A new Diamond Pod should be up and ready later this afternoon. Michael Tepid is out today, so the duo of Sean Bass of The Ticket and me talked Bradford, White’s debut, what to do with Brad Miller, deGrom, Ragans/Howard/Otto, Jamey Newberg’s Ohtani trade scenario, the Vegas A’s, my Disneyworld adventure, and the impending semi-retirement of Ticket anchor and D/FW media titan Norm Hitzges.
In other news, I see Rob Manfred went and did it again (offered his opinions on topics).
SP Cole Winn: 4 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 BB, 2 SO, 72 P / 35 S, 8.74 ERA RP Jonathan Hernandez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 SO, 2.70 ERA RP Spencer Howard: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1.59 ERA LF JP Martinez: 2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 BB, 3 SB (19), .330/.471/.517 3B Yoshi Tsutsugo: 1-3, HR (4), BB, .231/.365/.372
Cole Winn has a 25% walk rate in his last six starts and no fewer than four BB in any appearance. 22 of 33 fastballs missed last night. He’s also not missing many bats (16% SO rate) and getting hit hard. How long this can continue? I’m sure he’d have better stats in Frisco, but the issue is more fundamental than where he’s assigned.
We’d heard that Spencer Howard might be stretched into a starting role, but he appeared in relief last night.
Texas signed reliever Ryan Tepera and assigned him to Round Rock, where he threw a scoreless inning last night. Tepera was terrible with the Angels in the second year of his $14 million contract — 7.27 ERA and 20 runners in 8.2 innings — so the Angels set him loose. The Statcast data isn’t promising compared to 2022 but not as alarming as his basic stats. He’s a risk-free rebound project.
The loss eliminated Round Rock from first-half title contention. Round Rock is ten back of OKC with ten to play and loses the tiebreaker.
SP Josh Stephan: 6 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 11 SO, 87 P / 60 S, 2.06 ERA RP Jackson Kelley: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 6.14 ERA SS Max Acosta: 2-3, BB, .286/.337/.392 RF Angel Aponte: 2-4, BB, .200/.264/.300
Josh Stephan fanned a personal-best 11 Hot Rods and generated 17 swinging strikes.
Most strikeouts in the system: Jack Leiter (AA) — 76 Aidan Curry (lo-A) — 61 Josh Stephan (hi-A) — 59 Jose Corniell (lo-A) — 56 Robert Dugger (AAA) — 54
Hickory is eliminated from the first-half division race.
Lo-A: Down East 2, Kannapolis (CHW) 4 Down East: 5 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts Opponent: 5 hits, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts Record: 34-21, 5 G up, magic number 4
SP Aidan Curry: 4.2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 66 P / 43 S, 3.15 ERA RP Jacob Maton: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2.77 ERA 2B Danyer Cueva: 3-4, HR (4), BB, .268/.320/.425 LF Yosy Galan: 1-3, HR (12), BB, .234/.330/.503
Danyer Cueva has homers in consecutive games and is producing a fine June (.348/.434/.674) after two slower months. Galan’s 12th homer placed him alone in second in the league.
Five Years Ago Yesterday Catcher Jose Trevino was called up from AA Frisco to replace the suspended Robinson Chirinos for one game. Not in the initial lineup, Trevino would end up playing nearly the entire game (0-4) when Perez sprained an ankle.
The way the runs scored was frustrating, but I have no complaints about 6.1 innings and four runs from a back-end starter on short rest and a newcomer from AA. Bradford and White did their jobs.
SP Glenn Otto: 3 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 36 P / 25 S, 6.00 ERA RP Marc Church: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4.70 ERA RP Chase Lee: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 3.41 ERA SS Davis Wendzel: 1-3, HR (14), BB, .260/.377/.552 RF Elier Hernandez: 2-4, 2B, HR (10), .341/.419/.576 C Sam Huff: 2-4, HR (9), .273/.363/.473
Rehabbing Glenn Otto tossed three largely successful innings in his 2023 debut. A slider he wants back was pummeled by Matthew Batten. Otherwise, he was on point, generating four swinging strikes on seven sliders, averaging 93 with a maximum of 94.8 with the fastball.
Brad Miller was hitless in two at-bats. Texas has some tricky 40 and 25-man roster decisions upcoming.
Nothing against him, but Davis Wendzel had one of the unlikeliest homers ever: 356 feet despite 89.9 MPH off the bat. The Express and their opponents have combined for only five homers all season hit at under 95 MPH, and Wendzel’s is by far the slowest (assuming the reading is accurate). The Dell Diamond is pitcher-friendly relative to the average PCL, but it’s extremely inviting to right-handed batters on warm, windy nights. No park outside of the Polo Grounds or the original Forbes Field was containing Huff’s and Hernandez’s blasts.
SP Dane Acker: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 57 P / 32 S, 1.38 ERA RP Luis Tejeda: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 3.97 ERA RP Robbie Ahlstrom: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SO, 5.56 ERA SS Max Acosta: 2-4, 2B, .280/.328/.387
Dane Acker lacked the control of his two prior outings but was once again solid. While there’s no reason to rush, I’d expect the 24-year-old to reach Frisco before too long. Acker is part of an unusually small list of first-time Rule 5 eligibles truncated by the five-round draft of 2020. Justin Foscue is the only eligible Ranger drafted by Texas that year; the other four picks were high schoolers.
Lo-A: Down East 4, Kannapolis (CHW) 2 Down East: 5 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts Opponent: 5 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts Record: 34-20, 5 G up, magic number 4
SP Jose Corniell: 6 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 9 SO, 80 P / 52 S, 2.70 ERA RP Jackson Leath: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.55 ERA RP Alberto Mota: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 6.75 ERA 2B Danyer Cueva: 2-4, HR (3), .257/.311/.400 C Ian Moller: 1-3, HR (3), BB, .170/.298/.270
Six innings are a career best from Corniell, who’s always been of interest but has really improved of late. He spent all of last year at this level. That wont happen again, I’d expect.
Catcher Ian Moller is a better hitter than his line, but to date in 2023 I don’t even have a small silver-lining stretch to point out. He draws a ton of walks, and his swinging strike rate rate isn’t terrible, but he strikes out frequently, leading me to believe he’s taking a large number of called strikes. Also, one of six balls in play have been popups.
Belated Arizona Complex League Preview
I stopped covering the rookies on a daily basis a few years ago because of time constraints and the changing nature of the league. Especially with the abolition of short-season ball, rookie leagues are filled over the brim with youngsters vying for limited playing time. In just seven games, the Rangers have used 22 pitchers and seven different starters. Also, the draft used to occur in early June followed by the start of play, so the league served to introduce us to many current picks. Now, the league begins six weeks before the draft, so most of the current roster consists of Dominican Summer League graduates, most of whom I know little about. Furthermore, a good many teams use their rookie squads as a live-action tryout camp for older, undrafted players, indy league signings or players who just can’t find a home elsewhere, and their rosters are actually older on average than their low-A squads. Some clubs field two teams, some play only seven-inning games. Control is worse than ever, with a combined BB/HBP of over 16% in the early going. These factors strain the concept of a competitive league.
All that to say: While I observe the league on a daily basis, my intention is to cover them only weekly, plus some additional notes as needed.
Making Professional Debut: RHP Nick Bautista (21 years old, 2022 16th rd.) RHP Bryan Chi (24, 2022 intl. FA) RHP Kolton Curtis (19, 2022 domestic FA) LHP Kohl Drake (22, 2022 11th rd.) LHP Thomas Ireland (20, 2021 13th rd.) RHP Daniel Keaney (18, 2022 domestic FA) RHP Kyle Larsen (hurt) (19, 2021 18th rd.) LHP Justin Sanchez (19, 2022 18th rd.) LHP CJ Widger (hurt) (24, 2021 10th rd.) IF Chandler Pollard (19, 2022 5th rd.)
Chandler Pollard is the only 2022 position-player draft pick. In the days before the roster announcement, the only position players listed were Pollard and IF Beycker Barroso, meaning either the roster would be filled by a huge number of incoming internationals or the pitching staff would need to miss a ton of bats. Pollard is .250/.438/.333 with seven walks and nine strikeouts. He’s the team’s primary shortstop.
Ireland, Larsen and Widger are 2021 picks coming off injuries. The younger Larsen, paid well over slot, has struggled in the early going, walking four of 12 batters and allowing three singles in 2.2 innings, although he’s yet to allow a run. Ireland, a Polk State alum, has seven strikeouts, one walks, no runs allowed in 6.1 innings.
Juco pick Nick Bautista has fanned eight of 15 batters, but all five runners who’ve reached in his three innings have scored.
Per this story, Keaney was initially intended to be a late-round pick by the Rangers last summer, but he decided on college at Marist. When Marist’s coach departed, Keaney signed as a free agent. Neither he nor fellow America free agent Kolton Curtis has appeared.
The older, Cuban Chi leads the team with 8.1 innings, allowing one run with one walk and 11 strikeouts.
Making US Debut: RHP Willan Bornie (20, 2019 intl. FA) RHP Wilfredo Cordero (20, 2021 intl. FA) RHP David Davalillo (20, 2022 intl. FA) RHP Dianye Florentino (23, 2020 intl. FA) RHP Aneudis Mejia (19, 2022 intl. FA) RHP Jesus Mosquera (20, 2022 intl. FA) C Alfredo Espinoza (18, 2022 intl FA.) C Danell Figueroa (19, 2022 intl FA.) C Jesus Lopez (18, 2022 intl FA.) C Miguel Ojeda Jr. (22, 2021 intl FA.) C Josue Romero (20, 2021 intl FA.) IF Erick Alvarez (18, 2022 intl FA.) IF Esteban Mejia (18, 2022 intl FA.) IF Echedry Vargas (18, 2022 intl FA.) OF Edgar Basabe (19, 2021 intl FA.) OF Jose de Jesus (18, 2022 intl FA.) OF Wady Mendez (18, 2022 intl FA.) OF Marcos Torres (18, 2022 intl FA.)
Everyone on this list played in the DSL last year. C Jesus Lopez, IF Echedry Vargas, and OFs Wady Mendez and Marcos Torress are some of the noteworthy names in this group. Vargas was signed for a nominal $10,000 but ranks 30th on Baseball America’s prospect list, mainly for his power, and he batted .301/.368/.510 in last year’s DSL with 28 extra base hits in 55 games. A shortstop there, he’s mostly played second in the US. Mendez is looking for his first domestic XBH (.118/.348/.118) but slugged .509 in the DSL last year. Torres (.250/.419/.375) already has a couple of extra bases hits and six walks.
Basabe is the younger brother of former Ranger Osleivis Basabe, traded with others for Nate Lowe. Repeating the Level: RHP Ismael Agreda (19, 2021 intl. FA) RHP Michael Alfonso (20, 2021 17th rd.) RHP Biembenido Brito (20, 2021 intl. FA) RHP Evan Elliott (22, 2021 15th rd.) RHP Jose Gonzalez (21, 2019 intl. FA) LHP Bryan Magdaleno (22, 2019 intl. FA) IF Beycker Barroso (20, 2019 intl FA.)
Almost to a man, the repeating pitchers have had trouble keeping opponents off the bases in their initial appearances. The Floridian Alfonso does have three strikeouts in his lone inning. Brito struck out 55 in 34.2 innings last year. Has Some Full-Season Experience: RHP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa (22, 2019 30th rd.) LHP Brayan Mendoza (19, 2021 intl. FA) RHP Ivan Oviedo (20, 2021 intl. FA) RHP Eury Rosado (22, 2019 intl. FA) IF Yenci Pena (22, 2017 intl FA.) OF Anthony Gutierrez (18, 2022 intl FA.)
The heralded Gutierrez began 2023 with an aggressive assignment to low-A, where he batted .246/.299/.303. That isn’t that bad relative to the pitcher-friendly league and park, particularly for someone his age, but the Rangers decided more time in Surprise was in order. Gutierrez has started five games, mostly in center, and batted .375/.412/.625.
Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa made a name (a lengthy name) for himself as a high-leverage reliever for Down East last year. My understanding is a spring setback delayed his 2023 debut, although I wasn’t expecting this long a wait. He has yet to appear. Assuming he’s healthy, he shouldn’t be there long.
Ivan Oviedo began the season at Down East but had a bear of a time getting anyone out. He’s improved in Surprise, fanning nine versus one walk in 4.2 innings with two runs allowed.
I was going to write about the rookie league, but something came up.
RHP Owen White will be in on the active roster in Arlington tonight. While not starting, he seems destined for his MLB debut.
White is Texas’s best pitching prospect, offering a five-pitch mix of four and two-seam fastballs, slider, curve, and change. His most effective breaker is a slider that averages mid-80s but will occasionally ramp to 90 when he’s in the mood. An 80ish curve ranks close behind. The two-seamer is less common and might not appear at all. The change trails his breakers but is more than a show-me pitch.
White was slowed this spring by neck tightness and is still not throwing at last year’s velocity. The fastball typically described as “mid-90s, touching 98” has more often been 91-94. White doesn’t live or die with a rising fastball — he’ll move it around — but the lower velocity appears to have affected his bat-missing ability. Among the 23 Texas minor leaguers with at least 30 innings, White’s 11.0% swinging strike rate ranks 18th, just behind Cody Bradford. White is also 18th of 23 in strikeout rate at 21.1%. Last year’s numbers in AA were 14% and 27%, respectively. He’s been effective this season, but not as dominant.
As such, I have mixed feelings. In full transparency, someone on twitter floated the possibility of bringing up White or Jack Leiter three weeks ago, and my response was “I think they’d both get clobbered.” Maybe a hasty exaggeration, but I certainly loathed the idea of White as a bullpen addition at that time. As for the current, more pressing situation, there’s no easy answer. White obviously has the requisite determination and confidence, and he will kneel before no one, but at this particular moment in time, that might not be good enough. As ever, the Angels are a weird, flawed team, but they’ve got some hitters you might have heard of. As you’ve seen from the debuts of Cody Bradford and Grant Anderson, the range in possible outcomes is too broad to offer a comfortable prediction of how he’ll do. I hope he can get by.
White is not tonight’s starter. That would be Bradford, coming off three days rest following a season-high 99 pitches. Although he’ll have a restricted pitch count, this is still almost unheard of. Certainly, I can’t recall any Texas pitcher in the minors reappearing on three days rest after a lengthy start, even 15 years ago, with the exception of someone older and rubber-armed like Tim Dillard. The short-rest examples I found in MLB this season were almost exclusively opener-type outings from relievers.
That said, I spent a fair amount of time staring at my org chart last night, and I don’t know that I have a better solution. Actually, I thought Bradford would be off the table, having pitched on Friday, and that White would be the likely starter. The other 40-man options are untenable for various reasons, and no off-40 ideas appealed. Round Rock’s rotation is alarmingly thin at present. Robert Dugger has a poor MLB track record but at least he has one, but he pitched on Saturday. Adding an off-40 reliever like Chase Lee might not provide even two innings. I would pick White over Jack Leiter.
Texas optioned Yerry Rodriguez and Cole Ragans to Round Rock.
I was at Disneyworld last week. Apologies for the slapdash quality of the some of the reports. We had more rain than I would have liked, but also more rainbows.
AAA: Round Rock 6, at Salt Lake (LAA) 8 Round Rock: 7 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts Opponent: 14 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts Record: 35-28, 10 GB
SP Triston Polley: 1.2 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 23 P / 14 S, 6.00 ERA RP Edwar Colina: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA RP Joe Barlow: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.12 ERA CF Elier Hernandez: 2-4, BB, .338/.418/.559 SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4, 2 HR (3), .255/.369/.367
Jonathan Ornelas hit his second and third homers. Even with yesterday’s outburst, his homer rate is about one-half of last year at Frisco. He is hitting more doubles and drawing more walks.
Ornelas has spent nearly two-thirds of his time at shortstop. I came across a draft note expressing skepticism that he could remain at the position in the long term. In such cases, I’m nearly always of the assumption that the player won’t stick. Sometimes the player is just so-so at the position and doesn’t get better. He might age out of the toughest defensive spots quickly. Often, he might be competent there but has one or more superior defensive teammates, so the opportunity never arises. For example, Josh Jung played frequently at shortstop in college, and he could probably still make the basic plays and not severely undermine the team’s likelihood of winning, but we’re never going to find out because several others would be better choices. Ornelas is an exception to all that. He’s not a multi-position player who can handle short. He’s a shortstop who can handle multiple positions.
By my count, 13 of Round Rock’s 63 games have been started by a member of the bullpen. Last year’s total for the entire season was 11.
AA: Frisco 5, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 7 (11) Frisco: 9 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts Opponent: 9 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts Record: 25-31, 5.5 GB
SP Jack Leiter: 5 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 3 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 80 P / 50 S, 4.02 ERA RP Alex Speas: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.82 ERA DH Aaron Zavala: 1-5, HR (2), .227/.368/.320 SS Thomas Saggese: 1-4, HR (7), BB, .277/.336/.441 LF Dustin Harris: 2-4, 2B, BB, .246/.382/.404
A mixed outing from Jack Leiter: walk-free until his final two hitters, not particularly hittable, but the hits were prominent. For the season, Leiter’s rate of homers allowed is nearly 50% above the league average, and even during his more positive stretch, he’s still slightly worst than average.
21 games back from internal brace surgery, Aaron Zavala is walking more than ever but still trying to recapture his stroke. His strikeout rate has nearly doubled from 21% last year in Frisco to 39% now, with corresponding effects on his average and power.
SP Emiliano Teodo: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 33 P / 17 S, 2.53 ERA RP Reid Birlingmair: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 6.75 ERA CF Daniel Mateo: 3-4, 2 2B, .258/.277/.398
Emiliano Teodo lasted a season-low two innings and 33 pitches, presumably because he was pitching on four days rest for the first time.
Texas grabbed 26-year-old righty Reid Birlingmair from indy Fargo-Moorhead. Birlingmair was Oakland’s 28th-round pick in 2018.
Lo-A: Down East 7, at Delmarva (BAL) 3 Down East: 11 hits, 3 walks, 17 strikeouts Opponent: 10 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts Record: 33-20, 4 G up
SP DJ McCarty: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 74 P / 47 S, 1.80 ERA RP Dylan MacLean: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.06 ERA DH Yosy Galan: 2-4, 2 HR (11), .238/.333/.500 1B Konner Piotto: 3-5, .361/.410/.472
I’d mentioned that Yosy Galan’s stats were very similar to last year at the same level, so Galan has decided to improve the situation immediately.
Down East used the similarly named DJ McCarty and Dylan MacLean in a tandem role. I just noticed that the undrafted McCarty is listed at 6’2″ and 145 pounds. Thin, if true.
Five Years Ago Yesterday Low-A Hickory’s Alex Speas tossed a seventh consecutive scoreless outing. Jonathan Hernandez allowed six runs in four innings in his first start for Frisco. Texas announced the signing of the top five draft picks (Cole Winn, Owen White, Jonathan Ornelas, Mason Englert, and Jayce Easley).
AAA: Round Rock 1, at Salt Lake (LAA) 2 Round Rock: 6 hits, 8 walks, 9 strikeouts Opponent: 12 hits, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts Record: 35-27, 9 GB
SP Robert Dugger: 6 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 94 P / 60 S, 4.98 ERA RP Grant Wolfram: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 10.13 ERA RP Chase Lee: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3.62 ERA CF JP Martinez: 0-1, 3 BB, HBP, SB (16), .340/.484/.511 DH Blaine Crim: 2-4, 2B, BB, .284/.388/.468
The Bees gifted 11 runners in the form of walks, HBPs and errors, but the Express couldn’t take advantage. JP Martinez reached four times but only advanced past first once, eventually getting tagged at home on a would-be sac fly. Conversely, the total for Salt Lake’s hitters in those categories was zero, but they strung together four singles to plate two, enough to win a game in Utah for the first time since last August.
Oklahoma City (44-18) is close to clinching the first-half league title. In 2023, the Pacific Coast League switched to a split-season format with no divisions. The Express are in second place but nine games back. Recall that OKC swept the six-game series between the two in Round Rock.
AA: Frisco 9, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 4 Frisco: 11 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts Opponent: 8 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 25-30, 5.5 GB
SP Ryan Garcia: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 83 P / 58 S, 6.70 ERA RP Michael Brewer: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4.26 ERA SS Luisangel Acuna: 1-4, 2B, BB, SB (25), .293/.374/.420 2B Thomas Saggese: 2-4, HR (6), .278/.335/.431 CF Kellen Strahm: 1-4, HR (3), .209/.333/.314 3B Jax Biggers: 3-4, .212/.335/.303
Ryan Garcia had never exceeded five innings professionally before last night.
Thomas Saggese’s first three weeks: .203/.254/.281 Since then: .309/.368/.493
SP Mitch Bratt: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 67 P / 44 S, 3.05 ERA RP Jackson Kelley: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 8.44 ERA RF Alejandro Osuna: 2-5, 2B, .273/.394/.385 LF Geisel Cepeda: 2-4, 2B, .258/.358/.305
Six innings tied a professional high for Mitch Bratt, who is being handled with unusual care for a someone in his second full season. Bratt has exceeded 78 pitches only once. Although drafted in 2021, he’s a month younger than 2022 4th-rounder Brock Porter.
Newcomer Geisel Cepeda is showing a nice eye at the plate (18 walks, 18 strikeouts in 148 trips to the plate) but is working out the contact part. Cepeda is Cuban, but not Cuban like Luis Robert Jr. or even JP Martinez. He’s 25 and signed for $200,000.
Lo-A: Down East 7, at Delmarva (BAL) 5 (11) Down East: 10 hits, 9 walks, 17 strikeouts Opponent: 7 hits, 5 walks, 17 strikeouts Record: 32-20, 3 G up
SP Luis Ramirez: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 63 P / 39 S, 4.67 ERA RP Leandro Lopez: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 SO, 3.86 ERA RP Adrian Rodriguez: 2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1.80 ERA RF Tommy Specht: 2-5, BB, .366/.509/.439 2B Danyer Cueva: 3-6, 3B, .257/.309/.389 LF Yosy Galan: 1-5, HR (9), BB, .231/.326/.462
The staff combined to strike out 17 of 43 Shorebirds (40%). Leandro Lopez fanned seven, his most since his first appearance of 2023.
Yosy Galan is very close to last year’s version, the difference being about seven more balls in play (as opposed to strikeouts) and three of them resulting in singles.
I believe Down East’s magic number is eight with 11 to play. The math is tricky because of multiple cancellations and uneven numbers of games between the competitors, but I took two semesters of calculus in college so it’s all good.
Five Years Ago Yesterday Down East had six Carolina League Southern Division All-Stars: RHP Edgar Arredondo, INF Andretty Cordero, INF Charles Leblanc, LHP C.D. Pelham, OF Leody Taveras, and INF Anderson Tejeda.
AAA: Round Rock 9, at Salt Lake (LAA) 3 Round Rock: 13 hits, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts Opponent: 7 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts Record: 35-26, 8 GB
SP Cody Bradford: 8 IP, 6 H (1 HR), 3 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 99 P / 75 S, 1.82 ERA RP Marc Church: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.68 ERA 3B Davis Wendzel: 1-3, HR (13), .266/.383/.554 RF JP Martinez: 2-4, 2 2B, .344/.470/.516 LF Elier Hernandez: 4-5, 3 HR (9), .335/.410/.558
Cody Bradford threw an organization-high 99 pitches. Nobody in either A league has been allowed to touch 90 yet. Bradford’s old-fashioned near-complete game is especially impressive given the location.
Elier Hernandez is about 40 points of average and 50 points of OBP above last year’s slash line when he was called up last year. Should an opportunity for an OF arise, I think Texas would be more inclined to add the more speedy and CF-oriented JP Martinez. Hernandez batted .182/.200/.242 in 35 plate appearances for Texas last year. He’s probably better than that, but also, MLB pitchers are really good! And the Rangers are better. Much easier to get a cup of coffee (or in Elier’s case, a mug) on a bad team.
AA: Frisco 3, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 8 Frisco: 6 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts Record: 24-30, tied for first
SP Seth Nordlin: 3 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 42 P / 32 S, 5.70 ERA RF Trevor Hauver: 1-3, HR (5), BB, .242/.358/.403 CF Kellen Strahm: 2-3, 2B, .208/.335/.298
Texas lost Seth Nordlin in the minor league phase of last year’s Rule 5 draft to the Twins. Nordlin found little success in AA Wichita (5.67 ERA with commensurate peripherals) and was released. The Rangers quickly re-signed him and he’s back with Frisco. He was a solid swingman with the Riders last year.
Hi-A: Hickory 4, at Rome (ATL) 2 Hickory: 12 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 20-31, tied for first
SP Winston Santos: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 79 P / 54 S, 4.66 ERA RP Robbie Ahlstrom: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.82 ERA DH Alejandro Osuna: 3-5, 2 SB (13), .269/.394/.378 C Liam Mitchell: 2-4, HBP, .311/.446/.400 1B Josh Hatcher: 2-4, 2B, .245/.297/.423
Winston Santos had his best start since Opening Day.
Lo-A: Down East 14, at Delmarva (BAL) 6 Down East: 13 hits, 7 walks, 8 strikeouts Opponent: 7 hits, 7 walks, 12 strikeouts Record: 31-20, tied for first
SP Brock Porter: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 0 SO, 29 P / 12 S, 1.45 ERA RP Jacob Maton: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 3.38 ERA RF Tommy Specht: 1-3, 3 BB, .361/.511/.444 3B Gleider Figuereo: 1-4, 2 BB, .226/.330/.355 LF Yosy Galan: 2-5, HR (8), .232/.326/.450 SS Cam Cauley: 1-5, HR (6), .258/.316/.428
Brock Porter had his worst start since Opening Day, lasting two-thirds of an inning. Pitching coach Julio Valdez was ejected during Porter’s outing, so perhaps the strike zone was in dispute. I’m still semi-out-of-pocket and haven’t been able to check the video.
Five Years Ago Yesterday Per Kate Morrison, RHP Jonathan Hernandez was promoted to Frisco, and Elvis Andrus was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment there.
AAA: Round Rock 8, at Salt Lake (LAA) 3 Round Rock: 9 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts Opponent: 11 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts Record: 34-26, 8 GB
SP Taylor Hearn: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 33 P / 16 S, 4.44 ERA RP Fernery Ozuna: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5.26 ERA RP Jonathan Hernandez: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA RF Elier Hernandez: 3-5, 2B, HR (7), .323/.402/.522 1B Blaine Crim: 1-3, 2 BB, .276/.383/.459
After Taylor Hearn couldn’t complete an inning on Bullpen Night, five relievers (including Daniel Robert, Joe Barlow, and Jake Latz) combined to shut out the Bees for 8.1 innings despite 15 baserunners, a balk, and a wild pitch. Salt Lake hit into five double plays.
Jonathan Hernandez had a quirky night, missing on 17 of 30 pitches and walking two but striking out three. Hernandez now owns the fastest pitch by the Round Rock Express during the Statcast-available 2022-2023: 100.3 MPH. It and nine of his next hardest ten pitches were balls.
AA: Frisco 4, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 13 Frisco: 9 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts Opponent: 17 hits, 7 walks, 8 strikeouts Record: 24-29, 4.5 GB
SP Nick Krauth: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 62 P / 41 S, 5.65 ERA RF Trevor Hauver: 2-4, HR (4), .240/.354/.384
How about we leave this game alone?
Evan Carter has been transferred from the Development List (nominally uninjured, just working on some things and resting) to the IL with a sore wrist. Per local reports, he’s still supposed to be back in ten days or so.
Some good news, or at least not terrible news: TK Roby has a shoulder strain and is expected to resume throwing in three weeks. Roby was removed by his own accord in his previous start, an event that always inspires dread.
SP Larson Kindreich: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 76 P / 51 S, 5.91 ERA
Hickory wasn’t no-hit again, but the difference between last night’s five hits and Wednesday zero isn’t much. The Crawdads completed a turn through the lineup before producing a runner and managed only one at-bat with a runner in scoring position. Once again, Hickory did receive a fine performance from the starter.
Lo-A: Down East 7, at Delmarva (BAL) 1 Down East: 9 hits, 8 walks, 15 strikeouts Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts Record: 30-20, 1 G up
SP Joseph Montalvo: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 73 P / 45 S, 1.99 ERA RP Kal Wynyard: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2.45 ERA RP Adrian Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 2.00 ERA 2B Danyer Cueva: 3-5, 2B, 3B, .244/.300/.372 LF Yosy Galan: 1-3, 2 BB, .224/.324/.429 SS Cam Cauley: 1-4, BB, SB (15), .260/.320/.416
Joseph Montalvo’s recently solid control took the day off, but he was still effective.
Today’s Starters AAA: Bradford AA: Nordlin (Seth, signed by Texas after the Twins recently released him) Hi-A: Santos Lo-A: TBD (Porter)
Five Years Ago Yesterday Poor Kate Morrison had little to write about. RP Connor Sadzeck threw two scoreless relief innings at Las Vegas. Mike Mateulla fanned four in two scoreless innings for Down East.
AAA: Round Rock 11, at Salt Lake (LAA) 9 Round Rock: 12 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts Opponent: 12 hits, 11 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 33-26, 9 GB
SP Cole Winn: 3.1 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 3 R, 5 BB, 3 SO, 79 P / 45 S, 8.49 ERA RP Edwar Colina: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA C Sam Huff: 2-4, 2B, BB, .277/.362/.471 DH Blaine Crim: 2-5, HR (5), .275/.378/.461 3B Davis Wendzel: 1-4, HR (12), BB, .271/.392/.554
Only one of Cole Winn’s five walks scored, a merciful outcome in Salt Lake.
Round Rock scored seven on four hits in the 5th plus two walks and SLC errors at first, short, third, and left.
OF Rafael Ortega received his release. The veteran didn’t hit especially well in Round Rock (.226/.333/.381) but is a decent extra outfielder. I’d mentioned him as having a chance of a call-up, but he probably needed two of four possible events: an injury to Garcia, release of Jankowski, and subpar performances from Taveras or Duran. With none of that forthcoming, he’ll seek a chance elsewhere.
AA: Frisco 9, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 0 Frisco: 9 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts Opponent: 3 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts Record: 24-28, 4 GB
SP Owen White: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 84 P / 51 S, 3.54 ERA RP Nick Starr: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5.74 ERA RP Eudrys Manon: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 4.50 ERA SS Luisangel Acuna: 2-4, BB, SB (23), .297/.367/.417 DH Thomas Saggese: 2-4, HR (5), BB, .284/.341/.431 LF Dustin Harris: 2-5, 2B, SB (23), .246/.385/.406
A stellar outing from Owen White. Promising as he’s been, White had recorded only three scoreless outings of 5+ innings in his pro career and none as long as last night. That’s at least partly due to his injury history; last night was the 23-year-old White’s 41st pro appearance. (Cole Winn has 11 such starts, for example.) White missed a season-high 14 bats.
SP Josh Stephan: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 5 SO, 68 P / 45 S, 1.94 ERA RP Seth Clark: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1.74 ERA
Rome’s Daniel Martinez and Luis Vargas nearly evenly split duties in a no-hitter against Hickory. The Crawdads put the ball in play. Vargas struck out none in 4.1 innings and hit two batters who were later erased on double plays. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.
Josh Stephan pitched well again.
Lo-A: Down East 7, at Delmarva (BAL) 9 Down East: 7 hits, 7 walks, 14 strikeouts Opponent: 11 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts Record: 29-20, tied for first
SP Aidan Curry: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 54 P / 30 S, 2.85 ERA DH Tommy Specht: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .393/.514/.500 3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-2, HR (5), 2 BB, SB (3), .233/.333/.370 SS Cam Cauley: 2-4, .260/.317/.420
Thoughtful of Gleider Figuereo to reached safely four times after I said he was a better hitter than his stats suggested. Aidan Curry suffered his worst start of the season.
Five Years Ago Yesterday Kate Morrison subbed for me for the next few days. She wrote at length about Jairo Beras, as was required of every baseball writer in the mid-to-late 2010s.
Five Years Ago The Day Before Yesterday Texas signed GM Jon Daniels to a multi-year extension. (I should have mentioned that yesterday, but when I prepped these segments in advance of my trip, I didn’t account for no games on Monday and got out of sync.)
I’m out of pocket much of the week, so reports will be brief. The rookies in Surprise and the Texas’s two Dominican Summer League entries commenced play Monday. I provide a summary of the complex league every week and check in with the DSL intermittently. I’ll get to a proper rookie preview when time permits. As has been expected from nearly the get-go, top January 2023 signing SS Sebastian Walcott is starting his career in the DSL.
And deGrom. Obviously this is terrible news, and there’s no sugar-coating it. The idea that whatever his injury he’d be here for the stretch run still holds, but that stretch run is now in 2024. The silver lining is the Rangers are 34-20 with a +133 run differential when deGrom doesn’t pitch. Okay, believing the Rangers are really a .630 team absent deGrom requires more drinks than I’m willing to consume even on vacation. But are they still good? Yes. The rotation wasn’t deGrom plus four fifth starters.
AAA: Round Rock 5, at Salt Lake (LAA) 6 Round Rock: 8 hits, 7 walks, 9 strikeouts Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts Record: 32-26, 9 GB
SP James Marvel: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 69 P / 38 S, 7.88 ERA RP Triston Polley: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.08 ERA RP Joe Barlow: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.45 ERA C Sam Huff: 1-3, 2 BB, .270/.347/.466 1B Blaine Crim: 2-2, 2B, 2 BB, .263/.365/.433 SS Davis Wendzel: 2-4, .266/.389/.544
I haven’t done more than perfunctory research, but Davis Wendzel is certainly hitting the ball with more consistent authority than any time in AAA. His recent success isn’t merely a function of playing in Salt Lake now and Albuquerque a few weeks ago.
Blaine Crim’s streak of games with two triples ended at one.
AA: Frisco 6, at Corpus Christi (HOU) 2 Frisco: 6 hits, 8 walks, 6 strikeouts Opponent: 4 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts Record: 23-28, 4 GB
SP Jack Leiter: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 7 SO, 82 P / 51 S, 3.88 ERA RP Michael Brewer: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 4.63 ERA RP Alex Speas: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.89 ERA RF Aaron Zavala: 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, .259/.423/.333 LF Dustin Harris: 1-3, 2B, BB, HBP, SB (22), .242/.385/.401
Jack Leiter was Jekyll and Hyde: a strikeout of the side in order in the 1st, three walks to the first four batters in the second. Even if he’d no-hit the Hooks for seven innings, I’d caution against the idea of him as a rotation replacement in Arlington. Leiter has taken a big step forward and hopefully put the worst of his issues behind him, but that doesn’t make him MLB-ready.
SP Robert Dugger: 4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 81 P / 51 S, 5.22 ERA RP Fernery Ozuna: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5.96 ERA RP Daniel Robert: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4.35 ERA LF Bubba Thompson: 1-4, 2 BB 3B Justin Foscue: 1-2, HR (8), 2 BB, HBP, .286/.417/.516 C Sam Huff: 2-5, 2B, BB, .270/.347/.466 1B Blaine Crim: 4-5, 2B, 2 3B, .263/.365/.433 SS Davis Wendzel: 4-5, HR (11), BB, .266/.389/.544
What on earth? A day after scoring 16 including an 11-run 1st, Round Rock pinned another double-digit inning on the Space Cowboys (a 10-run 5th) en route to 20.
Round Rock’s official recap answered my immediate question: 36 runs across two games are only the second most in franchise history, one behind a two-game set at Las Vegas in 2019. Given the park factors, the two nights at homer are more impressive.
Davis Wendzel has 22 homers in 91 AAA games since returning from the last of several injuries in August 2022.
One nice result of the larger rosters created in 2021 is that position players on the mound are once again a novelty. Late in the previous decade, they’d become irritatingly frequent, with hitters sometimes taking the mound late in close games because the organization had used everyone intended for that game and didn’t want to throw the upcoming schedule out of whack. Training ground though it is, minor league ball is supposed to be a competitive sport. Now, even in a blowout, there’s usually another reliever or two who could use some work. All 413 pitches thrown by Sugar Land the past two night came from folks who throw for a living.
SP Ryan Garcia: 3 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 6 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 65 P / 45 S, 7.79 ERA RP John Matthews: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 7.54 ERA RP Eudrys Manon: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 5.00 ERA RP Antoine Kelly: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.70 ERA SS Luisangel Acuna: 2-5, SB (21), .295/.366/.415 DH Aaron Zavala: 2-3, 2 BB, .250/.394/.308 3B Chris Seise: 2-4, 2B, .203/.287/.305 C Liam Hicks: 1-3, 2B, BB, .244/.404/.444
Another comeback win, this time in the 4th from 6-2 down. Frisco’s bullpen has not been an organizational strength this season, but on Sunday five relievers held the Missions to three hits and an unearned run across six innings. Kyle Funkhouser threw 14 pitches Saturday and 15 last night, giving the impression that he’s fully rehabbed.
SP Mitch Bratt: 2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 38 P / 20 S, 3.57 ERA SS Keyber Rodriguez: 2-4, HR (3), .268/.331/.380 CF Daniel Mateo: 2-4, .265/.286/.404
Mitch Bratt walked two for only the second time this season. Daniel Mateo can run and catch and has some decent pop for a young CF, but he’s drawn six walks (and no HBPs) all season.
Lo-A: Down East 3, Columbia (KAN) 4 Down East: 12 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts Record: 28-19, 0.5 GB
SP Dylan McCarty: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 63 P / 36 S, 1.19 ERA RP Wyatt Sparks: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.93 ERA RF Tommy Specht: 2-3, 2 BB, .450/.560/.550 3B Gleider Figuereo: 3-4, HR (4), .214/.313/.336
Gleider Figuereo is a better hitter than his line. Tommy Specht probably isn’t that good, no offense to him and his family.
Five Years Ago Yesterday The entire system was off.
