The Frisco RoughRiders already own the best record in the Texas League, at 16-8. Yet, with one key prospect tearing up High-A and yet another returning to Frisco after a taste of major-league action, the RoughRiders might not have even reached their full potential of yet.
RHP Luke Jackson earns Pipeline Prospect Honorable Mention
Just one week removed from being acknowledged as the Minor League Pitcher of the Week, right-hander Luke Jackson is awarded yet another accolade. This time, Jackson was named an honorable mention for the Pipeline Prospects of the Week. Just to be entitled for consideration for the award, the player must be considered a Top 20 prospect on that team’s farm system.
Jackson earned the award on the throes of his dominating outing against the Arkansas Travelers. Jackson threw just 83 pitches over his six innings of work, and struck out eight while walking two. The sky is the limit for this talented young righty that already has a trophy cabinet swelling with awards.
Joey Gallo: Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Week
http://youtu.be/EwQ1mq83jlM
Just one week removed from being the Carolina League’s Player of the Week, Joey Gallo is this week’s Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Week. The High-A Myrtle Beach third baseman the with the light-tower power, can only be held down so long. His ascension to Frisco may come sooner than later.
His biggest issue coming in to the 2014 season is something that routinely plagues the power hitter: how to cut down on the k’s.
With two stops in the bush leagues last season, Gallo mashed an impressive 40 home runs, but his strikeout to walk ratio of 172:50 raised a red flag. In many ways, Gallo at this stage in his development can be compared to a current big league slugger, and former Ranger, Chris Davis.
Davis, currently the Baltimore Orioles first baseman, possessed the same sort of breathtaking power that Joey Gallo has flashed. However, with that powerful swing came a healthy dose of miss, as Davis struggled mightily at times with Texas, and seemed to always be down 0-2 in every plate appearance.
Clearly, after last season’s 53-homer output, Davis has figured things out, and we can all hope that Gallo’s decrease in k’s per plate appearance are an early indicator that he has figured it out too. Through the season’s first month, Gallo’s strikeout to walk ratio of 28:20 is certainly a good sign.
Luis Sardinas: Major League Perspective
Although his cup of coffee in the big leagues had barely descended to lukewarm, Sardinas returns to the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders roster with a touch of that all-too-important major-league flair.
During just over a week with the Texas Rangers, the 21-year-old Venezuelan prospect saw playing time at both second base and shortstop. In three at-bats, he went 1-for-3 with single. Not too shabby for a guy that has only seen time on the RoughRiders roster for just a few months.
The first stop at the big league level can’t be understated, as Sardinas is now a know quantity—and certainly impressed the powers that be with his defensive versatility as well as his plus-speed.
Upcoming Frisco RoughRiders Games
After splitting their four-game home stand with the Corpus Christi Hooks, the RoughRiders hit the road to San Antonio for a four-game set with the Missions. You don’t have to make the road trip to catch the games though, as you can listen live via TuneIn Radio.
