Welcome to the eighth installment of the 2025 season. This post provides a visual breakdown of the Rangers minor league system, weekly transactions, analysis and context.
Before getting to the transactions, a bit of housekeeping. LHP Adam Mrakitsch, a reported sign in July of ’24 of the Rangers, opted for NIL money and the transfer portal, going from Central Michigan to Cincinnati Bearcats. He is listed on their roster and I removed him from our organizational depth chart. He has also pimped himself out on the app “Opendorse” if you would like for him to attend your event, autograph your ball(s) or record a personalized video … I’ve also removed Hansel Ramirez from the unassigned list, as his reported signing was not made official.
AAA ROUND ROCK
6/7 RHP Joe Barlow assigned to Round Rock Express from Frisco RoughRiders.
6/6 RHP Nick Krauth assigned to Round Rock Express from Frisco RoughRiders.
6/6 RHP Josh Sanders assigned to Round Rock Express from Hickory Crawdads.
6/5 Round Rock Express placed RHP Emiliano Teodo on the 7-day injured list
6/5 Round Rock Express released C Chad Wallach.
6/5 C Tucker Barnhart assigned to Round Rock Express.
6/4 Texas Rangers optioned RHP Codi Heuer to Round Rock Express.
6/3 Round Rock Express activated C Chad Wallach from the 7-day injured list.
6/3 Texas Rangers sent C Tucker Barnhart outright to Round Rock Express; elected free agency.
6/3 Round Rock Express activated OF Trevor Hauver from the 7-day injured list.
6/3 Round Rock Express transferred C Konner Piotto to the Development List.
6/3 Round Rock Express activated 1B/2B Justin Foscue from the 7-day injured list.
Luis Curvelo (1.64 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 10.23 K/9) almost got recalled for his major league debut when it looked like Chris Martin would go back on the injured list. Martin ended up feeling better and Curvelo will have to wait … Spring training pet cat Patrick Murphy (0.84 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 9.28 K/9) is unscored upon his last 8.1 innings, giving up just four hits and two walks … Emiliano Teodo has not looked like his dominant self at AAA since returning from a rehab stint. On June 1, he gave up six runs in 2/3 of an inning. He goes back on the shelf … The Express offense got healthy re-enforcements with both Justin Foscue and Trevor Hauver coming off the IL … Joe Barlow and Nick Krauth got shuffled around between AA and AAA. Krauth is the long man, Barlow is the short relief, so this was all about each team’s need for bullpen innings coverage … Josh Sanders was a temporary filler arm while Kumar Rocker, who was optioned, got time to report to Round Rock … With the big league club moving to a more traditional four man bench consisting of one catcher, instead of two, Tucker Barnhart got designated for assignment, taking him off the 40 man roster. As a veteran player, he elected free agency. He didn’t get a more enticing offer from another organization and opted to stay in the Rangers’ system. He’ll be the first catcher recalled from the minors on the depth chart. Chad Wallach, the other veteran catcher at AAA, was left in limbo while waiting for Barnhart’s resolution. When Barnhart came back, he was released. Konner Piotto is minor league depth at catcher and was sent to the development list. The Rangers now have three catchers on that list, meaning they are not injured, but waiting for an opportunity to be reinstated when a need for playing time arises.
AA FRISCO
6/7 RHP Nick Krauth assigned to Frisco RoughRiders from Round Rock Express
6/6 Frisco RoughRiders placed RHP Daniel Missaki on the temporarily inactive list.
6/6 RHP Robert Dugger assigned to Frisco RoughRiders from Round Rock Express.
6/6 RHP Joe Barlow assigned to Frisco RoughRiders from Round Rock Express.
6/6 Frisco RoughRiders transferred RHP Janser Lara from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.
6/4 RHP Aidan Anderson assigned to Frisco RoughRiders from Round Rock Express.
6/4 Frisco RoughRiders transferred RHP Florencio Serrano to the Development List.
6/4 Frisco RoughRiders activated RHP Nick Krauth.
6/4 Frisco RoughRiders placed RHP Janser Lara on the 7-day injured list.
6/3 Frisco RoughRiders transferred C Aaron Antonini to the Development List.
6/3 CF Marcus Smith assigned to Frisco RoughRiders from Round Rock Express.
SP Daniel Missaki, a minor league free agent signing last offseason, was placed on the temporarily inactive list. He was ineffective and will ride the pine until a starting pitcher gets hurt and innings need to be eaten … Veteran pitcher Robert Dugger got demoted to Frisco and converted to relief. I don’t understand the value in holding on to him. There is plenty of starting pitching depth and there is zero long term upside to hanging on to him … Aiden Anderson, who was rehabbing in the ACL, got reinstated from the Round Rock IL. With the AAA pen full at the moment, Anderson gets slotted at AA. Reliever Janser Lara got placed on the IL. Nick Krauth, who is a swing pitcher, essentially replaces Florencio Serrano on the active roster in the same role … Aaron Antonini, like Konner Piotto, got moved to the development list with plenty of catchers available … Marcus Smith put together a red hot campaign at Round Rock. With Trevor Hauver coming off the IL, he will now get regular playing time in Frisco as the team’s primary CF.
A+ HUB CITY
6/4 IF Luis Marquez assigned to Hub City Spartanburgers from Hickory Crawdads.
6/3 Hub City Spartanburgers placed OF Dylan Dreiling on the 7-day injured list.
6/3 Hub City Spartanburgers placed SS Danyer Cueva on the 7-day injured list.
6/3 CF Wady Mendez assigned to Hub City Spartanburgers from Hickory Crawdads.
The Spartanburgers lost two regulars to the IL in Dylan Dreiling and Danyer Cueva. Dreiling, a second round pick in the 2024 draft, has had a slow start, posting a .222/.332/.370 slash line. Wady Mendez and Quincy Scott gobble up most of his at bats. Luis Marquez, Esteban Mejia and Theo Hardy provide coverage around the infield, which is mostly set with 1B Arturo Disla, 2B/SS Casey Cook and 3B Gleider Figuereo.
A- HICKORY
6/8 RHP Josh Sanders assigned to Hickory Crawdads from Round Rock Express.
6/4 IF Daniel Flames assigned to Hickory Crawdads from ACL Rangers
Marquez’s promotion to Hub City cleared the deck for Daniel Flames in Hickory. Flames, an 18 year old switch hitter, had a .929 OPS in the Dominican in 2024. He received limited playing time in the Arizona Complex League in 2025. With Devin Fitz-Gerald and Yolfran Castillo getting ample time at that level, Flames goes into the mix at Hickory. He demonstrated excellent plate discipline last season, earning 63 walks against just 37 strikeouts in 245 plate appearances.
Arizona Complex League (ACL)/Dominican Summer League (DSL)
6/5 RHP Diego Lanzosa assigned to DSL Rangers Blue.
6/3 SS Seong-Jun Kim assigned to DSL Rangers Red.
The Rangers saved up international draft money in 2024 in order to make a run at RHP Roki Sasaki, who unsurprisingly signed with the Dodgers in baseball’s worst kept secret since, “I wonder where Shohei Ohtani and his dog will make their new home.” The Rangers were left at the wedding reception empty handed. After shotgunning a few Jaeger bombs, they surreptitiously snuck around Kim Jung Un’s technologically advanced north sector with 1.2MM in draft capital left and signed Seong-Jun Kim, an 18 year old two way player that split time between SS and RHP. Fun fact from the Associated Press: Kim is the fifth player from that Korean high school to sign with a big league team. The others being: Byun Hyung KIm (the side-arming closer of the Arizona Diamondbacks), Hee Seop Choi (the lefty slugging 1B who never quite got going), Jung Ho Kang (a utility player for the Pirates) and Jae Weong Seo (who?). Seong-Jun Kim will finish high school in January before playing, so don’t expect him to appear in box scores any time soon … Diego Lanzosa was a late sign for DSL Rangers Blue, a few games into the season. I can’t tell you anything about him other than Ron Burgundy knows what his first name means.
EXPLAINING MILB ROSTER CAPS
Round Rock (AAA) and Frisco (AA) each have a 28-player cap, while Hickory (A) and Hub City (A+) can carry 30. The Arizona Complex League (ACL), a short-season rookie league, has no roster limit, but the team can’t have more than three players with over four seasons of minor league experience. Across all domestic affiliates (including players on short-term IL), organizations are limited to 165 players. Players on the 60-day/full-season IL don’t count toward that total. As shown in the depth chart above, the Rangers are currently at the maximum limit of 165 … Internationally, the Rangers also field two Dominican Summer League (DSL) teams: Red and Blue. Each has a 35-player cap for active players—not including those inactive, suspended or on the IL.