Crawdads' Crouse polishes off gem

The first Hans Crouse gem of the season is in the books. It likely won't be the last.
The top Rangers prospect struck out nine and allowed one hit without a walk over five innings on Wednesday afternoon, pitching Class A Hickory to a 5-0 blanking at Greensboro. 

Gameday box score
The nine punchouts were Crouse's most with the Crawdads, dating back to his first promotion there on Aug. 11. His career high is 12, set last July 25 with Class A Short Season Spokane. 
The 20-year-old got off to an inauspicious start when he struck out leadoff hitter Fabricio Macias, who made it all the way to second on a dropped third strike and an error by first baseman Curtis Terry. He responded by setting down the next three batters, two via the strikeout.
Crouse (1-0) allowed his lone hit in the second on a leadoff single to right field by Zack Kone, but the Grasshoppers third baseman was quickly erased when he was caught stealing as Rodolfo Castro struck out.
Including the strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play, the 2017 second-rounder closed with 12 consecutive outs. He threw 45 of 67 pitches for strikes.
The gem was an impressively efficient turnaround from Crouse's season debut in which he needed 52 pitches to get through 2 2/3 frames. He allowed an unearned run on one hit and hit two batters against Lakewood on Thursday. 
The 6-foot-4 hurler has jumped into MLB.com's Top 100 Prospect rankings for the first time at No. 83, thanks to his plus-plus fastball and plus slider. Crouse's delivery, which features a lot of motion and includes a head whack, can look like a concern, but it hasn't hurt his control in his young career. He sported a 2.47 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 19 walks over 54 2/3 innings between Spokane and Hickory last season and has yet to issue a free pass in 7 2/3 frames this year.
With his ability to generate swings and misses, Crouse came into 2019 as a high-ceiling arm in a system relying on its younger talent. But the Rangers have cautioned against the belief that the excitement generated by an outing like Wednesday's will mean a quick climb to Arlington.

"He's a highly talented and highly competitive pitcher," Rangers director of player development Matt Blood told MiLB.com before Opening Night. "He's got electric stuff on the mound and [is] very aggressive. He wants badly to win and do well. Those are all really good ingredients for a player. We want to develop him as best we can, so we obviously want to do everything that's in his best interests. I think that'll drive the decisions we make in terms of pushing the gas pedal on him."
Right fielder Jose Almonte led Hickory's offense, going 2-for-4 with a homer, double, two RBIs and two runs scored from the seventh spot in the lineup. 
Pirates No. 13 prospect Steven Jennings (0-1) took the loss for Greensboro. The 20-year-old right-hander gave up three runs on five hits and a walk while fanning four over five innings.