Scott Lucas

Evan Carter active, Wyatt Langford on IL, Chris Martin on rehab with Frisco. 

Kind of a slow day, so I updated the performances of everyone in the Gore trade near the bottom. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, at Tacoma (SEA) 5
Round Rock: 4 hits, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 3-2, 34-46 overall

SP Nolan Kingham: 4 IP, 7 H (2 HR), 4 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 87 P / 57 S, 7.43 ERA
SS Keyber Rodriguez: 1-3, HR (4), .164/.230/.343

No hit batters, no ejections. Tacoma’s Patrick Wisdom hit three homers, so I guess he got revenge for the perceived slights from the night before. Cam Cauley was replaced at second in the 4th by John Taylor. 


AA: Frisco 2, at Amarillo (ARI) 4
Frisco: 8 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 3-2, 42-31 overall

SP Jordan Montgomery: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 20 P / 15 S, 0.00 ERA
2B Corey Joyce: 3-4, HR (9), .250/.343/.453

Montgomery breezed through two innings, getting strikeouts on two curves and a change. Round Rock hosts Albuquerque and Frisco hosts Midland next week. 


Hi-A: Hub City 1, Winston-Salem (CHW) 13
Hub City: 4 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 13 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 3-5, 37-37 overall

SP AJ Russell: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 SO, 46 P / 27 S, 1.80 ERA

Hub City has walked 50 and hit seven batters this week, both the most among the 120 full-season teams. In his not-quite-debut for Hub City, AJ Russell caught whatever ails this club, issuing three walks for the first time this season. Last night was his shortest outing and fewest pitches since May 9, when he made an impromptu start for Hub City during Hickory’s fire cancellations. 


Lo-A: Hickory 12, Hill City (CLE) 4
Hickory: 16 hits, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 8-0, 42-30 overall

SP Aidan Deakins: 4 IP, 8 H (1 HR), 3 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 70 P / 43 S, 2.19 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 2-6, 2B, .299/.405/.420
CF Marco Argudin: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, .327/.479/.509
RF Marcos Torres: 2-5, 2 SB (32), .242/.329/.456
2B Daniel Flames: 3-4, BB, SB (3), .282/.357/.351

Both teams had 16 hits, and Hill City had 22 baserunners to Hickory’s 23, yet Hickory won in a rout. Returning to Hickory after one start for the Burgers, Aidan Deakins allowed a bunch of those runners but managed to avoid disaster. 

Marcos Torres has stolen six bases the last two nights to overtake the team lead from Yolfran Castillo. 

Elsewhere
IF Devin Fitz-Gerald is hitting .141/.191/.188 with a 31% K rate in 16 games for AA Harrisburg. He’d been given a fairly aggressive assignment to high-A to start the season after just ten games in low-A to close 2025 with the Rangers, and he was outstanding there (.267/.373/.530 in 51 games). I suspect he’ll be fine, but it appears he’s not at this level of competition just yet. Likewise, OF Yeremi Cabrera has cooled off considerably since promotion to high-A: .230/.317/.286 in 34 games after a .333/.465/.649 showing in low-A. Unlike DFG, Cabrera’s original assignment was conservative. I would have expected him to start the year in Hub City were he still a Ranger. 

OF Gavin Fien is hitting .318/.464/.773 in June after a very slow start and wrist trouble (the type of injury that can capsize a whole season). 1B Abi Ortiz is hitting .251/.348/.502 for AAA Rochester. Washington has been surprisingly competitive, but I see some weakness amongst the 1B/DH rotation, so perhaps Ortiz has a chance to make his MLB debut. On the other hand, much of his production was compressed into a 14-game stretch in May when he hit nine homers. He’s hitting an ordinary .219/.305/.438 in June, and he’s bomb-or-bust against lefties (.163/.255/.469).

In the first big move of the post-Minasian era, the Angels signed righty Dillon Tate to a minor deal. He’d been out of contract since November. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
We learned OF Evan Carter would be out until at least September with a stress fracture in his lower back. Though the season would end later than usual because of covid, he did not return. TK Roby would also disappear due to elbow trouble. He would miss the rest of the season but avoid the knife. (Roby would finally succumb last summer and is out for 2026. He’s dealt only 128.2 innings in nearly three years since being traded.)

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 9, at Tacoma (SEA) 7
Round Rock: 12 hits, 8 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 3-1, 34-45 overall

SP Josh Stephan: 7 IP, 7 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 94 P / 59 S, 6.05 ERA
2B Josh Smith: 2-4, BB, SB (4), .224/.322/.367
C Jose Herrera: 2-4, HR (2), .214/.333/.316

Josh Stephan didn’t throw a textbook-definition quality start, but he deserves a trophy for seven innings and four runs on the road in the PCL as part of a threadbare rotation. Barring an injury, Stephan will lead the team in innings in 2026, possibly by a wide margin. 

What could have been the final pitch of the game ended up creating a 12-minute delay. On a two-out, 2-2 count, Emiliano Teodo delivered a sinker straight to Patrick Wisdom’s upper arm. Wisdom took umbrage, not charging the mound but jawing at both Teodo and the nearby Round Rock dugout as he walked up the line, and the dugouts quickly emptied. Things seemed to settle down but then re-escalated into a genuine brawl. For the Express, only CF Gilberto Celestino was ejected (deservedly, from what I could tell), while Tacoma lost Wisdom plus coach Jason Nottingham.

Wisdom had been hit by an 0-1 Luis Curvelo pitch the previous inning. Neither pitch was remotely intentional. Although they hadn’t faced each other, Teodo had pitched earlier in the week while Wisdom was in the lineup, and anyone with the slightest knowledge with Teodo would know his control is sometimes comically poor. Earlier, Wisdom swung through a Stephan slider for strike three, and when Stephan gave a little fist pump, Wisdom glared at him on the way back to the dugout. Yes, getting hit twice is no fun, but Wisdom — 34-year-old Wisdom — appeared to make a mockery of his last name last night. 

I suspect some folks will be getting some days off, but we’ll see. And, while the 2021 switch to six-game series has been terrific overall, it does occasionally lead to pent-up animosity boiling over. 

The game finally ended anticlimactically. With the bases loaded and winning run at first, Connor Joe accidentally check-swung the first pitch from Teodo straight to new shortstop Keyber Rodriguez (Cam Cauley moved from short to center to replace Celestino).


AA: Frisco 9, at Amarillo (ARI) 8 (10)
Frisco: 15 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 6 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 3-1, 42-30 overall

SP Dalton Pence: 5 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 87 P / 56 S, 2.95 ERA
RP Austin Roberts: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 3.34 ERA
CF Evan Carter: 2-2, HR, BB
C Ian Moller: 2-5, HR (8), .231/.350/.463
3B Max Wagner: 3-4, 3 HR (9), BB, .265/.380/.569

Facing a lefty, rehabbing Evan Carter led off the game with a homer over the right-center berm into the adjacent parking lot. Against the same pitcher, he later walked and singled. Amarillo starter Avery Short would eventually surrender five homers but has a solid record of pitching in a tough climate. Three of those were by Max Wagner, drafted 42nd overall by the O’s in 2022 but cut this spring after a couple of injury-filled and ineffective seasons. 

Once ahead 7-0, Frisco barely held on. Zach Bryant yielded a game-tying homer in the 9th but managed to stranded the winning run at second in the 10th. 


Hi-A: Hub City 6, Winston-Salem (CHW) 5 (11)
Hub City: 6 hits, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 6 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 3-4, 37-36 overall

SP Caden Scarborough: 4 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 4 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 3 SO, 64 P / 39 S, 3.26 ERA
RP Joe Adametz: 4 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 5.59 ERA
RP Izack Tiger: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 9.82 ERA
RP Cole Roland: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 2.25 ERA

Caden Scarborough survived a shaky 1st to last four innings. His first six batters includes two walks, two HBPs and a double, and he’d reached 21 pitches with just one out. He managed to retire the next two in order, and the 2nd and 3rd were breezy, but a 4th-inning homer marred the final line. 

Izack Tiger appeared for one inning of relief five days after his 2.2-inning start, which was his first full-season appearance since elbow surgery. Happily, Joe Adametz showed no lingering issues from last week’s 15 runs allowed as an emergency starter for Round Rock. 

Hub City scored six despite not much in the way of hits or walks. Gleider Figuereo singled twice, and catcher Ben Hartl was hit three times (and didn’t instigate a fight, to my knowledge). 


Lo-A: Hickory 7, Hill City (CLE) 1
Hickory: 5 hits, 8 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
Record: 7-0, 41-30 overall

SP Daniel Keaney: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SO, 81 P / 52 S, 0.00 ERA
SS Yolfran Castillo: 1-4, HR (3), .298/.407/.419
DH Deward Tovar: 1-2, HR (11), BB, .218/.287/.415

Behold your Hickory Crawdads, the only 7-0 team in either A level. The Dads quickly scored five in the first on three walks, Daniel Flames’ two-run single and Deward Tovar’s three-run homer. Yolfran Castillo went yard in the 2nd, and they rode that to the finish. Castillo’s isolated power this season is .121, below the league average of .138 but above his career figure of .078 entering the season. Some of that increase is probably attributable to the goosed minor league ball, but it’s safe to say he’s hitting with more authority in his first full year at this level. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Frisco CF Bubba Thompson had a double, triple and two steals. Thompson would go on to have a strong season, not strong enough to earn 40-man protection that winter, but it at least as a corrective to a dismal 2019. 

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 8, at Tacoma (SEA) 2
Round Rock: 8 hits, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 2-1, 33-45 overall

SP Wilian Bormie: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 SO, 22 P / 8 S, 2.45 ERA
RP Gavin Collyer: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.65 ERA
SS Cameron Cauley: 2-5, 2B, SB (28), .264/.364/.412
DH Cooper Johnson: 1-4, HR (7), .212/.297/.375
3B Keyber Rodriguez: 1-4, HR (3), .156/.225/.297

Bormie can sometimes last two innings, and under the circumstances I suspect that was the ambition, but he dealt only eight of 22 pitches for strikes. The much-improved control in AA that earned an early promotion has vanished. Bormie has walked six in seven innings, although his ERA hasn’t suffered. 

Dustin Saenz, Aidan Anderson, Josh Sborz and Gavin Collyer were all solid in relief. Collyer found the zone consistently. Retaining the control that got him to Arlington would be swell, and it might mean one less free-agent arm for Texas to sign over the winter. (For discussion purposes, I’m assuming the existence of a 2027 season.)


AA: Frisco 12, at Amarillo (ARI) 8
Frisco: 16 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 2-1, 41-30 overall

SP Josh Trentadue: 3 IP, 5 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 45 P / 30 S, 7.47 ERA
RP Joey Danielson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Frainyer Chavez: 4-5, HR (10), .299/.407/.481
CF Dylan Dreiling: 2-5, 2 HR (10), .289/.375/.453
1B Arturo Disla: 2-4, HR (7), .303/.386/.523

Dylan Dreiling homered twice to the same spot (one, and two). Josh Trentadue lost his rotation spot (temporarily, perhaps) because of poor control, so credit him for dealing strikes in the league least-friendly park for pitchers. Disla has already out-homered and out-walked his 2025 totals in 34 fewer games. 


Hi-A: Hub City 9, Winston-Salem (CHW) 14
Hub City: 8 hits, 9 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 13 walks, 15 strikeouts
Record: 2-4, 36-36 overall

SP Kamdyn Perry: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 31 P / 16 S, 6.88 ERA
RP Jesus Gamez: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 4.68 ERA
SS Luke Hanson: 1-2, 3 BB, .256/.326/.453
CF Hector Osorio: 1-3, 2 BB, .281/.395/.469
3B Gleider Figuereo: 2-4, 3B, HR (12), BB, .245/.348/.461

Hub City has walked 31 in three games and owns by far the league’s second-worst walk+HBP rate at 16% (Asheville is worst, of course). Kamdyn Perry walked only three in 22 low-A innings (admittedly an atypical strong performance) but has issued 13 freebies in 17 innings and hit an additional four batters in high-A. Hub City led 9-8 in the 9th, but the Dash scored six off Adrian Rodriguez, whose night proceeded thusly: hit batter, wild pitch, walk, walk, grand slam, walk, wild pitch, walk, sac fly. 

Gleider Figuereo drove in seven with a bases-loaded triple, a three-run homer and, yes, a walk. 


Lo-A: Hickory 13, Hill City (CLE) 1
Hickory: 7 hits, 14 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 6-0, 40-30 overall

SP Jesus Lafalaise: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 77 P / 43 S, 4.88 ERA
RP Jake Jekielek: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 5.40 ERA
RP Luimy Munoz: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2.00 ERA
CF Marco Argudin: 1-3, 2 BB, .320/.452/.480
3B Angel Arredondo: 1-1, 4 BB, .254/.395/.427
PH Curley Martha: 1-1, HR (2), .154/.237/.288
1B Marcos Torres: 2-3, 2 2B, BB, 4 SB (30), .241/.327/.461

As a whole, Hickory is not adept at drawing walks, but Hill City insisted. Every regular except Braylin Morel (0-4 and a worrying .180/.196/.260 in 13 games) had at least one walk and/or HBP. In limited time, 20-year-old Marco Argudin has the best OPS on the team save for the promoted Hector Osorio. 

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

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Low-A 1B Dustin Harris homered and walked twice to improve to .302/.392/.396. At the time, the chaotic post-covid “Low A East” had 12 .300 hitters and 34 batting under .200. 

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.