Month: September 2026

So the news on Caden Scarborough is bad after all. Scarborough unexpectedly missed last weekend’s start, but the word earlier in the week was he’d flown to Arlington for work at the pitching lab. Now, he’s out with an elbow sprain, expected to miss four-to-six weeks. The Arizona Fall League and/or winter ball remain possibilities. 

I will be on the call with Rylan Kobre for tonight’s Round Rock game, if you care to watch or listen.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 2, Oklahoma City (LAD) 5 (12)
Round Rock: 6 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 33-28, 4 GB, 64-72 overall

SP Anthony Veneziano: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 84 P / 55 S, 1.76 ERA
RP Carter Baumler: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1.50 ERA
DH Kyle Higashioka: 1-5, 3 K

Michael Otanez promptly lost a 1-0 lead in the 9th when James Tibbs III mashed an inside fastball 399 feet. The teams traded runs in the 10th and zeroes in the 11th, but the Comets pinned three on Ryan Lobus in the 12th. 

Sugar Land lost, but the Express are now four games behind both the Cowboys and Comets. Worse still, those two teams meet next week, meaning Round Rock can at best gain ground on only one team on any given night. 

Reliever Gavin Collyer was placed on the IL. 


AA: Frisco 2, Amarillo (ARI) 4
Frisco: 9 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 30-31, 5 GB, 69-60 overall

SP Austin Roberts: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 49 P / 33 S, 3.04 ERA
RP Leandro Lopez: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 6.12 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.40 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 1-3, BB, SB (8), .310/.396/.579
1B Arturo Disla: 1-4, HR (16), .288/.365/.509

Sebastian Walcott has reached safely in 26 of 31 AA games since his return, and in 20 games he’s reached at least twice. 

Reliever Eric Loomis was placed on the IL the day after walked four straight batters. 


Hi-A: Hub City 10, Jersey Shore (PHI) 3
Hub City: 9 hits, 9 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 26-38, eliminated, 60-70 overall

SP Ben DeTaeye: 5 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 80 P / 53 S, 7.33 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.38 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 2-4, BB, 2 SB (35), .238/.378/.359
LF Quincy Scott: 2-4, HR (13), SB (16), .235/.358/.405

Paxton Kling is hitting .200/.338/.282 with a 30% K rate since rejoining the team after a hand injury. Before then, he was .261/.400/.404. At some point a while back I suggested he’d be in Frisco next April come what may, and I still think so, but not with the same conviction. I hope so. He strikes me as a prime Arizona Fall League candidate. 


Lo-A: Hickory 3, Fayetteville (HOU) 2 (12)
Hickory: 7 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 47-17, division winner, 81-47 overall

SP Moises Morales: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 66 P / 53 S, 3.13 ERA
RP Brandon Jaenke: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.64 ERA
RP Geury Rodriguez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2.63 ERA
LF Jamaurion McQueen: 2-5, BB, .321/.439/.346
CF Paulino Santana: 3-6, 2B, .266/.387/.435
SS Seong-Jun Kim: 2-5, HR (1), .200/.231/.400

Fourteen straight. Seong-Jun Kim clubbed his first homer at level. In the 12th, with the score tied and runners at the corners, Kaden Carpenter grounded too slowly to the right side for any hope of a play at the plate or an inning-ending double play, but in any case, 1B Ben Tryon threw wide of second, allowing the winner to score. 

Moises Morales finished with an even 100 strikeouts in 100.2 innings. He missed 16 bats last night, and every strikeout concluded with a slider. He’d be an ideal Game 2 starter if Texas is willing to pitch him on fewer than six days rest, which has happened only once in 2026. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Hickory lost their seventh straight and were 14 games under .500 despite a positive run differential. Frisco’s Cole Winn threw two scoreless in his first appearance in nearly a month because of covid. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, Oklahoma City (LAD) 5
Round Rock: 5 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 33-27, 4 GB, 64-71 overall

SP Blake Townsend: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 79 P / 45 S, 3.72 ERA
RP Marc Church: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 6.91 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.93 ERA

Once again, AAA hitters couldn’t wait on Blake Townsend, who threw 74 of 79 pitches below 88 MPH. His four-seamer was almost a show-me pitch, usually shelved in favor of 86 MPH sinkers breaking hard right and 74 MPH sweeper breaking hard left. Marc Church was frustratingly good again. The change was of no help, but he generated six misses on nine swings at a slider that painted the glove-side corner. 

A two-run homer off Luis Curvelo in the 9th made the difference. The Express are scoring 4.7 runs per game through nine games of the homestand, a little light for the PCL. Obviously, the needs of the parent club take precedent, but the recent losses of Cauley, Freeman and O’Hoppe (and Kelenic) have hurt. 


AA: Frisco 14, Amarillo (ARI) 12
Frisco: 15 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 9 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 30-30, 4 GB, 69-59 overall

SP Cole Stasio: 3 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 7 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 60 P / 37 S, 5.34 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.65 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 2-3, HR (15), 2 BB, .289/.366/.503
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-4, 2B, HBP
C Malcolm Moore: 2-4, HR (8), HBP, .217/.311/.416
RF Keith Jones II: 2-3, 2 BB, SB (16), .224/.335/.376
SS Luke Hanson: 2-3, HR (1), BB, .172/.250/.276

Are they secretly playing in Amarillo? The teams have combined for 61 runs in three games. Frisco trailed 6-0 in the 2nd ad led 11-7 entering the 8th. A couple of pitchers whom I recently lauded had rough nights. Josh Trentadue gave up four runs in the 8th. Erik Loomis replaced him with two on and walked four straight. 

Bryan Magdaleno escaped a three-on one-out jam and tossed a scoreless 9th despite two walks of his own. 

Luke Hanson’s three-run homer in the bottom of the 8th retook the lead for good. 


Hi-A: Hub City 2, Jersey Shore (PHI) 1
Hub City: 6 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 25-38, eliminated, 59-70 overall

SP Jormy Nivar: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 75 P / 48 S, 5.19 ERA
RP Cole Roland: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.30 ERA
RP Luimy Munoz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 3.12 ERA

After getting thumped in his high-A debut last week, Jormy Nivar concluded 2026 with six scoreless. Cole Roland, the undrafted former Demon Deacon and indy Hagerstown Sun

Flying Boxcar (?), had proved to be a worthy in-season pickup. He’s fanned 54 in 44 innings. 1B Antonis Macias singled twice. DH Paxton Kling (0-3, BB) stole his 33rd base. 


Lo-A: Hickory 3, Fayetteville (HOU) 2
Hickory: 6 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 46-17, division winner, 80-47 overall

SP Evan Siary: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 71 P / 49 S, 3.30 ERA
RP William Privette: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.73 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-3, BB, .287/.388/.417
RF Kaden Carpenter: 1-3, BB, .242/.411/.505
CF Jamaurion McQueen: 1-2, BB, HBP, .316/.435/.342
C Sebastian Baquera: 1-2, BB, .265/.366/.363

13 straight wins. The franchise record is 15 set three years ago. Evan Siary finished with a quintessential outing. I’ve had him in my head as the playoff opener for some time, but that would require pitching on five days rest for only the second time this season. On the other hand, his 71 pitches were his fewest in seven weeks. 

Sebastian Baquera threw out three base-stealers including the potential tying run in the 9th. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock’s Yerry Rodriguez threw two scoreless innings in his second relief outing after being a starter to that point. At the time, I couldn’t say whether the move was related to a change in role or just workload, but he looked good and I was fine with the change. In the 9th, Down East’s Luisangel Acuna reached on an infield single, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored the game-ending run on a Thomas Saggese single.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, Oklahoma City (LAD) 7 (11)
Round Rock: 6 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 8 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 33-26, 3 GB, 64-70 overall

SP Winston Santos: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 70 P / 41 S, 6.48 ERA
RP Carter Baumier: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.80 ERA
RP Janser Lara: 1.2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 5.40 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 3.28 ERA

A Noisy Night For Winston Santos.* He missed 11 bats, his most in AAA, but also put four aboard by walk or HBP. The slider was most effective. 

OKC scored four in the 11th on a triple, walk, intentional walk, a ghastly error and sac fly. It wasn’t pretty. Division-leading Sugar Land lost again, but Round Rock and OKC were tied at three games back entering the series, so now the Express trail OKC by two as well. 

* The far less popular sequel to A Sick Day For Amos McGee. 


AA: Frisco 12, Amarillo (ARI) 9
Frisco: 16 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 29-30, 5 GB, 68-59 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 90 P / 55 S, 6.85 ERA
RP Wily Villar: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 5.40 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, HR (7), BB, .316/.403/.598
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, 2B, HBP, .320/.401/.589
RF Yeison Morrobel: 3-5, 2B, .324/.365/.486
2B Max Wagner: 2-5, HR (21), .255/.347/.549
1B Gleider Figuereo: 3-4, HR (1), BB

Four homers in four games for Sebastian Walcott. 

I mentioned yesterday that I wouldn’t want Gleider Figuereo subbing for Arturo Disla or Rafe Perich in a playoff game. In his AA debut, subbing for Arturo Disla, Figuerero hit a grand slam. 


Hi-A: Hub City 11, Jersey Shore (PHI) 4
Hub City: 13 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 24-38, eliminated, 58-70 overall

SP AJ Russell: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 70 P / 49 S, 4.76 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 3-4, BB, .237/.376/.361
LF Quincy Scott: 2-4, HR (12), .231/.359/.395

AJ Russell missed a career-best 12 bats in what was very likely his final 2026 appearance. Russell occasionally struggled with control, mostly in high-A, but he fanned 96 in just 60.2 innings (37% K rate). 


Lo-A: Hickory 5, Fayetteville (HOU) 4
Hickory: 7 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 45-17, division winner, 79-47 overall

SP Seong-Jun Kim: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 40 P / 22 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Jake Barbee: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 3.86 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.50 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.20 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-3, 3B, HBP, SB (54), .284/.385/.415
LF Jamaurion McQueen: 2-4, 2B, .311/.420/.338

Kim has never pitched on fewer than six days rest, so he’s probably done for the regular season. The fastball was sat 94 with good run, complimented with many low-80s bendy sliders. I also saw one mid-70s curve and maybe a cutter or two. He didn’t establish basic control and probably wouldn’t have completed two innings had not the Woodpeckers run into two outs. His heater tended to tail outside the zone versus lefties and the slider was all over the place, to be honest. Still, during the season Kim established himself as a prospect to be taken seriously, and i look forward to his 2027. He has a starter-worthy repertoire. 

Hickory has won 12 straight. No other team in the minors has more than 40 second-half wins. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Townsend
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Nivar
Lo-A: Siary

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Sam Huff, Blaine Crim and Davis Wendzel all had a single and one extra-base hit in a 7-1 Frisco win. Frisco held a two-game lead for a playoff spot. 
AA Richmond and Binghamton lost an entire six-game series to covid. 

Movement
New: LHP John King signed and was placed on the development list. King had been released by Miami, where he’d been blandly competent until a barrage of runs in his final six outings. With this move and the signing of Trevor Williams, Texas is telling you what they think of the short-term utility of existing 40-man relief options, not that you didn’t already know. 
Up to Round Rock: Relievers Wilian Bormie and Janser Lara, IF Frainyer Chavez. Bormie had shifted back to AA for a couple of weeks after 21 AAA appearances. 

Up to Frisco: Righties J’Briell Easley and Wily Villar, 1B/3B Gleider Figuereo. Easley had a 5.06 ERA in high-A, not exactly dazzling but right at the league average. The aged yet green Villar fanned 13 in nine high-A innings. Figuereo’s 124-point boost in OPS is partly indebted to the sharp rise in offense below AAA. Fine to have him up but I certainly wouldn’t want him supplanting Rafe Perich or Arturo Disla in the postseason (assuming they’re around). 

Up to Hub City: Lefty Cole Fehrman and righty Frank Martinez.

In Hickory: Righties Alejandro Chiquillo and Julius Sanchez activated. 

Offense
Since the end of April, I’ve occasionally pointed out the sharp and historic increase in offense at levels below AAA in 2026. Back in July, I wrote: “offense is higher than it has ever been in my 20 years on the beat, higher than any other season under the modern classification system (1990), higher than any season since at least 1970, as far back as I checked. Wild times.”Today, JJ Cooper of Baseball America mentioned that the overall MiLB run environment was the highest since the current system was created in 1963. BA has an in-depth study of rising homer rates across various levels and various types of hitters and pitchers.  The good news is providing context for hitting and pitching performances has always been a core feature of what I provide within The Report. The bad is having to constantly tap if not slam the brakes on hitting performances in 2026, like with Gleider Figuereo (see above) and Dylan Dreiling (below). 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, Oklahoma City (LAD) 7
Round Rock: 7 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 33-25, 3 GB, 64-69 overall

SP David Davalillo: 4.2 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 79 P / 49 S, 6.31 ERA
RP Luis Curvelo: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 6.68 ERA
RP Alexis Diaz: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2.58 ERA

David Davalillo worried me from the jump by sailing three of his first four pitches well wide of lefty James Tibbs III and imitating throwing motions after some of those pitches as if to re-sync his mechanics. I’d seen that before. Davalillo recovered to get a ball in play and completed the inning without incident. His first two innings were dominated by fastballs, perhaps as a means of maintaining basic control, and he didn’t walk anyone in that period but did allow a 110 MPH homer from Matt Gorski. 

In the 3rd and 4th, I saw the version of Davalillo that could pitch in the bigs. A wide, unpredictably sequenced repertoire. Pinpoint backdoor sweepers. Curves ignored for called strikes. A two-strike cutter just off the outer edge that couldn’t risk being taken. Davalillo allowed three runners in this period, but he looked as good as I’ve seen him at this level. In the 5th, a steady stream of balls safely in play forced him out, and Ryan Lobus quickly permitted two inherited runners to score. Davalillo missed only three bats on the evening. 

Luis Curvelo would still be on the 40 if he pitched like last night with more frequency. 

Round Rock nearly chased starter Christian Romero in the 1st and scored four in the first three frames but produced only baserunner over the final six innings. 


AA: Frisco 5, Amarillo (ARI) 9
Frisco: 11 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 28-30, 6 GB, 67-59 overall

SP D.J. McCarty: 3.2 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 8 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 5 SO, 92 P / 60 S, 7.13 ERA
RP Leandro Lopez: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.19 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, HR (6), BB, .310/.395/.575
CF Dylan Dreiling: 3-5, 2B, HR (22), SB (13), .319/.389/.538
3B Rafe Perich: 3-4, 2B, BB, .317/.398/.587

Dylan Dreiling increased his hitting streak to 22 games with his 22nd homer. He’s hitting .430/.481/.720 in that span. For the season he sports a 139 OPS+. About half of his 228-point increase in OPS compared to 2025 can be attributed to the overall change in the hitting environment, but I’d still call this a breakout. 

Sebastian Walcott went deep for the third straight game. DJ McCarty had a 5.46 ERA when promoted to AA, and the Texas League hasn’t been any easier on him. 

Amarillo’s magic number for the second-half title dropped to six. 


Hi-A: Hub City 3, Jersey Shore (PHI) 6 (10)
Hub City: 6 hits, 3 walks, 16 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 23-38, eliminated, 57-70 overall

SP Ismael Agreda: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 80 P / 47 S, 5.49 ERA
1B Antonis Macias: 1-4, HR (8), .259/.355/.388
C Arturo De Freitas: 2-4, 2 HR (5), .233/.293/.456

Unless he pitches on shorter rest Sunday or gets a bonus start in Frisco next week, Ismael Agreda is done for the season. From July onward he’s been pretty good: a so-so 4.73 ERA with a better .253/.329/.351 line, a 10% BB+HBP rate and 25% SO rate. Like last year, I think he’s on the outside for a 40-man spot because he’d be swamped by MLB hitters, but he does have a legitimate shot at reaching the Majors, albeit mostly likely in relief. 


Lo-A: Hickory 6, Fayettevile (HOU) 2
Hickory: 6 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 44-17, division winner, 78-47 overall

SP Connor O’Hara: 4.1 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 71 P / 53 S, 3.60 ERA
RP Brandon Jaenke: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.00 ERA
RP Josh Sanders: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.75 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.70 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-3, BB, 2 SB (53), .284/.384/.411
LF Paulino Santana: 1-3, BB, 2 SB (28), .264/.387/.435

The Dads extended their win streak to 11 while breaking Fayetteville’s at 13. Hickory stole six bases in three innings off the duo of SP Aubrey Smith and catcher Arturo Flores. 

Still no sign of OF Marco Argudin on the field, but still no sign on the IL either. Would be a shame if both he and Pablo Guerrero (IL’ed last week) missed the postseason. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas promoted young hurler Josh Stephan and 2021 2nd-rounder Aaron Zavala to Down East for the stretch. Stephan exhibited solid control but took some lumps, while Zavala, an OBP machine in college, predictably handled low-A better with a .302/.433/.434 line. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 9, Albuquerque (COL) 1
Round Rock: 10 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 33-24, 3 GB, 64-68 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 69 P / 46 S, 2.19 ERA
RP Carter Baumier: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2.25 ERA
LF Alejandro Osuna: 3-4, 2B, .290/.390/.400
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-4, HR (13), .238/.310/.444
C Julian Brock: 1-3, HR (2), BB, .238/.407/.500

Pence fanned only one in five innings but did have the slider working: seven whiffs, seven fouls, three in play all for popouts, one call, four balls. He also mixed in more curves and changes than usual lately. As I’ve mentioned, his mix has shifted dramatically from game to game. 

Carter Baumler appeared for the first time in four months. He needed only eight pitches to clear the inning. Depending on Texas’s competitive status, Baumler’s return could be either handy or a headache. Rehab assignments can be up to 30 days, so Texas does have the option of keeping him in the minors until the season ends. Regardless, Baumler will be well short of the required 90 active days in 2026, so if he maintains his 40 spot, he’ll be subject to the same Rule 5 requirements entering next season (unless they change in the new CBA). 

Round Rock and Albuquerque split the series. The Express, OKC and Sacramento are three games behind Sugar Land. Round Rock hosts OKC this week. 


AA: Frisco 7, at NW Arkansas (KAN) 6
Frisco: 7 hits, 9 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 28-29, 5 GB, 67-58 overall

SP Thomas Ireland: 3.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 63 P / 41 S, 9.78 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.56 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, HR (5), BB, .303/.387/.528
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .315/.387/.528

Walcott homered again. This one didn’t stray far from the ground. He’s reached half of last year’s 34 extra-base hits in only 22% as many games. 

Frisco has used 14 different starters in 39 games since the All-Star Break, although the Riders have at least had a semi-steady quartet of Anderson, Curry, McCarty and Townsend. 

In their final homestand, the Riders will face Amarillo, their likely first-round playoff opponent. The Poodles leads the division by five with 12 to play, although Frisco could make the final week more interesting by taking at least four of six. 


Hi-A: Hub City 7, at Greensboro (PIT) 10
Hub City: 11 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 10 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 23-37, eliminated, 57-69 overall

SP Anthony Astudillo: 3 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 2 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 57 P / 30 S, 6.00 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 2-3, 2 BB, .233/.372/.360
RF Maxton Martin: 1-5, HR (21), .236/.297/.452

Anthony Astudillo has an 11 ERA at the complex and Hickory, but Hub City needed some innings after Caden Scarborough was scratched Saturday and listed Sunday starter Enrique Segura took his place. 

Per local reporting, Scarborough is perfectly healthy, just skipped in order to work at Texas’s pitching lab. As to why he was still listed as Hub City’s starting pitcher into the day of his ostensible outing, I couldn’t say. 

Paxton Kling reached first safely four times but only once was in an ordinary base-stealing situation, and the batters behind him swung at every pitch until he reached second via a Casey Cook single. 

Hub City’s season will end with six home games against Jersey Shore (45-79 overall, 19-40 second half).


Lo-A: Hickory 6, at Wilson (MIL) 2
Hickory: 7 hits, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 43-17, division winner, 77-47 overall

SP Josh Owens: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 22 P / 13 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Jesus Lafalaise: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 3.76 ERA
LF Paulino Santana: 1-3, BB, HBP, 2 SB (26), .263/.386/.436
DH Kaden Carpenter: 1-2, HR (6), 3 BB, .253/.410/.538
1B Brandon Crabtree: 3-5

Hickory has technically won ten straight. The loss of a suspended game completed during the week officially counts on the day it began in mid-July.  

Starter Josh Owens breezed through two innings. His delivery is weirder than I recall, particularly with none on base. Owens stands with his back foot exactly perpendicular to the plate and then twists his front toes inward and away from the mound. (When I imitate that motion, I feel torque in my back knee and front hip that isn’t painful but doesn’t feel conducive to a smooth delivery at all. Caveat: I never pitched outside of rec-league softball.) He then briefly lifts his back foot to rotate into a slightly different position before delivering the ball. 



OF Marco Argudin hasn’t played since being pulled mid-game last Friday with an apparent wrist or hand injury after swinging a bat, but he hasn’t been IL’ed either. 

Hickory will conclude the regular season by hosting 71-53 Houston-affiliated Fayetteville, who like Hickory has already clinched the division and will enter the week with a 13-game win streak. 

Five Years Ago Yesterday
I accidentally jumped a day ahead yesterday, but the day I skipped wasn’t interesting. Let’s stay ahead. Five Years Ago Today, Round Rock’s Josh Jung went 4-5 with three doubles and a homer, improving from .207/.303/.379 to .294/.368/.618 in a span of three hours.