Month: August 2026

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 9, Albuquerque (COL) 5
Round Rock: 9 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 32-24, 3 GB, 63-68 overall

SP Anthony Veneziano: 4 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 89 P / 62 S, 2.59 ERA
RP Ben Peoples: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 7.36 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.27 ERA
CF Alejandro Osuna: 1-3, 2 BB, .277/.377/.383
DH Cameron Cauley: 3-4, 2B, BB, .279/.373/.466

Alejandro Osuna is hitting .259/.349/.389 with four doubles and a homer in 13 games since being optioned. That’s about a 90 OPS+, mainly light on slugging, not dissimilar from his time in Texas. Osuna hit 20 homers in 2024 between high-A, AA and the Arizona Fall League, but in 191 combined AAA/MLB games since then, he’s gone deep five times. So, he has hit for power, but his current style — grounders, oppo, steady mid-level exit velo but lacking at the high end — isn’t conducive to dingers. 

The Curvelo/Peoples/Lobus/Otanez quartet held the Topes scoreless across five innings with four runners allowed and seven strikeouts. 

Since the All-Star Break, the trio of Merrill Kelly, Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake has started 21 of Arizona’s 45 games. The Snakes have won nine and lost 12 of those. 


AA: Frisco 7, at NW Arkansas (KAN) 8
Frisco: 9 hits, 7 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 27-29, 5 GB, 66-58 overall

SP Aidan Curry: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 89 P / 56 S, 5.43 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, BB, .315/.385/.527
LF Marcus Lee Sang: 2-3, HR (15), BB, .299/.365/.476
C Ian Moller: 2-2, 2 BB, .203/.321/.356
1B Max Wagner: 1-3, HR (20), BB, .251/.343/.543

Aidan Curry barely escaped the 1st, throwing 24 pitches before recording his first out on a pickoff. After that, Curry allowed one hit and no runs while fanning seven. Four Ks were the result of Natural batters gawking at fastballs. 

Curry is as tricky a 40-man decision as I can recall. He isn’t a Rule 5 concern because he can become a free agent after the season if not protected. He leads the organization with 123 strikeouts in 99 innings and has a 29% K rate, and his BB+HBP rate of 12% is decent by current standards. His development has been slow and halting, but he gives the appearance of a Major Leaguer at times.

There’s a chance the Rangers don’t protect anyone, but at this time of year my list is messy and might be missing some eligible players. (Sebastian Walcott is not eligible, by the way.)

Max Wagner is the sixth Ranger to reach 20 homers. Credit him and the Rangers for getting him back on track. The 2022 second-rounder batted .218/.301/.339 with five homers in 87 games for AA Chesapeake last year before being released. In terms of prospect status, he has a little positional flexibility but doesn’t play short, and he has has a massive 35% strikeout rate. His path to the Majors is going to require a ton of homers. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, at Greensboro (PIT) 6
Hub City: 8 hits, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 8 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 23-36, eliminated, 57-68 overall

SP Enrique Segura: 4 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 5 BB, 4 SO, 72 P / 40 S, 6.31 ERA
2B Evan Morrison: 3-4, 2B, .333/.359/.444

Hub City led 5-1 after the 3rd but surrendered five runs after the stretch including a walk-off walk. 

Listed starter Caden Scarborough did not appear. 


Lo-A: Hickory 10, at Wilson (MIL) 7
Hickory: 11 hits, 10 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 9 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 42-17, division champion, 76-47 overall

SP Jacob Johnson: 2.2 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 55 P / 33 S, 2.84 ERA
RP Cole Fehrman: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF Jamaurion McQueen: 1-3, 2B, 3 BB, .295/.427/.311
LF Kaden Carpenter: 3-5, 2B, 3B, HR (5), .247/.393/.506
2B Kolby Branch: 1-2, HR (1), 2 BB, .192/.268/.274
DH Sebastian Baquera: 0-1, 3 BB, HBP, SB (1), .271/.373/.364

Hickory won on Hangover Day. What a plucky bunch of kids. 

Fehrman is a 23-year-old undrafted free agent from St. Joseph’s who fanned 18 in 8.2 innings for Trenton in this year’s MLB Draft League. Jacob Johnson suffered his worst low-A start by a mile, and he suddenly sports a .386 opposing OBP at the level. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Pence
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Segura
Lo-A: Owens

Five Years Ago Yesterday
With 62 steals, Down East’s Jayce Easley was the first Ranger to reach 60 since Bob Brower and George Crum in 1984. 

Low-A Hickory has claimed the second-half title of the Carolina League’s South Division.Per local reports, Jack Leiter suffered from biceps soreness during his rehab outing in Round Rock Wednesday and will be shut down at least a week. I was calling that game with Rylan Kobre and didn’t notice anything untoward in the moment (beyond the results of course).His velocity was fine. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, Albuquerque (COL) 5
Round Rock: 5 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 7 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 31-24, 3 GB, 62-68 overall

SP Blake Townsend: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 87 P / 55 S, 3.18 ERA
CF Cameron Cauley: 1-3, HR (14), BB, .273/.367/.460

Blake Townsend made a surprise appearance for Round Rock, replacing the scheduled Trey Supak. He has very limited experience at the level and has a fastball topping at 89 but was up to the task. Albuquerque swung through 13 pitches including seven sweepers. 

Cam Cauley improved to .340/.396/.787 with six homers in 11 games since being optioned. I noticed he grades out surprisingly poorly defensively in the Majors. Most of that is outfield play, and most of that comes down to a couple of flies in right that were very catchable per Statcast, but Cauley reacted very tentatively and couldn’t close the gap. That is something to keep an eye on, but in general, I’d still expect much of his value going forward to be defensive. 

Round Rock, OKC and Sacramento are all 31-24 and three games behind Sugar Land. (Las Vegas is also 31-24 but won the first-half title.) The Express host OKC next week. 


AA: Frisco 3, at NW Arkansas (KAN) 5
Frisco: 9 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 27-28, 4 GB, 66-57 overall

SP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 31 P / 14 S, 3.22 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.59 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.08 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 2-5, HR (4), SB (7), .295/.378/.524
1B Max Wagner: 2-2, 2 BB, .250/.341/.533

Sebastian Walcott homered 110 off the bat, 426′ to left. That is big-boy power. As I type this, I’ve only just barely skimmed Jamey Newberg’s post from this morning, but with the title “The Lure Of The Drastic Measure,” I knew the subject before reading a word. I offered my thoughts nine days ago, and at the time, my primary conclusion was that if Walcott in the Majors in 2026 was a genuine option, he needed to be in AAA and in the field as quickly as possible. That obviously hasn’t happened, so in that regard, I’m less inclined to take this drastic measure (to steal Jamey’s line). I would also reiterate my belated realization that this club is not underperforming and isn’t just needing a little boost in the form of Walcott or anyone else. They’ve suffered a bunch of injuries, but they’re not alone. Maybe a healthier squad would be in first, but in general, the 2026 Rangers are who they are. And that may yet include postseason baseball, truly! 

I assume Townsend’s promotion was temporary but we’ll see. Frisco’s rotation has felt cobbled together of late, and LHP Dylan MacLean was IL’ed two days ago. Every few years, I joke about pitching for an understaffed squad. If the Rangers are going to call on me, now’s the time. I’m in my late 50s already, and if the Rangers wait until I’m in my 60s, people are going to think this is some type of gimmick. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, at Greensboro (PIT) 4
Hub City: 6 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 23-35, eliminated, 57-67 overall

SP Ben DeTaeye: 4.2 IP, 6 H (3 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 69 P / 45 S, 7.77 ERA
RP J’Briell Easley: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 5.06 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 1-3, 2 BB, SB (32), .232/.369/.362
DH Maxton Martin: 2-4, 2B, .237/.299/.451

The Burgers have the division’s worst second-half record but are 13-11 in their last 24 playing mostly on the road against some of the league’s best teams. In the midst of a playoff fight, Greensboro decided to play like a rookie club. Hub City was hitless with runners in scoring position and collected only two RBI, while the Hoppers committed four errors (all by 1B Tony Blanco!) and unleashed two wild pitches. 


Lo-A: Hickory 9, at Wilson (MIL) 5 (7)
Hickory: 7 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

SP Evan Siary: 5.1 IP, 7 H (2 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 79 P / 62 S, 3.36 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.64 ERA
1B Kaden Carpenter: 2-3, 2B, BB, SB (7), .226/.383/.440
DH Deward Tovar: 4-4, 2B, 2 HR (18), .245/.328/.464

Lo-A: Hickory 11, at Wilson (MIL) 1 (7)
Hickory: 11 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 41-17, DIVISION CHAMPION, 75-47 overall

SP Moises Morales: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 78 P / 54 S, 3.21 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2.80 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-4, 2B, HR (8), .285/.385/.414
CF Paulino Santana: 1-4, HR (15), SB (24), .263/.384/.437
1B Brandon Crabtree: 0-1, 3 BB, .273/.358/.367

Everything came up Milhouse for the Crawdads last night. They swept their doubleheader while Kannapolis lost, clinching the second-half division title with eight games remaining. Hickory has won eight straight and hold the minors’ best second-half record as well as the best run differential by a margin of 40. The playoff opponent will be Tampa-affiliated Charleston (68-56), who are essentially a .500 club augmented with a first-half-clinching 12-game win streak late in the first half.

Yolfran Castillo and Dustin Mayorquin recreated the “Cody Bellinger vs. Luke Jackson” homer from the 2021 playoffs. A very high pitch, if you’ll recall. 

Evan Siary suffered his worst start of the second half, But Hickory scored five in the 4th and never trailed thanks to a grand slam by Deward Tovar. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Veneziano
AA: Curry
Hi-A: Scarborough
Lo-A: Johnson

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Luisangel Acuna hit his ninth homer, and I mentioned he was about to join Dylan Moore (2016) and Jose Vallejo (2008) in the 10 HR / 40 SB club. Since then, Rangers to accomplish that feat are Marcos Torres (this season, 12 HR / 43 SB), Dustin Harris (2023, 14/41), JP Martinez (also 2023 and 14/41), Bubba Thompson (2022, 13/49, Daniel Mateo (2022, 12/43), and Acuna again (2022, 11/40). 

Texas quietly optioned reliever Robby Ahlstrom to AAA yesterday without a corresponding move. Thursday’s five-run outing inflated his ERA to 6.03, which is too bad because he’s been better than that, but relief ERAs can twist the truth if not outright lie. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, Albuquerque (COL) 11
Round Rock: 10 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 31-23, 3 GB, 62-67 overall

SP Winston Santos: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 6 SO, 70 P / 44 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Ben Peoples: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 10.13 ERA
CF Cameron Cauley: 2-4, 2B, HR (13), .272/.366/.452
LF Aaron Zavala: 3-4, .275/.362/.442

I’d been daydreaming recently about Emiliano Teodo reaching his ceiling, as one does, but he snapped me out of that last night by retiring one of six batters and missing on 15 of 26 pitches. Teodo also sailed his first pitch over the head of Cody Freeman’s brother Tyler, who had already been hit twice, and the teams had previously been issued warnings. Freeman took great umbrage, got ejected and bumped the ump, so he might be looking at a vacation. He also had only recently been optioned and might be unaware of what an off-night for Teodo actually entails. In the 9th, the umps ejected Albuquerque infielder Edouard Julien (who wasn’t playing) from the dugout. 

Teodo had entered with a 3-1 lead in the 8th, but he, Joe Ross and Marc Church were tagged for ten runs and 13 runners across two innings. 


AA: Frisco 7, at NW Arkansas (KAN) 0
Frisco: 11 hits, 5 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 27-27, 3 GB, 66-56 overall

SP Cole Stasio: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 49 P / 33 S, 3.72 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.91 ERA
RP Leandro Lopez: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 6.46 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5.73 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 1-4, 2B, BB, SB (6), .290/.377/.490
RF Yeison Morrobel: 3-5, .333/.374/.512
2B Max Wagner: 2-5, 2B, HR (19), .244/.331/.529

Cole Stasio struck out five including former Ranger Jorge Alfaro. In the 1st, Stasio also committed an error on an appeal throw to first, allowing a runner on second to advance a base. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that, nor apparently had the umps, who had to confer and then explain the ruling to Frisco manager Chad Comer. Following Stasio were three pitchers who had up nights in up-and-down seasons. Some shoring up down the stretch would be nice, both for the careers of these young men and Frisco’s postseason outlook. Since shutting out San Antonio twice in late July, Frisco is 12-17, and the rotation has allowed 6.65 runs per nine (earned and unearned), placing some stress on the bullpen ad offense. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Greensboro (PIT) 11
Hub City: 8 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 22-35, 8.5 GB, 56-67 overall, eliminated (I think)

SP Jormy Nivar: 2.2 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 60 P / 34 S, 16.88 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 2-3, 2 BB, 2 SB (31), .231/.365/.363

The Rangers promoted Jormy Nivar to Hub City 11 days after Wily Villar. Gotta keep the guys with similar names together, although in this instance I’ve had less trouble than the DJ McCarty / Dylan MacLean duo. 

Since returning to action, Paxton Kling has reached first safely 25 times, stolen 15 bases and been caught once, so 0.64 steal attempts per time on first.* The team rate is 0.15, and the league is 0.21. He’s been busy. The most active in the system (min 10 attempts):
0.51, Marcos Torres (46 attempts)
0.42, Rashawn Pinder (14 attempts)
0.40, Chandler Pollard (29 attempts)
0.39, Paxton Kling (39 attempts)
0.37 Yolfran Castillo (61 atttempts)

Yesterday I said Hub City’s elimination number was three, but after last night’s loss plus wins by division-leading Winston-Salem and Greenville, I believe it’s over. Hub City can still pass W-S, but that would require the Dash to lose six straight to Rome next week, and Hub City can’t catch a Rome team that wins more than five down the stretch. If I’m wrong, well, give it a day or two. 

* Runners can steal third and home, of course, and batters sometimes reach first on fielder’s choices or errors, but for general discussion, division of steals by times safely on first is a decent proxy for how active a runner is on the bases. 


Lo-A: wet

Two today.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Supak
AA: TBD
Hi-A: DeTaeye
Lo-A: Morales / TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Recently acquired Glenn Otto threw five scoreless, walk-free innings with seven strikeouts in his MLB debut against the then-mighty Astros. That stands as the apex of his pro career, as he would give up 24 runs in his concluding five starts of 2021. He had a fairly busy 5th-starter-type 2022 (135 IP, 0.6 WAR), but an oblique injury limited his appearances and effectiveness in 2023, and he was lost on waivers that September. His last outing was in September 2024 for AAA Sugar Land, and he retired after 2025. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, Albuquerque (COL) 9
Round Rock: 7 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 31-22, 3 GB, 62-66 overall

SP David Davalillo: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 32 P / 16 S, 6.15 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.43 ERA
RP Jack Leiter: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 7.36 ERA
2B John Taylor: 1-3, 2B, BB, .264/.396/.429
RF Aaron Zavala: 1-3, 2B, BB, .270/.358/.438
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, 2B, BB, .246/.320/.447

Uh oh. Since returning to Round Rock, David Davalillo had thrown 67% strikes and walked only one in 19 innings. I genuinely believed the control troubles were in the past. I was on the call with Rylan Kobre last night and prepared to discuss his turnaround over the course what I assume would be at least four innings. Instead, Davalillo expended 17 pitches while walking two of the first three batters, and I had to pivot to the unlikeliness of him even completing one inning. Not until pitch #28 did he record an out, and unlike during his earlier struggles, he was also hit exceptionally hard. After a four-pitch K for the second out, he was pulled. So much for my two pages of notes. Not much else to say except to hope it’s a just a bump in the road. 

Jack Leiter had a rather uninspiring relief outing. The apparent idea was for two innings, but after after 25 pitches and four baserunners, he was done. I’m generally inclined to say the top-line results don’t matter much in rehab, but last night would seem to merit another outing in the minors. A tell into his 2026 future will be how quickly he makes his next appearance. 

Albuquerque starter Valente Bellozo, objectively one of the worst pitchers in the minors in 2026, tossed three scoreless innings, his only scoreless outing of at least that many innings all season. In the other game I called with Rylan, Marco Gonzales, then with El Paso and holding a 9.16 ERA, had a season-best outing. Sorry, y’all. 

Round Rock didn’t lose any ground to Sugar Land but fell into a tie for second with Sacramento.


AA: Frisco 11, at NW Arkansas (KAN) 2
Frisco: 16 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 26-27, 4 GB, 65-56 overall

SP D.J. McCarty: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 77 P / 42 S, 5.75 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 3-5, HBP, .292/.376/.490
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, HR (15), BB, .319/.400/.602
RF Yeison Morrobel: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .323/.366/.508
C Malcolm Moore: 2-4, 2B, BB, .219/.308/.411
LF Marcus Lee Sang: 2-5, HR (14), .296/.361/.470

Perich hit his 26th homer, five more than anyone in the system. 

Only twice this month has the winning team in a Frisco games scored fewer than five runs. 

Amarillo (30-23) leads the division by four over Midland and Corpus with 15 to play. Frisco is also four back but irrelevant to the standings as the first-half winner. 


Hi-A: Hub City 10, at Greensboro (PIT) 3
Hub City: 8 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 22-34, 7.6 GB, 56-66 overall, elimination number 3

SP AJ Russell: 4.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 71 P / 42 S, 4.80 ERA
RP Wily Villar: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 4.50 ERA
SS Evan Morrison: 3-5, 2B, 2 SB (4), .333/.370/.458
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, 2 BB, .243/.345/.442
RF Maxton Martin: 1-4, HR (20), BB, .235/.299/.451

AJ Russell is getting a version of the Dalton Pence ramp-up. Last year, Pence spent spent nearly four months bouncing between three-inning starts and shorter relief until stretching out to as many as six innings and 90 pitches in August. Russell threw about a dozen fewer innings leading up to his currently heavier workload, and with one start remaining he hasn’t exceeded 71 pitches. He’ll probably finish with just over 60 innings, fewer than I would have expected entering the season, but he’s performed well despite some occasionally shaky control. 

Martin is the fifth Ranger to reach 20 homers. He’s already surpassed last year’s total by six, but he’s going to end up with fewer hits and walks and more strikeouts. 

Hub City’s elimination number is three, but I believe two losses would knock them out regardless of how other teams do, and one loss would require an outlandishly specific collection of wins and losses from others for Hub City to reach the postseason. 


Lo-A: Hickory 8, at Wilson (MIL) 3
Hickory: 11 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 39-17, 7 GB, 73-47 overall, magic number 4

SP Seong-Jun Kim: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 26 P / 14 S, 0.00 ERA
RP William Privette: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Will Whelan: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.00 ERA
RF Marco Argudin: 3-5, 2 2B, HR (6), .269/.385/.422
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-4, HR (7), HBP, .283/.386/.404
None of last night’s four pitchers (the three listed and Jake Barbee) have been with the team more than 12 days, and all but Privette for a week at most. By my rough count, seven active pitchers and six active hitters on the roster have no 2026 low-A experience pre-dating July 7th. Hickory has been good or better all season, but only a few have contributed to both the first-half and second-half versions. 

I’d mentioned Pablo Guerrero didn’t play at all in yesterday’s quasi-doubleheder; today he was IL’ed. 

Rivals Kannapolis and Augusta won as well. Columbia and Myrtle Beach are eliminated. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Santos
AA: Stasio
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: Siary

Five Years Ago Yesterday
A slow day. Texas signed 31-year-old indy right Dave Kubiak to help with Round Rock’s covid-gutted roster. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, Albuquerque (COL) 4
Round Rock: 6 hits, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 31-21, , 62-65 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 78 P / 51 S, 2.75 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.35 ERA
LF Alejandro Osuna: 2-5, 2B, .278/.372/.397
RF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, 3B, .270/.357/.437

Albuquerque should have won. Down a run, Round Rock’s Keyber Rodriguez opened with a grounder to short. Chad Stevens threw high to 6’5″ Charlie Condon. The ball hit the top of his glove firmly but didn’t stay put, and Condon seemed surprised to open his glove and find it empty. With two out, Cooper Johnson drew a walk after an 0-2 start. Alejandro Osuna found himself down 0-2 as well, wrestled the count full and slashed a deep fly to left-center that glanced off the outstretched glove of CF Drew Avans, who’d just entered as a defensive replacement. Game over. 

Dalton Pence had a decent night. That makes me sound like a grump because he was in high-A three months ago, and last night he held a pretty good AAA offense scoreless for four innings. Bear with me. What I noticed was some difficulty in getting that final strike. Of 43 swings, he had six whiffs, 12 balls in play and 25 fouls. He averaged 4.8 pitches per batter, running his count to 77 in four innings. Pence is clearly working on some things. Last week’s start was very heavily slider-dependent. Last night, the four-seamer took precedence. He ignored his curve (which, admittedly, is just an additional look at this point) and dealt only six changes, which to date has been his best put-away pitch. This is all fine. I’m not thinking of him as an MLB possibility right now or even next March. 

Emiliano Teodo had minimal fastball command, and the Topes didn’t swing at a single one, but he had his slider working for both whiffs (four) and calls (two). Marc Church (0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB) had some terrible luck on batted balls but also walked a couple, and Teodo had to replace him in the 7th. He may yet figures things out and will pitch in affiliated ball next year, but I’d be very surprised if he did so for Texas. Just feels like the relationship has run its course. 

Cam Cauley (1-4) made four difficult plays at third look easy. 

For tonight’s game, I will be on the call with Rylan Kobre as the rejuvenated David Davalillo takes the mound.


AA: Frisco 4, at NW Arkansas (KAN) 12
Frisco: 9 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 8 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 25-27, 4 GB, 64-56 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 86 P / 52 S, 7.15 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .275/.359/.484
RF Yeison Morrobel: 3-4, 2 SB (4), .314/.349/.496
C Ian Moller: 1-2, 2 BB, .199/.312/.356

Sebastian Walcott lost 66 points of slugging last year versus 2024 despite similar rates of hits and homers. What plummeted were the doubles and triples, from a combined 43 in 2024 to 21 last year. In 2026, he has ten doubles in 23 games, well above even his 2024 pace. 

Ben Anderson’s job is to get through 4-5 innings come what may, and he has been, but opponents have a 1.003 OPS against him in the second half. Frisco shut out San Antonio in consecutive games in late July. Since then, the Riders have allowed the most runs (6.6 per game) and runners (15.4 per game) in the league. 


Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Greensboro (PIT) 4 (11)
Hub City: 5 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 21-34, 8.5 GB, 55-66 overall, elimination number 3

SP Ismael Agreda: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 86 P / 51 S, 5.60 ERA
RF Maxton Martin: 3-4, 2 HR (19), .235/.298/.446

Martin’s first homer was 427′ to dead center, 108 off the bat. Hub City scored once in the 11th, but Greensboro’s Edward Florentino took J’Briell Easley deep to plate himself and the gift-runner. 

Since a seven-walk game in late June, Ismael Agreda has a total of 12 walks (and four hit batters) across nine starts. He sports a 4.89 ERA in the span but opponents are hitting a modest .248/.327/.338. 


Lo-A: Hickory 4, Wilson (MIL) 12 (completion of 7/19 game)
Hickory: 6 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts

SP Daniel Keaney: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 32 P / 15 S, 6.98 ERA
SS Josh Owens: 2-3, 2B, BB
2B Curley Martha: 1-4, HR (3), .179/.245/.262

Hickory already trailed 6-0 when this weeks-old suspended game recommenced. Josh Owens had a nice day as a replacement for since-traded Angel Arredondo. Incidentally, Arredondo is hitting .245/.351/.388 in 14 games for low-A Rancho Cucamonga since the trade, close to his production as a Crawdad. 

Pablo Guerrero was in the July lineup as DH but was replaced without batting today, and he also didn’t appear in the nightcap. 

Lo-A: Hickory 8, at Wilson (MIL) 5 (7)
Hickory: 7 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 38-17, 7 G up, 72-47 overall, magic number 5

SP Connor O’Hara: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 3 SO, 71 P / 41 S, 3.38 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.40 ERA
CF Marco Argudin: 1-3, 3B, BB, SB (10), .261/.381/.394
LF Paulino Santana: 1-2, 2 BB, .267/.387/.437
DH Seong-Jun Kim: 1-3, 2B, BB

Argudin has stopped walking in August but has four of his five homers. Yolfran Castillo (1-3, BB) technically played in both games but was replaced in the opener without batting. He’d also received two games off in each of the last two weeks after starting 43 games in a row. He’s already exceeded last year’s games by 24 and might be a little tired. Having Owens and Kim around can give him a break. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Davalillo
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Russell
Lo-A: Kim

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco catcher Jordan Procyshen held Amarillo scoreless for two innings. Down East’s Cody Freeman homered with two out in the 9th to send a game to extras and eventual victory. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, at El Paso (SDP) 6
Round Rock: 13 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 29-21, 5 GB, 60-65 overall

SP Trey Supak: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 68 P / 44 S, 6.04 ERA
RP Alexis Diaz: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 2.80 ERA
SS Cameron Cauley: 2-4, 2 2B, SB (33), .271/.369/.438
DH Diego Castillo: 1-1, 2 BB, SB (6), .307/.381/.436
1B John Taylor: 2-4, 2B, BB, SB (11), .268/.393/.433
2B Keyber Rodriguez: 3-5, 2B, SB (5), .245/.321/.444

DH Logan O’Hoppe (0-2) was pulled in the top of the 5th. I can’t tell you anything more than what I saw, which was his apparent absence from the dugout late and during post-game hi-fives. An inning later, LF Alejandro Osuna was pulled. 

Cam Cauley is hitting .370/.438/.778 in six games since returning to Round Rock.


AA: Frisco 5, Wichita (MIN) 7
Frisco: 10 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 24-26, 3 GB, 63-55 overall

SP Aidan Curry: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 0 SO, 35 P / 18 S, 5.49 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 5.91 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 3-5, .296/.374/.518
C Malcolm Moore: 2-4, 2B, HR (7), .211/.299/.401

Curry couldn’t escape the 1st. His previous outing was a capable start for the AAA Express. Malcolm Moore had his first game with multiple extra-base hits since early June. 

I don’t believe Frisco has ever been swept at home under the six-games-per-week format instituted in 2021. They did lose five straight at home to Wichita prior to a rain-cancelled series finale in 2023. 


Hi-A: Hub City 6, at Rome (ATL) 0
Hub City: 11 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 9 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 20-33, 7.5 GB, 54-65 overall

SP Ben Detaeye: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 70 P / 42 S, 8.31 ERA
LF Casey Cook: 2-3, 3B, HBP, .193/.313/.385
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-5, 2B, .245/.343/.448

Indy pickup Ben DeTaeye has been walk-prone but had a whale of a start last night. Anthony Susac, Luimy Munoz and J’Briell Easley combined to walk or hit eight in four innings but allowed just one hit. 


Lo-A: Hickory 7, Delmarva (BAL) 2
Hickory: 8 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 36-16, 6.5 G up, 70-46 overall

SP Jacob Johnson: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 63 P / 36 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Brandon Jaenke: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Paulino Santana: 2-4, SB (22), .267/.386/.442
RF Deward Tovar: 2-4, HR (16), .238/.320/.446
C Josh Springer: 3-4, .301/.376/.368

Jacob Johnson was a little more runner-prone than usual and finally allowed a run in his 4th low-A start, but it was very unearned. He was pulled immediately after the leadoff batter in the 4th reached on an error, and the batter later scored.  

Today’s Starters
AAA: Veneziano
AA: Townsend
Hi-A: Segura
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Plenty of minor league teams will play with a two-man bench consisting of a catcher and utility player, but because of covid knockouts and a late scratch of Jonah Heim, the MLB Rangers’ substitutes consisted of C/1B Yohel Pozo and 1B Curtis Terry. 

Owen White reached a season-high four innings with one run and three strikeouts in low-A. He’d missed much of the season to a broken hand suffered when he slammed the ground in frustration after an error. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 15, at El Paso (SDP) 7
Round Rock: 15 hits, 13 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 28-21, 6 GB, 59-65 overall

SP Adam Macko: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 49 P / 33 S, 5.63 ERA
2B Cameron Cauley: 2-5, HR (11), .268/.366/.431
DH Logan O’Hoppe: 2-5, 2B, HR (3), .300/.395/.571
CF John Taylor: 1-3, 3 BB, .264/.390/.427
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-5, HR (10), BB, .268/.357/.433
RF Orlando Martinez: 2-6, 3B, HR (2), .297/.365/.469

Yesterday was nominally a bullpen game, but it’s interesting that Adam Macko’s two longest outings of the season (in terms of pitches) are his two most recent. Macko was a starter until shifting to long relief last August. He relied heavily on a slider that was responsible for eight of his nine missed bats. 

Logan O’Hoppe’s homer was only the 21st-hardest hit of the evening (97.5), but he lofted it high just beyond the wall in left-center. Under current rules, the minimum Texas can offer him in 2027 is $2.1 million, which would be a 20% cut from this year’s salary. O’Hoppe could and would counter with higher, of course. Texas could also conceivably non-tender and re-sign O’Hoppe for less, but that would require his approval. I expect Texas would want to see what he could do in Arlington first. Rosters expand in ten days, and Elias Diaz is hitting .176/.202/.242 since Independence Day. The word ten days ago was that Kyle Higashioka was soon to begin a throwing program. 

In a perfect world, Texas has a cheap and rejuvenated O’Hoppe behind the dish in 2027. The Rangers have no internal candidates for an MLB role next year. 

Cam Cauley homered off Jose Leclerc, who has twice allowed three runs in an inning this week against the Express. Coming back from a shoulder injury, Leclerc has been roughed up in AA and AAA and wouldn’t appear to be part of San Diego’s playoff stretch drive. 

John Taylor played center for the third time in his career and first in nearly a month. He’s made about 15% of his AAA defensive starts in the grass. I thought he appeared a little tentative there earlier this summer, but that’s understandable. 

Round Rock has averaged nearly ten runs per game against a poor staff in a hitter-friendly environment. 


AA: Frisco 1, Wichita (MIN) 4
Frisco: 4 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 24-25, 2 GB, 63-54 overall

SP Cole Stasio: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 43 P / 27 S, 4.15 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 3.2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 4 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 4.91 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-3, BB, .310/.384/.531
3B Rafe Perich: 2-3, 2B, BB, .313/.393/.593

Wichita broke open a scoreless game in the 8th when Brock Porter walked three straight and surrendered a homer to Andrew Cossetti. Porter did retire the next two batters before leaving, albeit on three-ball counts. He has allowed only two hits and fanned nine in 7.1 AA innings but has walked ten. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, at Rome (ATL) 6
Hub City: 3 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Record: 19-33, 7.5 GB, 53-65 overall, elimination number 8

SP Caden Scarborough: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 75 P / 54 S, 5.03 ERA
RP Wily Villar: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 6.75 ERA
1B Brandon Crabtree: 1-2, 3B, BB, HBP

Caden Scarborough was at 54 pitches with five runs allowed through two, the kind of night that might have ended there, but he pushed through two more flawless innings. Scarborough didn’t register a strikeout and missed only four bats out of 42 swings. 

Brandon Crabtree is Texas’s 2026 16th-rounder from Catawba College, a two-hour drive from Spartanburg depending on traffic. He was listed as a third baseman by the Rangers when drafted, but he played mostly at first this season in college and exclusively there so far with Hub City. 

Hub City’s plight is worse than their elimination number suggests; I can’t find a division-winning scenario without at least a 12-2 finish plus some help. 


Lo-A: Hickory 3, Delmarva (BAL) 0
Hickory: 7 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 35-16, 6.5 G up, 69-46 overall, magic number 9

SP Moises Morales: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 68 P / 52 S, 3.32 ERA
RP Jake Barbee: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
1B Kaden Carpenter: 1-2, 2 BB, SB (5), .242/.370/.470
2B Josh Owens: 1-2, BB
C Sebastian Baquera: 2-3, .282/.372/.385

Jake Barbee was up to 96 in his three scoreless innings. In limited data available from the complex, he peaked at 94.8 and sat 92. Kaden Carpenter’s ankle injury Thursday night proved insignificant. 

Josh Owens and Seong-Jun Kim (0-4) played up the middle together for the first time in low-A. Yolfran Castillo had a night off and played in only four of six games last week after a stretch of 21 straight. He’s seen a modest downturn in his second-half production, still solid but with fewer balls in play tallying hits. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Supak
AA: Curry
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Reliever Nick Snyder made his MLB debut with a clean 9th in a blowout of Boston. Snyder’s pre-professional mound work consisted of 2.2 innings in juco, and he’d begun the year in high-A. He’s spent most of his career dealing with injuries, and after 2021, he would throw only 39 MLB-affiliated innings. Snyder spent 2023 with the Rangers and 2024 with the Phils but never took the mound. Mexico’s Union Laguna squad released him in May. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, at El Paso (SDP) 6
Round Rock: 13 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 27-21, 6 GB, 58-65 overall

SP David Davalillo: 5.2 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 79 P / 51 S, 5.36 ERA
1B Alejandro Osuna: 3-5, 2 2B, SB (8), .292/.388/.416
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, HR (9), .267/.355/.425
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, HR (12), BB, .227/.302/.430

In four starts since returning to AAA, Davalillo has a 67% strike rate and one walk in 19 innings. He also owns a decent if not thrilling 21% K rate and a below-average 8% swinging strike rate. Bat-missing is the discussion I thought we’d have about him when he reached AAA, but he had to go give us all a scare by forgetting how to throw strikes. 


AA: Frisco 4, Wichita (MIN) 8
Frisco: 5 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 24-24, 1 GB, 63-53 overall

SP Jack Leiter: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 5 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 59 P / 38 S, 12.00 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.66 ERA
RF Yeison Morrobel: 1-4, HR (3), .290/.330/.495

Wichita discovered they could hit a Major League pitcher in the 3rd, collecting four runs on an error, walk, double and homer. Leiter departed after an opening walk in the 4th. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Rome (ATL) 5
Hub City: 5 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 19-32, 7 GB, 34-32 overall

SP Case Matter: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 16 P / 13 S, 6.75 ERA
SS Evan Morrison: 2-4

Morrison is Texas’s 10th-rounder out of Grand Valley State. 


Lo-A: Hickory 7, Delmarva (BAL) 4
Hickory: 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 34-16, 5.5 G up, 68-46 overall

SP Evan Siary: 7 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 79 P / 59 S, 3.09 ERA
CF Paulino Santana: 1-5, HR (14), .268/.389/.445
1B Pablo Guerrero: 1-2, HR (7), 2 BB, .339/.452/.579
C Josh Springer: 2-3, HR (), BB, .289/.368/.358
DH Seong-Jun Kim: 1-4
2B Josh Owens: 1-4

Kim and Owens had their first full-season starts as batters. Kim pitched yesterday, and Owens had pinch-hit once. 

Evan Siary has seven straight starts with two or fewer runs. I suppose a question is whether he might join Hub City for the final two weeks or hang around so he can pitch in Hickory’s postseason (assuming the Dads reach it). There’s also nothing preventing the Rangers from moving him up and bringing him back, but that isn’t how they typically operate. 

LF Kaden Carpenter turned his ankle out of the box on a grounder and had to be replaced. 

Texas assigned 2025 12th-round righty Jake Barbee to Hickory. He had a 9.42 ERA in 14.1 innings at the complex but the peripherals aren’t so bad. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Stasio
Hi-A: Scarborough
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Josh Jung was 0-3 with a walk in his AAA debut. 

Per local media, Sebastian Walcott has progressed enough provide optimism that he will play in the field at some point this season. There’s also speculation of whether that defense and bat might be on display in Arlington. 

The case for adding Walcott is simple if fraught with uncertainty: If you are genuinely committed to reaching the postseason and believe he’ll be better than someone currently on the roster, you add him. For example, since the All-Star break, Nicky Lopez is hitting .195/.247/.220, Justin Foscue .191/.240/.298. Surely Walcott could offer more than that. Or if not Lopez or Foscue, then perhaps Cody Freeman. Walcott is hitting .291 and slugging .519 in AA, and he’s not just floating in the current of increased offense across the minors. He’s pummeling the ball. He’s a potential star, and we all remember Evan Carter’s debut, right?

And while there’s no reason to be displeased with what he’s accomplished since returning. his AA production isn’t unblemished. After going 1-for-14 with six strikeouts in his last three games, Walcott’s OBP of .341 is below the park-adjusted league average of .350. Adjusted league averages of BB+HBP and strikeouts are 13% and 24%, respectively, but he’s at 7% and 27%. His contact rate is only 69%. 

Where might Walcott play? His natural position is short, but obviously he’s not supplanting Seager (assuming good health). Walcott has played third, and that could be where he spends most of his career, but his schedule for getting up to speed defensively appears to overlap with Jung’s recovery timetable. I mentioned Lopez, but Walcott has never played second base. Doesn’t mean he can’t, but it would be new. There’s a potential future of right field with Nimmo shifting to DH, but that’s not happening in 2026 with a capable Joc Pederson around. 

Right-handed DH, bench bat and spot starter at short and third (and maybe second)? That might work, although a part-time role limits his potential  contribution. 

Another negative is outside Walcott’s control but no less pertinent. He doesn’t require 40-man placement until after 2027. Presumably, he’ll force his way on before then, but imagine this scenario: Walcott is added to the active roster this season, contributes little, is clearly in need of more seasoning in AAA or even AA in 2027, but because of a work stoppage he’s prohibited from playing minor league games. That’s not great. 
If I’m truly of the mind that Walcott could help the 2026 Rangers, and medical staff give their approval, and he’s comfortable, I’m escorting him to the airport to play for AAA Round Rock in the field. If either promotion or defensive duty feels premature, I’m inclined to shut down the talk soon, if not immediately. In 13 days, the Rangers’ number of remaining games will equal what remained when Evan Carter made his 2023 debut. Honestly, the idea does feel premature, but so did Carter’s promotion. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 14, at El Paso (SDP) 2
Round Rock: 20 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Record: 27-20, 5 GB, 58-64 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 6 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 76 P / 53 S, 3.45 ERA
LF Alejandro Osuna: 2-4, 2B, BB, .278/.380/.389
3B Cameron Cauley: 4-5, 2 HR (10), .266/.363/.424
C Logan O’Hoppe: 2-4, HR (2), BB, HBP, .283/.386/.533
RF Aaron Zavala: 3-5, .264/.354/.416

For a second straight day, Logan O’Hoppe had the hardest-hit ball in AAA, this one a homer to left. Cam Cauley homered to left and right-center.

Speaking of, Dalton Pence’s first and fourth pitches of the afternoon were taken deep by El Paso. Despite that, he threw strikes and walked none. Pence was exceptionally reliant on his slider; it accounted for 61% of his pitches, and he gained eight calls and six whiffs with it. 


AA: Frisco 8, Wichita (MIN) 9
Frisco: 9 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 24-23, 1 GB, 63-52 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 85 P / 46 S, 6.59 ERA
RP Leandro Lopez: 2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 7.24 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1.71 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 3-4, BB, .310/.383/.533
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, 2B, .311/.390/.593
2B Max Wagner: 1-4, HR (18), .252/.347/.551

Frisco again lost in frustrating fashion, although yesterday didn’t include a lost lead. After a one-out Wilian Bormie walk with the score tied in the 9th, SS Corey Joyce couldn’t handle a potential inning-ending grounder, and a follow-up single plated Wichita’s go-ahead run. 

A reader asked about Malcolm Moore. He hasn’t gone anywhere. My tendency is to use a player’s inclusion in the stat recap as an impetus for discussion, but since homering on the 4th, Moore is hitting .200/.310/.240 with nine strikeouts in seven games. He has a sub-.600 OPS dating back to the beginning of July. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, at Rome (ATL) 1
Hub City: 10 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 1 hit, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 19-31, 6.5 GB, 53-63 overall

SP Connor O’Hara: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 65 P / 46 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Luimy Munoz: 2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.82 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 1-3, BB, .242/.379/.383

25-year-old Connor O’Hara excelled in his high-A debut. O’Hara went undrafted in 2025 out of George Mason and was briefly a Red but didn’t make an appearance. He had been at indy Hagerstown. 

Max Martin’s hamstring injury turned out to be minor, but Quincy Scott’s collision with the wall has forced an IL placement, and Marcos Torres has joined him. 


Lo-A: Hickory 5, Delmarva (BAL) 9
Hickory: 9 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 33-16, 5.5 G up, 67-46 overall

SP Seong-Jun Kim: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 28 P / 18 S, 0.00 ERA
RP William Privette: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2.79 ERA
CF Jamaurion McQueen: 2-4, BB, .350/.458/.350
LF Paulino Santana: 1-3, 2B, BB, .269/.390/.441
3B Kolby Branch: 2-3, 2B, BB, .210/.258/.258

19-year-old Seong-Jun Kim had a successful full-season debut. Longtime Friend of the Report Mark Parker reports that Kim’s fastball was in the 95-96 range (and I heard a 94) augmented with a change and curve. Hickory’s CF cam appears to be out of commission, leaving just a high view from the press box, so reviewing the video doesn’t help much.

Josh Owens pinch-hit in the 9th and popped out. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Davalillo
AA: Leiter
Hi-A: Matter (bullpen)
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco was swept in a doubleheader. I wrote that not too long ago. The entry one month from today will be much worse. Seattle prospect Matt Brash took a no-hitter into the 7th that was broken up by a Josh Jung single. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, at El Paso (SDP) 3
Round Rock: 9 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 26-20, 5 GB, 57-64 overall

SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 74 P / 53 S, 7.99 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2.10 ERA
DH Logan O’Hoppe: 2-5, 2B, .269/.359/.482
3B John Taylor: 2-4, BB, .266/.390/.440

Two of the hardest-hit balls in AAA yesterday belonged to Logan O’Hoppe: 111.1 MPH for a lineout and 110.2 for a single. He also hit a 106.2 MPH double. His uniformly poor Statcast data in MLB has been unformly wonderful in AAA: 50% hard-hit rate, low whiff rate, greedy on in-zone first pitches but patient overall and not chasing much. He’s only caught three of his last ten games, and that’s not entirely the presence of rehabbing Danny Jansen. 

Reliever Wilian Bormie was shipped down to Frisco. While his production in Round Rock wasn’t awe-inspiring, such a move had never crossed my mind. It might not be a demotion per se, and we’ll see how long it lasts. Like a fair number of Round Rock relievers, Bormie’s fastball control has hampered his overall success. His strike rate with the four-seamer is only 45%. 

Sugar Land lost, so the Express picked up a game. The Space Cowboys are playing OKC, who are also ahead of the Express, so Round Rock can’t gain ground on both on any given day. 


AA: Frisco 9, Wichita (MIN) 10
Frisco: 13 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 24-22, tied for first, 63-51 overall

SP D.J. McCarty: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 88 P / 48 S, 7.16 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 4-5, 2 2B, HR (14), .308/.388/.591
2B Max Wagner: 2-4, HR (17), .252/.349/.543

The good news is Frisco’s first-half division title means I don’t have to employ the “if Frisco falls short, they’ll look back to this game” trope. The bad news is this game. Frisco led 9-4 entering the 9th and 9-6 with none on and two out. Five of the six runs off Austin Roberts were technically unearned because of an opening error by Max Wagner, but he yielded two walks, a two-run homer and grand slam, so use your best judgment. 

Rafe Perich is hitting a goofy .471/.526/.882 during a ten-game on-base streak. Perich played more first than third at Hub City but hasn’t seen the cold corner in over two months. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Rome (ATL) 5
Hub City: 8 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 18-30, 7 GB, 52-62 overall

SP Ismael Agreda: 5.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 5 SO, 85 P / 53 S, 5.89 ERA
2B Casey Cook: 1-4, 2B, BB, .183/.315/.387

RF Quincy Scott suffered a head injury attempting to catch a fly against the wall and had to exit. 


Lo-A: Hickory 12, Delmarva (BAL) 5
Hickory: 16 hits, 10 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 33-15, 5.5 G up, 67-45 overall

SP Alejandro Chiquillo: 2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 60 P / 35 S, 4.89 ERA
RP Geury Rodriguez: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.68 ERA
RP Brandon Jaenke: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.68 ERA
DH Pablo Guerrero: 4-6, 2B, HR (6), .339/.445/.565
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-5, BB, SB (51), .284/.387/.401
1B Kaden Carpenter: 1-3, HR (4), 2 BB, .268/.391/.536
RF Deward Tovar: 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, .234/.320/.439
C Sebastian Baquera: 2-4, 2B, BB, .272/.366/.377
3B Kolby Branch: 4-5, 2B, .186/.226/.220

At the split, Hickory trailed 5-1, staring at a fourth straight loss while their division rivals headed toward deficit-shrinking victories. The Dads responded with 18 runners and 11 runs across the next three innings. Pablo Guerrero and Kaden Carpenter hit three-run homers. 

Alejandro Chiquillo received a visit from the trainer after a seven-pitch walk in the 3rd. After nearly seven minutes of delay seemingly involving his pitching hand (a blister, perhaps), he was allowed to stay in but promptly nailed batter Jemone Nuel in the hip, and that was that. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Pence
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Russell / TBD
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
MLB.com re-ranked their top 100 prospects, and the Rangers placed a surprising five:
1 (12). RHP Jack Leiter (2nd-highest 2021 draftee after IF Marcelo Mayer at #9)
2 (52). IF Josh Jung
3 (66). RHP Cole Winn
4 (90). IF Justin Foscue
5 (100). C/IF Sam Huff
I’ll confess to having no memory of Foscue in anyone’s top 100, but I have previously semi-joked that Texas should have traded him during his torrid month in high-A Hickory, when he hit 12 homers in 19 games. 

Huff is in AAA Norfolk, having accepted his outright assignment earlier this month. In two previous DFA events with the O’s, he briefly became a free agent.