Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 1, Sacramento (SFO) 12
Round Rock: 7 hits, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 16-26, 9 GB
SP Jose Corniell: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 63 P / 43 S, 2.16 ERA
RP Ryan Brasier: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.86 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 6.11 ERA
A soft single and hard-lined double-single-SF sequence put two quick runs on the board for Sactown, after which Jose Corniell didn’t allow any hard airborne balls in play. He missed 12 bats including seven with a heavily employed four-seamer averaging 94.7 MPH.
Michel Otanez walked four of five batters. I’m wondering if he can staple an extension to the third-base side of the rubber and pitch from there so we don’t have a repeat of this:
Meanwhile, Emiliano Teodo hit the zone on an unprecedented nine of ten pitches. He didn’t miss any bats, but I don’t care. I wouldn’t even care if Victor Bericoto’s flyout to right-center had cleared the fence. Just reestablishing basic control from which to build would be great.
David Davalillo will make his AAA debut tonight, 11 months after reaching AA. He’s had a quirky five starts with Frisco, posting a 3.86 ERA with a typically strong walk rate and more swinging strikes and strikeouts than ever, yet his opposing line is a rather frightening .320/.389/.474. His opposing average on contact is a goofy .501 with a .754 slugging percentage. Obviously, he’s dealing with some bad luck on BABIP; last year’s .134 hit rate on grounders has ballooned to .429. He’s also dealing with a league-wide increase in hitting. That’s not the whole story though, as a good number of last year’s grounders have become salty liners. All those extra opposing hits could actually be beneficial in a sense, perhaps building up some resiliency for the deeply unfavorable PCL climate. 
AA: Frisco 3, at Midland (ATH) 4
Frisco: 6 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 17-18, 4.5 GB
SP Dalton Pence: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 71 P / 42 S, 3.60 ERA
DH Arturo Disla: 1-4, BB
SS John Taylor: 1-3, 3B, 2 BB, .294/.431/.468
Dalton Pence reached AA after just 12 genuine professional starts. I’d characterize the 11 earlier starts at the A levels as “opening long relief,” as he never surpassed three innings and 53 pitches. His upper-level debut was a little lighter on strikeouts and whiffs than usual, but he handled tougher opposition capably. He fanned one batter on what I’d eyeball as a cutter, another on a splitter, which is telling. As a reliever in college, Pence’s money pitch was a fastball with ordinary velocity but massive rise. In a professional starting role, he’s having to emphasize his secondaries, and so far, results have been promising. 
Hi-A: Hub City 18, at Asheville (HOU) 4
Hub City: 19 hits, 9 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 19-16, 5.5 GB
SP J’Briell Easley: 3 IP, 3 H (2 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 46 P / 27 S, 5.17 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1.89 ERA
RP Cole Roland: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Maxton Martin: 3-6, BB, .256/.336/.453
1B Rafe Perich: 2-5, BB, .284/.378/.516
C Malcolm Moore: 2-5, 2 2B, BB, .274/.373/.463
CF Paxton Kling: 1-3, HR (2), 2 BB, .234/.376/.336
DH Yeison Morrobel: 3-5, BB, .305/.365/.476
2B Chandler Pollard: 4-5, 2B, HBP, .253/.349/.413
SS Luke Hanson: 3-6, 2B, 2 HR (5), .204/.278/.417
Have I mentioned exploding offense below AAA? And the favorable hitting climate in Asheville? And the Tourists’ poor pitching? Well, good for me. Hub City has 37 runs and 11 homers in the first three games of the series.
Luke Hanson hit ten homers in 128 college games with Virginia. He hit none in his first 43 pro games. Suddenly, he has five homers in his last 12 games. Hanson ranks tenth on the team in OPS among regulars but leads with 27 RBI after collecting nine last night.
Asheville used a position player to toss the final inning, during which Hanson hit his second homer and Malcolm Moore his second double, a sky-high wind-whipped oppo semi-bloop that none could corral.
The unlikely pitching hero was Brock Porter, whose wild but very hard-to-hit style suits well to the surroundings. Porter allowed only two airborne balls out of the infield. 
Lo-A: Hickory 7, at Columbia (KAN) 2
Hickory: 9 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 18-16, 2 GB
SP Aidan Deakins: 5.2 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 89 P / 58 S, 1.24 ERA
RP Frank Martinez: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.02 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-5, HR (1), SB (14), .303/.395/.432
CF Hector Osorio: 1-5, HR (7), .290/.411/.532
1B Deward Tovar: 2-4, HBP, .218/.307/.460
Yolfran Castillo clubbed his first homer in full-season ball on a generously flat 0-2 offering from Shane Van Dam. The 19-year-old’s swing is oriented more to liners than flies, but he can put some sting on the ball, and he’s roughly doubled his isolated power from 2025 levels.
Rookie
Cody Freeman went 0-2 as a DH on rehab assignment. Seong-Jun Kim homered as his replacement in the 8th. Enyel Lopez was tagged for six runs on seven hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. The skinny 20-year-old has promise but has been extremely walk-prone, issuing a combined 40 walks and hit batters in 32 innings.
Elsewhere
Gavin Fien (wrist) returned to action on Wednesday for Washington’s low-A club, collecting a single and walk in three trips to the plate. He didn’t play yesterday.. The Nats promoted OF Yeremi Cabrera to high-A Wilmington. Both Hickory and Hub City are done with Washington’s A-level clubs for the season, barring a postseason matchup.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Davalillo
AA: Santos
Hi-A: Adametz
Lo-A: Perry
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco’s Yerry Rodriguez fanned five in three scoreless, hitless innings. OF Steele Walker hit his first homer. The parent club lost a fourth straight; after an 18-18 start (that I’d forgotten), the Rangers would play .333 ball the rest of the way and lose 100 games for the first time since 1973 (I remember that part).
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