The Pitchers

Jacob deGrom (rehab)

One of the best pitchers of baseball’s Modern Era, deGrom rehabbed with the RoughRiders in 2024 in his return from “Tommy John” surgery, making two starts. After owning a 2.97 ERA in 30 starts with Texas in 2025, deGrom enters the season as the № 2 starter in the rotation behind Nathan Eovaldi.

The two-time Cy Young winner owns a 2.57 career ERA (lowest among active players with at least 1,000 innings pitched) and the best strikeout to walk ratio in MLB history at 5.37 K/BB.

Jacob Latz

Latz lost the battle for the final starting spot to Kumar Rocker, but looks to build off of a stellar 2025 in the bullpen. Last season with the Rangers, he went 2–0 with a 2.84 ERA, making eight starts out of his 33 total outings.

A RoughRider in 2021, Latz carried a 4.69 ERA for Frisco in 15 games with 13 starts. He struck out 84 over 63.1 innings that season.

Jack Leiter

Coming off a season in which he finished seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting, Leiter slots into the fourth spot of the starting rotation in 2026.

A RoughRiders starting pitcher in 2022 and 2023, Leiter went 5–16 with a 5.32 ERA in 42 games (41 starts) with Frisco, but struck out 219 batters in 174.1 innings.

Chris Martin (rehab)

A rehabber for the Riders in both 2018 and 2025, Martin owned a 2.98 ERA in 49 games from the ‘pen in 2025 with Texas. Across a 10-year MLB career, Martin has a 3.33 ERA while pitching for seven different teams. This will be his fourth year with the Rangers, the most he has pitched for a single club.

Kumar Rocker

Rocker’s stint with the RoughRiders in 2024 was brief, but dominant. In just five starts, he had a 0.46 ERA, allowing one run in 19.2 innings, with 29 strikeouts to three walks. He finished that season in Arlington and bounced between the majors and minors in 2025.

Entering 2026, he has secured the fifth spot in a deep rotation, following a Spring Training in which he had a 4.26 ERA across four games.

Cole Winn

The 2021 Double-A Central Pitcher of the Year for the Riders, Winn looked poised to be in the big leagues quickly as a starter. While the former first-rounder took a circuitous path to the majors, he blossomed in the bullpen in 2025, capturing a 1.51 ERA in 33 relief appearances.

Winn figures to be a middle-inning reliever for Texas in 2026.

The Position Players

Jake Burger (rehab)

Burger rehabbed in Frisco in 2025, in the middle of his first season with the Rangers. In 103 games with Texas, he clubbed 16 home runs and drove in 53. The Rangers still have team control of Burger through 2029.

Evan Carter

After blasting into the big leagues in 2023 and leading the Rangers to a World Series title with an MLB postseason-record nine doubles, Carter has struggled to stay healthy the last two seasons. In his 108 games since 2023, Carter has hit just .222/.309/.379/.688, but higher exit velocities in Spring Training could lead to a big year from the 23-year-old.

Regardless of his offensive output, the former MiLB Gold Glove winner is a proven defensive commodity in the outfield.

Ezequiel Duran

Duran joined the Rangers organization in 2021 from the Yankees in the Joey Gallo trade and made the jump from Frisco straight to the big leagues in 2022.

Through his four seasons in the majors, Duran has filled the utility role, playing every position but catcher while hitting .251/.295/.370/.665.

Josh Jung

Jung came up with the RoughRiders in 2021, slugging eight home runs in 43 games with a .910 OPS before becoming the American League’s starting third baseman in the 2023 All-Star Game. Jung played just 46 games in 2024, but rebounded to play 131 in 2025, with limited offensive success. He figures to be the everyday third baseman in 2026 again.

Joc Pederson (rehab)

A rehabber with the Riders in 2025, Pederson is looking to rebound from a disappointing first season with the Rangers, in which he hit just .181 with nine homers in 96 games.

A two-time All-Star with the Dodgers (2015) and Giants (2022), Pederson has a career .798 OPS and 218 long balls in his 12 seasons.

Sam Haggerty (rehab)

Haggerty had a very short stint of one game with Frisco in 2025 amid his first season with Texas. In 64 games with the Rangers, he hit .253/.328/.370/.698 while playing four different positions

Wyatt Langford

Langford has become one of the more underrated players in all of baseball after posting a .241/.344/.431/.775 slashline in his sophomore season, with excellent fielding and baserunning metrics.

Across his Double-A career, albeit only 15 games, he is a .392/.508/.804/1.312 hitter with six home runs and 13 walks to just eight strikeouts. His 1.312 OPS is the best in the Texas League since 2005 (min. 50 AB).

Corey Seager (rehab)

The two-time World Series MVP rehabbed in Frisco in 2023 before going on to finish second in American League MVP voting and winning a title with Texas. In his 11 seasons with the Dodgers and Rangers, Seager has hit 221 home runs with a .871 OPS. If he stays healthy, he is sure to be in the MVP conversation again in 2026.

Josh Smith

Say hello to the new starting second baseman in Texas. Smith is set to take over for Marcus Semien after his departure to Queens via a trade with the Mets. The 2024 Silver Slugger winner has posted double-digit home runs in each of the last two seasons and, maybe with positional consistency, he can stay steady offensively throughout the season. In his career, he has a .775 OPS in the first half and just a .563 mark in the second half.

Former Riders on the 2026 Rangers Opening Day Roster was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Team Canada:

Catcher Liam Hicks (2023–24 with Frisco)

Hicks was a catcher for the RoughRiders in 2023 and 2024 before he was dealt to the Tigers organization in 2024 as part of the Carson Kelly deal. From there, he was selected by the Miami Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft and spent all of 2025 in South Beach, hitting .247/.346/.346/.693 as a backup catcher and first baseman in 119 games. Hicks is slated to be an integral part of the 2026 Marlins, filling the same role.

Bullpen Coach Jordan Procyshen (2021–23 with Frisco)

A three-year RoughRiders catcher, Procyshen actually holds the record for most wins by a position player as a pitcher with two. After retiring in 2023, he became a coach for the Diamondbacks organization, set to serve as a coach for the Triple-A affiliate, Reno Aces, in 2026.

Team Columbia:

Catcher Jorge Alfaro (2014–15 with Frisco)

At the age of 32, Alfaro is set to be a catcher for Colombia after spending time in the Brewers and Nationals organizations last year. The nine-year Major Leaguer signed as a free agent with the Royals for the 2026 season. If he plays for the Royals this season, they will be the seventh big league franchise Alfaro has suited up for.

Team Panama:

Pitcher Ariel Jurado (2016–18 with Frisco)

Jurado was a starting pitcher for the RoughRiders for parts of three seasons before making 32 appearances and 18 starts for the Rangers in 2019, one of his three Major League seasons. Since 2023, he has been pitching in the Korean Baseball Organization, making exactly 30 starts a season, and is set to be in Panama’s starting rotation.

Team Brazil:

Pitcher Daniel Missaki (2025 with Frisco)

Missaki was a mainstay for the RoughRiders in 2025, bouncing from the bullpen to the starting rotation and back over the course of the season. Missaki owned a 4.38 ERA over 30 games with eight starts with Frisco. Born in Japan, he moved with his family to Brazil at a young age and grew up in São Paulo. Missaki was a member of the 2013 WBC Brazil roster at just 16 years old.

Team Italy:

Infielder Thomas Saggese (2022–23 with Frisco)

Saggese made his mark in Frisco at the end of 2022, helping the Riders to a Texas League Championship, before winning Texas League MVP in 2023. That season was split between Frisco and Springfield following his trade to the Cardinals organization in a deal for Jordan Montgomery. Saggese has played a combined 100 games for the Cardinals over the last two seasons, hitting .250/.292/.336/.628.

Team Mexico:

Outfielder Alejandro Osuna (2024–25 with Frisco)

Osuna started 2025 with the RoughRiders and was in Arlington by late May. The Ahome, Mexico native played 63 games for the Rangers and finished the season by hitting .297/.357/.391/.748 over his last 23 games in September. The outfielder is projected to play a big role as a fourth outfielder for the Rangers in 2026.

Team Korea:

Pitcher Dane Dunning (rehab, 2024 with Frisco)

Dunning rehabbed with the RoughRiders in 2024, throwing two innings, during his five-year stint with Texas. Dunning finished 2025 with Atlanta and signed with the Mariners as a free agent in January of 2026.

Team Netherlands:

Infielder Juremi Profar (2017–19 with Frisco)

The younger of the brother pair, Juremi spent most of three seasons in Frisco. Across his 297 games with the Riders, he hit .262/.309/.390/.699 with 30 home runs and 144 RBIs. Most recently, Profar played independent baseball in the Frontier League for Quebec in 2024.

Outfielder Jurickson Profar (2012, 2015 with Frisco)

When Jurickson played for Frisco in 2012, he was a 19-year-old phenom and the top prospect in all of baseball, later debuting that year with Texas. Profar was an All-Star for the Padres in 2024 and enters his second year of a three-year deal with the Braves in 2026.

Manager Andruw Jones (rehab, 2009 with Frisco)

Fresh off being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Jones will manage Netherlands in 2026. One of the best defensive centerfielders of all time, Jones is a 10-time Gold Glove winner, a five-time All-Star and hit 434 home runs over the course of a 17 career. In 2009, he played three rehab games with the RoughRiders, going 2-for-9 with three walks.

Team Nicaragua:

Catcher Melvin Novoa (2021 with Frisco)

Novoa was a catcher with the RoughRiders in 2021, hitting .310/.414/.583/.997 over 28 games. Since played independent baseball in the Frontier League with the Washington Wild Things and multiple international winter leagues. With Indios in the Nicaraguan Winter League in 2025, he hit .311/.463/.574/1.036 with four home runs in 33 games.

Former RoughRiders in the 2026 World Baseball Classic was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Pitchers

Dane Acker

Among those who threw at least 140 innings in their RoughRiders career, not a single player had a better ERA than Acker’s 2.95. A Rider from 2023–24, the former Sooner will have a shot at the Round Rock rotation in 2025 or slip into the bullpen.

Robby Ahlstrom

Ahlstrom was a mainstay in the bullpen for the Riders in the second half of 2023 and first half of 2024 before finishing the season with the Express. The left-hander should have a chance at the Rangers’ bullpen in mid-season, should need arise for a lefty in Arlington.

Jesse Chavez

This one goes in the way-back machine! Chavez played for the RoughRiders in 2005 and 2006 before going on to pitch for nine different MLB teams over a 17-year career, most recently with the Braves the last three years. He pitched for Texas in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Kohl Drake

Drake had an incredible season in 2024, ending that year with the RoughRiders. He went 9–5 with a 2.29 ERA over his 23 appearances with 19 starts. He figures to be in the RoughRiders rotation in 2025.

Skylar Hales

Hales was dominant in the Frisco bullpen last season. With a strong start to the year, the fireballer could find his way to Arlington as quickly as 2026.

Catchers

Cooper Johnson

2024 marked a career year for Johnson, who set career highs in batting average (.235), OBP (.355) SLG (.474), OPS (.829), home runs (14), K-rate (26%). His previous high in OPS was .636 before 2024. He looks to be in Triple-A in 2025.

Infielders

Jax Biggers

Biggers played all over the field for the Riders from 2021 to 2023 and resigned with the Rangers after becoming a free agent this offseason. He’s a great utilty option for the Express this season.

Blaine Crim

A pure hitter in every sense of the word, Crim finished with 91 RBIs in 2022, tied for fourth best in a single season in franchise history, and 24 home runs (tied for sixth). With the addition of Jake Burger plus Joc Pederson taking reps at first base, Crim’s path to Arlington became very steep.

Cody Freeman

Freeman was the 2024 Rangers Minor League Defender of the Year while playing third all season for the Riders. At the plate, Freeman set career highs in games (123), runs (68), doubles (33, also led team), home runs (14), RBIs (63), stolen bases (15), batting average (.264), slugging percentage (.432), OPS (.752).

Abimelec Ortiz

Thanks to a monster second half of 2024, Ortiz finished the regular season with 18 home runs. In his last 48 games, Ortiz hit .321/.413/.592/1.005 with nine doubles, 13 home runs, 38 RBIs, 37 runs scored and 28 walks. After July 10th, in those 48 games, he is fourth in average (.321), first in OPS (1.005), tied for first in RBIs (38) and first in home runs (13). During that span, he led all of Double-A in OPS as well.

Sebastian Walcott

The №1 prospect in the organization, Walcott figures to be back in Frisco in 2025. Last year, electric soon-to-be 19-year-old was one of just three 18-year-olds in the last 12 seasons to record at least 20 doubles, 10 home runs and 15 steals in a season, joining the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Chourio.

Outfielders

Trevor Hauver

Hauver played for the Riders in 2022 and 2023 before spending last year with Round Rock. The outfielder has been an on-base machine his entire career, but could force his way to the big leagues with a monster season.

Alejandro Osuna

Osuna won the Tom Grieve Rangers Minor League Player of the Year Award last year, splitting his time between Frisco and Hickory. At still just 22 years old, Osuna also hit .306/.438/.449/.887 in 25 games during the Arizona Fall League.

A look at the 2025 Rangers NRIs was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There were a few factors that made this game memorable, so let’s take a look at them.

Dallas Black Giants

As part of Black History Month, we love taking a look back at the Black Giants and what they meant to the community before integration.

For more information on the Dallas Black Giants, check out this blog post.

The Game Itself

The RoughRiders were on a hot streak coming into this one, winners of six in a row entering in, eight of their last nine and a Minor League Baseball-best 15–3 in their last 18 games.

That morning, the Riders had to feel pretty confident turning to who had been their best arm going into the series finale against the Amarillo Sod Poodles in a late Sunday afternoon contest: Emiliano Teodo. The righty had dominated the Texas League prior to this start, owning a 2.08 ERA through his first 10 starts, and he saved his best for this day.

He mowed through the defeated Sod Poodles lineup, allowing just two hits across five shutout innings with 11 strikeouts and just one walk. The 11 strikeouts were his season high both at the time and at the end of the year.

The offensive exploded as well, scoring three runs in the first inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Keyber Rodriguez and Max Acosta to quickly make it 3–0.

After adding a run in the third, Frainyer Chavez padded the lead with a two-run homer.

Abimelec Ortiz contributed to the offense with a sixth-inning solo shot of his own and the Riders plated two in the seventh and three more in the eighth, eventually winning 12–0.

The Implications

One of the main reasons why this game was so memorable was because it was the final game the Riders played before they celebrated their First Half South Division Championship. Earlier that day — before Frisco’s game had even started— the Wichita Wind Surge had beaten the Midland RockHounds to clinch the playoff spot for the Riders.

It was their first First Half Title since 2014.

The Riders would go on to fall to the Midland RockHounds in the Division Series, two games to one, but the Dallas Black Giants game on June 16th, 2024 will go down in history as one of the most dominant and memorable games in recent RoughRiders memory.

Dallas Black Giants: A look back at June 16th, 2024. was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As the season steadily approaches, there is no better time than now to lock in your group outing at Riders Field for 2025.

To purchase a group outing, visit the RoughRiders website here.

Here are five reasons why you should book your group with the RoughRiders:

1. Exclusive group pricing

Bring a group of 10 or more and enjoy exclusive group pricing by booking with our ticketing team!

2. Concession credit options

By purchasing group tickets, you and your group will have the exclusive opportunity to add concession credit to your ticket package, taking advantage of the delicious and diverse concession offerings at Riders Field.

3. Co-branded merchandise options

For our qualifying groups, we offer the exclusive opportunity to purchase merchandise through our team store that can be cobranded with your group logo! You have a chance to leave with a personalized item that will help to make your night unforgettable.

4. Bringing family, friends or coworkers together for a fun night

Attending as a group fosters camaraderie and creates lasting memories, whether it’s for friends, families, coworkers or community organizations. We want to do everything that we can to make it a special night for you when you come out to Riders Field.

5. Fundraising options through ticket sales

Have a cause or initiative you are interested in raising money for? Bring your community to the game and receive a kickback from each ticket you sell! We provide you with a special link and anyone who buys through that will contribute to your cause. It’s as easy as that!

Want to book your group outing now? Visit RidersBaseball.com or call 972.731.9200.

Ask us about our Education Days too! They are a great way to get your kids out to the ballpark.

Five reasons to book your group at Riders Field in 2025 was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sebastian Walcott made a splash during his first week at the Double-A level as just an 18-year-old, continuing a trend within the organization of incredible Frisco debuts at the end of seasons.

When Walcott played his first game with the RoughRiders on September 10th, 2024, he became not only the youngest player in Riders franchise history, but he is believed to be the youngest player ever to suit up in Double-A for the Rangers franchise.

And despite his age, he proved he why belonged in a Riders uniform.

In his five regular-season games with the Riders, he hit .348/.375/.609/.984 with a home run, three doubles, seven RBIs, four runs scored and a steal. That week, he went 8-for-23 while reaching base in four of the five games.

Before one of the games in Amarillo that week, after a particularly loud and impressive batting practice session, he sat next to Cooper Johnson in the dugout. Johnson, a RoughRiders catcher who had turned 26 earlier that season, clubbed a career-best 14 home runs in 2024, but seemed wildly impressed by Walcott.

“When did you graduate high school again?” Johnson asked.

“Two months ago,” Walcott replied with a wry smile, cascading groans throughout the dugout.

Reinforcements

The trend of promoting talented young players at the end of the season started three years ago because of the High-A season ending a week earlier than the Double-A season. The first two notable players that the Riders received were Evan Carter and Thomas Saggese in 2022.

Evan Carter

Before Carter made a named for himself during his magical World Series run, he first helped the Riders to a Texas League title with a stretch that will go down in Frisco history.

Carter had just turned 20 years old 15 days before he came up to Double-A on September 13th. Over six games in Northwest Arkansas to finish off the regular season, he went 9-for-21, batting .429/.536/.714/1.250 with three doubles, a home run, seven RBIs, five walks, two steals and eight runs scored. He accounted for 14 runs over six games as the youngest player in the Texas League at the time.

When the regular season turned to the postseason, Carter did not slow down, collecting three singles and driving in two runs in the championship-clinching game at Wichita. In the first game of the Championship Series, he walked four times and stole a base, marking one of his two four-walk games of his professional baseball career.

Thomas Saggese

While Carter’s first week was incredible, Saggese somehow topped him as another 20-year-old prospect joining the team that same day.

The California native took home Texas League Player of the Week honors in his first week with Frisco by hitting .381/.409/.857/1.266 over his five games with one home run, three doubles, two triples, nine RBIs, one walk, one steal and five runs scored.

In the playoffs, he kept the momentum going as well, collecting at least one hit in every playoff game while scoring five runs and driving in two over four contests.

After being traded to the Cardinals in 2023 in exchange for Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton, he made his MLB debut last year for St. Louis, playing in 18 games.

In 2023, it was a well-known outfielder named Wyatt Langford who introduced himself to the Riders with a flourish for the last two weeks of the season.

Wyatt Langford

Langford had been picked by the Rangers with the fourth-overall selection in the 2023 Draft and shot his way through the Minor Leagues. Out of all of the talented players on this list, he might have been the most impressive.

Langford joined the Riders on September 4th, playing only 12 games for Frisco. In those outings, he went a remarkable 17-for-42, slashing .405/.519/.762/1.281 with three doubles, four home runs, 10 RBIs, seven runs scored and 11 walks while only striking out seven times.

After playing just 44 Minor League games in 2023, Langford debuted with the Rangers in 2024 to open the season. He finished seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting, accumulating 3.9 bWAR while hitting .253/.325/.415/.740 with 25 doubles, 16 home runs and 74 RBIs over 134 games.

During that year, Langford became just the second player, and the only rookie, in MLB history to hit a walk-off grand slam, a cycle and an inside-the-park home run in the same season. His company? Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson in 1948.

Coming into the 2025 season, Walcott is the №1 prospect in the Rangers organization and the №23 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB.com.

With lofty expectations ahead, Walcott projects to be back with the RoughRiders again to start the season and if the first impression is any manifestation, it should be another loud year for the Bahamas native.

Predictions using the past: Sebastian Walcott’s excellent Riders debut was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

HITTERS

Max Acosta

Over 20 games, Acosta hit .338/.413/.521/.934 with eight doubles (tied for the team lead), one home run, 17 RBIs and eight steals over his 20 games.

For the RoughRiders, Acosta slashed .288/.353/.425/.778 over his 104 games while hitting a remarkable .359/.429/.555/.984 over his last 32 games with Frisco, carrying that heat into the AFL.

Acosta was the starting shortstop for the 2024 Fall Stars Game, which acts as the All-Star Game for the Fall League.

Cody Freeman

Another member of the 2024 Fall Stars Game roster, Freeman also carried over his great season with the RoughRiders into the desert.

With Frisco, Freeman hit .264/.320/.432/.852 with 33 doubles, 14 home runs and 63 RBIs over his 123 games while being the only third baseman in Minor League Baseball to commit fewer than five errors at the position (min. 100 games).

In the Fall League, Freeman slashed .308/.416/.508/.924 with seven doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, and 13 runs scored over 18 games.

Alejandro Osuna

Another player who was named to the 2024 Fall Stars Game, Osuna won the Tom Grieve Rangers Minor League Player of the Year award while finishing the 2024 season with the Riders.

In Frisco, he hit .306/.379/.523/.902 over 57 games with 18 doubles, three triples and nine home runs.

With the Saguaros, Osuna led the team with 25 runs scored while leading the AFL in walks (22) and slashing .306/.438/.449/.887 with eight doubles, two home runs, 16 RBIs and 22 walks over his 25 games. His 98 at-bats were also second in the AFL.

Osuna was honored as the 2024 recipient of the Arizona Fall League’s Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award. The award is presented every year to the AFL player who best exemplifies unselfishness, hard work, and leadership.

PITCHERS

Marc Church

A RoughRiders in 2022 and 2023, Church was part of the Fall Stars Game as well. With Frisco, he went 3–6 over 27 outings across the two seasons with a 5.45 ERA but struck out 52 batters to 17 walks over 33.0 innings.

In the AFL, he had a 4.05 ERA over seven games, striking out 10 over his 6.2 innings to one walk.

Skylar Hales

Hales dominated during his time with Frisco in 2024, capturing a 2.10 ERA and 3–0 record in 24 games. Across his 30.0 innings, he K’ed 31 while walking eight.

In the AFL, he struggled with an 11.12 ERA in seven games. In his 5.2 innings, he struck six to two walks, but allowed 13 hits.

Leandro Lopez

The only Rangers minor leaguer on the Sagauros without time on the RoughRiders, Lopez owned a 2–0 record and a 5.21 ERA while whiffing 24 over his 19.0 innings.

The 22-year-old dealt with injuries over 2024 and pitched in just five games and 13.0 innings with High-A Hickory, with his regular season ending after May 16th.

Josh Stephan

While he had to fight through injuries with the RoughRiders in 2024, he still pitched in 12 games for Frisco with 11 of those being starts. Overall, he went 2–5 with a 4.94 ERA across 58.1 innings, but dominated during his time in the AFL.

Stephan went 1–2 with a 2.25 ERA over six games with three starts for the Saguaros, striking out 21 over 20.0 innings with just five walks. His 20.0 innings were the most in the league.

Avery Weems

A member of the 2022 RoughRiders, Weems had “Tommy John” surgery, missing all of 2023 and then an additional surgery sidelined him for 2024. Two seasons ago, he went 2–6 with a 5.14 ERA across 26 games with 17 starts for Frisco.

In the AFL, Weems worked out of the bullpen in six games with a 1.29 ERA and nine strikeouts over 7.0 innings.

OTHER

Three former RoughRiders played in the AFL for other teams. Zak Kent (CLE), Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa (CWS) and Thomas Saggese (STL) all saw time in the Fall League.

AFL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

The Saguaros fell in the AFL Championship game to the Salt River Rafters 3–2 on Sunday. Acosta went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a double and walk. Stephan took the loss, allowing three runs over his four innings while Hales threw a scoreless inning and Church fired two runless frames.

How did Rangers prospects do in the 2024 Arizona Fall League? was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Historic First Half

The RoughRiders were amazing in the first half of 2024, clinching the South Division First Half Title for the first time since 2014 with a 44–25 record. Their 44 wins paced the Texas League and were the most in all of non-Triple-A Minor League Baseball.

Where they shined was on the pitching side in the first half, finishing first in the Texas League in ERA (3.49), third in batting average against (.231) and second in saves (19). Their relievers finished with a 2.95 ERA, which was fourth in all of Minor League Baseball.

Emiliano Teodo led the pitching staff with a 2.06 ERA in the first half over his 12 starts while striking out 72 over 56.2 innings (31 percent) while five RoughRiders relievers had at least 15 appearances and an ERA under 3.00 in the first half (Robby Ahlstrom, Steven Jennings, Andy Rodriguez, Tyler Owens and Seth Clark).

TOP MOMENTS

The first half of the season was filled with incredible team and individual moments for the RoughRiders. Here were some of the best:

Josh Hatcher walk-off home run (April 27th vs. Amarillo)

With the RoughRiders trailing by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, Hatcher hit an opposite-field, three-run home run down the left field line to win it.

Cody Freeman’s five-hit game (April 25th vs. Amarillo)

Cody Freeman had an incredible season, but his highlight might have been a career-best five hits in April against Amarillo.

Nine-game winning streak (May 5 — June 2)

The highlight of the winning streak was a seven-game sweep in San Antonio, the first of its kind in franchise history.

Clinching of First Half title with sweep (June 16th vs. Amarillo)

The Riders swept their final home series of the first half and celebrated a playoff berth after a 12–0 win.

Riders welcome 2nd-largest crowd on July 4th vs. Arkansas

In a 7–6 win, the Riders welcomed 12,051 fans on the 4th of July.

Huge day at Riders Field (July 26th vs. Tulsa)

This was a day that you dream about from the personnel stand point. Kumar Rocker made his highly-anticipated Double-A debut and did not disappoint, while Josh Jung rehabbed his broken wrist with the Riders and Cody Bradford came out of the bullpen on rehab as well.

Luis Mieses has monster night (August 16th vs. Springfield)

Luis Mieses hit two home runs on the night. His first home run won a fan $10,000 by hitting it into the Lazy River before his second home run won the game for the Frisco.

Jacob deGrom dominates in rehab start (August 22nd vs. San Antonio)

Jacob deGrom pitched well in his first rehab start for the Riders.

Abimelec Ortiz hits four home runs in two games (August 13th-14th at Amarillo)

Ortiz finished with a team-leading 18 long balls, including nine home runs in his last 20 games.

Riders win electric playoff game behind Ortiz (September 19th vs. Midland)

Down to their final strike in the 2024 season, Ortiz tied the playoff game with a home run. After Alejandro Osuna tied the game in the 10th, Ortiz walked the game off with a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning to win it 4–3.

The best moments of 2024 was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Today, on Father’s Day, the Riders play as the Dallas Black Giants.

If you weren’t aware or you’re new to your Frisco fandom, the RoughRiders games as the Dallas Black Giants in 2022 and 2023 and will don the uniforms for select games in 2024 as well.

The Dallas Black Giants were almost equivalent to an Independent League or Semi-pro team in our terms today. Known as a “barnstorming team”, the Black Giants were one of many teams across the country that would travel from town to town, playing exhibition and entertainment-centric games in predominantly black communities.

These teams were instrumental for the communities as entertainment, a deeper look into the sport and ultimately and a way for the community to come together during a time of racial segregation and heinous racism.

The Negro Leagues that most people knew, were the Negro National League and the Negro American League, consisting of famous teams such as the Kansas City Monarchs, the Indianapolis ABC’s, the St. Louis Stars, the Homestead Grays and much more.

Stars were everywhere in the Negro Leagues. The great writer Joe Posnanski of the Athletic highlighted some wonderful bits about some of them.

These players included pitcher Satchel Paige, who was said to throw so hard that when his catcher put a raw steak in his glove to cushion the blow, it was a hamburger by the fifth inning of the game. The powerful Josh Gibson was one of the greatest catchers of any race to ever play. It was said that Gibson hit a ball so high and far in Pittsburgh that it didn’t come down until the next day when the team was in Philadelphia. Cool Papa Bell was so fast that he hit a line drive to center and was hit by the ball as he slid into second. Sam “The Jet” Jethroe was faster than the word of God.

These were fast-paced, exciting games that were must-see baseball at the time. The game was much more station-to-station in Major League Baseball, but steals, aggressive base running and risk-taking were everywhere in the Negro Leagues.

It wasn’t until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 that the Negro Leagues started to fade and with it, that style started to make its way into the Major Leagues.

Ernie Banks

Not only is Ernie Banks the most well-known player to have donned a Dallas Black Giants uniform, but “Mr. Cub” is one of the best shortstops in the history of baseball. The two-time Major League Baseball MVP and 14-time All-Star broke into semi-pro baseball at the tender age of 17 with the Black Giants in 1948. He was so impressive that he caught the eye of Negro League legend Cool Papa Bell, who was the manager and scout for the farm team of the Kansas City Monarchs — the most legendary of all Negro League teams.

The then-manager of the Black Giants, Dallas Newspaper legend Bill Blair, is said to have given the teenage Banks two suits and put him on a train to Kansas City.

There, Bell introduced the young Banks to another legendary figure, Baseball Hall of Famer Buck O’Neil — the player-manager for the Monarchs — who immediately took Banks under his wing.

Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, on what came to mind first about Banks:

“The smile,” he said while laughing himself. “For those who did not know Buck O’Neil, but you knew Ernie Banks, then you knew Buck O’Neil. Buck was Ernie’s surrogate father. He probably had as much influence on Ernie as anyone did. O’Neil taught him social graces.

“Ernie would say that Buck taught him baseball, but Buck would say he didn’t teach Ernie how to play baseball; Ernie Banks knew how to play baseball. He may have taught Ernie Banks how to love baseball.

“When the Cubs signed Ernie, he didn’t want to go. They had to literally push him out the door because he was afraid. He was fearful of the isolation that he was going to have to endure. In Kansas City, he was part of something more than just baseball; He was part of a community and culture.

“They said, ‘Ernie you have to go so another will get the opportunity.’ Every time Ernie Banks walked into a room, the room lit up.”

Following three seasons with the Monarchs, Banks debuted with the Cubs in 1953 as a 22-year-old and went on to play 19 seasons, all in Chicago, accumulating 512 home runs and 67.7 WAR on his way to being voted into the Hall of Fame in 1977. Banks passed away in 2015.

Tickets are now on sale! Visit the website by clicking here for more information on the Dallas Black Giants or call 972.334.1993 to secure your seats now!

Revisiting Ernie Banks and the Dallas Black Giants was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Streak

• This nine-game streak is the longest active in Minor League Baseball and has catapulted the Riders to a 34–17 record, the best in all of Double-A.
• It is tied for the longest streak in the Texas League this season, with the longest in MiLB this year being 11.
• This is the longest winning streak the Riders have had since they won a franchise record 11 in a row from 6/17–6/29, 2021.
• This is the first time that the Riders are 17 games over .500 since August 11th, 2021.
• During this streak, the Riders are outscoring their opponents 41–19.

Pitching

• On the mound, the Riders have a league-best 1.87 ERA during the streak.
• Frisco starters have gone at least five innings in seven of the nine games with a 2.36 ERA (11ER/42.0IP).
• The bullpen arms have been even better with a 1.29 ERA (5ER/35.0IP).
• Emiliano Teodo has made two starts, allowing just two earned runs over 11.0 IP (1.64 ERA).
• Andy Rodriguez has made three scoreless outings from the bullpen, throwing five total innings.
• Frisco has allowed four runs in a game once and no more than three in the other eight games.

Offense

• Frisco has three come-from-behind wins in the streak, outscoring their opponents 8–3 in innings 7–9.
• The Riders have scored in the first two innings in seven of the nine games.
• Frainyer Chavez has a team-best 10 hits, batting .370.
• Josh Hatcher has six RBIs to pace the team.
• Cooper Johnson leads the club with two homers.

Nine-game winning streak: a closer look was originally published in Riders Report Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.