Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 2, El Paso (SDG) 5
Round Rock: 8 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 14-15, 7.5 GB, 48-56 overall
SP Cory Abbott: 5 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 4 BB, 5 SO, 79 P / 48 S, 7.96 ERA
RP Peyton Gray: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.04 ERA
I’ve never caught a foul ball at a Major League game. A friend of mine grabbed a Pete Incavglia foul in the 1980s while I was sitting next to him. I did snare a Max Ramirez foul that ricocheted off the press box facade at the Dell Diamond, and at the time I was there as a fan, not in my “official” capacity. 
AA: Frisco 2, San Antonio (SDG) 4
Frisco: 6 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 12-20, 8 GB, 50-50 overall
SP Jose Corniell: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 49 P / 28 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 7.13 ERA
RF Keith Jones II: 2-4, 2B, .203/.286/.319
Jose Corniell was on point once again. Remember that in addition to returning from elbow surgery, he’s pitching at a new level, having split his last healthy season between low-A Down East and high-A Hickory. He’s also 22 as of June, younger than any staff teammate.
Hi-A: Hub City 6, Asheville (HOU) 5
Hub City: 8 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 20-15, 1 G up, 51-49 overall
SP Kolton Curtis: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 SO, 75 P / 48 S, 5.01 ERA
2B Casey Cook: 1-4, HR (4), .200/.285/.272
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-3, 3B, BB, .211/.311/.342
1B Rafe Perich: 2-3, BB, .200/.362/.291
Casey Cook’s 7th-inning grand slam completed the comeback from a three-run deficit. Notwithstanding Saturday, results on flies are a large part of his line to date. He’s hitting .270 with an isolated power of .143, fifth and sixth lowest, respectively, among 80 league hitters with at least 40 flies. 
Lo-A: Hickory 2, at Fayetteville (HOU) 3 (completion of suspended)
Hickory: 2 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
SP Aneudis Mejia: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 66 P / 48 S, 7.04 ERA
DH Maxton Martin: 1-3, BB, .260/.341/.433
Lo-A: Hickory 5, at Fayetteville (HOU) 1 (7)
Hickory: 4 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 21-14, 4.5 GB, 54-46 overall
SP Kamdyn Perry: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 46 P / 27 S, 6.10 ERA
2B Antonis Macias: 2-3, 3B, BB, .269/.400/.337
Hickory split the quasi-doubleheader. The Crawdads scored two in the 1st on Friday before the rain but would post zeroes for the next 11 innings. Following some intense and protracted sloppiness on Fayetteville’s part, Antonis Macias banged a three-run triple in the 4th of the nightcap.
Today’s Starters
AAA: TBA (maybe CJ Edwards?)
AA: Stephan
Hi-A: Gonzalez
Lo-A: Agreda
Rangers Minor League History, 2007-2024
I’d originally intended to cover the worst five full-season teams at length but reduced to four because the stories would be overly repetitive. Why? Because four of the worst five Texas full-season affiliates during 2007-2024 were in the same classification during four consecutive years. 2017-2018 was a down period for the system at large, but the anti-party began in Frisco two years earlier.
Why so many bad teams in a row, and why Frisco? Especially when in three instances, the previous year’s high-A squad was quite good:
2014 high-A: 82-56, 2015 AA: 60-79
2015 high-A: 78-62, 2016 AA: 63-69
2016 high-A: 82-58, 2017 AA: 60-80
Of course, roster assignments in the minors are far from static, and the 2014 Myrtle Beach Pelicans didn’t fly out to Frisco as a flock the next season. But you’d expect some continuity, yes? Also, these Frisco teams contained some of the most famous and valued prospects I’ve ever covered.
Frisco never hit during this period. Their OPS+ during 2015-2018 ranged from 87-90, afflicted by four factors: 1) a farm system in a decline period, leading to fewer annual reinforcements, 2) trades of promising hitters to fortify the parent club during 2015-2016, 3) aggressive promotions of the desirable hitters who remained, and 4) several multi-season regulars who could play up the middle but didn’t hit at all.
For the record, the fifth-worst team was the 2016 Riders: actual record 63-79, run record 63-79, component record 56-83. This team started the season 30-13 and finished 33-63. Fourth were the Bakersfield Blaze, covered yesterday.
Coming in third: the 2017 Riders.
Actual record: 60-80 (.429)
Run-differential record: 58-82 (.414)
Component record: 58-82 (.418)
As for 2017 in particular, a major reason why they were so much worse than the Cal League-winning 2016 High Deset Mavericks was sharp declines in offense by nearly everyone who graduated. Here’s the change in 2016 to 2017 OPS+ among hitters who spent substantial time with the ’16 Mavs and ’17 Riders (note, these figures do account for High Desert’s ultra-hitter-friendly park):
Luke Tendler — 135 to 99
Scott Heineman — 131 to 119
Jose Cardona — 117 to 94
Juremi Profar — 115 to 86
ALL SIX — 115 to 89
Jose Trevino — 102 to 66
Michael De Leon — 80 to 50
This group was responsible for roughly half the plate appearances for each team, and collectively lost 26 points of OPS. Heineman remained a positive force, but the others dropped to average or worse. Heineman would reach MLB briefly, Trevino improved some (but was never a quality hitter in the upper minors) and of course had the defense and intangibles in his favor. The others essentially topped out. Trevino and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (who was repeating the level) have established lengthy MLB careers, but not because of their minor league hitting.
They had company. A 26-year-old free agent named Eric Aguilera batted .222/.321/.385 while playing exclusively at first. OF Royce Bollinger missed all of 2016 and didn’t hit when he returned (.234/.281/.378, 81 OPS+). Stout defender Luis Marte posted a 75 OPS+.
As a group, the pitchers graduating from High Desert to Frisco (Ariel Jurado, Yo Mendez, Collin Wiles, Nick Gardewine, four others) were close to the median in high-A and similar in AA. The staff as a whole was above average in walks and strikeouts but desperately poor at keeping the ball in the park, allowing 34 more homers than the league average. Mendez managed a 3.79 ERA but surrendered a homer every 5.9 innings. Relievers Shane McCain and Joe Filomeno gave up ten apiece, and Joe Filomeno and Cody Palmquist both yielded eight.
I would reiterate that the ’17 Riders and their compatriots weren’t anywhere near the worst teams among the league in which Texas-affiliated teams have played. By my reckoning, the 2017 edition was 69th-worst of 794 full-season clubs. Bad, yes, but the equivalent of an MLB team with 92-94 losses. Nothing historic.
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