AAA: Round Rock 5, Albuquerque (COL) 3
Round Rock: 12 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 6-6, 3 GB, 40-47 overall
SP Jon Gray: 2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 32 P / 20 S, 4.50 ERA
RP Kohl Drake: 5 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 4.32 ERA
CF Dustin Harris: 2-2, HR (7), 2 BB, HBP, 2 SB (20), .255/.348/.392
Josh Jung: 1-5
Last week, Kohl Drake pitched better than his line of 3.1 IP, seven hits and four runs. Last night was the reverse. Drake had four swinging strikes, his lowest total of the season in any appearance of length. Opponents missed only one of 20 swings on-zone pitches. He allowed a homer to his first opponent and four other balls in play that at least hinted at leaving the yard, all 97 or higher off the bat and lofted. He also had a stretch of five batters in which he started 0-2 but ended up expending a large number of pitches trying to finish them off:
Sean Bouchard: 7-pitch walk
Owen Miller: 4-pitch GIDP
Drew Romo: 6-pitch walk
Aaron Schunk: 6-pitch flyout
Adael Amador: 9-pitch groundout
That said, the takeaway isn’t “oh no, he’s bad” or even “he’s worse than advertised.” As with David Davalillo three weeks ago, I simply caught him on a lesser night. It happens. Despite the 0-2 issues, Drake completed five innings on a reasonable 72 pitches, and two of those innings went by in a flash.
Drake’s fastball has plenty of run and averaged 93.8, topping at 95.5. Statcast would lead you to believe he emphasized the slider, but it’s frequently mischaracterizing a curve that peaks in the low 80s and actually has more horizontal break than his slider, which veers into cutter territory. He K’ed Sam Hilliard on a called curve and Zac Veen on a fastball. He also offered a mid-80s change.
Jon Gray pitched well in his first rehab appearance. His fastball averaged 94 and topped at 95.0. He added a slider averaging 86, a few curves in the 77-82 range, and a change. Sam Hilliard sat on a first-pitch fastball for a homer that is listed at 350′ despite skying over the 407′ mark left of center.
Josh Jung lined hard to center in his first appearance and was robbed of two RBI on another liner snared by rehabbing shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Dustin Harris had a day, homering to lead off the 1st and reaching four other times. I haven’t had a chance to analyze the Statcast data, but his results are vastly improved lately. On June 3rd, Harris was hitting .202/.331/.212 with a double as his only extra-base hit. Since then: .301/.365/.549 with seven homers.
AA: Frisco 3, at Amarillo (ARI) 5
Frisco: 6 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 5-9, 3 GB, 43-39 overall
SP Daniel Missaki: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 58 P / 40 S, 5.79 ERA
SS Cam Cauley: 1-4, HR (8), .248/.327/.416
DH Sebastian Walcott: 1-3, BB, SB (20), .240/.341/.375
1B Abimelec Ortiz: 1-4, HR (11), .216/.332/.381
Homers off relievers Jackson Kelley and Josh Mollerus accounted for all of Amarillo’s runs. Frisco likewise produced everything via the long ball.
Hi-A: Hub City 2, @ Rome (ATL) 1
Hub City: 4 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 10-7, 0.5 GB, 41-41 overall
SP Josh Trentadue: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 83 P / 57 S, 1.27 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 2.70 ERA
DH Anthony Gutierrez: 1-3, 2 BB, 4 SB (27), .240/.319/.309
SS John Taylor: 2-4, 2B, HR (1), .375/.394/.563
An eight-pitch at-bat resulting in a triple ended Josh Trentadue’s night just shy of five innings and equaling a season-high 83 pitches. Trentadue’s ERA has improved from 4.46 in 2024 to 1.27 this year, but that includes a healthy dose of luck (bad last year, good this). That’s not to say he’s simply holding his ground; I’d still say he’s improved. Anthony Gutierrez stole four bases of Rome pitchers and catcher Mac Gusette, whose rate of one successful steal per 4.2 innings is second-worst among the 20 busiest catchers in the league. To drive that home, Arturo Disla stole two bases yesterday. Disla actually has four in his last four games. He’s not speedy, not at all, but he’s an alert runner who’ll take advantage of a sleepy opponent.
Lo-A: wet
Two Friday.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Blach
AA: Stephan
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: Fowler