1B Blaine Crim is a Ranger again. Texas claimed him off waivers from Colorado, where his efforts to regain MLB status was thwarted by an oblique injury during Spring Training and underwhelming production in AAA Albuquerque. He was hitting .265/.339/.449 with seven homers in 36 games, not bad but a little light for a mountain venue in the PCL. At the least, Crim will help an Express club badly lacking in power. He’s also right-handed batting depth, although there’s a decent overlap between his and Justin Foscue’s skill sets, and the Rangers themselves might try to sneak Crim through waivers when a 40 spot is needed.
Texas placed Rule 5 reliever Carter Baumler on the 60-day IL to accommodate Crim.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 7, at El Paso (SDP) 5
Round Rock: 9 hits, 8 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 19-31, 11 GB
SP Austin Bergner: 2.2 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 63 P / 37 S, 5.17 ERA
RP Michel Otañez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 6.52 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2.35 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 5.24 ERA
DH Cameron Cauley: 2-4, 2B, BB, .251/.368/.383
1B Nick Pratto: 3-4, 3B, HR (5), .247/.301/.494
Emiliano Teodo reached 103.1 again, and his slowest sinker was 99.5. He didn’t miss any bats with them but worked a quick but not clean 9th for the save. (Nobody claimed a one-out pop that hung in the air for six seconds and landed 23 feet from home plate, but Teodo worked a game-ending double play.)
Gavin Collyer made his first appearance since being optioned. A significant reason for him being optioned was having options, but not the only reason. He walked or hit 11 in 12.2 innings, and while his ERA wasn’t badly blemished (2.84), it eventually will be with that many free passes. On a more granular level, Collyer had a 56% strike rate. As I’ve written about earlier in the context of his original call-up, pitchers with strike rates at that level are either issuing excess walks or threatening them. The average MLB pitcher has started with a 3-0 count 4.7% of the time in 2026, and two-thirds of those have ended with a walk. Collyer started 11% of his plate appearances 3-0, and all ended with walks. So, as manager, do you confidently put Collyer on the mound in a meaningful situation? Probably not.
A few hours after the Crim claim hit the wire, Nick Pratto missed the cycle by a double.
The Express trailed 5-4 entering the 9th, but Gilberto Celestino’s bases-loaded walk and Diego Castillo’s two-run single provided a two-run lead. 
AA: Frisco 7, San Antonio (SDP) 5
Frisco: 10 hits, 10 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 22-21, 1.5 GB
SP Leandro Lopez: 4.2 IP, 10 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 92 P / 61 S, 7.20 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Jonathan Brand: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.32 ERA
DH Cody Freeman: 1-4
LF John Taylor: 2-4, BB, .318/.459/.530
1B Arturo Disla: 3-4, BB, .429/.524/.714
Down 5-3 at the stretch, Frisco scored four on an Arturo Disla single and three bases-loaded walks. Leandro Lopez had better control than usual last night but was very hittable, a team-wide malady. The Riders’ 405 hits allowed are 27 more than any other Texas League team. Three teams have allowed more runs, though, as Frisco is reasonably strong at avoiding walks. 
Hi-A: Hub City 4, Rome (ATL) 7 (7)
Hub City: 6 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 23-19,
SP Ismael Agreda: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 7 R, 4 BB, 7 SO, 81 P / 49 S, 5.13 ERA
RP Cole Roland: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Case Matter: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
1B Rafe Perich: 1-3, HR (8), .288/.379/.552
Hi-A: Hub City 0, Rome (ATL) 4 (7)
Hub City: 4 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 23-20, 8 GB
SP Joe Adametz: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 85 P / 53 S, 5.64 ERA
Rome swept the doubleheader. Adrian Rodriguez and Case Matter made successful returns to full-season ball. Both had been rehabbing in Arizona. Rodriguez has been around forever (since 2019 to be precise). His control is awful, and I’ll confess to thinking I was watching his last outing in the organization on a field in Surprise back in 2024, but he throws hard and has almost always hinted at being the real deal. Matter was Texas’s 10th-rounder from Washington in 2023 and is a similar good-stuff/zero-control type. 
Lo-A: wet
Two today
Rookie
Izack Tiger threw a scoreless innings with one walk and one strikeout for the rookies, his first action since undergoing elbow surgery in September 2024. I haven’t written much about Tiger because he’s been on the shelf more often than not, but he’s a legitimate prospect with the stuff to transfer to high-leverage relief if starting doesn’t pan out.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Supak
AA: MacLean
Hi-A: McCarty
Lo-A: Siary / TBS
Five Years Ago Yesterday
“The latest Baseball America mock draft has the Rangers selecting high school shortstop Marcelo Mayer with the second pick in the 2021 draft. A month ago when we were young and innocent, Texas could simply select whoever Piitsburgh didn’t pick among SS Jordan Lawlar and Vandy righty Jack Leiter. Now, life is complicated. In recent weeks, Mayer has gained equal footing with Lawlar, Leiter’s temporary absence obscured his outlook, and yet another prep batter (SS Brady House) has entered the top five.”
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