I played around some with the data on Jack Leiter, currently famous for a 12.41 ERA and .424/.470/.678 opposing line in 5th innings in 2026. His walks and strikeouts in the 5th are fine, but Looking at the batted ball data, but opponents are hitting .625 when they put the ball in play. Some of that is luck; nobody (except you and I) should be hit that hard in the long run.
One item I caught is a much higher average on grounders, which ought to be pure luck, but check out the last three columns:
Leiter grounders in the 5th have tended to be much harder and more in proximity to line drives. That’s a tangible difference, maybe not worth 271 points of average, but some. I could also analyze his pitch movement and location, but for now I’d rather wait to see if he can improve and save me the trouble.
Texas called up reliever Joe Ross, optioned Luis Curvelo and designated Michel Otanez for assignment.
Over the course of two months, Curvelo went from “only optioned because he has options” to “only called up because he has options.” He’s already been optioned four times this season and has only one more before the next would trigger a waiver requirement.
Michel Otanez has a 6.15 ERA in Round Rock and has been on the cusp of designation since before the season started. He’d actually handled opposing contact fairly well and was squashing righties (.093/.298/.140), but his control has been terrible.
Joe Ross is Joe Ross.
Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 2, El Paso (SDP) 7
Round Rock: 7 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 28-40, eliminated
SP David Davalillo: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 68 P / 37 S, 7.59 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.11 ERA
SS Cameron Cauley: 1-4, BB, SB (23), .266/.376/.390
2B Josh Smith: 1-4, BB, SB
CF Jarred Kelenic: 1-3, HR (2), 2 BB, .382/.462/.618
LF Aaron Zavala: 3-4, 2B, .266/.373/.410
The location troubles continued for David Davalillo:
The splitter was telling. The nine left-most versions were all ignored. The other six resulted in three whiffs, two fouls and a groundout. The homer was a Dell Diamond Summer Special, 92 MPH off the bat into a 16 MPH tailwind.
Emiliano Teodo had better control of his sinker, although he did allow a run on two singles (one soft, one hard) and a balk.
Cam Cauley is hitting .353/.465/.500 in June. On the whole, he’s been strong at getting on base but a little light on power. Most of his Statcast data is near the league mean for various categories. He’s played 22 games at short, 19 in center, 12 at second and eight at third. He definitely would serve as a solid replacement for the skills the injured Michael Helman offers. I’m skeptical of what production Cauley would offer at the plate against Major Leaguers right now. 
AA: Frisco 10, at San Antonio (SDP) 1
Frisco: 11 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 34-26, 3.5 G up
SP Ben Anderson: 3.2 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 62 P / 34 S, 3.65 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.85 ERA
RP Austin Roberts: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 3.81 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-4, BB, .291/.388/.455
3B Rafe Perich: 1-4, 3B, BB, .264/.350/.585
DH Keith Jones II: 1-4, HR (7), BB, .232/.347/.411
Frisco scored eight runs in the top of the 9th. Keith Jones broke a stretch of 16 games without a homer, during which time he batted .164/.288/.262. Rafe Perich has an extra-base hit in seven of his 14 AA games.
Midland lost, pushing Frisco closer to a division title. The first half ends next Sunday. 
Hi-A: Hub City 6, Asheville (HOU) 2
Hub City: 8 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 32-29, eliminated
SP Ismael Agreda: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 82 P / 47 S, 5.32 ERA
RP Cole Roland: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.08 ERA
LF Paxton Kling: 2-4, 2B, 2 SB (16), .261/.395/.404
1B Gleider Figuereo: 2-3, 2B, BB, 2 SB (7), .236/.339/.429
SS Carter Garate: 1-3, HR (3), .180/.292/.377
Malcolm Moore (0-3 with a walk) is hitting .267/.353/.493 since that bonkers series in Asheville. A 128 OPS+ by my count.
Undrafted Carter Garate hit a 2nd-inning grand slam. 
Lo-A: Hickory 6, at Charleston (TAM) 0
Hickory: 11 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 32-28, 3 GB
SP AJ Russell: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 53 P / 31 S, 3.52 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 4.12 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4.30 ERA
RP Jormy Nivar: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.16 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 0-2, 3 BB, SB (28), .305/.405/.425
RF Marco Argudin: 2-5, 3B, SB (2), .353/.476/.529
LF Paulino Santana: 2-4, BB, SB (13), .268/.401/.423
3B Angel Arredondo: 3-5, 3B, .222/.369/.394
The Crawdads won the first of two games required to avoid first-half elimination. Another today would reduce Charleston’s lead to two games, and Hickory would then need two more victories than Charleston over the final three games of the first half. Hickory had two cancelled games, so if the teams finish the same number of games over .500, Hickory would win based on a slightly higher win percentage.
Yolfran Castillo has 34 walks in 59 games. He walked at will in the Dominican Summer League in 2024 but far less so last year. This year he’s improved his rate a whopping 80%. Paulino Santana leads the team with 40 free passes, also the most in the organization outside of Round Rock, which has played more games.
Today’s Starters
AAA: Stephan
AA: MacLean
Hi-A: McCarty
Lo-A: Siary
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock OF Leody Taveras hit his sixth homer, only two shy of his previous season-best. To date, his maximum is 14, helpfully tallied in 2023.
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