Rodriguez makes impression in Frisco

Brash named Pitcher of the Week, Grant Black's corner, plus stats, scores and so much more.

Aug 23, 2021

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There’s just four weeks of baseball left for the Travs as the team is back at Dickey-Stephens for a two-week homestand against Corpus Christi on Tuesday and the following week they get Wichita, then it is off to Springfield, and to close out the season, a trip to Kansas for six games against Wichita, currently leading the North Division.

The Travs went 3-3 in last week’s trip to league-leading Frisco.

The trip to Frisco was eventful as baseball’s now No. 2 prospect Julio Rodriguez put on a show.

Rodriguez had five hits and towering shot that landed somewhere in the nearby Ikea parking lot. Okay, it didn’t clear the stadium as it actually went 382 feet but it does make a very satisfying thud when it hits the tin roofed seats in the outfield.

Just give it a look and make sure you have the sound turned on.

MLB Pipeline @MLBPipeline

Julio Rodríguez is all smiles after his fourth homer of the year for @ARTravs 😀

You may have noticed something. That pitch. That wasn’t even a minor-league quality pitch. It was, in fact, a catcher working in relief in the second game of a double-header.

The homerun still got some attention as David Roth, now of the Defector and formerly at Deadspin, wrote about it here.

We encourage you to read the whole thing, but just look at this beauty of a line and the emphasis, in bold, is ours:

… Isaias Quiroz, a 24-year-old backup catcher for the Frisco RoughRiders, threw Rodriguez an absolute cement-mixer of a pseudo-eephus during the seventh and final inning of the second game …

Quality work from Roth and, again, just go read it.

Brash named Pitcher of the Week

Travs pitcher Matt Brash was named Pitcher of the Week for the Double-A Central League.

Brash, a native of Canada, was called up from High-A Everett in July and in his last outing, on Aug. 19, he threw a complete-game, one-hitter, in a seven-inning doubleheader.

He’s now 2-1 in his time with the Travs on six starts and has an ERA of 1.91 with 48 strikeouts. His next scheduled start should be this week against Corpus Christi.

Individual leaders

Jake Scheiner stays at No. 22 in hitting
Alejandro Requena stays at No. 9, for another week, in pitching.

Transactions

Aug. 16: Arkansas Travelers sent 2B Jose Caballero on a rehab assignment to ACL Mariners.

Players of the Week

Esteury Ruiz - San Antonio and Matt Brash - Arkansas

The scores

Tuesday: Rained out
Wednesday: Frisco 8, Travs 0
Thursday (DH): Travs 3, Frisco 0; Travs 8, Frisco 2
Friday: Frisco 8, Travs 1
Saturday: Travs 2, Frisco 1
Sunday: Frisco 3, Travs 2

The standings

Wichita ... 57-39 ... .594
Tulsa … 52-44 ... .542
Travs ... 51-45 ... .531
NW Arkansas ...49-46 ... .516
Springfield ... 35-61 ... .365

Grant Black’s Corner

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

About Grant Black’s Corner: This is a weekly look at current Minor-League players with Arkansas roots. Have an addition to this list? Email us at arkansas@substack.com or leave a comment on the post.

Newport's Grant Black got the start on Aug. 20 against Wichita and took the loss after giving up eight hits.

Black. down from Triple-A Memphis, to fill an injury-plagued rotation had six strikeouts on 4.1 innings pitched. On the season, Black now has 54 strikeouts on 48 innings, mostly in relief before being converted into a starting pitcher to help out the S-Cards.

Black is likely to stay in Springfield for the rest of the minor-league season given the pitching situation there.

Many thanks to Arkansas high school baseball expert Kevin Bohannon for his help in compiling this list. You can catch him on the radio at 103.7 The Buzz as he's the station’s high school insider. He is also the co-host of The Hawg Talk podcast, which can be listened to here. He’s also on Twitter, @CoachKBo_HTP, so give him a follow.

Others on the Corner

Note: Click the player’s name to get current stats.

Luke Bandy, Springdale: Was released. He previously played in the Boston Red Sox farm system and @Luke_Bandy
Gray Fenter, West Memphis: Bowie Baysox, Double-A Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and @Bear_Fenter
Logan Gragg, Prairie Grove: Peoria Chiefs, High-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and @GraggLogan23
William Hancock, Little Rock Catholic: Quad Cities River Bandits, the High-A Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals
Tink Hence, Watson Chapel: GCL Cardinals, the Rookie Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and @HenceTink3
Blaine Knight, Bryant: Norfolk Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
Grant Koch, Fayetteville: Altoona Curve, the Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Evan Lee, Bryant: Wilmington Blue Rocks, the High-A Affiliate of the Washington Nationals and @Evan_Leeeee
Casey Martin, Lonoke: Clearwater Threshers, the Low-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies and @cmartin15_
Jake Reindl, Fayetteville: Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Low-A Affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and @jreindl24
Cody Scroggins, Bentonville: Greenville Drive, the High-A Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and @cody_scroggins
Gavin Stone, Riverside High School (Lake City): Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Low-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and @gavinstone02
Nick Starr, Conway: Hickory Crawdads, the High-A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers and @nickstarr6

Schedule, tickets and promotions

On deck this week

Tuesday: Corpus Christi

Start time: 7:10 p.m.
Game Highlight: Kid's Night; Free Train Rides & $1 Select Ice Cream.* Presented By Hiland Dairy

Wednesday: Corpus Christi

Start time: 7:10 p.m.
Game Highlight: Dog Days of Summer; $3 General Admission Ticket at the Box Office if you bring your dog and $1 Hot Dogs.* Presented By Moix RV

Thursday: Corpus Christi

Start time: 7:10 p.m.
Game Highlight: Thirsty Thursday; $2 Busch Light, $3 Select Draft Beer for Mug Club members

Friday: Corpus Christi

Start time: 7:10 p.m.
Game Highlight: Pyro In The Park; Presented By Cutwater Spirits/Budweiser

Saturday: Corpus Christi

Start time: 6:10 p.m.
Promotion: Tooth Ball Giveaway; Presented By Rock Dental Brands
Game Highlight: Teacher Appreciation Night

Sunday: Corpus Christi

Start time: 2:10 p.m.

Ticket offers

Operation Military Appreciation Day: $3 off a Box, Reserved, or General Admission ticket with a Military ID; Presented By Mid-South Ford
Edward Food Giants $3 Off: $3 off a Box, Reserved, or General Admission ticket with an Edward Food Giant Coupon. Redeemable at the Box Office.
$10 Church Bulletin Family Pack: $10 for up to 6 General Admission tickets when you bring your church bulletin, no upgrades available with this package. Redeemable at the Box Office.

Next week

Tuesday, Aug. 31: Wichita

Start time: 7:10 p.m.
Game Highlight: Kid's Night; Free Train Rides & $1 Select Ice Cream.* Presented By Hiland Dairy

Wednesday, Sept. 1: Wichita

Start time: 7:10 p.m.
Game Highlight: Dog Days of Summer; $3 General Admission Ticket at the Box Office if you bring your dog and $1 Hot Dogs.* Presented By Moix RV

Thursday, Sept. 2: Wichita

Start time: 7:10 p.m.
Game Highlight: Thirsty Thursday; $2 Busch Light, $3 Select Draft Beer for Mug Club members

Friday, Sept. 3: Wichita

Start time: 7:10 p.m.
Post Game Fireworks Show; Presented By MiCampo

Saturday, Sept. 4: Wichita

Start time: 6:10 p.m.
Game Highlights: Diamantes Night; Presented by Univision
Post Game Fireworks; Presented By Fuller & Son Hardware
Promotion: Growth Chart Giveaway; Presented By Fuller & Son Hardware

Sunday, Sept. 5: Wichita and last home game

Start time: 2:10 p.m.