Hub City catcher Malcolm Moore hit a homer and double Wednesday night to improve to .231/.324/.400. “Comfortably above average in a pitcher-friendly environment” I thought, but when I did the calculations, I was surprised to find an OPS+ of only 98. If league production were the same as 2025, his OPS+ would be 118.
I’d previously written about how many more runs were being scored in low-A, but the differences in other leagues had eluded my notice. So last night I gathered data in the minors through April for 2025 and 2026. At the three lowest levels, scoring has increased dramatically, primarily because of an explosion homers. And base-stealing in AA has skyrocketed:
My immediate thought was that AA and A levels were using the MLB ball instead of the gentler minor-league ball, but that wasn’t part of the 2026 rule changes to my knowledge. Could the 2026 version of the ball be more lively, though? Possibly.
Here’s how some 2026 rates compare to the average of the past ten Aprils:
Rates of runs, stolen base attempts, walks plus hit batters and four true outcomes (HR, BB, HBP, SO) are all the highest of the past ten seasons, possibly the highest ever in some cases. The rate of homers is the third highest (behind 2021 and 2022), and the strikeout rate is the second highest (behind 2021).
Incidentally, I’d previously written about how control in the minors was generally worsening while the rate of walks and hit batters in MLB had barely budged. In 2026, MLB is budging:
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 2, Oklahoma City (LAD) 3
Round Rock: 4 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 13-17, 4 GB
SP Austin Gomber: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 SO, 94 P / 64 S, 8.87 ERA
2B Justin Foscue: 1-2, 2 BB, SB (2), .302/.405/.453
Austin Gomber had his best night by far. In nearly every previous outing, the question wasn’t whether he might provide help to the Rangers if needed but instead whether he could even give the Express five not-terrible innings. Last night’s performance would have handled MLB hitters pretty well, I think. He missed 16 bats, nine more than his previous best, featuring a sublimely commanded changeup that consistently teased the arm-side and lower borders of the zone. Texas can shift Jacob Latz if needed, and Cal Quantrill is already in Arlington, but I’m always thinking about depth in the minors, and Gomber made a case for inclusion last night.
Indeed, he outpitched the well-regarded prospect Jackson Ferris, who I saw for the first time and must have caught on an off night. The lefty emphasized a slider even to righties, and his sinker and change tended to lean glove-side as well, so a bunch of his pitches were landing in the same area. His curve was just another look, not a useful pitch in and of itself. His basic control wasn’t sharp, either. I’m providing a general impression because Statcast unfortunately did a dreadful job of categorizing his pitches. 
AA: Frisco 6, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 7
Frisco: 6 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 13-11, 4 GB
SP Winston Santos: 4 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 58 P / 44 S, 10.80 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 1.35 ERA
LF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, .306/.392/.419
Will Bush homered off Ryan Lobus with one out in the 9th to end it. Winston Santos allowed all the runs in the 1st. His control was terrific, but 11 balls in play resulted in seven hits including three for extra bases. 
Hi-A: Hub City 6, at Greenville (BOS) 2
Hub City: 5 hits, 10 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 10-13, 4.5 GB
SP Enrique Segura: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 70 P / 37 S, 5.54 ERA
SS Rafe Perich: 2-5, HR (1), .236/.300/.382
SS Luke Hanson: 1-4, HR (2), .182/.270/.333
Paxton Kling drew three walks and stole his eighth base, and 1B Arturo Disla reached on two hits and a plunking.
2024 7th-rounder Rafe Perich was a highlight of my 2025 trip to Surprise*, but so far his career hasn’t proceeded as I’d hoped. Not to say I was thinking “Major Leaguer” last March, but at least “he’ll reach AA, and then we’ll see what we have.” AA is still on the table, of course, but he hasn’t hit well at the A levels and is currently part of a semi-regular rotation, sitting at least twice a week and playing more often at first than third. He’s hitting for more power in 2026, but his walks and strikeouts are both trending the wrong direction.
* I wasn’t alone in this assessment. Brendan Gawlowski, then a Pittsburgh scout and now a writer for FanGraphs, saw the same games and had this to say in his 2026 writeup: “After seeing Perich go nuts on the backfields one day, he’s always been ‘Rake’ in my internal monologues. He’s a switch-hitter with a viable blend of power and contact from both sides. It hasn’t materialized into production yet, but there are ingredients to stay with.”
Lo-A: Hickory 6, at Fredericksburg (WAS) 7 (10)
Hickory: 9 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 15-9, 1 G up
SP Kamdyn Perry: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 41 P / 28 S, 2.89 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 6.30 ERA
CF Hector Osorio: 1-3, HR (4), 2 BB, SB (6), .253/.400/.494
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-3, 2B, BB, HBP, SB (7), .289/.396/.433
1B Esteban Mejia: 2-5, HR (2), .279/.404/.419
Four straight one-run losses, the last three by walk-off. Hickory led 6-0 at the halfway point, but Wily Nivar endured his worst outing (1.1 IP, 6 runners, 4 runs). After three shockingly walk-free outings to open the season, his familiar control issues have returned lately. Louis Marinaro fanned four in two innings and allowed only one hit, but that hit brought home the gift-runner in the 10th.
Kamdyn Perry hasn’t walked or hit a batter in 9.1 innings. The 2023 17th-round high-school pick had a .592 ERA in 51 low-A innings last year, but the peripherals were a little better.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Supak
AA: Lopez
Hi-A: Easley
Lo-A: Siary
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