Month: September 2026

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, at Salt Lake (LAA) 11
Round Rock: 5 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 19 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 35-31, 7 GB, 66-75 overall, elimination number 2

SP Anthony Veneziano: 1.2 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 5 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 51 P / 32 S, 3.06 ERA
RP Marc Church: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 6.82 ERA
RP John King: 2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4.50 ERA
2B John Taylor: 2-4, .245/.379/.385
3B Josh Jung: 0-2, HBP

Josh Jung was hit by a pitch and removed the next inning. The pitch appeared to sneak under his left arm and catch him in the chest. Absent other news, I’m inclined to think he’s okay and was done for the night anyway since he was playing in the field for the first time.

We have a John King sighting.  

Opponents missed on nine of twelve swings at Marc Church’s slider, which is 2024 Kumar Rocker territory. In what I assume are his final weeks in the organization, Church is veering ever more violently between outings of utter dominance and paucity. 

OKC won a 12th straight. Round Rock needs to win five of the remaining nine to avoid being the first Texas AAA team in 29 years to finish at least ten games below .500. 


AA: Frisco 1, at Wichita (MIN) 3
Frisco: 6 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 32-34, 71-63 overall, first-half champion

SP Cole Stasio: 5 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 6 SO, 69 P / 48 S, 5.11 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.23 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, .316/.400/.566
RF Yeison Morrobel: 2-4, 2B, .327/.367/.482
CF Paxton Kling: 1-3, BB, SB (2)

Offseason pickup Cole Stasio finished the regular season on a strong note. He’s pitched better than his 5.11 ERA, which is inflated by 11 runs (half in total) in two of his 19 outings. 


Lo-A Semifinals: Hickory 4, at Charleston (TAM) 3
Hickory: 7 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Best-of-three series tied 1-1

SP Evan Siary: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 85 P / 65 S
RP William Privette: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SO
RP JD McReynolds: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO
RP Jesus Lafalaise: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
LF Paulino Santana: 1-3, BB, SB
1B Kaden Carpenter: 3-4, 2 2B, HR
DH Deward Tovar: 1-4, 2B

Evan Siary was nearly perfect in a must-win game, retiring his first 16 opponents and completing strikeouts on two fastballs, two cutters, two curves and a slider. His only trouble came in the the 6th. With two out and a runner on first (reaching on an honest single), catcher Sebastian Baquera called for a pitchout at the last possible moment and stepped to the opposite side of the batter, but Siary’s pitch cut inside and at best grazed Baquera’s mitt on the way to the backstop. 

That incident set the tone for the final three innings, all too jittery for my taste, particularly in light of what happened to the Rangers after Jacob deGrom’s stellar six innings earlier in the day. Charleston would have 11 plate appearances with the tying run at the plate. William Privette didn’t have it, surrendering two walks and two lined hits, the last of which resulted in one run and a critical Santana-to-Castillo-to-Baquera out at the plate. JD McReynolds secured the last out of the 7th but ran into his own trouble in the 8th, yielding a single, walk and run-scoring double. Jesus Lafalaise, using a fastball that touched 98, generated a couple of groundouts to strand two that inning. Sticking to the script, Lafalaise had an uneasy 9th, allowing a run on a single, wild pitch and groundout before inducing a game-ending comebacker. 

Thursday was Kaden Carpenter Night. This summer’s ninth-round pick blasted a two-run homer in the 1st off Aidan Cremarosa, against whom opponents slugged only .303 this season. In the 8th, Carpenter doubled in Yolfran Castillo. Between those events, Deward Tovar doubled home speedy Jay McQueen from first.

Tonight, Charleston starter Jordi Infante has a 1.98 ERA but scant experience at the level and no more than three innings in any outing. I expect Moises Morales to start for Hickory. 

Houston-affiliated Fayetteville swept Fredericksburg in the other series. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Pence
AA: Brand
Lo-A: probably Morales

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Despite three strong innings from Cole Winn, Frisco lost to fall outside of a playoff spot for the first time all season. Round Rock’s Josh Jung homered, singled and walked. Slowed by injury, he was virtually certain not to make his MLB debut in 2021, and he wouldn’t. In six full seasons, Jung has played in 546 games, 91 per. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, at Salt Lake (LAA) 1
Round Rock: 5 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 35-30, 6 GB, 66-74 overall

SP Blake Townsend: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 87 P / 55 S, 3.07 ERA
RP Carter Baumler: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.00 ERA
RP Janser Lara: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1.93 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Josh Jung: 1-5, HR (1)

Josh Jung homered in his second rehab appearance. 

Both of Emiliano Teodo’s swinging strikes were sinkers, an unusual occurrence. Carter Baumler’s velocity as down, but I noticed everyone with MLB experience was allegedly throwing slower than their usual selves tonight. Is Salt Lake the anti-El Paso in terms of Statcast pitch velocity? Doing a quick analysis of the PCL pitch data, I see El Paso and Vegas possibly inflating pitch speeds and Tacoma and Sugar Land depressing them the most. It could all be statistical noise, but I wonder if there’s some miscalibration between parks. 


AA: Frisco 7, at Wichita (MIN) 5
Frisco: 10 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 32-33, x G up, 71-62 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 3.2 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 2 R, 5 BB, 3 SO, 77 P / 42 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Leandro Lopez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.66 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.72 ERA
RP Austin Roberts: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.96 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 1-3, BB, HBP, .314/.399/.567
RF Yeison Morrobel: 2-3, BB, .323/.364/.476
CF Paxton Kling: 2-4, 2B, SB (1)

OF Paxton Kling had an injury-hampered season at Hub City with only six extra-base hits in 31 games after a hand fracture, but he was given a last-minute promotion and missed a homer by about a foot in his first AA game. 


Lo-A: off

Baseball America has a short feature on Hickory righty Moises Morales, who’s had a fine year. They commend his sweeper (37% chase rate, 18% swinging strike rate), a sinker ordinary in velocity but terrific at generating grounders plus a cutter, four-seamer and change. 

Hickory and Charleston meet tonight for Game 2 of the league semifinals. Hickory must take two games in Charleston to advance. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Veneziano
AA: tbd
Lo-A: tbd

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Dustin Harris improved to .364/.414/.653 at high-A with a double and homer but Hickory lost an eleventh straight. Frisco’s Bubba Thompson set career highs with 21 doubles, seven triples and 14 homers. For the season. Not all in one night. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, at Salt Lake (LAA) 1
Round Rock: 12 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 34-30, 6 GB, 65-74 overall

SP Winston Santos: 6 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 65 P / 47 S, 5.72 ERA
1B Alejandro Osuna: 3-4, 2B, HBP, SB (9), .283/.384/.386
DH Josh Jung: 2-5, 2B
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-5, HR (14), .230/.295/.430

Josh Jung singled to left and doubled deep to left-center as DH. 

Winston Santos had one of his best games of the season, pounding the zone and getting plenty of chases. 


AA: Frisco 2, at Wichita (MIN) 8
Frisco: 9 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 31-33, 70-62 overall, first-half champion

SP Ismael Agreda: 3 IP, 7 H (2 HR), 7 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 70 P / 44 S, 21.00 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 3-5, HR (9), SB (9), .326/.405/.622

Sebastian Walcott homered again. This one was only 91 off the bat according to the Wichita announcer, about as gently as a ball can be hit to vault the fence. Including a rookie-level homer early in rehab, Walcott is only three homers shy of last year’s total of 13 in 89 fewer games. I know I’ve yapped all season about offense exploding throughout the minors in 2026, but what Walcott is doing is different and special. 

Ismael Agreda received a bonus start in start following the end of Hub City’s season. Let’s just say it was nice for management to reward him and leave it there. 

Amarillo’s win and Midland’s loss secured the second-half title for the Sod Poodles.


Lo-A Semifinals: Hickory 8, Charleston (TAM) 9 (10)
Hickory: 9 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: Charleston leads best-of-three 1-0

SP Seong-Jun Kim: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 26 P / 15 S
RP Connor O’Hara: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO
RP Louis Marinaro: 2 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO
DH Deward Tovar: 3-5, 3B
C Josh Springer: 2-5, 2B
2B Daniel Flames: 2-2, BB

Goodness. The Crawdads deserve credit for extracting themselves from an early 5-0 deficit, but on the whole the performance was the antithesis of how I described them in my playoff preview. Hickory allowed their most baserunners (24) and most hits (16, set once previously) in any game this season, and for only the second time this season, two batters reached on errors in the same inning.

Promising two-way player Seong-Jun Kim surrendered a leadoff single to CF Slater deBrun and one-out RBI triple to DH Taitn Gray. Kim had walked or hit 11 in 14.2 innings in 2026, and control became an issue as he walked the next two to load the bases. He escaped without further damage, but his night was done. 

The 2nd was a mess. Reliever Connor O’Hara walked his first batter, then an Alberth Palma liner bounced off 3B Curley Martha’s glove. DeBrun followed with a two-run single, and two more batters would single. With two out, 2B Daniel Flames flubbed a routine grounder, and after yet another single, Hickory trailed 5-0. 

Hickory scored three in the 5th, and Flames atoned with a game-tying two-run single in the 6th. Flames might have suffered a leg injury running to first and would have to be replaced later. 

Charleston scored once in the 6th but returned the defensive favor. With two out and runners on first and second, Brandon Crabtree grounded hard to third, but rather than stepping on the bag or simply waiting to tag lead runner Yolfran Castillo, Cooper Fleming decided to throw the ball four feet over 1B Tim Poole’s head. Castillo scored easily, and Paulino Santana scored all the way from first on a daring send. 7-6 Dads. 

In the 9th, Charleston’s Poole led off the inning with a game-tying homer against Louis Marinaro, who in the regular season surrendered just one homer and was eight-for-eight in save opportunities. Charleston scored twice in the 10th. Deward Tovar tripled in the gift-runner with two out in the bottom half to halve the deficit, but with a 3-1 count, catcher Josh Springer looked at two pitches at the bottom of the zone for strikes two and three. The final pitch was arguable. 

The best team in minors now faces elimination and must take two on the road beginning Thursday. That’s baseball.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Townsend
AA: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco lost to fall into a tie for the final playoff spot for the first time in ages. The Riders were 7-15 following a 52-34 start. Justin Foscue had hit 12 homers in 20 high-A games, but his total in 20 AA games was zero. 

PLAYOFF PREVIEW: LOW-A CAROLINA LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
Hickory Crawdads (82-47) vs. Tampa Bay Rays-affiliated Charleston RiverDogs (73-59)
Season Run Differential: Hickory +201, Charleston +36
Last 20 Games: Hickory 16-4, Charleston 10-10
Season Series: Hickory 7-5 (all in first half)

How They Got Here
In the first half, Charleston was stuck at 24-25 before reeling off twelve straight wins including the first four of a critical six games against Hickory, who had led the division intermittently but never comfortably. The RiverDogs claimed the title with a 37-29 record despite a negative run differential. In the second half, Charleston won one fewer game but outscored the opposition by a respectable margin. 

Hickory posted the best second-half in all of MiLB, and when considering run differential and deeper components of offense and pitching, I think they’re the best team in the minors, period. They’re also the best Texas minor league team I’ve covered in 20 years on the assignment. There’s not an ounce of luck in their record. 

History
Hickory has been a Texas affiliate since 2009, all in low-A except for 2021-2024. Irrespective of level, 2026 is Hickory’s sixth postseason with the Rangers. The Crawdads won the South Atlantic title in 2015 while falling just short in 2019. 

As you might guess, the Rays-aligned RiverDogs are always competitive, sometimes dominant. By my accounting, the 2021 version (82-38) is the best among over 800 minor league squads in a Texas-affiliated league since 2007. Charleston won the 2021-2023 titles, bookended with defeats of Down East.

Top 30 Prospects Per MLB.com
Hickory:
#5: IF Yolfran Castillo
#8: P/IF Seong-Jun Kim
#9: P/IF Josh Owens
#17: RHP Jacob Johnson
#23: OF Marco Argudin
#29: OF Paulino Santana
#30: RHP Mason McConaughey

Charleston:
#1: IF Grady Emerson (10th in MLB)
#5: IF Cooper Fleming (83rd in MLB)
#6: IF Taitn Gray
#13: IF Daniel Pierce (60-day IL)
#14: OF Slater de Brun
#19: IF Andreimi Antunez
#30: IF Dean Moss

Offense / Possible Position Players
C Sebastian Baquera / Noah Franklin / Josh Springer
1B Brandon Crabtree / Kaden Carpenter
2B Daniel Flames / Josh Owens
3B Curley Martha / Kolby Branch 
SS Yolfran Castillo / Seong-Jun Kim
LF Paulino Santana / Jay McQueen / Carpenter
CF Marco Argudin / McQueen / Santana
RF Deward Tovar / Carpenter / McQueen
DH Carpenter / Tovar

I’ve listed a ridiculous number of players, but other than Crabtree and Castillo as near-fixtures at first and short, respectively, the lineup has been truly fluid of late. Manager Nick Janssen has plenty of defensive combinations and batting orders that are roughly optimal. For the season, Hickory’s offense has been solid, a little above average in all respects. They’ve improved in the second half despite the losses of Hector Osorio and Marcos Torres. 

Crabtree hasn’t hit much, unfortunately, and Hickory might be better served with Kaden Carpenter at first, which also accommodates the crowd vying for the four outfield/DH spots. Third base has been lacking in offensive production since the departure of Angel Arredondo, but that doesn’t offer a clean solution. Strictly in terms of production, neither Owens nor Kim have made a case for usurping a spot in the lineup, but you might see one or both anyway. Hickory received a boost when Marco Argudin returned to action Saturday, but 1B Pablo Guerrero remains on the IL. 

Every top-30 prospect on Charleston’s roster is a hitter, but the offense is bland at best. On the upside, their .252 average leads the league, and they have the most singles and fewest strikeouts. They’re also near the bottom in isolated power and combined walks and HBP. Charleston averages 2.1 steal attempts per game vs a league average of 2.4. De Brun (21 SB / 3 CS) and Palma (41 / 8) run most frequently. 

The big name is SS Grady Emerson, 2026’s #2-overall pick, but he joined barely two weeks ago and hasn’t added much to the attack. Last year’s 37th-overall pick, IF Slater de Brun, hasn’t played much because of wrist issues but has a .444 OBP. Last year’s second-round pick, Cooper Fleming (.298/.379/.450) has been around all season and leads the squad with 11 homers. DH Taitn Gray, OF Angel Mateo and 1B Tom Poole have also hit well. 

Pitching / Possible Rotation
SP1: RHP Evan Siary (3.30 ERA, .239/.287/.400 oppo, 6% BB+HBP, 23% SO)
SP2: RHP Moises Morales (3.13 ERA, .217/.278/.357, 8% BB+HBP, 26% SO)

I’ve written this earlier than usual because of work travel, so my rotation is just a guess. Both Siary and Morales would be on five days rest instead of the usual six; if I’m wrong, I expect they’d start Games 2 and (if needed) 3. Hickory has several options for a third starter: Connor O’Hara, Jacbo Johnson, Jacob LaFalaise, perhaps one of Owens and Kim. s

Hickory has the league’s best run prevention. Neither Siary nor Morales are flamethrowers, but Siary’s overall command and Morales’s slider in particular have proven too much for low-A hitters. Siary’s one weakness has been shocking homer-proneness against lefties; he’s allowed 12, and opponents are slugging .537. 

Owens and Kim have been better on the mound than at the plate and could both be in line for an outing of two innings during the series. The Crawdads lack a set closer. Louis Marinano, JD McReynolds, Geury Rodriguez and Michael Trausch have all handled late innings lately. All are quite good, but only Marinaro has above-average control. 

As for Charleston, their busiest starters haven’t been the most reliable. Down the list a little, Aidan Cremarosa and Jacob Kuhn would be good choices, but neither has rested enough to pitch the first game. That starter might be Luke Jackson (no, not that one), who has a 3.42 ERA and solid peripherals but never stretches beyond two innings. All are righties. 

Lefty Yereny Teus leads the Dogs with seven saves. He’s struck out 80 (a 38% rate) and walked 22 in 54 innings. On the whole, Charleston’s pen appears competent but not exceptional.

Defense
Hickory’s defense is immaculate. No team converts more double play opportunities, turns more batted balls into outs, commits fewer errors or shuts down opposing runners as well. 

Charleston rates a little below average in most respects. 

Advantages
Hitting – Hickory
Pitching – Hickory
Defense – Hickory 

Park Factor
In 2026, both parks have played nearly neutral, but Charleston is among the league’s least the homer-friendly while Hickory is quite generous. 

Outlook
Charleston does have the advantage of playing two of three at home should the series extend that far, but Hickory is (in my opinion) the best team in the minors. Yes, momentum can disappear in an instant. The Crawdads could play 45-86 Delmarva and not be a mortal lock to win two of three. Still, they’re unquestionably more likely to advance. 

Most Recent Texas-Affiliated Championship Teams
AAA: 1996 Oklahoma City 89ers
AA: 2022 Frisco RoughRiders
Hi-A: 2017 Down East Wood Ducks (co-champion)
Lo-A: 2015 Hickory Crawdads
Short-A: 2008 Spokane Indians (RIP)
Rookie: 2019 Rangers

Best full-season overall (record, run differential, components) by a Texas affiliate, 2007-2026:
2026 Low-A Hickory: 82-47, .6362019 Low-A Hickory: 83-52, .615
2023 AAA Round Rock: 89-60, .597
2019 High-A Down East: 87-52, .626
2014 AA Frisco: 80-59, .575

Best full-season records by a Texas affiliate, 2007-2026:
2026 Low-A Hickory: 82-47, .6362019 High-A Down East: 87-52, .626
2019 Low-A Hickory: 83-52, .615
2024 AA Frisco 84-54, .609
2007 AA Frisco: 85-55, .607

Best full-season records in a Texas-affiliated Low-A League, 2007-2026:
2021 Charleston: 82-38, .683
2022 Charleston: 88-44, .667
2019 Delmarva: 90-48, .652
2014 Asheville: 89-49, .645
2026 Hickory: 82-47, .636

Best half-season records in a Texas-affiliated Low-A League, 2007-2026:
2026 Hickory: 48-17, .7382015 West Virginia: 50-20, .714
2022 Myrtle Beach: 47-19, .712
2022 Charleston: 46-20, .697 
2019 Delmarva: 48-21, .696

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, Oklahoma City (LAD) 3
Round Rock: 5 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 33-30, 6 GB, 64-74 overall, elimination number 5

SP David Davalillo: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 65 P / 39 S, 5.68 ERA
RP Carter Baumler: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 SO, 1.29 ERA
DH Kyle Higashioka: 1-3, BB

A six-game sweep at home. The Express scored 14 runs, and the only hitter I listed the entire week was rehabbing Kyle Higashioka. That elimination number undersells the situation; OKC and Sugar Land face off next week, so Round Rock can at best gain ground on only one on any given day. The Express visit non-contending Salt Lake this week. Round Rock hasn’t won the series season against OKC since 2019.

The good news is David Davalillo had a good day, not electrifying but never less than pleasant in terms of statcast data. 


AA: Frisco 3, Amarillo (ARI) 2
Frisco: 8 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 31-32, 5 GB, 70-61 overall

SP Thomas Ireland: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 71 P / 47 S, 8.51 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.95 ERA
DH Sebastian Walcott: 2-4, HR (8), .315/.399/.600

Sebastian Walcott hit a ball 452 feet. Josh Trentadue, Jonathan Brand, Joey Danielson and Bryan Mgdaleno combined for five scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. 

Frisco will visit Wichita to conclude the regular season. 


Hi-A: Hub City 1, Jersey Shore (PHI) 0 (5)
Hub City: 4 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 2 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout

SEASON OVER
Overall Record: 61-71, -57 run differential
First Half: 34-32, 4th place, 13.5 GB
Second Half: 27-39, 5th place, 8.5 GB

SP Anthony Astudillo: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 59 P / 31 S, 2.57 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 2-3, 2 SB (38), .247/.386/.368
DH Maxton Martin: 1-3, 2B, .233/.291/.439

Jersey Shore actually led 2-1 after a couple of 6th-inning runs when rain halted the proceedings. Because Hub City didn’t bat in the 6th, the game officially terminated at the conclusion of the last full inning, so the Burgers stole a 1-0 victory. Paxton Kling swiped 22 bases in 31 games after exiting the IL. 

No league had a greater year-to-year increase in offense than the Sally. Runs per game increased 29%, homers by 67%(!), and OPS by 99 points. Somebody who hit .250/.325/.400 in the Sally in 2025 would have a snazzy 118 OPS+. That same line in 2025 is only a 90 OPS+. 


Lo-A: cancelled midway through 2nd

REGULAR SEASON OVER
Overall Record: 82-47, +201 run differential
First Half: 34-30, 2nd place, 2 GB
Second Half: 48-17, 1st place, 10.5 G up

Josh Owens threw two scoreless innings that will be lost in time like tears in the rain that began falling immediately after his final pitch. 

I’ll have a playoff preview Tuesday. 

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock scored 14 runs (equal to this entire week) at El Paso. The other teams were off. Frisco held the Texas League’s final playoff spot by a game, while Down East trailed by two. (activate clickbait mode) What Happened Next Will Shock You!

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, Oklahoma City (LAD) 2 (11)
Round Rock: 4 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 33-29, 5 GB, 64-73 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 76 P / 50 S, 2.12 ERA
RP Robert Garcia: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.85 ERA
DH Kyle Higashioka: 0-3, BB

OKC is a good club, better in my opinion than Sugar Land despite the latter leading the league for most of the second half. Round Rock also has lost several hitters and now resembles the light-on-power bunch of the first half. Still, 13 runs in fives games, including one run in seven extra innings, is tough to take. Catcher Julian Brock drove in Round Rock’s lone run with a two-out single in the 7th, but he was erased twice on the bases including being doubled off second on the game’s concluding play. Keyber Rodriguez scored in extras earlier this week on a sac fly, but last night he was thrown out by several feet on a similar attempt (which I don’t criticize at all, given the situation). 

I’ve seen Dalton Pence four times in person this season, and last night was the best, better than than the scoreless four-inning outing I saw previously. While he still didn’t strike out many hitters, he did miss 11 bats, and I felt his pitches were working together better than before. Pence made his name in college with his rising fastball, but in pro ball he doesn’t really have a go-to pitch. In reworking his pitch classifications*, I found an equal number of strikeouts attributable to his fastball, slider and change. Pence is aiding his vanilla K rate with a ton of popups (one every other inning in AAA), which are functionally akin to strikeouts. 

Robert Garcia was solid in his first rehab outing. The fastball was a tic lower than earlier this year, but that’s not uncommon, and OKC looked helpless against his slider. Encouraging. Emiliano Teodo had one of his better outings as well. 

Per Round Rock voice Rylan Kobre, with whom I teamed on the call last night, opposing starters have a 1.38 ERA when I’m in the booth. Said opponents have been two of the objectively worst pitchers in the PCL and another (Charlie Barnes) who I thought was flattered by his 4.07 ERA. My apologies. 

* For some reason, Statcast has deep trouble with Pence. The computer is classifying everything slower and glove-side as a slider. 84 with about 30 inches of drop? Slider. Fine. 75 with 45 inches of drop? Slider. What? Maybe I’m the one who’s wrong, but Pence appears to be throwing many more curves than I realized. It’s not much of a bat-misser, but he’s throwing a decent number to open at-bats and with good success. 


AA: Frisco 5, Amarillo (ARI) 6
Frisco: 8 hits, 5 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 30-32, 6 GB, 69-61 overall

SP Aidan Curry: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 5 SO, 82 P / 49 S, 5.64 ERA
C Malcolm Moore: 1-2, 2B, BB, HBP, .220/.320/.423
2B Gleider Figuereo: 2-4, 2B

Six runs on three hits, eight walks and two hit batters? I’ve seen enough; I’m not scanning that game log. Aidan Curry walked four for the first time in over three months. Between then and last night, he’d walked 27 of 265 batters, which is pretty darn good in 2026. He’s intriguing, which I’ll confess is deceptive language meaning “I’ve been watching him for years but still don’t have a good grasp of whether he’ll ever come to fruition.” Curry can become a free agent after the season, so Texas’s decision on his 40 placement will come before the standard deadline. Off the top of my head, Drew Robinson and Tomas Telis were protected in this fashion. 

Today’s starter for Amarillo is ex-Rangers farmhand David Hagaman, who reached AA a few weeks ago and has a 2.52 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 25 innings. “Good for him,” I say as I stare blankly into the distance. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, Jersey Shore (PHI) 7
Hub City: 7 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 7 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 26-39, eliminated G up, 60-71 overall

SP Enrique Segura: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 5 R, 4 BB, 1 SO, 81 P / 49 S, 6.57 ERA
CF Paxton Kling: 2-3, 2B, BB, HBP, SB (36), .243/.383/.365
1B Antonis Macias: 1-4, HR (9), BB, .260/.357/.396
LF Quincy Scott: 1-5, HR (14), .235/.356/.412

For the season, Segura allowed 63 hits and 66 combined walks and hit batters in 75 innings. Run-scoring in the Sally has increased 1.3 runs per game over last year, and my guess is that creates more variance among pitchers. Put another away, some pitchers are more likely to get wiped out. The combination of tougher environment and worse control has placed Segura is in that group. 


Lo-A: Hickory 2, Fayetteville (HOU) 0
Hickory: 2 hits, 8 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 48-17, division winner G up, 82-47 overall

SP Jacob Johnson: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 70 P / 40 S, 2.04 ERA
RP Cole Fehrman: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.35 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 0-1, BB, HBP, SB (55), .286/.390/.416
C Noah Franklin: 1-3, BB, .247/.402/.329
3B Curley Martha: 1-2, HBP, SB (5), .192/.261/.269

Fifteen straight wins, tying the franchise record. Fayetteville entered the series with a 39-20 record, by the way. The Woodpeckers didn’t get a hit until the 6th, and Hickory had no hits after the 3rd. Yolfran Castillo began a terrific double play in the 4th, ranging deep and to his right to snare a grounder, then executing the turn and throw and rapidly as possible to give 2B Daniel Flames time to throw to first. 

Hickory’s offensive output was similar to Amarillo’s, but since Hickory won, let’s find out how. The Crawdads scored on a single/walk/walk/GIDP sequence in the 1st and a walk/balk/wild pitch/sac bunt in the 7th. 

In his final start of the regular season, Jacob Johnson fanned only one but managed to get a lot of balls hit at people. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Davalillo
AA: Ireland
Hi-A: TBD (Scarborough is listed but nope)
Lo-A: Owens

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Down East’s Owen White fanned a career-best 12. The last six outings for Frisco’s Daniel Roberts: 9.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 19 SO. “His arsenal doesn’t leap off the page: 92-94 fastball, 80-82 slider, maybe a curve. He relies heavily on the slider, which has an almost floating quality out of his hand but acquires anger late and doesn’t end up where the batter thinks.”

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.