Category: Daily Report

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, Albuquerque (COL) 1
Round Rock: 9 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 1 GB

SP Cody Bradford: 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 73 P / 48 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 SO
RP Jake Latz: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 3 SO
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 SO
LF Clint Frazier: 2-3, BB
CF JP Martinez: 1-3, HBP
DH Elier Hernandez: 2-4, 2B

In his AAA debut, Cody Bradford continued directly from his outstanding 2022 conclusion, holding Albuquerque scoreless over 5.1 innings on just 73 pitches. Well, not quite directly: Bradford began with a walk and hit batter. Best as I can tell, during 2022 Bradford never put consecutive batters on base via walk and/or HBP during 2022. Bradford emerged unscathed. Two runners reached on an error and lined single with two out in the 2nd, but Bradford again prevented a run. He would retire ten of 12 thereafter, surrendering a walk and soft single.

Bradford offers a four-seam fastball, slider, and change. The slider runs from 80 to 87. Call it a cutter at its fastest if you like. (Statcast calls the slowest ones curves, but I’m not going there.) It doesn’t break much horizontally at any speed, instead dropping more at the lower velocities. The change is a traditional fader.

And the fastball. Bradford’s median fastball velocity was 89.1 and peaked at 90.6. It doesn’t have much horizontal movement, and it’s not going to set any spin records. All that said, it still doesn’t drop much despite the spin, permitting him to work up successfully. He commands it very well, and batters don’t know what’s coming out of his hand. He threw 35 fastballs, getting seven misses and eight called strikes. The opposition put only four in play, collecting two singles.

Successful pitchers with that velocity tend to be much older. Greinke, Wainwright, etc. Younger examples are rare. Marco Gonzalez’s average fastball dipped below 90 when he was 27. Bradford would have been better regarded a dozen years ago and more likely to have been added to the 40-man roster. In a way, I put him in a group with reliever Ben Rowen, Alex Claudio, and current prospect Chase Lee, all of whom were or are somewhat “unscoutable” in terms of projecting MLB success. Their repertoires don’t fit the modern-day mold, but they dominate at every level, so you keep promoting them and see what happens. Bradford might make the Rangers see what happens in Arlington.

Chase Lee allowed a run on one hard and one soft single. Batters tended not to swing much against Lee last year in AAA. Minor league batters, especially the younger ones, often bail on first pitches with high movement. Lee’s sinker (90-92) is essentially a reverse slider, and his slider (80-83) has a ton of sweep, so there’s plenty of bailing going on. I think hitters are annoyed at his style and would prefer to wait for a walk, but Lee can throw plenty of strikes even with all that movement. On the downside, Lee’s swinging strike rate is low, and on occasion his vertical placement flattens into a small, predictable, and very hittable range.

It’s just one outing, but Jake Latz threw two pitches harder than anything delivered during 2022, topping at an even 97, and his average of 95.5 was nearly three ticks higher. (Latz did spend a good potion of 2022 in the rotation, accounting for some of the difference.) He mixed in an also-effective 85-87 change and a few curves.

Here’s my videos of Bradford and Lee.

Round Rock placed some timely hits and took advantage of ABQ starter King Kauffman’s poor control. Jonathan Ornelas and Justin Foscue played up the middle again. Both walked and are still seeking their first AAA hits.

Assigned to Round Rock’s 60-day Injured List are IF Ryan Dorow (shoulder), RHP Scott Engler (last year’s TJ surgery), and Kyle Funkhouser (last year’s shoulder injury, I assume). Joining the ordinary IL but in no better shape are pitchers Avery Weems (TJ in February) and Tim Brennan. I don’t have direct knowledge on Brennan, but he exited a Frisco game late last year with what looked like a serious elbow problem. Offseason acquisition Danny Duffy is also on the IL.

Box Score

AAA: Round Rock 4, Albuquerque (COL) 9
Round Rock: 8 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 0-1, 1 GB

SP Cole Winn: 3.2 IP, 3 H (2 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 80 P / 45 S, 7.36 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 0-3, 2 BB
LF Clint Frazier: 2-5
1B Yoshi Tsutsugo: 2-4, 2B
RF Elier Hernandez: 1-2, BB, SB
CF JP Martinez: 2-4, SB

Cole Winn’s first three batters reminded of 2022: four-pitch walk to open the game, homer, hard single. He then retired nine of the next ten batters, five via strikeout. Leading off the 4th, 3B Aaron Schunk fouled off three two-strike pitches before homering to left at a robust 107.6 MPH. Winn allowed another walk, his third, struck out his sixth and final batter, and was removed after 80 pitches. He’d needed 24 pitches to work through four batters in the 4th.

In spurts, he looked his best since last April, effectively deploying a high fastball, slider, and change. Velocity was fine; the fastball averaged 93.6 and topped at 95.4. He missed 12 bats, usually with the fastball, and fanned six of 17 (35%). Conversely, his strike rate was below average (57%). While he didn’t give the appearance of battling himself like on occasion in 2022, he nevertheless missed enough pitches to end his night shy of four innings.

Winn threw only four curves, three of them attempts at a first-pitch called strike (one worked).

Winn also appears to be throwing a cutter. Out in Surprise, I noticed a couple of odd-looking pitches from him around 90 MPH, not a velocity he hits. He did the same last night at 89 and 90 MPH, and both pitches pushed glove-side slightly. Statcast recorded them as four-seam fastballs, but I think not. I checked the data from last year, and he didn’t offer anything in that velo/movement range. The last three pitches of his night were swinging strikes, and the first two appeared to be cutters followed by a slider.

The relief was indistinct. John King retired only two of seven batters as Winn’s replacement. Best was Daniel Robert, topping out at 98.3 MPH and working around a walk and single to retire four batters without allowing a run.

Newcomers Jonathan Ornelas and Justin Foscue (0-4) are looking for their first AA hits. Foscue lined sharply to the awaiting second basemen and was robbed on a fine play by Schunk, who nabbed a deep grounder along the third base line and whirled to nab Foscue at first. (Also: Foscue isn’t speedy.)

Cody Bradford starts tonight.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Friday 31 March
Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, Albuquerque (COL) 9
Round Rock: 8 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 0-1, 1 GB

SP Cole Winn: 3.2 IP, 3 H (2 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 80 P / 45 S, 7.36 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 0-3, 2 BB
LF Clint Frazier: 2-5
1B Yoshi Tsutsugo: 2-4, 2B
RF Elier Hernandez: 1-2, BB, SB
CF JP Martinez: 2-4, SB

Cole Winn’s first three batters reminded of 2022: four-pitch walk to open the game, homer, hard single. He then retired nine of the next ten batters, five via strikeout. Leading off the 4th, 3B Aaron Schunk fouled off three two-strike pitches before homering to left at a robust 107.6 MPH. Winn allowed another walk, his third, struck out his sixth and final batter, and was removed after 80 pitches. He’d needed 24 pitches to work through four batters in the 4th.

In spurts, he looked his best since last April, effectively deploying a high fastball, slider, and change. Velocity was fine; the fastball averaged 93.6 and topped at 95.4. He missed 12 bats, usually with the fastball, and fanned six of 17 (35%). Conversely, his strike rate was below average (57%). While he didn’t give the appearance of battling himself like on occasion in 2022, he nevertheless missed enough pitches to end his night shy of four innings.

Winn threw only four curves, three of them attempts at a first-pitch called strike (one worked).

Winn also appears to be throwing a cutter. Out in Surprise, I noticed a couple of odd-looking pitches from him around 90 MPH, not a velocity he hits. He did the same last night at 89 and 90 MPH, and both pitches pushed glove-side slightly. Statcast recorded them as four-seam fastballs, but I think not. I checked the data from last year, and he didn’t offer anything in that velo/movement range. The last three pitches of his night were swinging strikes, and the first two appeared to be cutters followed by a slider.

The relief was indistinct. John King retired only two of seven batters as Winn’s replacement. Best was Daniel Robert, topping out at 98.3 MPH and working around a walk and single to retire four batters without allowing a run.

Newcomers Jonathan Ornelas and Justin Foscue (0-4) are looking for their first AA hits. Foscue lined sharply to the awaiting second basemen and was robbed on a fine play by Schunk, who nabbed a deep grounder along the third base line and whirled to nab Foscue at first. (Also: Foscue isn’t speedy.)

Cody Bradford starts tonight.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Beats me. In all my years on the beat, the Texas minor league system had never played a real game in March until last night.

For the first time since 2019: Greetings from Surprise!

My original plan upon arriving Monday morning was to watch Texas’s A-level squads in neighboring Peoria, but one of the two games was cancelled, so I stayed in Surprise with the upper-level folks. (For those unfamiliar, the daily intersquad schedule consists of the low-A and high-A squads playing their opponents at one club’s complex, and the AA and AAA squads playing at the other. I favor the low-level guys because I won’t see them again for a year, and I can watch AAA during the regular season at my leisure.)

As always, and especially after missing three years, I was overwhelmed at the outset because I want to watch the players critically and get pitch readings off the computer and take notes and stills and video simultaneously, which is impossible, not that I don’t keep trying. Plus, I’m using new camera equipment for the first time in a dozen years and still figuring it out.

I’ve got video of Ricky Vanasco and pictures of him and others at scottlucas.com. Hopefully, I’ll have more video up during the week, but the internet at my hotel gets persnickety with tasks like actually using the internet.

Vanasco’s fastball ranged from 93-97, augmented with a decent number of curves, a few sliders, at least one change. He looked similar to last season’s end: aggressive, wavering control and command, with both the heater and curve tending to run high. Vanasco wears a collection of chains that fly up and hit him in the face on every pitch.

With impressive bat speed, Dustin Harris turned on an inside pitch for a double. In A games, he’s split almost exactly between outfield and first base, nearly only the former in the first week of spring training and almost exclusively the latter since. He played left field on Monday. If there was a play that shed light on his proficiency out there, I missed it. For some reason, my mental picture of him is always a little smaller and slower than he really is. He’ll break that bad habit of mine in Round Rock.

Lefty reliever Lucas Jacobsen tossed an inning. In 2022, Jacobsen entered his walk year as a virtual unknown to me because he’d been hurt so much. He relieved in Jack Leiter’s pro debut and immediately impressed with a fastball that touched 98, a mean, hard change, and a slow slider. Jacobsen missed a chunk of last season as well and became a free agent afterwards but re-signed.

1B Blaine Crim turned a 95 MPH pitch into a homer. 2B Luisangel Acuna (a late sub) rapped a double to left.

Lefty Joe Palumbo, signed back after a year with the Giants, was 91-93 with a 75-78 curve, all effective after an opening walk. Injuries have limited to Palumbo to 19 innings across all levels during the past three years.

One unexpected downside of the new MLB pitch clock: the Rangers-Guardians A game on Monday finished well before the minors were done, and in fact by the time I’d walked into the stadium from the back fields, the stands were nearly empty. Previously, I could count on an inning or two at the main field after the intersquad contest.

Tuesday was a camp day, meaning no games, just some workouts, so I’d planned to hike the Superstition Mountains to the east. That plan was thwarted by the most rain I can recall encountering in Arizona. It was raining when my alarm went off Tuesday morning. I got wet going to my car to grab lunch. It was raining at 9pm last night as I typed most of this and persisted through the night. Today’s back field schedule is limited to work in the cages. The intersquads are cancelled. My happiness is cancelled. Thursday and Friday are expected to be dry, so hopefully the next report will contain more on the Rangers and less whining.  

Finally, I would like to extend all the positive energy at my disposal to Eric Nadel, longtime radio voice of the Rangers, who announced he will miss the start of the 2023 season. Per a statement from Nadel: “I now find myself dealing with anxiety, insomnia and depression which are currently preventing me from doing the job I love… I am receiving treatment as I go through the healing process and encourage others with similar issues to reach out for help.” His full statement is here.

Texas’s minor league season is over. Okay, there’s instructs and the Arizona Fall League, but daily coverage ends today. Thanks for reading. I’ll try to have a wrap-up next week.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, Sugar Land (HOU) 10
Round Rock: 1 hit, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 7 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 79-71

SP Yerry Rodriguez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 29 P / 23 S, 4.27 ERA
RP Spencer Howard: 0.2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 4.73 ERA
RP Kyle Cody: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.66 ERA
2B Nick Tanielu: 1-3, .236/.322/.379

Unfortunately, I missed Round Rock’s final game, although I apparently didn’t miss much. I was here instead:



Have some business in San Diego, so I decided to catch a game. Petco is gorgeous. Joey Gallo says hi.

As for Round Rock, Nick Tanielu’s single was the only hit, squashed between an error and two walks that would plate Round Rock’s lone run in the 3rd. After that, the last 20 Express hitters were retired in order, although only three were on strikeouts. Sugar Land’s relievers threw only 69 pitches in six perfect innings.

Spencer Howard missed on ten of 12 non-fastballs and allowed a grand slam. Howard still has an option in 2023. We’ll have to see whether Texas wants to bother. The same applies to Yerry Rodriguez, who had two very good middle months bookended by struggles with control and hard contact.

Kyle Cody completed his season with a solid if unspectacular .274/.333/.356 opposing line and 26% strikeout rate in AAA. He can become a free agent, although I imagine Texas would like to keep him around.

Box Scores

AA: Frisco 7, at Wichita (MIN) 5 (10)
Frisco: 10 hits, 3 walks, 16 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 10 walks, 12 strikeouts
Frisco wins Texas League Championship series 2-0

SP Jack Leiter: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 1 SO, 48 P / 21 S
RP Tristan Polley: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
RP Owen White: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO
RP Grant Wolfram: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 3-5
CF Evan Carter: 3-5
3B Thomas Saggese: 1-4
LF Kellen Strahm: 1-4, 2B
1B Frainyer Chavez: 1-1

Frisco won its first Texas League championship since 2004, sweeping best-of-three series from the San Antonio Missions and Wichita Wind Surge.

The Riders fell behind 2-0 in the 1st, and the scoring seemed destined to end there. Wichita starter Brent Headrick was masterful despite lesser velocity than I’d seen in mid-September footage. In seven innings, he allowed three singles, walked none, and fanned 11 of 22 batters.

In the 8th, facing Cody Laweryson and his usually very effective upstairs 89 MPH fastball, Luisangel Acuna drew a walk, after which Kellen Strahm drilled a heater inches beyond the reach of CF DaShawn Keirsey’s glove and off the wall for an RBI double. Strahm advanced to third on the throw home and scored to tie the contest on a Trevor Hauver sac fly.

Wichita immediately retook the lead in the bottom half of the 8th. Ricky Vanasco had worked a scoreless if nervy 7th but was removed for Grant Wolfram after a single and walk to open the 8th. 3B Thomas Saggese’s throw of a Keirsey bunt eluded replacement 1B Frainyer Chavez and caromed off Keirsey’s leg, allowing a run to score from second. After another sac bunt, Austin Martin walked to load the bases with one out. Wolfram recovered from a 3-1 count to fan Edouard Julien on a corner-catching slider. Then, Anthony Prato stunningly tried to catch the battery off guard with a steal of home but was tagged out. (He was definitely tagged. Not so sure about the “out” part.)

Down again in the 9th, Jonathan Ornelas singled and advanced to third on a wild pitch and grounder. With two out and two strikes, Saggese rapped a game-tying single. Wolfram would walk a batter in the bottom of the 9th, as would mid-inning replacement Joe Corbett, but both runners were stranded.

Chavez singled in gift-runner Acuna in the 10th for Frisco’s first lead of the night. After a Scott Kapers walk, Jonathan Ornelas’s seventh hit of the series scored Chavez. Evan Carter then singled in Kapers and Ornelas to extend the lead to four.

On came closer Nick Starr. Keirsey immediately homered to halve the lead, and Julien singled with two out to bring the tying run to the plate, but Starr induced a harmless fly to left for the final out.

Outside of Headrick, Frisco scored 30 runs in 28 playoff innings. The Riders batted .294/.412/.456 in the postseason. 20-year-olds Carter and Saggese were remarkable. Promoted to an AA team fighting for a playoff spot with a week left in the season, Carter batted .351/.479/.514 in a ten-game stretch including the playoffs. He drew ten walks in 48 trips to the plate. Saggese batted .361/.425/.667 in nine games. Strahm led the regulars with a .462/.611/.846 line in the playoffs. Aaron Zavala and Scott Kapers homered twice.

I owe the bullpen a beer. It allowed 30 baserunners in 20.2 playoff innings, but only seven would score. Tristan Polley stranded three runners in the 2nd to keep the game in reach. Owen White steamrolled the Wind Surge for two innings, striking out six in a row.

Unfortunately, Jack Leiter was poor again, allowing two 1st-inning runs and walking the bases loaded in the 2nd. In his last three starts he walked 16 of 53 batters (30%).

AAA: Round Rock 9, Sugar Land (HOU) 6
Round Rock: 11 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 79-70, eliminated

SP Cole Winn: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 7 SO, 91 P / 54 S, 6.51 ERA
RP Nick Snyder: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.97 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 6.28 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.46 ERA
CF Elier Hernandez: 3-4, 2 2B, BB, .299/.357/.525
3B Ezequiel Duran: 2-5, .291/.325/.546

Round Rock again pounded Sugar Land’s bullpen late.

Cole Winn had a typical night. I’ve talked the situation to death, no need to say more. Hopefully, the upcoming break is to his benefit and he returns ready to deal.

The Express announced that Winn has the most strikeouts in Round Rock’s AAA history, including seven years affiliated with the Astros. Not that I track things of that nature well, but I never would have guessed. The Rangers have four 100-strikeout pitchers in ten seasons with the Express, all from 2022:

Cole Winn, 123 in ’22
Jason Hirsh, 118 in ’06
Tyson Miller, 114 in ’22
Andy Van Hekken, 114 in ’10
Kolby Allard, 113 in ’22
Bud Norris, 112 in ’09
J.C. Gutierrez, 108 in ’07
Josh Muecke, 107 in ’08
AJ Alexy, 100 in ’22
Chad Reineke, 100 in ’08

Innings needed for 114 strikeouts: Andy Van Hekken 177, Tyson Miller 89.

Today’s season-ending game is at noon.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Howard

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, Sugar Land (HOU) 4
Round Rock: 8 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 10 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 78-70, eliminated

SP Kolby Allard: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 4 BB, 8 SO, 97 P / 55 S, 4.65 ERA
RP Ryder Ryan: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 3.66 ERA
RP Lucas Jacobsen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1.80 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 2-4, 2B, .203/.325/.413
SS Ryan Dorow: 2-3, BB, .238/.322/.355

Hitless through six, Round Rock plated five on six hits and a walk in the 7th.

Kolby Allard reached five innings in all but one of his last eight starts, but he allowed 14 homers and a .563 slugging percentage in that span. Even for the PCL, that’s inflated. Allard, AJ Alexy, Yerry Rodriguez, and Nick Snyder are the 40-man pitchers woth some history in the organization who are finishing up their season’s in AAA. Tyson Miller and recent waiver claim Drew Strotman are also on the 40, along with rehabbing Spencer Howard.

AA: Off

A battle of semifinal Game 1 starters tonight. Jack Leiter has a chance to pitch his team to a league title last won when he was four, his father was finishing his seventh and final year as a Met, and I was a month from getting married. Hard-throwing Brent Headrick will try to push the series to Wednesday for Wichita. 

Tonight and tomorrow are advertised as free games on MiLB.tv, so you can watch if you like. 7pm CDT.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Winn
AA: Leiter

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, at Tacoma (SEA) 5
Round Rock: 9 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 77-70, eliminated

SP Zak Kent: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 4 R, 5 BB, 3 SO, 85 P / 46 S, 1.67 ERA
RP Fernery Ozuna: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 7.36 ERA
RP Kyle Cody: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.08 ERA
LF Ezequiel Duran: 2-5, HR (9), 2 SB (7), .287/.322/.551
SS Davis Wendzel: 1-1, 3 BB, .212/.293/.407

Zak Kent suffered his first poor AAA start, struggling to deal his fastballs for strikes. The strike rate on sliders was below average as well, but he drew a healthy number of swinging strikes with it and surrendered no hits.

As an unfriendly reminder of the grueling pre-2020 schedule, Round Rock has to return from the Seattle area to play at home tonight. The Express host Sugar Land for the next three nights to close the season. El Paso clinched the division on Saturday.

Records through August:
OKC: 72-53
Round Rock: 68-57, -4
El Paso: 66-58, -5.5

Records in September:
El Paso: 18-5
OKC: 9-13, -8.5
Round Rock: 9-13, -8.5

AA: Frisco 11, Wichita (MIN) 3
Frisco: 11 hits, 10 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts
Frisco leads best-of-three finals 1-0

SP Mason Englert: 5.1 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 3 SO, 77 P / 49 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Josh Smith: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
3B Jonathan Ornelas: 4-5, SB
CF Evan Carter: 0-1, 4 BB, SB
2B Justin Foscue: 2-5
LF Kellen Strahm: 2-5, 3B
C Scott Kapers: 2-5, 2 HR

Providing anecdotal evidence against the cliche that good pitching beats good hitting, Frisco steamrolled a staff that permitted 20% fewer runs than the park-adjusted league average during the regular season. Frisco reached double-digit runs for the 26th time this season, while Wichita allowed ten or more for only the eleventh.

Jonathan Ornelas put the ball in play every time up, fouling off six two-strike pitches en route to four singles. Conversely, Evan Carter drew walks in his first four plate appearances. With them in from of him, Justin Foscue singled home three runs in the first two innings.

Scott Kapers hit a 5th-inning solo homer and a game-icing grand slam in the 6th. In the previews, I described catcher as an offensive weak spot but qualified with Kapers’ ability to get hold of a pitch. Lucky me. Kapers has a career line of .210/.329/.366, but that includes 11 homers in 57 games during 2022.

In his fourth AA start, Mason Englert was in command despite three walks and didn’t permit more than one runner in an inning until the 5th. Josh Smith replaced Englert with two one and one out in the 6th and induced a double-play grounder from Yunior Severino, who’d homered in the 4th.

Wichita’s Kody Funderburk (a Dallas Baptist alum) was drafted in 2018 and has 47 professional starts and 29 relief appearances, including postseason. Yesterday’s start of 1.1 innings was the shortest of his career and second-shortest outing of any type. He also allowed his most walks (4) since mid-June 2021. The bullpen was of no help, allowing another six runs and 13 runners across 6.2 innings. A far cry from their two-game demolition of Tulsa in the semifinals.

Wichita will employ Brent Headrick next and Daniel Gossett in Game 3 if needed. They were the starters in the semifinals. Frisco has yet to announce tomorrow’s starter.

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: off

Frisco RoughRiders (74-63) vs. Minnesota-affiliated Wichita Wind Surge (78-59)
Season Run Differential: Frisco +80, Wichita +102
Last 20 Games + Playoffs: Frisco 13-9, Wichita 14-8
Season Series: Tied 6-6

How They Got Here
Frisco won the second-half title with a late run after fading in the first half. In the opening playoff series against San Antonio, Frisco swept the San Antonio Mission by scores of 7-3 and 5-2.  

Wichita’s first-half fate was similar. The Surge were 32-21 and led the northern division by 2.5 games on June 10 but lost 12 of 15 to close the half. Mired at 5-7 to start the second half and 40-40 overall, Wichita closed on a 38-19 tear to grab the second-half title with ease and the league’s best record. Wichita also swept its division foe Tulsa by scores of 11-1 and 17-1.

History  
Frisco’s first postseason trip since 2014 now includes the first title series since 2012. That group included OFs Engel Beltre, Jared Hoying, and Ryan Strausborger, plus IF Leury Garcia. Series starters were Wilfredo Boscan, Cody Buckel, Barrett Loux, and Nick Tepesch. They fell to Springfield 3-1. The Riders won their only title in 2004.

Wichita’s history is short but interesting. The team moved from New Orleans in 2020 into a new stadium  as the AAA affiliate of the Marlins. Covid forced the cancellation of the 2020 season and claimed the life of team owner Lou Schwechheimer. MLB dropped Wichita to AA during the next winter’s minor league reorganization. Now with the Twins, Wichita reached the 2021 championship series with the league’s best record (69-51) but fell to NW Arkansas in five games.  

The two teams didn’t meet in 2021 and split twelve games this season.

Top 30 Prospects on Active Roster per MLB.com / Baseball America
Frisco:
2 / 4.  RHP Jack Leiter
3 / 1.  OF Evan Carter
4 / 5. RHP Owen White
5 / 9.  IF Justin Foscue
7 / 6.  IF Luisangel Acuna
11 / 12. OF Aaron Zavala
14 / 14. LHP Antoine Kelly
17 / nr.  RHP Ricky Vanasco
20 / nr.  IF Thomas Saggese
22 / nr.  IF Jonathan Ornelas
24 / nr.  LHP Avery Weems
30 / nr. RHP Mason Englert

Wichita:
1 / 1. SS Brooks Lee
12 / 11. OF Austin Martin
14 / 10. IF Edouard Julien
25 / 20. RHP Blayne Enlow
27 / nr. RHP Casey Legumina
28 / 30. RHP Steven Cruz

Frisco’s ranked prospect list was already the most impressive I’d ever seen, and that was before Owen White was activated.

The big name for Wichita is SS Brooks Lee, picked eight overall in this year’s draft and promoted to AA after the high-A season ended. Lee batted .289/.395/.454 at high-A Cedar Rapids. Martin was selected fifth overall the year before, then traded from the Jays with others for Jose Berrios. An older teammate of Leiter and Rocker in college and extraordinary contact hitter, Martin was a consensus top-100 prospect the last two springs but has fallen in the rankings thanks to a second straight ordinary and worrying performance.

Offense / Frisco Position Players
Frisco Offense: +3% runs scored, .265/.350/.439, 105 OPS+, 102 wRC+
Wichita Offense: -7% runs scored, .261/.356/.427, 98 OPS+, 97 wRC+

Frisco:
C Scott Kapers / David Garcia
1B Trevor Hauver / Frainyer Chavez
2B Luisangel Acuna
3B Thomas Saggese
SS Jonathan Ornelas
LF Kellen Strahm
CF Evan Carter
RF Aaron Zavala
DH Justin Foscue
Also OF Josh Stowers

Frisco’s offense is uncommonly stacked despite losing several key performers to promotion or injury. The Riders averaged 8.6 runs per game in September and batted .292/.425/.477 in the San Antonio series.

The positional choices against San Antonio held some intrigue. Justin Foscue DH’ed both games in favor of Luisangel Acuna at second and Thomas Saggese at third. Trevor Hauver did start at first as I expected, but only once, while Frainyer Chavez drew the other start. Scott Kapers and David Garcia split duties.

Wichita:
C Jair Camargo
1B Alex Isola
2B Edouard Julien
3B Yunior Severino
SS Aaron Martin
LF Anthony Prato
CF DaShawn Keirsey
RF Leobaldo Cabrera
DH Brooks Lee
Also C Kyle Schmidt, IF Seth Gray, IF Will Holland

Wichita trotted out the same lineup in both nights of its semifinal series. The Surge scored 28 runs, hit eight homers, and slugged .743 against Tulsa. Scary. But also atypical.

Wichita was seventh of ten teams in runs scored but worst after adjusting for its mildly hitter-friendly park. The underlying stats aren’t nearly as bad, however, at or very near the league averages. Wichita’s OPS was 24 points above the league median with nobody on but 28 points below with runners in scoring position. (The Riders and Surge had nearly same number of walks and singles in RISP situations, but Frisco had an additional 32 extra base hits. That’s a lot!) I’d chalk that to variance rather than skill or, God forbid, mental fortitude.

2B Edouard Julien is the best combination of OBP and power. Julien batted .300/.441/.490 with a 20% BB/HBP rate and 39 extra-base hits. 1B Alex Isola (.286/.377/.471, 10 HR in 58 games) is the other all-around type. Catcher Jair Camargo (.239/.306/.472) has the best homer rate with 12 in 46 games, and Yair Severino (.273/.338/.497) isn’t far behind, but both are more strikeout-prone and less inclined to walk.

DaShawn Keirsey is the prominent base thief (42 in 121 games), followed by Austin Martin (34 in 90 games), and then Julien and Anthony Prado to lesser extents. Frisco won’t have to deal with Wichita’s best hitter, Matt Wallner, who jumped to AAA St. Paul ten days ago. The 2019 39th-overall pick batted .299/.436/.597 with 21 homers in 78 games.

On the whole, I’d say Wichita’s offense isn’t good but closer to average than its worst-in-league run production would suggest.  

Pitching / Possible Rotation
Frisco: 8% better than avg. in runs allowed, .247/.337/.400 oppo line, 92 OPS+, 12% BB/HBP, 24% SO)
Wichita : 20% above avg. in runs allowed, .247/.334/.384 oppo line, 82 OPS+, 12% BB/HBP, 25% SO)

Frisco:
1: Mason Englert (4.11 ERA, .237/.308/.356, 8% BB/HBP, 31% SO)
2. Jack Leiter (5.54 ERA, .247/.359/.381 opposing line, 13% BB/HBP rate, 26% SO rate)
3: Cody Bradford (5.01 ERA, .248/.304/.427, 7% BB/HBP, 25% SO)

Like Wichita, Frisco hasn’t announced starters past Game 1. I’ve listed the two semifinal starters, both of whom could appear on normal rest because of all the off-days. Seth Nordlin is another solid choice, but like the semifinals, the team may be better served with him available to pitch twice in relief. Other options are Antoine Kelly (very walk-prone, moved to relief late in season), Avery Weems (talented but highly erratic), and Ricky Vanasco (new to AA like Englert and less steady). I’m assuming Owen White will be limited to relief.

The bullpen that I politely maligned in the semifinal preview saved Game 1, holding San Antonio scoreless for five innings as the offense mounted a comeback. Nick Starr will handle closing duties without worry, and Nordlin is reliable. Having White back helps, even if he’s limited to one or two one-inning bursts.

Wichita:
1: Kody Funderburk (2.94 ERA, .244/.328/.357, 11% BB/HBP, 22% SO)
2: Cody Laweryson (1.06 ERA, .197/.255/.264, 7% BB/HBP, 31% SO)
3: Brent Headrick (4.81 ERA, .273/.319/.512, 6% BB/HBP, 32% SO)

I’m guessing after Game 1. Laweryson was part of the September rotation and threw three relief innings in the semifinals. Headrick started the first game in the semis. If I’m wrong about someone, the likely substitute is semifinal Game 1 starter Daniel Gossett (2.24 ERA), who had 115 MLB innings with the Athletics in 2017-2018. Despite the lack of ranked prospects, the group is strong. Headrick is the hardest thrower (mid-90s) and is better than his line, which is permanently scarred by a seven-run, five-homer outing to begin his term in AA. He and Laweryson are fly-prone, while Funderburk and Gossett deliver more grounders. Laweryson is easily the most entertaining, fearlessly pounding the upper half of the zone with a spasmodically delivered 89-91 fastball and mixing in an upper-70s slider and change with plenty of unpredictable movement.

Casey Legumina abruptly shifted from starter to 9th-inning man a month ago. In his current role, he’s saved three games and posted a 2.55 ERA with an opposing line of .229/.290/.357 and a 34% strikeout rate. Alex Phillips is another successful late-inning reliever, while Blayne Enlow has struggled with a 6.06 ERA and plenty of hits since switching to relief. The middle portion of the pen is walk-prone but passable in other respects.

Like most teams, Wichita has lost several strong contributors along the way, but the remaining staff is still quite good, and vastly better than San Antonio’s collection.

Defense
Even accounting for the pitching staff’s fly tendencies, Wichita is poor at turning double plays compared to the Riders. Wild pitches and passed balls are also a problem for the Surge. In other respects, Frisco rates nearly equal or better.

Park Factors
Frisco – 1.00
Wichita – 1.04

Advantages / Outlook
Offense – Frisco
Pitching – Wichita
Defense – Frisco

A tough call, as always compounded by the random nature of the best-of-three and my asymmetric knowledge of the two teams. One pitcher having an exceptionally good or bad day can determine the champion. If Leiter starts Tuesday, he’ll be on the mound with either Frisco or Wichita facing elimination.

Wichita is certainly better than San Antonio, especially its arms, and  is 41-19 in the last 60 games. The Surge also have home field advantage, although that doesn’t include starting the series at home. These are the league’s two best teams, and either is a worthy champion.

This is genuinely a coin flip to me, so I’ll put my imaginary $100 on the Riders and hope for the best.

Most Recent Texas-Affiliated Championship Teams
AAA: 1996 Oklahoma City 89ers
AA: 2004 Frisco RoughRiders
Hi-A: 2017 Down East Wood Ducks (co-champion)
Lo-A: 2015 Hickory Crawdads
Short-A: 2008 Spokane Indians
Rookie: 2019 Rangers
DSL: 2014 Rangers

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Saturday 24 September
Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, at Tacoma (SEA) 6
Round Rock: 10 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 8 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 77-69, eliminated

SP Kohei Arihara: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 37 P / 23 S, 4.86 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5.64 ERA
1B Blaine Crim: 2-5, .317/.341/.341
3B Davis Wendzel: 3-4, HR (17), BB, .209/.285/.405

Kohei Arihara made what could be his final appearance in the organization. Since he stayed only two innings, I suppose he’s available for Tuesday or Wednesday. Blaine Crim is making contact but still seeking his first AAA extra-base hit. Davis Wendzel is hitting .228/.289/.489 in 38 games off the IL. Much more power, not much improvement in reaching base.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Kent
AA: Englert

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, at Tacoma (SEA) 4
Round Rock: 5 hits, 0 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 76-69, eliminated

SP Lucas Jacobsen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 20 P / 13 S, 2.25 ERA
RP Spencer Howard: 5 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 4.17 ERA
RP Drew Strotman: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 9.00 ERA
LF Ezequiel Duran: 1-4, 2B, .283/.316/.543

Round Rock has lost eight of ten on the road trip. Opener Lucas Jacobsen struck out the side around an error and walk. The Rainers swung at nine pitches and came up empty on five. Spencer Howard pitched well more often than not, but the “not” included two homers.

Waiver-claimed Drew Strotman made his first appearance. 92-95 FB, 85-90 cutter/slider, low-80s curve.

Seattle OF prospect Cade Marlowe, signed out of Division II West Gerogia for the princely sum of $5,000, has three homers in three nights. Marlowe homered twice against Frisco while in AA Arkansas.

AA: off
The Texas League championship series begins Sunday in Frisco.
Elsewhere
Texas’s low-A and high-A leagues were won by Tampa Bay affiliates (Bowling Green, Charleston) for the second straight year. Charleston defeated Down East in five games last year. The Rays are quite the organization.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Miller
AA: off