I’m pleased with Texas’s decision to call up Gavin Collyer after what I wrote yesterday. Not that I outright predicted he’d get the call, particularly since he’d pitched for Round Rock the day before, but I did believe he’d outpitched everyone already on the 40 and the MLB-experienced off-40 competitors. His MLB debut was also the first of his 181 professional outings to come on zero days of rest. Indeed, he’d never even pitched on just one day of rest in 20 AAA appearances dating back to last July.
Collyer may very well experience more control issues and require more time in AAA, but I’m hopeful this is the beginning of a fruitful relationship. He isn’t at risk of being DFA’ed when either Martin or Curvelo returns.
Cal Quantrill was the other selection. I didn’t cover him yesterday because I was focused on relievers, but to be honest, I’d have been lukewarm if I had. He’s coming off two starts totaling 12 innings with just one run, one walk and ten strikeouts, although the underlying stats aren’t nearly as encouraging. He’s probably okay as a low-leverage reliever.
Texas shifted lefty Cody Bradford to the 60-day IL and designated righty Marc Church for assignment. I called Michael Otanez the more likely choice, but this is only a mild surprise. Since the beginning of 2024, Church has thrown only 43 innings but has walked 29 batters, and opponents were hitting .287/.386/.461. I think back to late 2023 in AAA, when Church’s slider was untouchable but carrying too heavy a load, as his fastball was either too far out of the zone or too close to the middle. When he corrected that issue and those pitches worked in tandem, primarily during the springs of 2024 and 2025, he was a setup reliever in waiting. Those periods were too brief, though, terminated by injuries and inconsistency.
I also think back to his 13-pitch outing a week ago, when the Comets knocked four of seven swings for medium-hard hits without an out. Not a good day, to be sure, but a pull after only 13 pitches? That just doesn’t happen. Church was dealing unappealing strikes, but at least they were strikes, his velocity was fine, and he was well-rested. I could be way off base, but it gave the appearance of the organization having seen enough. In his final outing before being designated, he allowed two homers in 1.2 innings. A club with space might take a chance on him.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 1, El Paso (SDP) 14
Round Rock: 2 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 5-12, 6.5 GB
SP Josh Stephan: 1.2 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 5 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 50 P / 37 S, 6.89 ERA
RP Alexis Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Michel Otañez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 7.11 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 4.32 ERA
Sborz pitched the second day in a row, as had been planned in order to see where he stood as of his deadline date. I saw a local report indicating his fastball velocity declined sharply, but that’s not the case. Relative to 2024 and earlier, yes, but not to recent results. Yesterday it averaged 93.5 compared to 94.1 the previous night and 93.6 for the season. I’d call that a win under the circumstances, plus his slider and curve were faster than usual. Results were lacking, though, as he threw 12 breakers outside the zone and elicited only one swing.
My understanding is Sborz is available if a team wants to place him on an MLB roster. The Rangers have a right of first refusal but have implied their lack of immediate interest by calling up Collyer instead. Yesterday’s outing might quell the interest of others.
Otanez and Diaz also pitched on consecutive days and with more success. Otanez lost 0.5 MPH from his average fastball while Diaz gained 0.6. I couldn’t tell you that last time Texas’s AAA team used three relievers on consecutive days, mostly because I don’t keep track, but also because the answer might be never during my time on this gig. It probably happened in my earliest years (late 2000s) when rosters held only 24 players and usage patterns were very different. Beyond then, I can’t imagine. In the late 2010s before rosters expanded to 28, position-player pitching was rampant even in close games because teams didn’t want to deviate from the strict schedules relievers were on.
Outrighted OF Dairon Blanco joined the Express. 
AA: Frisco 10, at Amarillo (ARI) 7
Frisco: 11 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 7-4, 2 GB
SP Blake Townsend: 3.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 59 P / 39 S, 10.29 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA
RF Keith Jones II: 1-3, HR (1), 2 BB, SB (1), .267/.450/.600
CF Orlando Martinez: 3-5, 2 2B, .366/.447/.585
2B Corey Joyce: 2-4, HR (1)
Frisco hit five homers; 3B Frainyer Chavez (3), 1B John Taylor (2) and SS Keyber Rodriguez (1) joined those listed above. Joyce homered after signing a few days ago. The 27-year-old was drafted in 2019’s 12th round by Detroit and spent last year with the Cubs’ AA team. He can play everywhere and has a knack for reaching base.
Wilian Bormie fanned two straight after replacing Blake Townsend with the bases loaded in the 4th, but an intervening wild pitch did bring one run in. 
Hi-A: Hub City 6, at Wilmington (WAS) 5
Hub City: 13 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 5-5, 2.5 GB
SP Enrique Segura: 2.2 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 56 P / 32 S, 4.76 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Luke Savage: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RF Maxton Martin: 2-5, 3B, SB (3), .286/.342/.400
C Malcolm Moore: 2-5, 2B, .161/.235/.323
2B Chandler Pollard: 2-3, HR (1), 2 SB (2), .300/.333/.450
Joey Danielson has retired 16 consecutive hitters to begin the season.
SS Devin Fitz-Gerald homered, drew three walks and stole a base. 
Lo-A: Hickory 5, Salem (BOS) 4
Hickory: 6 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 9-2, 2 G up
SP Aidan Deakins: 4 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 71 P / 36 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Paulino Santana: 1-2, HR (1), 2 BB, .300/.429/.450
Deakins had trouble throwing strikes, walking three and reaching three balls to four other batters. 19-year-old Paulino Santana hit his first homer. His time in CF has dwindled from a majority in 2024 to a sizable minority last year to zero in 2026.
The league BB+HBP rate is 16%, which is brutal. Hickory’s 13% is near the best. Delmarva has a combined 96 walks and hit batters in 96 innings.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Not Quantrill
AA: Santos
Hi-A: Easley
Lo-A: TBD
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