Francisco “The Ranchize” Rolón
In his first big league start, “The Ranchize” stymied the
Mile High Mustangs for 7.1 innings, shutting them out on five hits while
striking out six and only walking two. He gave up leadoff doubles, first in the
initial frame, and also walked a man before retiring the side, and again in the
third, a leadoff double and walk. He pitched in and out of trouble, allowing at
least one runner each inning except the fourth and sixth. The sixth was his
best, striking out two and retiring the Lorenzo Rodriguez on a grouner. His San
Diego teammates didn’t give him much support, striking for only one run until
the bottom of the sixth when Joe Frost connected for a two run dinger. Rolón
started the eighth, getting another groundball out, but after topping 100
pitches, the Hops went to the bullpen to complete the shutout. Rolón induced
eleven ground outs against only five flyballs with his array of sinker, curves
and changeups. His sinker, thrown at a devastating mid 90’s with leaden drops,
consistently flummoxed the Mustang batsmen. San Diego looks forward to his next
start against the second place Tornadoes in game three of their upcoming
series.
Rolón compiled a 2-2 record in AAA in five starts with a
2.76 ERA after a meteoric rise through three levels of the minors in ’22. The
fourth round draft choice won’t turn 21 until January 2024.
The Hops are off to a decent start going 8-4 out the gate before falling back to .500. The usual suspects, Reader, Avila and Sepkiechler are leading an offense that is still trying to find consistency. If Rolón stabilizes the rotation, the Hops could be making suds in 2023.
The Hops are off to a decent start going 8-4 out the gate before falling back to .500. The usual suspects, Reader, Avila and Sepkiechler are leading an offense that is still trying to find consistency. If Rolón stabilizes the rotation, the Hops could be making suds in 2023.
