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.
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