Month: August 2026

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, at Sacramento (SFO) 2
Round Rock: 11 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 22-14, 4 GB, 53-58 overall

SP Anthony Veneziano: 4 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 72 P / 49 S, 2.16 ERA
RP Adam Macko: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 4.50 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.28 ERA
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 3-4, HR (9), .228/.309/.419

Adam Macko debuted for the organization. He occasionally had trouble with pitches flying up and glove-side, leading to a walk that scored after a cheap double and sac fly. His overall strike rate was solid. Most of his five missed bats were on fastballs. Collyer’s outing wasn’t revelatory, but he threw strikes and let the defense do most of the work. 

Keyber Rodriguez has nine homers in Round Rock and 14 on the season. Nine exceeds any total from a previous season, and AAA hasn’t seen the jarring increase in offense affecting the lower levels (probably because AAA uses the MLB ball), so I’ll suggest his power surge is real. 


AA: Frisco 0, at Midland (ATH) 4
Frisco: 4 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 19-17, 1 GB, 58-46 overall

SP Dylan MacLean: 5.2 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 83 P / 56 S, 4.32 ERA

All of Frisco’s losses lately have been by large margins, and the Riders have the league’s third-worst run differential in the second half despite a winning record. Frisco placed one runner on second the entire night, and that was a 1st-inning steal by Arturo Disla following a single. Midland announcer Bob Hards understandably expressed surprise when the stocky Disla took off and chuckled as he slid in safely and pointed to his dugout, but devoted readers of this report know the score. The day will come when Disla doesn’t run anymore, because, well, he’s not getting any smaller, but he’s adept at taking advantage of a snoozing defense. He has ten steals versus just one caught the past two seasons. 


Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Bowling Green (TAM) 10
Hub City: 6 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 13-25, 12.5 GB, 47-57 overall

SP Kamdyn Perry: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 5 R, 5 BB, 3 HBP, 1 SO, 68 P / 28 S, 10.80 ERA
CF Marcos Torres: 2-3, 2B, HR (2), BB, .321/.390/.566

Kamdyn Perry tied a career-high in walks and set a high in hit batters in the same outing. The combo of 68 pitches and a 41% strike rate is probably isn’t unprecedented but definitely had me wondering. For example, even notoriously control-averse Brock Porter has never thrown 60 or more pitches with that few strikes. As I’ve mentioned, Perry walked only three in 22 innings at Hickory, and while that represents an outlier in his career, it’s a real thing that he accomplished just a few months ago. 


Lo-A: Hickory 2, Augusta (ATL) 3
Hickory: 5 hits, 0 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 27-11, 4.5 G up, 61-41 overall

SP Evan Siary: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 78 P / 55 S, 3.13 ERA
RP Aneudis Mejia: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.92 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.08 ERA
LF Paulino Santana: 3-4, 2B, SB (18), .272/.396/.455

The injured Augusta player I mentioned on Tuesday, 3B Patrick Engskov, was placed on the 60-day IL, so his season is over with no plate appearances and only a few minutes in the field. Last night, SS Manuel Campos and 2B Joe Olsavsky collided trying to nab a Paulino Santana grounder, and both had to be replaced. LF Caden Merritt took over at second, playing in the infield for the first time as a pro. Merritt looked less than natural at the position and botched a routine grounder to begin the 5th, but Hickory couldn’t score, and Merritt handled other chances ably enough. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Hickory lost 15-14 to Greensboro in 12 innings, failing to hold leads of two in the 10th, three in the 11th and six in the 12th. Hickory scored their final runs off position player Will Matthiessen, who batted for himself in the bottom half and hit a two-out, two-strike game-ending grand slam off Nic Laio. 

In Hickory’s lineup that night were SS Josh Smith, DH Zeke Duran, 2B Justin Foscue, 1B Dustin Harris and CF Jonathan Ornelas. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 13, at Sacramento (SFO) 10 (11)
Round Rock: 14 hits, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 21-14, 5 GB, 52-58 overall

SP Winston Santos: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 30 P / 19 S, 7.36 ERA
RP Marc Church: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.74 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.69 ERA
LF Cody Freeman: 2-5, 2B, HR (3), HBP, .333/.400/.500
C Logan O’Hoppe: 3-5, 2B, HBP
1B Jonah Bride: 4-5, 2B, HR (10), BB, .279/.398/.422

The Express trailed from the bottom of the 1st until the top of the 9th, when Cody Freeman’s solo homer tied the affair at seven. The teams traded runs in the 10th, then the Express scored five to provide a cushion.

When Emiliano Teodo pitches, the first stat I want isn’t velocity or whiffs, it’s percentage of fastballs in the zone. Is he letting batters know he can throw strikes, and from that, is he forcing them into uncomfortable swing decisions? Last night’s percentage was 54. Thumbs up. Teodo missed six bats last night, all on swings out of the zone. 

Nearly all the contact off Santos was lined and loud. His 7.36 ERA isn’t lying, unfortunately. He’s been pretty drab in AAA, exhibiting decent control but not missing many bats. These upcoming weeks are important. He’s on his second option year, and Texas needs clarification on what he might be able to provide.

Logan O’Hoppe had four hard-hit balls. He’s also had a busy couple of nights defensively with two passed balls and four wild pitches. Obviously, wild pitches are assigned to pitchers, but on two of them, he arguably could have offered more resistance than a backhanded stab at pitches in the dirt. Sacto has also stolen eight bases against just one caught. The Express pitchers involved don’t have good track records with other catchers, so pinning all the steals on O’Hoppe is overly punitive, but the RiverCats have found they can run when he’s is behind the dish. His advanced stats have usually been poor, mostly because of framing, but they’ve declined even more in 2026. Something to watch. 

Texas released Round Rock reliever Aidan Anderson (Grant’s brother), who’s worked in the system as a free agent the past four seasons. It could be a release/re-sign for all I know. 


AA: Frisco 1, at Midland (ATH) 9
Frisco: 5 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 19-16, 1 GB, 58-45 overall

SP D.J. McCarty: 3 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 79 P / 49 S, 11.37 ERA
RP Cole Stasio: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 4.91 ERA
DH Arturo Disla: 3-4, 2B, .310/.390/.556

I don’t think we need to spend any more time on this one. 


Hi-A: Hub City 7, at Bowling Green (TAM) 5
Hub City: 11 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 13-24, 11.5 GB, 47-56 overall

SP AJ Russell: 2.1 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 5 R, 3 BB, HBP, 6 SO, 64 P / 39 S, 5.89 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 1.77 ERA
SS Luke Hanson: 2-3, BB, HBP, .274/.357/.434
DH Maxton Martin: 2-5, 2 HR (15), .231/.302/.434
3B Gleider Figuereo: 3-5, .248/.344/.465

AJ Russell returned to the mound for more work after a 30-pitch 2nd and finished with a season-high 64, so perhaps he’s getting a late-season stretch-out. He struck out six, but nearly every batter who didn’t reached safely. 

Since a nearly perfect 2.2 innings with seven strikeouts month ago, Owen Proksch has a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings but an opposing line of .297/.409/.378. He was untouchable at Hickory, but the answer to when he might start encountering resistance appears to be high-A. I sometimes refer to the A levels collectively, but they’re not interchangeable. 

Maxton Martin surpassed last year’s 14 homers in 26 fewer games. Unfortunately, because of the enormous minors-wide increase in offense, his rate of homers has actually declined relative to the league. Why must I analyze? Why can’t I just enjoy things? Anyway, he does have ten of his 15 in the second half. 

Bowling Green lost two straight for the first time since the first two days of July. 


Lo-A: Hickory 5, Augusta (ATL) 7
Hickory: 9 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 8 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 27-10, 5.5 G up, 61-40 overall

SP Alejandro Chiquillo: 3 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 62 P / 36 S, 3.56 ERA
RP Connor O’Hara: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 3.00 ERA
CF Paulino Santana: 2-5, HR (13), .267/.393/.449

Connor O’Hara is an 25-year-old undrafted free agent who tossed 38 innings at the complex with a 5.21 ERA, 14 walks and 48 strikeouts in 38 innings. In limited data there, I see a 93 fastball, mid-80s cutter/slider and mid-80s change. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Veneziano
AA: MacLean
Hi-A: Perry
Lo-A: Siary

Five Years Ago Yesterday
In his AA debut, Cody Bradford fanned nine and walked none in 5.1 scoreless innings. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, at Sacramento (SFO) 6
Round Rock: 7 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 20-14, 6 GB, 51-58 overall

SP Trey Supak: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 74 P / 45 S, 5.45 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 3.26 ERA
CF Jarred Kelenic: 1-1, HR (7), 2 BB, .387/.465/.710
2B Cody Freeman: 2-4, 2B, .329/.393/.456

When I saw Bormie’s line I assumed poor control, especially with the fastball, but the reality was more nuanced. His in-zone rate was at the low end of acceptable, but the patient Cats swung at only three of 23 out-of-zone pitches. While Bormie has an elite 71% whiff rate on pitches outside the zone, his chase rate of 20% is among the league’s worst. That’s not uncommon among pitchers with good stuff undermined by high walk rates. Batters might stare at some hittable pitches, but on the whole they’re often better off waiting. 

Jarred Kelenic fouled a pitch off his knee in the 5th. He stayed in and rounded the bases but was replaced in the field. 

League-leading Sugar Land won a seventh straight. 


AA: Frisco 14, at Midland (ATH) 4
Frisco: 18 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 19-15, tied for first, 58-44 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 4 SO, 91 P / 48 S, 5.77 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 7.02 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, 2B, 2 BB, .293/.371/.499
1B Arturo Disla: 1-5, HR (13), .303/.385/.549
C Malcolm Moore: 3-6, HR (6), .211/.295/.412
RF Keith Jones II: 2-3, 2 BB, SB (13), .227/.338/.396
2B Max Wagner: 4-5, 2 2B, .249/.363/.526

Frisco trailed 3-0 early but scored in all of the last seven innings. Entering the game, Malcolm Moore had no hits, no walks and seven strikeouts in his previous 22 plate appearances, and July as a whole was an unattractive .141/.236/.313. 23 as of a few days ago. He’s fairly young for the league. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Bowling Green (TAM) 1
Hub City: 7 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 12-24, 12.5 GB, 46-56 overall

SP Ismael Agreda: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 78 P / 47 S, 5.35 ERA
RP Case Matter: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 8.41 ERA
RP J’Briell Easley: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 5.44 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 2-5, HR (6), .264/.398/.418
2B Casey Cook: 1-3, BB, HBP, .184/.355/.388
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-4, HR (19), .243/.341/.463
LF Marcos Torres: 2-4, 2B, .304/.373/.408

Entering the series, Bowling Green had the best full-season mark in all the minors (72-29) and the third-best run differential (+130), while Hub City had high-A’s second-worst second-half record (11-24) and differential (-63). 

Then, they actually played, and Hub City took Game 1. Ismael Agreda produced his first lengthy walk-free outing of the season. I’m always wary of players coming off hand/wrist injuries, but Paxton Kling is slugging .615 in his first three games off the IL. 


Lo-A: Hickory 8, Augusta (ATL) 7 (10)
Hickory: 12 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 8 walks, 18 strikeouts
Record: 27-9, 6.5 G up, 61-39 overall

SP Aidan Deakins: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 66 P / 40 S, 2.74 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.05 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 3-5, 2B, SB (), .285/.391/.404
1B Pablo Guerrero: 2-4, HR (5), BB, .348/.477/.623
C Sebastian Baquera: 2-4, 2B, .263/.351/.368

The two minor league teams with a better run differential than Bowling Green are high-A South Bend (+179) and your Hickory Crawdads (+145). 

With five weeks remaining, the Dads can’t wrap up the division against second-place Augusta but can increase their comfort level. Ahead most of the game but trailing by two in the 9th, Hickory tied the contest with two out on a Pablo Guerrero homer. In the top of the 10th, Ben DeTaeye, an in-season indy-ball signing, struck out the side swinging in order, generating six whiffs on nine swings. 
Daniel Flames tapped a grounder just past the shortstop to plate Kaden Carpenter in the bottom half. 

Guerrero had a line of .212/.296/.312 in 503 trips to the plate in low-A entering the season. While I’m duty-bound to report that offense is up, way up, in the lower levels, and he’s unlikely to maintain a .480 average on contact, he does appear to have taken a legitimate step forward. Fewer strikeouts, fewer popups, more solid contact. 

Send your well wishes to Augusta 3B Patrick Engskov, an undrafted free agent playing in the first inning of his first professional game. He was running to third to cover an attempted steal by Yolfran Castillo, but when he tried to reverse direction to field a wild throw from the catcher, his left ankle buckled. He had to be carted off. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Santos
AA: McCarty
Hi-A: Russell
Lo-A: Chiquillo

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas called up infielder Yonny Hernandez for his MLB debut. He played parts of three seasons with the Rangers, Snakes and Dodgers but couldn’t gain a permanent foothold, as pitchers took advantage of his lack of power and dependence on walks. He was doing his thing for AAA Syracuse (.304/.394/.385) until two weeks ago, and he just signed with Mexico’s Monterrey. 

The Trade

I’m not going to pretend to know more about lefty Adam Macko than others who’ve written him up. He has a credible if generic profile: mid-90s four-seamer, sliders all day to lefties, a change/slider mix and occasional curve to righties. His 13% BB+HBP rate is a problem, but he’s throwing strikes a respectable 64% of the time. Not generic at all is his background. Per Baseball America: “Macko grew up in Slovakia and learned to pitch by watching YouTube videos. He moved first to Ireland and then Canada where he entered more formal baseball training.” Macko is an acquisition for the future and perhaps the present but not immediately, as he was optioned to AAA. He won’t be arbitration eligible until after 2029. 

Smith was earning $3.225 million in his first arbitration season, and given recent events, Texas appeared to be leaning strongly against a renewal. Prior to Josh Jung’s injury. Smith was spending his evenings in Reno and Albuquerque while Nicky Lopez and Cam Cauley were in Arlington and Atlanta. 2026 has been a mess. Surely he’s a better hitter than this, and hopefully he can regain at least partial form and enjoy more years of worthy utility work. 

24-year-old Josh Stephan would have been drafted in 2020 under ordinary conditions. He populated the lower end of various top-30 lists for a while, arguably peaking during his 20 innings with a 2.25 ERA in the 2024 Arizona Fall League including a start in the championship game. An honor, to be sure, but my evaluation of that start took me off the fence and against addition to the 40. “Starting in the Majors next March would be a huge ask, and his overall repertoire doesn’t migrate to a pen role as easily as the other pitchers I’ve mentioned [Santos, Teodo, Bryan Magdaleno].”  The front office concurred.

He has good control but lost some strikeouts and became quite homer-prone once reaching AA. His ERA in 101 AAA innings is 5.44, which sounds poor but is roughly league-average, and he’s regained some of those strikeouts. Still, as it stands, I’d be reluctant to tag him with better than an “up-and-down” outlook. I just don’t think he’d have much fun against MLB hitters. Stephan can become a free agent after the season, and absent a sudden step forward, I’d say he had a negligible chance of being added to the Texas 40. He strikes me as the type who needs to be the hot hand when the parent club needs help and lacks viable 40 options. 

I have to believe Toronto’s view of Stephan is more favorable than mine, because if not, what’s the point? Stephan doesn’t turn 25 until November, has time to improve his status, and I hope he does, but he could be showing off that improvement in a different organization in 2027 unless the Jays contractually prevent his departure. 

The Non-Trade

When I first heard of Jacob deGrom invoking his no-trade clause, my immediate thought was “that doesn’t necessarily mean he quashed a trade.” Later, various reports suggested that deGrom’s refusal might not have killed a done deal, but a deal would have been done if he hadn’t. 

To which I say: “oh well.” DeGrom is among a small number of players with a hard-won contractual right that most will never have, and I can’t blame him for exercising it. He stated his belief in winning here. It does say something that he didn’t want to leave for what would certainly be a likelier chance, arguably his last chance, to participate in the postseason. It says many things, not necessarily all positive. 

So Now What?

I emailed this to a reader while yesterday was still young: “There’s an argument for standing pat. It’s possible that playing mostly .500 ball but reeling off nine wins in 12 somewhere in there could be enough to get in. It’s such a bland division. That’s an ugly sell as a GM because it’s so passive, though.” I can’t imagine passivity was Texas’s strategy yesterday, but nevertheless the deadline passed with only one deal of modest consequence. 

Writing the team off is easy, especially after last night’s face-plant against the remnants of the Giants, but the Rangers are genuinely still in it. I say that not as a message of hope but as observation of fact. Maybe Bradford and Montgomery will help. Maybe a healthy Leiter will pitch at his best. Maybe Seager will put the team on his back. And maybe none of these happen and the Rangers go on a heater anyway. The AL feels very random, and some random team is going to hit their number on the roulette wheel. Could be Texas.  (Please do not hire me for inspirational speaking engagements.) 

The Rangers did reinstate reliever Chris Martin from his injury rehab, as I suspected after his back-to-back outings. They then designated him for assignment, which had crossed my mind in the middle of last week (“I also wonder to what extent Texas is treating his rehab as a broader evaluation, somewhat like Josh Sborz last year”). But after reasonably effective, consecutive outings including a functional splitter, and given the current composition of the bullpen, I assumed he’d rejoin the Rangers. 

I will cover any trades in tomorrow’s report. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, Reno (ARI) 0 (10)
Round Rock: 6 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 20-13, 5 GB, 51-57 overall

SP Jordan Montgomery: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 85 P / 56 S, 4.29 ERA
RP David Davalillo: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 6.66 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2.49 ERA

Jordan Montgomery fulfilled all the requirements to return to Arlington. 85 pitches, good control, a useful first-pitch curve, even 14 swinging strikes. He also averaged 91 with the various fastballs, about half a tic higher than usual. So now the question is under what competitive context will he be assisting the Rangers. 

Davalillo pitched in AAA for the first time in six weeks and had his first non-worrisome performance. His sweeper and splitter were erratic, but he threw plenty of strikes with the four-seamer to avoid free runners. I don’t know if we’re fully back on track yet, but maybe soon the primary focus will be when and to what extent he can help the Rangers. 

Orlando Martinez’s high chopper brought home the only run. Round Rock took five of six from Reno but lost a game in the standings because Sugar Land swept Salt Lake. The Express host the Skeeters

Space Cowboys a week from tomorrow. 

San Diego signed reliever Hans Crouse and assigned him to El Paso. 


AA: Frisco 4, Corpus Christi (HOU) 3
Frisco: 8 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 8 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 18-15, tied for first, 57-44 overall

SP Blake Townsend: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 76 P / 42 S, 5.28 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.73 ERA

Sebastian Walcott was IL’ed after being hit in the face with a pickoff throw. I’ve sent the term “concussion IL” used, but the ordinary minor league IL is the same seven days. 


Hi-A: wet

They’ll make it up when the teams meet in Rome in three weeks. 


Lo-A: Hickory 16, at Delmarva (BAL) 11
Hickory: 11 hits, 13 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 9 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 26-9, 5.5 G up, 60-39 overall

SP Jesus Lafalaise: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 71 P / 36 S, 4.46 ERA
LF Marco Argudin: 3-5, 3B, .288/.417/.405
CF Paulino Santana: 2-3, 3B, 2 BB, SB (17), .266/.395/.445
1B Pablo Guerrero: 2-4, 2B, HR (4), 2 BB, .338/.469/.585
DH Noah Franklin: 1-3, 3 BB

Hickory entered the 9th down 11-7 but scored nine runs on just three hits plus six walks and an error. With two out, the bases loaded and a two-run lead, third baseman Elvin Garcia fielded an easy grounder from Sebastian Baquera. Instead of taking a couple of steps to the bag or awaiting runner Deward Tovar, he threw wildly to first, allowing two to score and tie the game. Then, a two-run Marco Argudin triple and three-run homer by Pablo Guerrero caused the more damage. Delmarva is probably the worst team in a Rangers-affiliated league, even more so than Asheville, and their defense is a major component. 

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas promoted 1B/3B Sherten Apostel and RHPs AJ Alexy, Yerry Rodriguez and Nick Snyder from Frisco to Round Rock. 

Ten Years Ago Yesterday
Rangers ranked among the top 50 prospects traded at the 2016 deadline per Baseball America:
4. OF Lewis Brinson
8. RHP Luis Ortiz
16. IF Travis Demeritte
21. RHP Dillon Tate
29. RHP Nick Green
40. RHP Erik Swanson

These were rankings among those traded, not overall rankings. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 9, Reno (ARI) 8 (11)
Round Rock: 10 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 19-13, 5 GB, 50-57 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 43 P / 25 S, 10.80 ERA
RP Winston Santos: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 5.79 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.86 ERA
CF Jarred Kelenic: 3-6, HR (6), SB (9), .382/.449/.683
C Logan O’Hoppe: 0-3, BB, HBP
3B Diego Castillo: 3-4, 2B, .309/.387/.435

Dalton Pence has had a terrific year, but I can’t say I was expecting a promotion to AAA this soon, especially after witnessing last Saturday’s start at San Antonio. That night, Pence allowed his most runners of the season. Last night, he failed to reach four innings for the first time. AA might be better than AAA in terms of prospect-watching, but it absolutely is not better in quality. Not that Pence is unaware, but the Aces reminded us fans just in case. 

The telling plate appearance was #9 hitter Anderdson Rojas (yes, two “d”s), who isn’t a slugger but strikes out infrequently. Pence started up 0-2, but Rojas fouled off three fastballs and refused to chase a split and slide. He smacked the eighth pitch, a high fastball, for a run-scoring single. Pitches that might have resulted in a strikeout at a lower level weren’t succeeding here, so the question is how does Pence adjust. Also, given his overall fine results, I’d say he’s just in a down period. It happens. Pence threw a higher percentage of splits versus last week, but a fair number just didn’t appear to leave his hand properly and were very high. Reno didn’t swing at a single out-of-zone changeup. As a back-of-the-rotation candidate, he needs his entire repertoire in form. 

Emiliano Teodo’s first inning yesterday might have been his best all season. He touched the zone often enough and induced seven misses on ten swings, including two in a span of three pitches with a changeup. Alas, he turned to the mound for more duty and spiked two sliders en route to a five-pitch walk. Still, Teodo showed his ceiling for a little while. 

Having thrown 12 pitches last night, Chris Martin entered with two out and a runner on third in the 6th. He needed two pitches to induce an inning-ending grounder. I assume that if he awakened this morning feeling okay he’ll rejoin the Rangers shortly. 

Winston Santos, Marc Church and Alexis Diaz also threw scoreless innings. 

Logan O’Hoppe didn’t create any magic with the bat but drew a bases-loaded walk and threw out a runner attempting to steal in the 11th. 

Jarred Kelenic hit a game-ending homer in the 11th. 


AA: Frisco 0, Corpus Christi (HOU) 7
Frisco: 6 hits, 0 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 8 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 17-15, tied for first, 56-44 overall

SP D.J. McCarty: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 0 SO, 30 P / 13 S, 10.80 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, 2B, .290/.365/.497

Sebastian Walcott was pulled mid-game after a pickoff throw bounced past the first baseman’s glove and into Walcott’s forehead. Hopefully, he suffered no more than a bad bruise, but we shall see. 

Rafe Perich did not play for a second straight night. 


Hi-A: Hub City 12, Rome (ATL) 6
Hub City: 10 hits, 11 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 11-24, 13 GB, 45-56 overall

SP Izack Tiger: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 63 P / 43 S, 1026.00 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 1 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.89 ERA
DH Paxton Kling: 1-4, BB, 3 SB (20), .260/.398/.398
2B Casey Cook: 0-1, 2 BB, 2 HBP, SB (1), .174/.333/.391
SS Luke Hanson: 2-3, 2 BB, .274/.355/.438
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .243/.342/.457
RF Maxton Martin: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .231/.304/.422

My Izack Tiger review: “[Rating:] down slightly. I will be inclined to upgrade to even with just one better outing.”

I guess I’m inclined to upgrade. Control hasn’t been the concern since his return as much as command. He’s throwing strikes, but opposing hitters have adored his location. Yesterday, he didn’t throw nearly as many “uh oh” pitches and also had Emperor hitters looking quite uncomfortable, guessing wrong and swinging early or late. In the 2nd, he buried a hitter with a 3-2 splitter, an infrequent pitch in 2026. Tiger will be Rule 5-eligible if unprotected this fall. His job in the remaining weeks is to become the type of player not ready for MLB but too promising to risk losing, more common among younger international free agents. 


Lo-A: Hickory 7, at Delmarva (BAL) 0
Hickory: 11 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 2 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Record: 25-9, 5 G up, 59-39 overall

SP Jacob Johnson: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 30 P / 20 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Moises Morales: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 3.69 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 3.16 ERA
LF Marco Argudin: 2-5, HR (2), .277/.412/.385
DH Pablo Guerrero: 2-3, 2B, HR (3), 2 BB, .328/.453/.525
C Noah Franklin: 3-5

Johnson excelled in his full-season debut. The fastball hovered around 95, matching what registered in limited Arizona data. Control was a mild issue at the complex, so a strike-filled, walk-free outing was especially nice. He missed seven bats in 15 swings. Moises Morales and Michael Trausch no-hit the Birds the rest of the way. Hickory is a very good team, Delmarva is very bad. 

Angel Arredondo has started at third base twice for low-A Rancho Cucamonga and is 2-for-8 with a double. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
The signing deadline passed with 16th-round righty Ryan Ure and 18th-round OF Will Taylor on the outside. Ure spent the next four years pitching sparingly and without great results for Oklahoma State. He was drafted as a junior by the Bucs in 2024’s 19th round but declined again. He signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and had a 20.25 ERA for high-A Quad Cities with 28 walks and seven strikeouts in 12 innings. He was released last week. 

Taylor dropped from the early rounds because of his football commitment to Clemson, but his gridiron career was fairly undistinguished, and he focused solely on baseball as a junior. Pittsburgh drafted him in 2024’s 5th round. He’s batting .231/.337/.367 for AA Altoona.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, Reno (ARI) 4
Round Rock: 10 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 18-13, 5 GB, 49-57 overall

SP Josh Stephan: 5 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 81 P / 56 S, 5.44 ERA
RP Chris Martin: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 8.22 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.12 ERA
CF Jarred Kelenic: 2-4, 3B, SB (8), .376/.447/.667
RF Trevor Hauver: 2-3, 3B, BB, .270/.381/.391
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 2-3, HR (8), BB, .226/.314/.425
RF Julian Brock: 2-3, 2B, BB, .438/.550/.750

Chris Martin missed two bats with a splitter. They’re his first two whiffs on splitters in the entire season. In most seasons including 2025, that pitch has generated the most swinging strikes for him (as a percentage of pitches thrown). 

He’d virtually ignored it during his prior four rehabs outings, throwing only two. Combining MLB and AAA, opponents are slugging 1.667 when they put a splitter into play. Last year, that number was .318, and 29% of swings against splitters were whiffs. 

His splitter outcomes in 2025 and 2026:



AA: Frisco 2, Corpus Christi (HOU) 3
Frisco: 4 hits, 1 walk, 16 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 17-14, tied for first, 56-43 overall

SP Aidan Curry: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 85 P / 52 S, 5.13 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 2.66 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-4, HR (17), .288/.364/.494

Frisco was forced into defensive creativity when LF Keith Jones II was ejected. With no other true outfielder or even a utility man available, Frisco could have put any of 2B Max Wagner, SS Frainyer Chavez or 3B Corey Joyce in the outfield. All have extremely limited experience there but not zero, and Rafe Perich, who had the night off, could have taken an infield spot. Instead, Perich stayed put — a decision that caught my attention given the time of year — and catcher Ian Moller jogged out to the grass for the first time as a professional. Predictably, the second batter of the inning lofted a fly his direction, and he caught it easily as the nearby Frisco bullpen cheered. 

Aidan Curry had a quirky night, missing 17 bats out of 39 swings but sending only four batters plodding back to the dugout.


Hi-A: Hub City 2, Rome (ATL) 5
Hub City: 5 hits, 2 walks, 16 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 7 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 10-24, 14 GB, 44-56 overall

SP Caden Scarborough: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 71 P / 39 S, 3.71 ERA
RF Maxton Martin: 2-4, 2B, .230/.300/.420
SS Luke Hanson: 2-4, 2B, SB (13), .270/.349/.435

Scarborough was quirky as well: only two walks and two other three-ball counts to his 15 batters, but a subpar 55% strike rate. He opened the 5th with a single and walk, and both would score againr Luimy Munoz. 

OF Paxton Kling returned to action after six weeks on the shelf with a wrist fracture. He went 1-4 with three strikeouts as a DH. 

Hub City is 10-27 since peaking at 34-29. 


Lo-A: Hickory 14, at Delmarva (BAL) 2
Hickory: 16 hits, 8 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 24-9, 4.5 G up, 58-39 overall

SP Mason McConnaughey: 1 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 33 P / 17 S, 5.63 ERA
RP Jormy Nivar: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 2.73 ERA
also 0-0, 2 BB as hitter
RP Geury Rodriguez: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2.80 ERA
also 0-0, BB as hitter
CF Marco Argudin: 3-6, .273/.412/.364
LF Paulino Santana: 3-5, 3B, HR (12), HBP, .267/.396/.444
1B Pablo Guerrero: 2-5, BB, .310/.429/.448
RF Kaden Carpenter: 2-5, 2B, HR (1), BB
2B Daniel Flames: 2-2, 2 2B, BB, .272/.361/.343

Catcher Sebastian Baquera left after singling and advancing to third in the top of the 2nd.* Noah Franklin, the only other catcher, was the DH, so Hickory was forced to send their pitchers to the plate when Franklin donned the gear. In his first two professional plate appearances, Jormy Nivar drew two six-pitch walks. Geury Rodriguez, also completely foreign to batting, drew another six-pitch walk. Neither swung the bat even once. 

9th-rounder Kaden Carpenter had a memorable pro debut, doubling to left-center in his first at-bat and later hitting the same direction but deeper for his first homer. 

* I assume he suffered some injury but can’t swear to it. (I was hoping to hear he’d been traded to the Angels for Zach Neto, but no such luck.) The 19-year-old is off to a respectable start (.253/.337/.356 in 26 games) after a brief stay at the complex. He’s thrown out 45% of opposing runners. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD officially, Montgomery presumably
AA: Pence
Hi-A: Tiger
Lo-A: Johnson

Five Years Ago Yesterday
In response to yesterday’s entry, a couple of you informed me that Hans Crouse was released by Baltimore earlier this week. Thanks for the correction, but also, are some of you spending your spare time perusing minor league transaction lists? That’s just deviant behavior. Take it from someone who knows. 

In his Round Rock debut, Glenn Otto walked three in five innings but was otherwise on point, allowing two runs and fanning five. For high-A Hickory, Trevor Hauver played outfield for the first time professionally. He’d mostly manned left at Arizona State, so this wasn’t an Ian Moller situation. With the Yankees, Hauver played at second.