AAA: Round Rock 1, at Salt Lake (LAA) 3
Round Rock: 8 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 29-32, 8.5 GB
SP Peyton Gray: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 55 P / 37 S, 3.18 ERA
RP Patrick Murphy: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.93 ERA
3B Cody Freeman: 2-5, HR (7), HBP, SB (3), .311/.352/.490
Cody Freeman has three homers in four games at Salt Lake. I usually update my Statcast data weekly, so I don’t have this series yet, but one thing I’ve noticed is very good median exit velocity but below-average 90th-percentile velocity. That can help in some respects, like forcing more grounders through the infield, but is also a profile that I believe shows better in PCL parks than MLB. I’ll have to dig in more after the weekend. Freeman also has outstanding contact ability.
AA: Frisco 3, Springfield (STL) 4
Frisco: 6 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 31-23, 0.5 GB
SP Ben Anderson: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 89 P / 53 S, 4.17 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 4.30 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, 2B, BB, .242/.345/.434
CF Cam Cauley: 1-2, BB, HBP, .250/.333/.397
A 9th-inning homer provided the margin. Midland is suddenly slumping, so Frisco hasn’t lost any more ground of late. Cam Cauley had a sub-.300 OBP just over a week ago. For that matter, his OBP for 2024 in high-A Hickory was .297. An AA assignment wasn’t a given, in my opinion, so he’s handling the situation well. Cauley has played 40% of his starts in center, a completely new position for him. Cauley is a 40 decision this November; I wouldn’t put him in that bucket right now but he has a shot.
Hi-A: Hub City 2, @ Greensboro (PIT) 1 (7)
Hub City: 5 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 30-25, 2 GB
SP David Davalillo: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 73 P / 45 S, 1.09 ERA
Baseball America bumped Davalillo to 9th in their updated top-30 rankings, a commentary on both him and the system. While there’s no rush to move him, the Sally League isn’t offering much resistance, and I’m looking forward to how he handles the next level.
Lo-A: Hickory 4, Columbia (KAN) 5
Hickory: 9 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 28-26, 1.5 GB
SP Caden Scarborough: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 72 P / 47 S, 4.54 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2.20 ERA
RP Jesus Gamez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Maxton Martin: 3-5, HR (5), .275/.327/.464
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, BB, .250/.362/.372
Caden Scarborough was ordinary for the first time in a while, issuing his fewest strikeouts since mid-April. Max Martin’s 9th-inning homer brought the Dads closer, but Rafe Perich’s oppo fly was caught on the track for the final out.
Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Bratt
Hi-A: McCarty
Lo-A: Molina
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The sixth-best pitching staff during 2007-2024 was the 2019 high-A Down East Wood Ducks.
Runs per game: 3.3 runs per game, 19% better than league average
ERA-: 82
FIP-: 97
Oppo wRC+: 84
Purely in terms of run prevention, this is the best squad on the list, but my calculations say the defense played an outsized role. The staff was actually below-average in walks and ordinary in strikeouts. Where it excelled was in generating grounders, one of only three high-A squads with a rate above 50%. Down East allowed the league’s fewest extra-base hits and were best in opposing isolated power by a wide margin.
The five busiest pitchers didn’t reach AAA, much less the Majors, but were responsible for much of the success: Reid Anderson (126 IP, 3.92 ERA), Sal Mendez (117 IP, 2.37 ERA), Alex Eubanks (107 IP, 3.44 ERA), Noah Bremer (75 IP, 2.97 ERA), and Josh Advocate (75 IP, 2.64 ERA). Semi-regulars who reached were John King and Jacob Latz. Demarcus Evans (22 IP, 40 SO), Joe Barlow (23 IP, 44 SO), Pete Fairbanks (12 IP, 15 SO) and Emmanuel Clase (7 IP, 11 SO) were here for a while and to devastating effect.