Sunday, August 31, 2014

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Saturday, August 30, 2014

Iowa 3, Oklahoma City 0

W- Dallas Beeler (9-6)
L- Luis Cruz (1-2, 8-8 season)
S- Blake Parker (25)

OKC home runs: None.

Costly loss for the RedHawks, as Omaha's victory knocked them from the top spot in the division.

Matt Duffy went 2-3, Jonathan Villar drew 2 walks and stole 2 bases (24, 38 season), and Ronald Torreyes saw an impressive streak come to an end.... he struck out for the first time this month on a "questionable" strike 3 in the 1st inning.

Luis Cruz went 6 innings and allowed a solo homer to Jonathan Mota in the 5th, the only blemish on an otherwise fine night for him. He allowed 5 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 7. Richard Rodriguez pitched the final 2 innings and allowed a 2-run homer to Ryan Kalish in the 8th. He allowed one other hit, walked 1, and struck out 2.

In a monumental game 3 of this series, Asher Wojciechowski will take on Eric Jokisch at 1:05.

Corpus Christi 5, San Antonio 1

W- Chris Devenski (5-3, 10-8 season)
L- Leonel Campos (2-7)

CC home runs: Brandon Meredith (7, 14 season; solo in 8th)

The Hooks flew out of the gate with a 4-0 lead after 2 innings.

Colin Moran opened up the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st. Delino DeShields smacked a 2-run double in the 2nd, and he scored on an RBI single from Tony Kemp. The Missions spoiled the shutout in the 8th, but Brandon Meredith restored the Hooks' 4-run lead with his solo blast in the 8th. Kemp went 2-3 and was the only player on either side to log a multi-hit game.

Josh Hader allowed a hit, walked 3, and struck out 7 over 4.1 scoreless. Juan Minaya issued a walk to load the bases in the 5th, but he was able to get the final 2 outs of the inning without incident. Chris Devenski tagged in for 3 innings and allowed a solo homer to Cody Overbeck in the 7th. He allowed one other hit, walked 1, and struck out 1. Tyson Perez finished it off by striking out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th.

Mark Appel will make his final appearance of the regular season as he gets the start this evening. He'll take on Matt Branham at 6:10.

Inland Empire 9, Lancaster 7 in 10 innings

W- Austin Adams (3-2)
L- Andrew Walter (0-2, 4-5 season)

Lancaster home runs: Roberto Peña (13, solo in 7th)

The 66ers outscored the JetHawks 4-2 in the extra frame.

James Ramsay scored the first JetHawks run when he came home on an error in the 3rd which allowed Rio Ruiz to reach. In the 5th, Chan-Jong Moon smacked a 2-run triple and Rio added an RBI groundout. Roberto Peña led off the 7th with his homer, which gave the JetHawks a 5-2 lead, but the 66ers tied the game with 3 in the 8th. Danry Vásquez hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 10th, but the comeback bid fell short. Moon, Danry, Ramsay, and Brett Phillips had 2 hits apiece.

Kyle Westwood pitched 6.1 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned, 1 inherited runner charged to him) on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 8. Tyler Brunnemann got 1 out in the 7th via strikeout; he walked 2. Jamaine Cotton inherited a bases-loaded situation, but he got the final out of the 7th inning. He got 1 out in the 8th but ran into trouble. He allowed 3 runs (2 inherited runners charged to him), a single, walked 2, and struck out 1. Andrew Walter pitched the next 2 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 inherited runner charged to him) on 7 hits (solo homer) and struck out 2. Chris Cotton got the last out of the 10th via strikeout, but not before he allowed a 2-run homer to Sherman Johnson. He allowed one other hit.

Kent Emanuel will face Trevor Foss in the penultimate game of the season. First pitch is at 7:00.

Quad Cities 5, Burlington 1

W- Blaine Sims (4-4)
L- Harrison Cooney (9-8)

QC home runs: A.J. Reed (7, 12 season; 3-run in 1st)

The Banditos kept their playoff hopes, slim as they may be, alive as they scored the game's first 5 runs and contained the Bees.

A.J. Reed's 35th home run in 2014 was a 3-run shot that opened the scoring. Ryan Bottger went 3-4 with an RBI single in the 4th, and in the 7th, J.D. Davis added an RBI single. Reed finished a triple shy of the cycle (Astros County has a not-exactly-kid-friendly term for that) and scored 2 runs. Brett Booth went 2-3.

Blaine Sims allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 5, and struck out 5 over 6 innings. Raul Rivera allowed a hit and struck out 2 in a scoreless 7th, Jordan Mills allowed a hit and struck out 1 in a scoreless 8th, and Frederick Tiburcio struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 9th.

Today, Chris Lee gets the start. First pitch is at 2.

Tri-City 3, Brooklyn 2

W- Robert Kahana (1-3, 2-4 season)
L- Marcos Molina (7-3)
S- Ryan Thompson (11)

TC home runs: Jose Solano (1, 2-run in 5th), Nick Tanielu (3, solo in 6th)

The 2 homers you see above proved to be enough for the ValleyCats, who have gotten themselves back on track a bit after a 4-game losing streak. Tanielu finished 2-4.

Robert Kahana went 5 innings and allowed an unearned run on 3 hits and struck out 4. Chris Munnelly cruised through 3 innings and came out for the 9th, but he was knocked out by a solo homer from Michael Conforto. Munnelly allowed 2 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. The Closer, Ryan Thompson, did his job. He walked 1 and struck out 1 in the 9th.

The ValleyCats will close out the regular season with 2 in Vermont. In the opener, Randall Fant will take on
A.J. Burke at 4:05.

Astros Minor League Playoff Pictures Updated

Only two games left in the minor league regular season and there are still two teams trying to break through! Here is the latest. But first a word from our sponsor ~


OKLAHOMA CITY

Playoff Picture - 2 games left; elimination number is 3

For the season:
1st     74-68     .521     0.5 GB     L2

I said it wasn't going to be easy, but now it looks darn near impossible. With the RedHawks' loss to Iowa last night, they fell out of first place and are now a half game behind Omaha. With two games remaining, the OKC website says that the 'Hawks must win tonight to avoid elimination. If that's the case, I must be missing something. Due to the different number of games played, if OKC went 1-1 in the final two games and Omaha went 0-2 in their final games, Oklahoma City would have the higher win percentage. In any event, I wouldn't rely on that eventuality. The 'Hawks effectively do have to have a win tonight and hope against hope that Omaha finally stumbles against Colorado Springs.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Eliminated

LANCASTER - Clinched

For the season:
1st    78-60    .565    -.-GB    L2

For the second half:
T2nd     34-34     .500     1.0GB     L2

Playoff Picture - 2 games left; elimination number is N/A

The JetHawks clinched their playoff berth by winning the first half. Right now they are focusing on winning the second half title as well, but their chances to do so are quickly diminishing. Inland Empire's second straight win over the 'Hawks puts that team in first place with a magic number of one required to clinch the second half. Lancaster and Lake Elsinore are tied for second, one game behind the 66ers. Lancaster and Inland Empire will play their final two regular season games in Lancaster today and tomorrow. I would really like for the 'Hawks to win both games ... 80 is such a nice round number.

QUAD CITIES

For the second half:
T4th    34-34     .500     11.0GB     (1.0GB for playoff berth)    W2

Playoff Picture - 2 games left; elimination number is 1

Three teams are still vying for the remaining playoff spot in the Western Division. Frankly, it is Wisconsin's to lose as they are one game in front of Peoria and Quad Cities with only two games remaining in the season. However, Wisconsin lost another game of their lead with their loss last night as Peoria and Quad Cities both won their matches. The elimination number for Quad Cities is currently one. Any Wisconsin win or Quad Cities loss will mean that Quad Cities is eliminated since a tie would go to Wisconsin for their head-to-head record against Quad Cities.

Wisconsin (35-33 in second half) has two games remaining on the road in Beloit (24-43 in second half). Peoria will play their final two at Kane County (45-23 in the second half). Quad Cities will also finish their regular season on the road, playing two more in Burlington (29-39 in the second half).

All the River Bandits can do is win their final two games and hope that Lady Luck smiles on them.

TRI-CITY - Clinched

The 'Cats have won the Stedler Division and are in the playoffs. Now they are just jockeying for position to see who they will face in the Semi-Final Championship Series. As things stand today, Tri-City is in a three-way tie for best league record (with Hudson Valley and State College). The team with the best record will take on the Wild Card in that Semi-Final Series, but the Wild Card is also up for grabs as well with Brooklyn and Connecticut tied for that final spot. Tri-City will be taking on Vermont (33-41) in Burlington for the final two games of the regular season today and tomorrow.

GREENEVILLE - Eliminated

GCL ASTROS - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS ORANGE - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS BLUE - Eliminated

Happy Birthday - 8/31

Happy Birthday to ~

C Marlon Avea (21)
From Nicaragua, Marlon was signed by the Astros as a NDFA in 2010 and played his first season in the U.S. this year in the Gulf Coast League. In 21 games, he hit .279/.383/.353, and he had a 41% caught stealing rate.

One former Astro celebrates the day as well ~

RHP Tom Dukes (72)
Dukes came to Houston via a trade with Atlanta prior to the 1967 season. In 60 appearances out of the bullpen in 1967 and 1968, he was 2-4 with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.651 WHIP. He was subsequently picked up by the Padres in the 1968 expansion draft.

Tweet of the Day

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Friday, August 29, 2014

Let's play 2 in the Quad Cities!

Iowa 5, Oklahoma City 4 in 11 innings

W- Carlos Pimentel (4-9)
L- Jorge De Leon (3-3)

OKC home runs: Jonathan Villar (3, 9 season; led off game), Domingo Santana (16, solo in 2nd)

The RedHawks walked off with a loss, and their lead over Omaha is just a half-game.

Villar greeted Chris Rusin by taking him deep to begin the game. Domingo followed suit with a blast of his own to begin the 2nd inning. L.J. Hoes hit an RBI double in the 4th. Domingo added an RBI single in the top of the 9th, which tied the game at 4. Hoes and Max Stassi had 3 hits apiece, while Ronald Torreyes hit 2 doubles in his 6 at-bats. Domingo went 2-3 with 3 walks and 2 runs scored to go along with his run-producing hits.

Nick Tropeano allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 over 3.1 scoreless. His outing was cut short due to a lengthy rain delay. After play resumed, Tommy Shirley took over. He went 1.2 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Paul Clemens pitched a scoreless 6th, but walked the first 2 batters he faced in the 7th. He struck out 1. Pat Urckfitz issued a walk in a scoreless 7th as he picked up Clemens. Anthony Bass allowed an unearned run on a sac fly and struck out 1 in 2 innings of work. Jorge De Leon allowed the winning run with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th. He allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2 over 1.1 innings.

In game 2 of this series, Luis Cruz will take on Dallas Beeler at 7:05.

Corpus Christi 6, Frisco 3

W- Kyle Smith (5-5, 9-5 season)
L- Jerad Eickhoff (10-9)
S- Mike Hauschild (1)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks doubled up the Roughriders and Mike Hauschild shut it down.

Darin Downs allowed 2 hits and struck out the side in the 1st as he began his rehab assignment. Kyle Smith tagged in for 4 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 4. Mike Hauschild put Frisco on lockdown as he allowed just 1 hit and struck out 8 over the final 4 innings.

Delino DeShields led off the bottom of the 1st with a single, stole 2nd (51), and scored the game's first run on a double from Tony Kemp. Leo Heras then stole 2nd (19), and the errant throw from Frisco C J.T. Wise allowed Kemp to score. After Frisco tied the game at 2 in the 4th, the Hooks responded with 3 in the 5th as Colin Moran hit a 2-run single and Heras drew a bases-loaded walk. Heras capped off the night with an RBI single in the 7th. Kemp finished 3-4 with 2 runs scored.

The Hooks will close out the season with 3 against San Antonio. In the opener, Josh Hader will take on Leonel Campos. First pitch is at 7:10.

Inland Empire 12, Lancaster 8

W- Eduard Santos (3-4)
L- Lance McCullers (3-6)
S- Michael Smith (2)

Lancaster home runs: Tyler White (8, 15 season; solo in 4th), Jack Mayfield (7, 9 season; 2-run in 8th)

The JetHawks were doomed by an 8-run 6th from the 66ers.

White's home run led off the bottom of the 4th and tied the game at 1. Later in the inning, Danry Vásquez hit an RBI single, and Chan-Jong Moon ripped an RBI triple. Jack Mayfield's home run came with 2 outs in the 8th, and in the bottom of the 9th, Rio Ruiz smacked an RBI double, White added an RBI groundout, and Ronnie Mitchell hit an RBI single. Rio and Mitchell had 3 hits apiece.

Lance McCullers went 5 innings and allowed 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits (2 solo homers), walked 4, and struck out 7. Chris Cotton allowed 3 runs on 3 hits (2-run homer) in the 6th, and Gonzalo Sañudo allowed 3 runs, all on homers, on 4 hits (solo and 2-run homers) and struck out 3 in 3 innings.

In game 2 of this series, Kyle Westwood will face Dan Tobik at 8:00.

Game 1: Clinton 1, Quad Cities 0

W- Edwin Diaz (6-8)
L- Adrian Houser (5-6)
S- Emilio Pagán (15)

QC home runs: None.

The River Bandits were held to one Ryan Bottger double as they dropped the first game of the twinbill.

Adrian Houser pitched very well despite getting charged with the loss. He allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 8 over 6 innings, and Keegan Yuhl walked 1 and struck out 1 in the 7th.

Game 2: Quad Cities 6, Clinton 4

W- Andrew Thurman (7-9)
L- Eddie Campbell (9-9)
S- Jandel Gustave (2)

QC home runs: None.

The Banditos got the split in the doubleheader with 3 2-run innings.

In the 3rd, Bobby Boyd put the River Bandits on the board as he stole 2nd (6, 19 season) and scored on an errant throw from Clinton pitcher Eddie Campbell. Chase McDonald hit a pop-fly RBI single later in the inning. Brett Booth ripped an RBI double in the 4th, and Boyd executed a safety squeeze to bring him home. McDonald, who finished 3-3, hit another RBI single in the 5th, and A.J. Reed went 2-3 with a double and an RBI single later in the frame. Booth and Ryan Bottger had 2 hits apiece.

Andrew Thurman allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3 over 5 innings. Jandel Gustave pitched the final 2 innings and allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 3.

In their final series of the season, the Bandits are in Burlington. First pitch is at 6:30; starters have yet to be announced.

Tri-City 3, Brooklyn 2

W- Zach Davis (1-0, 3-0 season)
L- Corey Oswalt (6-2)
S- Ryan Thompson (10)

TC home runs: Ricky Gingras (2, solo in 4th)

The ValleyCats put up a pair in the 6th, which turned out to be the difference.

Gingras opened the scoring with his solo blast in the 4th inning, and in the 6th, Mott Hyde smacked a 2-run double. Gingras and Nick Tanielu had 2 hits apiece.

In his first start for the ValleyCats, Dan Mengden went 2.2 innings and allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Angel Heredia pitched 3 innings and allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4. Zach Davis allowed 2 hits over 1.2 scoreless, Aaron Vaughn got the final 2 outs of the 8th, and The Closer, Ryan Thompson, allowed a run on an RBI single and faced runners on 2nd and 3rd, but he was able to close it out by striking out Amed Rosario.

In the series finale, Robert Kahana will start. First pitch is at 6:00.

Johnson City 7, Greeneville 2

W- Steven Farinaro (3-4)
L- Juan Carlos Santos (0-2)

Greeneville home runs: None.

The Appy Astros closed out their season with a loss. 5 errors proved to be their undoing in this game.

Alex Melendez hit an RBI groundout in the 3rd and Bryan Muniz added a sac fly in the 6th.

Juan Carlos Santos went 3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4. Harold Arauz tagged in for 2.2 innings and allowed 4 runs (2 earned, 1 inherited runner charged to him) on 3 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 4. Aaron Greenwood allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 2 over 1.1 innings, and Ambiorix De Leon allowed a hit and struck out 2 in the 8th.


Astros Minor League Playoff Pictures Updated

With three days left in the minor league regular season, let's take a look at the Astro affiliates' playoff picture. I will try to update this daily until all of the playoffs have been decided.

OKLAHOMA CITY

Playoff Picture - 3 games left; elimination number is N/A

For the season:
1st     74-67     .525     -.- GB     L1

No one said this was going to be easy. With the RedHawks' loss on Friday to third place Iowa, second place Omaha took advantage with their win and is now only a half game in back of Oklahoma. The 'Hawks will not be able to back into the championship by depending on Omaha to lose. They are going to have to win it on their own. Omaha's elimination number is three and Iowa's is one, same as yesterday. If the RedHawks win their final three games aganst Iowa, they are in. And that may be precisely what it will take because Omaha is playing the Colorado Springs Sky Sox who happens to be the team with the worst record in the PCL, and who also happens to be on a 6-game losing streak. Iowa is a simpler matter. One OKC win in their final series with that team will take the Cubs out of it. Go 'Hawks! You didn't come this far to fall short now.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Eliminated

LANCASTER - Clinched

For the season:
1st    78-59    .569    -.-GB    L1

For the second half:
T1st     34-33     .507     -.-GB     L1

Playoff Picture - 3 games left; elimination number is N/A

The JetHawks clinched their playoff berth by winning the first half. Right now they are focusing on winning the second half title as well. With their loss to Inland Empire last night, those two teams are now tied for first place in the second half with Lake Elsinore one game behind and Rancho Cucamonga two games back. High Desert has now been eliminated from the second half race. Lancaster will play its final three games against Inland Empire (34-33 in second half) at home while Lake Elsinore (33-34 in second half) hosts Rancho Cucamonga (32-35 in second half) for their final three.

QUAD CITIES

For the second half:
T4th    33-34     .493     12.0GB     (2.0GB for playoff berth)    W1

Playoff Picture - 3 games left; elimination number is 1

Three teams are still vying for the remaining playoff spot in the Western Division. Frankly, it is Wisconsin's to lose as they are two games in front of Peoria and Quad Cities with only three games remaining in the season. Wisconsin lost a half game of their lead with their loss last night as Peoria and Quad Cities both split their double headers. The elimination number for Quad Cities is currently one. Any Wisconsin win or Quad Cities loss will mean that Quad Cities is eliminated since a tie would go to Wisconsin for their head-to-head record against Quad Cities.

Wisconsin (35-32 in second half) has three games remaining on the road in Beloit (23-43 in second half). Peoria will play their final three at Kane County (45-22 in the second half). Quad Cities will also finish their regular season on the road, playing three in Burlington (29-38 in the second half).

As I said yesterday, it is not impossible for the River Bandits to secure a playoff berth, but they are going to need A LOT of help.

TRI-CITY - Clinched

The 'Cats have won the Stedler Division and are in the playoffs. Now they are just jockeying for position to see who they will face in the Semi-Final Championship Series. As things stand today, their opponent would be State College, but if they end up with the best record (currently held by Hudson Valley who has one more game in the win column than the other two teams), they would take on the Wild Card team, which has yet to be determined. Brooklyn currently leads the Wild Card standings; they were defeated by Tri-City in the first game of a two-game series last night. Connecticut trails Brooklyn by only one game.

GREENEVILLE - Eliminated

GCL ASTROS - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS ORANGE - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS BLUE - Eliminated

Happy Birthday - 8/30

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Juan Santos (19)
Drafted in the 39th round in 2013 out of Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, Florida, Santos finished his second season in the Astros system last night as the Greeneville Astros brought their season to a close. In nine games (four starts), he had a 6.30 ERA and a 1.700 WHIP.

Tweet of the Day

Friday, August 29, 2014

Dominican Summer League Season Recap - Pitching

Earlier this week, I took a look at the offense on the Dominican Summer League teams which recently ended their seasons. Today, let's look at some of the pitching standouts from the two teams. (Despite some of the team stats, there were indeed several individual standouts!)

Orange Team
5.12 ERA - 35th out of 36 teams
1.580 WHIP - 33rd
511 SO - 23rd
299 BB - 15th

Blue Team
3.33 ERA - 16th
1.284 WHIP - 13th
513 SO - 21st
253 BB - 24th

The pitchers from the DSL teams skew slightly older than many of the offensive players that I featured in Tuesday's post, but most of them are in their first professional season. I will indicate below the player's current age with his birthday in parentheses and any who are in anything other than their first season. Any players who were promoted to the GCL or above prior to the end of the season will be addressed in the season recap for that team.

LEFTY STARTERS

LHP Salvador Montano - 20 (7/14)
In 15 games (11 starts), Montano had a 7-3 record with a 2.24 ERA, 1.212 WHIP and held batters to a .236 batting average. He was second in the league with 87 strikeouts (to 23 walks) in his 64.1 innings of work. He had the highest strikeout rate per nine innings (12.2) and highest groundball out to air out ratio (1.71) in this group of starters. He is from the Dominican Republic.

LHP Carlos Hiraldo - 18 (7/15)
In 52 innings, the Dominican lefty had a 3.81 ERA and a 1.442 WHIP. Those numbers are not indicative of his improvement in July and August. In 15 games (10 starts), Hiraldo walked 27 while striking out 39, and held hitters to a .244 batting average.

LHP Edwin Villarroel - 19 (5/18); 3rd season
The Venezuelan born Villarroel appeared in 14 games (nine starts) and compiled a 3-4 record with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.298 WHIP in 59.1 innings. Batters hit .274 against him. He walked 13 batters while striking out 41 and had one of the higher ground out to air out ratios on the team at 1.56.

RIGHT-HANDED STARTERS

RHP Edgardo Sandoval - 18 (7/9)
Sandoval, who hails from Panama, leads this group with his 4.18 strikeout to walk ratio. In 50.2 innings pitched, he walked 11 batters while striking out 46. He compiled a 3-1 record with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.145 WHIP in 12 games (seven starts). Sandoval held batters to a .237 average. In August, he had a 0.00 ERA and a 0.706 WHIP.

RHP Erasmo Pinales - 19 (11/25); 2nd year (kind of)
Technically, it is the young Dominican's second season, but since he only pitch 0.2 innings in his first season, that shouldn't really count. Arguably, Pinales had the best season out of this group of starters. He pitched the most innings (71.2),  and had the lowest ERA (2.13), the lowest WHIP (0.949) and the lowest batting average against (.192). In August, he was even better as he held batters to a .137 average and had a 0.86 ERA and a 0.619 WHIP. His WHIP for the season ranked 16th best in the DSL. In 15 games (14 starts), Pinales walked 18 batters while striking out 63.

RHP Moreno Polanco - 20 (7/29)
Also from the Dominican Republic, Polanco had a 2-3 record with a 2.27 ERA and a 1.406 WHIP in 47.2 innings in his first professional season. In 13 games (12 starts), he walked 29 batters while striking out 33, and held batters to a .221 average.

RHP Carlos Pizzolato - 18 (3/6)
From Venezuela, Pizzolato pitched 41.2 innings in 13 games (six starts), going 2-3 with a 2.59 ERA, a 1.248 WHIP and a .228 batting average against. He walked 16 while striking out 29.

RHP Albert Abreu - 18 (9/26)
Abreu, from the Dominican Republic, started all 14 of the games in which he appeared. In 68 innings, he had a 3-2 record, a 2.78 ERA, a 1.132 WHIP and held hitters to a .197 average. He walked 29 batters while striking out 54. Abreu was coming on strong in August with a 0.61 ERA and a 0.955 WHIP for that month.

STARTER/RELIEVERS
This trio spent more time relieving than starting, but did get a few starts under their belts.

RHP Carlos Sanabria - 17 (1/24)
Sanabria (11 games/3 starts) had a 2.82 ERA and a 1.617 WHIP, but was more effective in relief (2.00 ERA/1.444 WHIP). The young Venezuelan walked 18 while striking out 25 in 38.1 innings.

RHP Abdiel Saldana - 18 (3/13)
From Panama, Saldana started four of his 15 games and went 4-1 with one save. For the season, he had a 3.44 ERA and a 1.228 WHIP in 49.2 innings pitched, and a 3.03 ERA and a 1.281 WHIP in relief. Of all the relievers being featured, Saldana had the highest rate of strikeouts per nine innings (44 strikeouts to 15 walks) and the highest ground out to air out ratio (1.55 GO/AO).

RHP Jose Rosario - 19 (2/15)
Similarly to Sanabria and Saldana, Rosario was better as a reliever (2.52 ERA/0.981 WHIP) than as a starter (3.80 ERA/1.162 WHIP). In 16 games (3 starts), he was 2-4 with one save. His 35 strikeouts to 11 walks in 47.1 innings was the highest ratio out of the relievers being mentioned. He is from the Dominican Republic

RELIEVERS

RHP Josue Uribe - 19 (2/6)
Uribe, from the Dominican Republic, is the relief star of the group. He has the lowest ERA (1.08), WHIP (1.000) and opposing batting average (.129) of the group. In 16 games (25.1IP), Uribe was 2-2 with four saves. He walked 14 while striking out 16.

LHP Luis Ramirez - 18 (11/27)
This Venezuelan lefty didn't join the team until July 17th, but was impressive in his abbreviated season. In seven games (17.2IP), Ramirez was 1-2 with two saves, a 2.55 ERA and a 1.019 WHIP. He held batters to a .203 average and walked six batters while striking out 15.

RHP Diogenes Almengo - 19 (6/2)
Similarly, Almengo didn't join the team until July 22nd and was just starting to get in a groove as the season ended. In six games (18IP), he had a 3.50 ERA and a 1.389 WHIP, but in his final three outings in August (13IP), he had a 0.69 ERA and a 0.923 WHIP. It's a small sample size, but I'll definitely be keeping my eye on him. He is from the Dominican Republic.

RHP Lachlan Madden - 18 (6/3)
One of the Australian contingent playing for the Astros in the DSL this season, Madden pitched in 15 games (22IP) with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.273 WHIP. That's not bad, but what is really impressive is that Madden did not allow a run in his final seven appearances. Madden was 2-1 with five saves. He walked seven batters (three intentionally) while striking out 16.

RHP Joel Belboder - 18 (10/5)
Belboder appeared in 20 games (one start) and was 4-2 with two saves. In 40.1 innings, the young Dominican walked 15 batters while striking out 25, and had a 3.38 ERA and 1.325 WHIP. He had the lowest ground out to air out ratio of this group (0.77), but despite being more of a flyball pitcher, he only allowed two home runs.

There were two additional relievers who didn't have the best of seasons overall, but who piqued my interest with strong performances in August to end the season: 18-year-old Panamanian Jose Ramos (1.13 ERA/0.875 WHIP in August); and 17-year-old Dominican Bryan Abreu (1.50 ERA/1.000 WHIP in August).

Early next week, we'll take a look at the Gulf Coast League team who just finished their season yesterday.

Astros Minor League Recaps

I'm sorry, I went AWOL again. 

Results for Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Oklahoma City 2, Albuquerque 1

Domingo Santana and Preston Tucker: 1-2, 2B, RBI, 2 BB

Rudy Owens: 7.2 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Jason Stoffel: W (5-4), 0.1 IP, H
Pat Urckfitz: 0.1 IP
Jorge De Leon: S (3), 0.2 IP

Frisco 5, Corpus Christi in 4 11 innings

Brandon Meredith: 3-R HR (6, 13 season)
Colin Moran, Teoscar Hernandez, and Telvin Nash: 2 hits apiece

Jordan Jankowski: 6 IP, H, BB, 9 K
Juan Minaya: 1.2 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K

High Desert 9, Lancaster 4

Roberto Peña: 2-3, 2B, solo HR (12), 2 RBI
Jack Mayfield: 2-3, 2 RBI

Vince Velasquez: L (7-3), 2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, K
Tyler Brunnemann: 2.1 IP, H, 3 K

Quad Cities 11, Clinton 2

Marc Wik: 3-4, 2B, 3 R
Jose Fernandez: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
J.D. Davis: 2-3, 3-R HR (5, 10 season), 4 RBI

Kevin Comer: W (2-5), 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 10 K
Jordan Mills: 2 IP, BB, 2 K
Frederick Tiburcio: IP, BB

Vermont 4, Tri-City 2

Kristian Trompiz: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
Nick Tanielu: 2-5, RBI
D.J. Fisher: 2-5

Austin Chrismon: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K
Brandon McNitt: L (1-1), 2.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Greeneville 7, Johnson City 3

Bryan Muniz: 4-5, RBI, R
Cesar Carrasco: 2-5, 2B, R
Jake Nottingham: 2-4, 2-R HR (5) in 5th
Hector Roa: 2-5, solo HR (3, 6 season), 2 RBI
Randy Cesar: 2-4, solo HR (1, 3 season), 2 R
Alex Melendez: 2-3, R

Agapito Barrios: W (5-0), 5 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Gerardo Juarez: 1.2 IP, K
Eric Peterson: IP, K

GCL Yankees2 7, GCL Astros 0

Luis Payano: 2-4

Yhoan Acosta: L (1-3), 5 IP, 11 H, 7 R (6 earned), BB, 4 K
J.D. Osborne: 2 IP, 4 K
Christian Perdomo: IP, BB, 2 K

Results for Thursday, August 28, 2014

Oklahoma City was off

The RedHawks are in Iowa for their final 4 games of the season. Nick Tropeano will take on Chris Rusin at 7:05.

Frisco 8, Corpus Christi 5

W- Alec Asher (11-11)
L- Brady Rodgers (5-12)
S- Joe Ortiz (1)

CC home runs: Conrad Gregor (3, 16 season; 2-run in 2nd)

The wheels came off for Corpus in the 7th as Frisco put up 8 in the inning. 

Conrad Gregor's 2-run homer opened up the scoring in the 2nd. They'd have to wait until the 9th to score again as Tony Kemp scored on a wild pitch and René Garcia smacked a 2-run ground-rule double. 

Brady Rodgers cruised through 6 innings, but the Roughriders cracked him in the 7th. He went 6.2 innings and allowed 5 runs (1 inherited runner charged to him) on 8 hits (2-run homer) and struck out 7. Matt Heidenreich pitched 1.1 innings and allowed 3 runs, all on a 3-run homer, on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. David Rollins allowed a hit and fanned 2 in a scoreless 9th.

In the series finale, Kyle Smith will take on Jerad Eickhoff at 7:10.

Lancaster 7, High Desert 5

W- Jamaine Cotton (2-4)
L- Scott DeCecco (7-11)
S- Andrew Walter (3, 12 season)

Lancaster home runs: Jack Mayfield (6, 8 season; solo in 5th), Brett Phillips (3, 16 season; solo in 5th)

The JetHawks jumped out to a 7-2 lead and withstood a brief surge from the Mavericks. Everyone in the lineup had a hit. 

James Ramsay scored the game's first run on an error in the 2nd. One batter later, Catfish Elkins ripped a 2-run double. Ramsay was caught stealing 2nd base in the 3rd inning, but Roberto Peña took advantage and dashed home. Ronnie Mitchell hit an RBI single in the 4th, and Mayfield and Phillips went deep in the 5th. 

Brian Holmes pitched 4 innings and allowed 2 runs on 7 hits (solo homer), walked 2, and struck out 4. Jamaine Cotton allowed a hit in a scoreless 5th. The Mavericks ambushed Evan Grills with 3 in the 6th, but he recovered and stymied them the rest of the way. He allowed 4 hits and struck out 3 in 3 innings. Andrew Walter gave up 2 hits and struck out 2 in a scoreless 9th to close out the game.

The JetHawks welcome Inland Empire to The Hangar for the final series of the regular season. In the opener, which will begin at 8:30, Lance McCullers will take on Austin Wood.

Quad Cities and Clinton was postponed

A doubleheader is scheduled for this evening with the first game beginning at 5. In game 1, Adrian Houser will face Edwin Diaz, and Andrew Thurman takes on Eddie Campbell in game 2.

Tri-City 4, Brooklyn 3

W- Derick Velazquez (2-1)
L- Edioglis Villasmil (0-3)

TC home runs: None.

The ValleyCats walked off with the win in the first game of their final series of the season, and they won the Stedler Division outright in the process.

Jose Solano hit an RBI groundout in the 1st for the ValleyCats' first run. In the 5th, Alfredo Gonzalez crushed an RBI triple, and Solano added an RBI single to his ledger. Mott Hyde led off the 9th by reaching on an error. He then advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch and to 3rd on a bunt single from Jason Martin. Another error allowed Hyde to score the winning run. Alex Hernandez, Gonzalez, Solano, Nick Tanielu, and Jason Martin all had 2 hits.

Joe Musgrove allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and struck out 4 over 5 innings. Bryan Radziewski walked 2 and struck out 3 over 2 scoreless, and Derick Velazquez threw 2 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and striking out 2.

In game 2 of this series, Daniel Mengden gets the start. First pitch is at 6:00.

Johnson City 12, Greeneville 10

W- Jonathan Escudero (5-1)
L- Dean Deetz (2-4)

Greeneville home runs: Hector Roa (4, 7 season; 3-run in 2nd)

Sadly, with this loss, the Appy Astros were formally eliminated from playoff contention.

Hector Roa opened the proceedings with his 3-run blast in the 2nd inning. Alex Melendez ripped a 2-run double in the 7th, and then Greeneville rallied with 5 in the 8th to get to within 1, at 11-10. Jake Nottingham hit an RBI single, and then Randy Cesar smacked a 2-run double. Melendez and Jeffry Santos followed with RBI singles. Melendez finished 4-4 with 2 doubles, while Sean McMullen went 2-3 with a double and 3 runs scored.

Devonte German went 1.1 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and walked 2. Samil De Los Santos was the only Greeneville pitcher who emerged unscathed, as he allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 6 over 2.2 scoreless. Dean Deetz pitched 2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and fanned 2. Josh James only got 2 outs in the 6th as he allowed 4 runs on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Juan Delis went 1.1 innings and allowed a solo homer to Jose Godoy in the 8th. That was the only hit he allowed, and he also struck out 1. 

In the season finale, Harold Arauz will take on Steven Farinaro at 6.

GCL Astros 4, GCL Yankees2 3 in 12 innings

W- Kyle Gehrs (1-0)
L- Graham Ramos (0-1)

GCL home runs: None.

The Kissimmee Stros closed out the 2014 season by walking off with a win in their final game.

Marlon Avea opened the scoring with a sac fly in the 4th, and in the 6th, Dex McCall hit an RBI single and Frankeny Fernandez added a sac fly. Jorge Martinez won the game with a sac fly in the bottom of the 12th. He finished 2-5 with 2 runs scored. McCall, Fernandez, and Luis Payano also had 2 hits.

Justin Ferrell opened with 4 scoreless, allowing 3 hits, walking 3, and striking out 7. Joselo Pinales allowed a 2-run homer to Jake Anderson in the 7th. He went 3 innings and walked 1 and struck out 2. Alejandro Solarte allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 2 over 2 innings, and Kyle Gehrs walked 1 and struck out 2 over 3 scoreless.

Astros Minor League Playoff Pictures

With four days left in the minor league regular season, let's take a look at the Astro affiliates' playoff picture. I will try to update this daily until all of the playoffs have been decided.

OKLAHOMA CITY

Playoff Picture - 4 games left; elimination number is N/A

For the season:
1st     74-66     .529     -.- GB     W5

With the RedHawks off on Thursday, Omaha got a W to take advantage and move a half game closer to first. Oklahoma City is now only one and a half games ahead of Omaha (elimination number of 3) and four games in front of Iowa (elimination number of 1). All three teams now have four games left. Omaha took the home opener in their five-game series against the last place Colorado Springs Sky Sox (53-87); Colorado Springs is now on a five-game losing streak. The 'Hawks and the Iowa Cubs will play their final four in Oklahoma City. Go 'Hawks! (And Go Sky Sox!)

CORPUS CHRISTI - Eliminated

LANCASTER - Clinched

For the season:
1st    78-58    .574    -.-GB    W1

For the second half:
1st     34-32     .515     -.-GB     W1

Playoff Picture - 4 games left; elimination number is N/A

The JetHawks clinched their playoff berth by winning the first half. All that remains at this point is to see whether or not they can win the second half as well. Lancaster's win last night assured that they would retain sole possession of first place in the second half standings for another day, but second place Inland Empire and Lake Elsinore (one game behind) kept pace as they also won. Rancho Cucamonga and High Desert each lost last night and fell further back in the second half standings. Lancaster will play its final four games against Inland Empire (33-33 in second half) at home while Lake Elsinore (33-33 in second half) hosts Rancho Cucamonga (31-35 in second half) for their final four.

QUAD CITIES

For the second half:
T4th    32-33     .492     11.5GB     (2.5GB for playoff berth)    W1

Playoff Picture - 5 games left; elimination number is 3

I finally figured out all of this playoff stuff. The Midwest League is confusing because so many teams advance to the playoffs, but MiLB.com in their infinite wisdom doesn't bother to track elimination numbers for anything but the second half winners; they show the three teams jockeying for the final playoff spot as having been eliminated. So I had to do cyphering to figure it all out. And I'm tired. Worn out. Exhausted. Spent. Shot. Outta Gas. Kaput. Well, you get the general idea. So I've admittedly done a lousy job of tracking some of these. Feel free to dock my pay. Oh, that's right .... never mind.

But I digress. Here is the situation. Wisconsin is two and a half games ahead of Peoria and Quad Cities in the hunt for the final playoff spot. Wisconsin won last night, but both Peoria and Quad Cities were rained out and will both play double-headers today. The elimination number for both Peoria and Quad Cities is currently three. Any combination of three Wisconsin wins and three Quad Cities losses will mean that Quad Cities is eliminated; the same is true for Peoria. I absolutely refuse to get into tie-breaker scenarios unless and until it proves necessary!

Wisconsin (35-31 in second half) has four games remaining. They play one at home against Burlington (28-38 in second half) followed by three in Beloit (22-42 in second half). Peoria, with five left, will play a double-header at home against Beloit today, followed by three at Kane County (44-22 in the second half). Quad Cities, also with five left, will host a double-header against Clinton (28-37 in the second half) today and will end their regular season with three in Burlington. Phew! I think I'm going back to bed now.

It is not impossible for the River Bandits to secure a playoff berth, but they are going to need A LOT of help.

TRI-CITY - Clinched

1st     44-28     .611     -.-GB     W1

Playoff Picture - 4 games left; elimination number is N/A

Finally! After four straight losses, the ValleyCats finally got the elusive win that they needed to out-and-out clinch the Stedler Division title (as opposed to winning it on a tie-breaker). Now all that remains is to see is who they will face in the Semi-Final Championship Series. As things stand today, their opponent would be State College, but if they end up with the best record (currently held by Hudson Valley), they would take on the Wild Card team, which has yet to be determined. However, Brooklyn currently leads the Wild Card standings and Tri-City will be hosting the Cyclones for two games starting tonight.

GREENEVILLE - Eliminated

Alas, the news for the Appy Astros last night wasn't as good. They were officially eliminated from a possible playoff berth as they fell to the Johnson City Cardinals. The Cardinals clinched the final west division playoff spot with their win.

GCL ASTROS - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS ORANGE - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS BLUE - Eliminated

Happy Birthday - 8/29

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Alex White (26)
Originally drafted by Cleveland in the first round in 2009, White came to Houston as a part of the December 2012 trade with the Rockies (along with Alex Gillingham) for Wilton Lopez and Jose Monzon. White had Tommy John surgery in April 2013 and has been working his way back since May of this year. In 24 games (9 starts) at Oklahoma City this season, White is 3-5 with a 6.02 ERA and a 1.582 WHIP.

Three former Astros celebrate the day as well ~

RHP Roy Oswalt (37)
Drafted by Houston in the 23rd round in 1996, Oswalt pitched for Houston from 2001 until he was traded to Philadelphia for J.A. Happ, Jonathan Villar and Anthony Gose (flipped for Brett Wallace) in July 2010. In 303 games (291 starts), he was 143-82 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.196 WHIP. He came in second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2001 to some guy named Pujols. He was a three-time All-Star for Houston and the NLCS MVP in 2005 when he went 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.857 WHIP.

OF Dave Nicholson (75)
Nicholson came to Houston in a trade with the White Sox prior to the 1966 season. In 100 games for the Astros, he hit .246/.356/.411.

LHP Dan Schneider (72)
Obtained in a trade with Atlanta in October 1966, Schneider played in 54 games for Houston in 1967 and in six games for Houston in 1969 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.800 WHIP.

Tweet of the Day

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Astros Minor League Playoff Picture

With five days left in the minor league regular season, let's take a brief look at the Astro affiliates' playoff picture. I will try to update this daily until all of the playoffs have been decided.

Playoff Picture - 4 games left; elimination number is N/A

For the season:
1st     74-66     .529     -.- GB     W5

The RedHawks just keep winning and their fifth straight win puts them two games ahead of Omaha (elimination number of 3) and four games ahead of Iowa (elimination number of 1). On paper, Omaha has the easiest remaining schedule of the three teams since they will be playing their final five games at home against last place Colorado Springs (53-86) while Iowa and OKC will face off for their final four (in Oklahoma City). The RedHawks are off today so they could potentially drop a half game in the standings if Omaha wins tonight. I've suddenly become a huge Colorado Springs fan and will be indulging in a little scoreboard watching tonight.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Eliminated

LANCASTER - Clinched

For the season:
1st    77-58    .570    -.-GB    L1

For the second half:
1st     33-32     .508     -.-GB     L1

Playoff Picture - 5 games left; elimination number is N/A

The 'Hawks clinched their playoff berth by winning the first half. All that remains at this point is to see whether or not they can win the second half as well. Although Lancaster lost last night, they remain in sole possession of first place in the second half standings as second place Inland Empire and Lake Elsinore (one game behind) also lost. Rancho Cucamonga crept up to two games out and High Desert is now three games out. The second half title looks as though it may come down to the wire. Lancaster plays one more game at High Desert before finishing the season with four at home against Inland Empire.

QUAD CITIES

For the second half:
T4th    32-33     .492     11.0GB     (2.0GB for playoff berth)    W1

Playoff Picture - 5 games left; elimination number is 4 (I think)

OK, I'm officially ready for the regular season to be over. I'm doing a really lousy job of tracking these playoff hopes, so thanks to Jennifer Adamczyk for pointing out the error of my ways in thinking that QC had been eliminated. From the RiverBandit's website ~
With their sixth win in eight games, the River Bandits (32-33 second half, 67-67 overall) put themselves two games behind Wisconsin (34-31) for the final second half playoff spot with five games remaining. Peoria (32-33) also won Wednesday to tie Quad Cities.

TRI-CITY - Clinched

1st     43-28     .606     -.-GB     L4

Playoff Picture - 5 games left; elimination number is N/A

Although, technically, the magic number for elimination of second place Connecticut remains at 1, the ValleyCats have clinched at least a tie and the tie-breaker would be decided in their favor because of their record against division teams. With that said, Tri-City needs to get a win tonight and put an end to the current losing streak. Joe Musgrove is slated to take the mound; with the way he has pitched of late, one hopes that he can get the ship turned around.

GREENEVILLE

Playoff Picture - 2 games left; elimination number is 1

4th     32-32     .500     4.0GB     W1

OK, I was a little bit premature in declaring Greeneville as having been eliminated in yesterday's post. They have been eliminated from first place, but since the first AND SECOND place teams advance to the playoffs, they are still hanging in there. They will have to straight up win both remaining games against Johnson City. If they do so, their final win percentage will be roughly .5152 and Johnson City's win percentage would be roughly .5147. If current third place team Kingsport wins both remaining games, their win percentage would be the same as Johnson City's.

GCL ASTROS - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS ORANGE - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS BLUE - Eliminated

Happy Birthday - 8/28

Happy Birthday to ~

3B Matt Dominguez (25)
A first round pick by the Marlins in 2007, Dominguez came to Houston along with LHP Rob Rasmussen in the July 2012 trade for Carlos Lee. In 130 games with Houston this season, Dominguez is hitting .223/.262/.344 with 17 doubles, 14 home runs and 51 RBI.

Tweet of the Day

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Oklahoma City 13, Albuquerque 6

W- Ross Seaton (1-1)
L- Zach Lee (7-12)

OKC home runs: None.

The RedHawks won the series, and with Omaha's loss last night, took the lead in the PCL American Northern division. A 6-run 3rd and 4-run 4th gave them an 11-4 lead and they were up by as much as 13-4.

Matt Duffy opened the scoring with an RBI double in the 1st. In that 6-run 3rd, OKC got RBI singles from Preston Tucker, Duffy, Domingo Santana (an error after Santana's single allowed a 2nd run to score), Carlos Perez, and Max Stassi. Ronald Torreyes scored on a botched force out attempt in the 4th, and then Domingo added an RBI double to his ledger. Andrew Aplin had a sac fly, and Perez hit his 2nd RBI single of the evening. Jio Mier had an RBI single in the 7th, and Domingo drove in the final RedHawks run of the evening with a sac fly in the 8th. Duffy led the charge with 3 hits, while Domingo, Tucker, Aplin, and Perez had 2 hits apiece.

Alex White pitched 3.1 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits (2 solo homers), walked 5, and struck out 3. Ross Seaton tagged in for 3.2 innings, allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 2. Paul Clemens allowed a hit and struck out 2 in a scoreless 8th, and David Martinez allowed 2 runs on 3 hits (solo homer) and struck out 1 in the 9th.

In their final home game of the season, the RedHawks will look for the sweep. Rudy Owens will face Jeff Bennett at 7:05.

Corpus Christi 1, Frisco 0

W- Mark Appel (1-2, 3-7 season)
L- Joe Ortiz (0-2)
S- Tyson Perez (11, 12 season)

CC home runs: None.

Where are all the naysayers now? Mark Appel delivered the most brilliant start of his career to date, and Tyson Perez tightroped out of a massive jam in the 9th to close it out.

Appel pitched 8+ innings and allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 10. He was pulled after allowing a double to Hanser Alberto to begin the 9th. Tyson Perez got Teodoro Martinez to ground out for the 1st out. But, he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Alberto to advance to 3rd. Perez then walked Jake Skole to put runners on the corners. Perez struck out Jorge Alfaro for the 2nd out, but Skole stole 2nd in the process. Nick Williams was given an express pass to 1st base to load 'em up, but Tyson Perez kept his cool and struck out Trever Adams to end it, making sure that Appel wouldn't leave his best start without a much-deserved victory.

The only run in this game came courtesy of Colin Moran's RBI single in the bottom of the 8th. Brandon Meredith and Carlos Perdomo had 2 hits apiece; Perdomo scored that 1 run.

In game 2 of this series, Jordan Jankowski will take on Alex "Chi Chi" Gonzalez. First pitch is at 7:10.

Lancaster 12, High Desert 5

W- Chris Cotton (1-0, 2-3 season)
L- Oliver Garcia (2-1)

Lancaster home runs: Tyler White 2 (7, 14 season; 2-run in 6th, 2-run in 9th)

The JetHawks trailed 5-3 entering the 6th, but they swamped the Mavericks by finishing the game on a 9-0 run.

Tyler White started off his big night with a baby step... he opened the scoring with a sac fly in the 1st. He then added an RBI double and scored on a single from Jobduan Morales in the 3rd. He hit a foul ball that could've ended the top of the 6th, but it was dropped by High Desert 1B Zach Shank. White made Shank pay dearly for that as his 2-run homer tied the game at 5 and brought the JetHawks to life. Chan-Jong Moon hit an RBI single in the 7th. Then in the 8th, Jack Mayfield had a 2-run double. In the 9th, Rio Ruiz smacked a 2-run double, and one batter later, White capped off the evening with his 2nd 2-run homer. He finished 4-5 and scored 4 runs. Rio, Mayfield, and Moon had 2 hits apiece. Moon also stole his 10th base with Lancaster, giving him 35 on the year.

Zach Morton allowed 2 runs, a double, and walked 5 over 3.1 innings. Dan Minor was the first man out; he had 2 inherited runners charged to him, allowed a double, walked 1, and struck out 1 in 1.1 innings of work. Chris Cotton, in his Lancaster debut, allowed a 3-run homer to Marcus Littlewood in the 5th, which resulted in both of Minor's runners scoring. He struck out 1 over 1.1 innings. Jamaine Cotton struck out 1 over 2 perfect frames, and Gonzalo Sañudo struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 9th.

In game 2 of this series, Vince Velasquez gets the start. First pitch is at 9:05.

Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 1

W- Chris Mazza (4-3)
L- Michael Feliz (8-5)

QC home runs: None.

The River Bandits' elimination number is down to 3 with 6 to play. They were behind the 8-ball early with a 5-1 deficit after 3 innings and couldn't get themselves off the canvas.

Their lone run came in the 3rd as Bobby Boyd took advantage of the Kernels having their attention focused on Jose Fernandez, who they caught stealing 2nd. Boyd scampered home and scored on the play. A.J. Reed finished 2-4.

Michael Feliz allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 10 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4. Jandel Gustave threw a scoreless 6th, allowing a hit and fanning 1. Albert Minnis struck out 1 in the 7th, and Raul Rivera pitched the final 2 innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out 3.

The River Bandits host the Clinton LumberKings in their final home series of the season. In the opener, Kevin Comer will face Carlos Misell at 7.

Vermont 2, Tri-City 1

W- A.J. Burke (6-3)
L- Francis Ramirez (2-5)
S- Koby Gauna (11)

TC home runs: None.

The Cats' bats went quiet as they're suddenly in a funk. They've been held to 2 runs or less in their last 3 games, all losses.

Jamie Ritchie went 2-4 with a double and scored the only TC run in the 7th, when he came home on a Ricky Gingras double.

Francis Ramirez went 4 innings and allowed an unearned run on 4 hits and struck out 3. Randall Fant allowed a run on 3 hits and struck out 3 over 3 innings, and Derick Velazquez pitched 2 perfect innings, striking out 1.

The ValleyCats will look to avoid the sweep as Austin Chrismon takes on Jerad Grundy at 6.

Bluefield 10, Greeneville 2

W- Conor Fisk (5-1)
L- Reymin Guduan (2-5)
S- Tim Mayza (1)

Unfortunately, with this loss, the Appy Astros have been eliminated from playoff contention. They were down 5-2 after 2 innings and were buried with 6 unanswered from the Blue Jays.

Their only 2 runs came in the 2nd as Richard Gonzalez and Tony Nuñez scored on a wild pitch. Cesar Carrasco finished 3-4.

Reymin Guduan went 2 innings and all 6 of his outs were strikeouts. He allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits and walked 1. Aaron Greenwood allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and struck out 3 in 2 innings. Samil De Los Santos walked 1 and struck out 2 in the 6th. Juan Delis allowed 4 runs on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1 in 1.1 innings, and Ambiorix De Leon struck out 2 over 1.2 perfect innings.

In their final series of the season, Greeneville will be in Johnson City for 3. Starters have yet to be announced. First pitch is at 6.

GCL Tigers 8, GCL Astros 7 in 11 innings

W- Gerson Moreno (1-1)
L- John Gatlin (1-3)

GCL home runs: Jorge Martinez 2 (3, 5 season; 2-run in 1st, 2-run in 6th), Randy Cesar (2, solo in 5th)

The Kissimmee Stros couldn't hold a 7-5 lead in the 9th and walked off with the loss.

Martinez went 3-5 with those 2 2-run homers and scored 3 runs. Cesar went 3-6 with his 2nd homer of the year. Dex McCall hit an RBI double in the 3rd, and Nestor Tejada added an RBI single in the 8th.

Junior Garcia went 6 and allowed 2 unearned runs on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2. Joselo Pinales got 1 out in the 7th, but allowed 3 runs on 3 hits, including a 2-run homer to Shane Zeile. Kyle Gehrs walked 1 and struck out 2 over 1.2 innings. Krishawn Holley couldn't close it out as he allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2 in the 9th, and John Gatlin threw a scoreless 10th, but the Tigers got the winning run off of him with 1 out in the 11th. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 1.

The Kissimmee Stros are in Tampa to take on the Yankees 2. First pitch will be at 11 AM.


Astros MiLB Alumni: OF Justin Gominsky

[This is the second in an ongoing series in which we will check in on former Astros farmhands in order to hear about their lives after minor league baseball.]

Justin Gominsky, an outfielder drafted in the 11th round in 2011 out of the University of Minnesota, hasn't exactly been idle since asking for his release from the Astros earlier this season. Gominsky is a spokesperson for a health company, part owner and coach of the Minnesota Icemen, a club baseball team, and in his spare time, he plans to finish his degree. (There's a reason his nickname is GoGo!) But it is his recent involvement in a new charity called Assist2Play that has him really excited. Assist2Play raises money to help families in need so their children can participate in sports when their financial situation might not otherwise allow their participation. The children are asked to volunteer for a charity of their choice in exchange for the gift. Justin expressed how awful it must feel for a parent to say no to their talented athlete due to money troubles. If a child makes an elite team of any sport, Assist2Play will help fund his/her participation. Of his endeavors, Gominsky said, "I'm really excited to be able to give back the information and experience I have learned over the years of playing baseball, as well as to develop kids into the best student, person and athlete they can be."

Justin Gominsky - April 2012
Photo by Jayne Hansen

Justin's time with the Astros is a time he will never forget. "My most memorable moment as an Astro had to come my rookie ball year playing with the Tri-City ValleyCats. We had a good squad. I made and started in the All-Star Game that season. Playing in the All-Star game, as well as meeting all my teammates (some who are now in the big leagues) was one of my best baseball moments I have ever had." He is excited to now be able to help other players have those opportunities, and hopes to develop a template for success that will last them a lifetime.

Gominsky knows that a professional baseball career is an experience that only a select few are able to accomplish, and he truly appreciates the relationships that he established in his time in the minor leagues. He keeps in touch with many of the teammates he's had over the years and feels a brother-like bond with them. Justin said, "When you’re with a group of guys for six months every day you become family. I always loved being able to interact and talk to the fans as well. When I was a kid I always wanted to be able to talk to a 'real' baseball player, so when I was in the position of being a 'real' baseball player, I wanted to give back to the fans and community. I feel blessed that I was given a chance to play this great sport for as long as I did and the relationships I have made will definitely impact my life forever."

While Gominsky now is focused on the new relationships formed with the Minnesota Icemen and Assist2Play.org, he remains interested in maintaining the relationships he made with the Astros. "I would like to say to my friends and fans that I am so thankful for all of your support. I feel the Astros organization and players are so blessed to be able to have the fans that we do. I genuinely believe we have the best fans in baseball. One of the hardest decisions I have ever made was to walk away from baseball this year and start a new endeavor. As most of my fans and family know, I played the game with all my heart and I was always happy to be on the field. I personally want to thank all my fans and friends out there who have come into my life. Y'ALL ARE THE BEST. Please stay in touch with me because I care about each and every one of you. Thanks for the memories and keep helping guys like myself endure the rigors of professional baseball."

If you would like to know more about Justin’s baseball program or if you would like to contribute to Assist2Play, the links for those websites are:


>>>>>>><<<<<<<

Thanks for checking in with us, Justin. It's wonderful to see you giving back in order to help others' dreams come true. And I would be remiss if I didn't wish you a Happy Birthday, although I am a day late. Hope it was a great one!

Astros Minor League Roster Moves/Transactions

I have (yet again) been remiss in keeping my readers up-to-date on the various roster moves around the system. Here are the moves from the last week ~

CORPUS CHRISTI
8/26 - RHP Matt Heidenreich assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi
8/25 - LHP Colton Cain placed on the 7-day DL

LANCASTER
8/26 - OF James Ramsay assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster
8/25 - OF Jon Kemmer placed on the 7-day DL

8/24 - LHP Chris Cotton assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster

QUAD CITIES
8/26 - LF Brauly Mejia assigned from the GCL to Quad Cities
8/24 - RHP Raul Rivera assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities
8/20 - RHP Edison Frias placed on the 7-day DL

TRI-CITY
8/24 - RHP Daniel Mengden assigned from the GCL to Tri-City
8/21 - LHP Zach Davis assigned from Greeneville to Tri-City

GREENEVILLE
8/24 - RHP Jose Montero assigned from the GCL to Greeneville
8/21 - RHP Ambiorix de Leon assigned from the GCL to Greeneville


ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE
Also, the announcement was made yesterday regarding those players being sent to the Arizona Fall League by the Astros for the season starting October 7th. The following players will be members of the Salt River Rafters and will be joined by Greeneville pitching coach Josh Miller ~

RHP Mark Appel
RHP Vincent Velasquez
3B Rio Ruiz
C Tyler Heineman
OF Andrew Aplin
LHP Mitch Lambson
RHP Tyson Perez
IF Joe Sclafani*

*Sclafani will be on the taxi squad and will not be slated to be an everyday player, but the last two players that the Astros sent in that capacity ended up playing regularly before the season was over.

Astros Minor League Playoff Picture

With six days left in the minor league regular season, let's take a brief look at the Astro affiliates' playoff picture. I will try to update this daily until all of the playoffs have been decided.

Also, there are no playoffs in Houston's immediate future, but the team is zeroing in on a magic number of their own.



OKLAHOMA CITY

1st    73-66    .525    -.-GB    W4

Playoff Picture - 5 games left; elimination number is N/A

The RedHawks' four straight wins put them in front of the pack as they head down the stretch! They now lead Omaha by one game (elimination number of 5) and they lead Iowa by four games (elimination number of 2). On paper, Omaha has the easiest remaining schedule of the three teams since they will be playing their final five games at home against last place Colorado Springs (53-85) while Iowa and OKC will face off for their final four. The RedHawks really need to make it a sweep tonight of Albuquerque (59-78) going in to an off day on Thursday and hope for Reno (76-62) to take down Omaha (71-66) and for Tacoma (72-66) to defeat Iowa (69-70) tonight. It's starting to get interesting!!!

CORPUS CHRISTI

For the second half:
T3rd     30-34     .469     6.0GB     W3

Playoff picture - 6 games left; elimination number is 1

As a friend of the blog pointed out, the Hooks have already been eliminated technically because of the way the remaining schedule plays out between the first and second place teams, but they are making for a very respectable finish with their current win streak.

LANCASTER - Clinched

For the season:
1st    77-57    .575    -.-GB    W2

For the second half:
1st     33-31     .516     -.-GB     W2

Playoff Picture - 6 games left; elimination number is N/A

The 'Hawks clinched their playoff berth by winning the first half. All that remains at this point is to see whether or not they can win the second half as well. With last night's win, they took sole possession of first place in the second half standings. Inland Empire and Lake Elsinore trail them by one game, Rancho Cucamonga by three games and High Desert by four games. The second half title is still very much in play. Lancaster plays two more games at High Desert before finishing the season with four at home against Inland Empire.

QUAD CITIES - Eliminated

TRI-CITY - Clinched

1st     43-27     .614     -.-GB     L3

Playoff Picture - 6 games left; elimination number is N/A

Although, technically, the magic number for elimination of second place Connecticut remains at 1, the ValleyCats have clinched at least a tie and the tie-breaker would be decided in their favor because of their record against division teams. With that said, Tri-City needs to start putting together some wins over their final six games in order to avoid limping in to the playoffs.

GREENEVILLE - Eliminated

Alas, there will be no magical last minute run to the playoffs like last season as Greeneville was eliminated last night with only three games left in their season.

GCL ASTROS - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS ORANGE - Eliminated

DSL ASTROS BLUE - Eliminated

Happy Birthday - 8/27

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Nick Tropeano (24)
Drafted in the fifth round in 2011 out of Stony Brook (NY), Tropeano has spent the 2014 season with the AAA Oklahoma City team. In 22 games (19 starts), he is 9-5 with a 3.12 ERA and a 0.997 WHIP. He has walked 33 batters while striking out 118 in 121.1 innings pitched.

Severeal former Astros mark the day as well ~

RHP Jim York (67)
A 16th round pick by the Royals in 1969, York came to Houston in a trade with Kansas City prior to the 1972 season. In 114 games with the Astros from 1972 to 1975, he was 9-11 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.646 WHIP.

C Ed Herrmann (died December 22, 2013 at age 67)
Obtained in a trade with the California Angels in June of 1976, Herrmann was with the Astros until he went to the Expos in June of 1978. In 151 games with the Astros, he hit .227/.293/.288. He was an All-Star for the White Sox in 1974.

3B David Gus "Buddy" Bell (63)
Originally drafted by Cleveland in the 16th round in 1969, Bell came to Houston in a June 1988 trade with the Reds and played for the Astros the remainder of that season. In 74 games, he was .253/.301/.375. In all, he played for four teams over a span of 18 seasons and won six Golden Gloves, a Silver Slugger and five All-Star nods.

RHP Mike Maddux (53)
A fifth round pick by the Phillies in 1982, Maddux came to Houston as a free agent in 2000 at the end of his career. In 21 games, he was 2-2 with a 6.26 ERA and a 1.573 WHIP. The well-traveled Maddux played for nine different teams in his 15-year major league career. He is currently the pitching coach for the Arlington Rangers.

Tweet of the Day

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Monday, August 25, 2014

Oklahoma City 3, Albuquerque 0

W- Asher Wojciechowski (4-4)
L- Matt Magill (7-6)
S- Jorge De Leon (2)

OKC home runs: None.

The RedHawks got another great start from Asher Wojciechowski as they've taken the first 2 from the Isotopes.

Wojo allowed 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 over 7.1 shutout innings. Anthony Bass walked 1 and got a strikeout in the 8th. Tommy Shirley got the final out of the 8th, and Jorge De Leon finished it off with 2 strikeouts in a 1-2-3 9th.

Domingo Santana didn't have an official at-bat, but he had a sac fly in the 2nd and drew a bases-loaded walk in the 8th. Carlos Perez hit a sac fly of his own in the 8th. Matt Duffy went 2-4 with a double. Now, I'm legitimately interested to know when the last time all of the RedHawks' RBIs came without hits.

In game 3 of this 4-game set, Alex White will face Zach Lee at 7:05.

Corpus Christi 23, San Antonio 7

W- Travis Ballew (6-3)
L- Leonel Campos (2-6)

CC home runs: Teoscar Hernandez (4, 21 season; 2-run in 5th), Delino DeShields 2 (11, solo in 1st, solo in 6th)


DeShields was a single shy of the cycle. He had a chance for an elcyc, but his 4th hit was his 2nd home run of the game. Teoscar was a triple shy of the cycle.

I don't really know how to describe this game, so I'll leave it to Ron Simmons of the WWE:



Chris Devenski went 4 innings and allowed 5 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits (solo homer), walked 2, and struck out 6. Travis Ballew was the first man out; he allowed 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 2 over 3 innings. Tyson Perez threw a 1-2-3 8th, and Mitch Lambson allowed 2 hits and struck out 1 in the 9th.

The Hooks will now begin a 4-game set with Frisco. In game 1, Mark Appel will take on Jake Thompson. First pitch is at 7:10.

Lancaster was off

The JetHawks will begin a 3-game series in High Desert tonight at 9:05. Starters have yet to be announced.

Quad Cities 3, Cedar Rapids 2

W- Chris Lee (8-6)
L- Jared Wilson (3-3)

QC home runs: A.J. Reed (6, 11 season; 2-run in 4th), James Ramsay (3, solo in 6th)

The Banditos struck out 18 Kernels and Ramsay's homer was the difference.

All 3 Quad Cities runs came off those 2 home runs. Ramsay and Reed had 2 hits apiece. Reed has 34 home runs in this calendar year.

Troy Scribner went 3.2 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, walked 3, and struck out 7. Jordan Mills was the first man out and allowed a hit and struck out 3 over 1.1 scoreless. Chris Lee allowed a hit, walked 2, and struck out 7 over 3.2 scoreless, and Keegan Yuhl struck out Tanner Vavra to end the game.

In the series finale, Michael Feliz will take on Lewis Thorpe at 7:00.

Vermont 5, Tri-City 2

W- Corey Miller (1-3)
L- Robert Kahana (0-3, 1-4 season)

TC home runs: None.

Despite the loss, the ValleyCats clinched the Stedler Division thanks to Lowell's 7-3 win over Connecticut.

Mott Hyde put the ValleyCats on the board first when he scored on an error in the 1st that saw D.J. Fisher reach base . He scored both runs; in the 9th, he came home on Fisher's sac fly. Jamie Ritchie went 2-4.

Robert Kahana went 3 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits (all singles) and struck out 2. Chris Munnelly allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 5 over 3 innings. Dan Mengden was next up; he allowed a run on 2 hits and fanned 3 over 2 innings, and Angel Heredia walked 1 in a scoreless 9th.

In game 2, A.J. Burke will take on Francis Ramirez at 6:00.

Greeneville 3, Bluefield 1

W- Brock Dykxhoorn (3-3)
L- Jesus Tinoco (1-9)
S- Eric Peterson (7)

Greeneville home runs: None.

The Appy Astros are hanging on by a thread now, but this win certainly helps their cause.

Greeneville got a pair in the 5th as Bluefield pitcher Jesus Tinoco threw the ball away on a force out attempt, scoring Jake Nottingham and Ydarqui Marte. In the 7th, Jeffry Santos hit an RBI infield single. Santos was 2-4, and Marte, who scored 2 of Greeneville's 3 runs, reached base in all 3 of his plate appearances, going 1-1 with a couple of walks.

Brock Dykxhoorn had his finest outing yet, as he allowed an unearned run on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 10. Josh James tagged in and allowed a hit and fanned 3 over 2 scoreless. Jose Montero allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 2 in a scoreless 8th, and Eric Peterson walked 1 in a scoreless 9th to finish it off.

In the series finale, Reymin Guduan will take on Oscar Cabrera at 6:00.

GCL Astros 10, GCL Tigers 8

W- Starlyng Sanchez (1-2, 2-5 season)
L- Carlos Lara (6-1)
S- Gerardo Juarez (1)

GCL home runs: Jorge Martinez (1, 3 season; solo in 6th)

The Kissimmee Stros erupted for a 6-run 2nd in response to a 4-run top of the inning from the Tigers, giving them an 8-4 lead. The Tigers made things a bit interesting in the top of the 9th, but the GCLstros were able to secure the win.

Everyone in the lineup had a hit. Brauly Mejia and Dex McCall had RBI doubles in the 1st. Luis Payano hit a bases-clearing triple in the 2nd, and then the Kissimmee Stros got RBI singles from Mejia, Randy Cesar, and Connor Goedert. Jorge Martinez's 1st home run as a member of the Astros organization led off the 6th, and in the 8th, Brian Peña hit an RBI single.

Cris Santamaria allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits (solo homer) and struck out 2. Starlyng Sanchez went 4.2 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits (2-run homer), walked 1, and struck out 1. Gerardo Juarez got the final out of the game.

The Kissimmee Stros are currently in a game against the Tigers in Lakeland.

Dominican Summer League Season Recap - Offense

The Dominican Summer League teams ended their seasons a little early due to rainouts of their last couple of games. The Astros Orange team ended the season with a 31-39 record and the Astros Blue team ended with a 35-34 record. But both of the teams were coming on strong in August with 12-7 and 11-6 records, respectively, so they certainly left on a high note.

Since the Astros expanded their presence in the Dominican Summer League to two teams, there are a lot of players from the two teams who deserve a look so I'll be splitting this season recap into offensive performances and pitching performances. First up, the offense ~

Orange Team
.248 BA - 16th out of 36 teams
.377 OBP - 2nd
.342 SLG - 13th

Blue Team
.235 BA - 25th
.358 OBP - 10th
.325 SLG - 20th

The two teams ranked highly in walks. The Orange team was first in drawing walks with 403 and the Blue team was third with 381. In addition, the Orange team was third in stolen bases with 156 in 70 games. By contrast, the Corpus Christi team has stolen 161 bases, but it took them 133 games to do that.

The vast majority of those players having good offensive seasons in the DSL are still only 17 or 18 years old. In my notes on each player, I will indicate the player's current age with his birthday in parentheses. All of the players are in their first season of professional play except for two of them as noted below. Any players who were promoted to the GCL prior to the end of the season will be addressed in the season recap for that team.

CATCHERS

Orlando Marquez - 18 (3/12)
The Venezuelan born Marquez didn't start playing until July 4th. He caught in 15 of his 28 games and had five passed balls, five errors and a 37% caught stealing rate. Marquez hit .296/.381/.429.

Gabriel Bracamonte - 19 (5/15)
Also from Venezuela, Bracamonte showed early promise, but did not play after July 1st. He caught in only 10 of his 15 games with three passed balls, four errors and a 35% caught stealing rate. He hit a robust .378/.481/.511 in that small sampling.

Ihan Bernal - 17 (10/20)
Bernal is, to me, the most intriguing of the group. The young Panamanian may only have hit .200/.411/.284, but he was tied for the league lead with his 51 walks. In 52 games, he walked 51 times and struck out 47 times. Bernal caught in 40 of those games and had a .980 fielding percentage, a 7.33 range factor, 12 passed balls, six errors and a 39% caught stealing rate.

INFIELDERS

2B Jonathan Matute - 17 (4/28)
Another Venezuelan, Matute put up average defensive numbers, but like Bernal, he had a propensity to draw walks. His 43 walks (to 53 strikeouts) in 69 games tied for 10th in the league. His nine sacrifice hits were the most on his team. He had a .245/.369/.327 batting line for the season.

1B Connor MacDonald - 18 (2/27)
One of the young Australians playing for the Astros this year, MacDonald put up a .328/.442/.461 line in 35 games before being shut down on July 10th. His defensive numbers were at or above average.

1B Jake Bowey - 18 (7/16)
MacDonald's fellow Australian Bowey started the season with the Gulf Coast League (6 games) before being sent to the DSL (27 games) to finish the season. A lefty hitter, he hit .221/.362/.375 and walked 24 times while striking out 31 times. His defensive numbers were at or above average.

1B Cristopher Luciano - 18 (5/31)
This young Dominican was third in the league with his 50 walks (to 68 strikeouts) in 62 games. He hit .255/.401/.356 and put up defensive numbers that were at or above average.

3B Wander Franco - 17 (10/11)
Fellow Dominican Franco hit .243/.363/.352 in 68 games and was coming on strong at the end of the season, hitting .323/.392/.431 in August. Franco was tied for fourth in the league in walks with 48 (to 37 strikeouts). Franco is a switch-hitter who hit better from the right side of the plate this season. His defensive numbers were somewhat below average.

3B Reiny Beltre - 18 (7/16)
Beltre also improved toward the end of the season, hitting .294/.422/.368 in August (and .231/.380/.281 for the season). Beltre did not join the team until July 12th and only played in 34 games (walking 20 times and striking out 21). His defensive numbers were somewhat below average. Beltre is from the Dominican Republic.

SS Wilson Amador - 17 (12/14)
This young Dominican has the unenviable honor of currently leading all Astros minor league players in hit by pitches, with 17. He led his team in runs, hits (a tie) and stolen bases, and was tied for 8th in the league in that last category. A .245/.349/.302 hitter in 64 games, he hit .284/.383/.328 in August. With 39 errors to his name, his defense is a work in progress.

IF/OF Marcos Almonte - 18 (3/28)
Almonte is also Dominican. He has played more games at shortstop than any other position, but also played at left field, third base, center field and second base this year. He is tied with Amador (and Andy Pineda below) for the DSL Astros lead in hits, but leads the DSL 'Stros outright in doubles and triples. Almonte is tied for 14th in doubles and walks in the league. He walked 42 times while striking out 44 times in 67 games, as he hit .233/.359/.353. His defensive numbers at short are at or below average.

OUTFIELD

Vincente Sanchez - 17 (10/4)
Sanchez, another Dominican, showed tremendous promise early in the season, but played in only one game after July 8th. The lefty hit .281/.390/.479 in 32 games and his five home runs led the DSL Astros. Another patient hitter, he walked 22 times while striking out 23 times. His defensive numbers are at or slightly below average.

Andy Pineda - 17 (11/11)
Another Dominican lefty, Pineda hit .279/.384/.312 in 65 games and is in a three-way tie for the DSL lead in hits. His defensive abilities appear to be at or above average.

Edgar Lorenzo - 17 (1/15)
Yet another player from the Dominican Republic, Lorenzo showed average or somewhat below defensive abilities while putting up a .236/.361/.363 in 56 games. His bat was coming on strong in August as he hit .302/.431/.453 in August.

Bryan de la Cruz - 17 (12/16)
De la Cruz is also (surprise, surprise) from the Dominican Republic. He hit .346/.435/.481 in August and .262/.387/.317 in 59 games over the season. His defensive numbers are at or somewhat below average.

Jose Benjamin - 18 (12/16)
Benjamin's defense appears to be average to somewhat below average. In 42 games this season, he hit .235/.349/.309 with 20 walks to 24 strikeouts. He is also from the Dominican Republic.

Juan Fuentes - 20 (11/8)
Another average to slightly below average defender (on paper), Fuentes is in his second year as a professional, having played last season in the Blue Jays organization. The switch-hitter hit .300/.423/.367 in 58 games and had the 17th highest OBP in the league. He is from the Dominican Republic.

Rodrigo Ayarza - 19 (2/20)
Ayarza is in his third professional season, but his first with the Astros (after spending two years in the Rangers organization). A switch-hitter from Panama, he led the DSL Astros in RBI and sacrifice flies, and he was tied for 18th in walks in the league (41 walks to 30 strikeouts). On paper, he is an average to above average defender.

Later this week, I'll be taking a look at the DSL pitchers.