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.