Box Scores
AAA: Round Rock 1, at Tacoma (SEA) 12
Round Rock: 7 hits, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 32-45 overall
SP Spencer Adams: 5.2 IP, 10 H (3 HR), 6 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 79 P / 53 S, 9.53 ERA
CF Cameron Cauley: 1-4, HR (8), .262/.364/.409
Adams was picked 44th overall by the White Sox in 2014, became a free agent after 2020 and didn’t pitch again under the MLB umbrella until last night. Adams retired nine of 11 batters through three scoreless innings but began allowing hard hits in abundance in the 4th. Adams lost 2-3 ticks on everything by the 6th, and nothing he threw had great movement, but his general velocity was fine (avg. four-seamer 92.7) and he threw strikes. The Express staff is truly a mess right now, but that’s nothing new. The AAA club is there in part to absorb the chaos so the parent club can function properly.
Texas released Blaine Crim. He hadn’t been designated for assignment (at least publicly), so the move almost certainly means a trip overseas. 
AA: Frisco 6, at Amarillo (ARI) 7 (10)
Frisco: 10 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 40-30 overall
SP Blake Townsend: 5 IP, 8 H (2 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 82 P / 61 S, 4.86 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 2.48 ERA
DH Malcolm Moore: 2-4, HR (2), HBP, .296/.355/.630
RF Keith Jones II: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, SB (12), .227/.343/.392
Malcolm Moore homered for the second time in two games, an oppo shot that cleared easily. He’s only drawn one walk in 31 plate appearances in AA, but when a guy is in “see ball, hit ball” mode, it’s best not to quibble. Pitchers were extremely strike-averse on first pitches against him in high-A, but he’s getting a typical percentage in Frisco. I will say he’s never drawn walks at an above-average rate in the pros at any level for any length of time. 
Hi-A: Hub City 4, Winston-Salem (CHW) 7
Hub City: 9 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 11 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 2-3, 36-35 overall
SP J’Briell Easley: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 42 P / 21 S, 5.58 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 5.79 ERA
3B Luke Hanson: 2-4, 2B, HR (11), .254/.316/.453
Easley began the year on a tear but has been worryingly walk-prone lately, with 17 in his last 23 innings during May and June. He didn’t have this issue last year.
Proksch tossed a season-high 2.2 innings on just 37 pitches, 25 for strikes including nine whiffs on 17 swings. If you’re wondering how Proksch owns a 5.79 ERA in high-A despite just getting promoted, he pitched a couple of unsuccessful innings for the Burgers in May when Hickory couldn’t play due to the fire at the stadium.
Brock Porter, Luke Savage and Case Matter walked three batters apiece across the final five innings. Porter did fan five in 2.1 innings.
Luke Hanson now has more homers in barely over a half season than his 128-game college career. 
Lo-A: Hickory 7, Hill City (CLE) 4
Hickory: 8 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 5-0, 39-30 overall
SP Moises Morales: 4.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 SO, 60 P / 41 S, 4.23 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.99 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-3, BB, SB (30), .304/.412/.416
DH Marco Argudin: 1-2, 2B, BB, .319/.439/.489
LF Marcos Torres: 3-4, HR (9), 2 SB (26), .235/.319/.450
Moises Morales woke up in a mood yesterday. He fanned nine of 16 batters, seven swinging, without allowing a hit. His fastballs hover around 90 but had impressive movement, and his slider was especially impressive. Honestly, he imparts enough movement on everything that I’m not sure he always knows where the ball will end up, but he’s only walked 13 in 55 innings. His whiff rate is squarely in the middle of the league, but he’s “saving” the missed bats for when they matter most. The 22-year-old reached the US last year and was solid in Arizona (4.23 ERA, 41 SO in 41 IP).
Yolfran Castillo ranks second in the league in steals with 30, and Marcos Torres is tenth with 26. Both have already surpassed last year’s season-long totals.
Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Trentadue
Hi-A: Perry
Lo-A: Lafalaise
Elsewhere
Mitch Bratt made his MLB debut yesterday,
Bratt is a lefty, by the way. I called him a righty yesterday, because for some reason I’ve always mixed him and Josh Stephan.
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco’s Jacob Latz needed 57 pitches to retire five batters and allowed five runs. He got better.
And, despite never writing under the influence of anything but caffeine, I somehow came up with this (mostly stolen from Bob Dylan):
Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren’t right
Third baseman Joey Gallo went zero-for-four
Struck out thrice for the fourth time in five days, how poor
Let me tell the second mother this has been done
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61
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