Rangers Farm Report: Games of Sunday 10 April

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, El Paso (SDG) 2
Round Rock: 8 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Record: 3-3, 2 GB

SP Jake Latz: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 78 P / 54 S, 3.00 ERA
LF Bubba Thompson: 2-4, SB (4)
CF Josh Smith: 1-4, HR (1)

Josh Smith has his first AAA homer and first professional start in the outfield. He’s also started twice at third after two days at his usual short. Smith caught two sharply hit flies. Both were plays any competent outfielder would make, but a misread on either might have spelled trouble. One can wait a long time to see even a small handful of 50/50 outfield plays that would provide some insight into the player’s quality, and one must wait in person, because the video feed rarely shows an outfielder’s reaction time and initial route.

I don’t start listing players’ slash stats until we’re around two weeks in. Also, nearly all Mondays in 2022 are off-days for the entire system. I expect many will be off-days for me as well, but I might pop in with news, summaries, or items I think deserve more coverage.

AA: Frisco 3, Arkansas (SEA) 5
Frisco: 10 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 8 hits, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 2-1, tied for first

SP Cole Ragans: 3.1 IP, 3 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 66 P / 44 S, 0.00 ERA
RP Fernery Ozuna: 2 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-4

Cole Ragans pitched well, spotting a 93-95 fastball, change, curve and slider. Per Grant Schiller of Baseball Prospectus, Ragans tallied seven swinging strikes with the fastball and six with his change. Ragans could be pitching in middle relief in 2030 and I’ll still consider him a “comeback player” because of the successive elbow surgeries.

Fernery Ozuna is a converted infielder who drew notice for his tripe-digit velocity a year ago. Ozuna has acceptable control but can be alarmingly homer-prone, and the velo tends to ebb and flow. Seth Nordlin (2.1 IP, 7 runners, 4 runs) took the loss.

High-A: Hickory 5, at Winston-Salem (CHW) 2
Hickory: 11 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 2-1, 1 GB

SP TK Roby: 3.1 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 55 P / 36 S, 2.70 ERA
RP Josh Smith: 1.2 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Chris Seise: 2-4, HR (1)
C Scott Kapers: 2-4, HR (1)

Sometimes pitchers in the lower levels try to work up but lack the location or spin, and sometimes the hitter is keyed on a high fastball. Yesterday, that hitter was Chris Seise, who smacked a Trey Jeans fastball over the fence in a hurry. Limited to 31 games the previous four years, Seise is only DHing for the time being. I have no idea what to expect of Seise and really don’t even care for now. i just hope he can stay in the lineup.

Roby pitched in a real game for the first time in ten months, having been sidelined since last June with elbow trouble. Roby deals a high-spin fastball, curve and change. He was the middle man in Texas’s five-pick 2020 draft.

Hickory placed infielder Luisangel Acuna on the IL with a hamstring strain, per MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry. He’s expected to miss a couple of weeks.

Low-A: Down East 9, at Carolina (MIL) 11
Down East: 9 hits, 8 walks, 13 strikeouts
Opponent: 12 hits, 3 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 0-3, 3 GB

SP Victor Santos: 3 IP, 4 H ,3 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 4 SO, 59 P / 40 S, 9.00 ERA
RP Destin Dotson: 2 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Efrenyer Narvaez: 1-5, HR (1)
LF Yosy Galan: 2-4, HR (1), BB
2B Junior Paniagua: 1-3, 2 BB

Outfielder Yosy Galan hit the second-most homers in the Arizona League last summer. The 20-year-old also struck out at just shy of a 40% rate in 2021 and has four in nine plate appearances so far.

In the primer I mentioned hitters having such an inflated strikeout rate that even a high average on contact won’t compensate. Efrenyer Narvaez rolls his eyes at that statement: In nine at-bats, he has six strikeouts, a single, triple and homer. Can a hitter fan two-thirds of the time and hit 1.000 when he puts the bat on the ball? I’m going to say no, but it’s 2022, so who knows.

Down East scored four in the 9th on three walks, three hit batsmen and a Galan single.

Today’s Starters
AAA: off
AA: off
Hi-A: off
Lo-A: off

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Down East won its inaugural home opener 4-3 in ten innings. 3B Josh Altmann doubled and then scored on an error. Brett Martin allowed a run and whiffed seven in 5.1 innings. Round Rock’s Ronald Guzman singled twice and drew a bases-loaded go-ahead walk.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Saturday 9 April

Video of Jack Leiter’s professional debut. My photo of Leiter’s first pitch, and a few more:

Podcast-mates Sean Bass and Michael Tepid got a rare one-on-one (well, two-on-one) interview with Leiter on Media Day. Podcast links are in my signature.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 3, El Paso (SDG) 1
Round Rock: 6 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 3 hits, 1 walk, 15 strikeouts
Record: 2-3, 2 GB

SP Glenn Otto: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Matt Moore: 3 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Nick Snyder: 1 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Leody Taveras: 2-4, HR (1)

I missed some fine performances Saturday. Glenn Otto held the chihuahuas to a single through three, Matt Moore’s initial tryout for future innings for the Rangers (or somebody else) went well, and Nick Snyder nailed down the 9th on six pitches. According to Statcast, Otto mixed in a fair number of curves and three changes. His curve runs at pretty much the same velo (80-82) as his extremely sweepy slider. My issue last year was a repertoire nearly entirely narrowed to fastballs and sliders. (I assume he was just following instructions, so that’s not on him.) If starting remains a possibility, working on and back end of the mix is critical, so yesterday was nice to see.

Leody Taveras hit a 413′ homer and a single off that bat at 105.6 MPH.

MacKenzie Gore limited Round Rock to two hits and fanned seven without a walk in five innings. His 2021 was disastrous, so I’m glad to see a turnaround, even at Round Rock’s expense. (I’m a very low-key Padres fan because I’ve seen their system a fair amount over the years, and in general I like to see guys correct their problems.)

AA: Frisco 8, Arkansas (SEA) 7
Frisco: 9 hits, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 10 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 2-0, 1 G up

SP Jack Leiter: 3 IP, 1 H ,1 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 3.00 ERA
RP Tai Tiedemann: 2 IP, 2 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Luke Jacobsen: 1.1 IP, 2 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
SS Ezequiel Duran: 2-3, 2B, BB
C David Garcia: 2-4, 2B
CF Kellen Strahm: 1-2, 2B, 2 BB
1B Blaine Crim: 1-3, BB, SB (1)

As you might’ve heard from my podcast partners and others, Leiter is Terminator-like in his focus. There are no extraneous movements or even facial expressions. He long-tossed aggressively before the bullpen warmup; as you can see in the picture above, his cap was drenched in sweat by the time he threw a real pitch.

Leiter’s fastball ranged from 93 to 98 with an 83-85 slider and 74-79 curve. He threw the fastball about 50% of the time with a roughly equal mix of the others. As was common in his college career, he did not present a changeup. By my count, Leiter had 12 swinging strikes: five each on fastballs and sliders plus two on curves. All were effective. The curve has uncommon depth; he emphasized it in the 3rd and received both called strikes and whiffs.

Leiter’s strike rate was a mediocre 55%. You might’ve read some comments about a tight strike zone, and it was, but I was behind the plate and didn’t have much issue with the calls. Leiter sometimes pulled his fastball out arm-side, and he reached three balls to the first three batters. Pinpoint control isn’t his thing; he’s always been able to fade the walks by being virtually unhittable.

All told, an impressive, exciting display, especially as a pro debut in front of a bumper crowd and host of media.

Lefty Grant Wolfram just didn’t have it: a three-ball count to the first batter followed by four walks. Next time. He dealt a 93-94 fastball and 83-84 slider.

Lefty Luke Jacobsen has been in the system since 2016 as a 27th-round pick. I don’t think I’ve ever known less about a home-grown player who’s reached AA. He’d thrown all of 53 stateside innings in five seasons, none during 2020 (covid) or 2021 (lat). Now I know. Jacobsen offered a 94-98 fastball, upper-80s change and a slider in the 79-82 range. A 19 MPH gap between fastball and slider is unusual. Jacobsen surrendered a firm liner to score two of Wolfram’s bequeathed runners, but on the whole he was impressive.

Grant Anderson allowed solo homers to three consecutive batters in the 9th to erase most of a four-run lead. I suspect Frisco was counting on two innings from Wolfram, who has starting experience, so when Anderson reached his pitch limit, the Riders had no pitchers to spare and turned to catcher Jordan Procyshen. He induced a towering popup for the final out.

Ezequiel Duran walked, hit a solid double and pushed a tricky slider up the middle for a single. He also swung through a pitch that hit him squarely. Catcher David Garcia doubled off the wall near dead-center. He’s up in Frisco after a sometimes trying year at the plate in Hickory, so that type of contact is much appreciated.

High-A: Hickory 8, at Winston-Salem (CHW) 4
Hickory: 8 hits, 7 walks, 8 strikeouts
Opponent: 4 hits, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts
Record: 1-1, 1 GB

SP Mason Englert: 3.1 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 4 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SO, 10.80 ERA
RP Juan Mejia: 2.2 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Jesus Linarez: 2 IP, 1 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Marc Church: 1 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
DH Evan Carter: 3-5, 3B, SB (1)
RF Aaron Zavala: 0-2, 3 BB, SB (1)
2B Cristian Inoa: 2-4, HR (1), BB

Mason Englert understandably hasn’t received Owen White’s level of attention, but he’s no slouch. Picked in 2018’s fourth round,Englert had the same interminably deferred debut as White but struck out 90 versus 26 walks in 80 low-A innings last year.

Marc Church made his first appearance since last year’s elbow issue that fortunately (like TK Roby) didn’t require surgery. Sometimes, resting actually works instead of simply delaying TJ. Church was the “Player A” in the ERA portion my primer: mediocre ERA, fabulous peripherals.

Lord help me, I hate cliches, but Evan Carter is a baseball player. He was born to do this.

Aaron Zavala is 0-4 with three strikeouts and six walks. 

Low-A: Down East 2, at Carolina (MIL) 8
Down East: 5 hits, 5 walks, 17 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 9 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 0-2, 2 GB

SP Larson Kindreich: 2 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Michael Brewer: 2 IP, 2 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA
RF Abimelec Ortiz: 1-3, 2B, BB
C Efrenyer Narvaez: 2-4, 3B
2B Jose Acosta: 1-1, 2B, BB, HBP, SB (1)

In his full-season debut, Larson Kindreich didn’t need fielders for eight of his 11 batters. Texas drafted him in last year’s eighth round. Clubs often deliberately draft cheaply in the 6-10 rounds to save money for other picks, but Kindreich earned a standard bonus out of California’s Bioal University.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Jake Latz
AA: Cole Ragans
Hi-A: TK Roby
Lo-A: Victor Santos

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Friday 8 April

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 11, El Paso (SDG) 3
Round Rock: 16 hits, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 1-3, 2 GB

SP Cole Winn: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 2 SO, 2.25 ERA
RP Tyler Thomas: 3 IP, 2 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3.00 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 2 IP, 3 H (1 HR), 1 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 13.50 ERA
CF Bubba Thompson: 2-5, SB (3)
LF Leody Taveras: 5-5, 2 2B, 2 SB (2)
RF Zach Reks: 1-2, 3 BB
DH Sam Huff: 3-4, HR (1), BB
2B Ryan Dorow: 2-3, 2B, BB

Leody Taveras had a perfect day, reaching all five times and scoring all the way from first on an errant throw during a steal attempt. Bubba Thompson also flashed the wheels. Sam Huff homered to left-center (just under 400 feet, modest by his standards) and hit a single even harder.

The hardest-hit ball of the night was a double off Luis Liberato’s bat against Cole Winn’s first pitch. That and another hit scored the only run off Winn, although he did walk two straight in the 2nd. Winn dealt his fastball (91-95), slider (82-85) and changeup (83-87) in nearly equal amounts plus ten curves (75-79).

Tyler Thomas offers a sinker/slider mix augmented with changes, all of which have a healthy amount of horizontal movement. Thomas, now 26, was the return for Jesse Chavez back in 2018. Yerry Rodriguez’s fastball velocity slumped to 92-95 in his second appearance. He threw a ton of sliders and several changes, the latter a pitch I don’t recall seeing Tuesday. Even if Rodriguez is permanently in relief, his change is decent (usually better than his slider last year) and he need not discard it.

AA: Frisco 5, Arkansas (SEA) 4
Frisco: 7 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 8 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 1-0, 1 G up

SP Cody Bradford: 4.1 IP, 3 H ,2 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 4.15 ERA
RP Justin Slaten: 1 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Chase Lee: 1 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF JP Martinez: 1-4, HR (1), SB (1)
SS Ezequiel Duran: 1-4, 2B
C Matt Whatley: 2-3, 2B

Doubles by Josh Stowers and Ezequiel Duran in the 8th reversed a one-run deficit. Duran was 0-3 to that point, so his first hit in AA scored the go-ahead run. Earlier, Frisco scored three in 4.2 innings off George Kirby, a top-100 prospect. Chase “The Viper” Lee fanned two in a 1-2-3 9th. Last year’s 5th rounder was aggressively assigned to AA for his pro debut. Cody Bradford allowed one liner (caught by 3B Diosbel Arias) and one fly; everything else was on the ground or a strikeout.

RHP Kevin Gowdy is listed at Frisco after being announced on Hickory’s opening roster. Gowdy was part of the return for Kyle Gibson.

High-A: Hickory 5, at Winston-Salem (CHW) 7
Hickory: 10 hits, 12 walks, 10 strikeouts
Opponent: 13 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
Record: 0-1, 1 GB

SP Owen White: 3 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 6.00 ERA
RP Spencer Mraz: 1.1 IP, 1 H ,0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 0.00 ERA
CF Evan Carter: 1-5, 2B, BB
RF Aaron Zavala: 0-2, 3 BB
SS Frainyer Chavez: 2-3, BB
2B Thomas Saggese: 1-3, 2 BB
1B Cristian Inoa: 3-5, 2 2B

MiLB.tv is a good product overall, but not without its problems. It is seemingly always caught off guard by the start of the season, with multiple feeds either absent, subject to frequent buffering, or, in the case of Winston-Salem last night, audio-only. That is to say, my hope of seeing Owen White’s high-A debut was dashed. The two opposing homers matched his total from last year’s 35 innings.

Winston-Salem walked twelve and flung two wild pitches, but Hickory couldn’t capitalize, stranding 14 and losing another four on the bases. Frainyer Chavez had a great night. The downside is he entered as a replacement for SS Luisangel Acuna, who departed after hurting his lower leg crossing first on a grounder. Hopefully, it’s not serious. DH Chris Seise walked twice in his first action since last year’s injury.

Incidentally, if you do get MiLB.tv, you’ll see all the games of Round Rock and Frisco, road games for eight of Hickory’s 11 league opponents, and all of Down East’s road games. Unfortunately, Rangers-owned Down East is the only Carolina League team without video.

Low-A: Down East 3, at Carolina (MIL) 6
Down East: 5 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts
Record: 0-1, 1 GB

SP Josh Stephan: 4 IP, 5 H ,3 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, 4.50 ERA

Undrafted South Grand Prairie righty Josh Stephan threw plenty of strikes in last year’s 12 low-A innings, but four homers vaulted his ERA to 8.25. Last night, the ball stayed in the park. Beyond that, well, LF Alejandro Osuna’s double was the only extra-base hit, nobody reached more than once, and relievers Luis Tejeda (3 IP, 2 R) and Gavin Collyer (1 IP, 1 R) were fairly nondescript.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Glenn Otto
AA: Jack Leiter
Hi-A: Mason Englert
Lo-A: TBD

Five Years Ago Yesterday
331 games into his minor league career, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit his first professional homer.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Thursday 7 April

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 7, El Paso (SDG) 8
Round Rock: 8 hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 9 hits, 12 walks, 11 strikeouts
Record: 0-3, 3 GB

SP AJ Alexy: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 9.00 ERA
CF Bubba Thompson: 3-5, 2 SB (2)
LF Leody Taveras: 2-5
DH Yohel Pozo: 1-4, 2B
C Sam Huff: 1-4, 2B

Alexy’s overall strike rate of 62% was fine, but he walked three and needed 67 pitches in three innings. He relied heavily on the fastball (93-96) and slider (82-86) while sprinkling in changes and curves.

Daniel Robert missed on eight of 12 pitches and didn’t retire any of three batters. He’s walked three in two outings. Last year, he walked five all season. Offseason free agent Nick Tropeano, who aspires to be this year’s Drew Anderson, I suppose, allowed two runs and walked three in two innings. Two days after having nothing to offer, righty Jason Bahr completed a scoreless inning with two walks and a strikeout.

After the Express used their allotted pitchers for the night, infielder Nick Tanielu entered with bases juiced and a one-run deficit in the 8th. He induced an inning-ending double play and worked a scoreless 9th. Yes, even with 17 pitchers on the roster, their schedules dictate that a position player will take the mound in a meaningful situation during the season’s third game. Such are the times.

The Express did take their bats out of storage last night. Sam Huff’s 110.5 MPH lined double is the hardest-hit ball by the good guys this season. Huff also hit a groundout nearly as hard.
Elsewhere
Friend of the Newberg Report and Hickory fixture Mark Parker has a preview of this year’s Crawdads.

According to the official transaction page, the Rangers have promoted Future Considerations from Down East to Hickory. Long overdue, in my opinion.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Cole Winn
AA: Cody Bradford
Hi-A: Owen White
Lo-A: Gavin Collyer

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Down East allowed six in the 9th to lose 11-10, a night after they’d scored six in the 9th to win. Frisco’s Ariel Jurado allowed 11 hits and seven runs in 4.1 innings. Jurado was considered Texas’s second-best pitching prospect at the time, after Yohander Mendez. I’d place the early 2017 version of Jurado somewhere in the 5-10 range of Texas’s current pitching crop. Jurado missed 2021 (no idea why) and signed with the Twins during the abbreviated Spring Training.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Wednesday 6 April

The Rangers finalized their Opening Day roster. Officially up, as expected, are pitchers Matt Bush and Greg Holland plus infielder Charlie Culberson. To clear three 40-man spots, the Rangers placed RHP Jose Leclerc on the 60-day Injured List, designated IF Sherten Apostel for assignment, and traded IF Yonny Hernandez to Arizona for non-40 OF Jeferson Espinal.

Back to my thinking from the other day, Leclerc was the obvious first choice to make room on the 40. I thought OF Zach Reks was next in line. Nothing against him, but I’ve just not heard much about the 28-year-old in terms of a potential active-roster role. My two “make[s] me sad but I get it” players were Apostel and RHP Demarcus Evans, who’s currently not assigned to a team. Next, Hernandez headed my “interesting territory” group.

I expect that the front office had their collective minds decided before Round Rock’s first game, but to the extent Apostel had a chance to make them second-guess, he definitely did not: 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, eight swinging strikes out of 15 pitches, insecure fielding at first. Acquired along with lefty Taylor Hearn for reliever Keone Kela, Apostel was the prize of the pair for a while. Multiple leg ailments limited him to 68 games last year, and he never acclimated to either Frisco or Round Rock. He’s still just 23, so there’s still time.
I’m always fond of guys like Hernandezwho receive scant attention on prospect lists but you can gauge as having a real chance when you see them in person. Hernandez runs well, can play multiple positions capably and possesses an exceptionally keen eye for the strike zone. He’s not much of a hitter, but he could put enough balls in play to create an eye-popping OBP, and he was able to maintain enough of that ability as he faced increasingly tough pitchers. The 19-year-old Espinal will head to Arizona for now. He split last year between the rookie league (.352/.446/.507) and low-A Visalia (.216/.288/.288). Baseball America recently ranked him Arizona’s #27 prospect. “Toolsy and raw” seems a good thumbnail description.
Texas also simply assigned offseason pickup Joe McCarthy to AAA without adding him to the 40. Per the beats, the outfielder is exploring potential options in Japan. Generally, clubs and MLB as a whole will permit players like McCarthy to seek greener pastures, but at the same time, Texas wouldn’t want to release him only for him to latch on with rival.

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 2, El Paso (SDG) 6
Round Rock: 3 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Opponent: 7 hits, 6 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 0-2, 2 GB

SP Kohei Arihara: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 60 P / 36 S, 9.00 ERA
RP Ryder Ryan: 2 IP, 1 H ,0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Hever Bueno: 2 IP, 1 H (1 HR), 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4.50 ERA
RP Nick Snyder: 1 IP, 0 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA

I didn’t see anything in March to suggest Kohei Arihara had improved on 2021’s rough introduction to MLB, and last night didn’t help. Maybe that’s harsh, as only two balls were hit especially hard, and Arihara himself was hit on a comebacker by the opening batter. Regardless, there’s much work to be done to renew the possibility of rejoining Texas.

Nick Snyder swatted away three Chihuahuas in short order with a 96-98 fastball and 83 MPH downhill slider. His presence in AAA doesn’t bother me, but I’d say he’s got better odds of finishing 2022 and starting 2023 in Texas than a good number of current Texas bullpen occupants.

Round Rock has three runs and seven hits in two games, and that honestly oversells the performance. Just not much to say yet. Leody Taveras broke a string of 20 consecutive batters retired with a one-out 9th-inning walk but was doubled out attempting to advance on a deep Yohel Pozo flyout.

IF Matt Carpenter and pitchers Glenn Otto and Matt Moore are active. We’ll see how Carpenter’s situation plays out. Elier Hernandez is the only non-catcher I’d consider more of a sub/rotation guy than a regular, and Sam Huff and Yohel Pozo may DH frequently when not behind the plate, so Carpenter’s plate appearances are always going to come at someone’s expense.

Elsewhere
Hickory lost a friendly to Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University 3-1. The Bears’ Wayne Cuda hit Ricky Vanasco’s first pitch over the fence.

St. Louis released IF Anderson Tejeda. Tejeda was an extreme high-variance prospect, but being released twice before his 24th birthday wasn’t a future I’d ever contemplated. He’d made tangible improvements in his hitting and fielding during 2018, and I was probably higher on him than most, but 2019 was shortened by injury. It’s easy to blame his premature MLB debut in 2020 (along with Apostel, Leody Taveras and Sam Huff) for subsequent events, but he could have just as easily stalled in AA/AAA if afforded a typical development path. 2020 and 2021 were tough on players, evaluators, everyone.

Today’s Starters
AAA: AJ Alexy
AA: off
Hi-A: off
Lo-A: off

Five Years Ago Yesterday
The high-A Down East Wood Ducks won their inaugural game 7-6, roaring back from a 6-1 deficit in the 9th. RF Jairo Beras capped the scoring with a homer. The very expensive and notorious prospect would hit three more homers in his pro career and switch to the mound by season’s end. Down East was technically a new team but in essence the relocated High Desert Mavericks, which played in the most hitter-friendly park in the US, and that was the only thing friendly about the situation. The Rangers paid several million dollars to get out of that jackpot. I digress. Lefty Joe Palumbo walked three and struck out five in his high-A debut.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of Tuesday 5 April

Box Scores

AAA: Round Rock 1, El Paso (SDG) 13
Round Rock: 4 hits, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts
Opponent: 16 hits, 6 walks, 14 strikeouts
Record: 0-1, 1 GB

SP Jake Latz: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 4.50 ERA
RP Tyson Miller: 1 IP, 2 H ,0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
RP Yerry Rodriguez: 0.2 IP, 3 H ,3 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 40.50 ERA
RP Daniel Robert: 1.1 IP, 1 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
LF Bubba Thompson: 1-4, HR (1)

Surveys show most fans don’t pay attention to the score when visiting a minor league park. Neither do I, albeit for different reasons. Ignorance was bliss last night.

In his AAA debut, LF Bubba Thompson homered to left-center on a fastball. Thompson actually got under the pitch just a little, but his strength and a favorable wind teamed to carry his moonshot over the fence. Thompson’s had Round Rock’s only other very hard-hit ball of the night, a groundout off the bat at 102 MPH. The team’s other three hits consisted of an opposite-field blooped double by CF Leody Taveras (1-4), a soft single by RF Zack Reks (1-3, BB), and a topped grounder by C Sam Huff (1-4) that might’ve traveled 30 feet.

SS Josh Smith turned an 0-2 count into a nine-pitch walk in his first AAA plate appearance. Smith was hitless with a strikeout afterwards. El Paso starter Jesse Scholtens leaned on a looping curve to great effect; 21 of 23 registered strikes, with only Reks’ single causing damage. Grant Gavin’s changeup-heavy approach and Jordan Brink’s “I dare you” heat combined for nine strikeouts in four innings. The Express just didn’t have much to say offensively.

On the pitching side, starter Jake Latz was his boringly solid self, offering a fastball that reached 94, a good changeup, a decent curve, and a slider that didn’t do as much. 26 on Thursday, Latz was a candidate for the 40-man roster over the winter and remains one for the rotation or in long relief if needed.

Yerry Rodriguez maintained last year’s switch to relief, dealing a 95-98 fastball and 82-84 slider. The heater has excellent movement, although the Chihuahuas did hit a couple squarely. Rodriguez’s breaker has been a work in progress. He switched from a curve last spring, and the slider’s efficiency varied quite a bit. Last night version was pretty easy to spot out of his hand but looked tighter that usual, and it’s a very different look than his running fastball.

I’d never seen righty Daniel Robert in person, and what I saw on MiLB.tv at Frisco was a 92-93 fastball. Last night, the range jumped to 94-97, so that’s noteworthy. It’s straighter than Rodriguez’s but he places it well. Robert also delivers a tricky 79-82 slider that wasn’t as consistent as what I saw last year. The better ones tease the strike zone but sneak outside (against righties). Last night, he was “behind” several of them, so they sort of looked like attempted backdoor sliders but missed inside every time. Robert was a senior sign out of Auburn and missed a years to surgery and covid, so he’s a Triple A newcomer at the age of 27.

Apparently, automated umpiring won’t reach the Pacific Coast League until mid-May. The human ump shaved off the top of the zone but didn’t get much grief from either team. As I’d hoped, the advanced stats for the PCL do appear at Baseball Savant, although some manual URL input is needed to find them, and I don’t know if season-long stats will be compiled. I was happy to see my observations about Rodriguez’s and Robert’s respective fastball movement confirmed. Rodriguez’s horizontal break ranged from 7″ to 13″, Roberts 1″-7″. Statcast struggled badly to categorize some pitchers, calling most of Latz’s output in a broad 84-94 range a cutter.

Note: Most individual game reports won’t be nearly this long, so if you’re thinking this is overkill, don’t worry. With just one game on the schedule that I attended in person, I expanded a bit.

Elsewhere
Righty Jake Lemoine made the Opening Day roster of the A’s. Texas’s 4th-round pick in 2015 because a free agent after last season. Recently released pitcher Mason Cole and ex-Rangers IF Ti’Quan Forbes and LHP Brady Feigl have signed with the indy Atlantic League.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Kohei Arihara
AA: off
Hi-A: off
Lo-A: off

Daily Report Primer Part II: The Stats That Matter

Moves
Per local media, pitchers Matt Bush and Greg Holland and IF Charlie Culberson have made the team. The Rangers also may appear of a state of mind to upgrade OF Joe McCarthy from his current minor league contract to a 40 spot. If the move doesn’t also include an active roster spot, I’m not sure what that’s about. I seriously doubt McCarthy, who has very limited MLB experience, has an opt-out clause. Perhaps he has a gentleman’s agreement. I’m missing info and context and the time gather them, so I’ll leave it there.

Garrett Richards, IL’ed with a blister. Glenn Otto, optioned. Spencer Patton, optioned (but on the taxi squad, which I found out was still a thing about five minutes ago). Brandon Workman, released. Not all moves are official; I’ve only seen the Rangers themselves issue the Otto and Workman transactions.

So, at present the Rangers require four 40-man moves assuming McCarthy joins, too. As I tweeted over the weekend, If Texas’s thinking jibes with mine, moves 1 and 2 are easy, moves 3 and 4 (as needed) will make me sad but I get it, and moves 5 and beyond (if needed) get into interesting territory. Yes, that’s vague. No, I’d rather not elaborate right now. All in due course.

Tonight
AAA: Jake Latz vs. El Paso

Wednesday and Thursday will feature Kohei Arihara and AJ Alexy on the mound, respectively. Beyond that, including Cole Winn’s first start, I cannot say. The strange timing of the Rangers beginning their season after Round Rock has left the Express without an official roster a mere four hours before the first pitch. I’ll be in Round Rock tonight, and if you’re interested in my thoughts during the game, follow on twitter @scottrlucas.

The other teams begin Friday.

Part II of the Daily Report Primer: Stats I Love and Loathe

Age
The best prospects tend to receive aggressive assignments and are young for their levels. Down the road, they’re often omitted from my annual 40-Man / Rule 5 preview because they forced their way onto the MLB squad months earlier. If all you know about a player is his age, you actually know quite a lot. So, for example, when the Rangers assign 19-year-old OF Evan Carter to high-A, they’re were telling you something.

One shouldn’t get carried away with age, though. Of course, players drafted out of college will be older, and dismissing them for being (gasp) 23 by the time they reach high-A would be ridiculous. However, those players are expected to perform better at the low levels and are on shorter leashes. (Incidentally, that a good many college players don’t handle A-level ball reinforces just how hard the pro game is.) Catchers tend to take more time, as do many pitchers.

The Rangers aren’t quite as aggressive with promotions as a decade ago. Promotions feel more player-tailored and less driven by organizational culture. Even so, they had the youngest hitters in the Triple A West and youngest pitchers in the Low-A East in 2021.

Slash Stats (Average / On-Base Percentage / Slugging)
In the Majors, batting average isn’t a useless stat, but it matters far less than on-base percentage and slugging. In the minors, I like to keep an eye on it. Putting the bat on the ball with frequency and authority is what gets players noticed and moves them up the ladder.

Let’s look at a couple of made-up players with 500 plate appearances. Both have a .360 OBP and .440 slugging percentage:

A)    100 hits, 10 doubles, 25 homers, 80 walks, 160 strikeouts
B)    150 hits, 33 doubles, 8 homers, 30 walks, 60 strikeouts

Same OBP, same slugging percentage, very different hitters. Player A is kind of a cut-rate Joey Gallo, batting .238 with huge number of walks and good-but-not-elite power. Player B batted .319 but doesn’t walk much or offer much more than doubles power. There aren’t many Player B type nowadays. Michael Brantley last year. Elvis Andrus in 2016. Point is, knowing the batting average in addition to OBP and slugging can be surprisingly informative. That said, even in the minors, OBP and slugging are much more useful.

These stats mean the least at lower levels and gain importance as players advance. They also matter more to offense-oriented positions. Except at the extreme margin and probably not even then, a first basemen cannot compensate for weak hitting with outstanding defense. He has to hit.

Walks (Hitters)
Laying off iffy pitches can be career-defining. Walks mitigate inevitable slumps. In the Luisangel Acuna example from yesterday, he drew six walks and an HBP during that 0-for-30 slump. That’s a .189 OBP. Not good, of course, but reaching nearly 20% of the time without a hit means he’s at least giving his teammates some chances with a runner on first.

Walks are a means, not an end, though. I do worry about players who rely too heavily on walks, which is easier to do at the lower levels where control is often absent. Selectivity is great. Passivity, not so much. Eventually, the hitter will rise to a level at which most pitchers not only have control but a semblance of command, and the hitter will have to adjust.

Automated strike zones are coming to the Pacific Coast League in 2022. I am very much looking forward to seeing robo-umped balls and strikes called in person.

Strikeouts (Hitters)
To some extent, we can ignore hitters’ strikeouts. What really matters is how they perform when they don’t. Not to be flip, but strikeouts for hitters don’t matter until they do. At some point, they reach a level that forces a herculean batting average on contact just to get by. For example, Adolis Garcia. Early last April, I gamed out what he’d need to reach a .300 OBP with so many strikeouts. As I tweeted: “Let’s say he can manage a 5% BB+HBP rate (well below league average) and a 30% K rate (well above, even in 2021). That means he needs to bat .263 for a minimum .300 OBP. And with all those Ks, that requires a .376 average on contact, about 50 points above the league average and better than what he’s done in AAA.”

Garcia ended up with a 6% BB+HBP rate and struck out in 31% of his plate appearances, close to my guesses. He also batted .364 when he made contact, roughly the 75% percentile among AL batters with at least 400 plate appearances. So, very good in that respect. And what did that high average on contact get him? A .286 OBP, 9th-worst among that same set of batters.

Some hitters are exceptionally good at avoiding strikeouts, but not particularly to their benefit. Most of the time, weak contact on marginal pitch isn’t any better than a strikeout.

Runs, Runs Batted In
No.

ERA
I do list ERA when recapping pitchers. Much of the time, it’s a handy stat, but it’s not the end-all and sometimes is lying to you. Let’s take two pitchers in low-A last year:

Player A: 4.28 ERA, 43% SO rate, 7% BB rate, .272 opposing OBP, 16.5 pitches per inning
Player B: 3.68 ERA, 33% SO rate, 23% BB rate, 429 opposing OBP, 23.5 pitches per inning

Player B had the better ERA, but I’d pick Player A in a critical situation without question. B had a terrific strikeout rate but a bunch of innings marred by walks (mostly stranded, luckily) and elevated pitch counts. Pitcher A combined good control with an otherworldly strikeout rate, but the batters that reached were much more likely to get home. Usually, situational performance (such as runners in scoring position) tends to even out in the long run.

Sometimes a single terrible outing can wipe out a reliever’s ERA. My favorite example is John Smoltz back in 2002. He allowed eight runs in 0.2 innings in early April and needed three months of quality outings (including 37 saves!) just to drag his ERA below 4.00.

So, you’ll occasionally read something like “h;e spitched better [or worse] than his ERA would suggest.” If Players A and B continue to pitch as they have, Player A is far more likely to have the lower ERA eventually.

Wins and Losses
A pitcher’s win-loss record was a decent stat when horses kicked up dust in city streets and laudanum was available over the counter. In the modern game, it’s meaningless.  

Homers, Walks, Strikeouts (Pitchers)
These are better indicators than ERA, which is often tied to luck on balls in play and how well relievers strand runners left behind.

Homers are trickier to analyze. More fly balls equal more homers, of course, but HR rates can bounce around crazily from year to year for no other reason than variance. Walk and strikeout rates tend to stabilize more quickly.

Walk rates ballooned in Low-A in 2021, courtesy of a missed year, the eradication of short-season ball, and hundreds of max-effort throwers with control in various stages of (under)development. Also: robo-umps:

Low-A Combined Walk/HBP rate:
2019, human umps: 10.5%
2021, human umps: 12.2%
2021, robo-umps: 14.3%

For 29 years, the worst combined BB/HBP rate in low-A (14.5%) belonged to the 1991 Augusta Pirates. Six teams were worse last year, five of them in the robo-umped Low-A Southeast. The other was Down East’s division opponent in Fayetteville, a Houston affiliate. The Woodpeckers walked or plunked 17.1% of opposing batters and set a all-time record of 196 wild pitches despite a schedule shortened 20 games by the pandemic. (Fayetteville also used an amazing 55 pitchers in 2021, including 30 different starters.)

There seems to be more pitchers who can abide the higher walk rate because they’re darn near unhittable otherwise.

Strikeout have risen so much that I constantly have to remind myself what constitutes an acceptable rate. In 2007, my first year on the job, the best team in the Midwest League (which contained Texas-affiliated Clinton) had a strikeout rate of 21.3%. Last year, the worst team in Texas’s low-A league had a rate of 22.6%. The league average has increased 6% in that span, about 2.2 strikeouts per game per team.

HBPs are kind of an afterthought in typical stat-watching, but they’ve risen greatly in recent years, and some pitchers are plunk-prone enough to seriously degrade their performance.

I tend to refer to these stats in rates per batter faced rather than per nine innings. Per-nine accounting can be skewed by the number of runners allowed. If two pitchers strike out a batter per inning, they obviously are striking out an identical amount per nine innings, but if one is allowing one runner per inning and the other two, the stingier pitcher has a 25% strikeout rate compared to the other guy’s 20%. That 5% is meaningful.

Opposing Slash Stats
The opposing batting line relates closely to the pitcher’s core peripherals. I mention them often and think they’re interesting. Opponents batted a minuscule .146/.239/.259 against Cole Winn last year. Essentially, Winn turned everyone into a hitter in danger of losing his job. Winn’s combined walk/HBP was so-so, but really suppressed hits and power. Incidentally, Winn’s opposing average on balls in play was .199, which I seriously doubt is sustainable over the course of his upcoming time in Round Rock. Nothing against Winn, but some of those balls are going to find an opening.

Fielding
Fielding is trickiest to evaluate from an outsider’s perspective. Fielding percentage rarely tells the whole story.

For example, over the course of a season, let’s pretend two infielders share shortstop duties equally. On their first 400 grounders, they’re identical statistically. But then on their next 20 grounders apiece, Shortstop 1 never a single one, but Shortstop 2 reaches all of them and turns 15 into outs and throws 5 into the stands, allowing those hitters to reach second. Shortstop 2 will have a worse fielding percentage, but he also turned 15 more balls into outs. Would you rather an opposing batter reach first safely 20 times, or reach second 5 times but get put out the other 15 times? Shortstop 2 is far more effective despite making more errors.

Even with no stats, you can learn plenty simply from where someone plays. For example, Frisco had a quartet of Bubba Thompson, JP Martinez, Josh Stowers and Steele Walker for last season’s first 80 games. Who played CF the most? Thompson with 40 starts, followed by Martinez with 28. Walker made about three-quarters of his corner outfield starts in right, while Stowers worked each corner equally. The guy getting the most starts in center might not necessarily be the best on his team in that role, but at the least he’s who the front office wants to see there the most. (In this case, Thompson is actually is the superior defender.)

Statcast
Clubs have advanced stats (exit velo, launch angle, spin rate, etc.) on minor leaguers, but to date they’re not readily available to the public. I’m hopeful that some info will be available for the robo-umped Pacific Coast League. If so, I’ll incorporate it into the reports.

Daily Report Primer Part I: How The Game Is Played

Winning
These are developmental leagues. Rosters aren’t constructed and games aren’t managed to win. Good prospects aren’t going to be benched if they perform poorly. Does the prospect quality of a system correlate to its performance in the minors? Here’s a chart of every team’s organizational ranking in 2021 per Baseball America and its full-season winning percentage:


Answer: kind of but not really. One higher spot in the rankings is worth about 1.5 wins out of 490 played. The correlation is very loose, and Tampa Bay (#1 rank and record) and Washington (#30 rank, #29 record) are doing all the work. Minus them, rankings and records are almost completely independent of one another. That said, over the years, the quality of Texas’s system has correlated pretty well to its record.

Not all rankings are created equal. An organization stacked with top-100 prospects will receive high marks even if depth is lacking, but that missing depth could result in a weaker record. Even if the Rangers put Corey Seager in Low-A (a move I’d advise against), there’s only so much one guy can do.

Some organizations emphasize winning more than others. For my outsider’s perspective, my concern isn’t about winning as much as excessive losing. What I’d hate to see is a Texas version of last year’s White Sox-affiliated Kannapolis club, which lost its first ten, then 16 of the next 20, and then dropped to 46 games under .500 until an 8-1 finish. That just doesn’t seem conducive to a positive development environment.

Starters
The Rangers have often employed a six-man rotation in the minors of their own volition. Now, the rigid six-games-a-week schedule practically demands it. For viewing purposes, the advantage is that certain pitchers tend to start on a certain day on the week, and one could more easily match a park visit to that start if inclined.

The median length of a start by a Texas full-season minor leaguer in 2021 was 4.0 innings. Only 41% of starts lasted five innings or greater. Even with this limited workload, Texas wants its starters to get their innings in, so pitchers will often be allowed to press through situations that might get an MLB starter pulled. What will get a starter pulled early is excessive pitches. If the inning’s count has crept into the mid-20s with no end in sight, the bullpen will be active. Once it surpasses 30, the pitcher (especially if younger) could be gone unless the batter he’s facing makes the final out.
Relievers
Minor league relievers tend to pitch on a schedule rather than having situational roles, and the lost 2020 combined with expanded rosters (28 in AA/AAA, 30 in A ball) exacerbated that trend. Even in AAA, nominally the final training ground for the Majors, relievers usually pitch on prescribed days.  

Pitching on consecutive days, already a rarity below AAA, became exceptionally rare events in 2021. In fact, for a good many pitchers, appearing on fewer than two days rest was uncommon. On August 7 in Round Rock, I was treated to an unexpected outing by Nick Snyder. He’d pitched on the 5th, so I assumed he was unavailable that night, but he made his first appearance of the season with fewer than two day’s rest. (It was, perhaps not coincidentally, his worst outing of the season.)

32-year-old James Jones appeared back-to-back once in AAA, as did 30-year-old Buck Farmer. Round Rock’s busiest relievers, all in their 20s but far from newcomers – Jake Lemoine, Ryder Ryan and Luis Ortiz – never did.

30 Texas minor leaguers saved a game last year. None had more than eight. Teams don’t have closers, or to the extent they do, they’re more like to rely on someone who might have a lower ceiling but is the most trustworthy at that level. In the last 14 years, nine Texas minor league relievers have recorded 20 saves in a season. None of them has ever subsequently saved a Major League game.

Perhaps with the lost 2020 further in the rear-view mirror, AAA will tilt slightly more toward MLB-like usage, but again, with so many relievers vying for innings, I’m not expecting much difference from last year.

Sometimes in critical situations, managers have leeway to use relievers more traditionally. Eudrys Manon, Leury Tejeda, and Destin Dotson earned the lion’s share of late/close innings in Down East’s 2021’s playoff drive. Frisco leaned heavily on 2021 draftee Chase Lee and Daniel Robert down the stretch. In fact, Robert made his first-ever no-rest appearance on the seasons’ final day. (Regretfully, he was on fumes, got lit up, and Frisco lost a division lead held the entire season to that point.)

Batting Orders
They aren’t necessarily optimized for run production and often don’t align with the relative qualities of the prospects. Don’t worry about them.

Walks and Strikeouts
Both tend to increase as you descend the organizational ladders. Walks exploded in low-A in 2021, partly because of an unscheduled year off and partly because of the automated umpiring used in the Low-A southeast. The highest six team walk rates and seven of the nine highest team strikeout rates in low-A history were set last year. Strikeouts, as you know, are at historic levels. Not that long ago, almost any pitcher with a 25% strikeout rate was noteworthy. Last year, the low-A San Jose Giants had a team rate of 31.5%. (San Jose’s home stadium has an notoriously difficult batter’s eye, but still.)

Errors and “Mistakes”
The number of miscues that give the opposition free runners or bases increases greatly at the lower levels.


If you attend an MLB game, the averaged combined walks, HBPs, errors, balks, wild pitches and passed balls you’re likely to see is nine. In low-A, it’s 14.

Running
In 2021, Low-A as a whole had 1.6 stolen base attempts per game, the most in 20 years. Down East set an all-time low-A record for most successful attempts per game (2.41), and their total of 290 was only nine short of the record despite playing 20 fewer games than normal. Not coincidentally, a new rule limited pitchers to two “free” pickoff attempts per batter. A third attempt that didn’t result in an out was ruled a balk. Balks increased 60% in low-A compared to 2019, but I have no idea how much of the increase is due to the rule versus tighter rule enforcement and/or generally sloppier play following an absence of games in 2020.

Field and League Context
Here’s the park-adjusted league averages for Texas’s full-season affiliates in 2021:

Round Rock: 5.5 runs per game, .259/.337/.454 slash line
Frisco: 4.9 runs, .248/.332/.398
Hickory: 5.2 runs, .243/.329/.463
Down East: 5.1 runs, .241/.343/.377

Round Rock is pitcher-friendly relative to most of its peers, but the Pacific Coast League is so hitter-oriented as a whole that even Express hitters’ stats have to be viewed with a little cynicism. Down East scored a robust 5.3 runs per game despite an ordinary .244/.344/.379 line courtesy of all those steals and opposition miscues previously mentioned.

Luck
The likelihood of a .250 batter going hitless in any particular 30 consecutive at-bats is extremely small: about 1 in 5,600. Spread that to 36 hitters*  (nine per Texas’s four full-season teams) and the likelihood that someone starts the season 0-for-30 is still tiny: about 1 in 150. But, if you take a whole season with all the hitters and a huge number of overlapping 30-at-bat subsets, there’s a decent chance somebody comes up empty for a long spell. That very thing happened to a good prospect last year, Luisangel Acuna. He brought a shiny .375 average into his fifth game and went 0-for-30 (with six walks and one HBP) over the next nine. Did he have a mechanical issue? A minor injury? Maybe. I don’t remember. Acuna fanned ten times, so 20 balls in play went for naught. Even the weakest of hitters should squeak out a few safeties in that span.

Statistical variance in baseball is much higher than most people think. It’s important not to place too much emphasis on the short run, whether good or bad.

* Of course, Texas isn’t going to stick with the same 36 minor league hitters game after game, but I’m trying to make the math easier.

Promotions
Promotions and demotions aren’t made in a vacuum. A promoted player is necessarily taking someone else’s spot. Should that other player also be promoted? Demoted? Moved to a different position? Should the players share the position and moonlight at DH? Should the promoted guy move to a different position instead, and who would that affect? These decisions are sometimes complicated, and a player might advance more slowly than you’d like because Texas has to sort through all these issues.

Report Tone
Even in a deep system, most of Texas’s minor leaguers aren’t going to reach MLB or make much impact if they do. Texas has 26 (or 28) Major Leaguers and 200+ minor leaguers. The cold math turns most of them into “failures.”

They are not failures. They’re exceptional athletes in an industry with a limited number of jobs. If you’re the 2,000th best accountant in the country, you’re doing great, plus you can start your own business if you want. The 2,000th professional baseball player is in Double A, and he can’t start his own league to compete against MLB. Also, we can argue about the relative entertainment quality of the current high-strikeout era, but the players themselves have never been better. There are pitchers stuck in AAA with stuff that I guarantee would have made them passable MLB relievers a dozen years ago.

So, I want to be honest about a player’s chances, and I focus on the prospects most likely to help Texas in the future, but I’ll cover anyone having a great day.

Opening Minor League Player Assignments

Texas and their affiliates announced initial minor league rosters yesterday. Here’s a quick rundown. If I don’t mention your guy, don’t worry. We’ve got a whole season in front of us, and I don’t want to use all my material in an intro.

I’ve listed top-30 prospect rankings for Baseball America (BA), MLB, and the most contrarian rankings for Baseball Prospectus (BP) and ESPN.

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AAA ROUND ROCK EXPRESS

Round Rock, Texas
Pacific Coast League
Texas affiliate 2011-2018, 2021-present

Pitchers
Justin Anderson
Kohei Arihara
Jason Bahr
Hever Bueno
Jake Latz
Tyson Miller
Daniel Robert
Yerry Rodriguez (MLB 27)
Ryder Ryan
Jesus Tinoco
Nick Tropeano
Dan Winkler
Cole Winn (BA 3, MLB 3)

Cole Winn leads a group of eight faces familiar to Express fans. Winn isn’t first in line to replace a starter in Arlington if needed. He’s not any number on that depth chart. He’s just Cole Winn, prepping for an MLB debut to come when he’s ready, not when external circumstances dictate.

Rodriguez often dominated after switching to multi-inning relief late last season (perhaps not permanently, yet). A young 27, Robert doesn’t throw especially hard but spots impeccably and relies on a slider that has an invisibility cloak.

Tinoco (Rox), Tropeano (Dodgers most recently) and Winkler (Cubs) are offseason signings.

Catchers
Sam Huff (BA 11, MLB 11)
Jack Kruger
Yohel Pozo (BA 28)
Meibrys Viloria

The Rangers have seven catchers with MLB experience including these four. Keeping all probably isn’t possible, particularly assuming the parent club drops to two catchers. Catcher development requires inordinate patience, but even so, it’s a critical year for Huff, who after returning from injury didn’t catch at all and didn’t hit all that well (aside from power).

Infielders
Sherten Apostel
Ryan Dorow
Yonny Hernandez
Josh H. Smith (BA 9, MLB 7, ESPN 5)
Davis Wendzel (MLB 17)

Smith began 2021 in low-A (too low) and has only 127 plate appearances in AA. I thought he might spend a little more time in Frisco, but I wouldn’t call this assignment a surprise. Almost exclusively a shortstop professionally, Smith almost certainly won’t wear a uniform with “Rangers” on it without proficiency at other positions, so we’ll see how he’s used with the Express.

Everybody but Apostel can play second, third and short, and they probably will. Apostel dropped from the prospect rankings after an injury-plagued and so-so 2021, but he’s barely 23 and has a chance to regain ground.

Outfielders
Elier Hernandez
Zach Reks
Bubba Thompson (MLB 29)
Leody Taveras

Although omitted from the 40 last winter, Thompson had a strong 2021 that eased if not eliminated concerns about his bat. His power showed up in games, and his strikeout rate dropped from 32% to 26%.

I saw Taveras at length in 2021, and he genuine improved during his time in Round Rock, but it didn’t translate to a better showing in Arlington. He’s still just 23.

AA FRISCO ROUGHRIDERS
Frisco, Texas
Texas League
Texas affiliate since 2003

Pitchers
Grant Anderson
Cody Bradford (BA 23, MLB 20, ESPN 15)
Tim Brennan
Lucas Jacobsen
Zak Kent (BA 17, MLB 21)
Chase Lee
Jack Leiter (BA 1, MLB 1)
Seth Nordlin
Fernery Ozuna
Cole Ragans (BA 24)
Justin Slaten
Nick Starr
Tyler Thomas
Tai Tiedemann
Avery Weems (BA 18)
Grant Wolfram

Jack Leiter. Sorry, I don’t have anything to add to that. I just wanted to type his name again. He’s a Ranger.

Bradford, Kent, Ragans, Nordlin, Slaten, Weems and Wolfram combined for 95 of Hickory’s 114 starts last year. The first three finished 2021 in Frisco, and the rest are there now. Impressive to have an entire rotation graduate.

Catchers
David Garcia
Jordan Procyshen
Matt Whatley

Barely 22, Garcia earned a 40-man spot before reaching full-season ball, lost that spot last winter, immediately re-signed and now has earned a promotion to AA. His overall numbers call that into question (.261/.299/.349), but he had a better second half. Garcia has always needed time to acclimate offensively.

Whatley has the field presence and defensive chops to play in the Majors, but even catchers have to hit a little, and he hasn’t (.203/.316/.282 in AA as a 25-year-old last year).

Infielders
Diosbel Arias
Blaine Crim
Ezequiel Duran (BA 4, MLB 4)
Trey Hair
Nash Knight
Jonathan Ornelas
Nick Tanielu

Duran, the headliner of the Joey Gallo trade (although not by a large margin), has rarely played short

Crim isn’t a monster physically (no offense), is best-suited to first and doesn’t appear in anyone’s top 30 that I know of, but man, the guy can hit. Crim spent a portion of last year in Frisco and clubbed 29 homers between there and Hickory. He then lorded over Puerto Rico (.406/.452/.594) last winter.

Ornelas’s promotion is a mild surprise, as he batted .261/.310/.394 for high-A Hickory and is still just 21. He can play all over and spent nearly a third of his time in center.

Knight and Tanielu are 29 and vets of AAA. But they’re needed in AA for now.

Outfielders
Sandro Fabian
Dustin Harris (BA 5, MLB 6, ESPN 8)
Julio P. Martinez
Kellen Strahm
Josh Stowers

Harris is pointedly listed as an outfielder. In the middle of 2021 I began seeing him described as a four-corner guy, which sounded swell but didn’t jibe with his near-constant presence at first. Harris did start at third more often down the stretch and will make his debut in the grass next week. He added power (20 HR) to his already superior contact ability, vaulting him up the prospect rankings.

Strahm isn’t a kid (soon 25, a senior sign out of San Jose St.) and has played in only 101 games in three years because of injuries and covid, but he’s got a nice mix of OBP skills, speed and defense.

Stowers (part of the Odor traded) hit the 20/20 mark last year in Frisco. The 24-year-old Fabian is a minor league free agent with 15 homers at AA Richmond last year.

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HIGH-A HICKORY CRAWDADS
Hickory, North Carolina
South Atlantic League
Texas affiliate since 2009

Pitchers
Ben Anderson
Marc Church
Joe Corbett
Mason Englert
Kevin Gowdy
Nick Krauth
Jesus Linarez
Eudrys Manon
John Matthews
Juan Mejia
Spencer Mraz
Triston Polley
Tekoah Roby (BA 14, MLB 15)
Josh D. Smith
Ricky Vanasco (BA 13, MLB 14)
Owen White (BA 7, MLB 8)

Based on everything I’ve heard about White lately, those rankings are going to appear conservative before long. Let’s hope so. Joining him is Englert, drafted two rounds after White in 2018 and with a similarly injury-delayed intro to pro ball. TK Roby, 2020’s 2nd-round pick, won’t turn 21 until after the season, Vanasco, placed on the 40 with a stitched-up elbow and no full-season experience, finally gets a chance to build on his breakout 2019.  

Catchers
Randy Florentino
Cody Freeman
Scott Kapers

A converted infielder, Freeman didn’t catch after returning from an injury last year, but he’s once again behind the plate.

Infielders
Luisangel Acuna (BA 10, MLB 10)
Frainyer Chavez
Jake Guenther
Cristian Inoa
Keyber Rodriguez
Thomas Saggese (MLB 28)
Chris Seise

Picked 29th overall in 2017, Chris Seise’s constant stream of injuries have limited him to 82 pro games. Given his luck, he was probably healthiest during 2020. Acuna stuck to second base after mid-July. He has the arm for the left side and was back at short during intersquads. The 19-year-old Saggese (2020, 5th round) walked at will in low-A and split duties between second, third and short.

Outfielders
Angel Aponte
Evan Carter (BA 8, MLB 9)
Trevor Hauver (BA 22, MLB 19)
Aaron Zavala (BA 12, MLB 12)

The Rangers drafted the then-unheralded Carter in 2020 based on where they thought he’d rank had his senior high school season not been truncated by covid. A prescient move, given how quickly Carter established his prospect bona fides. They’ve treated him the same way now, promoting him to high-A despite a back injury that ended his 2021 after six weeks.

Hauver is 23 now and had a decent showing in Hickory (.246/.357/.426) but hasn’t staked out a position, so figuring out where he fits is probably easier with a return engagement.

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LOW-A DOWN EAST WOOD DUCKS
Kinston, North Carolina
Carolina League
Texas affiliate since 2017

Pitchers
Michael Brewer
Gavin Collyer
Jose Corniell
Destin Dotson
Eris Filpo
Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa
Larson Kindreich
Nick Lockhart
Dylan MacLean
Theo McDowell
Damian Mendoza
Teodoro Ortega
Winston Santos
Josh Stephan
Leury Tejada
Emiliano Teodo
Bradford Webb

Not a bad set of pitchers despite the absence of top-30 recognition. Teodo features a triple-digit fastball and high-spin curve. The 19-year-old Santos has good control and touched 97 in camp. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa fanned 38 in 22.2 innings with the rookies last year. He’s nicknamed “Bubba,” and given the length of his birth name, I might just list him as simply Bubba in the game recaps. Kindreich (2021, 8th round) struck out 18 against three walks in eight rookie innings.

Dotson and Tejeda were entrusted with critical relief innings during Down East’s playoff drive last September.

Catchers
Tucker Mitchell
Efrenyer Narvaez
Brady Smith

If all goes to plan, you’ll read the name Efrenyer Narvaez frequently. How many catchers, even in rookie ball, can post a .353/.428/.500 line?

Infielders
Jose Acosta
Maximo Acosta (BA 21, MLB 13)
Derwin Barreto
Abimelec Ortiz
Junior Paniagua
Yenci Pena

Thoracic outlet syndrome reduced Acosta’s pro debut to 17 lackluster games and dimmed his star a little. Still, he earned the promotion to full-season.

Outfielders
Yosy Galan
Daniel Mateo (BA 30)
Alejandro Osuna
Jose Rodriguez
Marcus Smith

Smith, more highly regarded than Dustin Harris when both were acquired for Mike Minor, has barely played because of hamstring problems. Like Seise, he could regain status quickly with good health.

Galan started the rookie season 0-for-13 with ten strikeouts, and proceeded to hit .274/.350/.573 and rank second with ten homers in 47 games.  

Unassigned Players Ranked By BA or MLB

3B Josh Jung (BA 2, MLB 2)
IF Justin Foscue (BA 6, MLB 5, BP 3)
Glenn Otto (BA 15, MLB 26, BP 8)
OF Yeison Morrobel (BA 16, MLB 18)
OF Bayron Lora (BA 19)
LHP Mitch Bratt (BA 20, MLB 23)
IF Cam Cauley (BA 25, MLB 22)
RHP Dane Acker (BA 26, MLB 24)
LHP AJ Alexy (BA 27, MLB 25, BP 10)
IF Danyer Cueva (BA 29, MLB 30)
OF Anthony Gutierrez (MLB 16)

Jung you know about. Foscue has back soreness. Acker is coming off elbow surgery. The rest are in limbo between MLB and AAA, with fates determined in the next few days, or are too green to earn their first full-season assignment.

Other Unassigned Players
LHP Brock Burke
RHP Matt Bush
RHP Demarcus Evans
RHP Greg Holland
LHP Matt Moore
RHP Brandon Workman
IF Charlie Culberson
OF Joe McCarthy
OF Steele Walker
OF Jake Marisnick
IF Matt Carpenter

Limbo is crowded.

Released / Retired

OF Carl Chester — The player to be named in last year’s trade for Nathaniel Lowe. Chester batted .1856/.235/.305 in AAA last year.

RHP Mason Cole – Sorry, Aggie fans. Texas 27th-round selection in 2019 had a walk-heavy 4.01 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 24.2 innings for Down East last year.

RHP Luke Schiltz – Picked three spots ahead of Cole, the 21-year-old fanned and walked 19 in 16.1 innings with a 7.71 ERA for the rookie squad last year.

RHP Adam McKillican and Connor Sechler – free agents who reached A levels in 2021.

RHP Josh Advocate – Texas’s 20th-rounder from 2017 has retired. He missed most of 2021. Advocate pitched well in long relief for high-A Down East in 2019.

RHP Nick Yoder – Also retired. Texas’s 34th-rounder for 2019.

Outbound

RHP Collin Wiles signed with the Athletics. Wiles spent nine years in the Texas system, most recently acquitting himself well during his first action in Triple A. RHP Joe Gatto signed with Philly. Texas signed Gatto to a Major League deal the previous winter, only to see him pitch so poorly in Surprise that he was designated for assignment and unclaimed. Gatto quickly improved enough to pitch well in AA and AAA, but not well enough for Texas to re-40 him.

Finally

1) Sean Bass of The Ticket, Michael Tepid and I recorded a podcast Wednesday, focusing on Tepid’s visit to Arizona. Link in signature.
2) The Dodgers traded for Craig Kimbrel one day after the pen allowed a homer to Corey Seager.

Rangers Farm Report

Texas’s Top 100 Prospects
3B Josh Jung: 9th by FanGraphs, 19th by Kiley McDaniel (ESPN), 26th by Baseball America, 31st by Baseball Prospectus

RHP Jack Leiter: 20th by Baseball Prospectus, 24th by FanGraphs, 25th by Baseball America, 36th by Kiley McDaniel (ESPN)

IF Justin Foscue: 50th by Baseball Prospectus

RHP Cole Winn: 52nd by FanGraphs, 60th by Kiley McDaniel (ESPN), 61st by Baseball America, 91st by Baseball Prospectus

IF Ezequiel Duran: 68th by FanGraphs, 99th by Baseball Prospectus

RHP Owen White: 84th by FanGraphs

IF Josh Smith: 89th by FanGraphs

I believe all the Jung placements pre-date his injury. On a subsequent podcast, FanGraphers Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein suggested he’d rank in the sixties as is.

Organization Farm Rankings
8th by Baseball Prospectus, (13th in 2021)
9th by Baseball America (24th last year)
10th by Kiley McDaniel / ESPN (20th last year)

Trade
Both Jose Trevino and Jonah Heim have strong defensive reps, especially in terms of pitch-calling, but Texas’s catchers combined to hit .223/.257/.367 in 2021. Texas’s offense hasn’t been better than its pitching since 2016, and even then, just barely. 2020 was the franchise’s worst offensive season, and 2021 was no better than third-worst. This team desperately needs hitting. Mitch Garver will hit. (Also, the free agent market for catchers was exceptionally bleak.)

Isiah Kiner-Falefa admitted some grumpiness upon Texas’s acquisition of Seagar and Semien, and I can’t blame him. IKF’s bat has been worth about 1.5 wins below average (average, not replacement) per 600 plate appearances, but he’s compensated by fielding well at a premium position. Defense saved last year’s squad from a win total in the 50s. But again, the Rangers are focused on upgrading an atrocious offense. That’s not to pin it on IKF, who has an acceptable lifetime .316 OBP, but he’s the biggest trade chip if the strategy is to sacrifice some defense in exchange for hitting.

Kiner-Falefa received scant attention nationally while climbing the system, but those of us who focus mostly on the Rangers were on to him despite his lack of even doubles power at the time. IKF squeezes more out of his ability than just about any Ranger I’ve seen. He will not be denied. Best wishes to him.

I enjoy watching RHP Ronny Henriquez, but he’s the type you readily relinquish to push a deal for a starting position player over the line. His fastball is lively and angry, backed up by a capable if inconsistent slider and change. I saw him and Yerry Rodriguez back-to-back last July. Rodriguez’s fastball impressed the most, but Henriquez looked more likely to remain a starter. Henriquez induced nine swinging strikes with his slider. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Henriquez slide into a reliever role.
Here
I hadn’t thought of Brad Miller as an option. He’s 32. He’s wandered through six clubhouses during the past four years. He’s made only 57 of his 700 career starts at positions needing the most help in Texas (3B, LF). But even with all the address changes, Miller has batted .250/.344/.487 against righties since 2018. Miller used to man short regularly, so I’d venture he could form the strong side of a platoon at 3B or LF despite the relative lack of experience. Against lefties, Miller actually homers at a similar rate, about one per 21 PA, but otherwise is of no help.   

Martin Perez! Perez has averaged roughly one WAR per 100-150 innings in his career, and if he can give Texas 150 slightly-above-replacement innings in 2021, he’s a fine addition. Prior to his signing, Texas was in the position of asking some combination of Taylor Hearn, Spencer Howard, AJ Alexy, Glenn Otto, Kolby Allard, and perhaps a few others to fill three rotation spots behind John Gray and Dane Dunning. That’s a big ask. Perez will alleviate that pressure.

Free Agents back with Texas: LHP Sal Mendez, RHP Jesus Linarez, C Jordan Procyshen, IF Trey Hair, and as of yesterday, IF Charlie Culberson.

Among the recent signings to minor deals is OF Jake Marisnick, who’s totaled 11 wins above replacement in 800 games despite a .228/.282/.384 line, courtesy of superior defense. A nice depth signing and possibly more, depending on what Texas can do to fortify a still-thin outfield. Arlington native and Texas-Ex Brandon Workman is a Ranger following a second stint with the Red Sox. Workman has been off his game the past two years, posting a .5.66 ERA with 34 walks in 47.2 relief innings. Matt Moore, who threw 102 unmemorable innings for the unmemorable 2018 Rangers, is back. And, Texas just signed righty reliever Greg Holland, who’s been all over the map in terms of quality the past four years. The Rangers have some recent success snaring veteran arms, so perhaps Holland could be another.

IFs Nick Tanielu and Nash Knight are Rangers on minor deals. Neither appeared on any transaction list I’ve seen, but they’re on the Spring Training roster. Tanielu will be familiar to Express fans, having played for Round Rock as an Astro in 2019 and visiting last year as a member of the Padres’ El Paso affiliate. Tanileu excelled with the Express (.295/.360/.520) but was oddly ineffective at hitter-friendly El Paso (.233/.299/.415). The 29-year-old Knight — born in Denton, schooled at Dallas Baptist, professionally a Blue Jay until now — has played every position at some but it best regarded as a corner infielder with some moonlighting at second and in left. Both are seeking their MLB debuts.

There
1B Ronald Guzman signed a minor league contract with the Yankees.

San Francisco signed lefty Joe Palumbo to a minor deal. The Giants had declined to offer him a Major League contract after claiming him off waivers from Texas last fall, making him a free agent for a while. He’s a teammate of Luis Ortiz, who also signed with the Giants after spending 2021 in Round Rock.

Lefty Wes Benjamin, who became a free agent after being outrighted last fall, signed a minor deal with the White Sox.

Catcher Melvin Novoa and OF Pedro Gonzales signed with indy teams.

OF Lewis Brinson inked a minor deal with the Astros.

The Cubs signed OF Seiya Suzuki to a five-year, $85 million contract. Suzuki was the last available player in the “Other People’s Money” portion of my Nov. 16 report wherein I estimated value of lavishing $100 million annually (actually $108) on free agents. I had four and $44 in mind for Suzuki, so good for him on blowing by that.

Name Game
Our long national nightmare is over. MLB is reinstating the traditional monikers for the minor leagues. MLB was able to recast the minors more to its liking after 2020, but it lacked the naming rights. Thus, the stilted Triple A West, Double A South, High A East, and Low A East. They’re gone, never to be uttered again in polite company, replaced by the Pacific Coast League, Texas League, South Atlantic (Sally) League, and Carolina League.

New Rules
All full-season levels will institute a pitch clock of 14 seconds with bases empty and 19 (AAA) or 18 (elsewhere) with runners on. A 20-second pitch clock dates back to 2015 in AAA. I don’t know if the number of clock-enforced balls and strikes has declined, but my feeling is enforcement has become more lax over the years.

All full-season levels will play with the larger bases used in AAA last year. Also, the limit of two pickoffs or step-offs per plate appearance expands from low-A to all full-season leagues. A third pickoff that doesn’t result in an out is deemed a balk. Last year, Texas’s Down East squad set a low-A record with 2.42 steals per game. League-wide stolen base attempts increased 30% vs. 2019, and successful attempts jumped 47%.

The Pacific Coast League and Charlotte in the International League will employ the automated ball/strike system used last year in the Low-A Southeast and Arizona Fall League last year. I have a pet theory that players with superior batting eyes can walk at an outsized rate because they needn’t worry about varying strikes zones among umps or expansion of the zone in three-ball counts. Let’s check the stats:

Number of players drawing at least 1 walk per 6 plate appearances:
All Low-A in 2019 (no robo-ump): 6 players, 0.20 per team
2021 Low-A West and East (no robo-ump): 5 players, 0.28 per team
2021 Low-A Southeast (robo-ump): 18 players, 1.50 per team

Ranger Trevor Hauver is among them; he drew 64 walks in 66 games in Tampa prior to his trade to Texas. I don’t expect an explosion in the AAA walk rate like what occurred in the Low-A Southeast last year. AAA pitchers have better control and are another year removed from the lost 2020. But we might see some hitters really take advantage of a “perfect” strike zone.

Levels below AAA will ban the shift; the four infielders must divide equally on either side of second and plant their spikes in the dirt.

Legal News
Back in 2014, some minor leaguers sued selected MLB clubs and MLB itself over alleged illegal wage and labor practices. The players eventually formed a class that withstood a certification challenge reaching the US Supreme Court. Last week, a federal judge ruled on a host of pre-trial motions, most notably granting the plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion and ruling that the players are indeed “employees” under federal and state law, that players’ currently unpaid activities in spring training complexes are indeed “work,” and that travel time to and from Cal League games is compensable. The judge ordered $1,882,650 in penalties on the Cal League claim, with penalties in other states to be determined at trial if the case proceeds that far. Prior to this ruling, you might recall that MLB’s counsel recently had to defend the notion that minor leaguers not only should not be paid during spring training, but that the instruction and “life skills” received are things the players would pay thousands for at private camps. The judge was not persuaded, stating “defendants’ creative professional exemption defense fails as to all of Plaintiffs’ claims” and “defendants’ method of allocating signing bonuses and tuition payments to offset minimum wage liability is incorrect as a matter of law.”

The amount of money isn’t huge, relatively speaking, but it’s not nothing, and paying players during Spring Training would certainly represent a drastic change in business practices. If a court tells clubs owners they have to pay minor leaguers more money, owners might respond by employing fewer minor leaguers. 40 minor league teams already lost their affiliations after 2020. Under the new agreement, clubs are committed to fielding four full-season minor teams through 2030.

Rule 5 Draft
Cancelled. Unfortunately, also cancelled is my annual trip to Arizona for the third straight year. Pre-CBA uncertainty about whether folks like me would be allowed in Surprise plus grim certainty about my current work schedule forced me to make an unappealing decision. Instead, later on this year I hope to visit Texas’s A-level clubs for the first time since 2011.