AAA: Round Rock 7, at Las Vegas (ATH) 3
Round Rock: 11 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 10-7, 2.5 GB, 44-48 overall
SP Jon Gray: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 61 P / 37 S, 3.18 ERA
RP Robby Ahlstrom: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.23 ERA
3B Josh Jung: 1-5, HR (2), .212/.235/.455
Jon Gray reached 60 pitches and the 4th inning in what is apparently his final rehab start. The Rangers have not publicly committed to his role as a Ranger. Circumstances might decide for them, as Nathan Eovaldi has been scratched with back stiffness.
Josh Jung clubbed a no-doubt homer to left and had three other examples of solid contact that might have become hits with a few feet in a different direction.
AA: Frisco 3, Corpus Christi (HOU) 0
Frisco: 7 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 8-12, 4 GB, 46-42 overall
SP Jose Corniell: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 23 P / 15 S, 0.00 ERA
RP David Davalillo: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 1.50 ERA
RP Avery Weems: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 8.68 ERA
SS Sebastian Walcott: 3-4, HR (10), 2 SB (22), .244/.341/.392
DH Abi Ortiz: 2-4, 2B, .232/.340/.413
In his full-season return from Tommy John surgery, Jose Corniell pitched two strong innings. His fastball touched 97, mixed with a cutter, slider and change. He fanned one on three consecutive sliders and might have had one more if not for a nitpicky plate ump. This was also Corniell’s AA debut. He was added to the 40 after the 2023 season and is on his second option. David Davalillo followed with yet another solid outing.
Sebastian Walcott lasered a flat fastball to left for his second homer in three games following a 32-game dry spell.
Texas promoted RHP Leandro Lopez from Hub City to Frisco.
Hi-A: Hub City 2, Brooklyn (NYM) 1 (10)
Hub City: 5 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 15-8, 3 G up, 46-42 overall
SP Kolton Curtis: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 38 P / 23 S, 5.49 ERA
RP DJ McCarty: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 5.52 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.00 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1.24 ERA
Erik Loomis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.74 ERA
SS Josh Taylor: 2-3, HR (2), .308/.357/.481
LF Quincy Scott: 2-3, 2 SB (12), .234/.320/.333
Your hero is John Taylor, who tied the game with a sharp solo homer in the 8th and singled in pinch-runner Anthony Gutierrez in the 10th. Taylor is 24, old for the level, but a month ago he was playing for Southern Maryland in the indy Atlantic League.
The Danielson/Trentadue/Loomis trio struck out eight of ten batters.
Lo-A: Hickory 4, Charleston (TAM) 6 (10)
Hickory: 7 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 16-7, 0.5 GB, 49-39 overall
SP David Hagaman: 3 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 48 P / 31 S, 4.63 ERA
2B Antonis Macias: 2-4, BB, .269/.407/.332
SS Luis Marquez: 1-4, HR (1), .246/.338/.385
Errors and wildness foiled the Crawdads, as Charleston scored twice in the 2nd and 5th with just one hit, four walks, a wild pitch, three errors and a fielder’s choice that didn’t record an out. Charleston scored twice in the 10th off a walk-prone William Privette, and the offense couldn’t respond in the bottom half.
Draft
Per Carlos Collazo of Baseball America, Texas has signed 4th-round RHP Mason McConnaughey for $495,825, under the slot of $661,100, and 5th-round LHP Ben Abeldt for $450,000, under the slot fo $489,200.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Drake
AA: Anderson
Hi-A: Gonzalez
Lo-A: Agreda
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
The best Arizona rookie-level team during 2007-2024 is the 2023 Colorado Rockies. They were 40-15 and outscored their opponents by 198 runs in just 55 games.
Except I’m ignoring them. Colorado habitually fields older teams, but this group was ridiculous even for them. The average hitter was 22.1 years old, 2.4 older than average and 1.4 older than any other team. Four of the top six in plate appearances were in the 22-25 range, and all were out of the organization by March 2025. The youngest of those six is still around but scuffling in low-A, and the other youngster is still in Arizona. A similarly grizzled squad from 2021 has the fourth-best record.
No. The best team without its thumb and a dozen bat donuts on the scale is the 2019 Giants (Orange).
Actual record: 43-13 (.768)
Run-differential record: 40-16 (.716)
Component record: 38-18 (.681)
They were the best despite the organization splitting the youngsters into two teams. Giants Black were 24-32, not good but still better than six other teams. Of course, a Brewers entry was last at 16-30. (I covered the worst rookie team yesterday.) The Orange bunch didn’t have the league’s best offense — that would be the Rangers — but were in a tight mix near the top. The pitching and defense were stellar, permitting 1.58 runs per game below the league average and 0.97 better than any other team. They earned a bye but lost a one-and-done playoff to the Rangers, who would then defeat a Cleveland squad in the finals.
Unfortunately, while several players have reached MLB, none appears to have settled into a stable career. SS Marco Luciano batted .322/.438/.616 as a 17-year-old and has ranked among baseball’s top-100 prospects ever since, but he’s spent most of the last two seasons in AAA Sacramento and recently shifted to left field.