What Happens to Round Rock?

Now that Nolan Ryan’s group has bought the Texas Rangers, what happens to their other baseball teams? I’m talking about the Corpus Christi Hook and the Round Rock Express – double and triple A farm teams of the Houston Astros – already owned by the Ryans et al.

Here’s the best answer I’ve found so far:

The Astros' top two minor league affiliates are owned by Ryan-Sanders Baseball, in which Ryan is a principal owner.

A look at Ryan-Sanders Baseball and the likely futures of its holdings.

The players

Nolan Ryan — Principal owner: Baseball Hall-of-Famer and Alvin native, who played for the Mets, Angels, Astros and Rangers during his 27-year career. He became the Rangers team president in 2008 and was part of a group that won an auction for the Rangers in a Fort Worth bankruptcy court on Wednesday.

Don Sanders — Principal owner: Long-time prominent Houston businessman Founder of Sanders Morris Harris investment banking and securities firm.

Reid Ryan — Owner and CEO: Former minor league pitcher and Nolan Ryan's older son, handles the operations of the holdings.

Reese Ryan: — Owner and CFO: Nolan Ryan's younger son, who handles the finances.

The holdings

Round Rock Express (Astros Class AAA): The Astros affiliate from 2000-2004 as a Class AA club and since 2005 as a Class AAA club is likely on its way out of the organization. Astros Owner Drayton McLane has been resigned to the likelihood that Ryan's Rangers will take over the player development contract with Round Rock, which ends after this season. That would leave Oklahoma City without a big league tie, and the Astros would be the most logical choice, though more vacancies will open after this season in the biennial shuffle.

Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros Class AA): This affiliate is safely in the Astros' hands. The player development contract does not expire until after the 2012 season. And the Rangers have a contract with the Mandalay Baseball-owned Class AA Frisco RoughRiders in the vicinity of the major league home ballpark in Arlington, which they allowed into their market in 2003.

That seems likely, but when asked about it yesterday, Astros owner Drayton McLane said “We have had a great relationship with the Ryan Sanders organization. We have to wait and let the dust settle and see where we are.”