Category: Daily Report

Teodo Time

The Rangers placed reliever Chris Martin on the IL and have recalled righty Emiliano Teodo. 

Jose Corniell threw 50 pitches two days ago, but Winston Santos is on four days rest. Luis Curvelo is on just one day of rest after 28 pitches, but Teodo threw 22 pitches the same day. Choices are limited and undesirable, but Teodo does read as a choice, not the only option.

Teodo’s slider is borderline unhittable. Averaging 90 MPH, it misses bats 40% of the time including 27% in the zone and 56% outside. On plate appearances that conclude with a slider, opponents have a 40% strikeout rate, and the contact isn’t much, just a ,235 average and .441 slug even when ignoring all the strikeouts. 

Teodo also offers a sinker that has reached 103.3 MPH. That was on what I think was a hot gun in El Paso, but suffice to say he can sit 100, not just touch it. His miss rates are also above average, 14% on all swings vs. 11% of sinkers league-wide. When it’s on, he looks like an MLB closer. 

Here’s the problem. For most of the season, Teodo has been unable to locate that sinker with any consistency. It’s catching the zone only 38% of the time (league average is 53%), and the opposing swing rate is is only 34% (league is 44%). Much of the time, opposing hitters don’t have to worry about it, creating ugly downstream effects on his slider and change. I saw this with Marc Church, I’ve seen it with Teodo, I’m seeing it with Wilian Bormie. The fastball doesn’t have to be the best pitch, it doesn’t even have to be better than average, but it has to be functional or everything breaks down. Teodo’s lovely slider is sitting out there all by itself, and that’s not enough in AAA, much less the Majors. 

Below is a chart comparing Teodo to a set of MLB pitchers who have thrown at least 250 pitches this year and tend to be fastball/slider types. The fastball can be four or two-seam, and the slider can be a sweeper, but I’m looking at guys who throw substantial percentages of both general types and at least 80% in sum. 

Don’t worry about correlation between fastball and slider zone rate. The point is that Teodo is on an island in terms of fastball zone rate or perhaps sharing the island with San Francisco’s Matt Gate, who has 17 walks and a 5.60 ERA in 27 innings. Most of these pitchers have a zone rate of 48% or better. 

As for Teodo’s change, it’s fine in isolation, but he’s thrown only 47 of them all season, and I can’t blame him. A changeup needs a fastball for a friend, and his fastball is being a jerk. Teodo also had a stretch in which he threw some four-seamers but none since early May. 

Teodo had a month-long stretch in which he put everything together, and a call-up seemed imminent, especially after back-to-back appearances on May 29-30. That period is over. Teodo has walked or hit a batter in eight consecutive outings, and his strike rate in this span is 53%. Nobody with that strike rate in MLB succeeds for long. For the season, he’s issued a walk or hit batter in 26 of 35 appearances, and his overall BB+HBP rate is 23%. 

To answer the “is he ready” question, no, I think not, but can we count on Santos or Curvelo being better at this moment? Teodo might fan the side on 15 pitches. He also might hit two batters in five pitches. Who knows. With four off-days upcoming, Teodo could see little to no action before being optioned. 

Draft Review?

Sorry, I’m going to be lame and delay my review of Texas’s draft picks until tomorrow. I lost my initial writeup of yesterday’s picks to a computer meltdown, and I wanted to get a report on Teodo out in timely fashion. Locations for everyone I previewed yesterday:

8. PIT – OF Derek Curiel
12. LAA — RHP/OF Jared Grindlinger
13. STL – OF Trevor Condon
16. TEX – LHP Gio Rojas
18. CIN – SS Justin Lebron
19. CLE – RHP Liam Peterson
30. KAN – RHP Taylor Rabe
35. NYY –  LHP Hunter Dietz
38. COL – RHP Logan Reddeman

I don’t think “Rockies in Round 2” is what Logan Reddeman had in mind. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 2, at Reno (ARI) 8
Round Rock: 6 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 8-9, 4 GB, 39-53 overall

SP Spencer Adams: 4 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 74 P / 39 S, 9.82 ERA
2B John Taylor: 2-4, 3B, .354/.446/.633

Taylor tripled to the right-center gap at 109.9 MPH, the second-hardest ball in play by an Express hitter in 2026. First is the departed Blaine Crim, who singled at 111.7. The league has 147 instances of balls hit 110 or harder, led by Zac Veen with ten. 

AA: Frisco 8, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 11
Frisco: 13 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 9 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 9-8, 2 GB, 48-37 overall

SP Dylan MacLean: 3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 59 P / 35 S, 4.69 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-5, 2B, .274/.355/.441
1B Arturo Disla: 2-4, 3B, HR (8), BB, .278/.365/.489
C Malcolm Moore: 2-4, 2B, HBP, .236/.309/.472
RF Keith Jones II: 1-3, HR (), .227/.337/.406

Whew. Frisco trailed 3-0 early and 6-3 after seven but took an 8-6 lead to the 9th. Joey Danielson didn’t retire anyone, allowing two singles, a double, an intentional walk and walk-off grand slam. Usually I’d have some caveat about the earlier hits against Danielson being annoyingly cheap, but no, the Hooks really had him figured out last night. Danielson’s control in Frisco (12.2% BB+HBP) has been okay relative to the league and better than his time in Hub City (17.2%), but at times he’s been hittable. 

Hi-A: Hub City 3, Bowling Green (TAM) 2 (10)
Hub City: 7 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 6-14, 7 GB, 40-46 overall

SP AJ Russell: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 54 P / 30 S, 2.38 ERA
LF Yeison Morrobel: 2-4, HR (14), .297/.370/.497

Hub City finally took one from the Hot Rods. To begin the 10th, manager Carlos Maldonado used speedy Chandler Pollard to pinch-run for catcher Arturo De Freitas (a recent free-agent signing). The move paid off immediately, as Pollard advanced to third on a wild pitch and was able to beat the throw home on a medium flyout to center.

AJ Russell has walked eight of 38 batters (21%) in three starts since moving to Hub City. 

Lo-A: Hickory 13, at Augusta (ATL) 4
Hickory: 9 hits, 14 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 14-5, 1 G up, 48-35 overall

SP Aidan Deakins: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 86 P / 51 S, 2.47 ERA
LF Paulino Santana: 1-3, 2B, 3 BB, .248/.381/.402
C Sebastian Baquera: 1-3, HR (2), 2 BB, HBP, .258/.356/.387

Hickory regained the division lead and will hit the break with no worse than a share of first. The Dads had only two extra-base hits. Augusta’s six pitchers combined for 105 strikes and 112 balls and issued a balk, two wild pitches and two hit batters in addition to the 14 walks. The GreenJackets also committed five errors. Just a fun day all around. 

Elsewhere
The Nationals have called up 1B Abimelec Ortiz form AAA Rochester, where he was batting .235/.332/.481 with 16 homers in 71 games. Aside from the power, it’s honestly a pretty light line. Ortiz isn’t striking out much,and his exit velocities are swell, but he’s hitting just .303 on contact and .234 on balls requiring fielders. His average on grounders is just .178 compared to the league rate of .255. Maybe he’s a little unlucky, but he’s also not the fastest runner. 

Boston designated reliever Danny Coulombe for assignment. Coulombe had a not-terrible 4.50 ERA but 15 walks versus just 10 strikeouts in 22 innings. This isn’t 1950, so that ratio won’t work. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas chose RHP Jack Leiter with the second pick in the draft. 

Draft Preview
The draft begins today at noon CDT with picks 1-10 on NBC/Peacock, 11-40 on MLB Network and 41-135 on MLB.com. Tomorrow resumes with rounds 5-20 at 10:30am. 

Every year, I try to provide a summary of possible choices, but to be honest, there’s only so many hours in the day, so I tend not to study players closely until they’ve been chosen by Texas. Also, the Rangers are picking 16th within what appears to be a large and tricky set of potential mid-round choices. 

Last year, I previewed eight players, none of whom became Texas’s eventual selection. Still, I like to provide some information, both to educate myself and create a list for review down the road. Everyone discussed below was named in some publication’s mock draft during the past two months. 

RHP Liam Peterson (Age 21.1, Florida)
Baseball America mocks 6, 5 and 4
ESPN final mock

Peterson has an enviable frame with a high release. His fastball sits mid-90s and has touched triple digits. He does come across as someone who needs more developmental help than the typical highly regarded three-year SEC guy. He’s still trying to figure out his mechanics, his actual performance was a little underwhelming, and his secondaries beyond the slider are playing catch-up. As to whether the Rangers are the organization to provide that help, a strong point in their favor is Alejandro Rosario, who flourished upon joining the Rangers until his elbow betrayed him. 

RHP/OF Jared Grindlinger (Age 17.2, Huntington Beach, CA)
MLB Pipeline mock 7/2
Athletic mocks 3 and 2

Even though he’s 6’3” and 185, Grindlinger looks boyish to me after watching videos of mature college pitchers. So he is, to an extent, and that’s much of the appeal. He’s already impressive and has plenty of room to grow into something even better. I’ve read differing opinions on whether pitching or batting is in future. He has a truly legit changeup, uncommon for his age, along with a mid-90s fastball and slider. At the plate, his contact skill is elite, but he is a 1B/COF type, so the bat must play. 

LHP Gio Rojas (Age 19.0, Parkland, FL)
Baseball America final mock (7)

After putting Peterson in Texas for multiple mocks, Baseball America sent him to the Angels at #12 in their final version. Rojas is old for a high schooler but that doesn’t bother me much. He owns a clean delivery, a solid mid-90s heater and bat-missing sweeper. The change is a work in progress. 

LHP Hunter Dietz (Age 21.4, Arkansas)
FanGraphs

Dietz leaves college with only 87.1 innings on his ledger, 85.2 of which occurred this season. Elongated recovery from a stress fracture in his elbow cost him nearly all of his first two seasons. He sits mid-90s with a mean cutter, plus a slider, curve and change that carry less of the load. 

RHP Taylor Rabe (Age 21.8, Mississippi)
Athletic final mock

Like Dietz, Rabe lacks much of a college track record prior to 2026. He offers a slightly harder fastball than Dietz and a similarly angry cutter, while the slider and change could use some work. He walked only 15 in 76 innings and fanned 105. 

SS Justin Lebron (Age 21.6, Alabama)
Baseball America staff mock 3
MLB Pipeline mock 6/25 and 6/11
Athletic mock 1
CBS mock 6/26

A tough choice. Athletic as they come, a genuine shortstop and the power to play a corner. As a junior, he had a weirdly poor showing in conference play, just .229/.328/.413 with eight walks and 27 strikeouts in 28 games (and I found two sources, because I initially thought that line was a typo). The SEC is an elite conference, of course, but if college breakers are eating him up, what have we got?

RHP Logan Reddemann (Age 21.2, UCLA)
ESPN mock 3 and 2

Also a tough choice. Potentially a top-ten pick early on, he was shut down with arm fatigue after ten starts and showed lesser velocity in recent workouts. When healthy and in form, he offers a mid-90s fastball and full collection of respectable secondaries. His control is elite. 

OF Derek Curiel (Age 21.1, LSU)
Baseball America staff mock 2
CBS mock 6/12

Leaning into the negatives will have you thinking he’s a left fielder with no power. Pass. The positives indicate a leadoff hitter who plays center. Sign me up. Curiel’s contact is top-notch, and some traits and analytics suggest just enough power is forthcoming. Seemingly a safe pick if not one with huge upside. 

OF Trevor Condon (Age 18.5, Woodstock, GA)
Baseball America staff mock 4

Younger brother of Colorado’s Charlie, who spent last week pummeling Texas farmhands in Round Rock. Trevor is six inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than his brother, and he’s unlikely to homer every fourth day in AAA, but he hits beyond his size and is somewhere between a solid and blazing runner depending on who you read.  

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, at Reno (ARI) 8
Round Rock: 12 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts
Record: 8-8, 3 GB, 39-52 overall

SP Jose Corniell: 1.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 5 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 50 P / 29 S, 6.37 ERA
RP Luis Curvelo: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 8.20 ERA

The Express scored five in the 1st, but you can’t beat the house in Reno. Corniell, Emiliano Teodo and Wilian Bormie combined for 100 pitches to complete just four innings. Bormie in particular couldn’t direct his fastball at all, missing (often badly) on ten of 12. Diego Castillo, Jonah Bride, Josh Smith and Austin Wynns had two hits. 

Righty Chris Paddack signed with Korea’s Samsung club. Perhaps soon he’ll face Blaine Crim, who’s currently hitting .353/.455/.353 in five games for NC Dinos.


AA: Frisco 1, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 6
Frisco: 3 hits, 0 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 1 strikeout
Record: 9-7, 2 GB, 48-36 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 5 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 80 P / 49 S, 4.96 ERA

Frisco was quiet after winning the first three games of the series. 


Hi-A: Hub City 2, Bowling Green (TAM) 4 (7)
Hub City: 3 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 5-14, 7 GB, 39-46 overall

SP Joe Adametz: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 89 P / 56 S, 4.53 ERA
DH Hector Osorio: 1-3, HR (7), .282/.386/.500
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-3, HR (13), .234/.334/.430

A two-hour opening delay plus additional rain shortened this to seven innings, so Aidan Smith’s score-untying homer off Luke Savage with two out in the 7th proved fatal. Hector Osorio is up to 20 homers on the season. I sure didn’t see that coming. 


Lo-A: Hickory 8, at Augusta (ATL) 7
Hickory: 9 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 13-5, tied for first, 47-35 overall

SP Daniel Keaney: 5 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 3 SO, 78 P / 48 S, 4.26 ERA
RP Jake Jekielek: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 4.66 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 3-4, 2B, 3B, BB, .288/.399/.408
LF Angel Arredondo: 1-4, 2B, BB, .272/.388/.400

The Crawdads stopped their skid to reclaim a portion of first place. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Voth (vs Mitch Bratt)
AA: MacLean
Hi-A: russell
Lo-A: Deakins

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock’s Curtis Terry hit homers 14 and 15. 20-year-old Emiliano Teodo had 13 strikeouts and eight walks in 6.1 innings. Most recently, he mixed a 98-99 fastball and a curve that reached 84. Next year, I’m going to discuss his curve reaching 90 (and yes, it was still a curve). 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, at Reno (ARI) 12
Round Rock: 9 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 19 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 8-7, 2 GB, 39-51 overall

SP Nolan Kingham: 4 IP, 8 H (3 HR), 7 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 68 P / 42 S, 8.41 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 5.40 ERA
1B John Taylor: 1-5, HR (6), .235/.370/.469

Ryan Lobus had an interesting night. All four balls in play were hits, hard hits at that. All five outs were strikeouts, swinging at that, and he missed 12 bats out of 25 swings, mostly with a four-seamer. Perhaps because the altitude trimming a little action off his pitches, his four-seamer movement was in a zone hardly ever seen, averaging just eight inches of induced vertical break and five inches of run. It’s like he added a tablespoons of sinker and cutter to his four-seamer recipe. My last in-person viewing was nothing to write about, but at times he’s looked the part. Lobus was undrafted out of Macon and and is a longshot at best to make the 40 this fall, but he does have a chance. 


AA: Frisco 5, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 2
Frisco: 10 hits, 6 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 9-6, 2 GB, 48-35 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 5.1 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 10 SO, 80 P / 49 S, 2.51 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-5, 2 2B, .272/.356/.441
2B Max Wagner: 2-4, HR (11), .254/.355/.537

Dalton Pence reached ten strikeouts for the second time in his pro career. We’ll see what happens, but it’s been a pleasure to see him and the Rangers make a persuasive case as a starter. Baseball America understandably deemed him a “straight reliever prospect” out of college. He had more than one pitch but leaned very heavily on his high-rise fastball because it was so effective (and still is against AA competition). The secondaries are catching up, and he throws strikes. 


Hi-A: Hub City 8, Bowling Green (TAM) 10
Hub City: 8 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 9 walks, 18 strikeouts
Record: 5-12, 7 GB, 39-44 overall

SP David Davalillo: 2.1 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 5 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 56 P / 34 S, 15.43 ERA
DH Yeison Morrobel: 1-5, HR (13), .297/.372/.491
CF Hector Osorio: 2-4, HR (6), .280/.388/.477
RF Maxton Martin: 2-4, 2 HR (13), .246/.306/.464

After some time in Arizona including one strong appearance for the rookies, David Davalillo appeared in a full-season game for the first time in nearly a month. He’d been pulled from his AAA assignment after suffering an utterly unforeseen loss of control. 

Davalillo began with a quick comebacker and a strikeout of top-100 prospect Nathan Flewelling but then walked two on nine pitches before finishing the frame with another strikeout. In the 2nd and 3rd, the defense wasn’t always acting in his best interest, but his ability to land his pitch in a region, much less a spot, varied wildly. His strike rate was 60%, not great but acceptable under the circumstances, but a good many pitches were simply uncompetitive, just not anything a pro hitter would ever chase. As I’ve mentioned, he’s not suffering from the yips. His situation reminds me of Cole Winn back in the day, especially in low-A, where mechanics and control disappeared and reappeared at random and every pitch was an ordeal. He didn’t look happy out there, and I don’t blame him. This is going to be a process. 


Lo-A: Hickory 5, at Augusta (ATL) 7
Hickory: 5 hits, 7 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 12-5, 1 GB, 46-35 overall

SP Jesus Lafalaise: 5 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 9 SO, 84 P / 49 S, 4.45 ERA
DH Pablo Guerrero: 1-3, BB

Augusta flipped the standings in just three days, and Hickory suddenly trails despite a 12-5 record. Jesus Lafalaise fanned a career-high nine, but normally reliable Jormy Nivar (0.2 IP, 4 R) and Michael Trausch (1 IP, 2 R) weren’t in top form. Augusta also has a very strong offense. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Corniell
AA: Anderson
Hi-A: Adametz
Lo-A: Keaney

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Mock draft predictions:
RHP Jack Leiter (Vanderbilt): MLB.com (Jim Callis), ESPN (Kiley McDaniel), FanGraphs (Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein), Perfect Game (staff), Sporting News (Edward Sutelan), Fansided (Mark Powell)
RHP Kumar Rocker (Vanderbilt): The Athletic (Keith Law)
SS Jordan Lawlar (HS, Dallas): Baseball America (Carlos Collazo), CBS Sports (Mike Axisa)

I will have a brief draft preview tomorrow.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 13, at Reno (ARI) 14
Round Rock: 19 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 8 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 8-6, 2 GB, 39-50 overall

SP Marco Gonzales: 2 IP, 8 H (2 HR), 7 R, 2 BB, 0 SO, 50 P / 29 S, 8.69 ERA
RP Josh Stephan: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 5.53 ERA
LF Jarred Kelenic: 4-5, 2B, HR (4), BB, SB (4), .366/.451/.662
2B John Taylor: 5-6, SB (5), .237/.377/.452
LF Trevor Hauver: 3-5, .254/.381/.377
RF Gilberto Celestino: 3-5, HR (3), .281/.370/.401

Round Rock trailed 8-4, then led 13-8, then lost. Josh Sborz surrendered an 8th-inning grand slam to Angel Ortiz. In the 9th, Austin Roberts hit the zone on just one of 12 pitches, surrendering a hard double and three walks (one intentional) to bring home the winning run. Roberts had just been deservedly promoted from AA Frisco, where he struck out 58 in 38.1 innings and posted a 3,05 ERA. Control isn’t his specialty, but he hadn’t suffered an outing like this all season. 

Jarred Kelenic had a fine day but also the temerity to draw a walk with two out in the 9th literally as I was researching the most hits in a game without a walk by a Texas AAA team. The answer (2005-present) is and remains 18 back in 2007. 

Marco Gonzales has allowed more runs than innings pitched in six of 16 appearances. I actually expected him to continue beyond the second because it’s Reno, he’s 34 and was only at 50 pitches. 


AA: Frisco 8, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 3
Frisco: 11 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 8-6, 2 GB,  47-35 overall

SP Blake Townsend: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 8 SO, 94 P / 64 S, 5.26 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.03 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 3.33 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 3-4, HR (8), .331/.434/.653
C Malcolm Moore: 1-4, HR (4), BB, .231/.301/.477
2B Max Wagner: 2-4, HR (10), .246/.351/.515

In the 2nd, Malcolm Moore golfed an 0-2 breaker deep to right-center. As part of a seven-run 8th, Rafe Perich sneaked a fly just inside the pole and over the short fence in right, and Max Wagner added a three-run shot. 

Moore has two homers in July but is otherwise enduring his first fallow period of 2026 including an extreme rise in strikeouts, which had never been an issue for him as a pro even when he wasn’t hitting well. He’s fanned in 13 of 25 July plate appearances. 


Hi-A: Hub City 2, Bowling Green (TAM) 8
Hub City: 9 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 5-11, 6 GB, 39-43 overall

SP Izack Tiger: 1.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 41 P / 23 S, 14.14 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 2.31 ERA
SS Luke Hanson: 1-5, HR (12), .251/.322/.433
CF Hector Osorio: 2-3, BB, .272/.384/.447
1B Maxton Martin: 2-4, SB (11), .242/.304/.442

Izack Tiger had a spotless 1st but ran into trouble in the 2nd, walking two and watching several fastballs return fairly sharply into the outfield (plus one annoying broken-bat bloop). 

Owen Proksch stranded three Tiger runners and fanned a career-best seven including his last five opponents in a row. Nine of 16 swings against him came up empty. Proksch isn’t blowing anyone away with his sweeper, fastball and occasional change, but batters have no idea what’s coming and are baited into comically poor swings. 


Lo-A: Hickory 7, at Augusta (ATL) 8
Hickory: 14 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 12-4, tied for first, 46-34 overall

SP Moises Morales: 4.1 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 73 P / 43 S, 4.04 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.25 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-6, SB (37), .283/.393/.397
DH Paulino Santana: 1-6, HR (9), .247/.377/.403
1B Pablo Guerrero: 2-3, 2 BB
3B Angel Arredondo: 3-4, 2B, BB, .248/.394/.404
C Sebastian Baquera: 3-5, HR (1), .288/.356/.385

Hickory again put several more runners aboard than Augusta to no avail. Pablo Guererro is back in action. Son of Vlad has had a rough couple of seasons in low-A but doesn’t turn 20 until the end of the month. 

Elsewhere
Low-A Ontario defeated Inland Empire 22-21. Both teams had 11-run innings, and Ontario led 16-0 after the 3rd and never trailed but had to endure eight opposing batters representing the tying or go-ahead run. The teams combined for 33 hits, 20 walks, four hit batters, six steals (none caught), ten wild pitches and six errors. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Kingham
AA: Pence
Hi-A: TBD
Lo-A: Lafalaise

Five Years Ago Yesterday
I mentioned high-A Hickory’s Blaine Crim (.275/.333/.483) as a potential promotion candidate with the caveat that “the idea… may exist nowhere outside my head.” He’d reach Frisco in early August. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 14, at Reno (ARI) 9
Round Rock: 15 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 8-5, 2 GB, 39-49 overall

SP Jordan Montgomery: 3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 40 P / 26 S, 3.60 ERA
RP Winston Santos: 3 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 6 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 18.00 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.19 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 3.60 ERA
LF Jarred Kelenic: 3-4, 2 2B, HBP, .333/.421/.591
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 3-5, HR (6), .220/.314/.440

Jordan Montgomery threw one more inning and one more pitch than his previous start. I’m unsure whether venturing into the 4th was possible, but Round Rock’s eight-run, 26-minute top of the 4th banished that idea. His most common pitch, the sinker, was up a full tick over his previous start, albeit still below his heyday level. Montgomery wins with a broad mix, control and command, so he’s not in a Josh Sborz situation, but at the same time, we don’t want a Dallas Keuchel situation in which velocity is so degraded that even pinpoint command won’t suffice.

Winston Santos made his third career appearance above AA and relied very heavily on a four-seamer ranging from 95.7 to 99, but of his other 26 pitches, 16 were balls and two were taken deep. He and Luis Curvelo (one out, three runs) very nearly squandered a 10-0 lead. Wilian Bormie entered with one out in the 7th and the tying run at third and was able to escape, and the Express added four in the 9th. 


AA: Frisco 3, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 2
Frisco: 7 hits, 3 walks, 15 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 2 walks, 18 strikeouts
Record: 7-6, 2 GB, 39-29 overall

SP Aidan Curry: 6 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 12 SO, 95 P / 63 S, 6.08 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 6.90 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 3-4, 2B, HR (7), .316/.420/.624
1B Arturo Disla: 1-3, 2B, BB, .283/.366/.476
DH Keith Jones II: 1-3, 3B, BB, .229/.344/.404

Aidan Curry’s strikeout record of 11 lasted exactly one start. Curry’s first eight and final three outs of the night were Ks, and all but one were swinging. He missed 18 bats and also got 24 calls. Opponents are hitting .241/.310/.426 against him in AA, which is to say he’s squelched the walks but not the power. Hard contact is an occasional problem, and all three hits against him last night were for extra bases. He does own a 6.08 ERA in AA because that contact sometimes comes in bunches. 

Despite an expanded and genuinely useful repertoire, he still might lack the control to start in the long run, but for now, just being able to credibly discuss an MLB future is amazing. After 2024 and 2025, he was in danger of disappearing from the radar, and I’m sure I’ve had that thought more than once. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline have been out of the Curry business since the end of 2024. In the last couple of months, Fangraphs ranked him 25th in the system and Jamey Newberg 24th. I tie myself into too many knots trying to rank guys, but had I done so in Newbergian fashion (a top 72), I would’ve had Curry somewhere around 50th (as opposed to ignored) during the offseason because of his raw stuff and high K rate. Curry signed in June 2020 after failing through the truncated MLB draft. This is his walk year, but he’s giving the front office reason to delay that. 

Josh Trentadue put everything together as well. Corpus Christi does rank second in the league in strikeouts, but they’re not far below average in runs scored. 


Hi-A: Hub City 2, Bowling Green (TAM) 4
Hub City: 7 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 5-10, 6 GB, 39-42 overall

SP Enrique Segura: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 SO, 61 P / 42 S, 7.41 ERA
RP J’Briell Easley: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5.19 ERA
RP Case Matter: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 9.00 ERA
LF Yeison Morrobel: 1-4, HR (12), .303/.377/.493
RF Maxton Martin: 2-4, 2B, .238/.301/.441
SS Luke Hanson: 2-4, 2 SB (9), .252/.325/.426

Enrique Segura hasn’t had a fun year, but credit him for a very strong outing against the Hot Rods, who are best in the league at avoiding strikeouts and transforming contact into hits. 


Lo-A: Hickory 3, at Augusta (ATL) 6
Hickory: 9 hits, 9 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 12-3, 1 G up, 46-33 overall

SP Aneudis Mejia: 2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 35 P / 22 S, 6.55 ERA
RP Jake Jekielek: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 5.00 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-4, 2B, BB, SB (36), .282/.394/.398
CF Marco Argudin: 3-3, 2 BB, .296/.438/.420
3B Angel Arredondo: 1-3, 2 BB, .240/.387/.394

Hickory couldn’t take enough advantage of 19 baserunners compared to Augusta’s 13. In the 1st, 3rd and 5th, Marco Argudin reached safely only to be erased on a Paulino Santana double play. In the 9th, Santana barely beat out what would have been a fourth GIDP. Not infrequently, a batter’s strong production in Arizona doesn’t make the trip to low-A, but 20-year-old Marco Argudin has been the squad’s best hitter since joining a month ago. 

Arizona
Joining the rookies in Surprise are IF/OF Casey Cook, 2025’s third-round pick and on the shelf all season, and oft-injured reliever Marc Church, who lost his 40 spot earlier this season. Cook homered and walked in four trips to the plate, while Church fanned two and allowed a hit in a scoreless frame. 19-year-old starter Seong-Jun Kim had one of his lesser outings on the mound (1.2 IP, 6 runners, 3 runs) but has excelled at the plate, hitting .321/.421/.528 with four homers and nine other extra-base hits in 38 games. 

DSL
One of Texas’s two Dominican Summer League squads lost 19-10 yesterday. The teams combined for 22 walks and hit batters and 20 strikeouts. The DSL understandably has a much higher walk rate than any other level, but 2026 has reached a new level. The league has more combined walks and hit batters (9,765) than strikeouts (9,722). 

Graphically, we can see that after nearly two decades of aloofness, the rates of BB+HBP and SO have finally decided to smooch.



Today’s Starters
AAA: Gonzales
AA: Townsend
Hi-A: Tiger
Lo-A: Morales

Five Years Ago Yesterday
I noted Marc Church’s 25% swinging-strike rate was the highest in the system. Cole Winn pitched just one inning for Frisco in anticipation of the possibility of a Futures Game appearance. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, Albuquerque (COL) 7
Round Rock: 6 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 7-5, 2 GB, 38-49 overall

SP Austin Voth: 5 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 74 P / 53 S, 7.20 ERA
DH Aaron Zavala: 1-3, HR (6), BB, .269/.357/.434
3B John Taylor: 1-4, HR (5), .195/.352/.425

Newcomer Austin Voth surrendered a homer to Zac Veen on his third pitch but retired the next 12 straight. He was cruising to a fine Round Rock debut until the third-time-through-the-order penalty hit in the form of another Veen homer and two other singles. The performance matched his resume. He’s homer-prone but throws strikes and can miss a bat. I suppose he’s in the mix as an emergency starter call-up. 

Scout’s honor, my daughter and I called shots yesterday, sort of:

Daughter: “He [John Talyor] needs to homer so we can take the lead.”
Taylor: [home run]

Daughter (after an ABQ stolen base): “If he scores we’ll still be ahead 3-2.”
Me: Yes, but if this guy [Zac Veen] goes deep again, we’ll be tied.”
Zac Veen: [home run]

Pittsburgh released IF Davis Wendzel. The Bucs bought his contract from AAA in early June, and he had four hitless appearances before rejoining Indianapolis.

Round Rock split the series with Albuquerque and heads to Arizona-affiliated Reno this week.


AA: Frisco 8, Midland (ATH) 7
Frisco: 13 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 6 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 6-6, 2 GB, 45-35 overall

SP Dylan MacLean: 5 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 89 P / 57 S, 4.50 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 3-4, 2B, BB, .301/.410/.584
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, 2B, BB, .274/.359/.444
1B Arturo Disla: 1-3, 2 BB, .282/.364/.472
DH Ian Moller: 2-4, 2B, .229/.339/.438

Perich’s eight-game homer drought is his longest since 13 to begin the season, but he has three singles, six doubles and seven walks in that span. 

Frisco and Midland shared the honors last week. Midland leads the second half division race and was as likely as Frisco to win the first until a late collapse. 


Hi-A: Hub City 8, at Asheville (HOU) 11
Hub City: 13 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 9 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 5-10, 5 GB, 39-42 overall

SP D.J. McCarty: 2.2 IP, 3 H (2 HR), 7 R, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 64 P / 31 S, 5.96 ERA
RP Jesus Gamez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.13 ERA
LF Chandler Pollard: 3-6, SB (17), .238/.330/.343
CF Hector Osorio: 3-5, BB, .258/.376/.443
RF Maxton Martin: 3-5, 2 HR (11), BB, .235/.299/.437

Max Martin had a fun week, reaching 14 times and clubbing four homers in six games. 

Since the beginning of May, Hub City’s pitchers lead all of high-A with 348 walks allowed, exactly six per game. Converted batter Jesus Gamez has the system’s third-best K rate of 37% (barely behind AJ Russell and Eric Loomis) but also the worst walk rate of 24%. 

Hub City lost five of six in Asheville and was outscored by 21. The task becomes no easier this week, as Hub City hosts 55-25 Bowling Green.


Lo-A: Hickory 3, at Myrtle Beach (CHC) 2
Hickory: 3 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 12-3, 2 G up, 46-33 overall

SP Evan Siary: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 66 P / 45 S, 3.70 ERA
RP Wily Villar: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.13 ERA

Hickory took four of six In SC, allowing just 3.3 runs per game. Given the overlap in names between high-A and low-A, you’d think the walk rates of Hub City and Hickory might run close together, but Hickory has the fifth-fewest walks in low-A since the beginning of May. Evan Siary gets credit for some of that, as he’s spent the whole year with Hickory and has walked just five in his last eight starts. The 2025 eighth-rounder has occasionally been homer-prone and owns a 19% K rate, ight by current standards. 

Like Saturday, the Crawdads were heavily sac-fly-reliant for runs, which is fine but gives me little to report. 

This week, Hickory visits Augusta, closest to Hickory in the second half with a 10-5 record. 

Ten Years Ago Yesterday
Five years ago was boring. Ten years ago I wrote the following: “I noticed that none of Round Rock’s first eight starting pitchers were still with the squad (Nick Martinez, Cesar Ramos, Nick Tepesch, Anthony Ranaudo, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Phil Klein, Chad Bell, Michael Roth). The current rotation was, more-or-less: Kyle Loshe (who would actually head to Arlington and never see Round Rock again, thank goodness), Eric Surkamp (just claimed off waivers), Richelson Pena (22, scant experience above high-A), Jose Monegro (the “we need a guy” guy for several years), and Jimmy Reyes (eight starts in six pro seasons).”

I bring this up in reference to the recent Athletic story “MLB farm systems were key to development, depth. Now, minor leagues struggle to adapt” ($ link). In it were a litany of issues related to the hard organization-wide player limits: younger rosters, promotions based on reasons other than performance, less room for AAA veteran depth, game-day crunches caused by AAA pitchers held out as possible MLB reinforcement, position players pitching, lack of arms at the complexes, a sink-or-swim mentality forcing out slow developers, general decline in quality, roster churn, etc. 

Not that I disagree with anything written, but at the same time, I’ve been covering the minors for 20 years, and feel I’ve been hearing similar complaints the entire time. Round Rock’s on-the-fly rotation isn’t anything new. I would have to do some research and couldn’t say for other clubs, but I feel the Rangers are actually using fewer position players on the mound now than during the late 2010s. A sea change in the game, declining pitcher workloads, was well underway years before the current system was enacted. 

One greatly beneficial change that partly mitigates the org-wide roster limit is larger rosters at each level. When I started, AAA was limited to 24 players, the other full-season squads to 25. Now, limits are 28 in AA/AAA and 30 in the the A levels. Also, there was no “development list” where players could be temporarily parked. A minor injury might result in a seven-day IL stint because the squad couldn’t handle even two or three days of unavailability. Roster rules were pointlessly, stupidly restrictive, a relic of the distant past. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, Albuquerque (COL) 2
Round Rock: 11 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 7-4, 1 GB, 38-48 overall

SP Jose Corniell: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 69 P / 49 S, 5.35 ERA
RP Luis Curvelo: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 7.71 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.76 ERA
DH Aaron Zavala: 3-4, 2B, BB, SB (4), .268/.355/.423
1B Diego Castillo: 3-4, 2B, SB (5), .318/.400/.409
2B John Taylor: 0-1, 3 BB, 2 SB (4), .193/.356/.398

The fireworks crowd witnessed solid performances from Jose Corniell, Luis Curvelo and Emiliano Teodo. Corniell allowed no hard hits and got 10 whiffs and 14 swings at out-of-zone pitches. Teodo has been in a rough stretch, but last night he put the fastballs in the zone and the sliders in chase areas. 

Wilian Bormie didn’t walk anyone but surrendered three firm doubles and a run in 1.2 innings. 

Round Rock stole nine bases (Celestino 2, Espinal 2, Taylor 2, Castillo, Rodriguez, Zavala) against Bryant Betancourt, recently promoted from AA and actually quite strong at catching base-stealers until last night. 

Aaron Zavala is having a nice season. Not ready-for-Arlington nice, but nice. Most of his Statcast indicators are sitting close to the league average. Prior to his elbow surgery after 2022, a mild complaint was that he was missing out on some homers by being too line-drive oriented. In 2026, he’s fairly fly prone, and pull prone, and has decent if not solid exit velocities, but he’s only gone deep five times. I feel like the Fates are cheating him a little. 

AA: Frisco 2, Midland (ATH) 8
Frisco: 1 hit, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 7 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 5-6, 3 GB, 44-35 overall

SP Ben Anderson: 5 IP, 8 H (3 HR), 6 R, 4 BB, 0 SO, 84 P / 47 S, 5.20 ERA

The fireworks crowd witnessed a paddling. Midland’s Devin Taylor and Leo De Vries homered in the top of the 1st. Frisco went down in order in seven of nine innings and had no hits until Malcolm Moore’s leadoff double in the 5th. Subsequent walks and wild pitches would plate two. 

Hi-A: Hub City 4, at Asheville (HOU) 3
Hub City: 11 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 5-9, 4 GB, 39-41 overall

SP AJ Russell: 3.2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 2 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 51 P / 34 S, 3.12 ERA
RP Ismael Agreda: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 5.80 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.00 ERA
SS Luke Hanson: 2-4, 2B, HBP, .248/.322/.425
CF Hector Osorio: 1-4, HR (5), BB, .239/.360/.435
LF Chandler Pollard: 2-2, HR (3), BB, HBP, SB (16), .229/.325/.337

Not quite a pitcher’s duel but a tense affair with several lead changes. Chandler Pollard broke a 3-3 tie in the 8th with an inside-the-park homer. Hector Osorio owns the system’s most homers with 18, trailed by the 17 of Rafe Perich. 

All of Russell’s strikeouts came on his lively fastball, as did a homer than would have cleared more than just the short RF porch of Asheville. Osorio had six in 178 pro games entering the season. 

Lo-A: Hickory 7, at Myrtle Beach (CHC) 4
Hickory: 5 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 11-3, 2 G up, 45-33 overall

SP Aidan Deakins: 3.2 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 78 P / 49 S, 2.68 ERA
RP Jormy Nivar: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.08 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-4, BB, SB (35), .287/.398/.402
DH Paulino Santana: 1-3, 2 BB, .255/.388/.409

Hickory scored six late runs on a double, three sac flies and various Pelican miscues. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Voth
AA: MacLean
Hi-A: McCarty
Lo-A: Siary

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock’s Tyler Phillips walked five batters for the first time. During 2016-2019, he’d walked two or fewer in 89 of 93 outings. 

In a 12-team league, Hickory had five of the top 24 in strikeout rate among starters:
6. Avery Weems (39%)
17. Cole Ragans (32%)
19. Grant Wolfram (32%)
21. Cody Bradford (32%)
24. Zak Kent (31%)

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 2, Albuquerque (COL) 8
Round Rock: 5 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 15 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 6-4, 2 GB, 37-48 overall

SP Nolan Kingham: 4.2 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 98 P / 61 S, 7.47 ERA

Catcher Cooper Johnson, OF Jarred Kelenic and RHP Joe Ross are all back with the Express. 

I’ve seen Nolan Kingham pitch and believe he has the stuff to be an average AAA pitcher, but the stats say otherwise so far. He’s not been able to avoid that one bad inning, and the contact results haven’t been pretty. 

Among other issues, the Rockies haven’t managed to toss together a winning Triple A outfit even by accident. In the past 13 seasons, Colorado’s AAA club has never finished above .500 and has had a winning home record only four times. In the last seven seasons, their best finish is 14 games under .500. The good people of Albuquerque deserve better, and maybe, under new administration, this is the year. The Isotopes are 44-41 and have been as many as nine games over .500. 


AA: Frisco 4, Midland (ATH) 0
Frisco: 8 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 5-5, 2 GB, 44-34 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 84 P / 52 S, 2.61 ERA
RP Austin Roberts: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.05 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 3.46 ERA
RF Marcus Lee Sang: 2-4, 2B, HR (9), .289/.361/.466

Best I can tell, Dalton Pence used his upstairs fastball to complete only one of his six strikeouts, employing a slider, cutter and change for the rest. 

Last season, Eric Loomis had 13 two-inning outings, but yesterday was his first of 2026. A game-ending homer at San Antonio in mid-June commenced a rough period for him including two three-run outings and another with two walks and a hit batter. As with so many minor league relievers, control is a bigger issue than contact. He’s issued 13 walks and hit two batters, but he’s allowed only four extra-base hits. 


Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Asheville (HOU) 4
Hub City: 8 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 4-9, 5 GB, 38-41 overall

SP Caden Scarborough: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 61 P / 36 S, 3.42 ERA
LF Yeison Morrobel: 2-5, 2B, 3B, .306/.379/.494
CF Hector Osorio: 1-4, HR (4), .239/.358/.409

Broken record time: Six Tourists reached on walks or HBPs, and four would score. Yeison Morrobel has taken the most advantage of friendly Asheville, hitting .474/.500/.789 with a double, triple and homer. 


Lo-A: Hickory 2, at Myrtle Beach (CHC) 4
Hickory: 6 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 10-3, 1 G up, 44-33 overall

SP Daniel Keaney: 4.2 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 81 P / 51 S, 2.57 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-3, BB, 2 SB (34), .287/.398/.404
RF Deward Tovar: 2-3, BB, .224/.292/.423

Yolfran Castillo retook the organizational lead in steals back from Marcos Torres. Torres is the leader in combined doubles and triples with 23, followed by Castillo’s 22. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Anderson
Hi-A: Russell
Lo-A: Deakins

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco’s Hans Crouse retired his first ten opponents and carried a no-hitter into the 6th. Round Rock’s Delino DeShields started at second for the first time in eight seasons. He would play there intermittently before being traded to Boston and then Cincinnati, where he would play in the Majors for what is likely the last time. DeShields is still active with indy Cleburne. 

10-5 during the stretch of 15 consecutive games. There’s an alternate universe in which yesterday’s lineup is the same, but it’s in Round Rock with Jung, Burger and Higgy there on rehab. Honestly: Foscue leading off, Duran third and Cauley sixth, in Arlington, in early July? Amazing. The ’25-’26 Rangers have maimed my psyche too much for me to feel either hope or despair about what comes next. Not to say I’m paying any less attention, not at all. I’m just saying we’ve seen these kinds of stretches before. Seemingly at random, the Rangers might win or lose the next eight of ten irrespective of health or quality of opposition or the phase of the moon. Whatever happens, it’s always better to be playing for something. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, Albuquerque (COL) 4
Round Rock: 7 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Record: 6-3, 1 GB, 37-47 overall

SP Jordan Montgomery: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 39 P / 26 S, 9.00 ERA
RP Josh Stephan: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 5.68 ERA
3B John Taylor: 1-4, HR (4), .205/.354/.423

Montgomery’s sinker averaged 89.7 and topped at 91 in contrast to the 91.8 average velocity of 2024 and peak of 93.3 in 2003. Other pitches were down as well. While he was never the type to succeed purely on velocity, he did have some, and he registered higher-than-average strikeout rates for several years. His control and command have been fine on rehab, but at these velocities, his margin for error has shrunk. Three of yesterday’s six balls in play were hard liners or flies, all in the 1st. He zipped through the 2nd on 13 pitches and fanned two. All that said, Texas signed Montgomery to at best fill out a rotation, not anchor it. 

Per the locals, Cody Bradford threw a simulated inning in Arlington. 

RHP Chris Paddack took free agency. In response to the slew of depatures, the Rangers signed IF/OF Santiago Espinal and RHP Austin Voth and assigned them to Round Rock. The 31-year-old Espinal, who can play anywhere but leans toward third and second, was a regular or busy utility man from 2021 through 2025. Declining production led to an ancillary role with the Dodgers, and he took his leave after being outrighted two weeks ago. Voth, 34, played in Japan last year and in 2026 pitched a handful of innings for the Twins and Blue Jays and many more for their AAA squads. 

Texas also released catcher Cooper Johnson, with the organization since 2023. He’d hit .213/.300/.372 with seven homers in 51 games for Round Rock. 

The Braves signed OF Andrew McCutchen to a minor deal. 


AA: Frisco 4, Midland (ATH) 10
Frisco: 3 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 7 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 4-5, 3 GB, 43-34 overall

SP Joey Danielson: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 22 P / 17 S, 3.12 ERA

A bullpen night in which only Janser Lara (2.1 perfect, three strikeouts) was unblemished. 


Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Asheville (HOU) 17
Hub City: 7 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 11 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 4-8, 4 GB, 38-40 overall

SP Kamdyn Perry: 2.1 IP, 7 H, 10 R, 4 BB, 2 HBP, 2 SO, 71 P / 39 S, 10.71 ERA
RP J’Briell Easley: 2 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5.35 ERA
RF Maxton Martin: 1-2, HR (9), BB, .223/.289/.413

Hub City took ten of 12 from Asheville during the first half, and now the Tourists are exacting their revenge. Kamdyn Perry became the second Ranger and 37th minor leaguer to allow ten or more runs in a 2026 outing. Once again, walks and hit batters were devastating. Eight of 13 Tourists who reached without a hit would come around to score.

Per baseball America, OF Paxton Kling suffered a broken wrist from an HBP a little over two weeks ago. 


Lo-A: Hickory 2, at Myrtle Beach (CHC) 5
Hickory: 5 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 9 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 10-2, 1 G up, 44-32 overall

SP Jesus Lafalaise: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 4 SO, 79 P / 41 S, 4.68 ERA
1B Curley Martha: 2-3, 2B, BB, .186/.266/.300

On a team level, Hickory has been the opposite of Hub City, near the top of the league in lowest walk percentage. Not yesterday, though. Three of the five Pelican runs originally reached on walks. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Corniell
AA: Pence
Hi-A: Scarborough
Lo-A: Keaney

Five Years Ago Yesterday
On rehab in Arizona, Sam Huff hit a 511′ homer. Yesterday, Huff took free agency after bring outrighted by Baltimore. I suppose he’ll find a job somewhere, but he’s not even hitting well in AAA this season (.196/.275/.359). OF Dustin Harris exercised an opt-out from the White Sox. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, Albuquerque (COL) 5
Round Rock: 5 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 6-2, tied for first, 37-46 overall

SP Marco Gonzales: 5.2 IP, 7 H (4 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 89 P / 60 S, 7.89 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 3.86 ERA
RP Luis Curvelo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 8.79 ERA
LF Aaron Zavala: 1-3, HR (5), .265/.355/.420
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, HR (5), BB, .184/.267/.382

With two outs and two strikes in the 9th, Keyber Rodriguez knocked a ghastly slider from TJ Shook over the fence for a walk-off homer. He’s reached ten homers for the first time. Earlier this season I said I’d eat a shoe if Keyber Rodriguez slugged .500 this season. He’s at .466 now including .382 In Round Rock after never slugging over .385 in any full season. I did notice that he appeared a little more filled out when I saw him in person this year. 

Emiliano Teodo missed on half his 28 pitches. He’s walked or hit 12 in his last five outings. Those back-to-back outings were over a month ago, and he’s not an option right now. 

As I’ve mentioned, Marco Gonzales isn’t in Round Rock as an MLB depth option, although he probably has a different opinion. He’s just there to give the squad some desperately needed innings. Hot prospect Charlie Condon homered twice against him. 

OF Jarred Kelenic and RHP Joe Ross elected free agency. When Ross was added to the roster, my analysis was “Joe Ross is Joe Ross,” and I probably should have done the same for Kelenic. The latter, though, was hitting well in Round Rock, seemed to have an opportunity for semi-regular play when he joined, and had his name mentioned in the context of potential “spark” to a moribund offense by manager Skip Schumaker. Instead, he started only three games (twice getting pulled) and joined late in four others. 

Kelenic did at least provide some reassurance as a depth option. The most experienced minor league OF in the system is now Gilberto Celestino, who batted .222/.292/.300 in 145 games for the Twins across 2021-2022. 


AA: Frisco 5, Midland (ATH) 6
Frisco: 9 hits, 8 walks, 17 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 4-4, 1 GB, 43-33 overall

SP Chris Martin: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 14 P / 10 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Blake Townsend: 5 IP, 7 H (2 HR), 6 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 5.37 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.75 ERA
RP Austin Roberts: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3.16 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 3-3, 2 2B, 2 BB, SB (4), .303/.410/.606
DH Malcolm Moore: 1-5, HR (3), .283/.358/.543

Malcolm Moore went deep for his third Frisco homer and 13th overall in 60 games. 

I neglected to mention yesterday that A’s outfield prospect Ryan Lasko was critically injured in a collision with teammate Devin Taylor Tuesday night. He was carted off the field and underwent spinal surgery yesterday. At last word, he doesn’t have any feeling in the lower half of his body, but there is hope it will return. 


Hi-A: Hub City 8, at Asheville (HOU) 10
Hub City: 8 hits, 8 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 4-6, 3 GB, 38-38 overall

SP Izack Tiger: 2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 49 P / 32 S, 11.12 ERA
RP Brock Porter: 3 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 3.56 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3.38 ERA
DH Maxton Martin: 2-4, HR (8), BB, .221/.286/.401
1B Quincy Scott: 1-5, HR (6), .216/.372/.346

In 2026, the park-adjusted average runs scored in a game in Asheville is 6.7, so I don’t have anything to say about Izack Tiger other than “glad he’s back.” Likewise, control-averse Brock Porter walked just one of 15 batters. 

Hub City trailed 10-0 after six but managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the 9th. Lowly Asheville, the worst team in the minors in the first half and 24-52 overall, currently leads the second-half division race at 7-4. 


Lo-A: Hickory 6, at Myrtle Beach (CHC) 2
Hickory: 7 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 7 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 10-1, 1 G up, 44-31 overall

SP Moises Morales: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 64 P / 42 S, 3.88 ERA
RP Wily Villar: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 3.34 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 3.16 ERA
CF Marco Argudin: 1-2, 2 BB, .297/.458/.453
DH Braylin Morel: 1-4, HR (2), .224/.237/.397

Moises Morales condescended to allow a couple of hits unlike his last time out. 

I hadn’t written lately about Wily Villar, signed by Texas at the tender age of 26 and reportedly dealing upper 90s and touching 100 last year with the rookies and in the Dominican Republic. He’s had a decent season, just not especially noteworthy. He has a 3.34 ERA in 29.2 innings with a 14% BB+HBP rate and 24% K rate, both near the league averages. According to the Myrtle Beach gun, Villar’s fastball entered at 92-93 before settling at 94-95 and touching 97 a couple of times. He also offered a mid-80s slider and occasional upper-70s curve. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Stephan
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Perry
Lo-A: Lafalaise

Five Years Ago Yesterday
I saw Ronny Henriquez’s best AA start to date: seven strikeouts, three hits, one walk and one run in six innings. Having seen Yerry Rodriguez three days prior, I said I liked Rodriguez’s fastball more than any single Henriquez offering, but Henriquez looked more like a starter. Ronny finally clicked as a stellar reliever for the Marlins last year, but he’ll miss all of 2026 following brace surgery.