Sunday, September 30, 2012

Happy Birthday - 9/30

RHP Carlos Quevedo (23)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2006, Quevedo started the season in Lexington and ended it as an integral part of the Lancaster bullpen as they pursued a wild card berth. In 15 appearances with Lancaster, he had a 2.03 ERA and a 1.065 WHIP. For the season, he was 6-7 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.085 WHIP in 40 appearances over 86 and two-thirds innings. He struck out 96 while walking only 16.

Four former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Robin Roberts (died May 6, 2010 at age 83)
Roberts came to Houston as a free agent in August 1965 and pitched in 23 games (22 starts) for the Astros in 1965 and 1966. Roberts compiled an 8-7 record with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.146 WHIP. His best years were those spent with the Phillies for whom he was an All-Star in seven straight seasons. An astounding statistic in this day and age is that of Roberts' 609 career starts, 305 of them were complete games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976.

3B/1B Dave Magadan (50)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the second round in 1983, Magadan signed with Houston as a free agent in April 1995. In 127 games for the Astros that season, Magadan hit a rather healthy .313/.428/.399 with 24 doubles and 71 walks.

RHP Jose "Lima Time" Lima (died May 23, 2010 at age 37)
Lima came to the Houston organization in a December 1996 trade with Detroit and pitched for the Astros from 1997 until he was traded back to Detroit in a June 2001 trade. In 167 games (111 starts) for Houston, he was 46-42 with a 4.77 ERA and a 1.328 WHIP. He had his greatest success for Houston in 1998 and his All-Star season of 1999 when he went 21-10 in his 35 starts.

LHP Yorkis Perez (45)
Perez came to Houston in a March 2000 trade with the Phillies for LHP Trever Miller and pitched in 33 games for the Astros with a 2-1 record, a 5.16 ERA and a 1.721 WHIP.

Tweet of the Day

brandon meredith

Good week of baseball... Have the rest of today off as well as tomorrow... It's time for 

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Happy Birthday - 9/29

No future Astros and only one former Astro with a birthday today ~

LHP Jim Crawford (62)
A 14th round draft pick by Houston in 1972, Crawford pitched in 92 games for the Astros in 1973 and 1975. In those games, he was 5-9 with 10 saves, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.474 WHIP. Crawford was traded to the Tigers in December 1975. According to Baseball-Reference, his first plate appearance came four days after his pitching debut in 1973 and resulted in a walk-off double in extra innings against the Dodgers.

Tweet of the Day

Brady Rodgers

Where's homer bailey from? Yep you guessed it, Texas

Friday, September 28, 2012

Happy Birthday - 9/28

LHP Javier Saucedo (19)
Saucedo was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Panama in 2010 and spent his second season in the organization with the DSL Astros where he put up a solid season out of the bullpen. In 17 appearances (one start), he was 5-4 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.322 WHIP. He was mostly used in long relief and could be a candidate for a starting position next season.

RHP Michael Feliz (19)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2010, he started for the GCL Astros this season where he dominated, earning him a promotion to Greeneville. In seven appearances (three starts) for the GCL team, he was 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.887 WHIP. He struggled somewhat making the adjustment to Greeneville where he was 1-1 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.595 WHIP in six starts. He did end the season on a high note, though, as he earned his first Appy League win in a five inning, three hit outing in which he allowed no runs and struck out five.

Five former Astros with birthdays today ~

1B Dick Gernert (84)
Drafted from the Reds in the 1961 expansion draft, Gernert played for the Colt 45's in 1962 at the end of his major league career. In 10 games for Houston, he hit .208/.345/.208.

PH Gene Ratliff (67)
Ratliff had 4 at-bats in 4 games for the Colt 45's in 1965 and that one hit in the majors eluded him.

RHP Charlie Kerfeld (49)
A first round pick by Houston in 1982, Kerfeld pitched for Houston from 1985 to 1987 and again in 1990. In 98 appearances (six starts), he was 15-8 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.474 WHIP. His best season was by far the 1986 season when he was 11-2 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.206 WHIP in 61 appearances out of the bullpen. Kerfeld, along with Larry Andersen and Dave Smith, was one of the Astros coneheads back in the day.

C Ronn Reynolds (54)
A fifth round pick by the Mets in 1980, Reynolds came to Houston in an April 1987 trade with the Phillies. In 38 games, he hit .167/.189/.235. Reynolds was also a catcher for the fictional Sidd Finch.

C/PH Hector Gimenez (30)
Gimenez played in two games for Houston in 2006 and didn't get a hit in his two at-bats. Five years later, he would get his first major league hit for the Dodgers. He played in the minors for the White Sox organization in 2012.

Tweet of the Day

Jarred Cosart

Hey  fans Houston is changing. Hop on board with the movement. Welcome Bo Porter.  

Thursday, September 27, 2012

A Few Noteworthy 2012 Pitching Performances

I took a look at some notable 2012 minor league pitching performances over at The Crawfishboxes. Meander on over there if you are so inclined.

Happy Birthday - 9/27

RHP Jamaine Cotton (22)
Originally from the Virgin Islands, Cotton was drafted in the 15th round in 2010 out of Western Oklahoma State University.  In 23 appearances for Tri-City this season, he was 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.408 WHIP. He was extremely effective in June and July when he put up a 1.47 ERA and 1.091 WHIP before a couple of rough August outings inflated his numbers.

Two former Astros have birthdays today ~

2B Gary Sutherland (68)
Sutherland spent time with the Philadelphia and Montreal organizations before coming to Houston in 1972. He only played in 21 games for the Astros in 1972 and 1973, hitting .242/.277/.323, before moving on to have his most productive years with Detroit in the mid 70's.

RHP Doug Konieczny (61)
A first round pick by Houston in 1971, Konieczny played for the Astros in 1973 to 1975 and in 1977. In 44 games (38 starts), he was 7-18 with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.588 WHIP.

Tweet of the Day

Brady Rodgers

Glad to be at Milo's last game!! Been listening to him since I was born 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

An Interview with RHP Aaron West

I haven't had the opportunity to meet Aaron West yet. I haven't even talked to him by phone as we conducted this interview through email, but I already feel like I know him. He definitely has one of the friendliest and most interactive twitter presences of the 2012 draft class. He even tweeted me trip suggestions when I visited his home state of Washington in July. Oh, and besides just being a nice guy, there's another little thing you need to know about him. He can pitch. And how!

What a fantastic freshman season the University of Washington product had. In 12 starts for the Tri-City ValleyCats, he went 6-2 with a 2.04 ERA and a 0.957 WHIP. And in 61 and two-thirds innings, he struck out 59 batters while walking only nine, making for an incredible 6.56 SO/BB ratio. In the post-season, he had a 2.45 ERA and a 0.909 WHIP as the ValleyCats fell just one win shy of the New York-Penn League title.

On to the questions ~

WTH: Can you tell me a bit about your college experience?

AW: My college experience was a great one. I learned alot about how baseball should be played and most importantly how to pitch. I had surgery about a month into my sophomore season and I missed the rest of the year and summer. I was back throwing the next season and was a starter. My arm felt good after the surgery but I found out pretty quick that I didn't have my best command and feel for my pitches. There were a few scouts talking to me at this time but I told them that I wanted to finish up my BA degree and because of my red shirt I would have that opportunity. I had a rough year but still went into my summer ball with goals in mind. I played my junior year summer in Huboldt, California for the Humboldt Crabs in the Far West League. This was a great team far above the rest in the league. I had a great summer allowing 1 run in 54 innings and getting my confidence back and the feeling that I could pitch well again. After that summer I started hearing from the scouts again and this continued throughout my next school season which went fairly well.

WTH: Was the decision to sign a difficult one?

AW: The decision for the draft was difficult because I was told by a few scouts that they could not draft me because of the surgery I had on my arm. I was weighing all my offers and talking to family about the best decision and which path I should take. I wanted to play baseball at the next level.

WTH: What was the biggest surprise for you during your first season in professional ball? Best part? Worst part?

AW: The biggest surprise for me was the traveling and bus trips. I had heard from friends that have played in the minor leagues and they have all said that bus trips and hotels were the worst. I didn't have anything to complain about this entire year. Bus trips went well and we stayed in very nice hotels which is where I got the majority of my rest. The best part of my first season was playing on a team with a bunch of great guys who all succeeded with different styles and techniques and it was great to learn from all of them. The worst part was getting sick with a month left in the season. Playing every day makes it tough to get rest and to get feeling better. It was a great learning opportunity for me.

WTH: What do you feel you accomplished in the short season? What do you need to work on to get to the next level developmentally?

AW: I think I accomplished more than I would have hoped for. I performed well and got my name out there for people to see. Being drafted in the 17th round is by all means great but you don't always get the same attention as people drafted in the early rounds. I just want to keep getting better and better every year. To get to the next level I need to develop a very consistent 3rd pitch. Most of the summer I pitched with my fastball and throwing a slider in there every once in a while to keep them off balance. To develop my change-up even more and use it consistently will help me greatly in the future.

WTH: Could you tell me a little about your pitch repertoire?

AW: I throw a 2 seam fastball, slider, and change-up My fastball can range from 90-96 and cuts and runs whenever it feels like it. My slider can range from 79-84 and I can change the movement from a more 12-6 break to a cutter action. My change-up runs and drops away from lefties but I will also use it to back door a right handed hitter.

WTH: Which teammate from Tri-City has a pitch you'd like to steal?

AW: I would love to steal Travis Ballew's slider. That is one of the better breaking balls I have ever seen and I am sure the hitters he pitches to will agree.

WTH: Which teammate at Tri-City would you least like to face in the batter's box?

AW: When Andrew Aplin was at Tri-City he was an amazing hitter, always making contact and fouling off every pitch that he didn't like. I would hate to face him and I am sure a lot of pitchers will be saying the same thing in years to come.

WTH: Was there one player on the team that you just enjoyed sitting back and watching?

AW: I loved watching Travis Ballew pitch. We have the same mentality and pitches and I always had complete confidence when he came in the game whether I was just pitching or in the stands watching. The way he made hitters look with sliders in the dirt was comical to say the least.

WTH: Who on the team made you laugh?

AW: There is a combination of guys from Joe Bircher to Twitterless Brian Holmes and Brady Rodgers. These guys do a 'creed voice' that is hilarious and gets the entire locker room laughing.

WTH: How did you get interested in Middle East studies? If you couldn't play baseball, what would your ideal job be?

AW: I got interested in Middle East history and studies from watching shows like CSI and Criminal Minds and the fact that our economy is based in large part on gas and oil, and in the future we are going to depend on the middle east for oil. Also the fact that terrorism and 9/11 had a huge impact on many people's lives, it would be a great field to get into. I would like to get my degree in Middle East history and a minor in International Studies. I have taken a year of Persian which is the language of Iran and would like to apply for the FBI here in Seattle and work my way up to NSA or maybe CIA. I am going to try to finish up my minor in the next few quarters after the season is over. I have about 3 quarters left.

WTH: Can you tell me something about yourself that most people don't know and might be surprised to hear?

AW: Most people say that I am good at a lot of weird things. I am very good at ping pong, juggling, trampolining and I can even ride a Unicycle and anything else that would be considered weird.

WTH: What would you tell frustrated Astros fans about the state of the Astros farm system?

AW: I would say that I know that it is rough to be on or a fan of a team that is struggling but help is on the way, and we need your support more than ever to help get this team back on the right track. Help is on the way. We just have to believe.

Well, I believe. I believe that with talented players like Aaron in the system, the Astros will get strong and stay strong for a long time. Thank you for your time, Aaron, and best of luck in the coming season.

Happy Birthday - 9/26

Two former Astros with birthdays today ~

LHP Bobby Shantz (87)
In 16 seasons pitched between 1949 and 1964, Shantz went full circle, starting his career with the Philadelphia Athletics and ending it with the Philadelphia Phillies.  In between, he pitched for the Kansas City Athletics, the Yankees, the Pirates, the Colt 45's, the Cardinals and the Cubs.  In 1935 and two-thirds innings pitched, he was 119-99 over 171 starts with a lifetime ERA of 3.38 and WHIP of 1.260.  He had 78 complete games, 15 shut-outs and 48 saves.  Obtained from the Pirates as the 21st pick in the 1961 expansion draft, Shantz was only with the Colt 45's for 3 starts in 1962, in which he went 1-1 with a 1.31 ERA and a 0.968 WHIP, before being traded to the Cardinals.  In addition to appearing in three All-Star games, he also won eight Gold Gloves and the 1952 AL MVP.

C Rich Gedman (52)
After spending the majority of his career with Boston, Gedman only played one season with the Astros (1990) and was used primarily as a back-up catcher to Craig Biggio.  He had a lifetime .252 batting average, .202 with the Astros.

More on Gedman from Wikipedia:

"1986 saw three of the highlights of Gedman's career. On April 29, he set the American League record for putouts by a catcher with 20, as Roger Clemens set the major league record for strikeouts in a nine-innings game against the Seattle Mariners. On April 30, he had 16 putouts for a total of 36 in two days, which is the most for a catcher in two consecutive games. Gedman was also selected to the All-Star Game that year, to go with his appearance in the 1985 game. But the peak of his career coincided with one of its lows in the 1986 World Series. In the bottom of the tenth inning of Game 6, with the Sox leading by one run with two outs, Kevin Mitchell on third and Mookie Wilson at batreliever Bob Stanley threw a pitch that Gedman failed to handle. It was scored as a wild pitch, but many considered it a Gedman passed ball. Mitchell came in to score, tying the game. Then, Wilson hit a ball that went through first baseman Bill Buckner's legs to win the game for the Mets. The Sox went on to lose the deciding game, and the series."

Tweet of the Day

Lance McCullers Jr.

With my boy carlos at his 's and with  of course!
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Astros Season Ticket Holder Townhall

On Sunday, the Astros had a couple of events for season ticket holders before the game and after the game. The first event was their annual Photo Day which has become a favorite of mine as you can meet the players and get pictures of them or with them, but more on that at a later date. The second event was a Townhall Meeting for season ticket holders with George Postolos and Jeff Luhnow after the game. There was no real news broken, but I thought my readers might be interested in a couple of topics that were discussed.

Postolos started with some prepared remarks and talked a little about the managerial search, the improvements to the farm system, what the front office was doing to improve the season ticket holder experience, the new regional sports network, etc. And then he got to the elephant in the room, or should I say the elephant in left field. Postolos admitted that he had done a poor job explaining the Community Leaders Program which he then addressed in great detail. I personally felt that he did a good job of explaining that part of it, but more or less glossed over the actual signage itself which is what many, many fans find objectionable.

During the Q&A, one long-time season ticket holder summed things up very nicely, indicating that he understood the need for the corporate partners, but thought the signage itself looked like something that was rigged up out of plywood and chicken wire. He then asked with some exasperation, "Can't it be aesthetically pleasing?" His question was greeted with widespread applause. The critique was noted but not specifically addressed.

Luhnow also delivered a few prepared remarks, focusing on the improvements to the farm system, changes in field and front office staff and the move to the AL. Of the managerial search, he said, "We're going to find a rising star manager to help us manage our rising stars." In answer to a question about Roger Clemens, Luhnow indicated that he would welcome having Clemens "impart some of his wisdom and work ethic to some of our players" and emphasized that he was reaching out to many Astros alumni to become more involved with the team.

Another question of interest was the final one about bringing back Jim Deshaies and Bill Brown to announce next year. (As you may or may not know, "Brownie" recently made some comments that sounded as though he might be contemplating retirement.) Postolos said that he thought they were both terrific and that it would be addressed in the off-season. Again, not really news but I know it's important to those of us who have counted on J.D. and Brownie to make the last two seasons bearable to watch.

There was one other thing that Postolos said in his prepared remarks that I wanted to pass on. "Everything that goes into making the Houston Astros a great organization has to be first class for us to get to that position." I agree with that. And I agree that Jeff Luhnow is working well towards that goal on the baseball side.

But as others have pointed out, there have been some questionable moves on the business side as of late. The Astros had arguably the best social media experience in MLB under Alyson Footer's direction, but that has degenerated badly since she went back to work for MLB.com. There is no face to Astros social media now, no one that the average fan can relate to. And the Astros should not underestimate the power of social media to bring in fans. I can't tell you how many extra games I went to this season just because some of my Astros tweeps were going. There is nothing first class about the social media operation right now. Oh, and having the players sell tickets on their personal twitter accounts? That's definitely not first class. It's tacky.

And then there's that plywood and chicken wire structure out in left field. No one described it more aptly than Stephen did in this blog post. The money quote (emphasis is mine):
What. The. Hell. Is that thing in LF? Astro optimists, pessimists, and realists alike can all agree that THAT is the most offensive thing the ball club has done this season. I know I am writing for a blog that is run by Mr. Luhnow’s bff, and I myself have praised Crane, Luhnow, and co. for a job well done so far……but that craptastic money grab is offensive. You bought the club and reserve the right to make some extra money, but why put a gigantic yearbook sponsor page in front of the most beautiful part of our stadium? I’d rather see that plump, poor man’s Captain Kangaroo driving Thomas the train across left field than be accosted by that monument to commercialism.
I think what bothers me most about the structure, other than it being ugly, blocking the view, interfering with the enjoyment of fireworks and in no way enhancing the ballpark experience is that the front office knows all that and won't admit it. They knew everyone would hate it. Why else would they focus group everything else to death, yet put up the Community Partners signage with nary a word until it was up and presumably too late for fans to have a say?

Yes, I understand that good will come of the community partnerships in helping Houston area kids get the facilities they need and that good will come of it in helping to keep the team solvent until the Astros are good again. But first class teams have terrific views of riverfronts, bays, downtown skylines, an iconic arch, not plywood and chicken wire advertising. Yes, outfield advertising in the game goes back as far as I can remember, but it needs to be incorporated into the structure in a much more aesthetically pleasing manner. There's no reason it can't be.

The new ownership group has done a lot of things right, from hiring Jeff Luhnow to committing to the rebuild of the farm system to something as simple as letting people bring in their own food and water. But they still have a ways to go if they truly want to be a first class operation and maintain long-term success. They must realize that the average fan experience is more important than any corporate sponsorship when it comes to the long-term success of the franchise. If they can simply provide a good fan experience year in and year out, the profits will come and those will be first class.

Arizona Fall League Update

I somehow missed this along the way, but RHP Nick Tropeano was added to the list of players who will be participating in the Arizona Fall League for the Astros. The complete list of Astros players on the Mesa Solar Sox team is as follows:

RHP Jarred Cosart
RHP Chia-Jen Lo
LHP Alex Sogard
RHP Nick Tropeano
SS Jio Mier
1B Jon Singleton
OF Bobby Borchering
OF George Springer

My understanding is that seven of the players will be on the active roster and one player will be on a taxi squad and only available for games on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Note that Borchering is listed on the roster as an outfielder, although he played 3B for the Hooks after he came to the Astros organization this year. Also note that Lancaster JetHawks Manager Rodney Linares will be managing the team. The other teams represented on the Solar Sox are the Dodgers, Cubs, Orioles and Tigers. The complete roster can be found here. And the schedule can be found here.

Check back after the season starts on October 9th as I will be recapping the performances of the Astros players participating in both fall and winter leagues.

Happy Birthday - 9/25

LHP Geronimo Franzua (19)
Yes, it is one of the cooler names in the Astros minor league system. Unfortunately Franzua, an NDFA from the Dominican Republic did not fare too well in his second season with the DSL Astros. In 12 games (one start), he had an 8.10 ERA and a 3.225 WHIP.

Four former Astros with birthdays today ~

SS/3B Ray Busse (64)
Originally signed by Houston as a NDFA in 1967, Busse played in a total of 44 games for the Astros in 1971, 1973 and 1974, hitting .153/.209/.200.

RHP Mike Stanton (60)
Drafted by Houston in the first round in 1973, Stanton pitched in only seven games for the Astros in 1975 with a 7.27 ERA and a 2.308 WHIP. He went on to pitch for Cleveland, Seattle and the White Sox with a career 4.61 ERA and 1.509 WHIP.

RHP Ron Mathis (54)
Originally drafted by Detroit in the 30th round in 1980, Mathis came to Houston as a free agent in May of 1982. In 31 games for the Astros in 1985 and 1987, he was 3-6 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.598 WHIP.

RHP David Weathers (43)
A third round draft pick by the Blue Jays in 1988, Weathers came to Houston as a part of the June 2004 trade with the Mets for Richard Hidalgo. He pitched in 26 games that season with a 1-4 record, a 4.78 ERA and a 1.375 WHIP. In all, Weathers spent 19 seasons in the major leagues playing for nine different teams. He won a World Series with the Yankees in 1996.

Tweets of the Day

I went to bed early and when I got up this morning, my timeline had exploded. Here are just a few of the many, many tweets that greeted me this morning.

Marc Krauss

The NFL has turned into an absolute joke the last couple weeks. Gotta get these clowns out 

Nick Tropeano

What is going on!? Is this real life? All of America we are on Punk'd!! The NFL referees are jokes.

Neiko Johnson

Just imagine if they had replacement umpires.....so many players would get ejected for bad strike calls lol

My favorite one, though, had to come from former Astros farmhand Brian Esposito ...

brian esposito

Touchdown!!! No!!! He's safe!!!!!!! Tate got around the tag!!!
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Monday, September 24, 2012

Astros Affiliated with the Quad Cities River Bandits

As most of you have probably already heard by now, the Astros are moving their Lo-A affiliate from Lexington, Kentucky to Davenport, Iowa. I have a special place in my heart for Lexington for several reasons, but mostly because it was my first experience at a minor league ballpark since I started writing my blog. When I went to Lexington back in April, I was blown away by the people there. Everyone was incredibly helpful and accommodating. I truly had the time of my life and I thank everyone there for all you did for me. And yes, Dave, I'm talking about you, among others.

But life moves on and so do we. The Quad Cities River Bandits team is technically located in Davenport, but the area actually encompasses five cities along the Mississippi River on the Iowa-Illinois boundary. Yes, I know, but the link explains that Quint Cities never caught on. I've already checked it out and you can fly into Moline, Illinois (extremely close), Cedar Rapids (about 67 miles away) or Chicago (about 3 hours away). I also have been told that it is quite a beautiful ballpark with a stunning setting on the Mississippi River, but I'll admit the name Modern Woodmen Ballpark makes me think of this.

If you're on twitter, an automatic follow for you should be @QCRiverBandits. Another fun one is @MWLtraveler who writes a blog about the Midwest League. I have also had @tarawellman @sbatt79 @danmak_DA and @cwyers recommended as good follows.

World Baseball Classic Qualifier Update

Well, the modified double elimination format didn't work in Team Israel's favor as Team Israel was eliminated Sunday after their only loss to Team Spain. Ben Orloff didn't see any action in this game, but Josh Zeid was used in all three games of the tournament for Team Israel.

Israel took an early lead but Spain fought back, taking a short-lived lead in the fourth inning and another one run lead in the eighth. Team Israel came back to tie it up in the bottom of the eighth. Josh Zeid came in to get three quick outs in the ninth and the game went to extras. In the top of the 10th, the Israeli catcher was ejected after Zeid issued a lead-off walk and then the wheels came off as a hit batter, sac bunt and a single led to two Team Spain runs. Israel wasn't able to come back in the bottom of the frame and that was pretty much that.

One side note. The 10-inning game was played in a crisp four hours and fifty minutes. It was an exciting game, but if this is the future of baseball around the world, God help us all.

The final game from this round of qualifiers will be at noon CST today and features Canada and Germany. The next qualifying rounds will be in November in Panama and Taiwan.

Happy Birthday - 9/24

RHP Jake Buchanan (23)
Drafted in the eighth round in 2010 out of North Carolina State, Buchanan spent most of the 2012 season pitching for the Corpus Christi team. Used as a starter early in the season, he was moved to the bullpen in August. In 19 starts for the Hooks, he was 5-6 with a 5.00 ERA and a 1.513 WHIP. Out of the bullpen, he was 0-3 with 4.76 ERA and a 1.554 WHIP in 8 appearances.

OF Jacob Goebbert (25)
Drafted in the 13th round out of Northwestern in 2009, Goebbert spent the majority of his 2012 season in Corpus Christi with the Hooks where he hit .304/.399/.473 with 23 doubles, six triples and nine home runs. He was among the league leaders in batting average.

RHP Christian Garcia (21)
Drafted in the 29th round in 2012 out of Florence-Darlington Technical College in South Carolina, Garcia pitched in 18 games out of the bullpen for the Greeneville Astros this season and compiled a 2-0 record with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.398 WHIP.

Alyson Footer (?)
Although Alyson isn't technically a part of our Astros family anymore, she will always hold a special place in our hearts. Happy Birthday, Alyson!

Tweet of the Day

Josh Zeid

We really fought tonight . I left all I had out there but It wasn't enough sorry everyone. Thanks 4 the love all week

Sunday, September 23, 2012

World Baseball Classic Qualifying Rounds Update

Corpus Christi Hooks LHP Alex Sogard saw action in the second game for the Czech Republic. In a video interview last week, Sogard talked about his mother's Czechoslovakian heritage and how excited he was to represent her on the Czech team. And represent he did! Sogard pitched three and two-thirds innings in relief and allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts in the Czech team's loss to Great Britain. Unfortunately, it was the Czech team's second loss so Alex will be heading home from Regensburg, Germany where this qualifying round took place.

Long-time Astros minor league followers might be interested to know that former Astro Albert Cartwright played for the British team and went 3-for-5 in yesterday's game. And Another former Astro has been making news in Regensburg for the Canadian team. Jimmy VanOstrand went 4-for-6 with two home runs, five RBI and scored three times in Team Canada's win over Germany yesterday.

Astros Josh Zeid and Ben Orloff will take part in the final qualifying round for Team Israel today in Jupiter, Florida. Team Israel is undefeated and will take on Team Spain for the second time in the tournament. Israel defeated Spain on Friday 4-2 in, as one very clever tweeter said, payback for the Spanish Inquisition. If you want to root on Team Israel, you can follow their game on the World Baseball Classic site live at 4:00 CST or watch the delay on MLB network at 7:00 CST this evening.

Happy Birthday - 9/23

2B Ruben Sosa (22)
This switch-hitting second baseman from the Dominican Republic was drafted in the 23rd round in 2011 out of Oklahoma City University. Sosa spent the majority of his time with Lexington this season with good success. In 44 games for Lexington, he hit .280/.364/.336. In his last 10 games, he was even more impressive as he put up a .382/.432/.412 batting line.

Three former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Oscar Zamora (68)
Zamora signed with Houston as a free agent prior to the 1978 season and pitched in 10 games with a 7.20 ERA and a 1.800 WHIP.

C Terry McGriff (49)
Originally drafted by the Reds in the eighth round in 1981, McGriff came to Houston in an August 1990 trade and played in only four games for the Astros in which he went hitless.

RHP Pete Harnisch (46)
A first round pick by Baltimore in 1987, Harnisch came to Houston as part of the Glenn Davis trade with the Orioles (along with Steve Finley and Curt Schilling) in January of 1991. In 117 starts from 1991 through 1994, he was 45-33 with ten complete games, six shut-outs, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.205 WHIP. Harnisch was named to the All-Star team for Houston in 1991. His best season was 1993 when he compiled a 16-9 record and threw two one-hitters.

Tweet of the Day

Robert Peña

Another Day in paradise..!! On our way to the field..!!  

Saturday, September 22, 2012

World Baseball Classic Qualifying Rounds Update

Israel won out over Spain 4-2 to advance to the final qualifying round which will take place on Sunday at 4:00 CST and can be seen live on the WBC website. Astros RHP Josh Zeid pitched the ninth inning and had to work around a lead-off double. He gave up one run on one hit and earned the save. 2B Ben Orloff also saw action in the game and went 0-for-3.

Happy Birthday - 9/22

SS Carlos Correa (18)
The number one overall pick from the 2012 draft already has 50 professional games under his belt and is just now turning 18. In 39 games with the GCL Astros, Correa hit .232/.270/.355 with 11 doubles, one triple and two home runs. After a late season promotion to Greeneville, Correa fired the afterburners and hit .371/.450/.600 with three doubles, one triple and one home run (which I witnessed first hand, thank you very much!). He is currently participating in the fall instructional league.

OF Jordan Scott (21)
Drafted in the 14th round in 2010 out of Riverside High School in South Carolina, Scott was unable to recreate his great numbers from his 2011 season. In 110 games, he hit .230/.325/.280 for the Lexington Lo-A team this season. For some reason, Scott was more comfortable on the road this season as he hit .273/.357/.335 away from home. Known for his good approach at the plate, I look for Scott to have a rebound season in 2013.

RHP Luis Ordosgoitti (20)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2009, Ordosgoitti got his first taste of Lo-A this season as he started 19 games for the Lexington Legends. Considering his young age, his 5-5 record with a 5.52 ERA and a 1.544 WHIP was certainly a decent result.

RHP Arcenio Leon (26)
Arcenio signed with the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 2005 and started playing in the Venezuelan Summer League that year. Now in his eighth season with the Astros organization, he spent his season at Corpus Christi where he had a 3-2 record with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.461 WHIP in 44 appearances.

Three former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Larry Dierker (66)
Dierker signed with the Colt .45's prior to the 1964 season and made his major league debut on his 18th birthday that same year. Dierker pitched in 345 games for the Colt .45's and Astros from 1964 to 1976 with a 137-117 record, a 3.28 ERA and a 1.214 WHIP. He was a two-time All-Star for Houston. He also managed the Astros from 1997 to 2001, compiling a 435-348 record and being named the National League Manager of the Year in 1998.

LF Jeffrey Leonard (57)
Leonard came to Houston in a September 1978 trade with Los Angeles and played in 237 games for the Astros until his trade to the Giants in April 1981. During that time, he hit .265/.329/.349. He came in second in Rookie of the Year voting to Rick Sutcliffe and made the All-Star team for both the Giants and the Mariners.

RF Charleton Jimerson (33)
A fifth round draft pick by Houston in 2001, Jimerson played in 18 games for Houston in 2005 and 2006 hitting .333/.333/.833 in six plate appearances.

Tweet of the Day

Houston Astros

ML Player and Pitcher of the year, Delino DeShields, JR. and Mike Foltynewicz chatting with Biggio during BP 
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Friday, September 21, 2012

PTBNL in Ben Francisco Trade

LHP Theron Geith is the PTBNL in the August trade that sent Ben Francisco to Tampa Bay. Geith, a 39th round draft pick  in 2011 out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, pitched for the Rays Hi-A team in the Florida State League in 2012. In 31 appearances out of the bullpen, he had a 2.98 ERA and a 1.086 WHIP. He turned 23 in June.

Happy Birthday - 9/21

No future Astros, but several former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Art Gardner (60)
A second round pick by the Astros in 1971, Gardner played for Houston in 1975 and in 1977. In 79 games, he hit .167/.216/.167.

RHP Aurelio "Senor Smoke" Lopez (died September 22, 1992 at age 44)
Lopez came to Houston as a free agent in June of 1986 and played for the Astros for a little over a year before his release in June 1987 at the end of his career. In 71 games for Houston, he was 5-4 with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.207 WHIP. His best years were with Detroit where he earned a World Series ring and for whom he made his sole All-Star appearance.

C Troy Afenir (49)
A first round pick by Houston in 1983, Afenir played in only 10 games for the Astros in 1987 before being included in an April 1989 trade to Oakland. In those 10 games, he hit .300/.300/.350.

RHP Manuel Barrios (38)
Signed as a free agent in January 1993, Barrios played in only two games for the Astros in 1997 with rather inauspicious results. His entire major league career consisted of 6.2 innings pitched for three different teams with a 6.75 ERA and a 2.550 WHIP.

RHP Billy Sadler (31)
Originally drafted by the Giants in the sixth round in 2003, Sadler signed as a free agent with Houston in August 2009 and pitched 1.1 innings in one game for Houston in 2009 with forgettable results.

Tweet of the Day

Bobby Borchering

Off-season regiment so far. Breakfast. Workout. Lunch. Pool. Shop. Dinner. Chill. Sleep.   

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Lancaster JetHawks Season Recap

This will be the final season recap. We have already looked at the seasons for the DSL Astros, the GCL Astros, the Greeneville Astros, the Lexington Legends, the Oklahoma City Redhawks, the Corpus Christi Hooks, and the Tri-City ValleyCats. Now a look at the California League Champion Lancaster JetHawks. Here's a quick look at how the 2011 and 2012 teams compare.

2011 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 55-85/.393
2012 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 74-66/.529

2011 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 749 - 929 = (180)
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 843 - 786 = 57

2011 Team ERA & WHIP: 5.96 & 1.569
2012 Team ERA & WHIP: 5.00 & 1.458

2011 Team Batting Line: .280/.352/.420
2012 Team Batting Line: .283/.353/.448

Out of ten teams in the league, the offense ranked highly (second place) in team batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and RBI, was in third place in home runs and was in the top half in stolen bases, triples and walks. However, they also struck out more than any other team in the league.

The pitching didn't rank as highly as the offense with the team ERA at ninth out of ten, but the team WHIP was fifth. They ranked dead last in strikeouts, but only two teams issued fewer free passes than the JetHawks staff. They were third in saves in the league.

This was a fun team to follow this year. They started out losing their first four games and 12 out of their first 17, but they never said die. They just kept coming back. They got hot (really hot) at the right time to earn a wild card playoff spot which they parlayed into the California League Championship crown.

In a park known as a hitter's park, there were certainly many great offensive performances, but the triumverate of George Springer, Domingo Santana and Erik Castro were particularly good and ranked highly in the league in numerous categories. Unfortunately, one of the categories that they ranked highly in was strikeouts as these three plus teammate Telvin Nash constituted four of the top ten strikeout artists in the league. But let's not dwell on the bad. Let's look at the good!

OF George Springer ranked sixth in the league in batting average and fifth in the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage before his promotion to Corpus Christi in August. And despite having been gone from the league for almost a month, he still ranked second in runs scored, third in triples, eighth in stolen bases, tenth in home runs and in the top 20 in hits, RBI and walks. He hit .316/.398/.557 in 106 games for Lancaster. He finished the season with a total of 21 doubles, 10 triples, 24 home runs, 87 RBI and 32 stolen bases.

RF Domingo Santana was in the top ten in the league in on-base percentage, slugging, runs scored, home runs and RBI, and in the top 20 in batting average, hits, doubles and walks. He hit .302/.385/.536 with 26 doubles, six triples, 23 home runs and 97 RBI. In the post-season, he hit .273 with six RBI.

1B Erik Castro was second in the league with 108 RBI (which tied him for first in the organization with Lexington's Zach Johnson), third in home runs and walks, tenth in slugging percentage and runs scored, and in the top 20 in on-base percentage, hits and doubles. He ended the season with a .285/.382/.511 batting line, 27 doubles, one triple and 27 home runs. He hit .306 in the post-season with five doubles and eight RBI.

2B Delino DeShields only spent 24 games with Lancaster after hitting .298/.401/.439 for Lexington. He ended the season hitting .287/.389/.428 with 24 doubles, eight triples, 12 home runs, 113 runs scored and 101 stolen bases. He hit .318 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI and four stolen bases in the post-season and was named team MVP for the California League Finals.

Despite spending roughly a month in Corpus Christi after his promotion, the 21-year old 2B Kike Hernandez  still ranked in the top 10 in the league in triples and in the top 20 in the league in doubles. He hit .275/.318/.418 for Lancaster and ended the season with 27 doubles, seven triples and six home runs.

There were other performances of note as well. LF/DH Telvin Nash ranked second in the league in home runs with 29 and in the top 20 in slugging percentage and RBI. 3B Jonathan Meyer was in the top 20 in hits during the regular season and was an absolute beast in the post-season, hitting .343 with three doubles, two home runs, ten RBI and a stolen base. OF Chris Epps shone in limited playing time (46 games) with Lancaster and put up a .589 slugging percentage. He was another post-season star as he hit .353 with three doubles, one triple, one home run, four RBI and a stolen base. OF Grant Hogue couldn't stay off the DL, but in 43 games he stole 27 bases (just one fewer than George Springer had in 106 games for Lancaster) and hit .361/.421/.458. And 1B Rafy Valenzuela was one of those players who picked the right time to get hot. He finished the season with a respectable .284/.349/.429, but hit a jaw-dropping .429/.432/.771 in his last 10 games. He went on to hit .412 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI in the post-season. Another contributor to the JetHawks was OF Drew Muren. Muren spent 48 games with Lexington, 33 games with Corpus Christi and 21 games in Lancaster hitting a combined .291/.341/.409.

There were notable season performances from the pitching staff as well.

In particular, RHP David Martinez had a solid season finishing 11th in the league among qualifying pitchers with a 4.38 ERA and eighth in the league with a 1.335 WHIP in 27 games (26 starts). But it was the way that he finished the season that should open some eyes. In his last 10 appearances, he was 7-1 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.293 WHIP. He went on to a 2-0 record in the post-season with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.250 WHIP.

RHP Bobby Doran started out the season pitching extremely well at Lancaster meriting a promotion to Corpus Christi. Doran finished the season with a combined 14-6 record, 4.00 ERA and a 1.284 WHIP. Similarly, RHP Nick Tropeano excelled at Lexington, leading to his promotion to Lancaster. Tropeano put up a very good 6-3 record with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.316 WHIP at Lancaster with an overall record of 12-7, 3.02 ERA, 1.241 WHIP and an organization-leading 166 strikeouts. The combination of Bobby Doran early in the season and Nick Tropeano late in the season allowed the JetHawks to stay in the wild card race. Tropeano put up a 3.00 ERA and a 1.250 WHIP in two post-season appearances.

RHP Tyson Perez (5.03 ERA and 1.508 WHIP) tied Martinez for team lead in wins with nine in his second year in the Astros organization after pitching in the Greeneville rookie league in 2011. In the post-season, Perez was 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.154 WHIP.

RHP R.J. Alaniz (5.07 ERA and 1.390 WHIP) was one of the more productive members of the staff with a 6-2 record before being shut down for the season due to shoulder issues in July.

Out of the bullpen, RHP Andrew Robinson struggled early in the season, but from May through August he was one of Lancaster's most dependable pitchers as he put up a 2.77 ERA and a 1.173 WHIP in 37 appearances.

RHP Carlos Quevedo was a much needed middle relief addition when he came from Lexington in July. In 15 appearances for Lancaster, he put up a 2.04 ERA and a 1.064 WHIP and finished the season with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.085 WHIP.

RHP Chia-Jen Lo had a 1.42 ERA and a 0.985 WHIP in 11 appearances for Lancaster. LHP Pat Urckfitz was a fixture out of the bullpen, making 45 appearances with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.357 WHIP. Urckfitz, Robinson and RHP Jorge de Leon combined for a 0.00 ERA in their post-season appearances.

And last, but certainly not least, was the late addition of LHP Kenny Long who put up a 1.13 ERA and a 0.625 WHIP in 12 appearances for Lancaster and who, incidentally, recorded the final out to give Lancaster the California League Championship.

This was a team that had a lot of solid pieces from top to bottom. They worked well together and I witnessed first-hand how tight-knit and supportive of each other they were. If only one team could win an LCS this year, I'm glad it was them. Cheers on a storybook season with a fairytale ending! I can't wait to read the next chapter.

World Baseball Classic Qualifying Rounds Update

RHP Josh Zeid saw his first action in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers last night as his Team Israel prevailed over South Africa 7-3. Zeid came in in the sixth inning with two on and one out and struck out one batter before issuing an intentional walk and inducing a pop out for the third out to end the threat. He went on to pitch the seventh for Team Israel and allowed no hits and no runs and three strikeouts to go with the intentional walk. Manager Brad Ausmus had this to say about Zeid's performance.
"Huge difference. Not only is it a big difference in terms of the scoreboard, it could be a big momentum shift," Ausmus said. "Zeid's inning-plus there was probably the turning point of the game for us."
Ben Orloff did not get in to the first game for Team Israel. Their next game will be on Friday at 12:00 CST. The full schedule and results can be found here.

Happy Birthday - 9/20

SS Angel Sanchez (29)
Angel was originally drafted by the Royals in the 11th round in 2001 out of Puerto Rico and came to Houston in a trade with the Red Sox in July 2010. In 107 games with Oklahoma City this season, he hit .320/.390/.407.

LHP Scott Zuloaga (23)
Drafted by Houston in the 16th round in 2011 out of Scottsdale Community College, the well-traveled Zuloaga spent time this season with Lexington, Greeneville and Tri-City. He had a 3.80 ERA and a 1.268 combined WHIP. In his final eight games with Tri-City, he had a 0.00 ERA and a 0.800 WHIP.

Astros Announcer Bill "Brownie" Brown (65)
An announcer for the Astros since 1987, Brown has become a fixture in the broadcast booth. He is the perfect yin to Jim Deshaies' quirky yang.

Tweet of the Day

Austin Elkins

Just saw on ESPN that Mike Trout has many nicknames one being catfish...  fans let them know that its already taken!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

2012 Minor League Season By The Numbers

My latest post for The Futurists is a very fun look at some interesting numbers from the Astros 2012 minor league season. It won't take long to read, and it makes for an interesting glimpse into some of the season highlights.

Happy Birthday - 9/19

2B Yonathan Mejia (20)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, the switch-hitting second baseman spent the season with the GCL Astros, hitting .239/.284/.293 in 52 games.

OF George Springer (22)
Houston's first round 2011 draft pick out of the University of Connecticut really made his mark with the Hi-A Lancaster team his first full season before meriting a late season promotion to Corpus Christi. In 106 games with the JetHawks, he hit .316/.398/.557. He didn't fare quite so well with the Hooks as he hit .219/.288/.342 in 22 games. He finished the season with 21 doubles, 10 triples and 24 home runs.

Two former Astros with birthdays today ~

2B Joe Morgan (69)
Originally signed by the Colt .45's as a free agent in 1962, Morgan played for the Colt 45's and Houston Astros from 1963 to 1971 and again in 1980. In 1032 games over 10 seasons for Houston, Morgan hit .261/.374/.393 and earned two of his ten All-Star Nods. Following his trade to the Reds in November of 1971, Morgan hit his stride. It was with the Reds that the future Hall of Famer earned two National League MVP awards, two World Series rings, five Gold Gloves and made his other eight All-Star appearances.

C Joe Ferguson (66)
An eighth round draft pick by the Dodgers in 1968, Ferguson came to Houston in a November 1976 trade with the Cardinals. In 183 games for the Astros in 1977 and 1978, he hit .243/.375/.420

Tweet of the Day

Josh Zeid

"they look like Jews.... But only bigger" yup. That's  for ya. How are my followers doin today?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

An Interview with RHP Daniel Minor

The first time I saw Daniel Minor was on the mound in Greeneville, Tennessee in August. He worked quickly, confidently and efficiently. He threw strikes. He was in control. And he won. He did a lot of that in August. In four starts for Greeneville in August, he was 3-0 with an 0.35 ERA and a 0.538 WHIP. One of those games was a combined one-hitter. He struck out 11 in that game. For the season, he led the league in ERA (2.75) and WHIP (1.034) among qualified pitchers.

The second time I saw Minor was at the final Hooks playoff game in Corpus Christi a couple of weeks ago. The product of Texas A&M Corpus had taken a brief break after his season had ended in Greeneville and was already in Corpus working to get ready for next season. He was sitting a few rows in front of me. He came back and we talked for an inning or so about his season, the Astros organization in general, his pitching coach in Greeneville (Hector Mercado) and the starting pitcher for that night, Ross Seaton. I enjoyed the conversation.

Had I met him in a casual setting first, I might have trouble reconciling his college coach's description of him (in the article linked below) as "a bulldog, aggressive, mean and tough," going on to say, "He walks across the (baseline) like he's a little irritated." But having seen him first on the mound, I know exactly what his coach meant. As Daniel told me, "You really have to turn it on, flip that switch, compete well and think you're better than everybody."



On to the interview, edited for clarity and brevity ~

On his transfer to A&M Corpus and the draft process: "Coming out of junior college [McClellan Community College in Waco, Texas], I really didn't have many places to go. On the last day of our regional tournament, Corpus called and that was the only Division I [program] that had called me so I was pretty set on going down there and playing baseball there. [Here's a great article from the Corpus Christi Caller Times explaining a little more about how Minor got to A&M Corpus and was signed sight unseen.]

"So I went there, just worked real hard to get better, and ended up having a really good year. There weren't tons of scouts at the games. There were only a few scouts here and there. The Astros were one of the first ones to see me so I was kind of under the radar the whole year and then [during the Southland Conference] tournament I had a really good game and after that a bunch of teams got in touch with me, but it was really late by that time. When draft day rolled around, I'd been in contact with the Astros, but I really had no clue what was going to happen, what round or anything. I was the first pick of the ninth round so I was pretty excited to see that. It was pretty cool."

On his pitch repertoire: "Fastball, 4-seam, 2-seam. It will range anwhere from a low of 86 up to 93, 94. Usually 88-91, touch 93 in a game. I throw a changeup which is by far my best off-speed pitch, probably low 80's. Throw 12-6 on a curveball and [throw] a slider. I've worked on [the slider] a lot this past summer. [What's his best strikout pitch?] For a righty, it would be a slider and for a lefty, it would be a changeup."

What did he accomplish in the short season?: "What I accomplished was being able to throw my off-speed for strikes on a more consistent basis and make them more deceptive to where hitters can't identify them as easily and working with [Pitching Coach Hector] Mercado over the season was helpful. He always knew the right thing to say to me to make it click in my head and make it work. [To what does he attribute his outstanding numbers in August to end the season?] Mostly it was just getting more comfortable as the season went on, being more comfortable on the mound and against better hitters."

What does he need to work on?: "I think the things I need to keep working on is pretty much the same stuff, just keeping the ball down around the knees, moving the ball to both sides of the plate and just competing well."

What was the biggest surprise from his first professional season?: "Probably just how much you had to take care of your body on a daily basis. Going and doing stuff like running or lifting and making sure you're in shape to be able to perform. I guess for me, starting every five or six days, making sure you're able to go out there and perform your best every time and just overall keeping your body in shape. It's kind of difficult to do, trying to eat healthy and get your workouts in, but it's manageable."

On what he's doing this off-season: "I'm down here [Corpus Christi] working out with my strength coach from college. I really liked him so [it's] probably one of the best things for me to come and do. Get a little stronger and get back in shape and ready for a full season next year."

Which of his teammates has a pitch he'd like to steal?: "That would probably be Jordan Jankowski's slider. It's filthy. It seems like it's near unhittable, always striking people out with it. People just swinging at it. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be close to the plate and people are still swinging at it. I guess he sets it up well or something but it's dirty."

Which of his teammates would he least like to face in the batter's box?: "That's a tough one. Being a pitcher, I feel like I could face anyone and get him out, but if I had to pick one, probably [Brian] Blasik because he does not swing at bad pitches. If it's a strike, he's swinging or if it's a ball, he's not swinging. It's difficult to fool him when he's hitting. He has a really good eye."

Which of his teammates does he like having behind him when he pitches?: "I'd say Blasik. He never made many errors. The ball was always hit to him and he would always make the play no matter how difficult or how easy. I can't remember once when I was pitching that he made an error."

Who on the team makes him laugh?: "That would be pretty much everybody in the bullpen from Tanner [Bushue] to [Zach] Dando to [Michael] Dimock and [Andrew] Walter. All those guys in the bullpen were absolutely the funniest group of people I've ever been around."

What's would he do if he couldn't play baseball?: "Probably I'd either do something with lessons or trying to teach younger kids. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm doing right now. I'm giving lessons to kids in the off-season. Growing up, the guy that gave me lessons, he affected my life so much and taught me everything literally from scratch. He taught me everything on how to pitch. Doing that would be a good way to give back and help kids try to get where I [am]. Or something like strength and conditioning, helping people be in shape."

Something that most people don't know about him: "Up until this year, up until I flew to Greeneville, I haven't really flown. I was kind of scared when I was flying up there and flying back. I really hadn't flown that much until this year."

There was one other thing that he talked about that really stuck with me. I asked him about his very stingy walk rate and he said, "I hate walking people, just giving them a free base because you can't throw a strike? That's a terrible thing. You're already facing good enough hitters. You don't want to give them [an extra] chance to score [by walking them.] The one run I gave up in August was on one of the two walks I had. Most of the time, if you throw strikes, they're going to get themselves out and that's why .300 is a really good hitting average. I mean seven out of ten times, they're going to get themselves out."

I was impressed by Minor's mound presence when I saw him. I am impressed by his aggressive philosophy of pitching. I'm impressed that he only walked two batters in August. But I think I'm most impressed that he remembered the details of those two walks and had already filed them away in his memory banks as something not to repeat. There is a simple elegance to his approach. "You just have to be able to compete well and make pitches. That's pretty much all that pitching comes down to."

Happy Birthday - 9/18

RHP Ross Seaton (23)
Drafted in the third round as a compensation pick in 2008 out of Second Baptist High School in Houston, Seaton spent most of the 2012 season repeating the AA level at Corpus Christi (with a handful of starts in Oklahoma City) and fine-tuning his skills. Seaton really appears to have turned the corner in his development. Despite a career high 169.1 innings pitched, he actually got stronger toward the end of the season, ending it going 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA and a 0.865 WHIP in his final three starts. For the season, he was 8-9 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.281 WHIP.

1B Jon Singleton (21)
Originally drafted by the Phillies in the eighth round in 2009, Singleton came to the Astros in the Hunter Pence trade in July 2011. In 131 games for Corpus Christi this season, he hit .284/.396/.497 with 27 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 runs scored and 79 RBI. And he's just turning 21. Be still, my beating heart!

RHP Juan Minaya (22)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2008, this is Minaya's fourth season in the Astros organization. In 17 appearances (2 starts) for Tri-City this season, Minaya was 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.391 WHIP.

Four former Astros with birthdays today ~

CF Tony Scott (61)
Originally drafted by Montreal in the 71st(!) round in 1969, Scott came to Houston in a June 1981 trade with the Cardinals. In 292 games played for the Astros from 1981 to 1984, he hit .249/.283/.320.

RHP Roger Mason (55)
Mason signed as a free agent with the Astros in February 1989 and pitched in only two games for the Astros that year. In one and a third innings pitched, he had a whopping 20.25 ERA and a 3.000 WHIP.

RHP Chris Holt (41)
Originally drafted by Houston in the third round in 1992, Holt pitched in 103 games (90 starts) for the Astros from 1996 to 2000 with a 21-42 record, a 4.51 ERA and a 1.456 WHIP before being traded to Detroit in December 2000.

C Mitch Meluskey (39)
A 12th round draft pick by Cleveland in 1992, Meluskey came to the Houston system in an April 1995 trade with Cleveland. He played in 135 games for the Astros from 1998 to 2000 before being included, along with fellow birthday boy Chris Holt, in a December 2000 trade to Detroit. He came back to play in 12 games for Houston again in 2003, signing as a free agent. All in all, he hit .287/.389/.465 for the Astros.

Tweet of the Day

Travis Ballew

Glad I decided to major in baseball during college

Monday, September 17, 2012

Tri-City ValleyCats Season Recap

So far we have looked at the seasons for the DSL Astros, the GCL Astros, the Greeneville Astros, the Lexington Legends, the Oklahoma City Redhawks, and the Corpus Christi Hooks. Now let's take a look at the Short-Season A Tri-City ValleyCats. Here's a quick look at how the 2011 and 2012 teams compare.


2011 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 33-42/.440
2012 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 51-25/.671

2011 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 345 - 343 = 2
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 414 - 251 = 163

2011 Team ERA & WHIP: 3.78 & 1.393
2012 Team ERA & WHIP: 2.75 & 1.170

2011 Team Batting Line: .247/.335/.349
2012 Team Batting Line: .271/.355/.391

Tri-City fell just one game short of winning the 2012 New York-Penn League Championship.

The 2012 Tri-City team improved over the 2011 team in every single area and they shone in the New-York Penn League as they led the league in batting average (a tie for first), on-base percentage, slugging, home runs and stolen bases. They ranked second in the league in runs scored, hits, RBI, walks, team ERA and saves, and were in fourth place in WHIP and strikeouts. It was also very telling that as a team, the batters ranked 13th out of 14 in strikeouts and the pitchers ranked 12th out of 14 teams in issuing walks. In other words, the batters didn't swing at bad pitches, and the pitchers threw strikes. You can't ask for much more than that.

There were several outstanding season performances from position players on the team. Let's just look at a few.

It is easy to see why 1B Jesse Wierzbicki was named team MVP as he was among the league leaders in runs (4th), RBI (tied for 5th), stolen bases (7th), hits (8th), OBP (9th), batting average (12th) and slugging (12th). He also led the Tri-City team in runs, hits and RBI, and the 23-year old finished the season with a .297/.376/.422 batting line.

21-year old C Tyler Heineman earned the New York-Penn League batting title with his league-leading .358 batting average. His on-base percentage (.452) ranked second in the league and his slugging percentage (.430) was ninth. He was also terrific behind the dish with a 41% caught stealing rate. He hit .304 in post-season play.

Since CF Andrew Aplin was promoted to Lancaster for the final 22 games of the season, he doesn't qualify as a league leader in the NYPL, but his .348/.441/.537 batting line would have him ranked at second in batting average, third in on-base percentage and first in slugging percentage if he did qualify. Despite being gone from the league for almost a month, he was still tied for third in the league in triples and was tied for fourth in the league in stolen bases. The 21-year old finished the season with a combined batting line of .313/.386/.493 with 13 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs and 24 stolen bases.

RF Preston Tucker is another player who does not qualify as a league leader in batting stats due to the number of games played, but he would rank highly as well with a .321/.390/.509 batting line. The 22-year old was, however, tied for fifth in home runs and seventh in RBI despite limited playing time.

2B Austin "Catfish" Elkins ranked fifth in the league in runs scored and eighth in stolen bases, and the 21-year old was in the top 20 in the league in hits, home runs and on-base percentage as well. He finished the season with a .272/.360/.398 batting line, 13 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 18 stolen bases. In the post-season, he hit .435 with a home run and four RBI.

SS Joe Sclafani was tied for eighth in the league in walks (first on the Tri-City team) and ninth in stolen bases  (fourth on the team) and was in the top 20 in the league in runs, hits and RBI. He is 22. Sclafani hit .273, stole a base and drove in six runs in the post-season.

Also of note were LF Dan Gulbransen who tied for 10th in RBI and 11th in home runs in the league and IF/OF Neiko Johnson who tied for 10th in stolen bases. Gulbransen hit .273 with a home run and three RBI in the post-season while Johnson hit .333.

As far as pitchers go, there are several that have me very excited about the future.

RHP Aaron West was seventh in ERA (2.04) and WHIP (0.957) out of all pitchers qualifying as league leaders and was tied for 11th in the league in strikeouts. He walked only nine batters in 61+ innings and ended the season with a fantastic 6.56 SO/BB ratio. In the post-season he had a 2.45 ERA and a 0.909 WHIP. He is 22.

LHP Brian Holmes flirted with no-hitters all season and came incredibly close to a perfect game as well. He ranked sixth in the New York-Penn League in strikeouts and was 11th in ERA (2.56) and eighth in WHIP (0.960). Holmes tied for third in the league with seven wins. He won't turn 22 until January.

RHP Brady Rodgers turns 22 today. He was tied with teammate Brian Holmes for third in wins in the league and was in the top 15 in ERA (2.89) and WHIP (1.139). Rodgers was also stingy with the walks as he gave up only 11 free passes in 62+ innings.

RHP Lance Day lacked the requisite number of innings to qualify as a league leader, but the 22-year old was 6-1 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.139 WHIP in 11 games (8 starts).

LHP Kenny Long pitched so well with Tri-City (1.88 ERA and 0.628 WHIP in 17 appearances) that he merited a promotion to Lancaster where he put up a 1.12 ERA and a 0.625 WHIP in 12 appearances and got the final out to clinch the California League Championship. He is 23.

Other pitchers of note include 22-year old RHP Juri Perez. Perez did not pitch enough innings to qualify as a league leader, but his very stingy 1.81 ERA in nine appearances (8 starts) would certainly rank highly. He had a 2.16 ERA and a 0.840 WHIP in two post-season appearances. 24-year old RHP Blake Ford was tied for first in the league with 14 saves. 21-year old RHP Travis Ballew was 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA and a 1.026 WHIP in 23 appearances with 10.2 SO/9. 24-year old LHP Jeremiah Meiners was 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP in 20 appearances. RHP Vincent Velasquez, at 20 years of age, was one of the team leaders in strikeouts with a 10.1 SO/9 rate.

Frankly, it's hard to single out the top pitching performers on your team when only two on the staff have ERA's higher than 3.35! This pitching staff wasn't just good, it was also very deep in talent.

I will look at the final team, the Lancaster JetHawks, later this week.