Road To Arlington: Rangers Minor League Report (4/19)

Marcus Lemon in Surprise

Seriously. Somebody turn a hose on this guy before he burns down Dr Pepper Ballpark.

He’s so hot that they’re going to have him lay down under some grates to cook hamburgers this afternoon.

Triple-A: @ Oklahoma City 8, Memphis 3

RHP Thomas Diamond was called upon to start in place of Derek Holland and gave the RedHawks two shutout frames before rain descended upon the Brick, delaying action for over an hour. When play resumed, LHP Kason Gabbard took the ball and worked a quick, easy third but couldn’t get out of the fourth when he loaded the bases.

Big Beau Vaughan bailed Gabbard out, stranding all three in the fourth before going on to deliver three more shutout innings, allowing two hits and a pair of walks while fanning three, to earn the victory. Vaughan, a righty acquired from Boston in the Wes Littleton trade, has not allowed a run while fanning 10 in 8.1 innings of work this year. He’s allowed three hits and walked three. Sleeper.

Julio Borbon, back in center field, went 2-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in a pair from the top of the Oklahoma City order and C Kevin Richardson went deep in a 2-for-3 outing that included a base on balls and two RBIs in his return to action after suffering a knee injury in spring training.

Double-A: Springfield 4 @ Frisco 2

RHP Jared Hyatt did his part, holding the Cardinals to a run on five hits over five innings of work before handing the ball to RHP Andrew Laughter with the game knotted at one apiece but Laughter surrendered two runs before he could get out of the sixth and the Riders offense failed to fight back.

But you can’t blame the hottest hitter in the system, Mr. Marcus Lemon (.586 / .613 / .793), who did it all — this time as Frisco’s second baseman (after starting at SS in all of their prior games this season) hitting from the two hole (after hitting in the nine hole in all year).

Lemon went 3-for-5, drove in two, stole his first bag of the season and turned a double play from the opposite side of the keystone than his usual spot at short. I saw something good coming from Lemon when I was in Surprise this spring. Even after I came home, I had visions of how solidly he was hitting the ball while I was down there. But I never could have imagined anything like this.

Advanced-A: Lake Elsinore 5 @ Bakersfield 2

Four Bakersfield errors led to four runs, all unearned, on starter RHP Kennil Gomez’s ledger and the Blaze offense failed to deliver the runs necessary to compensate for their defensive issues in spite of the fact that each of the first five batters in the lineup had multi-hit performances.

CF Engel Betre went 2-for-5, stole his fourth bag of the year and scored once from the top of the order. 2B Matt Lawson remained hot with a 3-for-5 outing that included his first double of the year and his third stolen base.

Class-A: Hickory 4 @ Asheville 0

LHP Richard Bleier blanked the Tourists through six, scattering five hits and a walk while punching out six along the way. 1B Jared Bolden went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run single in the sixth while RF Mike Bianucci followed up his Friday freakout with a solo shot for his only hit in four trips. CF David Paisano kept his hitting streak alive with a 1-for-4 outing from the top of the Crawdads’ order.