Category: Daily Report

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, at Tacoma (SEA) 12
Round Rock: 7 hits, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 32-45 overall

SP Spencer Adams: 5.2 IP, 10 H (3 HR), 6 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 79 P / 53 S, 9.53 ERA
CF Cameron Cauley: 1-4, HR (8), .262/.364/.409

Adams was picked 44th overall by the White Sox in 2014, became a free agent after 2020 and didn’t pitch again under the MLB umbrella until last night. Adams retired nine of 11 batters through three scoreless innings but began allowing hard hits in abundance in the 4th. Adams lost 2-3 ticks on everything by the 6th, and nothing he threw had great movement, but his general velocity was fine (avg. four-seamer 92.7) and he threw strikes. The Express staff is truly a mess right now, but that’s nothing new. The AAA club is there in part to absorb the chaos so the parent club can function properly. 

Texas released Blaine Crim. He hadn’t been designated for assignment (at least publicly), so the move almost certainly means a trip overseas. 


AA: Frisco 6, at Amarillo (ARI) 7 (10)
Frisco: 10 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 14 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 40-30 overall

SP Blake Townsend: 5 IP, 8 H (2 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 82 P / 61 S, 4.86 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 2.48 ERA
DH Malcolm Moore: 2-4, HR (2), HBP, .296/.355/.630
RF Keith Jones II: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, SB (12), .227/.343/.392

Malcolm Moore homered for the second time in two games, an oppo shot that cleared easily. He’s only drawn one walk in 31 plate appearances in AA, but when a guy is in “see ball, hit ball” mode, it’s best not to quibble. Pitchers were extremely strike-averse on first pitches against him in high-A, but he’s getting a typical percentage in Frisco. I will say he’s never drawn walks at an above-average rate in the pros at any level for any length of time. 


Hi-A: Hub City 4, Winston-Salem (CHW) 7
Hub City: 9 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 11 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 2-3, 36-35 overall

SP J’Briell Easley: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 42 P / 21 S, 5.58 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 5.79 ERA
3B Luke Hanson: 2-4, 2B, HR (11), .254/.316/.453

Easley began the year on a tear but has been worryingly walk-prone lately, with 17 in his last 23 innings during May and June. He didn’t have this issue last year. 

Proksch tossed a season-high 2.2 innings on just 37 pitches, 25 for strikes including nine whiffs on 17 swings. If you’re wondering how Proksch owns a 5.79 ERA in high-A despite just getting promoted, he pitched a couple of unsuccessful innings for the Burgers in May when Hickory couldn’t play due to the fire at the stadium. 

Brock Porter, Luke Savage and Case Matter walked three batters apiece across the final five innings. Porter did fan five in 2.1 innings. 

Luke Hanson now has more homers in barely over a half season than his 128-game college career. 


Lo-A: Hickory 7, Hill City (CLE) 4
Hickory: 8 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 16 strikeouts
Record: 5-0, 39-30 overall

SP Moises Morales: 4.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 SO, 60 P / 41 S, 4.23 ERA
RP Michael Trausch: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.99 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-3, BB, SB (30), .304/.412/.416
DH Marco Argudin: 1-2, 2B, BB, .319/.439/.489
LF Marcos Torres: 3-4, HR (9), 2 SB (26), .235/.319/.450

Moises Morales woke up in a mood yesterday. He fanned nine of 16 batters, seven swinging, without allowing a hit. His fastballs hover around 90 but had impressive movement, and his slider was especially impressive. Honestly, he imparts enough movement on everything that I’m not sure he always knows where the ball will end up, but he’s only walked 13 in 55 innings. His whiff rate is squarely in the middle of the league, but he’s “saving” the missed bats for when they matter most. The 22-year-old reached the US last year and was solid in Arizona (4.23 ERA, 41 SO in 41 IP). 

Yolfran Castillo ranks second in the league in steals with 30, and Marcos Torres is tenth with 26. Both have already surpassed last year’s season-long totals. 

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

Elsewhere
Mitch Bratt made his MLB debut yesterday, 

Bratt is a lefty, by the way. I called him a righty yesterday, because for some reason I’ve always mixed him and Josh Stephan. 

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco’s Jacob Latz needed 57 pitches to retire five batters and allowed five runs. He got better. 

And, despite never writing under the influence of anything but caffeine, I somehow came up with this (mostly stolen from Bob Dylan):
Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren’t right
Third baseman Joey Gallo went zero-for-four
Struck out thrice for the fourth time in five days, how poor
Let me tell the second mother this has been done
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61

In March, I mentioned a focus of mine would be MLB starting depth, since “the last time Texas used fewer than ten starters in a season was 2011.” When minor league rosters were announced in late that month, I wrote: “The [AAA] rotation could be [Jose] Corniell, [Austin] Gomber, [Patrick] Murphy, [Cal] Quantrill, [Josh] Stephan and [Trey] Supak. None is tickling my fancy as an MLB replacement starter at present. I’d ultimately prefer Corniell, who made his MLB debut late last season, but he has only 34 innings above high-A.” 

Corniell turned out to need more tie to heal and isn’t at the the late-season form of 2025 that earned his MLB debut. Gomber was released.* Murphy is injured. Quantrill was called up for relief depth. Stephan has a homer-filled 6.14 ERA. Supak has been better but doesn’t miss many bats and was IL’ed last week. At some point earlier in the season I suggested then-Frisco starter David Davalillo, but I lacked conviction, and now he’s in Arizona after a stunning loss of control upon promotion to Round Rock. Current Frisco starter Winston Santos (called up today) has an opposing line of .312/.394/.526 with ten homers in 42 innings. AA starter Leandro Lopez is hurt and hasn’t been in the picture regardless. 

Two months ago, it wasn’t unreasonably to assume that one of Davalillo, Corniell and Santos would be viable depth by late June, but that’s not the case. Honestly, the best internal option might be stretching out Cal Quantrill or even Joe Ross. I wasn’t overjoyed when Texas selected Quantrill’s contract, but he’s gotten by. 

The mess created by Leiter’s absence is exacerbated by Texas’s perpetual status as a fringe contender. The 44-35 Rangers would have to Do Something. The 34-45 Rangers could commence the tear-down. The 38-41 Rangers (as of this morning), under .500 but just 2.5 out of first and one from a wild card? Well, they certainly must do something, but that’s caught up in the daunting question of what kind of team this really is. I’m inclined at that point to believe the Texas isn’t significantly better or worse than what’s on display, but that doesn’t lead to a solution, just more crossing of fingers and hoping for the best. 

Texas signed righty Marco Gonzales, but he’s purely a stopgap for the AAA rotation, which is in even worse shape with the losses of Supak, Davalillo and Corniell (who was optioned back to AAA today). He was dreadful with El Paso (except, annoyingly, against the Express) and is barely capable of stringing together outs against AAA competition, but such are the times. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, at Tacoma (SEA) 6
Round Rock: 12 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 1-0, 32-44 overall

SP Marco Gonzales: 4 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 69 P / 45 S, 7.89 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.84 ERA
RP Thomas Ireland: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.60 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 3.82 ERA
SS Josh Smith: 1-4, 2B, BB, .222/.341/.389
LF Aaron Zavala: 3-5, 2B, .267/.366/.426
2B John Taylor: 2-5, 2B, .226/.388/.434
3B Jonah Bride: 2-4, HR (7), .270/.399/.412
DH Trevor Hauver: 2-2, HR (6), 2 BB, .249/.389/.385

The Express scored the game’s final six runs including three in the 9th. 

On the road trip, Emiliano Teodo made three appearances and walked or hit seven of 23 batters, and in eight June appearances he has more walks (10) than strikeouts (9). He’s in a better place than April, but relying on him for MLB outs is a stretch. 

The Express acquired more catching depth in the form of 35-year-old Austin Wynns, released from Atlanta last week after having served briefly for both the A’s and Halos. Also joining Round Rock is 30-year-old Spencer Adams, who last pitched in an MLB organization in 2019 and doesn’t appear anywhere during 2020-2024. Texas purchased him from indy Gastonia, where he posted a 4.42 ERA with 18 walks and 64 strikeouts in 57 innings. 


AA: Frisco 7, at Amarillo (ARI) 3
Frisco: 20 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 1-0, 40-29 overall

SP Aidan Curry: 6.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 93 P / 61 S, 7.46 ERA
RP Anthony Susac: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Cole Stasio: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.91 ERA
SS Frainyer Chavez: 1-3, HR (9), 3 BB, .288/.402/.463
CF Dylan Dreiling: 4-6, SB (9), .293/.382/.437
3B Rafe Perich: 3-4, HR (6), BB, .298/.398/.607
C Malcolm Moore: 3-5, HR (1), .261/.308/.522

Frisco put 26 runners aboard but settled for a relatively modest seven runs. Malcolm Moore hit his first AA homer. Amarillo is hitter-friendly, but fortunately I don’t have to provide an Asheville-type caveat to the performances there.


Hi-A: Hub City 5, Winston-Salem (CHW) 4
Hub City: 7 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 7 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 2-2, 36-34 overall

SP Enrique Segura: 4.2 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 4 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 85 P / 51 S, 7.29 ERA
RP Cole Roland: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 2.50 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 3.48 ERA
CF Hector Osorio: 2-4, BB, .281/.379/.491
3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-4, HR (9), .240/.344/.442
RF Maxton Martin: 1-2, HR (6), 2 BB, SB (9), .209/.279/.376

Trailing 4-2 in the 9th, Hub City won without a hit. Poor Garrett Wright walked five, and catcher Boston Smith didn’t appear to even deflect much less catch an inside pitch from replacement Jack Young, and Carter Garate scampered home with the winning run. 

Texas promoted righty AJ Russell and lefty Owen Proksch to high-A. Two days ago, I wondered aloud whether he’d reach five five innings before Hub City, and the answer is no. Sometimes I know of such moves beforehand and am being sly, but in this case it was just a feeling. I don’t want to oversell Proksch, but he’s clearly not in the same competitive class as low-A hitters. 


Lo-A: Hickory 11, Hill City (CLE) 10
Hickory: 14 hits, 6 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 4-0, 38-30 overall

SP Alejandro Chiquillo: 5.1 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 7 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 81 P / 51 S, 3.60 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.57 ERA
RF Marco Argudin: 2-4, HR (1), BB, SB (1), .311/.426/.467
3B Angel Arredondo: 2-3, HR (7), 2 BB, .249/.382/.421
2B Daniel Flames: 3-4, 2B, BB, .282/.352/.356
LF Marcos Torres: 2-3, BB, .226/.312/.432

No late comeback. Instead, Hickory trailed 5-0 before batting, led by four after the 6th and stranded Hill City’s tying run at second to end the run. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: TBD
AA: Townsend
Hi-A: Easley
Lo-A: Morales

Elsewhere
The Diamondbacks called up lefty Kohl Drake, but he did not appear in a game before being optioned. He’s had a very tough season that isn’t all the Reno environment (7.83 ERA with matching peripherals). 

Replacing Drake on the Arizona roster is righty Mitch Bratt, who has a 2.84 ERA and 42 strikeouts versus 12 walks in 44 innings for the Aces. 

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Down East’s Jayce Easley stole his 22nd base of the stlll-young season. He would go on to swipe 70, most in all the minors that year and most by a Ranger since George Crum in 1983. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 9, at Las Vegas (ATH) 5
Round Rock: 15 hits, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Record: 31-44, 14 GB, first half over

SP Nolan Kingham: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 75 P / 58 S, 7.54 ERA
RP Jacob Stretch: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.81 ERA
CF Cameron Cauley: 1-4, BB, 2 SB (27), .267/.371/.407
3B Jonah Bride: 3-3, 2 2B, BB, .266/.393/.397
1B Blaine Crim: 3-5, .263/.345/.461
DH Aaron Zavala: 2-5, 2B, .259/.361/.416
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-4, HR (2), BB, .158/.234/.263

The 8th was pitched by 23-year-old righty Jacob Stretch, an undrafted Virginia Tech alum who threw 19 innings in the Baltimore organization last year. Texas signed him in May, and he’s tossed 11.2 innings with a 6.17 ERA eight walks and 19 strikeouts for the rookies. The Round Rock assignment is of the “we need a guy” variety, I think; a permanent placement should be at one of the lower levels. Stretch is the first player with that last name in the history of MLB-affiliated ball. Now it’s time for the organization to find and sign Billy Windup.

Gavin Collyer threw ten strikes in 11 pitches, coming on to get the last two outs when AAA batters at altitude proved too much for relative newcomer Cole Roland (0.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R). 

Nolan Kingham did everyone a huge favor with a quality start. In the span of a few days, the Express have at least temporarily lost three-fifths of their rotation (Davalillo to the complex, Supak to the IL, Corniell to Arlington). On social media today I joked about signing Taijuan Walker, just released by the Angels, but I’m not really joking. He needs a showcase, Round Rock needs innings. 

Several batters took full advantage of the setting last week including Blaine Crim (.381/.435/.619) and Cam Cauley (.333/.385/.667). Round Rock averaged 8.3 runs per game yet lost four of six. Adios, Silver State.

The 31-44 record is the second-worst of any Texas AAA half-season dating back to 2005. In Texas’s lone season with Nashville in 2019, the Sounds were 28-42 at the midway point but finished 38-30. 


AA: Frisco 3, Arkansas (SEA) 1
Frisco: 7 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 39-29, 3 G up, division champion, first half over

SP Jordan Montgomery: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 13 P / 10 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Dylan MacLean: 5.1 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 3.81 ERA
RP Josh Trentadue: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 7.85 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Frainyer Chavez: 2-2, 2 BB, .287/.397/.453
2B Max Wagner: 2-3, HR (6), .242/.349/.484

Jordan Montgomery had a solid 2026 debut, finishing with a curve strikeout. Had LF Marcus Lee Sang not misjudged a wind-blown fly to the corner, Montgomery would have completed the innings on just five pitches. Like all rehabbers in Frisco, Montgomery donned the weirdly clashing combination of light cream Frisco top and bright white Rangers pants (with red and blue piping). 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, at Frederick (BAL) 8
Hub City: 7 hits, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 1-2, 35-34 overall

SP Izack Tiger: 2.2 IP, 5 H (2 HR), 4 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 41 P / 28 S, 13.50 ERA
RP D.J. McCarty: 5 IP, 3 H (2 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 3 SO, 5.36 ERA
CF Hector Osorio: 2-4, BB, .264/.361/.491
2B Chandler Pollard: 2-3, BB, 2 SB (14), .234/.326/.338

The good news is Izack Tiger is back to full-season ball for the first time in over two years. The bad is that homers in the South Atlantic League are up a ridiculous 45% since the last time he pitched at this league, and he was taken deep twice including on just his fourth pitch of the game. Tiger suffered an elbow injury in mid-June 2024 and had thrown 6.2 innings with two runs, two walks and 14 strikeouts in Arizona. He’s touched 100 in the past but was in the mid-90s yesterday. 

21-year-old Hector Osorio has handled high-A well so far, drawing seven walks versus just six strikeouts in addition to a nearly .500 slugging percentage. 


Lo-A: Hickory 4, Columbia (KAN) 3
Hickory: 5 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 3-0, 37-30 overall

SP Evan Siary: 4 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 47 P / 34 S, 3.65 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 1.82 ERA
C Cal Stark: 1-3, HR (1), .190/.307/.317

In low-A, Owen Proksch has made 11 appearances of exactly two innings in 2026. Three were perfect, another three were scoreless with no hits, four were scoreless with hits, and one had a run. 

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Five years ago yesterday wasn’t very interesting. Five years ago, Tyler Phillips was bumped to AAA and allowed four runs on three hits and two walks in 0.2 innings. The promotion frankly confused me, as he’d been dealing with atypical control issues as well as some fortunately brief elbow discomfort. He missed on 14 of 29 pitches. Keep in mind his walk rate three years prior was one per 37 batters. Frisco’s Hans Crouse allowed a run in 6.2 solid innings, though they did prompt a lengthy discussion about how he most definitely wasn’t the flamethrower of yore, usually dealing a fastball around 93 augmented with a new cutter. 

Next year, I’m going to have to adjust the format, because on Mondays in 2027, the schedule “five years ago yesterday” will be completely empty. 

Programming Note
Wednesday’s report will be late or perhaps blended into Thursday because of work travel. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, at Las Vegas (ATH) 10
Round Rock: 11 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 30-44, eliminated

SP Josh Stephan: 4.1 IP, 9 H (2 HR), 7 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 95 P / 65 S, 6.14 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 10.80 ERA
RP Josh Sborz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 7.08 ERA
SS Cameron Cauley: 2-5, HR (7), .267/.371/.410
2B Josh Smith: 1-4, BB, SB (3), .214/.324/.393

Vegas chipped away at Round Rock’s early leads of 3-0 and 6-2. With the homer and other hit, Cam Cauley is slugging over .400 for the first time since early April.

Texas promoted righty Ryan Lobus to Round Rock, unfortunately just in time to pitch in Vegas. In Frisco, his ERA was 4.55 in 31.2 innings, but opponents batted only .220/.303/.331 against him. The undrafted Mercer alum signed in July 2023. Last night’s offerings included a 93 FB, 83 sweeper and 87 change. 

Pitchers Trey Supak and Alexis Diaz were placed on the IL. Diaz injured his right ankle or thereabouts pitching. I don’t know about Supak. 

Round Rock secured the league’s worst first-half record with the loss. Las Vegas (44-28) clinched the title for the first half, which ends today.


AA: Frisco 4, Arkansas (SEA) 2
Frisco: 9 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 38-29, division champion

SP Ben Anderson: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 81 P / 54 S, 3.57 ERA
RP Jonathan Brand: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 2.48 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-4, .282/.375/.431
1B Arturo Disla: 1-4, HR (6), .316/.406/.544
3B Max Wagner: 1-3, HR (5), .227/.340/.443

Homers from Arturo Disla and Max Wagner accounted for three of the runs. Wagner homered off Ryan Sloan, yet another terrific Seattle pitching prospect who’d dominated Frisco last time out (6 hitless and scoreless, 11 K). 

Amarillo has five straight wins against Midland, the worst-case scenario had Frisco faltered this week, but the Riders have taken four of six, also ruining whatever chance Arkansas had of catching Tulsa in the other division. 

Texas promoted righty Anthony Susac from Hub City. Per usual, he’s been intermittently effective with some frustrating control issues (16% BB+HBP rate, .357 oppo OBP, 4.50 ERA), but I don’t know who I’d have picked in his stead. Actually, the name that occurred to me was in-season signing Cole Roland, but Texas bumped him all the way to Round Rock (probably temporarily). 


Hi-A: Hub City 13, at Frederick (BAL) 8 (10)
Hub City: 14 hits, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 35-33 overall

SP Ismael Agreda: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 4 SO, 1 P / 42 S, 5.37 ERA
RP Kai Wynyard: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 7.81 ERA
LF Yeison Morrobel: 3-6, HR (10), .306/.379/.494
SS Luke Hanson: 2-5, 2B, BB, .257/.322/.450
3B Gleider Figuereo: 5-3, 3 2B, 3B, BB, .241/.340/.434

Yeison Morrobel reached ten homers for the first time in memorable fashion, a game-tying three-run homer in the 9th. 

Agreda walked a season-high five and hit another but wasn’t hurt too badly. A career-best 30% K rate has limited his number of “disaster starts” (more runs than innings) to two out of 12. He tallied Ks with a fastball, slider and change yesterday. 


Lo-A: Hickory 6, Columbia (KAN) 0
Hickory: 12 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Record: 2-0, 36-30 overall

SP AJ Russell: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 52 P / 37 S, 3.04 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.67 ERA
RP Jormy Nivar: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1.98 ERA
CF Marco Argudin: 2-5, 2B, .293/.408/.390
2B Daniel Flames: 2-3, 2 2B, BB, .269/.341/.335

The very carefully used Russell didn’t quite set new highs in innings or pitches, but he was excellent once again. Russell has fanned 43 of 107 batters in low-A. I guess the question is what comes first: a five-inning outing or a promotion?

20-year-old Marco Argudin has acclimated well to full-season ball so far, never a sure thing. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
“(Written last night) Andy Ibanez has four homers and a 1.200 slugging percentage in his last eight games. (Written today) Andy Ibanez is being recalled and will start at 2B tonight, and according to at least one local report he’s not up just to warm the end of the bench.” Ibanez would indeed play frequently and batted a solid .289/.335/.457 splitting time between first, second, third, DH and (once) left field. I’d forgotten he’d hit that well, to be honest. 

Frisco clinched the Texas League South first-half title with last night’s victory. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 13, at Las Vegas (ATH) 26
Round Rock: 15 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 22 hits, 9 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 30-42, eliminated

SP Joe Adametz: 4 IP, 12 H (2 HR), 15 R, 4 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 87 P / 56 S, 27.00 ERA
3B Cameron Cauley: 2-6, 2 2B, .265/.370/.389
LF Aaron Zavala: 2-4, 3B, BB, .262/.368/.422
CF Gilberto Celestino: 3-5, 2B, 3B, .283/.379/.375
RF Trevor Hauver: 2-4, 2B, HR (4), BB, .241/.381/.454

Listed starter Jose Corniell did not appear. Instead, the Express started Joe Adametz, who became the first minor league pitcher to surrender 15 runs since 2011, and only the third in the last 21 years (as far back as I can look). Aside from a one-off outing for AAA Toledo last year, he’d never pitched above high-A. Despite the four walks (plus a hit batter) in four innings and change, he mostly threw strikes and took his chances. He missed eight bats, struck out three batters who’ve played in the Majors, and allowed only one ball in play over 97 MPH. What I’m saying is: Don’t knock Joe Adametz. 

In the 7th, Las Vegas scored its 24th run to set a franchise record. The Aviators scored in every inning but the 8th, when infielder Diego Castillo induced three flies with an upper-30s eephus. 26 runs are also the most ever allowed by the Express. In 14 seasons as a Texas AAA affiliate, the Express had previously allowed 20 runs just once, exactly 20 to OKC in 2022. 


AA: Frisco 13, Arkansas (SEA) 4
Frisco: 15 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 37-28, division champion

SP Winston Santos: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 88 P / 53 S, 7.44 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Bryan Magdaleno: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.67 ERA
SS Frainyer Chavez: 2-4, 2B, BB, .282/.391/.452
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-4, 2B, BB, .282/.375/.435
C Malcolm Moore: 1-4, 3B
DH Julian Brock: 2-4, 2B, BB, .198/.312/.351
LF Marcus Lee Sang: 2-4, 2B, SB (11), .280/.355/.400

At the beginning of the season, Frisco’s collection of position players was as vet-heavy as any Texas AA club I can recall, but they hit the cover off the ball. Some promotions plus the additions of several from Hub City haven’t softened the attack. 

Santos was in fine shape until the 5th, when two hits and two walks without an out forced in Joey Danielson, who worked a double play and strikeout. He’s allowed exactly three runs in six consecutive starts. 

3B Rafe Perich and 1B Arturo Disla singled twice. Malcolm Moore was the only batter not to reach twice, and he tripled and hit a sac fly. 


Hi-A: Hub City 5, at Frederick (BAL) 6
Hub City: 10 hits, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 34-31, eliminated G up

SP Kamdyn Perry: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 78 P / 51 S, 6.06 ERA
RP Luke Savage: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 7.43 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3.86 ERA
LF Yeison Morrobel: 4-5, 2 HR (9), .304/.379/.487
CF Hector Osorio: 2-5, HR (3), .250/.348/.525

Frederick claimed the league’s North Division title with the win. The second half begins today, but the teams will stay put for three more games. With his two homers, Yeison Morrobel has tied his season-best of 2024 by the midway point. 

Hub City has three double-digit homer hitters at the break: Rafe Perich (11), Malcolm Moore (10), Luke Hanson (10). The first two are now in Frisco. 


Lo-A: Hickory 4, Columbia (KAN) 6 (10)
Hickory: 5 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 34-30, 2 GB, 2nd place in division, first half over

SP Jesus Lafalaise: 6 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 79 P / 51 S, 5.19 ERA
LF Deward Tovar: 2-3, BB, .217/.285/.410

Columbia scored three in the 10th. The first scored from second on a strikeout. Batter Ivan Sosa swung through an 0-2 pitch in the dirt but reached second when freshly promoted catcher Sebastian Baquera threw the ball over the head of 1B Marcos Torres. 

OF Hector Osorio was Hub City’s best hitter by far, .309/.437/.581 (roughly a 174 OPS+) with 13 homers and 12 other extra base hits. Shortstop Yolfran Castillo is first with 17 doubles and second with 29 steals. Reliever Michael Trausch has the lowest hit rate (4.0 per nine innings) of any pitcher with at least 20 innings. 

Charleston won the division with a 37-29 mark despite a negative run differential. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
In his third professional game, 18-year-old OF Alejandro Osuna went 4-5 with three doubles. He’d signed the previous October and bypassed the rookie levels. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 4, at Las Vegas (ATH) 7
Round Rock: 4 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
Record: 30-41, eliminated

SP Trey Supak: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 61 P / 39 S, 5.50 ERA
RP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.40 ERA
SS Cameron Cauley: 2-5, 2B, 2 SB (25), .263/.370/.382

I’ve been asked about Kelenic as an addition to the Rangers. He’s hitting .370/.463/.674 in 12 games with the Express. 

As a bench player, Kelenic probably doesn’t help or hurt the team relative to other options. If he’s playing often, I’m worried. He’s a lifetime .211/.283/.374 hitter in 426 games. I’ve found discussions of how Kelenic’s MLB Statcast data has been promising, and he’s had dreadful luck in terms of expected average and slugging versus actual results. Kelenic also turns 27 next month and has over 1,500 MLB plate appearances. At some point, “xBA” and “xSLG” don’t matter. There’s no mean to regress to. His actual performance is the mean. Could Texas get more out of him? Possibly. Enough to meaningfully improve the team’s fortunes? I doubt it. Giving Kelenic a significant role feels desperate. But then, the Rangers are 35-38, contending only because so many AL clubs are playing at the same level. 

Texas transferred RHP David Davalillo to Arizona. He walked or hit a career-high nine batters in his AAA debut, and his walk+HBP rate in six starts was an unfathomable 25%. I’d want to review more footage to be sure, but I wasn’t seeing a “yips”-like situation. His strike rate was above 50% (if barely) in every start with Round Rock, and he had an above-average swinging-strike rate on his four-seamer. But in particular, his sweeper and splitter just weren’t functioning properly, so hitters could often ignore them. Davalillo needs his full repertoire in sync to succeed. 


AA: Frisco 4, Arkansas (SEA) 9 (7)
Frisco: 7 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 8 walks, 7 strikeouts

SP Blake Townsend: 4.1 IP, 3 H (2 HR), 7 R, 7 BB, 5 SO, 100 P / 51 S, 4.62 ERA
1B Arturo Disla: 3-3, 2 HR (5)

Townsend broke a streak of four walk-less starts with a wrecking ball. Leading off a doubleheader with walk-prone Josh Trentadue slated to start the nightcap, he was pushed harder for innings than I think would be typical. Townsend is 25, fully grown and then some, but he’s the first pitcher below AAA to expend 100 pitches for just 13 outs since June of last year. 

AA: Frisco 13, “at” Arkansas (SEA) 3 (7)
Frisco: 16 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 35-28, 3 G up, magic number 2

SP Josh Trentadue: 3 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 45 P / 25 S, 8.07 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 4.55 ERA
SS Frainyer Chavez: 4-5, 2B, HR (8), 2 SB (), .279/.387/.447
3B Rafe Perich: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, .294/.400/.632
DH Arturo Disla: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .314/.417/.529

Trentadue didn’t have good control but managed to complete three innings in a tidy 45 pitches. Arturo Disla had a day. 

Amarillo won again to gain half a game and eliminate Midland. Frisco has a magic number of two to win the division outright, and I believe they own the tiebreaker. The teams split their one series together. The next tiebreaker is best record over the final 20 games, which means the title goes to the team with the worst record in the first 48 games of 68 total. Both teams were 25-23 after 48 games. Next is final 21 games. Both were 25-22 after 47 games. Next, 22. Frisco was 24-22 after 46 games while Amarillo was 25-21, meaning Frisco has to have a better record over the final 22 games for the teams to finish in a tie. 

Sorry for subjecting you to this. 


Hi-A: Hub City 3, at Frederick (BAL) 9 (7)
Hub City: 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts

SP Brock Porter: 2.2 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 6 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 58 P / 30 S, 2.87 ERA
SS Luke Hanson: 2-4, 2B, SB (7), .260/.326/.456

Brock Porter was suddenly hittable in the 3rd, surrendering five hits in a span of six batters to end his night. 

Hi-A: “at” Hub City 1, Frederick (BAL) 9 (7)
Hub City: 6 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 8 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 34-30, eliminated

SP J’Briell Easley: 0.2 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, P / S, 4.60 ERA
RP Ben DeTaeye: 1.2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 16.20 ERA

Hub City threw 162 pitches including 76 balls in seven innings. Easley couldn’t escape the 1st, so Ben DeTaeye’s first responsibility as the employee of an MLB club was  stanching the bleeding, which he could not do. 

Frederick moved into a tie for 1st with Greensboro with one game remaining, and the Keys hold the tiebreak.  


Lo-A: Hickory 9, Columbia (KAN) 5
Hickory: 12 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 34-29, eliminated

SP Frank Martinez: 2.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 60 P / 36 S, 8.16 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.86 ERA
RP Owen Proksch: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 1.99 ERA
3B Angel Arredondo: 3-5, .233/.373/.404
CF Paulino Santana: 1-4, HR (7), HBP, .262/.392/.433
RF Braylin Morel: 2-4, 2B, .216/.237/.324
LF Marcos Torres: 2-4, 2 2B, SB (24), .229/.315/.444
SS Curley Martha: 2-3, 2B, BB, SB (1), .133/.212/.167

O Pro fanned six in a row, all swinging, mostly on sweepers that are essentially unhittable at this level. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Corniell
AA: Santos
Hi-A: Perry
Lo-A: Lafalaise

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Cody Bradford matched Cole Ragans’ eight strikeouts from the day before, but Hickory still lost to fall to 13-26. The ’21 Dads had Bradford, Ragans, Justin Slaten, Grant Wolfram, Zak Kent, Ronny Henriquez, Grant Anderson, Blaine Crim, Zeke Duran, Justin Foscue and Jonathan Ornelas for portions of the season and finished 46-68. 

Ornelas, incidentally, is hitting .324/.380/.506 at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. His whiff rate against non-fastballs is scary, but at long last, he’s stopped hitting everything on the ground in AAA. He drove me batty in Round Rock. 

In 2018, Tyler Phillips allowed four homers in 128 innings. Five years ago yesterday, he allowed three in one inning. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 5, El Paso (SDP) 4
Round Rock: 8 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 29-40, eliminated

SP Josh Stephan: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 89 P / 60 S, 5.59 ERA
RP Luis Curvelo: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.19 ERA
CF Jarred Kelenic: 1-3, BB, .378/.465/.595
DH Josh Smith: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB
C Jose Herrera: 2-4, 2 2B, .202/.331/.279

With the game tied, two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th, rehabbing Josh Smith stared at five straight balls for a walk-off walk. The first and fourth pitches were called strikes; Smith accepted a close call on the first but successfully challenged the fourth, which was well inside. El Paso pity-challenged of the final pitch, which was also inside. Catcher Jose Herrera’s one-out double tied the game earlier in the inning. 

Smith had three hard-hit balls. Luis Curvelo had to replace Alexis Diaz in the 9th after Diaz twisted his pivot foot delivering a pitch. Gavin Collyer (one out, two walks, 40% strike rate) and Wilian Bormie (four outs, three runners, one run, 3 K) had some issues. 

This week, Round Rock will try to ruin Las Vegas’s first half. The Aviators hold a half-game lead over Sacramento with six to play. Assuming the rotation isn’t altered, Nolan Kingham drew the short straw and will start twice at one of baseball’s least-hospitable pitching environments. 


AA: Frisco 5, at San Antonio (SDP) 6 (12)
Frisco: 9 hits, 6 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 34-27, 3.5 G up

SP Dylan MacLean: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 89 P / 62 S, 4.02 ERA
3B Rafe Perich: 1-4, 2 BB, .263/.364/.561
RF Orlando Martinez: 3-6, 2B, .303/.382/.469
C Ian Moller: 1-4, HR (7), BB, .226/.357/.452

Frisco scored twice in the 12th but allowed three, capped by Romeo Sanabria’s walk-off two-run shot. Upon contact, my first thought was “it’s San Antonio, the ball doesn’t carry,” but at the six-second mark in the lower-left corner of the screen you can see pitcher Eric Loomis slam his glove to the ground. In the 9th, RF Orlando Martinez made an outstanding diving catch to send the game to extras. 

Ian Moller surpassed his previous season-best six homers before the end of the first half. That hoped-for power, hinted at way back in 2021 when he slugged .480 at the complex, is showing up. 

Frisco leads both Midland and Amarillo by 3.5 games. Frisco has a rainout makeup this week, and all three will play the same number of games this half barring further storms. Frisco will host Arkansas, 2.5 games out of first at 39-23 but with a league-best +103 run differential. The Riders are aided by having Midland face Amarillo; ideally, those two split the series, which would then require just one Frisco victory to secure the title. 

I believe Frisco owns the tiebreak against Amarillo but not Midland. I’ll check if necessary. 


Hi-A: Hub City 9, Asheville (HOU) 0
Hub City: 6 hits, 8 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 33-29, eliminated

SP D.J. McCarty: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 8 SO, 83 P / 51 S, 5.36 ERA
RP Jesus Gamez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 5.79 ERA
RP Adrian Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 4.70 ERA
RP Cole Stasio: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1.33 ERA
DH Yeison Morrobel: 1-3, 2 BB, .293/.370/.457
C Malcolm Moore: 2-5, 2B, .300/.387/.542
RF Hector Osorio: 1-3, 2 BB, .207/.324/.448
1B Maxton Martin: 1-4, HR (5), .210/.281/.371

Bowling Green claimed the division long ago, but Hub City did clinch a winning record in the first half.. The Burgers are 10-2 with a +44 run differential against Asheville (16-46) this season and 23-27 with a -36 differential against other opposition. 

The Astros released Eurys Martich, the Asheville pitcher who surrendered Malcolm Moore’s walk-off homer Saturday. Martich had a 17.23 ERA and had walked or hit 37 batters in 15.2 innings. 


Lo-A: Hickory 10, at Charleston (TAM) 6
Hickory: 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 11 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 33-28, 2 GB

SP Evan Siary: 4 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 5 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 59 P / 40 S, 3.76 ERA
RP Luimy Munoz: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.42 ERA
3B Yolfran Castillo: 1-2, 2 BB, HBP, SB (29), .307/.413/.425
SS Angel Arredondo: 2-4, 3B, BB, .228/.374/.408

Hickory squandered an early 5-0 lead but immediately responded with three more runs after Charleston tied the affair in the 4th. Evan Siary had his roughest start in a month. Catcher Josh Springer was hit on a back of his left hand by a pitch. He took 1st after a delay but was pulled for Cal Stark in the 3rd. 

Hickory had to win both Saturday and Sunday to avoid elimination. Now, with three games remaining in the first half, the Crawdads still don’t control their destiny but could lose one game and still take the division. Two wins plus three Charleston losses would suffice, as would three Hickory wins and two Charleston losses. Unlikely but possible.  Hickory hosts Columbia (32-31) this week while Charleston visits Wilson (34-29). 

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock’s Curtis Terry hit his tenth homer. I suggested he would probably handle MLB pitching acceptably if needed, which wasn’t quite the same as suggesting he was kicking down the door and would perform well. I’d said the same about Ronald Guzman in June 2017. Guzman would have to wait until the following season to make his MLB debut, while Terry was just five weeks away from his. Now 31, Guzman played sparingly for Mexico’s Veracruz last year but hasn’t appeared in 2026. 

I played around some with the data on Jack Leiter, currently famous for a 12.41 ERA and .424/.470/.678 opposing line in 5th innings in 2026. His walks and strikeouts in the 5th are fine, but Looking at the batted ball data, but opponents are hitting .625 when they put the ball in play. Some of that is luck; nobody (except you and I) should be hit that hard in the long run.

One item I caught is a much higher average on grounders, which ought to be pure luck, but check out the last three columns:



Leiter grounders in the 5th have tended to be much harder and more in proximity to line drives. That’s a tangible difference, maybe not worth 271 points of average, but some. I could also analyze his pitch movement and location, but for now I’d rather wait to see if he can improve and save me the trouble. 

Texas called up reliever Joe Ross, optioned Luis Curvelo and designated Michel Otanez for assignment. 

Over the course of two months, Curvelo went from “only optioned because he has options” to “only called up because he has options.” He’s already been optioned four times this season and has only one more before the next would trigger a waiver requirement. 

Michel Otanez has a 6.15 ERA in Round Rock and has been on the cusp of designation since before the season started. He’d actually handled opposing contact fairly well and was squashing righties (.093/.298/.140), but his control has been terrible. 

Joe Ross is Joe Ross. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 2, El Paso (SDP) 7
Round Rock: 7 hits, 6 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 28-40, eliminated

SP David Davalillo: 3 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 68 P / 37 S, 7.59 ERA
RP Emiliano Teodo: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.11 ERA
SS Cameron Cauley: 1-4, BB, SB (23), .266/.376/.390
2B Josh Smith: 1-4, BB, SB
CF Jarred Kelenic: 1-3, HR (2), 2 BB, .382/.462/.618
LF Aaron Zavala: 3-4, 2B, .266/.373/.410

The location troubles continued for David Davalillo:



The splitter was telling. The nine left-most versions were all ignored. The other six resulted in three whiffs, two fouls and a groundout. The homer was a Dell Diamond Summer Special, 92 MPH off the bat into a 16 MPH tailwind. 

Emiliano Teodo had better control of his sinker, although he did allow a run on two singles (one soft, one hard) and a balk. 

Cam Cauley is hitting .353/.465/.500 in June. On the whole, he’s been strong at getting on base but a little light on power. Most of his Statcast data is near the league mean for various categories. He’s played 22 games at short, 19 in center, 12 at second and eight at third. He definitely would serve as a solid replacement for the skills the injured Michael Helman offers. I’m skeptical of what production Cauley would offer at the plate against Major Leaguers right now. 


AA: Frisco 10, at San Antonio (SDP) 1
Frisco: 11 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 34-26, 3.5 G up

SP Ben Anderson: 3.2 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 62 P / 34 S, 3.65 ERA
RP Ryan Lobus: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.85 ERA
RP Austin Roberts: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 3.81 ERA
CF Dylan Dreiling: 1-4, BB, .291/.388/.455
3B Rafe Perich: 1-4, 3B, BB, .264/.350/.585
DH Keith Jones II: 1-4, HR (7), BB, .232/.347/.411

Frisco scored eight runs in the top of the 9th. Keith Jones broke a stretch of 16 games without a homer, during which time he batted .164/.288/.262. Rafe Perich has an extra-base hit in seven of his 14 AA games.

Midland lost, pushing Frisco closer to a division title. The first half ends next Sunday. 


Hi-A: Hub City 6, Asheville (HOU) 2
Hub City: 8 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 32-29, eliminated

SP Ismael Agreda: 5 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 82 P / 47 S, 5.32 ERA
RP Cole Roland: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.08 ERA
LF Paxton Kling: 2-4, 2B, 2 SB (16), .261/.395/.404
1B Gleider Figuereo: 2-3, 2B, BB, 2 SB (7), .236/.339/.429
SS Carter Garate: 1-3, HR (3), .180/.292/.377

Malcolm Moore (0-3 with a walk) is hitting .267/.353/.493 since that bonkers series in Asheville. A 128 OPS+ by my count. 

Undrafted Carter Garate hit a 2nd-inning grand slam. 


Lo-A: Hickory 6, at Charleston (TAM) 0
Hickory: 11 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 5 hits, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 32-28, 3 GB

SP AJ Russell: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 53 P / 31 S, 3.52 ERA
RP JD McReynolds: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 4.12 ERA
RP Louis Marinaro: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4.30 ERA
RP Jormy Nivar: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.16 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 0-2, 3 BB, SB (28), .305/.405/.425
RF Marco Argudin: 2-5, 3B, SB (2), .353/.476/.529
LF Paulino Santana: 2-4, BB, SB (13), .268/.401/.423
3B Angel Arredondo: 3-5, 3B, .222/.369/.394

The Crawdads won the first of two games required to avoid first-half elimination. Another today would reduce Charleston’s lead to two games, and Hickory would then need two more victories than Charleston over the final three games of the first half. Hickory had two cancelled games, so if the teams finish the same number of games over .500, Hickory would win based on a slightly higher win percentage. 

Yolfran Castillo has 34 walks in 59 games. He walked at will in the Dominican Summer League in 2024 but far less so last year. This year he’s improved his rate a whopping 80%. Paulino Santana leads the team with 40 free passes, also the most in the organization outside of Round Rock, which has played more games. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock OF Leody Taveras hit his sixth homer, only two shy of his previous season-best. To date, his maximum is 14, helpfully tallied in 2023. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 2, El Paso (SDP) 3
Round Rock: 7 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 28-39, eliminated G up

SP Jose Corniell: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 72 P / 44 S, 6.08 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1.98 ERA
CF Jarred Kelenic: 3-4, 2 SB (3), .387/.441/.548
RF Trevor Hauver: 1-3, HR (3), BB, .249/.387/.350
1B Josh Smith: 0-4, SB

Jose Corniell enjoyed his best start of 2026 by a fair margin, getting 12 misses (including six on out-of-zone swings), maintaining his velocity and needing just 72 pitches for five innings. 

It could be nothing, given the sample size, but Josh Smith isn’t hitting the ball as hard during rehab as his previous time in MLB:


Something to watch, at least. 


AA: Frisco 0, at San Antonio (SDP) 3
Frisco: 2 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 33-26, 2.5 G up

SP Dalton Pence: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 86 P / 56 S, 2.05 ERA
RP Eric Loomis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.51 ERA

In his second full season, Pence has issued 14% fewer walks and struck out 14% fewer batters. The K rate is a still-solid 27% versus the league rate of 24%.

Eric Loomis is having a terrific season, allowing only four (!) hits in 17.2 innings while striking out 26. 

Loomis also has a 17% BB+HBP rate. Are there MLB relievers with such a high rate? Yes, but not many, or to be more specific, not many who are garnering much work. During 2024-2025, there were 775 relievers with at least 10 MLB innings in a season. Only 55 had a BB+HBP rate of 16% or higher, and only nine of those pitched at least 30 innings. The median ERA in this group is 4.88. Without an improvement in control, the path to MLB success is very narrow. 


Hi-A: Hub City 6, Asheville (HOU) 5
Hub City: 7 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 31-29, eliminated G up

SP Caden Scarborough: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 62 P / 43 S, 1.69 ERA
RF Hector Osorio: 1-3, 2B, BB, .227/.320/.545
C Malcolm Moore: 1-5, HR (10), .302/.389/.549
1B Quincy Scott: 2-3, 2B, BB, .252/.413/.395

Down 5-3 with one out in the 9th, Malcolm Moore blasted a walk-off three-run homer.

Hub City led 2-0 entering the 8th, but an attempt have Joe Adametz work the duration after Caden Scarborough’s departure didn’t pan out. With the score knotted at two in the 9th, Anthony Susac replaced Adametz with the bases loaded and one out, but a groundout and liner just off shortstop Luke Hanson’s glove plated three. 

Two walks, an error and run-scoring passed ball preceded Moore’s heroics. 

Scarborough had had some understandable struggles in returning from melanoma, but last night the 2025 version was back. He missed a season-high ten bats, but five of Scarborough’s seven strikeouts were called, and three of those came on breakers. Here’s video.


Lo-A: Hickory 1, at Charleston (TAM) 2
Hickory: 3 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 31-28, 4 GB

SP Aidan Deakins: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 72 P / 46 S, 1.82 ERA

Oy. Hickory lost a fourth straight to Charleston, the third by one run. Another loss this weekend will mean elimination. Charleston has won 12 straight. Deakins fanned five in a row at one point and avoided the long ball for the first time in five starts. 

Today’s Starters
AAA: Davalillo
AA: TBD
Hi-A: Agreda
Lo-A: Russell

Five Years Ago Yesterday
RHP Tyler Phillips was activated after two weeks of elbow stiffness but last only three batters before being pulled, not because of reinjury but for a lengthy power outage. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 6, El Paso (SDP) 7
Round Rock: 13 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 28-38, eliminated

SP Trey Supak: 6 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 83 P / 57 S, 5.21 ERA
RP Michel Otañez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.15 ERA
LF Cody Freeman: 3-5, 2B, .341/.426/.537
DH Josh Smith: 2-5, 2B, HR, SB
CF Cameron Cauley: 2-5, 3B, .266/.376/.392

The game ended on an event I can’t recall ever seeing: a double play without a plate appearance. In the 10th with one out and a 7-6 score, Blaine Crim was batting with Josh Smith on 3rd and pinch-runner Jarred Kelenic at 1st. El Paso pitcher Kyle Hart had already thrown to 1st twice, so another unsuccessful attempt would result in a game-tying balk. Hart took that risk and successfully picked off Kelenic, who was tagged out at second. Smith raced home but was also tagged out. 

I searched for MLB games which ended with two runners lost on the bases without a plate appearance, and the only similar example I could find occurred in 1923. The Cards trailed the Reds 4-3 in the 9th with runners at second and third with one out. Ivey Wingo was caught stealing home, and trail-runner Bill Rariden was then caught trying for third. I’m not saying this is the only occasion in MLB history, because searching for game-ending double plays that don’t involve an actual plate appearance isn’t easy. Let’s say it’s a rare occurrence. 

Wilian Bormie had an ugly line — two outs, three hits, a walk, two runs — but it wasn’t all that. A medium-hard grounder just inside the line took a wacky bounce of a railing for a double, and two dinky broken-bat bloops fell for singles. 

Incidentally, the first baseman for El Paso was Nick Pratto, recently released by the Rangers. Pratto hit a solo homer off Trey Supak in the 4th. 

Cody Freeman started in left for the first time this season. 


AA: Frisco 6, at San Antonio (SDP) 3
Frisco: 8 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 33-25, 2.5 G up

SP Winston Santos: 5 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 1 BB, 9 SO, 86 P / 59 S, 7.51 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RF Keith Jones II: 1-4, 2B, .235/.345/.401
1B Arturo Disla: 1-3, BB, .298/.404/.464

Frisco won a sixth straight to maintain a 2.5-game lead. Winston Santos allowed three runs in the 2nd on a single-double-homer sequence, but in innings 3-5 he recorded seven strikeouts. Joey Danielson had a successful reintroduction to AA with plenty of strikes. 

I believe Frisco’s magic number to win the division outright is eight. The tiebreakers are a headache because Frisco has a 6-6 record against second-place Midland and is 3-3 against third-place Amarillo. The next tiebreak is record in final 20 games, and I don’t want to deal with that unless I have to. A three-way tie with Midland and Amarillo is also possible, if highly unlikely. 


Hi-A: Hub City 8, Asheville (HOU) 7
Hub City: 10 hits, 6 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 30-29, eliminated 

SP Kamdyn Perry: 4 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SO, 80 P / 45 S, 3.46 ERA
RP Kai Wynyard: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 9.13 ERA
RP Luke Savage: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 8.37 ERA
LF Yeison Morrobel: 2-4, 2B, BB, .303/.371/.475
RF Hector Osorio: 2-5, HR (2), .211/.286/.526
SS Luke Hanson: 1-4, HR (10), BB, .260/.330/.475
CF Paxton Kling: 1-3, 3B, BB, SB (14), .256/.396/.400

A messy game ended in appropriately messy fashion when Colby Langford threw away Chandler Pollard’s bunt in the 10th to allow Quincy Scott to score. The teams scored in 11 of the 20 half-innings and combined for nine errors. 

Asheville attempted ten steals off Malcolm Moore and friends, succeeding six times. Moore has a 33% catch rate compared to the league average of 22%. 


Lo-A: Hickory 3, at Charleston (TAM) 9
Hickory: 7 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 31-27, 3 GB

SP Jesus Lafalaise: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 73 P / 45 S, 5.68 ERA
LF Paulino Santana: 2-4, BB, .263/.396/.423
DH Braylin Morel: 2-4, 2B, .294/.294/.471
RF Marco Argudin: 2-3, HBP

After May 29th, Charleston was 24-25, in fourth place and five games out of first. The RiverDogs haven’t lost since. Meanwhile, Hickory had been battling Augusta for the division lead, never more than one game up, but a loss on Sunday plus three this week have the Dads in a deep hole. They must win two of the next three to have any chance at the title. 

Last night was the most runs allowed by Hickory in a month, but the team is just 10-10 over the last 20 because the offense has scored a modest 3.8 runs per game in a league averaging 5.1. The annoying part is that the team actually has an above-average OPS during this stretch but is somehow last in runs scored. 

Rookie
DH Josh Owens homered twice to improve to .286/.351/.600. His seven homers rank second in the league. On the mound, Owens has ten strikeouts versus two walks and a 2.8 ERA in 8.2 innings. Texas gave last year’s third-rounder a taste of full-season ball to end 2025 but held him back for the complex this season, presumably to ease his burden as a two-way player. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Round Rock 1B Curtis Terry hit his ninth homer in 30 games. The opposing pitcher was talented but wild flamethrower Jojanse Torres, who’d pitched against Terry in alt-site games that April, He emerged from the covid layoff with such poor control that he dropped from top-20 prospect to out of MLB-affiliated baseball in two seasons.