Series Thread: Rangers Host the Twins For Four Games August 15-18

[jaar01]

From Evan Grant:

Rangers on pace for 74 wins. Fewest wins by defending World Series champ since MLB went to 162 games:

Marlins, 1998: 54
Boston, 2014: 71
Cincinnati, 1991: 74

Marlins in 98 had a fire sale and intentionally had a very bad season. So that one gets an asterisk.

Which means 71 is the worst win total for a defending champion still trying to win games. Rangers are on pace for 74 wins. This is a really bad season.

But...maybe we get a top 5 pick out of it and have a nice rebound next year!

 

[saddles]

From Tepid:

Lost in the Vandy boys’ excitement last night was Hickory righty Ryan Lobus’ 11(!)K in 4ip. He has a SL that’s a cheat code in A-ball.

 

[saddles]

From Tepid:

Lost in the Vandy boys’ excitement last night was Hickory righty Ryan Lobus’ 11(!)K in 4ip. He has a SL that’s a cheat code in A-ball.

Not bad for an undrafted guy the Rangers signed last summer.

 

[saddles]

Mitch Bratt pitches tonight for Frisco.

 

[Kelleyman]

He can't even go down to begin the year. We either keep him on the roster out of spring training or get rid of hum.

Was thinking he might start out on IL air thought he could steer out in minors but once brought up. He can’t be sent down.
Probably bad memory on my part

 

[saddles]

Jon Heyman asked some agents what they thought Juan Soto's contract would look like this winter. He only asked those not connected to Soto currently. Here are the a few of the answers.

• 14 years, $550 million
• 10 years, 550 million
• 12 years, $600 million
• 10 years, $500 million
• 12 years, $480 million
• 13 years, $520 million

 

[Kelleyman]

x.com

x.com

Leiter highlights record breaking night

 

[WastinSomeTime]

It would be nice to see more of our minor league players who do well in the minors transfer that success when they are called up.

 

[saddles]

It would be nice to see more of our minor league players who do well in the minors transfer that success when they are called up.

Hey, I will be happy if the pitchers can start transferring their success from the lower levels to the upper levels. That has been a real struggle over the last 10 years, it seems. That is where Winn and White fell apart and several before them.

Bradford finally did that a couple of years ago and last year. That is when I started thinking he could do well in the big leagues. He cleared a hurdle so many of our previous prospects could not.

 

[saddles]

Bruce Bochy on Cody Bradford #rangers #codybradford

youtube.com

 

[Duane1952]

It would be nice to see more of our minor league players who do well in the minors transfer that success when they are called up.

Hard to do if the manager doesn’t play them. Hard to prove what you can do from the bench.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Hard to do if the manager doesn’t play them. Hard to prove what you can do from the bench.

That's true for guys like Huff, Foscue and Crim but there have been plenty over the years who just couldn't get it done.

Love to see that time when Gonzalez and Pudge came up and infused life into the team and fans. Carter did that last year.

 

[saddles]

That's true for guys like Huff, Foscue and Crim but there have been plenty over the years who just couldn't get it done.

Love to see that time when Gonzalez and Pudge came up and infused life into the team and fans. Carter did that last year.

I think Walcott can do that. We have a few other international signings that might, but it is too early to even consider it.

Pudge, Juan and Sierra were from a different kind of era. The Rangers had a much bigger presence internationally than other teams did, and there were no limits on spending internationally.

 

[scotsman#1948]

be glad when we have flushed all the non-Ranger draft picks off the team

 

[saddles]

The Astros have signed Glenn Otto.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I think Walcott can do that. We have a few other international signings that might, but it is too early to even consider it.

Pudge, Juan and Sierra were from a different kind of era. The Rangers had a much bigger presence internationally than other teams did, and there were no limits on spending internationally.

Not sure yet on him but I can see why you would think that.

 

[saddles]

Sebastian Walcott started this season at age 18 years, 0 months, and 3 weeks. His slash line so far this season in A ball is:

.256/.313/.442

Juan Gonzalez began the 1988 season at the age of 18 years, 5 months, and 2 weeks. His slash line for the season in A ball was:

.256/.325/.415

Just something to think about, and maybe something to look forward to.

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

A Hack Leiter review from Scott Lucas:

With the caveat that I don't maintain a list and am going from memory: Welcome to what might be the most dominant minor league pitching performance I've seen in person.

Jack Leiter struck out a career-high 11 batters and missed a career-high 21 bats.

He pitched only 3.2 innings.

The Isotopes drew air on 15 of their first 16 swings, and not until the 20th swing did they put a ball in play (an honest double). A wild pitch and dropped fly by LF Dustin Harris resulted in a run (which would have scored even if he'd caught it). Harris's misplay in the 3rd afforded Leiter an opportunity to strike out the side, which he did. Indeed, every out was a strikeout. 34% of all pitches and 62% of swings were whiffs. The respective averages league-wide are 12% and 26%.

Velocity: Prior to last night, Leiter had thrown three pitches at 99.0 MPH or harder, none above 99.7. Last night, he maxed out at 100.1, threw another at 100 even, and had a total of 15 pitches at 99.0 or harder. That is to say, 15 of his 18 fastest pitches of the season occurred last night. These weren't errant missiles, either. Nine (60%) were for strikes, six swinging. His three hardest sliders (maximum 92.0) and eight of the hardest nine on the season were also last night.

Location: Leiter's location was close to ideal. Sliders leaned just off the inside border to righties and outside to lefties. The fastball largely avoided the lower half of the zone. He induced a couple of misses on low curves. He wasn't perfect. In the 2nd, he temporarily slid into the bad habit of pushing everything a little too far off the glove-side edge, and Willie MacIver worked a walk after an 0-2 count. Leiter recovered to fan the next batter for the third out.

For workload management, Leiter hadn't thrown in a real game in 19 days, so that explains the modest pitch count. We could assume that he'll rebuild to the normal level, but another possibility is outings tailored for relief in Arlington down the stretch.

 

[saddles]

A couple more notes from Scott Lucss:

Marc Church's rehab outings in Hickory weren't especially encouraging, but back with the Express he was much steadier. Too steady, really, as I would have liked to have seen more than eight pitches.

Blaine Crim was rewarded with only one hit on the three balls launched at over 102 MPH, but he's truly locked in at the moment.