AAA: Round Rock 13, Tacoma (SEA) 4
Round Rock: 17 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 1 GB, 35-42 overall
SP Ty Blach: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 3 SO, 84 P / 57 S, 4.20 ERA
CF Michael Helman: 4-6, 2 2B, HR (5), .248/.310/.462
1B Blaine Crim: 3-4, 2B, HR (13), BB, .299/.375/.533
3B Cody Freeman: 4-5, 2B, HR (10), .312/.360/.487
LF Dustin Harris: 2-4, BB, SB (18), .234/.333/.326
Crim’s homer cleared the double-deck roof beyond the berm in left field.
Leody Taveras is among Round Rock’s opponents. Since being outrighted to Tacoma, he’s hitting .250/.313/.273 in 11 games. He’s still just 26, but he’s also broken, as least for now.
AA: Frisco 3, Tulsa (LAD) 1
Frisco: 6 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 2-0, 1 G up, 40-30 overall
SP Kohl Drake: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 79 P / 51 S, 2.44 ERA
CF Cam Cauley: 2-4, SB (20), .247/.330/.406
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, .252/.349/.407
Two strikeouts in six innings are unprecedented in Kohl Drake’s pro career, but he still kept the Drillers off the bases. Gavin Collyer and Skylar Hales handled the final two innings.
After a hitless stretch worthy of next year’s Daily Report Primer (0-for-22), Cam Cauley has reached 10 times with four extra-base hits and three steals in his past four games.
Hi-A: wet
Two today.
Lo-A: Hickory 2, at Salem (BOS) 5
Hickory: 7 hits, 8 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 4-1, 1 GB, 37-33 overall
SP Enrique Segura: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 69 P / 51 S, 4.10 ERA
SS Devin Fitz-Gerald: 2-4, BB, .300/.440/.350
DH Maxton Martin: 2-4, HR (8), .276/.340/.474
2B Antonis Macias: 1-3, 2B, BB, .267/.425/.332
Yesterday, I mentioned that Hickory had six no-hit starts of at least four innings. That actually entails starters who departed with no hits, not those who might have held the opposition hitless for a lengthy spell but allowed some later. Last night was such an example, as Enrique Segura carried a perfect game into the 7th but departed down a run with another to come. After he retired the first 19 batters on a scant 56 pitches, an honest single, HBP and another single plated the game’s first run. Brock Porter surrendered a three-run homer in the 8th.
Segura was acquired for Daniel Robert, who’s been handled in Philly as he was here, mostly the “down” part of an up-and-down role.
Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Stephan
Hi-A: Curtis TBD
Lo-A: TBD
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024, Part I
The sixth-best relief season during 2007-2024 belongs to the 2019 season of Demarcus Evans.
Evans was also amazing in 2018, so much so that I can’t discuss it yet. 2019 was a continuation of the previous year’s breakout, putting him on the 40-man roster and the cusp of the Majors, which he would briefly reach during the covid-shortened 2020. I usually deal in ratios and percentages because it makes for better comparisons, but let’s have a peek at Evans’ raw figures from 2019:
60 innings
23 hits
39 walks
100 strikeouts
That is ridiculous. Even during a period in which strikeouts were exploding, Evans still fanned batters 79% more often than the league average. He also walked far more than average, almost immaterial in the minors because he was unhittable, but that lack of control and a downtick in stuff blunted his effectiveness and reliability on the big stage. The Evans entry at Baseball Reference shows him donning the cap of the New York Yankees, where he signed after being non-tendered by the Ranges after 2022. An injury kept him off the field the entire season, and since then, he’s pitched sparingly in indy ball. Cleburne released him after one appearance, but he’s since joined Gary (the city, not some guy named Gary).
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024, Part II
The 13th-best rotation season was, unfortunately, by Edinson Volquez in 2007.
I say “unfortunately” because Volquez had already pitched 45 MLB innings across 2005-2006 and wasn’t the type I would consider a prospect for the purpose of this exercise. Since I’d already covered several players because realizing my mistake, I’m leaving him in. Ranking Volquez cheated Guillermo Moscoso’s 2009 out of the 20th spot on my list. Sorry, Guillermo.
Volquez’s MLB experience was dismal, and the Rangers didn’t believe mere AAA seasoning would be enough to become a worthy big-league pitcher, so they optioned him to high-A. Not just high-A, but high-A Bakersfield, one of professional ball’s worst facilities. Volquez was understandably peeved.
He started off very poorly, walking eight and allowing 14 runs across his first two starts, and only had two quality results in seven starts. Still, Texas bumped him to AA, where he finally began to round into form. Once back in AAA, he routinely lasted seven innings with eight or more strikeouts. In August, he fanned 45 and walked ten in 33 innings with an ERA of 0.55.
The experiment had worked. Volquez rejoined the Texas rotation for six starts and was capable if not captivating. In the offseason, Texas packaged him with reliever Danny Ray Herrera for OF Josh Hamilton. Volquez’s time with Cincy was injured-plagued and only intermittently successful, but in 2008 he made the All-Star team and was fourth in Rookie Of The Year voting. He later rebounded and won a ring with the Royals in 2015.
Rest In Peace
Blue
2010(?) – 2025
