Scott Lucas Daily Farm Archive

[Windingmywatch]

An emailed question from several of you: Does Hickory's home park favor hitters? Yes, especially for homers. Using three years of data weighted toward the present, I estimate that playing in Hickory increases runs by 5% and home runs by 20%. So, for example, a Crawdad with 24 homers might be expected to have only 20 in a neutral park. That's a significant difference; however, it doesn't come close to accounting for Hickory's amazing power. Even after adjusting for park, Hickory is hitting homers at more than double the league-average rate. Their assault on the league record of 173 is no fluke.

Other factors (1.00 meaning neutral):
Round Rock: 0.97 for runs, 1.03 for HR (weighed toward eastern-half teams to account for the extremely unbalanced schedule)
Frisco: 1.02 for runs, 1.16 for HR
Myrtle Beach: 1.00 for runs, 0.96 for homers

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 6/24

Stars of the Day
AAA: Mike Bianucci, Aaron Cunningham, Yangervis Solarte
Hi-A: Nick Martinez, Jon Edwards / Rougned Odor, Jake Skole
Lo-A: CJ Edwards, Tyler Smith / Nick Williams, Nomar Mazara
Short-A: Kelvin Vazquez, Travis Dean, Abel de los Santos / Chris Garia, Cam Schiller

AAA: Round Rock 9, at Albuquerque (LAD) 10
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 45-34, +2.0

Round Rock lost on the dreaded walk-off walk. Tied at nine in the 9th, Nate Robertson hit two of three batters, then Ryan Rodebaugh issued consecutive walks. After the third ball to the final batter, catcher Jose Felix was ejected for arguing the pitch (which even the Albuquerque announcer believed was a strike), and manager Bobby Jones quickly followed. Eli Whiteside had to catch what would be the final two pitches, a called strike and a full-count, game-ending walk.

Round Rock squandered leads of 2-0, 3-2, 6-3 and 9-6. Scott Richmond (7.68 ERA) allowed six runs in six innings.

DH Mike Bianucci doubled and hit his second homer. LF Aaron Cunningham tripled and walked twice, and Yangervis Solarte (.310/.349/.461) was 2-4 with a walk.

Mike Olt doubled and walked. Leury Garcia did the same but was pulled in the 6th for a pinch-runner. He ran awkwardly through first on a fielder's choice and departed after Greg Miclat singled him to second.

AA: off

Today: the Texas League All-Star Game in Springdale, Arkansas. Frisco's contingent is starting 2B Odubel Herrera and DH Brett Nicholas, reserve catcher Tomas Telis, IF Guilder Rodriguez, OF Teodoro Martinez (a late addition), and pitchers Carlos Pimentel, Neil Ramirez and Ben Rowen, who is now with Round Rock.

High-A: Myrtle Beach 3, at Potomac (WAS) 2
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
Record: 3-1, tied for 1st

Rougned Odor (.293/.365/.452) collected two singles and a double. He also stole another two bases, giving him 21 for the season and setting a career high with nearly half the season ahead. Jake Skole (.198/.302/.292) hit his second homer.

Nick Martinez (2.85 ERA) lasted six innings and gave up two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out eight. Martinez ranks third in the league in ERA behind Cleveland/Carolina's Cody Anderson and teammate Luke Jackson. Jon Edwards (3.77 ERA) offered perhaps his finest performance, holding the Nationals hitless for three innings and striking out five. Edwards is the very definition of erratic but has a live arm.

Washington's Bryce Harper will rehab with Potomac tonight.

Low-A: at Hickory 2, Lexington (KC) 3
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 3-2, -1.0

Perhaps because of lingering blister or fingernail issues, CJ Edwards (2.03 ERA) didn't have his normal velocity. No matter, as Edwards struck out six , walked none and allowed a run on four hits in five innings. Tyler Smith (6.67 ERA) tossed a scoreless 6th and 7th. Single runs in the 8th and 9th off Cody Kendall reversed Hickory's one-run advantage.

CF Nick Williams walked twice, singled and tripled. Williams (.296/.328/.634) hadn't walked in June and raised his total to six in 46 games. RF Nomar Mazara (.245/.327/.398) doubled twice.

Short-A: at Spokane 5, Boise (CHC) 3 (11 innings)
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 5-6, -4.0

Whatever else Chris Garia accomplishes, he won't forget this four-game sweep of Boise. Garia hit a walk-off two-run homer in the 11th two days after going deep twice. In his previous 177 games, he had two homers, and he remains only Indian to homer this season. Garia (.289/.333/.622) also doubled and singled.

Abel de los Santos blew the save in the 9th but retired nine straight and struck out three. Travis Dean (26th round) also fanned three in two scoreless, one-hit innings. Starter Kelvin Vazquez (3.52 ERA) whiffed four , walked one and allowed a lone run on five hits in four innings.

1B Cam Schiller (.237/.356/.421) was 2-3 with a double. Spokane had lost 13 consecutive extra-inning games.

Rookie: off

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Oklahoma's Nelson Cruz hit his 23rd homer. Clinton's Blake Beavan (2.97 ERA) completed six innings and allowed one unearned run. Mitch Moreland drove in four with a single and two triples. Catcher Carlos Dominguez endured an absolute nightmare of a game: four errors, two passed balls, 0-4 throwing out potential base stealers.

Today's Starters
AAA: Ryan Feierabend
AA: All-Star Game
Hi-A: Alec Asher
Lo-A: Luis Parra
Short-A: Chi-Chi Gonzalez
Rookie: Kelvin Sosa
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 6/25

For those who've asked: Frisco OF Joe Benson has been DL'ed for a while with a groin issue. 5th-rounder Joe Jackson broke a finger in minicamp and hopes to be back in two weeks, per the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

Stars of the Day
AAA: Greg Miclat, Aaron Cunningham, Mike Bianucci, Jim Adduci
AA: All-Stars
Hi-A: Trever Adams, Joe Maloney, Rougned Odor
Lo-A: Luis Parra, Joe Burns / Nomar Mazara, Jordan Akins
Short-A: Eric Brooks
Rookie: Kevin Sosa, Ryan Ledbetter, Ricardo Rodriguez / Travis Demeritte, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Carlos Garay

AAA: Round Rock 5, at Albuquerque (LAD) 6
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_06_25_rreaaa_albaaa_1&t=g_box&did=milb&sid=t102
Record: 45-35, +1.0

For the second straight day, Round Rock lost in walk-off fashion after blowing more than one multi-run lead. (Sounds familiar -- WMW) The Express bullpen allowed 18 runs in 9.2 innings over the four-game series. The starters, on the other hand, surrendered a collective ten runs, impressive anywhere and especially so in mile-high Albuquerque. Ryan Feierabend struck out ten and gave up a run in 6.2 innings. Lisalverto Bonilla (0.2 IP, 2 R) and Joseph Ortiz (1IP, 3 R) struggled, and a two-out, two-run double off Johan Yan ended the contest.

Round Rock hit six doubles, including two by Mike Bianucci (.259/.368/.483), who also walked. Other doublers included Aaron Cunningham, who also walked twice and singled, and Jim Adduci, who singled twice. Leadoff hitter Greg Miclat singled and walked twice. Leury Garcia did not play.

AA: South 6, North 0
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_06_25_txsaax_txnaax_1&t=g_box&sid=t540
Neil Ramirez started for the South Division and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout of… 30-year-old Ruben Gotay? Okay.

DH/1B Brett Nicholas hit a solo homer in the 7th. 2B Odubel Herrera was 2-2 with an RBI. Reserve catcher Tomas Telis doubled in two at-bats, and LF Teodoro Martinez and 2B Guilder Rodriguez were 0-2.

High-A: Myrtle Beach 5, at Potomac (WAS) 7
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_06_25_myrafa_potafa_1&t=g_box&did=milb&sid=t521
Record: 3-2, tied for 1st

Alec Asher's not-so-great June concluded with four runs on seven hits and a walk (to rehabbing Bryce Harper) in five innings. He struck out four. Asher fanned plenty of batters in June but was quite hittable and more walk-prone than usual; he posted a 5.71 ERA. It's a long season. Harper also hit a bloop double against Asher but was picked off.

LF Trever Adams (.266/.341/.416) hit his eighth homer, while 1B Joe Maloney (.294/.377/.426) knocked his second homer and singled. 2B Rougned Odor reached on a singled, double and walk.

Low-A: at Hickory 2, Lexington (KAN) 1
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_06_25_lexafx_hicafx_1&t=g_box&did=milb&sid=t448
Record: 4-2, tied for 1st

Down 1-0 in the 9th, Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara drew Hickory's first walks of the game, and Jordan Akins plated both with a game-ending double. Akins (.238/.264/.370) also doubled earlier, and Mazara (.246/.330/.397) singled.

In most respects, Akins' 2012 and 2013 are so similar that I thought I'd run the numbers wrong:
ISO: .124 (2012) vs. .132 (2013)
BB rate: 2.7% vs 2.6%
SO rate: 36.3% vs. 35.3%

The only meaningful difference is an .039 increase in batting average; he's hitting .238 instead of .199. I'm sure Texas doesn't want him three-peating Hickory in 2014, but I don't see how he can advance unless something clicks between now and next April.

Luis Parra matched his season-high seven strikeouts and permitted a run on five hits and two walks. Joe Burns (3.24 ERA) allowed just a walk and fanned one in two scoreless innings.

Short-A: at Spokane 0, Vancouver (TOR) 4
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_06_25_vanasx_spoasx_1&t=g_box&did=milb&sid=t486
Record: 5-7, -5.0

Chi-Chi Gonzalez (6.35 ERA) yielded a run on two hits and a walk while striking out two in two innings. Eric Brooks (2.38 ERA) whiffed five and allowed a run in five innings. DH Roberto Duran (.118/.167/.118) collected his first two hits.

Rookie: at Rangers 3, Mariners 2 (10 innings)
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2013_06_25_mrnrok_rngrok_1&t=g_box&sid=milb
Record: 2-3, -1.0

Chuck Moorman's sac fly scored Travis Demeritte, who led off the 10th with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball. (The former Charles Moorman now appears as "Chuck" in the box scores.) Moorman also singled and doubled. Demeritte (.368/.478/.579) was 3-5. 2B Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.211/.250/.211) went 3-4, and catcher Carlos Garay walked, singled twice and doubled.

Kevin Sosa pitched well again, fanning three and permitting two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk. Both Ryan Ledbetter and Ricardo Rodriguez tossed two scoreless innings with three and four strikeouts, respectively.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Texas brought up Chris Davis from Oklahoma.

Elvis Andrus went 0-3 in the Texas League All-Star Game. In his full-season debut, 17-year-old Joseph Ortiz gave up a run in 1.2 innings for low-A Cinton.

Today's Starters
AAA: off
AA: Tyler Tufts
Hi-A: Jared Eickhoff
Lo-A: Connor Sadzeck
Short-A: Yohander Mendez
Rookie: Derek Thompson
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Texas's representatives in the futures game will be catcher Jorge Alfaro and 3B Joey Gallo, both of Hickory.

Joakim Soria retired three straight with one strikeout in a rookie-league appearance.

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 6/26

Stars of the Day
AA: Tyler Tufts
Hi-A: Jerad Eickhoff / Joe Maloney, Chris Grayson
Lo-A: Connor Sadzeck, Ryan Bores, Jose Leclerc / Nick Williams
Short-A: Yohander Mendez, Sam Wolff / Chris Garia
Rookie: Derek Thompson, Angelo Leclerc / Luis Mendez, Travis Demeritte, Jose Cardona, Diego Cedeno

AAA: off

AA: Frisco 0, at Arkansas (LAA) 2
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 3-4, -1.0

Frisco was held to six hits. Tyler Tufts (3.44 ERA) gave up a run in five innings, walking none and fanning three, while Alex Claudio surrendered a solo homer to ex-Ranger Jimmy Swift in his two frames.

High-A: Myrtle Beach 5, at Potomac (WAS) 6
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
Record: 3-3, -1.0

Jerad Eickhoff (3.55 ERA) gave up solo homers to Bryce Harper and Adrian Nieto in his six innings. He walked one and struck out three. The normally reliable Joe Van Meter was roughed up for the second time in a row, allowing four runs in two innings on five hits and a walk. Nine of Van Meter's 19 earned runs have come in the past five days.

The Pelicans scored everything in the 5th, primarily on 1B Joe Maloney's bases-loaded triple. CF Chris Grayson (.235/.323/.339) was 2-3 with a walk and his 14th steal.

Low-A: at Hickory 3, Lexington (KCR) 2
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 5-2, tied for 1st

Hickory took two of three from Lexington without benefit of a homer. LF Nick Williams (.294/.325/.624) cleared the bases with a 4th-inning double, one of only four Hickory hits.

Connor Sadzeck (2.50 ERA) fanned three and walked two in five innings, yielding one run. Sadzeck's strikeout rate is an ordinary 17% but he's holding opponents to a line of .232/.298/.297. Ryan Bores allowed an unearned run and struck out three in three frames, and Jose Leclerc whiffed two in a perfect 9th for his first save.

Short-A: at Spokane 3, Vancouver (TOR) 2 (10 innings)
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 6-7, -5.0

Chris Garia scored the game-winner on an error by Dickie Thon, son of Dickie Thon. Garia (.275/.327/.569) singled, walked and stole his fifth base. Yohander Mendez (1.42 ERA) struck out three, walked none and allowed a run on five hits in five innings. Mendez is holding opponents to a line of .216/.305/.275 in the early going. Sam Wolff fanned two in a couple of scoreless innings. Josh McElwee gave up a solo homer but struck out three in his two innings. McElwee has fanned 16 of 27 batters faced.

Rookie: Rangers 9, at Mariners 2
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 3-3, -1.0

Derek Thompson struck out two in two scoreless innings, and Jose Leclerc's brothre Angelo fanned seven and walked none in four scoreless frames.

SS Travis Demeritte (.375/.483/.542) reached on a walk and two singles, as did RF Jose Cardona (.269/.355/.462). 21-year-old Diego Cedeno, a vet of three Dominican Summer League seasons, walked twice and singled. Luis Mendez, who opened 2013 in Hickory, drew three walks, doubled and singled.

The Mariners committed five errors and had two wild pitches and a passed ball. Welcome to Rookie League.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Spokane's Joey Butler hit his first professional homer, and Matt West went 3-5. Wilfredo Boscan pitched beyond his years again, working 5.2 innings and allowing just a run with two walks and three strikeouts.

Today's Starters
AAA: Brad Mills
AA: Nick McBride
Hi-A: Victor Payano
Lo-A: Frank Lopez
Short-A: Collin Wiles
Rookie: Nick Gardewine
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 6/27

Stars of the Day
AAA: Josh Lindblom, Jake Brigham / Yangervis Solarte, Jim Adduci
AA: Nick McBride, Wilmer Font / Chih-Hsien Chiang, Alejandro Selen
Lo-A: Sam Stafford / Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro
Short-A: John Straka / Alberto Triunfel
Rookie: Akeem Bostick, Easton Napiontek / Luis Mendez, Smerling Lantigua

AAA: at Round Rock 6, New Orleans (MIA) 1
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 46-35, +2.0

Josh Lindblom and Jake Brigham teamed to tame the Zephyrs. Lindblom (1.99 ERA) pitched the first six, yielding a run on seven hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Opponents are hitting a meager .197/.261/.314 against him, partly on the basis of a very low and probably unsustainable .245 average of balls in play. In any case, he's pitching very well, if not quite "1.99 ERA" well.

Take away one outing (a 1.2 IP, nine-run catastrophe at Tucson) and Jake Brigham has a 3.63 ERA in 39.2 AAA innings. He fanned three and permitted a lone hit in three innings.

2B Yangervis Solarte (.311/.349/.470)hit his 10th homer and singled. 1B Jim Adduci (.269/.363/.442) doubled and singled.

Mike Olt singled and walked to improve to .261/.361/.543 since his return. Leury Garcia returned to action and went 1-5 with his second steal. He missed a full game and part of another after a minor baserunning injury.

AA: Frisco 3, at Arkansas (LAA) 2
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 4-4, tied for 1st

Alejandro Selen doubled in the 9th and scored on a Teodoro Martinez single to put Frisco ahead. Selen (.241/.263/.338) also singled. Chih-Hsien Chiang doubled twice.

Arkansas fanned only once against Nick McBride (5.14 ERA) in six innings but managed just four hits and a run. Wilmer Font struck out the side around a single in the 9th. Font is still walking or hitting nearly 20% of opposing hitters, but he's allowed just three extra-base hits all season, resulting in a strangely effective opposing line of .132/.303/.198.

Northwest Arkansas no-hit Midland via Brooks Pounders' six-strikeout complete game.

High-A: suspended

Myrtle Beach leads 1-0 in the 3rd. They and Potomac will resume on August 1.

Low-A: Hickory 7, at Charleston (NYY) 6
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 6-2, tied for 1st

Jorge Alfaro (.265/.334/.462) resolved Hickory's recent homer drought with a three-run shot in the 7th, his 11th on the season. Alfaro also doubled and drove in five. Leadoff man Nick Williams (.302/.332/.628) was 3-5 with a double and his fourth steal. Both Ryan Rua and Luis Marte singled twice and swiped a bag.

Frank Lopez (5.12 ERA) was ineffective, as was the defense while he pitched. Lopez gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks in four innings. Pitching for the first time in 12 days, Jose Valdespina allowed a run on two hits in two innings. Only Sam Stafford (7.85 ERA) suffered no permanent damage, working two scoreless frames.

Joey Gallo had a stretch of eight homers in eight games. Since then: .091 with one homer and 18 strikeouts in 37 trips to the plate. Imagine the outcry if either of these clusters of games had occurred at the very beginning of the season.

Short-A: at Spokane 2, Vancouver (TOR) 5
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 6-8, -6.0

Starter Collin Wiles (4.40 ERA) walked two and allowed seven hits in four innings, leading to three runs. Wiles struck out one. Kyle Castro (4.50 ERA) followed with four strikeouts in two innings, surrendering four hits and a walk but only one run. 32nd-round RHP John Straka fanned two in a couple of scoreless innings.

Spokane was limited to six hits including two singles by Alberto Triunfel (.244/.333/.289) and a two-run double from DH Cam Schiller.

Rookie: Rangers 4, at Brewers 5
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 3-4, -1.0

2nd-round righty Akeem Bostick and 34th-rounder Easton Napiontek posted two scoreless innings. Bostick's fastball ran mostly 90-92 and touched 94, per on-site photographer Bill Mitchell. Napiontek fanned four and wriggled out of a none-out, bases-loaded jam bequeathed by rehabbing John Kukuruda (0 IP, 2 R). Starter Nick Gardewine gave up a solo homer in two innings.

3B Smerling Lantigua doubled and homered. Last year, after a promising spring, Lantigua spent the entire season in Spokane and was really, really bad: .212/.232/.291 with very shaky defense. I think he would have been demoted to rookie league except that his primary position was occupied by Joey Gallo, the other (1B) by Ronald Guzman. This year, he reboots with the rookies. Luis Mendez walked twice and singled.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Tommy Hunter offered his best AA performance to date, walking none, striking out eight, and allowing three hits and no runs in six innings. Bakersfield's Evan Reed (4.72 ERA) carried a no-hitter into the 6th and completed 7.2 innings with one run allowed on one hit, one walk, and six strikeouts. Like Reed, Spokane's Neil Ramirez lost a no-hitter to open the 6th. Ramirez walked one, struck out seven, and pitched six scoreless innings.

Today's Starters
AAA: Brad Mills
AA: Kevin Pucetas
Hi-A: Luke Jackson
Lo-A: Andrew Faulkner
Short-A: David Ledbetter
Rookie: TBA
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 6/28

Stars of the Day
AAA: Ryan Rodebaugh / Mike Bianucci, Jim Adduci
AA: Chih-Hsien Chiang
Hi-A: Luke Jackson / Luis Sardinas, Drew Robinson, Edwin Garcia
Lo-A: none
Short-A: David Ledbetter
Rookie: Jose Samayoa, Joe Palumbo / Travis Demeritte, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Luis Mendez

AAA: at Round Rock 4, New Orleans (MIA) 9
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 45-36, +1.0

Rehabbing Joakim Soria fanned two swinging around a single in a scoreless 6th. He'll pitch again on Sunday. Lisalverto Bonilla pitched a scoreless inning. In his previous six outings, he'd allowed 33 runners and 22 runs in 10.1 innings. Ryan Rodebaugh's only blemish in 2.2 innings was a Koyie Hill solo homer. He struck out three. Ben Rowen offered another scoreless inning; in four AAA frames, he's whiffed five and permitted three runners and no runs. Starter Brad Mills (3.78 ERA) was hammered: 2.1 IP, 8 R.

Mike Olt singled and walked to improve to .263/.366/.537 since his return. Mike Bianucci hit a solo homer, his third, and 1B Jim Adduci doubled and singled.

Game-time temperature: 102.

AA: Frisco 1, at Arkansas (LAA) 4
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 4-5, -1.0

Frisco is hitting .256/.294/.363 in June and scored four runs in the three-game series at Arkansas. RF Chih-Hsien Chiang doubled and singled.

Occasionally featuring a knuckler, Kevin Pucetas allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks in seven innings. Pucetas reportedly spoke to R.A. Dickey about the knuckler. Pucetas was once under serious consideration for a rotation spot with the Giants a few years ago, but he's yet to make the Majors. Now 28, and throwing a heater around 85-86 when I saw him in March, he's decided his future in baseball depends on a new pitch.

High-A: at Myrtle Beach 6, Lynchburg (ATL) 3
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
Record: 4-3, -0.5

A masterful Luke Jackson (2.30 ERA) fanned six and held Lynchburg scoreless for seven innings on two hits and two walks. Jackson has now spent just over a full year at Myrtle Beach after 1.5 seasons in Hickory. Statistically, the only major difference between his two half-seasons as a Pelicans is a much improved average on balls in play in 2013, which, at this level, I wouldn't attribute entirely to luck. He fans about one of every four hitters, and he walks a few more than you'd like. He's an old-fashioned power pitcher, and those are the results to expect. Despite the remarkable lack of movement on the farm to date, I do hope for a few promotions. How about CJ Edwards to Myrtle Beach, Jackson to Frisco and Neil Ramirez to Round Rock?

Take a moment to watch a Jackson curve, won't you? Video Highlights & Clips - MiLB | Jackson strikes out Elander - Video | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Multimedia

Luis Sardinas (.274/.329/.344) missed the cycle by a triple and walked. The homer was his first since last September. Drew Robinson walked three times and singled. After a couple of slow months, his June (.286/.452/.429) has been very reminiscent of his 2012 in Hickory. Edwin Garcia also homered for the first time this year and walked twice.

Low-A: Hickory 0, at Charleston (NYY) 5
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 6-3, -1.0

Hickory was three-hit but did draw five walks and fanned only seven times. Nick Williams singled and walked. Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara had the night off. Charleston plated three against Andrew Faulkner in 5.2 innings (7 H, 2 BB, 5 SO) and two versus Tyler Smith (2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 SO).

Short-A: Spokane 3, at Everett (SEA) 5
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 6-9, -7.0

Starter David Ledbetter, picked 99th overall in this year's draft, lasted five scoreless innings and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in his final frame by retiring 13th-overall pick D.J. Peterson. Ledbetter (0.75 ERA) walked two and struck out three. He's held opponents to a .200/.234/.289 line in three starts.

Peterson later hit a grand slam off Abel de los Santos, who had relieved Justin Sprenger with the bases loaded and none out in the 7th.

Spokane limped into the 9th with one hit before making it interesting. Gabriel Roa doubled and walked, and catcher Marcus Greene doubled.

Rookie: at Rangers 7, Indians 1
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 4-4, -1.0

Travis Demeritte (.364/.447/.636) hit his first triple and second homer. 2B Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.258/.303/.258) singled twice and walked, and 3B Luis Mendez was 2-4 with a double and walk.

Jose Samayoa (0.00 ERA) surrendered an unearned run in three innings on two hits, no walks and three strikeouts. The Rangers received two scoreless frames from Joe Palumbo (2013, 30th round) and one from David Gates (2013, 18th round), Santo Perez, John ****li and Zach Brill.

Game-time temperature: 111.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
A day after what would be his last MLB appearance, Kason Gabbard was DL'ed with elbow inflammation. Gabbard missed the rest of 2008 following surgery and was sold back to Boston a few weeks into 2009.

Today's Starters
AAA: Evan Meek
AA: Neil Ramirez
Hi-A: Nick Martinez
Lo-A: CJ Edwards
Short-A: Kelvin Vazquez
Rookie: off
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 6/29

Per multiple reports, Hickory catcher Jorge Alfaro has a broken bone in his left hand and is likely to miss a few weeks and the Futures Game, to which he'd just been named as a participant.

Texas promoted reliever Wilmer Font to Round Rock and demoted Lisalverto Bonilla to Frisco. Font skipped AAA in making his MLB debut last fall but was assigned back to Frisco to begin this season. Font leaves Frisco with an opposing line of .132/.303/.198 and 34% strikeout rate (45 in 32 innings).

Stars of the Day
AAA: Evan Meek / Leury Garcia, Yangervis Solarte, Joey Butler
AA: Phil Klein / Ryan Strausborger, Brett Nicholas
Lo-A: CJ Edwards, Jose Monegro / Nick Vickerson, Ronald Guzman
Short-A: Kelvin Vazquez / Kevin Torres

AAA: at Round Rock 6, New Orleans (MIA) 2
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 47-36, +1.0

Leury Garcia walked twice, singled, doubled and stole his third base. He's batting .286/.333/.482 in 12 AAA games. RF Joey Butler (.335/.413/.502) was 3-5 with a double, and DH Yangervis Solarte (.312/.354/.474) drew three walks and doubled. Mike Olt walked twice.

At a rough initial start, Evan Meek has produced three consecutive six-inning, two-run outings in the rotation. Meek had started only one other game since 2006, and his relief work had been erratic, so this is a pleasant surprise. Joseph Ortiz (1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 SO) and Johan Yan (1.1 IP, 3 SO) handled the rest.

AA: Frisco 10, at NW Arkansas (KC) 7
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 5-5, tied for 1st

Down 6-3 in the 9th, Frisco scored seven on eight hits and a walk. CF Ryan Strausborger (.199/.260/.316) singled to lead off the inning and concluded the scoring with a bases-loaded triple after Frisco had already taken the lead. 1B Brett Nicholas (.304/.368/.525) was 3-4 with a walk.

In the bottom half of the 9th, Northwest Arkansas loaded the bases with one out against Alex Claudio. Randy Henry entered and retired two batters on a sac fly and groundout.

An all-or-nothing Neil Ramirez (3.14 ERA) fanned nine of 23 batters; the other 14 had eight hits and a walk. Ramirez allowed four runs in five innings on 94 pitches. Phil Klein (2.84 ERA) struck out the side swinging in order in the 6th.

High-A: rain

Doubleheader today.

Low-A: Hickory 1, at Charleston (NYY) 2
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 6-4, -1.0

Two walks, a hit-by-pitch and single off Joe Burns plated the Charleston's winning run in the 9th. CJ Edwards (2.01 ERA) gave up a run in five innings on five hits and two walks while striking out six. Three hits were for extra bases. In 14 prior starts, he'd allowed a total of 11. The Sally League can't do much right against him (.183/.268/.238). Jose Monegro retired nine straight, two via strikeout.

1B Ronald Guzman singled and doubled, and LF Nick Vickerson (.234/.396/.367) walked and doubled. Like Nick Williams, Guzman hasn't walked much in low-A (twice in 84 appearances) but is making ample contact (.309/.333/.432).

Short-A: Spokane 1, at Everett (SEA) 2
Northwest League 2013 Team Batting | Spokane Indians Stats
Record: 6-10, -8.0

Kelvin Vazquez (3.65 ERA) struck out nine of 20 batters faced and allowed two runs on five hits and a walk in 4.2 innings. Alex de la Cruz (1.08 ERA) stranded a couple of Vazquez's runners and pitched 2.1 scoreless with three strikeouts.

Spokane was three-hit and is batting a collective .196/.294/.289. Catcher Kevin Torres in the system since 2008, homered and singled.

Rookie: off

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Oklahoma's Dustin Nippert threw a seven-inning no-hitter. Spokane's Richard Bleier and three others combined on a four-hit, 16-strikeout shutout.

Today's Starters
AAA: Scott Richmond
AA: Carlos Pimentel
Hi-A: Alec Asher / Joe Van Meter
Lo-A: Luis Parra
Short-A: Chi-Chi Gonzalez
Rookie: Kevin Sosa
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[romeo212000]

Liking the walks Olt is taking.

 

[jta4437]

Liking the walks Olt is taking.

Olt has always taken a large number of walks; 177 in 286 minor league games, its not new

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 6/30

Stars of the Day
AAA: Scott Richmond / Leury Garcia, Jose Felix
AA: Brett Nicholas, Tomas Telis
Hi-A: Randol Rojas / Luis Sardinas, Rougned Odor, Trever Adams, Joe Maloney
Short-A: Sam Wolff / Ryan Cordell, Barrett Serrato, Gabriel Roa
Rookie: Diego Cedeno, Jose Cardona

AAA: at Round Rock 5, New Orleans (MIA) 1
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 48-36, +1.0

Rehabbing Joakim Soria worked a 1-2-3 7th, striking out his final batter on his only curve of the evening that clocked at 67 MPH. Soria mostly threw an upper-80s fastball plus a change (84) and a couple of sliders (79). A look at his Fangraphs page (find the Pitchf/x Pitch Velocity) reveals Soria typically threw his fastball a little harder previously, but it's not as though he was dealing mid-90s heat as a Royal. He also introduced a cutter in 2010 and offers it with increasing frequency. I believe the plan remains for him to pitch on consecutive days in the minors before reaching Arlington.

Wilmer Font induced a groundout and struck out a batter swinging in his AAA debut. He hit 100 on the stadium gun once, but two others showed 98. In any case, he threw steadily in the mid-nineties. Ben Rowen fanned two in a clean 9th. Starter Scott Richmond allowed a run in 6.1 innings.

Leury Garcia (.317/.359/.517) reached on two singles and a hard double to right-center. Jose Felix tripled and singled. He played only seven games in June, but recent prowess has improved his line to .305/.322/.341.

I've got video of Soria (shot at 60fps, slowed to 30), Font and Rowen. All were shot at close to field level, which in Rowen's case gives the best indication of how different he is from other pitchers. I don't know how he'll do once he gets there, but I think Rowen's going to pitch in the Majors someday. His style ruins hitters' timing, inducing a silly number of uncertain, defensive, hacky swings. Yes, his badly commanded pitches will get demolished, but to date, he's avoided trouble. In 188 career innings, he's allowed four homers and slugging percentage of .257.

Soria: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcjlH071qb0]Joakim Soria, Round Rock Express, 30 June 2013 - YouTube[/ame]
Font: Rowen: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuXJH0tRbh8]Ben Rowen, Round Rock Express, 30 June 2013 - YouTube[/ame]

Ex-Ranger and Friend of the Newberg Report RHP Doug Mathis says hello.

AA: Frisco 5, at NW Arkansas (KC) 8
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 5-6, tied for 1st, 44-37 overall

Two-run homers from Brett Nicholas (#15) and Tomas Telis (#4) shrank a large, early deficit. Nicholas also singled, ands Telis (.277/.304/.395) doubled. Video Highlights & Clips - MiLB | RoughRiders' Nicholas homers off Marimon - Video | Frisco RoughRiders Multimedia

Carlos Pimentel has been knocked around pretty badly in six of his last seven starts. He fanned eight yesterday but allowed six runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings. In June, Pimentel posted a 7.34 ERA and surrendered seven homers in 30.2 innings.

SS Hanser Alberto's strong fall and offseason (plus the need to have Luis Sardinas in Myrtle Beach) merited promotion to Frisco rather than a return to High-A, where he spent half of 2012. After a promising April, he's hitting .184/.229/.263 during the last two months. I don't think he's in line for demotion, though.

In his first AA game, Lisalverto Bonilla struck out two in a 1-2-3 9th.

High-A (1): at Myrtle Beach 10, Lynchburg 2 (ATL) (7 innings)
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
High-A (2): suspended in 3rd, Myrtle up 3-2

Record: 5-3, tied for 1st, 45-32 overall

2B Rougned Odor (.298/.368/.460) doubled twice and Luis Sardinas (.280/.334/.418)reached on two singles and a walk. Sardinas also stole his 21st base. 1B Joe Maloney plated four on a double and single, and DH Trever Adams was 2-3 with a walk.

Nick Martinez (2.77 ERA) allowed ten runners but only two runs in his 5.1 innings. He struck out four. Randol Rojas recorded the last two outs of the 6th to leave the bases loaded and worked a scoreless 7th.

Low-A: rain
Record: 6-4, -1.5, 45-35 overall

Doubleheader July 29th.

Short-A: Spokane 10, at Everett (SEA) 9
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 7-10, -7.0

Spokane outscored its previous five games combined. CF Ryan Cordell's first professional homer broke a 9-9 tie in the 9th. Cordell (.237/.297/.356) also doubled, singled and stole his fourth base. Gabriel Roa (.176/.364/.206) reached on a single, walk and HBP, and 1B Barrett Serrato (.211/.250/.368) hit his first homer.

Two hits, a walk and a hit batter resulted in three runs (two earned) off Chi-Chi Gonzalez (7.04 ERA) in two innings. Josh McElwee (2.16 ERA) struck out four of seven batters, per usual, but allowed two hits that tied the game in the 8th. Sam Wolff offered two scoreless innings and three strikeouts. He's yet to be scored upon in 7.1 innings.

Rookie: Rangers 5, at Reds 7
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 4-5, -1.0

The Reds scored three in a sloppy 8th to take the lead. Starter Kevin Sosa (2.57 ERA) lasted 4.1 innings, struck out four, and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks.

RF Jose Cardona (.270/.364/.432) was 1-3 with a double, walk and HBP, and LF Diego Cedeno (.276/.389/.414) reached on a double, single and HBP.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Homers! Nelson Cruz, Nate Gold and Travis Metcalf for Oklahoma, Jose Vallejo for Frisco, where he'd just been promoted, and Christian Santana and Jonathan Greene (twice) for Clinton. Clinton amassed 30 baserunners in a 17-5 romp over the Quad Cities. High-A Bakersfield tallied seven errors, four wild pitches, three hit batters and two runners erased by outfielders, a performance beyond the pale even in rookie league.

Today's Starters
AAA: Ryan Feierabend
AA: Tyler Tufts
Hi-A: Alec Asher
Lo-A: Luis Parra
Short-A: Yohander Mendez
Rookie: Derek Thompson
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Al Falfa]

Wilmer Font's fastball gets there in a hurry.

 

[romeo212000]

I was hoping for at least a 90 something fastball from Soria.

 

[jta4437]

I was hoping for at least a 90 something fastball from Soria.

Eh, he wasn't ever a high velocity guy to begin with

 

[Windingmywatch]

OF Jairo Beras is a free man. Beras signed for a $4.5 million bonus last February despite most teams and MLB believing he was 16, not 17, and therefore ineligible to sign until July 2nd. After a lengthy investigation, MLB approved the contract but suspended him for a year for originally providing a false birth date. Beras will join the rookies in Surprise.

Speaking of July 2nd, it's International Signing Day. Texas has signed the following so far, according to various media reports:
-- RHP Marcos Diplan, 5-10, 160, ranked 6th among Baseball America's Top 30 international prospects and 8th by MLB.
-- IF Yeyson Yrizarri (really), 6-0, 175, ranked 7th by BA and 23rd by MLB
-- OF Jose Almonte, 6-4, 205, an "other prospect to watch" per BA and ranked 13th by MLB

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 7/1

Stars of the Day
AAA: Ryan Feierabend / Mike Bianucci
AA: Teodoro Martinez, Chih-Hsien Chiang, Tomas Telis
Hi-A: Kellin Deglan, Jake Skole
Lo-A: Luis Parra / Ronald Guzman, Nick Vickerson
Short-A: Yohander Mendez / Brandon Garcia
Rookie: Derek Thompson, Ricardo Rodriguez / Chuck Moorman, Smerling Lantigua

AAA: Round Rock 2, at Nashville (MIL) 3
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 48-37, tied for 1st

A two-out, 9th-inning error by 2B Yangervis Solarte brought in Nashville's winning run from second base. Cory Burns returned to action and recorded two bases-loaded outs to preserve a 2-2- tie in the 8th. Burns had been out with a minor finger malady. Starter Ryan Feierabend gave up two runs in 7.1 innings.

Round Rock was two-hit, one being Mike Bianucci's fourth homer.

Four Express were selected for the All-Star Game between the Pacific Coast and International Leagues: SP Brad Mills, RP Cory Burns, IF Yangervis Solarte and OF Joey Butler.

AA: Frisco 7, at NW Arkansas (KC) 4
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 6-6, tied for 1st

LF Teodoro Martinez (.280/.323/.415) was 4-5 with his ninth homer, and Tomas Telis was 3-5 with a double. Chih-Hsien Chiang had three hits.

SS Hanser Alberto exited in the 6th after diving to his right for a grounder and landing hard on the outfield grass. Not for the first time, Frisco forfeited its DH to create a functional defensive alignment. The Riders have only 11 position players at present.

Both Jimmy Reyes and Justin Miller fanned two in a scoreless inning. Starter Tyler Tufts gave up three runs in five innings.

High-A: at Myrtle Beach 8, Salem (BOS) 1 (6 innings)
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
Record: 6-3, tied for 1st

Everybody had one hit in the rain-shortened contest save former 1st-rounders Kellin Deglan (.217/.313/.418) and Jake Skole (.202/.305/.293), both of whom doubled and singled.

Despite allowing no runs, Alec Asher (3.39 ERA) was pulled after a 37-pitch 3rd. Asher struck out two and yielded two walks and four hits. Will Lamb (4.75 ERA) gave up a run in two innings.

Low-A: Hickory 5, at Savannah (NYM) 0
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 7-4, -1.0

Ronald Guzman was 3-4 with his third homer. He's batting a robust .326/.348/.477 in 23 games. LF Nick Vickerson helpfully drew three walks and doubled in front of Guzman. Vickerson, by the way, is Hickory's backup catcher in Jorge Alfaro's absence.

Luis Parra (0.87 ERA) produced the first eight-inning, no-run start by a Crawdad this season, allowing four runs and two hits. Parra's strikeout rate is an ordinary 18% but he's yet to allow a homer, and 32 of the 37 hits against him have been singles.

2B Ryan Rua left mid-game after a collision on a double-play grounder.

Short-A: Spokane 3, at Tri-City (COL) 1
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 8-10, -7.0

With just one strikeout, Yohander Mendez (1.02 ERA) worked five innings marred only by an unearned run and three hits. So far, the 18-year-old Mendez has easily proved worthy of skipping rookie league. Travis Dean (2 IP) and John Straka (1.2 IP) managed to keep the Dust Devils off the board despite allowing three runners apiece.

DH Brandon Garcia (.188/.316/.375) doubled twice.

106 degrees in Pasco, Washington, at game-time. Good grief.

Rookie: at Rangers 3, Reds 2 (10 innings)
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 5-5, -0.5

Down 2-1 in the 9th, Smerling Lantigua (.231/.286/.410) hit his second homer of the season, and Luis Mendez scored on a Jose Cardona sac fly for the win. Catcher Chuck Moorman homered earlier. Derek Thompson (0.00 ERA) threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as did Ricardo Rodriguez.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Elvis Andrus and Julio Borbon reached safely three times in a 10-1 Frisco victory. Bakersfield IF Marcus Lemon led off the game with his fourth homer. Clinton fell to 8-23 since the end of May. Spokane catcher Doug Hogan mashed a three-run homer for his first professional hit.

Today's Starters
AAA: Josh Lindblom
AA: off
Hi-A: Jerad Eickhoff
Lo-A: Connor Sadzeck
Short-A: Collin Wiles
Rookie: Nick Gardewine
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 7/2

Jairo Beras's long-delayed professional career began with a double-play grounder for the rookie-league Rangers. Beras then plated Travis Demeritte on an opposite-field triple and walked. He handled three balls hit to him in right field without issue.

Stars of the Day
AAA: Jake Brigham / Mike Bianucci
Hi-A: Francisco Mendoza, Jon Edwards, Ryan Harvey / Pat Cantwell
Lo-A: Connor Sadzeck / Joey Gallo, Nick Williams, Nick Vickerson, Lewis Brinson
Short-A: Ryne Slack / Chris Garia, Kevin Torres, Marcus Greene
Rookie: Nick Gardewine, Joe Palumbo, John ****li / Jairo Beras, Diego Cedeno

AAA: Round Rock 6, at Nashville (MIL) 3
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 49-37, +1.0

Jake Brigham (4.88 ERA) pitched admirably in place of a just-recalled Martin Perez a couple of weeks ago and did the same for Josh Lindblom last night. Brigham fanned four in 6.2 innings and allowed a run on three hits.

Not one to hit for high average, Mike Bianucci hit his fifth homer and singled to extend his hitting streak to ten games, raising his OPS from .612 to .925 in the process. He drove in four. RF Joey Butler (.328/.409/.492) reached on a double, walk and HBP.

AA: off

High-A: at Myrtle Beach 1, Salem (BOS) 0
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
Record: 7-3, tied for 1st

Rain halted the contest in the top of the 2nd, forcing out Jerad Eickhoff after just 1.2 innings. Staked to a 1-0 lead, Francisco Mendoza (3.1 IP, 5 SO), Jon Edwards (2 IP, 4 SO) and Ryan Harvey (2 IP, 2 SO) combined to spread out seven runners and keep them from scoring. Catcher Pat Cantwell (.219/.285/.285) doubled and scored on a Trever Adams single. Cantwell also singled.

In the 9th, CF Jake Skole teamed with 2B Rougned Odor and Cantwell to gun down Stefan Welch, who had walked and attempted to score on Brandon Jacobs' double off the batter's eye.

Low-A: Hickory 9, at Savannah (NYM) 2
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 8-4, +0.5

Joey Gallo erased an 0-for-23 tailspin with consecutive homers, the first a grand slam. With 25, Gallo (.233/.322/.558) again leads the minors in homers, one ahead of Ryan Rua (currently nursing sore ribs) and ex-Ranger Mauro Gomez. Lewis Brinson (.239/.318/.449) singled and clubbed his 15th homer. LF Nick Williams (.301/.332/.630) missed the cycle by a homer and gunned down a runner at the plate.

2B Nick Vickerson (.242/.420/.379) drew three walks and singled. Vickerson spent two years in Spokane, where he didn't hit much at all, and he turns 24 in a few days. That said, he's become quite valuable to the Crawdads, capable of playing anywhere on the diamond. Vickerson subbed for the injured Rua last night, is backing up David Lyon behind the plate in Jorge Alfaro's absence, and will take the mound when Hickory expends its relief staff.

An increasingly impressive Connor Sadzeck (2.40 ERA) allowed a run on three hits and three walks in five innings and struck out five. Sadzeck has surrendered only two homers all season while pitching half the time in a park very amenable to them.

Short-A: Spokane 6, at Tri-City (COL) 4
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 9-10, -6.0

Spokane fell behind early, as it often did earlier in the season, but this time the recently respectable offense put some crooked numbers on the board. CF Chris Garia (.254/.315/.478) tripled and singled, and catcher Marcus Greene (.268/.400/.293) was 2-3 with a walk.

Collin Wiles (5.12 ERA) started well but gave up three runs on four hits in his fifth and final inning. All told, he walked one, struck out one and gave up nine hits. Ryne Slack (1.80 ERA) held the Dust Devils scoreless for three innings with four strikeouts.

Rookie: at Rangers 6, Dodgers 1
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 6-5, tied for 1st

The Rangers had only six hits, mostly taking advantage of wildness among Dodger pitchers and fielders. Diego Cedeno (.306/.409/.417) was 3-4, and Demeritte (.317/.417/.537) walked twice and scored two runs.

Akeem Bostick (5.79 ERA) yielded a run on four hits and a walk in two innings while fanning one. As in Myrtle Beach, albeit with a greater cushion, three relievers combined to shut out the opposition for the duration. Nick Gardewine (2 IP) and Joe Palumbo (2) and John ****li (3) all struck out two batters.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Jason Botts hit a walk-off two-run homer in his Japanese debut for Nippon Ham's farm club. Tommy Hunter whiffed four in six AAA innings. Clinton's Neftali Feliz (2.52 ERA) faced one over the minimum in three innings, striking out five and hitting a batter. Joe Wieland pitched four perfect innings and struck out three in rookie league.

Today's Starters
AAA: Brad Mills
AA: Nick McBride
Hi-A: Victor Payano
Lo-A: Frank Lopez
Short-A: David Ledbetter
Rookie: Jose Samayoa
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 7/3

Manny Ramirez will be a teammate of Leury Garcia, who was born the March of Manny's senior year in high school.

Stars of the Day
AAA: Leury Garcia
AA: Nick McBride
Hi-A: Paul Schwendel, Taylor Dennis /Edwin Garcia, Drew Robinson
Lo-A: Frank Lopez, Sam Stafford / Nick Williams, Nomar Mazara
Short-A: David Ledbetter, Richard Alvarez / Alberto Triunfel, Barrett Serrato, Chris Garia
Rookie: Jose Samayoa / Jose Cardona, Isiah Kiner-Falefa

AAA: Round Rock 1, at Nashville (MIL) 10
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 49-38, +1.0

Aside from Leury Garcia (double, 2 walks, fifth steal), the offense took the day off. Brad Mills (5.2 IP, 5 R) and Ryan Rodebaugh (1.1 IP, 5 R) were roughed up, while Wilmer Font worked around a walk and single in a scoreless 9th.

AA: at Frisco 1, Arkansas (LAA) 2
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 6-7, -1.0

Nick McBride (4.76 ERA) gave up two runs in six innings, walking three and striking out two. Rehabbing Joakim Soria threw only six pitches and broke the bat of every opposing hitter (so I'm told) in a clean 8th. Alex Claudio and Lisalverto Bonilla struck out two in perfect frames. Brett Nicholas and Tomas Telis singled twice.

High-A: at Myrtle Beach 6, Salem (BOS) 14
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
Record: 7-4, +1.0

Like last year, Victor Payano (4.85 ERA) has encountered trouble after the season's first two months. Payano has more walks (16) than innings (15.1) in his last five starts. Yesterday, he walked three of 10 batters, allowed three hits and four runs, and lasted only 1.1 innings. Paul Schwendel (3.2 IP, 1 R, 3 SO) and Taylor Dennis (2 IP, 0 R, 1 SO) took the Pelicans into the 8th, but Randol Rojas endured perhaps his worst outing ever, surrendering eight runs (six earned) in one inning plus four batters. 14 runs is a season-worst for Myrtle Beach.

3B Drew Robinson hit a three-run bomb http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=28577141&sid=t521 in the 1st (his third) and singled. Rougned Odor (.296/.363/.458) singled, doubled and stole his 22nd base. SS Edwin Garcia (.237/.345/.356) was 3-4 with two doubles and a walk. Luis Sardinas (.282/.336/.347) reached safely three times but was caught stealing twice.

Low-A: Hickory 1, at Savannah (NYM) 3
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 8-5, -0.5

Frank Lopez (4.44 ERA) struck out five in five innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk. Sam Stafford (7.11 ERA) has four consecutive scoreless appearances including yesterday's three innings. Nick Williams (.305/.335/.632) and Nomar Mazara (.248/.333/.397) doubled and singled.

Short-A: Spokane 11, at Tri-City (COL) 0
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 10-10, -5.0

Spokane scored 11 with only eight hits plus 11 freebies in the form of walks, errors and a hit-by-pitch. 2B Alberto Triunfel (.228/.308/.316) hit his first homer. DH Barrett Serrato walked twice, singled and earned the HBP, while CF Chris Garia (.273/.325/.494) singled twice and stole his eighth and ninth bases.

David Ledbetter (0.53 ERA) yielded three hits and a walk and fanned six in five innings. Richard Alvarez (6.14 ERA) whiffed five in three frames.

Rookie: Rangers 4, at Dodgers 3
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 7-5, +0.5

A Jose Cardona (.234/.309/.426) two-run homer in the 9th reversed a one-run deficit. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.275/.341/.275) was 3-3 with an HBP, and Jairo Beras went 0-4. Jose Samayoa lasted the longest of six pitchers, striking out six and allowing two hits in three scoreless frames.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Matt Harrison: a run in six innings, five strikeouts for Oklahoma.
Derek Holland: a run in six innings, career-high 11 strikeouts for Clinton.
Martin Perez: a run in four innings, four strikeouts for Spokane.

Today's Starters
AAA: Evan Meek
AA: Kevin Pucetas
Hi-A: Luke Jackson
Lo-A: Andrew Faulkner
Short-A: Kelvin Vazquez
Rookie: off
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 7/4

Alexi Ogando will start for Round Rock Saturday.

Joakim Soria retired three consecutive batters in Frisco. Techinically, he has fulfilled his task of pitching on consecutive days, albeit with nearly as few pitches as possible: six on Wednesday and eight last night. Soria has retired 21 of 22 batters faced in live action, eight via strikeout.

Stars of the Day
AAA: Ben Rowen
AA: Kevin Pucetas / Teodoro Martinez, Tomas Telis
Hi-A: Jake Skole, Rougned Odor
Short-A: Sam Wolff, Abel de los Santos / Alberto Triunfel, Janluis Castro, Chris Garia, Kevin Torres

AAA: at Round Rock 0, Omaha (KC) 3
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 49-39, +1.0

Ben Rowen (2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) and Cory Burns (1 IP, 2 H, 2 SO) held fast in relief of Evan Meek (5.1 IP, 3 R). Offense consisted of a handful of singles and walks plus Jared Hoying's double. Mike Olt (0-4) is 2-20 with three walks in his last six games.

AA: at Frisco 2, Arkansas (LAA) 3
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 6-8, -2.0

Teodoro Martinez (280/.321/.413) and Tomas Telis (.293/.318/.413) doubled and singled. Justin Miller fanned one in a scoreless 9th, and Kevin Pucetas (4.45 ERA) allowed two unearned runs in 6.2 innings.

High-A: Myrtle Beach 8, at Winston-Salem (CHA) 5 (11 innings)
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
Record: 8-4, +1.0

The Pelicans won in extras after losing leads of 4-0 and 5-4. Luke Jackson (2.48 ERA) faced the minimum through four, allowing a walk and promptly picking him off. In the next two innings, he gave up three runs on four hits, a walk and HBP; all told, he struck out eight. Will Lamb fanned four in two innings but surrendered the tying run in the 7th on two hits.

Jake Skole belted his third homer and singled twice. He's hitting .269/.363/.487 in 23 games since the end of May. Rougned Odor (.295/.365/.455) reached on a single, walked and HBP and stole his 23rd base.

Low-A: suspended

With Hickory down a run in the 7th, David Lyon's single plus a Kannapolis error brought home Lewis Brinson just before rain suspended the contest. They'll finish Friday, and I'll recap it Saturday.

Short-A: at Spokane 10, Eugene (SDG) 3
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 11-10, -4.5

Spokane received scoreless, two-strikeout performances from Abel de los Santos, Sam Wolff and Josh McElwee; the first two lasted two innings, while McElwee handled the 9th. Wolff has reached 9.1 innings with his 0.00 ERA intact. Kelvin Vasquez yielded three runs in four innings with seven hits, three walks and four strikeouts, easily his roughest US outing.

Also: "Vasquez," not "Vazquez." I spelled his name correctly until the season began, when I
switched to Vazquez for a reason that has escaped me.

Offensively, Spokane again produced a sizable proportion of its baserunners on walks and errors. SS Alberto Triunfel (.233/.329/.350) walked twice and tripled. 2B Janluis Castro (.240/.310/.293) was 2-4 with a walk, and catcher Kevin Torres went 3-5 with a double. CF Chris Garia (.280/.330/.500) stole another two bases -- his 10th and 11th -- and reached on a double and single.

Rookie: off

Five Years Ago Yesterday
20-year-old Neftali Feliz jumped from low-A Clinton to AA Frisco. For several reasons (well, at least two), Texas tended to minimize its better starters' stays in Bakersfield. Here's the number of starts in Bako by selected pitchers:

Eric Hurley: 18
Blake Beavan: 12
Robbie Erlin: 11
Joe Wieland: 10
Tommy Hunter: 9
Derek Holland: 5
Neftali Feliz: 0
Martin Perez: 0

Today's Starters
AAA: Scott Richmond
AA: Neil Ramirez
Hi-A: Nick Martinez
Lo-A: CJ Edwards
Short-A: Chi-Chi Gonzalez
Rookie: Kevin Sosa
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 7/5

Stars of the Day
AAA: Leury Garcia, Yangervis Solarte, Mike Bianucci
AA: Zach Zaneski
Hi-A: Preston Beck
Lo-A: CJ Edwards, Jose Valdespina, Andrew Faulkner / Nick Williams, Nick Vickerson, David Lyon
Short-A:Chi-Chi Gonzalez, Eric Brooks, Alex de la Cruz / Brandon Garcia, Alberto Triunfel
Rookie: Kevin Sosa, Cole Wiper

AAA: at Round Rock 6, Omaha (KC) 4
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 50-39, +1.5

A sac fly and the fifth homer in ten days from Mike Bianucci (.287/.354/.575) plated three. Video Highlights & Clips - MiLB | Round Rock's Mike Bianucci goes yard - Video | Round Rock Express Multimedia
Both Leury Garcia (.308/.365/.487) and Yangervis Solarte (.302/.347/.456) doubled and singled, and Solarte also walked. Scott Richmond gave up four runs in seven innings.

Mike Olt's baby slump has grown into a toddler. Since returning from hitter-friendly Albuquerque, Olt is batting .125/.243/.156 with 15 strikeouts in nine games.

AA: at Frisco 2, Arkansas (LAA) 5
Scoreboard | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Scoreboard
Record: 6-9, -3.0

Neil Ramirez (3.33 ERA) produced another high-strikeout, high-run performance, fanning 7 of 24 batters but allowing four runs on six hits and a walk. Ramirez's 113 strikeouts lead the Texas League and the organization.

Catcher Zach Zaneski (.193/.285/.321) reached on a single, walk and HBP, and Ryan Strausborger singled twice. Otherwise, offense was very light.

DFA'ed reliever Kyle McClennan accepted assignment to Frisco.

High-A: Myrtle Beach 7, at Winston-Salem (CHA) 4
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 8-5, +1.0

Nick Martinez (3.09 ERA) allowed a season-high five earned runs. Martinez lasted six innings with seven hits, a couple of walks and four strikeouts. He's still holding opponents to a solid line of .246/.313/.329 with a 19% strikeout rate, a touch below the league average but probably a hair above the typical starter.

RF Preston Beck (.227/.324/.330) hit his second homer, doubled and walked. Video Highlights & Clips - MiLB | Myrtle Beach's Preston Beck homers - Video | Myrtle Beach Pelicans Multimedia
Luis Sardinas stole bases 22 and 23 and singled twice. Joe Maloney doubled twice. Coincidentally, all three committed errors.

Josh McElwee, who fanned 22 of 37 batters in Spokane recently after beginning the year in Hickory, made his Myrtle Beach debut. McElwee began with two singles and a wild pitch followed by a two-run error by Maloney. He then retired five straight, three on strikeouts.

Low-A: at Hickory 2, Kannapolis (CHW) 4 (completion of Thursday game)
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Low-A: at Hickory 8, Kannapolis (CHW) 2
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 9-6, -0.5

In the second game, the offense erupted for eight runs on ten hits in the 1st. Nick Williams led off with a homer, and catcher David Lyon and SS Luis Marte hit two-run doubles. Joey Gallo batted twice with the bases loaded and fanned both times. For the rest of the game, Hickory had three hits and 14 strikeouts. Nick Vickerson was 3-5.

CJ Edwards (1.98 ERA) touched double-digits in strikeouts for the second time in four starts. In 5.2 innings, he yielded two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk. Jose Valdespina (7.45 ERA) allowed a single to bring in an inherited runner but fanned three in 2.1 otherwise perfect innings.

The completion of the first game was a dud. On Thursday, Hickory tied Kannapolis in the 7th just as the rain came. Last night in the 8th, Jose Monegro allowed back-to-back solo homers, and Hickory's output was limited to a Ronald Guzman walk. Starter Andrew Faulkner struck out eight in six innings and surrendered two runs.

Short-A: at Spokane 4, Eugene (SDG) 3 (12 innings)
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 12-10, -3.0

Less than a week ago, 14-2 Everett led Spokane by eight games. Since then, the Aquasox have lost five of six while Spokane has won six straight. Down 3-2 in the 9th, Spokane tied Eugene on Alberto Triunfel's second homer in three days. In the 12th, LF Brandon Garcia doubled in Kevin Torres, who had singled. Spokane had only two hits beyond what I described. Garcia also walked.

1st-rounder Chi-Chi Gonzalez (5.91 ERA) permitted a solo homer (the only run), three other hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out one. Alex de la Cruz tossed a perfect 11th and 12th with three strikeouts and Eric Brooks (3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 SO) handled the middle innings.

Debuting professionally was LHP Cody Ege, drafted in the 15th round from Louisville. Ege hit his first batter (indeed, knocked him out of the game) and gave up a run-scoring double in his first frame. He worked around a single in a scoreless 8th.

Rookie: Rangers 3, at Cubs 1
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 8-5, +1.0

Cole Wiper made his first appearance, recording a strikeout, grounder and popup in the 6th. Although drafted in the 10th round, Wiper received the fourth-highest bonus among Texas picks, an inducement to leave Oregon after his redshirt freshman year. Starter Kevin Sosa (1.89 ERA) reached five innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits and a walk while whiffing three.

Jairo Beras was 0-4 with two strikeouts. Catcher GCarlos garay walked twice, and 2B Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled twice.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Oklahoma's Nelson Cruz hit his 26th homer, and Julio Borbon clubbed his first as a RoughRider. Michael Kirkman pitched seven scoreless innings for Clinton.

Today's Starters
AAA: Alexi Ogando
AA: Carlos Pimentel
Hi-A: Alec Asher
Lo-A: Luis Parra
Short-A: Yohandez Nemdez
Rookie: Derek Thompson
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[Windingmywatch]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 7/6

Stars of the Day
AAA: Jared Hoying
AA: Carlos Pimentel / Tomas Telis
Lo-A: Luis Parra / Nick Vickerson, Ryan Rua, Joey Gallo, Nick Williams, Lewis Brinson
Short-A: Travis Dean / Chris Garia, Ryan Cordell, Kevin Torres, Marcus Greene
Rookie: Joe Palumbo, Brett Anderson / Travis Demeritte, Jairo Beras, Jose Cardona, Oliver Caraballo

AAA: at Round Rock 3, Omaha (KC) 9
Scoreboard | Round Rock Express Scoreboard
Record: 50-40, tied for 1st

Alexi Ogando looked like someone who hadn't thrown in a real game in a month. In two innings and 41 pitches, Ogando allowed three runs on two homers, two other hits and a walk. Ogando's fastball topped at 94, and the other pitches were at standard velocity. His changeup worked best, while the slider often lacked bite. I have video.

With one out in the 8th, Wilmer Font entered with the bases loaded and gave up a single; some egregious defense, mostly by Leury Garcia, resulted in the batter on second and the bases clear. (Incidentally, a taken 0-2 pitch had batter Paulo Orlando stepping toward his dugout and removing his batting gloves, but the ump ruled it outside). Font threw fastballs on 19 of 20 pitches (all 96-98 except one at 94), the one offspeed being a change that skittered to the backstop and brought in the runner from third. He retired two hitters, walked one and struck out one.

Jared Hoying tripled past an immobile Ben Broussard (just signed by KC out of the indy Atlantic League) and walked. Mike Olt drew a walk.

AA: at Frisco 6, NW Arkansas (KC) 1
Scoreboard | Frisco RoughRiders Scoreboard
Record: 7-9, -2.0

Early-season Carlos Pimentel made a triumphant return, striking out eight and allowing just an unearned run in six innings. Pimentel (4.26 ERA) had been knocked around in six of his previous seven starts. Lisalverto Bonilla tossed two nominally scoreless innings, allowing two hits and walking three.

3B Alex Buchholz hit his eighth homer, walked and singled. SS Hanser Alberto's injury wasn't serious; he returned to action Friday and was 0-4 last night.

High-A: rain

2 today.

Low-A: at Hickory 6, Kannapolis (CHW) 3 (7 innings)
Scoreboard | Hickory Crawdads Scoreboard
Record: 10-6, -0.5

Hickory received homers from Joey Gallo (26), Ryan Rua (25) and Nick Vickerson (4). Rua (.253/.357/.606) also singled twice. Nick Williams (.306/.337/.629) and Lewis Brinson (.240/.320/.443) did not homer but provided two singles and two steals.

Hickory batters have 900 strikeouts, two more than the entire season from the 2011 squad. The Crawdads remain on pace to break the league's home run and strikeout records.

While not as scintillating as his eight scoreless innings on Monday, Luis Parra (1.13 ERA) got the job done, holding Kannapolis to two runs on two hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

Short-A: at Spokane 8, Eugene (SDG) 9
Scoreboard | Spokane Indians Scoreboard
Record: 12-11, -4.0

Spokane scored four in the 9th and had two in scoring position with one out but couldn't bring any more home. Draftee Marcus Greene (.275/.422/.333) doubled twice and walked, and Ryan Cordell (.247/.337/.346) was 2-3 with two walks. DH Chris Garia hit a solo homer (his fourth) and singled, while veteran Kevin Torres was 3-5 with his second homer.

Kyle Castro has entered what is now a six-man rotation. In his first start, Castro (8.31 ERA) was touched four five runs on a homer and five other hits, three walks and two strikeouts. Castro also hit a batter and unleashed three wild pitches. Travis Dean (3 IP, 1 R, 4 SO) pitched well overall, but the one run allowed in the 9th proved meaningful.

Rookie: at Rangers 11, Cubs 4
Scoreboard | MiLB.com Scoreboard | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
Record: 9-5, +1.5

Jairo Beras has two hits as a professional, both opposite-field triples that plated Travis Demeritte. Beras (.133/.235/.400) also walked. Demeritte (.302/.393/.528) walked, singled and tripled. CF Jose Cardona (.268/.328/.446) was 3-5, and 1B Oliver Caraballo had two singles and a double.

Starter Derek Thompson (1.13 ERA) surrendered his first two runs on the year, one unearned. In three innings, he struck out two and gave up two walks and two singles. Brett Anderson (2.08 ERA) retired six straight to close out the game.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
I noted that Tommy Hunter was the third-youngest pitcher in the Pacific Coast League behind Nick Adenhart (rest in peace) and Jaime Garcia. Matt Harrison ranked eighth. Adenhart had already pitched in the Majors, while the other three would reach within a month.

Today's Starters
AAA: Jake Brigham
AA: Tyler Tufts
Hi-A: Alec Asher / Paul Schwendel
Lo-A: Connor Sadzeck
Short-A: Yohander Mendez
Rookie: Nick Gardewine
--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[fordman84]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 7/7

Stars of the Day
AAA: Jake Brigham, Joe Ortiz / Joey Butler, Mike Olt
AA: Alex Claudio / Brett Nicholas, Odubel Herrera, Ryan Strausborger
Hi-A: Alec Asher, Paul Schwendel / Jake Skole, Drew Robinson, Preston Beck, Luis Sardinas, Trever Adams
Lo-A: Jose Leclerc / Most of the offense
Short-A: Jamie Jarmon, Ryan Cordell, Alberto Triunfel
Rookie: Akeem Bostick, John ****li / Oliver Caraballo

AAA: at Round Rock 4, Omaha (KC) 0
Record: 51-40, +1.0

Facing top prospect Yordano Ventura, who reached 100 on the stadium gun and scouts' guns on several occasions, Manny Ramirez singled on a first-pitch fastball, grounded to short on another first pitch and whiffed on four pitches. Ramirez then drew a full-count walk against Michael Mariot.

LF Joey Butler doubled twice, and Mike Olt singled and doubled. Olt is .226/.338/.460 since his return. Leury Garcia showed good form in center, twice getting good jumps on hard-hit balls to make potentially difficult catches look pretty easy.

Jake Brigham mixed a fastball, curve, slider and change well, limiting the Chasers to four singles and two walks in seven innings. Brigham struck out four and would have a 2.87 ERA if not for the 1.2-inning, nine-run wipeout in Tucson. Joe Ortiz handled the last two innings with ease.

Here's video of , [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Das-tc-44MI"]Brigham[/ame], and .

AA: at Frisco 7, NW Arkansas (KC) 5
Record: 7-10, -3.0, 46-41, overall

Brett Nicholas (.312/.369/.532) singled and hit his 16th homer, doubling last year's total at Myrtle Beach. Joining the fun were Odubel Herrera (2nd homer) and Ryan Strausborger (6th).

Changeup master Alex Claudio worked a scoreless 5th and 6th. The normally reliable Jimmy Reyes (2.81 ERA) gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in the 8th. Starter Tyler Tufts allowed four runs in four innings.

High-A: Myrtle Beach 4, at Winston-Salem (CHA) 2 (7 innings)
High-A: Myrtle Beach 6, at Winston-Salem (CHA) 5 (8 innings)
Record: 10-5, +3.0, 50-34 overall

Alec Asher (3.36 ERA) produced the most innings (6) and strikeouts (8) since May 30; he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks. Drew Robinson walked twice and singled. Jake Skole (.212/.320/.319) walked and homered, but the umpires ruled fan interference and downgraded it to a double. Preston Beck hit two singles, one of which plated two.

In Game 2, Robinson (.242/.350/.369) singled twice and homered, while Luis Sardinas (.290/.344/.355) was 3-5 and 1B Trever Adams was 2-3 with a double and walk. Skole drew three walks and stole his fourth base. Paul Schwendel (4.45 ERA) gave up two runs on homers in five innings.

Low-A: at Hickory 7, Kannapolis (CHW) 6 (10 innings)
Record: 11-6, -0.5, 50-37 overall

Down 6-4 in the 8th, Hickory scored a single run in each of the next three innings. Pinch-hitter Jordan Akins homered in the 8th, Ronald Guzman singled home Nick Williams in the 9th, and Williams singled in Nick Urbanus to end the game.

Urbanus walked twice and singled twice. Williams (.311/.341/.626) reached on three singles. Guzman (.337/.381/.471), David Lyon and Luis Marte (.226/.254/.299) were 2-4 with a double and walk.

Jose LeClerc struck out three in a scoreless 9th and 10th. Starter Connor Sadzeck (2.45 ERA) allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks in 5.2 innings while striking out none.

Short-A: at Spokane 8, Eugene (SDG) 4
Record: 13-11, -4.0

The once-lifeless Spokane offense has scored 50 runs in seven July games. Playing for the first time in two weeks, LF Jamie Jarmon (.200/.304/.200) connected on three singles and a walk. SS Alberto Triunfel (.247/.341/.397) reached on a walk, single and double. RF Ryan Cordell (.259/.351/.365) did the same.

Eugene scored three on the first two homers allowed by Yohander Mendez this year. Mendez (2.05 ERA) walked three and fanned five in 4.1 innings. Michael Zouzalik (1.69 ERA) produced a couple of scoreless innings with two walks and three strikeouts.

Rookie: at Rangers 8, Indians 2
Record: 10-5, +1.5

Akeem Bostick (3.52 ERA) tossed three scoreless innings with no strikeouts. To date, he's whiffed one batter in 7.2 innings. Nick Gardewine (3.00 ERA) fanned five in three innings but gave up two runs on three hits and a walk.

CF Todd McDonald's triple was the only extra-base hit. Jairo Beras singled, and Travis Demeritte singled and walked. LF Oliver Caraballo was 2-3 with a walk.

Five Years Ago Yesterday
I was traveling; my summary of then-20 Neftali Feliz's AA debut was "go read Jamey." (For the record: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 SO). Tommy Hunter threw nine innings of two-run ball on 94 pitches. Spokane's Neil Ramirez was wildly effective again, walking four but also striking out four and yielding just one hit and an unearned run. Rookie starter Joe Wieland allowed a run in three innings.

Today's Starters
AAA: Brad Mills
AA: Nick McBride
Hi-A: Jerad Eickhoff
Lo-A: off
Short-A: Collin Wiles
Rookie: Jose Samayoa

--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas

 

[fordman84]

Rangers Farm Report: Games of 7/9

Stars of the Day
AAA: Wilmer Font / Manny Ramirez, Jim Adduci, Greg Miclat, Yangervis Solarte, Mike Bianucci
Hi-A: Will Lamb / Luis Sardinas, Drew Robinson, Rougned Odor
Lo-A: Cody Kendall, Jose Monegro / Nick Williams, Ryan Rua

AAA: at Round Rock 11, Oklahoma City 8 (HOU)
Record: 52-41, tied for 1st

3B Mike Olt was hit in the helmet by Philip Humber's first pitch of the 7th inning and left the game. Olt had singled in two prior at-bats.

DH Manny Ramirez (.300/.417/.600) singled, homered and drew a bases-loaded walk. I timed his home-run trot at 26 seconds, a stately pace, to be sure, but not among the ten slowest MLB trots this season. David Ortiz routinely takes just shy of 30 seconds to amble 360 feet.

Jim Adduci (2-4) also homered for the 10th time. Greg Miclat was 3-5, and SS Yangervis Solarte and 1B Mike Bianucci doubled and singled.

Evan Meek , who has been pleasantly reliable in the rotation despite minimal experience, was tagged for seven runs on 11 hits in five innings. Wilmer Font fanned two, including slugger Jonathan Singleton after starting him 3-0, in a clean 9th for his first AAA save.

AA: off

High-A: Myrtle Beach 6, at Salem (BOS) 8
Record: 10-7, +1.0

The top three in the order combined to reach ten times. The white-hot SS Luis Sardinas was 3-4 with a double, walk and his 24th steal. He's batting .403/.513/.529 coming out of the All-Star break. Drew Robinson (.269/.426/.481 post-break) walked twice, singled and tripled, and Rougned Odor (.338/.378/.471 post-break) doubled and singled.

Victor Payano's second-half woes continued, as he surrendered five runs on five hits and two walks in just two innings. He struck out none. Payano (5.35 ERA) has allowed 18 runners and 13 runs in his last 4.1 innings. As I've mentioned, he also struggled last year around this time and spent August in the bullpen. Will Lamb (4.35 ERA) threw a couple of scoreless innigns with two hits and a strikeout.

Low-A: Hickory 4, at Hagerstown (WAS) 3
Record: 12-6, +1.0

Ryan Rua's minors-leading 26th homer (tied with Joey Gallo) with two on erased a two-run deficit. Rua (.24454/.359/.609) also stole his ninth base. LF Nick Williams (.318/.348/.632) was 3-4 with a double.

Frank Lopez (4.76 ERA) wasn't sharp, posting fours in innings, walks, hits and strikeouts while allowing three runs. Cody Kendall (3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) and Jose Monegro (2 IP, 2 H, 2 SO) kept Hagerstown off the scoreboard before and after Hickory regained the lead.

Joey Gallo is out with a slightly pulled groin.

Short-A and Rookie: off

Five Years Ago Yesterday
Clinton's Derek Holland allowed just three hits and walked none in six scoreless innings. He struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 2.40. Unfortunately, Clinton had another classic bullpen meltdown and lost. Invincible to date, Martin Perez walked four and allowed four hits and five runs in 1.1 innings.

Today's Starters
AAA: Scott Richmond
AA: Kevin Pucetas
Hi-A: Luke Jackson
Lo-A: Andrew Faulkner
Short-A: David Ledbetter
Rookie: Kevin Sosa

--
Scott Lucas
Newberg Report (newbergreport.com)
rangers.scottlucas.com
twitter: @scottrlucas