Late word has 26-year-old lefty Robbie Ahlstrom joining the Rangers for his MLB debut. I’ll be honest: My first thought, despite his fine stats, was “really, Ahlstrom?” As it turns out, I am almost certainly unwittingly biased against him, because in reviewing the game logs I find I’ve seen all of his run-allowing outings in person but barely any of the appearances that led to his promotion. Ahlstrom has an opposing line of .185/.241/.269 with a 2.76 ERA, eight walks (7% rate) and 33 strikeouts (28%) in 29.1 innings. In 2026, Ahlstrom is averaging 95 with a four-seamer and sinker plus a slider (85), change (87) and infrequent curve (78). By my count, a slider has concluded nearly one-half of his strikeouts. He’s better-than-average at getting batters to chase but below average in generating misses.
Texas acquired Ahlstrom for catcher Jose Trevino in 2022. He’s been in the discussion for a 40 spot the two previous falls but, in my opinion, just as someone worthy of discussion, not a serious contender.
I wrote the following last November: “Ahlstrom had decent results in 2025, but he’s fairly established at his point. If he didn’t force his way onto the roster during the season, I don’t know why he’d be picked now. A hot spring or in-season stretch could get him over the line.” So there you go. Best wishes to him. I have plans this evening and can’t watch the game, so the Rangers need to get him in there tonight to avoid my negative influence.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 6, Salt Lake (LAA) 8
Round Rock: 7 hits, 8 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 8 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 23-34, 11 GB
SP Ryan Brasier: 1 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 0 SO, 29 P / 15 S, 3.97 ERA
RP Jose Corniell: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 8.66 ERA
RP Joe Ross: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.55 ERA
RP Michel Otañez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 6.04 ERA
LF Wyatt Langford: 0-3
3B Cody Freeman: 2-5, HR (2), .333/.417/.667
C Cooper Johnson: 1-2, HR (3), 2 BB, .188/.289/.316
A Rocker-esque opening gambit did not succeed for the Express. Starter Ryan Brasier surrendered a three-run homer, and Jose Corniell wasn’t effective. To be blunt, Corniell hasn’t had much success in any inning, including the 1st. He has simultaneously lucky and unlucky yesterday, as several hard hits resulted in outs, but all four balls hit at under 70 MPH fell for singles.
Texas has signed OF Jarred Kelenic to a minor deal. Once among the brightest prospects in baseball, Kelenic reached the Majors at the age of 21 but took a couple of years to become a decent regular, only to regress to replacement-level form the next season. He’s still just 26, but at this point, he’d just be somewhere in the mix among non-40 depth options, unless Texas can effect a rebound. He should benefit the Express offense, at least. 
AA: Frisco 2, at Arkansas (SEA) 1
Frisco: 7 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 26-23, tied for 1st
SP Dylan MacLean: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 77 P / 46 S, 4.15 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.77 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 2-4, .379/.463/.603
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, HR (1)
Five Riders combined to allow just five baserunners. Rafe Perich’s first AA hit was a homer. 
Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Greensboro (PIT) 8
Hub City: 6 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 6 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 25-25, 11 GB
SP D.J. McCarty: 3 IP, 6 H (4 HR), 6 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 76 P / 48 S, 6.61 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.47 ERA
1B Gleider Figuereo: 4-4, HR (9), .235/.332/.453
Figuereo had a day. Hub City lacks an obvious 1B since Arturo Disla’s departure, so Figuereo has spotted at first a few times since Arturo Disla’s departure. He’s had a pretty good season, albeit buoyed by the increase in offense at all levels below AAA. He’s logged 390 games at the A levels, and I’m wondering if/when Texas might give him a swim-or-sink Frisco assignment.
Joey Danielson’s control is poor (18% BB+HBP rate), but he’s essentially unhittable in high-A, allowing three singles and three doubles in 19.1 innings. Recall that he graduated to Frisco last year but was assigned to Hub City to begin this season, and there he remains. 
Lo-A: Hickory 0, at Salem (BOS) 1
Hickory: 2 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 28-21, tied for 1st
SP Evan Siary: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 69 P / 53 S, 3.09 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.64 ERA
They needed only one hour and fifty-one minutes to play this. Three 1st-inning singles off Evan Siary would score the only run. Siary missed a season-high 14 bats. Owen Proksch has made eight appearances of exactly two innings. Six have been scoreless, and three had no baserunners. Only once did Hickory allow more than three runs last week, but the series was a 3-3 split.
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock’s Leody Taveras hit his fifth homer in ten games following an opening ten-game stretch with zero homers and a 43% K rate. Nearly a month into the season, Frisco, Hickory and Down East led their respective division in fewest runs allowed per game, but Hickory and Down East were also two of the only three A-level offenses with a sub-.300 slugging percentage.
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