Author: scottrlucas

Ezequiel Duran, Texas Ranger. Per local reports and Duran’s literal presence in Globe Life early this afternoon, the Rangers will be calling up the 23-year-old for his MLB debut. Duran is batting .317/.365/.574 in 45 AA games. To quote myself from yesterday: “Scaled to last year’s 471 plate appearance, Duran is on pace for two fewer homers than last year’s 19 but 32 (!) additional combined doubles and triples. Also 27 more walks and 46 fewer strikeouts. ‘On pace for’ is a dangerous undertaking, but I don’t think it’s dangerous to say Duran’s having a breakout season.” A timely assessment if I may say so, although without any subtext that a call-up was imminent.

Duran is expected to start tonight at third base, a position he’s played only four times in 2022 and three before then.

He is already on the 40. No word on whether the Rangers will create space by IL’ing the banged-up Josh Smith or optioning someone else. It sounds like a temporary measure, and Duran potentially could head to AAA Round Rock thereafter.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, Oklahoma City (LAD) 10
Round Rock: 6 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 8 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 30-22, 1 GB

SP AJ Alexy: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 97 P / 62 S, 6.29 ERA
RP Jonathan Hernandez: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Nick Solak: 1-5, HR (2), .244/.333/.400

Just shy of 14 months since Tommy John surgery, Jonathan Hernandez pitched in a real game. His appearance had a “just happy to be here” element, as the velocity was present (97-99 fastball, 88-90 slider) but the control was not (19 pitches, 8 strikes, including zero strikes on four sliders). No reason for him to be worried, but soon the Rangers will have some tricky 40-man and active-roster decisions. Texas is still playing for the future, but as we’ve seen with Albert Abreu, present-day performance is increasingly important. Hernandez can be optioned once his rehab assignment ends, if Texas decides he needs more time, but even that would still require a 40-man move. Incidentally, Hernandez pitched in Round Rock for the first time. He’d reached the Majors straight from Frisco in 2019.

AJ Alexy breezed through the first three innings. In the 4th, a leadoff walk and four straight two-out hits plated four. In the 5th, he worked around a walk but needed 23 pitches against just four batters.

AA: Frisco 2, at Wichita (MIN) 1
Frisco: 4 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Record: 27-22, 1 G up

SP Zak Kent: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 SO, 89 P / 58 S, 5.61 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.11 ERA
2B Jax Biggers: 2-4, 2B, .250/.455/.375
1B Trey Hair: 1-4, HR (6), .220/.277/.440

No point in mincing words: Zak Kent’s year has been terrible. Nearly as many walks as strikeouts, a swinging strike rate of 8% compared to last year’s 17%, at least two runs allowed in every appearance. Last night, the version that put him on the radar reappeared. He reached nine strikeouts and seven innings for the first time since last August and missed 16 bats for the first time since last September.

High-A: Hickory 6, at Asheville (HOU) 9
Hickory: 9 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 28-21, 1.5 GB

SP Nick Krauth: 1.1 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 6 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 45 P / 26 S, 5.63 ERA
RP Marc Church: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.57 ERA
2B Thomas Saggese: 2-4, .275/.320/.394
CF Angel Aponte: 1-4, HR (2), .300/.375/.429

There are better places to lower your ERA. Hickory starts have allowed 17 runs in 14 innings in Asheville.

Statistically, 2022 has been one step forward, two steps back for Thomas Saggese. He’s hitting better for average but last year’s power and patience are diminished. It’s worth nothing that Saggese turned 20 in April. He’s the second-youngest Crawdad hitter after Evan Carter and the fifth-youngest in the Sally League. 

Low-A: Down East 2, Charleston (TAM) 6
Down East: 4 hits, 4 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 23-26, 4.5 GB

SP Ryan Garcia: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 48 P / 29 S, 0.00 ERA
RF Jose Rodriguez: 2-4, 2B, .204/.295/.285
SS Maximo Acosta: 1-3, BB, .260/.359/.370

Ryan Garcia pitched for the first time since 2019. A rain delay stalled the game after the first — comically unfair in light of Garcia’s history — but the weather cleared in time for him to continue.

19-year-old Maximo Acosta leads the Woodies in doubles (11) and steals (17).

Today’s Starters
AAA: Bullpen, featuring Josh Sborz
AA: Weems
Hi-A: White
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Yohander Mendez and Collin Wiles both threw seven-inning shutouts for Frisco, allowing eight runners between them across 14 innings. Jonathan Hernandez allowed 12 hits and seven runs in 3.2 innings for low-A Down East.

The Rangers traded DFA’ed reliever Albert Abreu to Kansas City for 21-year-old righty Yohanse Morel. Morel signed with the Nats in 2017 and was traded in a package for Kelvin Herrera a year later. Baseball America ranked him KC’s #19 prospect in 2019 and #30 in 2020, noting a three-pitch mix topped by a 91-95 fastball. Just a few days ago, FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention outside a 47-man list, mentioning a “plus splitter and a 45-grade sinker and slider.” Morel has a 4.08 ERA, 21 strikeouts and 10 walks in 17.2 relief innings at high-A Quad Cities. He’ll join the same level with the Rangers.

Playoffs: I heard last month about how MiLB intended to implement the postseason this year but didn’t see anything formal until recently. Playoffs will be similar to the old format with a few tweaks. In AAA, as before, the two division winners will meet in a single series, but the title will be decided in a single game instead of a best-of-five, presumably because the regular season stretches to the end of September. Then, as before, the winners of the Pacific Coast League and International League will meet for one game to decide the AAA champion. At lower levels, the split-season format has returned. The first and second-half division winners will play a best-of-three followed by another best-of-three championship series. In a quirk of scheduling, the first halves for Down East and Hickory will end on Thursday, June 23, in the middle of a six-game series. Frisco’s first half will end Sunday the 26th.

Hickory has been exactly 0.5 games behind division-leading Bowling Green for a week and is tied with Rome. The Crawdads will play nine of their last 18 first-half games against those teams. At four games back,  below-.500 Down East still has a shot but needs to pass four teams. Frisco has shared or held the division lead by itself from the get-go. The Riders are currently tied with San Antonio.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 2, Oklahoma City (LAD) 6
Round Rock: 4 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 4 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 30-21, tied for first

SP Jake Latz: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 SO, 53 P / 31 S, 5.44 ERA
RP Jose Leclerc: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.75 ERA
LF Nick Solak: 1-2, BB, HBP, .250/.348/.350
C Yohel Pozo: 2-4, HR (4), .336/.369/.485

Jake Latz was pulled after needing 39 pitches to record two outs in the 2nd. Latz made his MLB debut last summer as a covid-rule addition, was a contender for the 40-man roster, and also was a contender for Rule-5 draft selection had it not been scrapped. Latz didn’t allow a homer yesterday, but long balls have become a problem since he reached AA last May. Opponents are hitting .282/.364/.528 with nine homers in 41.1 innings.

Jose Leclerc stretched out to 28 pitches. 

AA: Frisco 1, at Wichita (MIN) 2
Frisco: 7 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 26-22, tied for first

SP Cole Ragans: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 89 P / 58 S, 3.20 ERA
RP Tim Brennan: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.08 ERA
3B Ezequiel Duran: 2-4, 2 2B, .317/.362/.578
RF Josh Stowers: 1-2, 2 BB, SB (10), .226/.362/.330

Baseball America revised its rankings this week. Most moves were incremental, but Cole Ragans jumped ten spots to #14. Ragans has reached five innings in seven consecutive starts, and a two-homer, four-run outing is his worst. Ragans tailed off badly in last season’s second half, understandable given his history. The hope is for more stamina this year. I’m also hoping for some action in AAA. He’s up to 18 starts in AA.

Ezequiel Duran doubled twice to retake the lead in that category across all levels. Scaled to last year’s 471 plate appearance, Duran is on pace for two fewer homers than last year’s 19 but 32 (!) additional combined doubles and triples. Also 27 more walks and 46 fewer strikeouts. “On pace for” is a dangerous undertaking, but I don’t think it’s dangerous to say Duran’s having a breakout season.

Texas released righty Sean Chandler earlier this week. Now 25, the 2018 6th-rounder came to Texas with serious control problems that he partially rectified as a rookie with Spokane and last summer at Hickory, but in Frisco this strong he’d walked 10 in 5.1 innings. He struck out 111 in 81.2 innings.

High-A: Hickory 3, at Asheville (HOU) 7
Hickory: 6 hits, 2 walks, 16 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 28-20, 0.5 GB

SP Ben Anderson: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 76 P / 51 S, 3.75 ERA
SS Luisangel Acuna: 1-4, HR (5), .288/.417/.610

Luisangel Acuna has four homers and eight walks in his last eight games.

Chris Seise (1-4) moved back to DH, but just being in the lineup a day after playing in the field is noteworthy.

Low-A: Down East 4, Charleston (TAM) 1
Down East: 8 hits, 7 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Record: 23-25, 4 GB

SP Robby Ahlstrom: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 80 P / 49 S, 4.22 ERA
RP Jose Corniell: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 7.06 ERA
SS Cam Cauley: 1-3, BB, 2 SB (10), .186/.278/.229
RF Marcus Smith: 2-3, BB, SB (15), .145/.313/.282
CF Daniel Mateo: 2-4, HR (3), .255/.307/.365

Robby Ahlstrom is now the holdover from the Jose Trevino trade. When I saw him last month, Ahlstrom threw an 88-91 fastball, tilty mid-70s curve and a change around 80. The Yankees drafted him in last year’s 7th round.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Alexy
AA: Kent
Hi-A: Krauth
Lo-A: TBD. Ryan Garcia is expected to pitch. Texas’s 2019 2nd-rounder out of UCLA has thrown all of five professional innings because of Tommy John, covid, and a lat injury.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
A snooze of a day to be honest. Ten years ago, Roy Oswalt pitched in Round Rock, and Jurickson Profar drew an eight-pitch walk followed by a Mike Olt homer.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, Oklahoma City (LAD) 0
Round Rock: 7 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 30-20, 1 G up

SP Spencer Howard: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 85 P / 57 S, 4.66 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.05 ERA
RP Jesus Tinoco: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.66 ERA
RF Steele Walker: 2-3, BB, .314/.407/.514
LF Willie Calhoun: 3-4, 2 HR (4), .246/.299/.443

I’ve mentioned that Willie Calhoun hasn’t been playing all that much or that well, but he was the offense last night, driving in four on a tall homer down the line and a liner to the opposing bullpen in right-center.

I said last week that Spencer Howard had ditched the changeup. That’s not quite true. He did throw just one for Texas before demotion to AAA, but having corrected my minor league database, I now see he’d thrown 11 in AAA out of 269 total pitches, including ten in one outing on May 20. A small portion of his arsenal, but not completely absent. He added four last night. Unfortunately, neither the change nor the handful of curves were of much use. In AAA, his swinging strike rate on the curve is 7%, and the change has yet to generate a miss. Opponents are hitting .500 (4-for-8) when they make contact on those pitches. The fastball and slider are solid. At his best, he spots the fastball well and mixes in the slider successfully. Hitters aren’t swinging helplessly through a bunch of pitches but certainly don’t look comfortable. In the 4th, his fastball began running high and he walked three straight batters.

Yerry Rodriguez doesn’t quite look like his old self, but he’s been better, allowing no runs and fanning eight in his last six innings.

The box score lists seven automatic balls called. I counted ten, including two in one plate appearance by both Howard and recently optioned Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford. I don’t think I’d ever seen more than three in one game, and never two to a single batter.

The Padres are calling up Nomar Mazara, who will increase their collection of ex-Rangers to five (Jurickson Profar, Jorge Alfaro, Yu Darvish, Nick Martinez).

AA: Frisco 3, at Wichita (MIN) 0
Frisco: 8 hits, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts

SP Cody Bradford: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 16 P / 10 S, 8.47 ERA
RP Jack Leiter: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 SO, 4.93 ERA
RP Grant Anderson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.77 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, BB, .349/.388/.471
2B Ezequiel Duran: 2-5, 2B, .313/.356/.568
LF Dustin Harris: 2-5, HR (9), SB (9), .253/.339/.461
DH Kellen Strahm: 1-2, 2 BB, .211/.373/.263
RF Josh Stowers: 0-1, 3 BB, .221/.350/.327This was the completion of Tuesday’s rain suspension. Cody Bradford pitched the 1st that night, and Jack Leiter followed Wednesday as a “reliever” instead of starting the regularly scheduled contest. Leiter was in form, fanning eight of 22 batters and averaging only 16.4 pitches per inning. Matt Olson has five doubles in his last four games to reach 23, one more than Ezequiel Duran. No shame in being slightly less proficient than Olson at something.

AA: Frisco 1, at Wichita (MIN) 7 (7)
Frisco: 3 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
Record: 26-21, 1 G up

SP Kevin Gowdy: 1 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 36 P / 21 S, 9.00 ERA
RP Seth Nordlin: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.23 ERA
CF Kellen Strahm: 2-2, BB, .211/.373/.263

Kellen Strahm immediately rewarded my faith in him by going 3-4 with three walks in the quasi-doubleheader.

IF Justin Foscue was IL’ed with a tight oblique per local reports. A worse version (I hope) of that injury cost him a sizable chunk of 2021.

High-A: Hickory 15, at Asheville (HOU) 7
Hickory: 10 hits, 14 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 28-19, 0.5 GB

SP Ricky Vanasco: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 83 P / 51 S, 6.04 ERA
DH Aaron Zavala: 0-0, 3 BB, .269/.433/.372
LF Trevor Hauver: 3-5, HR (6), 2 BB, .243/.418/.435
1B Cristian Inoa: 3-5, .288/.355/.404
3B Cody Freeman: 1-3, HR (7), 2 BB, .233/.320/.414
SS Chris Seise: 2-5, 2B, .232/.289/.408

Hickory scored six in the 1st on two singles, seven walks, two passed balls and a wild pitch. In the 7th, Randy Florentino, Evan Carter and Luisangel Acuna would walk in front of Trevor Hauver, who belted a grand slam.

Since the beginning of 2021, Houston’s full-season farm clubs have issued a combined 5.4 walks and HBPs per game, the most in baseball by 0.5 per game over the second-worst club, Cincinnati. (Texas is 12th-best with 2,846, 4.3 per game.)

Look carefully at that Chris Seise line. Not the batting. The position. Seise took the field for the first time this season. Seise has lost years to injuries and was limited in 2022 to DH with frequent rest until last night.

Low-A: Down East 2, Charleston (TAM) 13
Down East: 6 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 22-25, 4.5 GB

SP Brandon Webb: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 82 P / 53 S, 4.99 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 2.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 9 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 4.81 ERA
SS Cam Cauley: 2-4, 3B, .179/.267/.224
LF Yosy Galan: 1-3, HR (7), .254/.351/.482

Webb and Teodo contributed five walks, three errors, two hit batters, a balk and a wild pitch to the cause. One of those days.

Since an 0-for-16 start, Cam Cauley is hitting .235/.328/.294. Not great, but he’s seeing some pitches and not striking out at a bad rate.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Latz
AA: Ragans
Hi-A: Anderson
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Pedro Payano allowed a run in five innings in his AA debut. He would make the Rangers in 2019. He’s still around, pitching in relief for Cincinnati’s AAA squad.

New podcast today. A deep dive into Martin Perez plus Josh Smith, Eli White, Sam Huff, and a bunch of prospects. Link in signature.
Baseball America updated its top-30 rankings for the Rangers. Some notable moves:OF Evan Carter up from 8th to 3rd, and new to the overall top 100 at #75.
IF Ezequiel Duran enters the top 100 at #80 and 4th on the Rangers.
RHP Cole Winn drops behind the previous two at #5, and down to 90th overall.
LHP Cole Ragans jumps from 24th to 14th.
OF Bayron Lora drops from 20th to unranked. MLB.com beat writer Kennedi Landry mentioned that Perez had pitched to now-manager Kevin Cash back in 2011. He did, and I was there:



Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 0, Oklahoma City (LAD) 8
Round Rock: 6 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 29-20, tied for first

SP Tyson Miller: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 60 P / 43 S, 35156.00 ERA
RP Jose Leclerc: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 27.00 ERA
RP Hever Bueno: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 3.42 ERA
RP Nick Snyder: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Bubba Thompson: 2-5, 2B, SB (26), .333/.343/.491
RF Steele Walker: 1-3, 2B, BB, HBP, .299/.390/.507

OF/DH starts in the 10 games since 5/20, when Nick Solak made his first appearance after being optioned:
Solak — 8
Taveras — 8
Thompson — 7
Walker — 6
Reks — 4 (plus 3 games at 1B)
Calhoun — 4
Smith — 2 (plus 8 games at 3B/SS)

Optioning Calhoun, Reks (now back in Texas), and Solak in May certainly crowded the outfield, what with Leody Taveras, Bubba Thompson, and Steele Walker already there and deserving of steady time. So far, the person most crowded out has been Calhoun, unless he been fighting a minor injury of which I’m unaware. Calhoun started three straight when he reported to Round Rock and pinch-hit the day after that, but since then, he’s started nine of 19 possible games, batting 214/.261/.286 in that span.

Cole Winn appears to be having his rotation turn pushed back slightly. I think I said “skipped” on the podcast, but that’s not quite true. He’s listed as Sunday’s starter, eight days after his last outing. Despite his issues lately, I see no cause for alarm. Texas employed this tactic with a bunch of pitchers (Winn included) around this time last year and is doing so right now with some AA guys. The AAA season is also 150 games, running through September 28 instead of the traditional Labor Day finish.

AA: wet

Frisco’s first venture to Kansas since 2007 was suspended by rain. The Wichita Wranglers relocated to Springdale, AR, as the NW Arkansas Naturals in 2008. 12 years later, the Wichita Wind Surge replaced them as a would-be AAA team, but after the lost 2020 and MLB’s top-down reorganization of the minors, the Surge were relegated to AA before taking the field in their $75 million stadium.

High-A: Hickory 2, at Asheville (HOU) 4
Hickory: 9 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 27-19, 0.5 GB

SP TK Roby: 5.1 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 9 SO, 86 P / 57 S, 6.21 ERA
RP Joe Corbett: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.50 ERA
RF Aaron Zavala: 2-3, BB, .275/.431/.380
SS Luisangel Acuna: 1-3, BB, SB (8), .308/.419/.615
3B Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, BB, SB (3), .300/.340/.414
2B Thomas Saggese: 3-4, SB (3), .276/.323/.401

In an otherwise fine start, one pitch defined the outcome for TK Roby, a three-run homer by Colin Barber. The lefty-swinging Barber went deep to right, which in Asheville is all of 297 feet down the line and 327 to the alley. Maybe Barber’s shot would have carried in any park, but maybe not.

Low-A: Down East 11, Charleston (TAM) 5
Down East: 13 hits, 8 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 22-24, 4 GB

SP Gavin Collyer: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 79 P / 50 S, 3.78 ERA
LF Alejandro Osuna: 1-2, HR (6), 2 BB, .318/.424/.508
2B Maximo Acosta: 2-4, 2B, BB, SB (15), .257/.354/.360
1B Tucker Mitchell: 3-5, HR (3), .205/.333/.373
CF Daniel Mateo: 3-5, .248/.301/.338
3B Junior Paniagua: 2-3, BB, .219/.274/.333

As a group, the Woodies are at the low end of the range in everything but homers, but last night they reached double-digits hits for the first time in over two weeks. Alejandro Osuna remains the team’s best statistical hitter by a wide margin. Osuna isn’t on any top-30 list and didn’t even make Jamey Newberg’s top 72, but I think there’s a little something to this guy, even though he’s repeating low-A. Osuna’s just 19, has a keen eye, speed, and six homers in 39 games.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Howard
AA: Leiter
Hi-A: Vanasco
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Andy Ibanez homered twice, doubled and singled in a 13-2 victory for Frisco.

At the one-third point of the season, the system has a 102-81 record and has outscored opponents by half a run per game.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, at Albuquerque (COL) 8
Round Rock: 8 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 29-19, 1 G up

SP Kolby Allard: 5 IP, 7 H (2 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 69 P / 45 S, 4.96 ERA
RF Leody Taveras: 2-4, HR (6), .299/.330/.500
1B Zach Reks: 4-4, 2B, 2 HR (2), .337/.427/.629

Trainer Carlos Olivas was a common sight, tending to both Spencer Patton (hip or thereabouts) and Dan Winkler (thumb) during the last four innings. Patton left immediately after hurting himself throwing a pitch, while Winkler stayed in but was replaced after a hit-by-pitch and walk. In the former case, the loaded bases would clear before Yerry Rodriguez could record the final out of the 6th. Conversely, Daniel Robert stranded all three of Winkler’s runners in the 8th but surrendered a single and game-ending double in the 9th.

Reks batted .500 with four homers in the series.

AA: Frisco 9, San Antonio (SDG) 7
Frisco: 15 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 25-20, 2 G up

SP Avery Weems: 1 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 8 P / 5 S, 7.67 ERA
RP Justin Slaten: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 6 SO, 4.97 ERA
2B Justin Foscue: 2-4, HR (3), BB, .288/.400/.519
1B Blaine Crim: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .314/.384/.572
3B Ezequiel Duran: 4-5, 2 2B, .311/.357/.575
LF Dustin Harris: 1-5, HR (8), .345/.382/.470
CF JP Martinez: 2-4, HR (8), SB (14), .311/.423/.563

The top six in the order reached 16 times and collected seven extra-base hits. Foscue has among the organization’s lowest swinging strike rates (7%) and strikeout rates (16%), a continuation of his time at Mississippi State, where he drew 67 walks against just 57 strikeouts.

Nobody in pro ball exceeds Ezequiel Duran’s 21 doubles. There might be something in the water: three of the top four and six of the top 14 in doubles in all of MiLB are from the Texas League.

High-A: Hickory 9, Winston-Salem (CHW) 3
Hickory: 10 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Record: 27-18, 0.5 GB

SP Mason Englert: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 89 P / 63 S, 3.60 ERA
RF Jayce Easley: 1-5, HR (2), .255/.352/.447
SS Luisangel Acuna: 2-3, HR (4), BB, SB (7), .306/.414/.633
LF Trevor Hauver: 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, .252/.426/.430
2B Thomas Saggese: 2-4, 2 2B, .264/.313/.392

Yesterday I suggested a 3/4/5 line from Luisangel Acuna wasn’t a reasonable expectation going forward. Not exactly bulletin board material, but in any case he homered again to boost his slugging percentage to .633. Fine by me.

Jayce Easley has doubled last year’s homer total.

Low-A: Down East 5, Fayetteville (HOU) 1
Down East: 7 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 0 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 21-24, 5 GB

SP Winston Santos: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 10 SO, 80 P / 63 S, 3.75 ERA
RP Jose Corniell: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 8.20 ERA
SS Cam Cauley: 2-3, BB, 2 SB (8), .167/.242/.183
2B Maximo Acosta: 2-4, .250/.346/.348
1B Tucker Mitchell: 1-4, HR (2), .179/.319/.321
LF Yosy Galan: 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 SB (7), .252/.352/.459

Down East took five of six and allowed only 2.9 runs per game against Houston’s affiliate. Victor Santos is the first Wood Duck starter to reach double-digit strikeouts.

Marcus Smith managed to steal three bases without a hit (0-3, walk, reached on fielder’s choice), tying him with Maximo Acosta for the team lead. Yosy Galan is batting .100/.229/.233 with a 40% strikeout rate in nine games since I touted him two weeks ago.

Today’s Starters
off

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock outhomered Nashville 4-0 but lost, and I wrote about Tyson Ross’s rehab start because this is the life I’ve chosen.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 14, at Albuquerque (COL) 3
Round Rock: 18 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 29-18, 1 G up

SP AJ Alexy: 5.1 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 93 P / 54 S, 6.39 ERA
CF Josh Smith: 4-6, 2 2B, 3B, .277/.380/.428
LF Steele Walker: 5-6, 3 2B, .297/.375/.500
1B Zach Reks: 1-4, HR (3), BB, .306/.404/.529
DH Nick Solak: 1-5, HR (3), .290/.333/.419
SS Ryan Dorow: 3-4, 2B, BB, .259/.338/.397

Josh Smith had a double, triple and single by the 4th. In a last chance at a cycle, Smith settled for a 393-ft. double. Smith doesn’t generate top-tier velocity. Of the team’s 106 balls off the bat at 104 MPH or better, Smith has just one. (Leody Taveras has 16, Bubba Thompson 10.) Smith compensates with a heavy dose of line drives and low flies at medium-high velocity. That and a keen eye have him succeeding in AAA despite only 111 pro games entering 2022.

Steele Walker was 5-5 with three doubles but flared out to left in his bid for a sixth.

In this environment, my only concern with AJ Alexy is his walk/HBP total, and he was… okay. 

AA: Frisco 10, San Antonio (SDG) 6
Frisco: 12 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 24-20, 1 G up

SP Zak Kent: 5 IP, 10 H (2 HR), 6 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 89 P / 63 S, 6.75 ERA
RP Jose Leclerc: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 1-3, HR (7), BB, SB (13), .304/.420/.539
1B Blaine Crim: 2-4, 2B, .308/.372/.564
C Matt Whatley: 2-4, 2 HR (2), .205/.225/.410
LF Kellen Strahm: 3-4, .182/.339/.239

After two outs to start the 7th, Frisco scored five to reclaim the lead. A loss would have removed them from first place for the first time all season.

JP Martinez has my support in his quest for a 20/20 season. Last year he was 5/20. I hold my faith that Kellen Strahm is not a .182 hitter.

Zak Kent had nine swinging strikes. His miss rate for the season is 8.4%, less than half of his 2021 figure. He’s also already five walks short of his total from last year.

High-A: Hickory 7, Winston-Salem (CHW) 3
Hickory: 6 hits, 9 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 26-18, 0.5 GB

SP Owen White: 6 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 91 P / 57 S, 4.99 ERA
RP Destin Dotson: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1.13 ERA
SS Luisangel Acuna: 1-4, HR (3), BB, .283/.389/.545
2B Keyber Rodriguez: 2-4, 2B, .299/.336/.418
3B Cody Freeman: 2-4, 2B, .239/.319/.405

Acuna briefly held a 3/4/5 slash line after homering in his first at-bat. That’s too much to ask going forward, I think, but he’s off to a fine start despite a hamstring injury.

Owen White’s walk rate is decent. His strikeout rate is strong. His homer rate is… not great. White has allowed two homers in three of eight starts. Several Hickory starters had multi-homer issues in 2021, and that trend has continued into this season. Hickory is a homer-friendly park, but not that friendly. Opponents are hitting .223/.297/.460.

Low-A: Down East 4, Fayetteville (HOU) 3
Down East: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 20-24, 5 GB

SP Mitchell Bratt: 4 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 8 SO, 64 P / 38 S, 3.60 ERA
RP Larson Kindreich: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 2.06 ERA
RP Leury Tejada: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 5.40 ERA
1B Tucker Mitchell: 2-4, 2 2B, .176/.322/.284
LF Daniel Mateo: 1-4, HR (2), .234/.291/.328

I don’t usually list ordinary, scoreless one-run outings, but congrats to Leury Tejada for a boring 9th after so many wild comebacks by the Wood Ducks and their opponents lately.

Tandem starters Bratt and Kindreich combined to strike out 15 of 34 batters.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Allard
AA: Slaten
Hi-A: Englert
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Deja vu: Rehabbing in Frisco, Jose Leclerc threw a scoreless 5th.In the 6th, Frisco allowed a team-record 13 runs. Both Shane McCain and Joe Filomeno gave up six without retiring a batter.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 9, at Albuquerque (COL) 12
Round Rock: 14 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 9 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 28-18, 1 G up

SP Jake Latz: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 4.99 ERA, 76 P / 47 S, 0.00 ERA
CF Bubba Thompson: 4-5, 2 HR (5), SB (25), .340/.350/.500
3B Josh Smith: 1-4, HR (4), BB, .261/.370/.392

After three days of relatively few runs, at last a score worthy of the location. Round Rock led 4-0, trailed 7-4, retied the game at nine, and then allowed three in the 8th. Bubba Thompson homered twice, but the altitude receives no credit, as he hit both balls 105 MPH at angles just below 30 degrees. Those will leave any park. True to form, Thompson also stole third, collected another bunt single, and did not walk.

Josh Smith’s homer was only the 15th-hardest of the night, but he angled it perfectly. Smith can get a hold of a pitch, but his expertise is softer liners that are nearly always hits, if not the extra-base variety. By my count, he has a team-leading 26 balls in play of that type with an .808 average.

Every reliever (Ryder Ryan, Tyson Miller, Hever Bueno, Demarcus Evans, Nick Snyder) had his issues. All but Bueno were walk-prone. Bueno was victimized by a difficult but arguably playable fly that Willie Calhoun turned into an unsightly triple.

AA: Frisco 2, San Antonio (SDG) 8
Frisco: 4 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 23-20, tied for first

SP Cole Ragans: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 79 P / 52 S, 3.15 ERA
RP Nick Starr: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1.74 ERA
DH Dustin Harris: 2-4, .250/.241/.431

Just after I’d written up Grant Anderson’s near-perfection since allowing three homers in Jack Leiter’s pro debut, he gave up four runs on his first homer since then plus several other hits. On Thursday, Chase Lee surrendered his first runs of the year.

High-A: Hickory 2, Winston-Salem (CHW) 5
Hickory: 7 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 25-18, 0.5 GB

SP Nick Krauth: 7 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 79 P / 56 S, 4.62 ERA
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 2-3, BB, .292/.331/.408
DH Chris Seise: 2-3, .224/.286/.405

Enlisted to protect a 2-0 lead in the 9th, Marc Church surrendered a homer after a single and rare walk. He’d worked the 8th without incident. Church has a 41% strikeout rate in May but has allowed five homers, one per nine batters faced.

Low-A: Down East 4, Fayetteville (HOU) 3
Down East: 5 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 19-24, 5.5 GB

SP Josh Stephan: 7 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 9 SO, 83 P / 63 S, 4.42 ERA
RP Jackson Leath: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 4.50 ERA
RP Theo McDowell: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.06 ERA
SS Maximo Acosta: 1-3, BB, .242/.342/.344
1B Abi Ortiz: 1-3, HR (3), BB, .192/.252/.303
2B Jose Acosta: 1-3, HR (2), .224/.318/.431

Drama in Kinston. Down a run with a runner on first, two out and a 2-1 count, Abimelec Ortiz fouled off three pitches and then connected on a game-ending homer. As a 19-year-old last summer, Ortiz led the Dominican Summer League with 11 homers and ranked second with a .581 slugging percentage. Last year, he had many more walks plus HBPs (42) than hits (30), but his walk and strikeout rates have moved the wrong directions so far in 2022.

Jackson Leath, heavily victimized early in his pro career, tossed a blissfully quiet 8th.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Alexy
AA: Kent
Hi-A: White
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas claimed Pete O’Brien off waivers from Cincinnati. Not the 59-year-old ex-Ranger. Younger Pete didn’t hit well and was lost on waivers three weeks later.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, at Albuquerque (COL) 5
Round Rock: 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 28-17, 1 G up

SP Spencer Howard: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 82 P / 48 S, 6.28 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 7.02 ERA
3B Josh Smith: 1-3, 2B, BB, .262/.369/.376

Howard’s changeup was his worst pitch in 2021. He dumped it this season and hasn’t attempted to revisit it in AAA. Fastball, cutters, curves.

Daniel Robert (1.2 IP, 4 R) collapsed in a second inning of work, walking four and unleashing two wild pitches. In the entirety of 2021, Robert walked five batters and had no wild pitches.

AA: Frisco 3, San Antonio (SDG) 7
Frisco: 6 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 23-19, 1 G up

SP Jack Leiter: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 92 P / 54 S, 5.90 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-4, HR (10), .307/.366/.567

Leiter needed 29 pitches to complete the 1st and surrendered two runs on two two-out hits, one of which never left the infield. Thereafter, he retired 12 of 13. The 92 pitches were a season high. Opponents are hitting just .235/.326/.313 against him, but the hits have come in concentrated spots, leading to the inflated ERA. Leiter’s strand rate of 43% is the worst in the system by a wide margin.

Crim has three more homers than anyone in the system. If Sam Huff is going to spend substantial time in the Majors, Crim is likely to lead the organization in homers for a second straight year.

High-A: Hickory 12, Winston-Salem (CHW) 5
Hickory: 12 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 25-18, 0.5 GB

SP Ben Anderson: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 72 P / 51 S, 3.03 ERA
RF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, HBP, .282/.440/.397
CF Jayce Easley: 2-3, HR (1), 2 BB, SB (2), .282/.364/.436
3B Keyber Rodriguez: 2-5, HR (4), SB (2), .283/.319/.402

Per Mark Parker, Anderson threw 19 first-pitch strikes to 24 batters and induced 14 grounded outs.

Jayce Easley has work to do to reach last year’s 70 steals, but he’s already tied his 2021 total of one homer. Aaron Zavala is hitting .377/.500/.507 in May.

Low-A: Down East 3, Fayetteville (HOU) 5 (10)
Down East: 7 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 0 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 18-24, 6 GB

SP Robby Ahlstrom: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 8 SO, 71 P / 50 S, 5.54 ERA
RP Damian Mendoza: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.90 ERA
1B Abi Ortiz: 2-4, HR (2), .188/.243/.271

Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa fanned four in two innings but allowed a homer in the 10th. His swinging strike rate of 22.1% is second in the system behind Marc Church.

All the runs against Ahlstrom scored after two out and none on, aided by an error and Ahlstrom’s own wild pitch on a strikeout.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Latz
AA: Ragans
Hi-A: Krauth
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
The Express won their sixth straight. They “were 17-26 just a few days ago, and let me tell you, old and bad AAA teams are no fun at all.” Round Rock had the second-oldest hitters and third-oldest pitchers in the 16-team league. Triple A can be that way sometimes, and I’ve been very appreciative to watch the younger, prospect-heavier squads in 2021-2022.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, at Albuquerque (COL) 3
Round Rock: 10 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 28-16, 0.5 G up
SP Cole Winn: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 SO, 95 P / 58 S, 5.31 ERA
LF Zach Reks: 3-4, HR (2), .301/.400/.507
DH Willie Calhoun: 2-4, HR (2), .224/.278/.347

Cole Winn carried a no-hitter into the 5th, struck out nine of 24 batters, The one, cheap run occurred resulted from a three-hit span in which two came off the bat at less than 70 MPH. Winn also walked four of the first 12 batters and had a fastball strike rate of 44% in that span.

Willie Calhoun’s batted ball stats in AAA are worrying, but his homer was not a product of Albuquerque’s thin air. Calhoun didn’t play in the previous three games.

Round Rock IL’ed infielder Davis Wendzel, who was pinch-run for in Sunday’s game.

I think 12 games over .500 is the most by Texas’s AAA squad since 2015.

AA: Frisco 1, San Antonio (SDG) 8 (7)
Frisco: 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts

SP Avery Weems: 3 IP, 5 H (3 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 59 P / 43 S, 7.62 ERA
RP Tai Tiedemann: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.56 ERA
RP Jose Leclerc: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 9.00 ERAIn his first post-TJ action, Jose Leclerc allowed a firm double on an elevated cut-change and a soft fly single on a high fastball. He also fanned two on those same pitches.

AA: Frisco 6, San Antonio (SDG) 1 (7)
Frisco: 6 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Record: 23-18, 2 G up

SP Cody Bradford: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 80 P / 50 S, 8.73 ERA
RP Grant Anderson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.54 ERA
RP Tim Brennan: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 1-3, HR (9), .301/.363/.548
3B Ezequiel Duran: 1-3, HR (7), .305/.355/.571
C David Garcia: 2-3, HR (4), .254/.312/.479
CF Josh Stowers: 1-2, 2B, SB (9), .240/.342/.360

Can’t say enough about Ezequiel Duran’s great start. He’s never hit this well outside of the Dominican Republic, and since last summer’s trade he’s spent most of his time at short. He won’t be playing there as a Ranger, of course, but competence at the position aids most courses the Rangers could take with him.

Blaine Crim has now played more games in Frisco (74) than Hickory (73) post-2020. He’s batted .295/.348/.537 in AA, a very slight dropoff from his .300/.372/.559 in high-A. His walk/HBP has dipped a little, and a couple of the high-A homers have turned into doubles. He’s still homering at nearly twice the league rate.

David Garcia has usually needed time to acclimate to a level and was hitting .193/.258/.316 just over a week ago. Whether he’s settling in or is just on a heater, he’s suddenly sporting a slugging percentage 40 points higher than his previous best.

Cody Bradford didn’t walk anyone, but three three-ball counts and 36 pitches in the 4th ended his night a little early. Since giving up three consecutive homers in relief of Jack Leiter’s pro debut, Grant Anderson has surrendered zero homers and two runs in 22 innings.

High-A: Hickory 2, Winston-Salem (CHW) 9
Hickory: 6 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Record: 24-18, 0.5 GB
SP Ricky Vanasco: 5 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 9 SO, 73 P / 55 S, 5.92 ERA
SS Thomas Saggese: 1-4, HR (3), .263/.313/.401

Winston-Salem knocked a few hard hits off Vanasco, but he fanned a season-high nine and reeled off a second-straight walk-free five innings.

Low-A: Down East 3, Fayetteville (HOU) 2
Down East: 3 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 18-23, 5 GB

SP Emiliano Teodo: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 61 P / 38 S, 2.86 ERA
RP Bradford Webb: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 4.97 ERA
RP Leury Tejada: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.63 ERA

Emiliano Teodo has allowed two extra-bases hits all season, and opponents are hitting .171/.323/.224. Down East scored two runs on a walk, a fielder’s (incorrect) choice, an error and a balk.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Howard
AA: Leiter
Hi-A: Anderson
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Ariel Jurado had a quintessential Ariel Jurado start: 6 IP, 5 runners, 2 runs, 5 strikeouts, 12 grounders vs. four flies. Battery mate Jose Trevino was 3-4.

We recorded a podcast this morning. We led with some discussion that you might disagree with or perhaps just don’t want to hear right now, but we’re three dads with five kids ranging from four to eleven years old. Plenty of baseball, too. Link in signature.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Tuesday 24 May
Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 8, at Albuquerque (COL) 3
Round Rock: 11 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 27-16, tied for first

SP Kolby Allard: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 68 P / 47 S, 3.97 ERA
RP Demarcus Evans: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.38 ERA
LF Bubba Thompson: 3-5, 3B, 2 SB (23), .329/.340/.445
SS Ryan Dorow: 2-3, BB, .238/.319/.386

Bubba Thompson’s 23 steals are the most in AAA by a wide margin and fifth-most in the minors. Thompson is also still sitting on two walks. He’s never been walk-inclined, but this is something else. He’s swinging at 57% of pitches, not Yohel Pozo territory (64%) but far above average. The extra swings aren’t creating weak contact, however, and also he has nine bunt singles.

AA: rain
Two today.

High-A: Hickory 2, Winston-Salem (CHW) 1 (7)
Hickory: 6 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts

SP TK Roby: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 80 P / 55 S, 6.40 ERA
RP Destin Dotson: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.50 ERA
1B Cristian Inoa: 1-2, HR (2), .274/.331/.395

No middle ground for TK Roby: three starts with one run or none, four with four or more. Roby hasn’t been nearly as effective as last year, but 2021 was limited to six short low-A outings and a lengthy rest to (successfully) avoid TJ surgery. That plus a 2020 lost to covid have pushed Roby into high-A with only 22 pro innings.

High-A: Hickory 5, at Winston-Salem (CHW) 0 (7)
Hickory: 8 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Record: 24-17, tied for first

SP Juan Mejia: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 9 P / 6 S, 5.51 ERA
RP John Matthews: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2.70 ERA
CF Jayce Easley: 2-4, .250/.314/.344
DH Trevor Hauver: 1-2, BB, .245/.406/.429
C Scott Kapers: 2-3, 2 HR, (5), .286/.321/.612

This was the makeup of a rainout at Winston-Salem, where the teams don’t meet again, so the Crawdads played as the road team in their own stadium. Trevor Hauver’s three-game homer streak ended, but he reached three times in six trips to the plate. Jayce Easley led the minors last year with 70 steals. In 2022, he has one and has been caught twice. He’s only played eight games.

Low-A: Down East 4, Fayetteville (HOU) 3 (10)
Down East: 9 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 17-23, 5.5 GB

SP Gavin Collyer: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 80 P / 46 S, 4.13 ERA
RP Theo McDowell: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.24 ERA
RP Nick Lockhart: 1 IP, 0 H (1 HR), 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.40 ERA
2B Cam Cauley: 2-5, .152/.204/.174
CF Daniel Mateo: 2-4, .233/.295/.310
C Efrenyer Narvaez: 2-4, .194/.255/.301

Jackson Leath, who allowed last week’s walk-off grand slam, gave up two 9th-inning runs before recording an out. The gift-runner would also score off him in the 10th, but Down East plated two via a bases-loaded walk from Alejandro Osuna and single from Cam Cauley. Control has always been an issue for Gavin Collyer, but giving up hits has not, and he worked around four walks.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Winn
AA: Weems / Bradford
Hi-A: Vanasco
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
IKF was 3-9 with a triple and walk, and Jose Trevino homered during a doubleheader sweep at NW Arkansas.