Month: July 2025

No movement on Texas’s part as of when I hit the send button. My current email delivery is very slow, so by the time this reaches you, that could change. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, El Paso (SDG) 8 (10)
Round Rock: 9 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 9 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 13-13, 6.5 GB, 47-54 overall

SP Michael Plassmeyer: 2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 61 P / 34 S, 4.97 ERA
3B Cody Freeman: 3-5, .326/.374/.535
1B Blaine Crim: 1-4, HR (18), .284/.373/.515

Cody Freeman singled three times, giving him nine hits in his last three games. He also badly misthrew a routine grounder in the 10th with runners at 2nd and 3rd and two out, permitting two runs to score. 


AA: Frisco 4, San Antonio (SDG) 7
Frisco: 7 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 10-19, 7.5 GB, 48-49 overall

SP Josh Trentadue: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 53 P / 37 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Josh Stephan: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.11 ERA
SS Cam Cauley: 2-4, 3B, .256/.323/.415
1B Abi Ortiz: 2-3, HR (15), 245/.345/.440

San Antonio’s first batter lined a single to left, and the second barreled a slider into the stands. Welcome to AA, Josh Trentadue. Making his Frisco debut, the 23-year-old quickly discovered that hitters aren’t friendly here, but he recovered to retire nine straight after a 2nd-inning run. Trentadue isn’t complicated — fastball up, slider down, an occasional change — but batters have trouble picking him up. Among 50 South Atlantic League pitchers with at least 50 innings, his 33% SO rate was third highest, and his rated of missed bats ranks sixth. 


Hi-A: Hub City 9, Asheville (HOU) 1
Hub City: 10 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 19-13, 1 G up, 50-47 overall

SP Dylan MacLean: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 70 P / 46 S, 3.54 ERA
RP Aidan Curry: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 4.23 ERA
DH Anthony Gutierrez: 3-4, BB, 3 SB (41), .256/.325/.319
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-5, HR (17), .207/.287/.382
C Malcolm Moore: 2-4, 2B, .198/.295/.297

Hub City took full advantage of an opposing starter with an 8.17 ERA, scoring seven in four innings. Malcolm Moore’s double hit the base of the wall on the fly. 


Lo-A: Hickory 0, at Fayetteville (HOU) 5
Hickory: 3 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 20-12, 2.5 GB, 53-44 overall

SP Enrique Segura: 4.2 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 72 P / 38 S, 4.00 ERA
RP Enyel Lopez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, HBP, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.76 ERA
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 1-3, BB, SB (35), .244/.357/.334

Yesterday brought the full-season debut of left Enyel Lopez, a 19-year-old signed only six months ago out of the Dominican Republic. Courtesy of an alarming walk rate, Lopez’s opposing line at the complex was .280/.442/.370 with a 5.88 ERA in 26 innings at the complex, but he’s obviously very new to pro ball. He’s listed at 6’4″ and 180 and doesn’t look a pound over. The fastball speeds I heard were 95, and whether by design or fortune, he moved it around the zone effectively. Yeremi Cabrera saved a run, maybe two, tracking down a down fly to end Lopez’s inning. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Abbott
AA: Lopez
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: Fowler

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The worst short-season team was Spokane in 2012.

Actual record: 28-48 (.368)
Run-differential record: 32-44 (.420)
Component record: 37-39 (.481)

At first glance, this team appears similar to the baby Rangers I covered yesterday: terrible record, components suggesting the team could’ve been .500 with a little luck. That’s true, but… no, I’m sorry. I remember this team, and when I came up with the idea of replacing the “five years ago” segment with these historical pieces, I knew this team would require an entry. 

Why so memorable? The errors. Yes, errors are only one facet of defense, often overrated and much more frequent at this level, but arrrggh so many errors. 45 in the first 17 games. 17 errors in a three-game set to close June. Nine in one game! As I wrote at the time: “22 grounders hit at the Spokane defense resulted in eight outs, seven hits, and seven errors. In the 8th, Boise batters reached on four consecutive infield errors.  That’s a tough way to do business.” They would finish with 128 in 76 games, easily the league’s most. 

The defense did slowly improve and was actually decent in some aspects like turning double plays and limiting the running game. Still, they started 8-22, and ten of the losses were by at least five runs. Spokane also had the most combined wild pitches and passed balls (101), the most combined walks and hit batters (364), even the most balks (9). Connor Sadzeck led the team in innings with 62; he managed a 4.06 ERA but had terrible control. Equally busy Abel de los Santos and Jose Valdespina had ERAs in the high fives. The league average was 3.79. 

The bats weren’t as bad, just boring. Ryan Rua, then an infielder and even an occasional shortstop, batted a solid .293/.368/.432. Joey Gallo joined for the last few weeks. On the other hand, a good many hitters wouldn’t play beyond this level. 

Podcast
Sean Bass, Michael Tepid and I chatted this morning. Links at top right.

A Slew Of Moves
OF Alejandro Osuna up from Frisco to Round Rock
OF Paulino Santana up from Arizona to Hickory
RHP Joey Danielson up from Hub City to Frisco
RHP Eric Loomis up from Hub City to Frisco
RHP Jesus Gamez up from Hickory to Hub City
RHP Josh Mollerus released from Frisco

Santana is the second complex hitter to reach low-A after OF Braylin Morel. Danielson and Loomis are last year’s 17th and 16th-round choices, respectively, so reaching AA this soon is no small accomplishment. Danielson impressed me in March and has been effective in Hub City, if less so lately, while Loomis has been the statistical reincarnation of late-2010s Demarcus Evans, striking out 40% of opponents and allowing hardly any hits. Mollerus was the return for DFA’ed reliever Yerry Rodriguez last summer. I saw a decent if erratic mix in March and am slightly surprised to see him leave this soon, but that’s how it goes. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, El Paso (SDG) 3
Round Rock: 6 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 13-12, 5.5 GB, 47-53 overall

SP Carl Edwards Jr.: 6 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 8 SO, 86 P / 54 S, 3.88 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 4.91 ERA
3B Cody Freeman: 3-4, 2B, HR (16), .322/.371/.534

Josh Sborz allowed four hits and a walk in an inning, and the fastball peaked at 92.4 MPH. He’s 18 days into a maximum of 30 on rehab assignment. I vaguely remembered the possibility of an extension, but that appears to apply only to those recovering from UCL injuries. 

Carl Edwards did not get cute, straightforwardly delivering a ton of high fastballs to calm the Chihuahuas. 

I need to know what Cody Freeman is eating. 


AA: Frisco 4, San Antonio (SDG) 2
Frisco: 7 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 10-18, 7 GB, 48-48 overall

SP Mitch Bratt: 5.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 84 P / 55 S, 3.18 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.66 ERA
1B Abi Ortiz: 3-4, 2B, HR (14), .241/.341/.428

Mitch Bratt surrendered a on his third pitch of the game, uneasily recalling last week’s four-homer barrage. After that, Bratt was his usual self, although two late walks foiled an attempt at six full innings. Abimelec Ortiz had both of Frisco’s extra-base hits. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, Asheville (HOU) 0
Hub City: 7 hits, 7 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 18-13, 1 GB, 49-47 overall

SP Mason Molina: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 75 P / 47 S, 2.63 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 4.96 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.08 ERA
DH Anthony Gutierrez: 3-4, 2B, 3 SB (38), .249/.317/.313
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-3, BB, SB (13), .214/.311/.345

In high-A, Mason Molina has one start with five runs and five others with a total of four. Absent Danielson and Loomis, Anthony Susac might be called on for more bridge innings. Last year’s 7th-rounder has more combined walks and HBP (33) than strikeouts (31).


Lo-A: Hickory 6, at Fayetteville (HOU) 2
Hickory: 7 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 20-11, 2.5 GB, 53-43 overall

SP Caden Scarborough: 5 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 67 P / 45 S, 3.38 ERA
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 1-5, HR (6), SB (34), .243/.355/.334

Caden Scarborough didn’t have a clean inning and had to ward off eight plate appearance with runners in scoring position, but he worked through it with only a solo homer making permanent damage. Hickory scored everything in the 7th on just three hits including Yeremi Cabrera’s gran slam. 

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
Welcome to Worst Week, where I’ll cover the worst Texas rookie team, short-season team and the four least impressive full-season clubs. I’m doing this because I think it’s interesting and fun, but I want to preface by saying that the Texas farm system has been pretty darn good over the years. 

Here’s the aggregate records for each classification during 2007-2024:
AAA: 1,240-1,187 (.511)
AA: 1,219-1,127 (.520)
Hi-A: 1,178-1,137 (.509)
Lo-A: 1,235-1,068 (.536)
Short: 647-643 (.502)
Rookie: 501-451 (.526)

All winners. That’s impressive. As I’ve said every year, winning is secondary to developing future Major Leaguers plus coveted prospects to be traded for existing Major Leaguers. But as I’ve also said, surrounding those prospects with quality “organizational” talent matters, too, and winning is more fun than losing. Most of the time, the Rangers have made things fun.

None of the Rangers’ minor league entries rank among the very worst of their leagues. By my accounting, the worst full-season squad ranks 28th (from the bottom) of 794 teams in my collection. Bad, but not historically so. The worst short-season and rookie teams aren’t even in the bottom 10% among their peers. Over the years, I’ve seen some squads with sketchy rosters in the final week of the season, but the Rangers have never outright punted team construction. 

The worst Texas rookie team played in 2016.

Actual record: 18-37 (.327)
Run-differential record: 23-32 (.411)
Component record: 26-29 (.475)

Straight off, you’ll notice a huge gap between the components and the actual record. The slash lines of the offense and the opposition were pretty close. But check out this offense:

Average: .269 (1st of 14)
OBP: .333 (5th)
Slug: .386 (2nd)
OPS+: 106 (3rd)
Runs: 4.6 per game (12th, and 11% below average)

What? Where are the runs? The Rangers weren’t especially bad with runners in scoring position or at striking out. Only two teams were caught on the bases less often. They were below average in homers but led in doubles by a wide margin. 

Best as I can tell, difference-makers were a league-leading 48 GIDP (15 more than the average of the other teams) and, weirdly, only 35 batters reaching on errors compared to an average of 58 for the competition. That, plus the chaotic nature of rookie ball. This “bad” offense” included above-average performances at the plate from Sam Huff, Curtis Terry, Yohel Pozo, Anderson Tejeda and Leody Taveras.  

The pitching and defense don’t require a thesis. They were just garden-variety bad, allowing an 8% excess of runs and an opposing 109 OPS+. Four of the top five in innings combined for a 6.50 RA and 5.52 ERA, both about 1.5 runs above the league average. (The outlier of the five was Joe Barlow.) Demacrus Evans, Cole Ragans and Alex Speas were there as well. 

This team played sub-.333 ball and was outscored by 57 runs in 55 games. They weren’t good. But as far as “worsts” go, you could do worse. 

The farm was 6-18 with a -40 run differential last week. But I heard the parent club did pretty well. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 8, at Tacoma (SEA) 1
Round Rock: 15 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Record: 12-12, 5.5 GB, 46-53 overall

SP Trey Supak: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 67 P / 46 S, 5.40 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-5, 2B, .288/.377/.516
3B Cody Freeman: 3-5, 3 HR (15), .317/.367/.519
CF Kellen Strahm: 1-3, 2 BB, .258/.360/.371

In his first three trips to the plate, Cody Freeman swung his bat four times, three of which resulted in a homer to nearly the same spot down the left field line. One was about as slow as possible (90.7 MPH) to achieve homer distance, while the others were missiles. Freeman’s 15 homers are a career high, and we’ve got a third of the season remaining. Freeman has availed himself of everything the PCL offers — livelier ball, smaller strike zone, multiple Colorado-like environments — to boost his OPS from .752 to .886. That only explains a portion of the increase, though. The rest is him, getting better. 

On balls hit under 91 MPH this season, PCL batters have nine out-of-park homers, one per 4,420 trips to the plate. MLB has two, one per 59,133 PA. 

Josh Sborz’s fastball averaged 93.0 yesterday, still two ticks below last year’s average but better than previous rehab results. 

AA: Frisco 4, at Wichita (MIN) 6
Frisco: 7 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 9-18, 7 GB, 47-48 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 5 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 67 P / 43 S, 4.65 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, .251/.346/.408
LF Aaron Zavala: 1-3, HR (9), BB, .243/.374/.396

Frisco fell below .500 for the first time since Opening Day. In the context of Frisco’s 2007 season that I covered Sunday (57-27 start, then 28-28), a reader asked what caused the current edition’s even steeper decline (31-19 start, 16-29 since).

The answer is offense. Frisco scored 5.0 runs per game during the winning period, only 3.9 since. Meanwhile, run prevention has barely budged. Based on run differential, that’s about a .110 decrease in expected winning percentage. Extreme good luck during the winning period (about four wins more than predicted) and bad since (an extra three losses) have exaggerated the decline. Here’s the change in OPS between the winning and losing periods for selected hitters and the team:

Cauley, +.099
Moller, +.093
Chavez, +.044
Rodriguez, -.003
Ortiz, -.075
Walcott, -.081
TEAM, -.095
Others, -.113
Zavala, -.126
Hatcher, -.171
Mieses, -.401

To be honest, I was unaware of Mieses’ descent until now. He’s a veteran free agent, so I’m just not paying him much attention, but until about seven weeks ago, he’d always hit pretty well since joining the organization in 2024.  

Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Greenville (BOS) 4
Hub City: 5 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 17-13, tied for first, 48-47 overall

SP Jose Gonzalez: 5.2 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 74 P / 50 S, 3.08 ERA
RP Erik Loomis: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1.80 ERA
DH Anthony Gutierrez: 2-4, 2B, 2 SB (35), .242/.311/.303

This weeks’ starters: 26.1 IP, 17 baserunners, 2 runs
This week’s bullpen: 23.2 IP, 50 baserunners, 18 runs

Adrian Rodriguez hit a batter and walked two more to open the 9th with the scored tied at three, after which Anthony Susac surrendered a game-ending single. Erik Loomis did allow a rare run earlier in the week but on the whole continues to be a bright spot, striking out 25 of 54 batters across 15.2 innings over the last month. 

Lo-A: Hickory 6, Augusta (ATL) 13
Hickory: 12 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 12 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 19-11, 3.5 GB, 52-43 overall

SP Ismael Agreda: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 7 SO, 71 P / 41 S, 2.77 ERA
LF Maxton Martin: 3-4, HR (9), BB, .266/.343/.446
RF Braylin Morel: 2-5, 2B
1B Marcos Torres: 2-3, BB, 2 SB (13), .247/.325/.371

Maxton Martin broke a 21-game homer drought with a game-tying grand slam in the 6th. 

Brock Porter’s stretch of five walk-free outings ended less than a month ago but seems more distant. Since then: 9 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 14 BB, 1 HBP, 12 SO.

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
Spokane offered Texas’s best-ever short-season entry in 2008.

Actual record: 51-25 (.671)
Run-differential record: 47-29 (.623)
Component record: 45-31 (.595)

Spokane outscored the park-adjusted league-average by nearly a run per game. Only Joey Butler (.301/.417/.434) would reach MLB as a hitter; 2007 2nd-rounder Matt West would switch from infield to relief in the interim. Top performers included OFs Mike Biannuci and Jared Bolden, 1B Doug Hogan and IF Jacob Kaase. 

Four of the top five starters would play in the Majors: 17-year-old Martin Perez, 18-year-old Wilfredo Boscan, 19-year-old Neil Ramirez and the ancient Richard Bleier (21). Joining them were Michael Kirkman and Justin Miller. Spoakne’s staff had an average age of 19.9, a full year younger than any other team.  

Back then, the Northwest League didn’t use a split-season format, and Spokane coasted to the division title after a 28-8 start. In the finals, Spokane lost the opener but then took three straight by scores of 11-10, 11-10 and 6-5. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, at Tacoma (SEA) 8
Round Rock: 5 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 11-12, 6.5 GB, 45-53 overall

SP Kohl Drake: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 80 P / 48 S, 5.19 ERA
RP Luis Curvelo: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3.26 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 1-3, HR (9), BB, .266/.359/.409
1B Justin Foscue: 1-4, HR (11), .256/.344/.466

Kohl Drake handled a western PCL city fairly well despite fastball velocity about 1.5 MPH lower than usual. He missed only five bats, but the contact quality didn’t deserve six hits. Round Rock has lost five straight to the division leader. 

AA: Frisco 2, at Wichita (MIN) 3
Frisco: 8 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 9-17, 6 GB, 47-47 overall

SP Jose Corniell: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 43 P / 28 S, 0.00 ERA
2B Cam Cauley: 2-4, .254/.323/.412
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-3, HR (11), BB, .248/.345/.407
DH Keith Jones II: 2-3, .207/.303/.310

Errors and related miscues made the difference. Daniel Missaki replaced Jose Corniell with two out and one aboard. After a hit batter and walk, SS Sebastian Walcott was charged an error for mishandling a grounder, but he had both a leaping baserunner and 3B Keyber Rodriguez in his way (see below). Another scored on a walk-balk-SB-error sequence. Manager Carlos Cardoza was ejected for arguing the balk. DH Keith Jones was ejected as he ran to first after a grounded single for arguing an earlier automatic strike call. 

Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Greenville (BOS) 1
Hub City: 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 17-12, tied for first, 48-46 overall

SP Kolton Curtis: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 55 P / 32 S, 4.93 ERA
RP Josh Sanders: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.08 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 1-4, HR (9), .234/.303/.378
2B Casey Cook: 2-4, .206/.284/.269
RF Yeison Morrobel: 1-4, HR (6), .194/.264/.333

Kolton Curtis displayed some of his best control of the season, reaching only one three-ball count until two outs in the 5th, when a walk-single-walk sequence ended his night. On Saturday, the starters and bullpen were on the same wavelength, and the pen ably protected the lead. Morrobel’s line is similar to last year; in 171 combined high-A games he’s hitting .206/.279/.326. There’s a better hitter in there, but it’d be nice to see him. 

Lo-A: Hickory 4, Augusta (ATL) 1
Hickory: 5 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Record: 19-10, 2.5 GB, 52-42 overall

SP David Hagaman: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 58 P / 39 S, 3.52 ERA
RP Aneudis Mejia: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 7.65 ERA
RP Jesus Gamez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.95 ERA
RF Braylin Morel: 1-3, HR (1), BB
2B Antonis Macias: 2-4, 3B, .268/.401/.333

In his second game with the Dads and first in the field, Braylin Morel found an inside fastball to his liking and knocked it out for a three-run homer. 

Rookie
The Rangers lost in the semifinals to the Giants 4-1. Rehabbing Kamdyn Perry allowed a run on four his, no walks and two strikeouts in 2.2 innings. In the same number of innings, the Giants scored once off Moises Morales and and twice off Geury Rodriguez, both among the better performers for the staff this season. The Rangers were limited to four hits, all singles: two from RF Andry Batista and one from Angel Arredondo and Williams Wong.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Supak
AA: Anderson
Hi-A: Gonzalez
Lo-A: Agreda

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The sixth-best full-season team was the 2007 AA Frisco RoughRiders.

Actual record: 85-55 (.607)
Run-differential record: 79-61 (.563)
Component record: 77-63 (.552)

Eight hitters off this squad would reach the Majors for varying lengths of time: IF Chris Davis, German Duran, John Mayberry and Travis Metcalf, OFs Brandon Boggs and Kevin Mahar, catchers Taylor Teagarden and Kevin Richardson. Davis hit 12 homers in 30 games, while Boggs (.266/.385/.508, 19 HR) and Duran (.300/.352/.525, 22 HR) led the regulars. On the pitching side, Luis Mendoza, Armando Galarraga and Doug Mathis combined for half the team’s starts and over 400 innings. Pre-injury Eric Hurley spent the first half of the season here. Leading with 24 saves was 25-year-old Jesse Ingram, who would retire after the season to become a firefighter (and still is, best as I can tell). 
A funny thing though: Frisco was 28-28 after a 57-27 start, and by the time the playoffs began, the Riders faced a San Antonio team in much better condition. San Antonio swept the series in three games by an aggregate score of 16-4. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, at Tacoma (SEA) 8
Round Rock: 9 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 11-11, 5.5 GB, 45-52 overall

SP Cory Abbott: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 76 P / 46 S, 7.84 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
R Dustin Harris: 2-3, 2 BB, SB (24), .266/.357/.398
LF Trevor Hauver: 2-4, HR (7), BB, .272/.385/.432

A run scored against Josh Sborz on an opening walk, steal, error and sac fly. His fastball topped at 92.5 and averaged 91.8, compared to last year’s average velo of 95.1. He’s still getting plenty of rise with it and generated three misses on six swings. Sborz is two weeks into his rehab. He cannot be optioned.

After five innings, the Express have trailed by five, two, three and six runs in this series.

AA: Frisco 0, at Wichita (MIN) 3 (5)
Frisco: 3 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 9-16, 5 GB, 47-46 overall

SP David Davalillo: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 60 P / 37 S, 2.45 ERA
1B Joc Pederson: 0-3

Rain ended this early. SS Cam Cauley singled. 3B Sebastian Walcott and CF Alejandro Osuna walked.

Hi-A: Hub City 2, at Greenville (BOS) 4
Hub City: 6 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 16-12, 1 GB, 47-46 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 47 P / 30 S, 1.00 ERA
1B Anthony Gutierrez: 2-4, SB (33), .238/.309/.297
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-3, BB, .216/.311/.350

Dalton Pence has surrendered just one run in five three-inning starts for Hub City, plus one more among three single-inning outings. Pence is fly-prone but has yet to yield a homer at the level. Neighboring Greenville reached the bullpen, though, and the offense scored either two or three runs for a sixth consecutive game. Admittedly, the workloads are light, but Hub City starts have allowed one run in 16 innings this week, but the team is 1-3. 

Lo-A: Hickory 5, Augusta (ATL) 2
Hickory: 11 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 18-10, 2.5 GB, 51-42 overall

SP Garrett Horn: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 61 P / 40 S, 2.95 ERA
RP Thomas Ireland: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 2.69 ERA
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 3-5, HR (5), SB (32), .251/.364/.336
RF Hector Osorio: 2-4, HR (4), .254/.391/.376

Hickory allowed four runners in the 1st and four more the rest of the night. In his last 41 games, Cabrera has 20 steals without being caught.

The first of the complex club to advance to Hickory is OF Braylin Morel, who grounded the first pitch he saw for a single and later walked in his full-season debut. The 19-year-old missed some time earlier and repeated the level despite a strong 2024 showing. This season, he batted .268/.302/.423 with three homers, just five walks and 40 strikeouts in 37 games.

Rookie
The baby Rangers (33-27) will play the Dodgers (42-18), not the Angels (38-22) as I originally thought, in today’s one-and-done semifinal. I assumed the Dodgers would play the wild-card Rockies (37-23) by virtue of having the best record, but instead the powers that be seeded the participants solely by record, so the fourth-seeded Rangers must face the top dog.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Drake
AA: Corniell
Hi-A: Curtis
Lo-A: Hagaman

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The seventh-best Texas-affiliated full-season team was the 2014 high-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. 

Actual record:82-56 (594)
Run-differential record: 82-56 (.597)
Component Record: 75-63 (.544)

Myrtle Beach also had Texas’s third-best full-season offense in the era. They outscored the park-adjusted league average by 16%, about 0.6 runs per game, and posted a 109 OPS+. In a league lacking power, Myrtle Beach hit 111 homers versus an average of 73 for the other teams. Joey Gallo (.323/.463/.735) led with 21 in just 58 games before heading to Frisco. Nick Williams (.292/.343/.491) and catcher Jorge Alfaro (.261/.318/.440) followed with 13 and would also follow Gallo to AA. Also spending team here and reaching the Majors were OFs Lewis Brinson, Odubel Herrera and Ryan Cordell and IFs Hanser Alberto and Chris Bostick.

Run prevention was respectable (6% better than average) but depended heavily on defense. The staff peripherals were ordinary and punctuated by the league’s worst walk rate. The two busiest starters (Luis Parra and Victor Payano) were strictly inning-eaters. Worked less but more effective were Chi Chi Gonzalez, Andrew Faulker, Chad Bell and Sam Wolff. Although he wasn’t done as a would-be starter, Jose Leclerc spent 2014 in relief and saved 14 games. 

In three prior seasons as the Texas affiliate, Myrtle Beach had reached the postseason but been eliminated in the opening round. In 2014, they defeated Salem in the semifinals to face Potomac, an absolutely bog-average team that finished 78-58 because of a 32-13 record in one-run games. As is so often the case in the minors, team composition in the playoffs can vary greatly from the regular season, plus luck rules all. Myrtle Beach was thinner in September because of promotions and injuries, and my preview was apprehensive. Potomac would go on to win the championship in four games. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, at Tacoma (SEA) 6
Round Rock: 2 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 11-10, 4.5 GB, 45-51 overall

SP Michael Plassmeyer: 5 IP, 8 H (3 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 77 P / 46 S, 4.59 ERA

With 100 pitches, Tacoma’s 37-year-old Casey Lawrence threw the first nine-inning complete game in the league this season. Billy McKinney’s 1st-inning homer and Dustin Harris’s 9th-inning single were the hits.

AA: Frisco 5, at Wichita (MIN) 6
Frisco: 8 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 6 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 9-15, 4 GB, 47-45 overall

SP Leandro Lopez: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 SO, 66 P / 42 S, 0.00 ERA
DH Joc Pederson: 2-3, BB
SS Cam Cauley: 2-4, HR (9), .250/.321/.412

In his second AA appearance and first start, Leandro Lopez reached double-digit strikeouts for the first time in the US. Lopez missed on eight of his first ten pitches and received a visit from pitching coach Julio Valdez. Thereafter, Lopez destroyed a lineup containing top-20-overall prospect Walker Jenkins, top-100 OF Kaelen Culpepper and a couple of others in Minnesota’s top 30. Mixing a mid-90s fastball, curve, hard slider and change, struck out ten of the next 15 batters. The high-spin curve has typically drawn the most attention, but the entire repertoire contributed to third strikes. Thanks to occasional injuries and frequently poor control, Lopez has never ranked in any national publication’s top 30 to my knowledge, but he does has top-30 stuff that can devastate when properly harnessed.

34 seconds of strikeouts worth your time.

Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Greenville (BOS) 0
Hub City: 8 hits, 0 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 16-11, tied for first, 47-45 overall

SP Dylan MacLean: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 52 P / 40 S, 3.74 ERA
RP Victor Simeon: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 5.10 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.29 ERA
RP Erik Loomis: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.91 ERA
C Malcolm Moore: 2-3, 2B, HBP, .207/.324/.315
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, 2B, .182/.321/.295
2B John Taylor: 2-4, SB (6), .308/.375/.446

I saw 2020 fourth-rounder MacLean in Surprise returning from elbow surgery. His fastball was in the 88-91 range, a couple of ticks lower than what I remembered, and he wasn’t effective. He then began the season with five doubles, two homers and ten runs in his first ten innings. Uh oh. Since then, however, he’s been quietly effective: 33 IP, 2.70 ERA, .174/.241/.331 oppo line, 22% K rate. He has some BABIP luck, but he’s making things work lately. MacLean relies very heavily on his curve and change. The bullpen rebounded form two nights of ineffectiveness. Malcolm Moore reached based safely thrice for the second time this season.

Lo-A: Hickory 5, Augusta (ATL) 8
Hickory: 7 hits, 10 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 17-10, 2.5 GB, 50-42 overall

SP Brooks Fowler: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 73 P / 46 S, 2.86 ERA
CF Yeremi Cabrera: 2-4, 2B, .245/.361/.320
2B Antonis Macias: 1-3, 2 BB, .264/.399/.324

Hickory put 20 runners on base but stranded 13 and lost a couple on the bases. Maxton Martin (0-3, 2 BB) is having his first down month, hitting .200/.319/.267 in July. He’s still walking and not striking out excessively, so blame it on the Fates.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Abbott
AA: Davalillo
Hi-A: Pence
Lo-A: Horn

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The second-best Texas short-season team plated in 2010.

Actual record: 43-33 (.566)
Run-differential record: 47-29 (.612)
Component record: 45-31 (.589)

A .566 winning percentage, equivalent to a 92-70 record in MLB. Nice, but hardly awe-inspiring. Well, this group overplayed their actual record, struggling in one-run games but winning 19 of 29 blowouts.

Spokane led the league in scoring by nearly half a run per game. The top four in plate appearances — 3B Mike Olt, SS Jurickson Profar, OF Jared Hoying and OF Ryan Strausborger — would reach the Majors along with #7 C Brett Nicholas. Hoying batted .325/.378/.543 with ten homers and 20 steals, while Olt provided nine dingers and a .293/.390/.464 line. Pitching was solid, if not quite as strong, with Chad Bell, Ben Rowen and Roman Mendez eventually reaching MLB for a little while. Teenagers Randol Rojas and Nick McBride were the workhorses, both making 15 starts and exceeding 70 innings.
Spokane swept Yakima (also 43-33) by scores of 5-1 and 6-1 in the semifinals and defeated Everett 4-1 in the opener of the finals, but the AquaSox (49-27) claimed the championship by winning the next two.

MLB Pipeline updated its top-30 rankings… sort of. While it eliminated graduates and gave deserved boosts to Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt, David Davalillo, and Caden Scarborough, and introduced IF Devin Fitz-Gerald and Seong-Jun Kim, a good many players are the same relative to each other, simply sliding up or down depending on the new rankings of the names mentioned. So, for example, it still lists Cam Cauley under Anthony Gutierrez and Abi Ortiz, which, I mean, come on. Also, 2025 picks have yet to appear. Not a complaint, just an observation that the update appears a work in progress. I don’t envy anyone tasked with re-ranking 30 teams.

AAA: Round Rock 6, at Tacoma (SEA) 11
Round Rock: 11 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 18 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 0-1, 3.5 GB, 34-42 overall

SP CJ Edwards: 4.1 IP, 10 H (2 HR), 6 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 87 P / 55 S, 4.50 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 10.50 ERA
C Cooper Johnson: 3-3, 2B, HR (4), .228/.358/.353
CF Dustin Harris: 1-3, BB, 2 SB (23), .261/.351/.398

Edwards had been starting for Quintana Roo and immediately entered the Round Rock rotation. He dealt a fastball that reached 95 but sat 91-93, and it might as well be a cutter with its negligible arm-side break. He added a change that butted up against the low end of his fastball range and a 76-80 curve. Cooper Johnson celebrated being written up as the next-in-line catcher with a near-cycle at the plate.

Reliever Jesse Chavez announced his retirement. I started this gig in March 2007, eight months after he’d been traded to Pittsburgh for Kip Wells. Chavez spent all of 2019-2020 and part of 2018 with the Rangers, and he fell just short of making the squad again this March. He pitched eight innings for the Braves, but upon being designated for the third time (the last for Dane Dunning), he called it a career.

AA: Frisco 3, at Wichita (MIN) 0
Frisco: 7 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 9-14, 4 GB, 47-44 overall

SP Josh Stephan: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 63 P / 47 S, 5.18 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.91 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 3.83 ERA
RP Geraldo Carillo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.28 ERA
2B Cam Cauley: 2-5, .247/.319/.401
SS Sebastian Walcott: 1-4, 2B, .248/.342/.399

Sebastian Walcott doubled home Cam Cauley and Alejandro Osuna in the 1st, and that would be enough. Four relievers combined for 4.1 no-hit, seven-K innings. Josh Stephan hasn’t allowed a homer in his last three outings, noteworthy as they’ve been a problem in 2025

Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Greenville (BOS) 7
Hub City: 10 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 15-11, tied for first, 46-45 overall

SP Josh Trentadue: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 57 P / 36 S, 1.15 ERA
2B Casey Cook: 2-3, BB, .201/.282/.263

After Josh Trentadue’s departure, Hub City lost the no-hitter immediately, the shutout soon after and the lead in the 7th. Trentadue sneaked into Baseball America’s rankings at #26. He hasn’t appeared anywhere nationally to my knowledge. In any case, I was happy to see someone agree with my viewpoint after I’d eyeballed a couple of his earlier outings. While he’s not among the top tier of rotation prospects, there is something to him.

Lo-A: Hickory 0, Augusta (ATL) 6
Hickory: 3 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 17-9, 2.5 GB, 50-41 overall

SP Enrique Segura: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 59 P / 33 S, 3.79 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.40 ERA
RF Hector Osorio: 1-3, BB, .253/.392/.364

Hickory was 16-5 at the break but 1-5 since and outscored 30-13. Like Caden Scarborough, Segura’s control has exceeded my estimate, but not yesterday.

Rookie
The Rangers (33-26) defeated the Dodgers 6-2, clinching their division. Aidan Curry, who began the season in high-A, struck out nine and walked none while allowing two runs in six innings. C Josh Springer (1-2 BB) hit his fifth homer, DH Braylin Morel (2-4, 2B) his third, and PH/RF Andry Batista (1-1) his first. After completing the regular season today, they’ll play the Angels.

Draft
Signed:
1. SS Gavin Fien
2. RHP AJ Russell
3. TWP Josh Owens
4. RHP Mason McConnaughey
5. LHP Ben Abeldt
6. SS Jack Wheeler
7. OF Paxton Kling
8. RHP Evan Siary
9. LHP Owen Proksch
10. RHP J.D. McReynolds
11. RHP Jacob Johnson
12. RHP Jake Barbee
15. SS Luke Hanson
17. C Noah Franklin
18. RHP Julius Sanchez

Unsigned:
13. RHP Aiden Robertson (Walters St. CC, committed to Virginia Tech and headed there per his social media accounts)
14. RHP Landon Manzi (high school, committed to Northeastern, noncommittal publicly last I checked)
16. RHP Jaxon Grossman (Salt Lake CC, committed to Oklahoma)
19. RHP Cory Geinzer (College of Central Florida)
20. OF Jay McQueen (high school, committed to South Alabama)

All the bonuses are known except for Kling. With overslot deals to picks 2, 3, 6, and 8, plus bonuses exceeding $150,000 to picks 11, 12 and 16 (the surplus counts against the cap), Texas has already exceeded the slot money allotment by $221,925 (assuming slot for Kling) and into tax territory. The Rangers can spend up to $549,565 over slot (on which they’ll pay a tax of 75%) without forfeiting a draft pick.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Plassmeyer
AA: Lopez
Hi-A: MacLean
Lo-A: Fowler

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The best Texas rookie-level team was the 2011 edition.

Actual Record: 38-18 (.679)
Run-differential record: 38-18 (.682)
Component record: 35-21 (.616)

A better team than in 2012, but not quite so star-filled. Excluding rehabbers, those who reached the Majors include OF Ryan Rua, IF Luis Sardinas, IF Luis Marte, IF Drew Robinson (briefly), and pitchers Abel de los Santos, Alex Claudio, Andrew Faulkner, Nick Martinez, Jerad Eickhoff and Phil Klein. Rua, Faulkner, Martinez Eickhoff and Klein were all 2011 draft picks beyond the tenth round.

Among those who played frequently, 24-year-old rookie OF Jeremy Williams batted .357/.426/.650 with 23 extra-base hits (and out of the system by 2013), C Kevin Torres (.345/.433/.500) and Rua (.321/.395/.512). The 18-year-old De los Santos was the rotation workhorse, starting 12 games and finishing with 61 innings and a 3.67 ERA.

2011 also represented the peak performance of the previous year’s third-rounder Jordan Akins, who batted .283/.312/.428 with 12 doubles, four triples and two homers. Akins was the apotheosis of Texas’s “teach athletes how to play” movement. He never developed an ounce of plate discipline or the ability to hit anything bendy, but he was nevertheless spellbinding on the field.

Alas, this bunch was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs with a 3-2 loss to the Dodgers.

If Kyle Higashioka is out for a very short period, Cody Freeman might suffice as emergency catcher. He last played there in 2023. Otherwise, Texas might get by with Cooper Johnson, currently Round Rock’s top catcher. Johnson is 27, drafted in 2019’s sixth round by Detroit, eventually released and a Ranger since 2023. He hit well at Frisco and received a deserved promotion to AAA, where he started very slowly but has improved lately. He’s hitting .211/.342/.308 with three homers and plenty of walks. The underlying metrics are tolerable. Mainly, he doesn’t chase. Johnson was coincidentally out of yesterday’s game that started at noon.

“Wait, Cooper Johnson? There has to be some boring but functional AAA vet with the Express,” you say. Well, there isn’t. Chad Wallach was released some time ago, and Tucker Barnhart retired (on the second day of my week-long vacation in Mexico, so my coverage of that event was lacking, shall we say.)
If Higgy is out for longer, the stopgap might be a deal for some non-contender’s boring but functional AAA vet. Andrew Knizner, Austin Nola, and the like. Beyond that, we’re talking higher-rated prospects and real money.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, at Tacoma (SEA) 12
Round Rock: 13 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 8 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 11-8, 2.5 GB, 45-49 overall

SP Trey Supak: 2.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 66 P / 37 S, 7.36 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 2-4, 2B, .260/.346/.398
LF Trevor Hauver: 2-5, HR (6), .272/.385/.426

Tacoma’s Tyler Locklear was 4-4 with two homers, four runs and six batted in. Leody Taveras homered as well.

AA: Frisco 5, at Wichita (MIN) 12
Frisco: 6 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 18 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 8-14, 4 GB, 46-44 overall

SP Mitch Bratt: 5 IP, 11 H (4 HR), 7 R, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 4 SO, 72 P / 52 S, 3.28 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.38 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 2-3, 2 SB (9), .292/.373/.415

Mitch Bratt’s opposing OPS increased from .669 to .743 in the span of about 90 minutes. Wichita hit four homers, four doubles and three singles.

So, a fair question: Why in the world was he allowed to stay in so long? Bratt faced eight batters in a three-run 1st but recorded the first two outs on just 11 pitches and threw only 26 pitches in the frame. He then permitted one run in each of the next four innings but never faced more than five batters. Wichita’s average plate appearances lasted only 2.8 pitches. Since a single inning never went completely awry and his pitch count was low, Bratt just kept working. As far as any psychic damage, he survived the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he can survive this.

Larson Kindreich followed with three homers in a four-run 6th. Wichita slugged 1.080 for the night.

Texas released RHP Nick Krauth, an undrafted covid-year signing who spent most of the last three seasons in Frisco.

As you can see, Alejandro Osuna’s option was transferred to Frisco.

Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Greenville (BOS) 4
Hub City: 2 hits, 9 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 15-10, 1 G up, 46-44 overall

SP Mason Molina: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 65 P / 46 S, 3.38 ERA
RP Dalton Pence: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.20 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 1-4, HR (8), .235/.304/.374

Normally reliable relievers Eric Loomis and Joey Danielson were less so. Up 3-1, Loomis allowed a run on a walk-steal-single in the 8th. In the 9th, Danielson surrendered a double and game-ending homer. In fairness, the double was a deep but catchable fly that CF Dyaln Dreiling slipped trying to get under. The homer, on the next pitch, was not cheap.

Lo-A: Hickory 1, Augusta (ATL) 6
Hickory: 3 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 17-8, 1.5 GB, 50-40 overall

SP Caden Scarborough: 4 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 48 P / 32 S, 3.51 ERA
LF Maxton Martin: 1-3, 2B, BB, .264/.335/.438

Caden Scarborough’s outing was mundane by recent standards, as was the game in general.

Rookie
Losers of two straight, the Rangers (32-26) lead their division by 0.5 games with two to play. They own the tiebreaker over the trailing White Sox, who play only once more, so a Sox loss or single Rangers win would be sufficient.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Stephan
Hi-A: Segura
Lo-A: Trentadue

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The second-best Texas rookie squad played in 2012, the preview for the record-setting 2013 group in Hickory.

Actual record: 34-22 (.607)
Run-differential record: 35-21 (.639)
Component record:  36-20 (.651)

The top six in plate appearances would reach the Majors: Lewis Brinson, Nomar Mazara, Ronald Guzman, Nick Williams, Joey Gallo and Luis Marte. Five pitchers would reach: Alex Claudio, Carl Edwards Jr., Keone Kela, Jon Edwards and Collin Wiles.

Brinson, Williams, Gallo and Kela had just been drafted. Back then, the rookie season began after the draft and served as an immediate intro to pro ball. Now, the regular season concludes less than two weeks after the draft. Maybe the current format is better for player development, I don’t know, but the original system was unquestionably more fun. Wouldn’t you love some instant feedback on Gavin Fien?

Gallo set an all-time league record with 18 homers before graduating to Spokane. Brinson batted .283/.345/.523 with 36 extra-base hits and 14 steals. Claudio, repeating the level, posted a 1.79 ERA and struck out 54 in 45 innings.

After winning the division, the Rangers claimed the championship with two one-and-done series. Their outfield in those two games was Williams/Brinson/Mazara. Ridiculous.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, at Las Vegas (ATH) 5 (12)
Round Rock: 10 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 11-7, 1.5 GB, 45-48 overall

SP Kohl Drake: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 72 P / 49 S, 5.11 ERA
RP Jose Ruiz: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Skylar Hales: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 12.60 ERA
RP Peyton Gray: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2.08 ERA
DH Michael Helman: 3-6, 3B, SB (7), .270/.327/.496
3B Josh Jung: 1-6, .205/.225/.410

Drake survived Las Vegas. Of 13 balls in play, our four were hit hard (95+ exit velocity) and all resulted in outs. All the mid-level contact found holes, plus three reached on infield singles. He missed 11 bats, four on the changeup (although Statcast is still having trouble classifying his pitches).

Josh Jung reached on a hard grounder. He struck out once, and none of the other contact was noteworthy. For the weekend, he was 3-for-16 with two homers and three strikeouts.

AA: Frisco 6, Corpus Christi (HOU) 11
Frisco: 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 8-13, 4 GB, 46-43 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 62 P / 29 S, 4.48 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 7.17 ERA
RP Leandro Lopez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 1-3, HR (8), 2 BB, .245/.380/.387
SS Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, 3B, SB (23), .248/.344/.400

Gadzooks. (Sorry about the language.) Frisco led 5-3 entering the top of the 9th, but Gavin Collyer and Travis Macgregor combined to allow eight runs on five hits, three walks and a Sebastian Walcott error. Walcott did have his best weekend at the plate in some time (6-for-13, triple, homer).

Up from Hub City is 23-year-old righty Leandro Lopez, who held opponents to a .200/.281/.294 line and 2.16 earned runs per nine in 65 innings. He’s down the list some among possible 40 additions this fall but is at least in the discussion.

Hi-A: Hub City 3, Brooklyn (NYM) 13
Hub City: 7 hits, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 15-9, 2 G up, 46-43 overall

SP Jose Gonzalez: 4 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 5 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 65 P / 40 S, 3.19 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA
C Malcolm Moore: 1-4, HR (2), .188/.311/.294

2024 first-rounder Malcolm Moore connected on his first homer and first extra-base hit since coming off the IL. Is the finger still an issue. I don’t know, but he’s hitting .145/.210/.200 since breaking it.

Facing one of the league’s best offenses, Gonzalez tied season-highs in hits, earned runs and walks.

Lo-A: Hickory 7, Charleston (TAM) 5
Hickory: 10 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 17-7, 0.5 GB, 50-39 overall

SP Ismael Agreda: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 64 P / 36 S, 2.64 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.79 ERA
DH Hector Osorio: 1-3, BB, .257/.397/.372
3B Esteban Mejia: 3-3, 3B, .262/.371/.369

Ismael Agreda sneaked away with four strikeouts despite only three missed bats. I like Agreda but was pretty skeptical of his stability in a starting role, even on a limited workload, but he’s maintained just-good-enough control (13.6% BB/HBP) while predictably limiting contact (.176/.287/.255).

Draft
In their updated rankings, Baseball America has placed top pick Gavin Fien fourth in the organization, 2nd-rounder AJ Russell seventh, and two-way player Josh Owens 18th. Also per BA, Texas has signed 18th-rounder RHP Julius Sanchez of Illinois.

Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The best team in the short-season Northwest League (where the Rangers played from 2003 through 2019, after which the classification was eliminated) was the 2007 Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, an affiliate of the Giants.

Actual record: 57-19
Run-differential record: 55-21
Component record: 50-26

This team had the second-best offense and pitching of the 104 teams in my database. In a slightly hitter-friendly park, they outscored the league average by 1.43 runs per game and allowed 1.30 fewer. How dominant were they (or, how precisely mediocre was every other team)? Salem-Keizer had the only winning record in the entire eight-team league. The others finished in a range of 33-43 to 37-39. They were 30-7 in games decided by five runs. They scored at least six runs in just over half their games and were 38-2.  S-K lost the first games of the finals to 37-39 Tri-City but won the next three, twice by shutout.

A good number of Volcanoes reached the Majors but none is a household name. Best was righty Dan Otero drafted in that year’s 21st round and eventually a quality reliever for the A’s and Cleveland for a few years.

Salem-Keizer was the oldest team in the league, but I’m not holding it against them as I did the ’23 Arizona Rockies. Back in 2007, the draft was 50 rounds, the Giants picked plenty of college guys, and one of the primary uses of the Northwest League was to sort out which of them were worthy of full-season ball.