There‘s plenty of excitement in Double-A Frisco when it comes to young talent for the Texas Rangers. Friday, June 11th was just a taste of what’s to come for this franchise. The RoughRiders have been on a power surge recently, slugging 4 homeruns in their 10-3 victory over NW Arkansas the night before. The Riders also boast the second-best staff ERA in Double-A Central at 3.52.
The RoughRiders faced off against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals as Frisco tried to maintain their slim lead atop the South Division standings. Frisco was coming off a 10-3 win where their power and dominant pitching were showcased. Frisco had their eyes fixed on win number 20 in the season. The home club would send 23-year-old Dominican right-hander and the 19th ranked prospect in the Texas Rangers organization to the mound and he would not disappoint.
Rodriguez gave up two consecutive hits in his first inning of work and then stranded both Naturals runners after striking out the side to end the early threat. He would retire the next 9 in a row before being replaced by Noah Bremer. Rodriguez pitched 4 masterful innings, allowing just two hits, no runs, no walks, and striking out 4, departing with a 3-0 lead.
The Frisco bullpen would struggle late in the game but the Riders offense continued to shine with yet another four-homer game. Bubba Thompson and Josh Stowers got the fireworks started early with first inning bombs. Anderson Tejeda would blast his first homerun of the season to right-center field in the 7th to give Frisco a 6-5 lead answering the Naturals homeruns in consecutive innings that tied the game at 5. J.P Martinez, the Cuban center fielder, hit a grand slam in the 8th inning for his first homer of the season, and only hit of the game, to make it 10-5.
Scotty Engler pitched a perfect 1.2 innings in relief of Bremer, striking out 4 to earn his first victory of the season and dropping his ERA to 2.89. Cole Uvila pitched the 9th inning for Frisco, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, sandwiched in between striking out the side to secure the Riders 20th win of the season. Frisco would go on to split the next two games, losing 6-2 on Saturday, June 12th and winning 8-4 tonight behind the power of Josh Stowers who slugged his 6th HR of the season and 4th homer in as many nights.
There's plenty of starpower in Frisco and a stable full of amazing young arms. Ryan Dorow is among the league leaders in Double-A Central in all the major offensive categories. Steele Walker, Bubba Thompson and Josh Stowers can steal the show on any given night. Pitchers Cole Winn, Jake Latz and Yerry Rodriguez are among MiLB's best and are sure to get an opportunity with the Rangers late this season or even early next season. It may not feel like it right now when you see where the Rangers are in the standings, but it's a great time to be a Ranger fan, with plenty to be excited about in the very near future.
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