Kumar Rocker was originally scheduled to pitch in Round Rock but will instead throw for the Rangers. Rocker was successful in his Tuesday start for the Express, but his control lagged more than the one walk in four innings would suggest, and his pitch selection largely eschewed the mid-80s slider that is essentially untouchable at that level. It wasn’t a “finishing touches” start, but he’s been in Arlington before and knows what’s required. Tyler Mahle is on the IL.
Texas released righty Gerson Garabito. In a vacuum, that news surprised me. He’d been awful in Round Rock, unfortunately, and I assumed his 40 spot was in deep jeopardy, but there’s no benefit to a pure release versus designation for assignment unless the front office was convinced he’ll never retire Triple A hitters adequately again. In fact, per a bunch of gossip I saw online yesterday and local media today, Garabito is headed to Korea. He hadn’t pitched stateside in over two years when the Rangers signed him and quickly became an adequate long man for a spell, so that was was a good bit of business for all parties.
Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 0, El Paso (SDG) 8
Round Rock: 4 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 33-35, eliminated
SP Michael Plassmeyer: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 6 R, 1 BB, 3 HBP, 6 SO, 65 P / 43 S, 4.54 ERA
RP Robert Dugger: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 11.69 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 2-4, 2B, ..235/.342/.324
My Father’s Day present to myself is to skip this game.

AA: Frisco 2, at Midland (ATH) 1
Frisco: 3 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 35-26, 0.5 G up
SP Mitch Bratt: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 79 P / 52 S, 2.18 ERA
RP Aidan Anderson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.82 ERA
Earlier this week I pointed to a late-inning loss by Hub City that would stand out if the Burgers fell just short of the division title. If the Riders win their division, last night will stand out positively. Retired in order through five and hitless through seven, Frisco scored twice in the 8th to reverse a one-run deficit that Midland had nursed since the 1st. Frainyer Chavez lined an honest single after a Jax Biggers walk. After a Marcus Smith sac bunt, catcher Tucker Mitchell bounced a grounder just inside the 3B line for a two-run double.
Mitch Bratt has allowed two or fewer runs in nine of 11 starts. Opponents have a .138 isolated power and are hitting .311 on balls in play, which is to say, his 2.18 ERA isn’t a product of luck but instead a product of his 66 strikeouts versus only nine walks.

Hi-A: Hub City 2, Wilmington (WAS) 3
Hub City: 3 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 30-32, 3.5 GB, elimination number 1
SP DJ McCarty: 4 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 2 R, 5 BB, 4 SO, 79 P / 43 S, 5.82 ERA
Hub City has averaged 2.6 runs and 5.2 hits in losing the first five games of the series. The Spartanburgers need to win tomorrow, hope for a Bowling Green loss, then win three straight at Bowling Green next week AND hope that Greenville loses at least three of its final four. Lots of needing and hoping going on.

Lo-A: wet
Two today. Columbia swept a doubleheader with Kannapolis last night to claim first place with a 33-29 record. Hickory’s elimination number is three. A sweep today is essentially required, and with four teams ahead, the Crawdads need several of them to belly-flop through next Thursday.
Today’s Starters
AAA: not Rocker
AA: Supak
Hi-A: Gonzalez
Lo-A: TBD x 2
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The second-best position player performance in short-rookie ball during 2007-2024 was by infielder Diosbel Arias.

Texas signed the Cuban Arias for $700,000 in 2017. Assigned to the short-A Northwest league as a 21-year-old, roughly the league-average age, Arias led the Northwest League in average (.366) and on-base percentage (.451) and was third in hits (83) and fourth in walks (33). He had a late-season 30-game stretch with a .500 OBP. During that period, he once went 4-4 with a double and two walks, and ten days later he went 3-3 with three walks.
Arias dutifully climbed the organizational ladder but didn’t quite reach the Majors. He could play multiple positions but not short. He hit for some power (about 25 doubles and seven homers per 120 games) and drew a decent number of walks, but he depended pretty heavily on batting average. He probably could have continued in AAA after his contract with Texas expired, but instead he headed for Mexico, where he’s spent the past two seasons.