitcher during 2007-2004 belongs to Blake Beavan in 2010. In 110 innings, Beavan walked only 12 and hit one batter. Beavan’s calling cards when drafted were a 97 MPH fastball and his confidence in it. Unfortunately, his velocity dipped considerably as a pro, an issue that ruined the careers of some of his peers, but to his credit he adjusted as best he could. Beavan simply despised giving up free passes and wasn’t going to be beat that way. In terms of longevity, Richard Bleier had the best combination of innings and control, and he parlayed that into an eight-year MLB career, which to be honest is eight years more than I expected when watching some of the 360 innings he dealt for AA Frisco during 2010-2013.

A bunch of relievers have posted similarly amazing walk/HBP rates over the years. Of the five in he single-season category below, Nick Snyder threw the hardest.

In the lists below, BB/HBP+ means the index of combined walks and hit batter relative to the league average. Lower is better.

Best relative BB/HBP rates, min. 90 IP season:
Blake Beavan — 110 IP, 3.0% BB/HBP, 29 BB/HBP+ (2010)
Joe Wieland — 129.2 IP, 3.3%, 34 (2011)
John King — 97.1 IP, 3.7%, 35 (2019)
Ariel Jurado — 99 IP, 3.3%, 36 (2015)
Robbie Erlin — 121.1 IP, 3.6%, 36 (2011)

Next in line are Alejandro Rosario (if you lower the cutoff to 88 IP) in 2024, Kyle Hendricks in 2012 and Tyler Phillips in 2018.

Best relative BB/HBP rates, min. 30 IP season:
Yohander Mendez — 31 IP, 1.7% BB/HBP, 17 BB/HBP+ (2014)
Tyler Tufts — 62.1 IP, 3.1%, 31  (2011)
Ben Rowen — 57.1 IP, 3.3%, 32 (2012)
Cody Eppley — 67.2 IP, 3.2%, 34 (2009)
Nick Snyder — 33 IP, 4.1%, 35 (2021)

Mendez’s season is an outlier in that he made seven starts, whereas the others were traditional relievers.

Best relative BB/HBP, min. 400 IP career:
Richard Bleier — 546 IP, 5.3% BB/HBP, 53 BB/HBP+
Ariel Jurado — 503 IP, 5.8%, 60
Richelson Pena — 495 IP, 6.1%, 63

Best relative BB/HBP, 300-399 IP career:
Blake Beavan — 395 IP, 4.5%, 45
Joe Wieland — 361 IP, 5.1%, 52
Tyler Tufts — 340 IP, 5.9%, 60

Best relative BB/HBP, 200-299 IP career:
Robbie Erlin — 236 IP, 4.1%, 43
Cody Bradford — 294 IP, 6.6%, 52
Alex Claudio — 227 IP, 5.4%, 55

Best relative BB/HBP, 100-199 IP career:
Kyle Hendricks — 134 IP, 4.3%, 42
John King — 138 IP, 5.1%, 45
Ace Walker — 168 IP, 5.2%, 51

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, Oklahoma City (LAD) 5 (10)
Round Rock: 9 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Record: 20-22, 8 GB

SP Ty Blach: 5.1 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 82 P / 52 S, 2.38 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 7.84 ERA
RP Peyton Gray: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.52 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 2-4, 2B, HBP
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 1-3, 2 BB, .193/.311/.216

Emiliano Teodo (shoulder fatigue) pitched in Round Rock for the first time in a month, averaging 97 with the sinker and getting one whiff on an 84 slider. Alejandro Osuna had another two-hit game. The Express won in the 10th when OKC 2B Austin Gauthier couldn’t handle Alex De Goti’s two-out full-count grounder, allowing Cody Freeman to score.

Dustin Harris had back-to-back two-hit games in mid-April, but since then he has a total of two hits in 13 games. Justin Foscue donned a golden sombrero in Las Vegas April 24th. Since then: 15 games, 65 plate appearances, 3 strikeouts… and an OBP of. .338, which is low for him.

AA: Frisco 2, Corpus Christi (HOU) 4
Frisco: 6 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 21-15, 1 GB

SP Josh Stephan: 5 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 75 P / 54 S, 6.84 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 6.92 ERA
DH Aaron Zavala: 2-3, BB, .271/.444/.447

All the hits off Stephan were singles. He’s had a wild year, sometimes dominant sometimes very much the opposite.

Aaron Zavala has five two-hit games in May with 14 games on the calendar. His most in any month during 2023-2024 was six.

Hi-A: Hub City 11, @Greenville (BOS) 12 (11)
Hub City: 8 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 10 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 17-19, 3 GB

SP Kolton Curtis: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 69 P / 40 S, 5.54 ERA
RP Willan Bormie: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 1.00 ERA
RP Josh Mollerus: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.16 ERA
RF Keith Jones II: 2-5, .255/.412/.396
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-5, .202/.258/.303

A  fun if not especially clinical game. The teams combined for 15 walks, eight errors and a few other miscues. Hub City entered the 9th with two runs on two hits and a seven-run deficit. Six more hits plus a walk and error tied the game, but the Burgers eventually succumbed. In the bottom of the 11th, a dismal safe call on a would-be 4-6 groundout added a runner and subtracted an out, and Anthony Susac would eventually walk in the winning run. Hub City managed to score 11 without an extra-base hit and only three hits with runners in scoring position.

Lo-A: Hickory 5, Kannapolis (CHW) 4 (10)
Hickory: 6 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 17-18, 2.5 GB

SP J’Brielle Easley: 3.2 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 69 P / 43 S, 3.42 ERA
RP William Privette: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.80 ERA
SS Chandler Pollard: 1-3, 2 BB, .293/.375/.323
C Beycker Barroso: 2-3, BB, .234/.373/.277

Similar to the high-A game, Hickory walked off in strange fashion, as pitcher Liam Paddack threw away Beycker Barroso’s leadoff sacrifice bunt, allowing gift-runner Pablo Geurrero to score from second.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Anderson
Hi-A: Davalillo
Lo-A: Scarborough

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
Deciding who was Texas’s best strikeout pitcher during 2007-2024 is tricky because we need to differentiate between starters and relievers and also account for the huge increase in strikeouts over the years. Weirdly, nobody during the post-covid period appears on the lists below. I rated everyone relative to the league average, and my guess is that with league rates so high compared to 10 or more years ago, standing out has become increasingly difficult. The league-average K rate in Texas’s low-A league was 19% in 2015. During 2021-2024, it was 26%.

The best strikeout-oriented season by a starter was Miguel De Los Santos in 2011. He had one of the best changeups I ever saw. In terms of longevity, Luke Jackson, Neil Ramirez and, yes, Kasey Kiker top the lists.

The best reliever for strikeouts during 2007-2024 was Demarcus Evans. Evans’ last four months of 2018 were the most dominant of any pitcher in the system. From mid-May onward he faced 175 batters, walking 14 and striking out out 89 (51%!) in 46 innings.

In the lists below, SO+ means strikeout rate relative to league, so for example, a 35% K rate in a league with a 25% rate means a 140 SO+ (35 divided by 25, indexed to 100).

Best relative SO%, 90+ IP season:
Miguel De Los Santos — 91.2 IP, 35.0% SO, 179 SO+ (2011)
Wilmer Font — 98.1 IP, 34.6% SO, 169 SO+ (2012)
Neil Ramirez — 98 IP, 28.9% SO, 161 SO+ (2011)
CJ Edwards — 93.1 IP, 32.4% SO, 151 SO+ (2013)
Neil Ramirez — 103 IP, 30.5% SO, 151 SO+ (2013)

Note: The best combinations of high strikeouts and high innings would be Edinson Volquez in 2007 (144.1 IP, 156 SO+, but a dubious inclusion because he was infamously demoted to high-A after reaching the Majors), Neftali Feliz in 2008 (127 IP, 150 SO+), and Derek Holland in 2008 (150 IP, 135 SO+).

Best relative SO%, 30+ IP season:
Demarcus Evans — 56 IP, 46.8% SO, 203 SO+ (2018)
Jeffrey Springs — 56.2 IP, 41.7% SO, 199 SO+ (2018)
Alexi Ogando — 30.2 IP, 35.3% SO, 194 SO+ (2010)
Pedro Strop — 42.1 IP, 32.9% SO, 193 SO+ (2010)
Demarcus Evans — 60 IP, 42.6% SO% 179 SO+ (2019)

Best relative SO%, 400+ IP career:
Luke Jackson — 569 IP, 25.0% SO, 125 SO+
Neil Ramirez — 531 IP, 24.3% SO, 124 SO+
Kasey Kiker — 429 IP, 22.9% SO, 122 SO+

Best relative SO%, 300-399 IP career:
Wilmer Font — 368 IP, 27.3% SO, 133 SO+
Jose Leclerc — 303 IP, 27.0% SO, 131 SO+
Cody Buckel — 366 IP, 25.5% SO, 127 SO+

Best relative SO%, 200-299 IP career:
Demarcus Evans — 200 IP, 39.0% SO, 167 SO+
Jeffrey Springs — 249 IP, 32.9% SO, 150 SO+
Neftali Feliz — 263 IP, 27.4% SO, 142 SO+

Best relative SO%, 100-199 IP career:
Miguel De Los Santos — 188 IP, 33.0% SO, 166 SO+
Cody Ege — 132 IP, 31.9% SO, 157 SO+
Lisalverto Bonilla — 148 IP, 30.9% SO, 152 SO+

During 2021-2024, the best seasonal strikeout rates belong to:
SP: Jack Leiter (146 SO+ in 2024), Alejandro Rosario (140 SO+ in 2024), Ryan Lobus (137 SO+ in 2024)
RP: Grant Anderson (168 SO+ in 2023), Justin Slaten (159 SO+ in 2023), Bryan Mgdaleno (156 SO+ in 2024)

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, Oklahoma City (LAD) 0
Round Rock: 8 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 19-22, 9 GB

SP Adrian Houser: 8.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 92 P / 61 S, 5.03 ERA
RP Codi Heuer: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.00 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 2-4, 2 2B
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, 2B, .188/.297/.212

Adrian Houser held a no-hitter into the 7th and nearly tossed a shutout.

Alejandro Osuna had two opposite-field doubles down the line. One was a bloop that took a funny hop, the other a soft liner (76.7 MPH but honestly looked sharper off the bat), but they count as much as any blast off the wall.

After 28 games without an extra-base hit, Jonathan Ornelas has two in two days.

AA: Frisco 12, Corpus Christi (HOU) 9
Frisco: 12 hits, 7 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Record: 21-14, tied for first

SP Kohl Drake: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 76 P / 53 S, 2.96 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, 3B, BB, .256/.434/.439
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, HR (), BB, .252/.360/.409
RF Abi Ortiz: 3-4, 2B, HR (5), .268/.348/.463
2B Cam Cauley: 2-3, 2B, BB, SB (12), .232/.307/.360

Abi Ortiz ended the game with a grand slam, capping a seven-run 9th. Sebastian Walcott homered in the 8th to Corpus’s lead to four. Kohl Drake went walkless for the first time but allowed a season-high six hits, all for extra bases.

Hi-A: Hub City 6, @Greenville (BOS) 9
Hub City: 8 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 17-18, 3 GB

SP Aidan Curry: 1.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 7 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 52 P / 31 S, 8.15 ERA
DH Keith Jones II: 1-4, HR (4), BB, .248/.408/.396
1B Arturo Disla: 2-4, BB, .238/.299/.402
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-5, HR (3), .224/.331/.353

Boy, another tough day at the office for Aidan Curry. He’s striking out plenty of batters (on the whole, not yesterday), but nothing else is working out. Hub City has been outscored 29-12 in the 1st inning. Since consecutive 1-0 wins, the Spartanburgers have lost eight of ten.

Lo-A: Hickory 3, Kannapolis (CHW) 14
Hickory: 7 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 16-18, 3.5 GB

SP Kamdyn Perry: 3 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 55 P / 29 S, 6.65 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.15 ERA
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 3-4, 3 2B, .206/.342/.258

Kamdyn Perry’s line isn’t good (.267/.366/.372) but isn’t bad enough to warrant a 6.55 ERA. Unfortunately, his strand rate is awful, courtesy of last night and an earlier outing in which nearly everyone who reached base scored. Perry also has a combined no-hitter and another in which he threw five no-hit innings.

Yesterday’s 47 pitches were a season high for Brock Porter. Opponents are hitting .181/.314/.306 with 13 hits and 14 combined walks and HBPs.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Stephan
Hi-A: Curtis
Lo-A: Privette

Five Years Ago Yesterday
I wrote about changes to the summer draft, various mock drafts (with some names you might not wish to see).

I screwed up a spreadsheet intended for today’s “2007-2024” item, so I uploaded my sporadic 2020 reports through mid-May to the website.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, Oklahoma City (LAD) 8
Round Rock: 8 hits, 9 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 18-22, 9 GB

SP Gerson Garabito: 2.2 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 68 P / 36 S, 11.74 ERA
RP Codi Heuer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.07 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 0-3, 2 BB
DH Justin Foscue: 1-4, HR (6), .292/.393/.496
1B Blaine Crim: 1-5, HR (8), .308/.359/.575
RF Kellen Strahm: 1-3, 2 BB, SB (13), .276/.375/.440
C Cooper Johnson: 1-3, HR (1), 2 BB, .176/.263/.353

OF Alejandro Osuna made his AAA debut. Righty Emiliano Teodo has been activated from his injury rehab at the complex.

Is it Cole Winn time? He hasn’t pitched in three days, and even if Chris Martin doesn’t need an IL trip, Winn would appear to be atop the depth list. He still hasn’t allowed an earned run, he still hasn’t allowed an extra-base hit, and opponents are hitting .147/.256/.147. To be clear, nobody produced these results without some luck, the question is how much.

Opponents are hitting and slugging .118 when they make contact on fastballs. The league rates are .358 and .582, respectively. Nearly all of the hard contact against his has rocketed directly into a glove. By my count, 14 balls in play against him have been what I classify as soft (meaning below-average exit velo but not at a favorable angle for a bloop hit) or unlucky (harder than average but tending to be caught on the fly). Ordinarily, three or four would be hits, but against him there have been none. He’s also allowed an unusually low hit rate against contact that usually results in a single.

A bunch of his Statcast metrics fall close to the league average. On the whole, he’s not been especially effective at getting strikes (also reflected in his 13% walk rate), getting ahead in the count early, or inducing more chases and misses on out-of-zone pitches. The slider is the go-to, with a 43% whiff rate (league is 35%).

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t think he’s pitching badly, but I would say the amount of luck contributing to that 0.00 ERA is more than I expected.

Another thing I noticed was that he’d apparently junked his cutter, as Statcast doesn’t show a single one in 2025. But then I noticed a fair number of “sliders” over 90 MPH, and I charted his horizontal movement against his velocity for all pitches classified as sliders:

A ha. A gap of 1.2 MPH near the middle of this group plus a noticeable arm-side shift on the faster pitches. I’d call most of the yellow group cutters.

The current repertoire:
4-seamer: avg. 94.6, 30% of pitches
Sinker: 94.4, 22%
Cutter: 91.3, 10%
Slider: 86.3, 23%
Curve: 83.1, 9%
Splitter: 88.9, 6%

AA: Frisco 14, Corpus Christi (HOU) 20
Frisco: 15 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 18 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 20-14, tied for first

SP Daniel Missaki: 0.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 6 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 35 P / 22 S, 5.74 ERA
RP Jenser Lara: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.50 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 3-6, HR (3), .244/.426/.410
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-5, HR (3), SB (8), .244/.352/.382
1B Abi Ortiz: 3-5, 2B, HR (4), .252/.331/.420
RF Josh Hatcher: 1-4, HR (5), BB, .261/.281/.461
CF Cam Cauley: 1-5, HR (3), SB (11), .221/.294/.344

Yes, 20-14. The final score hints at a back-and-forth affair, but no. Corpus Christi scored six in the 1st and led 9-0, 14-4 and 19-5 at various points. In an extreme example of not letting a pitcher throw too much in one inning, start Daniel Missaki was pulled in the middle of an at-bat after his 35th pitch.

Frisco’s three straight losses and Midland seven-game win streak have placed the Riders in a first-place tie for the first time in a while.

Is Aaron Zavala better? He’s hitting .429/.543/.679 during an eight-game hit streak to pull in slugging percentage for the season up to .410, a figure that might not impress, but he’s never slugged higher than .353 in any month since returning from an elbow injury in early 2023. Toward the end of 2022, Zavala appeared a lock to at least reach the Majors and potentially start in left (maybe not for the Rangers, but somewhere). He returned from that injury a different hitter, sad to say, still possessed of terrific plate discipline but with much less frequent and meaningful contact.

Hi-A: Hub City 3, @ Greenville (BOS) 4
Hub City: 2 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 17-17, 3 GB

SP Leandro Lopez: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 71 P / 44 S, 2.13 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1.42 ERA

The Burgers committed three errors in Greenville’s three-run 1st and had only two hits. Leandro Lopez was fairly successful against that backdrop, although one error was his.

Lo-A: Hickory 7, Kannapolis (CHW) 0
Hickory: 9 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 1 hit, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 16-17, 2.5 GB

SP Ismael Agreda: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 69 P / 44 S, 2.49 ERA
RP Dalton Pence: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.38 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.86 ERA
RP William Privette: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.54 ERA
LF Maxton Martin: 2-4, BB, .294/.333/.460
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 2-4, SB (10), .183/.327/.204
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, 2B, SB (2), .204/.323/.320

In 33 games, Hickory has two no-hitters and two one-hitters. Per Mark Parker, statrter Ismael Agreda dealt a 95-96 fastball early and 93-94 with lesser command late. I saw him touch 97 in Surprise, but his one inning I saw was too quick to offer much.

Elsewhere
Toronto released catcher Matt Whatley and designated RHP Dillon Tate for assignment. Washington signed RHP Adrian Sampson. Angels righty Carl Edwards Jr. is headed to Mexico. Cleveland added pitchers Kolby Allard and Matt Festa to the 40. Reliever Jesse Chavez has probably been signed, released, and re-signed by the Braves today, who knows anymore.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Drake
Hi-A: Curry
Lo-A: Perry

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Sunday 11 May
Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, at El Paso (SDG) 8
Round Rock: 6 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 18-21, 8 GB

SP Cory Abbott: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 74 P / 50 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.00 ERA
RP Cole Winn: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF Kellen Strahm: 2-4, BB, .274/.366/.442
DH Jake Burger: 2-3, 2B, HR (2), .391/.462/.696

Hardest-hit balls in PCL:
Dominic Canzone, 115.5
Denzel Clarke, 115.2
Jake Burger, 114.2

Burger’s 90th-percentile exit velocity of 109.6 is the highest in the PCL, and his EV50 (average of top 50% of velos) is 14th of 145 with at least 20 balls in play. Now, Jake Burger did just spend a week in El Paso, and his 21 balls in play aren’t exactly a huge sample, but it’s safe to say he’s hitting the ball firmly. He’s also only struck out twice in 23 pate appearances. Here’s an updated chart of contact and 90th-percentile exit velo. The fainter circles are other PCL hitters. The big red dot is the league average.

3B Cody Freeman is interesting. He had a full-season strikeout rate of 17% entering the season, impressive, but not otherworldly. Upon reaching AAA, he’s cut that rate nearly in half to 9%. He’s making contact on 84% of swings on pitches outside the zone, which is otherworldly compared to the league rate of 54%. He’s also hitting 53 points higher than his previous best. I see some luck in that stat, but regardless, he’s having a fine season.

AA: Frisco 1, at San Antonio (SDG) 2
Frisco: 3 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 2 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 20-13, 1 G up

SP Trey Supak: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 5 SO, 84 P / 57 S, 1.71 ERA
1B Abi Ortiz: 1-3, BB, .237/.320/.377

Frisco again lost 2-1 on a late homer, this time a solo version in the 8th by Brandon Valenzuela off Gavin Collyer.

Hi-A: Hub City 1, Greensboro (PIT) 4
Hub City: 9 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 17-16, 2 GB

SP Jose Gonzalez: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 68 P / 42 S, 2.31 ERA
RP Josh Sanders: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Josh Mollerus: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.30 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.62 ERA
LF Keith Jones II: 2-3, BB, .245/.405/.372
SS Casey Cook: 2-4, .176/.267/.216

Casey Cook made his first professional start at shortstop. He was almost exclusively a corner outfielder at UNC, mostly left, and made only two appearances at second base compared his 42 so far as a pro.

Lo-A: rain

The game won’t be rescheduled. Hickory heads home for two weeks to face Kannapolis and Myrtle Beach.

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The steal-king during 2007-2024 was… I don’t know.

Ryan Strausborger leads the organization over this period and has the two highest season totals without being caught, but he never attained more than 31 in any season. Nothing against him, certainly, but if I polled the 100 readers with the most knowledge of Texas’s minor league history over this period, how many would pick Strausborger? Probably not even ten. Jose Vallejo was more prolific and successful over his career, but at the age of 22 (his last in the system), his attempts dwindled. (He’s also hurt by my cutoff, “losing” his 24 steals at low-A Clinton in 2006.) Bubba Thompson might be the best combination of career, individual seasons, success rate and how often he ran, but a sizable portion of his career occurred during the more favorable post-2020 period.

Most steals, season (full-season only):
Jayce Easley, 70 (2021)
Fast Freddy Guzman, 56 (2007)
Elvis Andrus, 54 (2008)
Julio Borbon, 53 (2008)
Eric Jenkins, 51 (2016)

Steal success, season:
Ryan Strausborger, 100%, 25 SB (2012)
Ryan Strausborger, 100%, 22 SB (2014)
JP Martinez, 100%, 20 SB (2021)

Steal success, season (min. 30 SB):
Bubba Thompson, 94% (2022)
Jose Vallejo, 94% (2007)
Jose Vallejo, 91% (2008)

Most steals, career:
Ryan Strausborger, 142
Leury Garcia, 137
Engel Beltre, 134
Bubba Thompson, 134
Jayce Easley, 134

Steal success, career (min 50 SB):
Kellen Strahm, 92%
Jose Vallejo, 91%
Cam Cauley, 89%

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 8, at El Paso (SDG) 14
Round Rock: 15 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 18-20, 7 GB

SP Robert Dugger: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 72 P / 38 S, 23.63 ERA
RP Peyton Gray: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.76 ERA
1B Jake Burger: 2-6, HR (1), .350/.435/.500
DH Kyle Higashioki: 1-5, 2B
3B Cody Freeman: 3-5, 2B, .328/.372/.500
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 3-3, BB, HBP, .176/.292/.176

Look at the schedule next time, Mr. Dugger. If you’d said “I can’t start work until Tuesday, I’ve, uh, got to help my cousin move this weekend,” you’d have made your first start in Round Rock instead of El Paso.

Dane Dunning gave up six runs and retired five batters.

Jonathan Ornelas had 36 extra-base hits three years ago in AA and 28 his first season in AAA. This year, none. He’s always been among the most grounder-inclined hitters in the PCL. If we could combine Ornelas’s exit velocities, which remain strong, and Dustin Harris’s launch angles, we’d have a terrific MLB hitter.

AA: Frisco 1, at San Antonio (SDG) 2
Frisco: 6 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Record: 20-12, 2 G up

SP Mitch Bratt: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 SO, 75 P / 52 S, 1.59 ERA
RP Larson Kindreich: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3.20 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-4, 2B, .246/.356/.368
LF Aaron Zavala: 1-2, 2 BB, .221/.429/.368
1B Josh Hatcher: 1-3, 3B, BB, .271/.286/.458

In the 9th with Frisco up 1-0, CF Alejandro Osuna dove but failed to snare Kai Murphy’s sinking liner, resulting in a leadoff triple. As I looked up the catch probability needed to justify the dive (versus conceding a single), Mission Romeo Sanabria smashed a no-doubt two-out walk-off homer.

Mitch Bratt reached double-digit strikeouts for the first time. Bratt has 39 strikeouts and five walks in 31.2 innings. He’s been among the best pitchers in the system in 2025, and at 21, he’s quite young for the level. Bratt should be taken seriously as a back-of-rotation candidate.

Hi-A: Hub City 5, Greensboro (PIT) 9
Hub City: 5 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 14 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 17-15, 1 GB

SP DJ McCarty: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 70 P / 34 S, 11.34 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.42 ERA
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, HR (2), BB, .217/.282/.304
2B Casey Cook: 1-3, BB, .163/.259/.204

2024 3rd-rounder Casey Cook’s trouble converting balls in play to hits has persisted. He’s striking out at a reasonable rate (22%) but has a .219 average on contact compared to the league’s .331. Cook has been grounder-heavy, but that doesn’t fully explain the situation. He’s hitting .189 on grounders (178th of 200 in high-A with at least 20), .125 on flies (145th of 176 with at least 20) and .455 on liners (231st of 239 with at least 10). I don’t have Statcast data at this level, but I would assume (or at least hope for) some bad luck.

Lo-A: Hickory 4, at Augusta (ATL) 9
Hickory: 6 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 15-17, 4 GB

SP Aneudis Mejia: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 61 P / 34 S, 4.91 ERA
1B Pablo Guerrero: 2-4, .259/.300/.393

Guerrero read my notes from yesterday and said “more hits, I’m on it.” Brock Porter allowed a run on two hits but walked none in an inning.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Abbott
AA: Supak
Hi-A: Curtis
Lo-A: Agreda

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The best strikeout-avoider during 2007-2024 was infielder Hanser Alberto, who fanned in 233 of his 2,537 full-season plate appearances, a 9.2% rate. OF Eduard Pinto was lower (7.8%) but had only 40% of Alberto’s trips to the plate, so I awarded Alberto. Five of the best 24 single-season K rates (min. 300 PA) belong to him. He fashioned an eight-year, five-team MLB career with a .269/.292/.381 line and 12% K rate. In 2019, he qualified for the batting title with 550 PA and hit .305, eight-best in the AL. His Orioles were terrible, but that wasn’t his fault. Now 32, he’s still active in Mexico.

Best SO%, season (min. 500 PA):
Yangervis Solarte, 7% (2012)
Jared Prince, 8% (2011)
Zach Granite, 8% (2019)

Best SO%, season (min. 400-499 PA):
Tomas Telis, 7% (2011)
Julio Borbon , 9% (2009)
Hanser Alberto, 9% (2014)

Best SO%, season (min. 300-399 PA):
Eduard Pinto, 5% (2015)
Hanser Alberto, 7% (2018)
Eduard Pinto 7% (2016)

Best SO%, career (min. 900 PA)
Eduard Pinto, 8%
Hanser Alberto, 9%
Tomas Telis, 10%

Fewest SO per H, career (min. 900 PA):
Eduard Pinto, 0.31
Hanser Alberto, 0.35
Tomas Telis, 0.37

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, at El Paso (SDG) 3
Round Rock: 9 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 19-18, 7 GB

SP Ty Blach: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 73 P / 52 S, 0.00 ERA
1B Jake Burger: 2-3, BB, .357/.471/.357

Newcomer Ty Blach missed 11 bats, mostly with the change. He signed last week and pitched in the Complex League opener. He’s pitched 520 MLB innings for the Giants and Rox.

Cole Winn still hasn’t allowed an earned run but was on the mound when the game ended. An errant throw from 3B Cody Freeman put a runner on first to start the 9th. After a sac bunt and two walks (one intentional), Oscar Gonzalez hit a hard, high chopper than just eluded 2B Justin Foscue to plate the winning run.

David Buchanan signed with Taiwan’s Fubon club. Now his release makes more sense. Not that he was pitching well for Round Rock, but he was a Triple A Inning Eater, the type whose run-prevention prowess is almost secondary to organizational needs.

Baltimore outrighted reliever Walter Pennington. The Orioles had claimed him off waivers from Texas. Finally pitching in real games, he walked six of ten batters across outings with high-A Aberdeen and AAA Norfolk.

AA: Frisco 4, at San Antonio (SDG) 3
Frisco: 4 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 20-11, 3 G up

SP Ben Anderson: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 84 P / 51 S, 6.29 ERA

Frisco had only four hits, but the Missions committed at least that many defensive mistakes including three meaningful errors. Bryan Magdaleno walked a couple and gave up two runs in two innings. He’s having a devil of a time control-wise, walking or hitting 14 in 9.2 innings and dealing strikes on only 51% of his pitches.

Hi-A: Hub City 1, Greensboro (PIT) 3
Hub City: 4 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Record: 17-14, tied for first

SP David Davalillo: 6 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 76 P / 46 S, 1.37 ERA
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-4, SB (13), .271/.339/.299
C Julian Brock: 2-3, 2 2B, BB, SB (3), .171/.244/.300

David Davalillo pitched well, again, but Greensboro crept ahead late with runs off Willan Bormie and Joey Danielson.

Lo-A: Hickory 7, at Augusta (ATL) 4
Hickory: 9 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 15-16, 4 GB

SP Mason Molina: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 71 P / 41 S, 4.50 ERA
RP Luke Savage: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.23 ERA
1B Maxton Martin: 2-5, 2B, .294/.325/.471
DH Pablo Guerrero: 2-4, 2B, HR (3), .250/.293/.389
3B Rafe Perich: 1-3, 2 BB, .188/.310/.302
2B Antonis Macias: 2-3, 2B, BB, SB (1), .234/.413/.325

Pablo Guerrero has six hits including two homers in his last four games. Nobody’s expecting him to be Vlad or Vlad Jr. or Vlad anything, but he is a first baseman, so keep the big hits coming.

I knew Rafe Perich would be the type to reach base even when slumping, but I didn’t think he’d be hitting .188 into mid-May. He’s 2-for-26 with 11 walks in his last nine games. Plenty of time, though.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Bratt
Hi-A: McCarty
Lo-A: Mejia

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
Texas’s ultimate walk machine during 2007-2024 was Jayce Easley, a 2018 fifth-rounder. Drew Robinson has the most, courtesy of a lengthier career, and Trevor Hauver has the most in a season, but for me, Easley had the best combination of high walk rate, a long-enough career, and dependence on walks. In 321 full-season games, Easley drew 214 walks and had 203 hits, one of only two players in the system with more freebies than hits (current Ranger Ian Moller is the other). 2021 was especially fun: 78 walks, 76 hits, 70 stolen bases.

I might have arrived at a different conclusion (like Johnny Whittleman) had I adjusted my data for seasonal league-wide walk rates, which have risen considerably post-covid. A 15% walk rate isn’t what it used to be. But after an exhausting work deadline and two-thirds of a glass a wine, the only adjustments were to my positioning on the couch.

Easley was released last summer and is currently the offensive coordinator for his high school team in Glendale, AZ.

Most walks:
Drew Robinson, 424
Preston Beck, 333
Johnny Whittleman, 322

Most walks, season:
Trevor Hauver, 93 (2022)
Aaron Zavala, 89 (2022)
Johnny Whittleman, 89 (2008)

Highest walk rate (min. 900 PA):
Jayce Easley, 18%
Ian Moller, 17%
Trevor Hauver, 16%

Highest walk rate, season (min. 300 PA):
Trevor Hauver, 21% (2022)
Jayce Easley, 19% (2021)
Nick Vickerson, 18% (2014)

Walk/hits ratio (min. 900 PA):
Ian Moller, 1.06
Jayce Easley, 1.02
Nick Vickerson, 0.98

Walk/Hit ratio, season (min. 300 PA):
Trevor Hauver: 1.26 (2022)
Marcus Smith, 1.22 (2022)
Aaron Zavala, 1.09 (2023)