Category Archives: Uncategorized

San Antonio baseball icon Joel Horlen passes away at age 84

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For a young boy who practiced pitching in the 1940s by flinging baseballs into a tire in his San Antonio backyard, Joel Horlen enjoyed quite a career in the game.

To date, he remains the only player to have won titles at a Pony League World Series (1952), a College World Series (for Oklahoma State University, in 1959) and a Major League World Series (for the Oakland A’s, in 1972), according to his obituary.

Horlen has died at the age of 84, according to a story published Monday on the athletics website at Oklahoma State. He had been battling dementia for the past five years.

Slightly built at 6 feet and 170 pounds, Horlen played for 12 seasons in the major leagues, mostly with the Chicago White Sox. He pitched in 361 games and compiled a 116-117 record, with a 3.11 earned run average.

Remarkably, a year after winning a championship with the A’s in the World Series, he agreed to help out a struggling Double-A baseball franchise in his hometown.

He pitched in the summer of 1973 for the San Antonio Brewers and led the team to the Texas League championship series, according to author David King’s book, “San Antonio at Bat.”

It was the last professional season on record for Horlen, a former American Legion baseball teammate of San Antonio’s Gary Bell, another former major leaguer.

Gregory H. Wolf, who authored the ball player’s biography for the Society of American Baseball Research, said Horlen preferred to be called “Joe,” and not Joel.

“All my friends call me Joe and that’s what I go by,” he told Wolf. “When I got into baseball, it became Joel somehow. I guess because that’s how I sign my contract.”

Wolf pointed out in his article that Horlen led all American League pitchers with a 2.32 ERA over a five-year period (1964-68) as the right-handed ace of the White Sox.

“After pitching for the notoriously weak-hitting South Siders for his first 11 years, Horlen concluded his career as a reliever and spot starter for the world champion Oakland Athletics in 1972,” Wolf wrote. “With a career record of 116-117, Horlen could lay claim as one the best pitchers with a losing record in major-league history.”

Both Horlen and Bell were inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Frisco wins 6-4 to spoil the San Antonio Missions’ home opener

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Trailing by two runs with two outs in the ninth inning, the San Antonio Missions had their hottest batter at the plate with runners at first and second base.

A well-placed extra-base hit could tie the game.

Frisco RoughRiders reliever Chase Lee had other ideas.

Lee struck out Esteury Ruiz looking to leave the runners stranded, securing for the RoughRiders a 6-4 victory in the Missions’ home opener Tuesday night at Wolff Stadium.

A crowd of 5,823 watched as the Missions took a 4-3 lead on a fifth-inning sacrifice fly by Brandon Dixon.

Undeterred, the RoughRiders rallied with two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to win the first game of a six-game series with the Missions.

Records

Frisco 3-1
San Antonio 2-2

Coming up

Wednesday — Frisco at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Thursday — Frisco at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Friday — Frisco at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday — Frisco at San Antonio (DH), 5:05 p.m.

Notable

Esteury Ruiz, who hit .249 for the Missions last year, has started fast in his second straight year at the Double-A level. The 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic is batting .471 with two doubles, a triple and a home run in his first four games.

Jung, Vooletich power Texas Tech as San Antonio area talent shines

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San Antonio-area baseball players crushed it on Sunday afternoon. Starring in four different games, in four cities, ball players who grew up in the area led their teams to victories. Here’s the way it happened:

Texas Tech 7, Kansas State 6
At Lubbock

Jace Jung, a Texas Tech sophomore from MacArthur — Hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to win the game.

Zac Vooletich, a Texas Tech junior from Brandeis — Started the fourth-ranked Red Raiders’ ninth-inning rally with a solo homer.

Texas 7, TCU 3
At Austin

Travis Sthele, a Texas redshirt freshman from Reagan — Came out of the bullpen and pitched one and 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up his third win of the season.

Douglas Hodo III, a Texas redshirt sophomore from Boerne — Stroked an RBI double off the wall in the seventh inning for the seventh-ranked Longhorns.

UTSA 13, Old Dominion 4
At Norfolk, Va.

Ian Bailey, a UTSA senior from Stevens — Enjoyed a four-for-five day with a triple, a double and two singles. He also scored four runs and drove in three.

Texas State 10, Georgia Southern 9
At San Marcos

Dalton Shuffield, a Texas State senior from Johnson — Belted a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the first. Went two for three on the day with three RBIs for the 10th-ranked Bobcats.

x-Rankings, according to D1 Baseball.

UTSA baseball wins, moves into a tie for third in Conference USA

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Ian Bailey, Chase Keng and Isaiah Walker combined for 10 hits between them on Sunday afternoon as the UTSA Roadrunners downed the Old Dominion Monarchs, 13-4, and clinched a Conference USA weekend series on the road.

After losing the opener 11-0 on Friday, things didn’t look too promising for the Roadrunners. But they rallied to win 8-7 in 11 innings on Saturday and then pounded out 16 hits to cruise in the series finale.

As a result, the Roadrunners have moved into a tie for third place in the C-USA. Behind league-leading Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech, UTSA (21-11, 7-5) is tied with the UAB Blazers and the Florida Atlantic Owls.

Records

Old Dominion 22-8, 6-6
UTSA 21-11, 7-5

Coming up

Wednesday — UTSA at Sam Houston State, 6:30 p.m.
Friday — UTSA at Rice, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday — UTSA at Rice, 2 p.m.
Sunday (April 17) — UTSA at Rice, 1 p.m.

Notable

Bailey, a senior from San Antonio’s Stevens High School, went four for five with a triple, a double and two singles. He also scored four runs and drove in three. Keng enjoyed a three for five day with four RBIs. Walker, a UTSA freshman from Manvel, also went three for five. He drove in a run and scored once. Braden Davis pitched six innings for the victory. He exited with a 6-4 lead, giving way to relievers Grant Miller and Braylon Owens, who finished the game. Davis and Owens are freshmen.

Chasing the dream: San Antonio-area players in the minor leagues

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With professional baseball from Single-A on up to Triple-A in full swing starting tonight, here is a look at San Antonio area talent in the minor leagues:

Josh Jung/INF/Round Rock Express/Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers/from San Antonio MacArthur High School and Texas Tech University. Jung, the eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft, hit .326 with 19 homers combined in Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock last summer. Jung is on the injured list following left shoulder surgery in February.

David Hamilton/INF/Portland Sea Dogs/Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox/from San Marcos HS and the University of Texas. Picked in the 8th round of the 2019 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. Traded by the Brewers with Jackie Bradley Jr. and Alex Binelas to the Red Sox Hunter Renfroe on Dec. 1, 2021.

Hudson Head/OF/Greensboro Grasshoppers/High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates/from San Antonio Churchill HS. Selected in the third round of the 2019 draft by the San Diego Padres. Traded to the Pirates, in January of 2021.

Ralph Garza Jr./RHP/Worcester Red Sox/Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox/from New Braunfels HS/the University of Oklahoma. Selected in the 26th round of the 2015 draft by the Houston Astros.

Jonathan Hennigan/RHP/Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies/from Texas State University. Selected by the Phillies in the 21st round of the 2016 draft.

James McArthur/RHP/Reading Phillies/Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies/from New Braunfels HS/Ole Miss. McArthur was selected in the 12th round by the Phillies in 2018.

Bryan Arias/INF/Corpus Christi Hooks/Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros/from San Antonio Marshall High School and UTSA. Arias was drafted by the Astros in the 28th round in 2019.

Asa Lacy/LHP/Northwest Arkansas Naturals/Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals/from Kerrville Tivy HS and Texas A&M. Lacy was the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2020 draft out of A&M.

Forrest Whitley/RHP/Sugar Land Space Cowboys/Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros/from Alamo Heights HS. Whitley, the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 draft out of Alamo Heights, is on the injured list.

Justin Anderson/RHP/Round Rock Express/Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers/from Houston St. Pius X HS and UTSA. Anderson was a 14th-round draft pick by the Angels out of UTSA in 2014. He pitched for the Angels in the major leagues for parts of the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Jordan Westburg/INF/Bowie Baysox/Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles/from New Braunfels High School and Mississippi State. Westburg was the 30th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Mississippi State.

Palmer Wenzel/RHP/Asheville Tourists/High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros/from Boerne Champion HS/UTSA and the University of Texas.

Nick Fraze/RHP/New Hampshire Fisher Cats/Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays/from Carrollton, Hebron HS and Texas State University.

Zachary Leigh/RHP/South Bend Cubs/High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs/from Victoria East High School/Texas State University.

Hunter McMahon/RHP/Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Single A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins/from Staley HS in Kansas City, Mo., and Texas State University. Ninth round pick of the Washington Nationals in 2019.

Brayden Theriot/RHP/Charleston RiverDogs/Single A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays/from Sugar Land Elkins High School and Texas State University.

Justin Lange/RHP/Tampa Tarpons/Single A affiliate of the New York Yankees/from Fredericksburg and Llano High School. Drafted 34th overall on the second round of the 2020 draft by the San Diego Padres. Traded by the Padres to the New York Yankees organization for 1B Luke Voit on March 18.

Hooks’ nine-run first inning spoils opening night for the Missions

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Left-hander Gabe Morales struck out five batters in two scoreless innings of relief, and 22-year-old Agustin Ruiz belted a solo home run, but on opening night in the Texas League, it wasn’t nearly enough for the San Antonio Missions.

The Corpus Christi Hooks erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the first Friday night and then cruised to a 14-2 victory in front of 5,543 at Whataburger Field.

Missions starter Osvaldo Hernandez got only one out before he had to be lifted. He was charged with seven runs on six hits.

For the Hooks, Shay Whitcomb and Grae Kessinger homered in the outburst, with Whitcomb going deep off of Hernandez and Kessinger against Ryan Lillie.

Kessinger’s shot was a three-run blast that lifted the Hooks into a 9-0 lead barely 25 minutes into the Missions’ season.

Coming up

Saturday — Missions at Corpus Christi Hooks, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday — Missions at Corpus Christi Hooks, 1:05 p.m.
Tuesday — Frisco RoughRiders at San Antonio Missions, 7:05 p.m.

Opening-night starter: Cuba native Osvaldo Hernandez

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Osvaldo Hernandez pitching for the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium during the 2021 season. - photo by Joe Alexander

San Antonio Missions opening-night starter Osvaldo Hernandez has produced an 18-20 record, with a 3.67 earned run average, in four minor league seasons. – Photo by Joe Alexander

As teams in the newly re-branded Texas League prepare for their season openers, Osvaldo Hernandez will start for the San Antonio Missions Friday night as they enter a three-game road series at Whataburger Field against the Corpus Christi Hooks.

“He’s a guy we signed out of Cuba a couple of years ago,” Missions manager Phillip Wellman said of the 23-year-old lefty. “He did very well last year. I couldn’t tell you his record. I just know that when he pitched, we felt like we were in the game.”

Hernandez was 4-8 with a 5.11 earned run average in 2021. He struck out 88 and walked 26 in 100.1 innings.

“If he commands his fastball, he’s fine,” Wellman said. “Silder, breaking ball. Kind of a typical left-handed guy. He’s not going to overpower you. He understands his job is just to go and get guys out.

“We’ll probably let him go at least four innings. It’s the same thing out of spring. You’re not going to see any starters, unless they are extremely efficient, go five innings the first time through.”

Hernandez, from Havana, signed with the Padres as an 18-year-old in March of 2017. In terms of physical stature, his dimensions are modest — 6 feet and 181 pounds.

But when he is on his game, he is very good.

His best season came in 2018 when he pitched at Class A Fort Wayne and was honored as a mid-season All-Star. That year, he finished 11-4 with a 1.81 ERA. In four seasons with the Padres, he’s been 18-20, 3.67.

Coming up

Knuckleballer Matt Waldron will get the ball for the Missions on Saturday night. After a Sunday afternoon game, the Missions will return to San Antonio, where they’ll open at home next Tuesday against the Frisco RoughRiders.

Notable

Professional baseball in San Antonio has seen dramatic change over the past few years. In 2019, the Missions severed ties with the San Diego Padres and left the Double-A Texas League to start play as a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

In 2020, when the pandemic hit, the Missions did not play at all. Nobody in the minor leagues played, and it was the first time in 57 years that fans did not have a professional team to cheer in the Alamo City.

The Missions’ stay in Triple-A with the Brewers was short-lived. In the fall of 2020, a reorganization of the minor leagues took place. The Missions would emerge from the shuffle in Double-A, with a new long-term affiliation with the Padres that would start in 2021.

One aspect of the change was extremely awkward. As pro baseball returned in the minors, traditional names such as the Texas League, the Eastern League and the Southern League were abandoned.

The Missions returned to play familiar opponents — the Hooks, the RoughRiders, the Midland Rockhounds and the Amarillo Sod Poodles — but the Texas League name was gone. Last year, they played under a league umbrella known as the Double-A Central.

This year, the Texas League is back as the official name.

Missions to watch

Tirso Ornelas and Agustin Ruiz, a pair of 22-year-old outfielders from Mexico, are the most highly-ranked players on the team. Ornelas is 27th and Ruiz 28th among Padres organization prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

Ornelas, from Tijuana, spent last season with High-A Fort Wayne. He hit .248 with seven home runs and 55 RBIs. Ruiz, a Villahermosa native, started at Fort Wayne last year and finished in San Antonio. In 35 games for the Missions, he hit .194 with six home runs. Ruiz added 20 RBIs.

Missions manager outlines rules changes in the Texas League

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In the hours before the San Antonio Missions’ media day unfolded on Wednesday afternoon at Wolff Stadium, workers hauled out bases that would be installed on the infield dirt for a team workout.

To the naked eye, the bases looked bigger than normal.

That is because they were bigger.

The bags at first base, second and third are now 18-inches on each of the four sides, an increase from what had been the standard 15-inch square.

Larger bases are one of the new twists to the game in the Double-A Texas League this summer.

Missions manager Phillip Wellman confirmed that other changes centered on pitching, including an adjustment on the pitch clock “a couple of seconds,” and a mandated positioning of infielders — two on each side of second base.

Actually, the restrictions that did away with position shifts of, say, a left-side infielder to the right side, started in the second half last season, Wellman said.

In addition, for the second straight year, pitchers will not bat in a move toward universal use of the designated hitter in all games, even those involving two National League-affiliated teams.

The last time the Texas League used pitchers as hitters in the lineup, apparently, came in the 2019 championship series when Wellman’s Amarillo Sod Poodles (Padres) defeated the Tulsa Drillers (Dodgers) two games to one in a best-of-three series.

Nobody played minor league baseball anywhere in 2020, as the Covid pandemic shut down the game.

In 2021, a recent review of a sampling of Double-A game box scores indicated that the DH was in use for all games, even those involving National League vs. National League-affiliated opponents.

Wellman said the current DH rule will remain intact for the coming season, and that pitchers would not be part of the nine-man lineup.

In discussing the changes, Wellman said, “They changed the pitch clock, they cut a couple of seconds off of it.” Previously, the clock had been set at 30 seconds.

“They made some other weird rules changes, about disengaging from the rubber during a plate appearance,” he added. “A pitcher is only allowed to pitch over, or disengage from the rubber, twice in an at bat.

“You throw over the third time, if he’s not out, it’s a balk.”

Wellman also said the bases were bigger.

“Not sure the thinking on that, either, other than it moves things about three inches closer than it was,” he said.

In coming up with the change, officials have argued that making the bases bigger will lead to fewer injuries on the basepaths.

In other words, the bigger the base, the easier it is to for runners to slide around defenders.

Last year’s rule restricting shifts will continue, Wellman said, “where you have to have two infielders on each side of (second base). So, you can’t shift your third baseman or your shortstop out on the other side of the bag, or in the outfield.

“All of them have to be in the dirt. They can’t be on the grass. We did that in the second half last year.”

Wellman sounded skeptical about the changes but added, “we got to play by them, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

The universal designated hitter has been introduced as a major change in rules at the major league level this season.

Wellman said he prefers the old National League-rule, with pitchers in the nine-man batting lineup, which accentuated a manager’s role in strategy.

“If you were a National League club (in the minors), and they needed pitchers, if they got called to the big leagues they wouldn’t be completely unaware of what it took to bunt.

“We used to have to set days aside for our pitchers to hit. To bunt. We won’t be doing that any more. No need. They’re just going to pitch.”

Asked his opinion on the DH, Wellman said, “No, I don’t like it. It makes it boring managing, to be honest with you. I’ve spent most of my career in the National League, and it’s always been a challenge, it’s always been more fun managing a National League-kind of game.

“When you have a DH in the game, there’s not as much strategy. You don’t have to pay attention to where you are in the (batting) order as often. (With a DH), there’s no double-switching (on substitutions). It just removes some of the strategy.

“But, it’s still baseball.”

UTSA beats Stephen F. Austin, 14-4, for sixth straight victory

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UTSA outfielder Garrett Poston batting against Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA outfielder Garrett Poston smashed three doubles and added three RBIs Wednesday night to help the UTSA Roadrunners rally for a 14-4 victory over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA extended its winning streak to six games with a 14-4, come-from-behind victory Wednesday night over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at Roadrunner Field.

Even after the Lumberjacks exploded for four runs in the top of the second for a 4-0 lead, the Roadrunners didn’t flinch, pouring it on with 14 straight runs.

For the game, they stroked 14 hits, including seven for extra bases, to win by run rule in seven innings.

Garrett Poston went 3 for 4 with three doubles. Jonathan Tapia, Chase Keng and Josh Killeen had two hits apiece.

In an 11-run fifth inning for the Roadrunners, Kody Darcy hit a three-run double and Keng added a two-run triple.

Reese Easterling (2-0) picked up the victory with two innings of relief. Drake Smith followed with a scoreless ninth inning and his first save of the season.

Peyton Parker (0-3) took the loss for Stephen F. Austin.

Records

Stephen F. Austin 8-20
UTSA 19-10

Coming up

Friday — UTSA at Old Dominion
Saturday — UTSA at Old Dominion
Sunday — UTSA at Old Dominion

Whitley opens season on the injured list at Triple-A Sugar Land

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Former Alamo High School star Forrest Whitley pitched for the Round Rock Express against the San Antonio Missions in May 2019 at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander

Former Alamo High School star Forrest Whitley starts the season on the 7-day injured list with the Houston Astros-affiliated, Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys. He’s shown here in a 2019 game at Wolff Stadium, delivering a pitch for the Round Rock Chupacabras against the San Antonio Missions. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Former Alamo Heights pitcher Forrest Whitley will open the baseball season on the 7-day injured list with the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys, according to the team’s website.

Whitley, a 2016 first-round draft pick by the parent-club Houston Astros, is coming off Tommy John surgery.

The injury occurred last spring when Whitley was throwing live batting practice. Surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, according to an Associated Press story published in March 2021.

At the time, it was reported that the right-hander would miss at least a year.

According to information on the Space Cowboys’ website, the team will begin Pacific Coast League play Tuesday night in Sacramento. .

The Space Cowboys will return home on April 12 to open a series against the Round Rock Express.

Records indicate that Whitley hasn’t played in a game since the 2019 season. That year, he was 3-7 while pitching at four different levels in the Astros’ minor-league system.

Whitley, the No. 17 pick in the 2016 draft, remains as the team’s fifth-rated prospect. According to mlb.com, the Astros’ top prospects include shortstop Jeremy Pena at No. 1, followed by catcher Korey Lee, pitcher Hunter Brown, shortstop/outfielder Pedro Leon and Whitley.

Sugar Land’s team was formerly known as the Sugar Land Skeeters. It was an independent team until last year, when it aligned with the Astros and played a Triple-A schedule. The team re-branded to become the Space Cowboys during the offseason.

Notable

Texas Rangers prospect Josh Jung, the 8th overall pick in the 2019 draft, is also rehabilitating an injury as the new season dawns. The former standout at San Antonio MacArthur High School and Texas Tech University had surgery on his (non-throwing) left shoulder in February. He is expected to be out until August or September. Prior to the injury, he probably had a decent chance to make the major league ball club if he could have had a productive spring. Jung hit .326 with 19 home runs combined at Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock last summer.

Meanwhile, here is a list of players from the San Antonio area on opening-day rosters in the minor leagues:

David Hamilton/INF/Portland Sea Dogs/Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox/from San Marcos HS and the University of Texas. Picked in the 8th round of the 2019 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. Traded by the Brewers with Jackie Bradley Jr. and Alex Binelas to the Red Sox Hunter Renfroe on Dec. 1, 2021.

Hudson Head/OF/Greensboro Grasshoppers/High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates/from San Antonio Churchill HS. Selected in the third round of the 2019 draft by the San Diego Padres. Traded to the Pirates, in January of 2021.

Ralph Garza Jr./RHP/Worcester Red Sox/Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox/from New Braunfels HS/the University of Oklahoma. Selected in the 26th round of the 2015 draft by the Houston Astros.

James McArthur/RHP/Reading Phillies/Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies/from New Braunfels HS/Ole Miss. McArthur was selected in the 12th round by the Phillies in 2018.

Bryan Arias/INF/Corpus Christi Hooks/Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros/from San Antonio Marshall High School and UTSA. Arias was drafted by the Astros in the 28th round in 2019.

Asa Lacy/LHP/Northwest Arkansas Naturals/Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals/from Kerrville Tivy HS and Texas A&M. Lacy was the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2020 draft out of A&M.

Forrest Whitley/RHP/Sugar Land Space Cowboys/Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros/from Alamo Heights HS. Whitley, the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 draft out of Alamo Heights, is on the 7-day injured list.

Justin Anderson/RHP/Round Rock Express/Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers/from Houston St. Pius X HS and UTSA. Anderson was a 14th-round draft pick by the Angels out of UTSA in 2014. He pitched for the Angels in the major leagues for parts of the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Jordan Westburg/INF/Bowie Baysox/Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles/from New Braunfels High School and Mississippi State. Westburg was the 30th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Mississippi State.

Palmer Wenzel/RHP/Asheville Tourists/High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros/from Boerne Champion HS/UTSA and the University of Texas.

Nick Fraze/RHP/New Hampshire Fisher Cats/Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays/from Carrollton, Hebron HS and Texas State University.

Zachary Leigh/RHP/South Bend Cubs/High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs/from Victoria East High School/Texas State University.

Hunter McMahon/RHP/Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Single A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins/from Staley HS in Kansas City, Mo., and Texas State University. Ninth round pick of the Washington Nationals in 2019.

Brayden Theriot/RHP/Charleston RiverDogs/Single A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays/from Sugar Land Elkins High School and Texas State University.

Justin Lange/RHP/Tampa Tarpons/Single A affiliate of the New York Yankees/from Fredericksburg and Llano High School. Drafted 34th overall on the second round of the 2020 draft by the San Diego Padres. Traded by the Padres to the New York Yankees organization for 1B Luke Voit on March 18.