Saturday, September 26, 2015

Astros Farm Report: Gone Fishin' Edition

I believe that there has been only one day in four years, one month and 19 days (but who's counting?) that I haven't posted something on this site, even if it was just a Tweet of the Day. But I am going to take a few days off. Don't worry I'll be back on or around October 7th in time for the start of the Venezuelan Winter League and I'll update this post with any breaking news or roster moves, but for the most part I'm gone fishin' for a few days.

But I'm leaving you with all of this info to peruse on the upcoming fall and winter leagues, prospect rankings, the Rule 5 draft and, of course, upcoming birthdays! Hopefully this will keep you occupied for a few days while I take a nap.



NEWS AND LINKS

Tyler White and Kyle Tucker get a little love thrown their way in this MiLB.com post about postseason standouts.

2nd round 2011 Astros draft pick Adrian Houser made his MLB debut 9/26 for Milwaukee against St. Louis in St. Louis, pitching the 8th inning and allowing one hit, no runs, one walk and no strikeouts. I am absolutely thrilled for him.

UPCOMING ASTROS BIRTHDAYS
9-26: RHP Albert Abreu (20)
9-28: RHP Chris Murphy (23)
9-30: IF Jack Mayfield (25)
9-30: RHP Trent Thornton (22)
9-30: RHP James Hoyt (29)
10-1: 3B Colin Moran (23)
10-2: RHP Lance McCullers (22)
10-3: 3B/1B Cesar Carrasco (22)
10-4: LHP Joe Thatcher (34)
10-4: OF Vicente Sanchez (19)
10-6: 1B Justin Garcia (22)
10-7: LHP Michael Freeman (24)

RECENT ROSTER MOVES
9-23: 1B Jon Singleton recalled to Houston
9-22: IF Jio Mier assigned from Corpus Christi to Fresno
9-22: RHP Jandel Gustave assigned from Corpus Christi to Fresno
(Mier and Gustave had both been traveling with the team but hadn't been activated.)
9-21: RHP Dan Straily recalled to Houston

FALL AND WINTER LEAGUE INFO

Here is the Fall Instructional League roster.

The Arizona Fall League starts October 13th. Eight Astros minor-leaguers are scheduled to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs:

LHP Chris Cotton
*LHP Brian Holmes
LHP Albert Minnis
RHP Keegan Yuhl
3B J.D. Davis
**IF Chan Moon
1B A.J. Reed
OF Derek Fisher

*Holmes appears to be replacing RHP Aaron West who had been named on the original roster.
**Taxi squad member.

The winter league information for the Venezuelan (LVBP), Dominican (LIDOM), Mexican (LPM) and Puerto Rican League (LBPRC) can be found here, but rosters usually aren't finalized until the last minute. The LVBP starts October 7th. The LPM starts October 9th. The LIDOM starts October 15th. And the LBPRC will start around October 30th.

The winter league information for the Australian Baseball League can be found here. The ABL will start their season on October 23rd.

THE RULE 5 DRAFT

Here is a primer on how the Rule 5 Draft and a preliminary list of the players who are at risk that I put together last month.

FINAL 2015 RESULTS, STANDINGS, SEASON STATS AND SEASON REVIEWS

Here are the final 2015 results, etc. for each Astros minor league team.

And here are the Season Reviews with information on the team and a few standout players:
Dominican Summer League Astros
Gulf Coast League Astros
Greeneville Astros

PROSPECT INFORMATION AND RANKINGS

Baseball America's Top 20 Prospects by League

Pre-Season Astros Top Prospect Lists

Current MLB Pipeline Top Astros Prospects

And, last but not least, WTHB's 2015 Award winners can be found here.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Fresno Grizzlies: 2015 Season in Review

Fresno ended the season with a 84-59 record and they earned their playoff spot the old-fashioned way ... by winning their division. No messing about with wild cards and mini-series and semifinals, just an outright division win. And they won it convincingly, 13.5 games over their closest competitor. The Grizzlies then defeated the El Paso Chihuahuas 3-1 in a best-of-five to win the Conference and advance to the finals against Round Rock. Fresno lost Game 1 of the finals to Round Rock in painful (for me since I was attending) fashion in 12 innings, followed by a win in Game 2 and a loss in Game 3, leading to TWO must-win games. Which they did, thank you very much! And they went on to win the Gildan Triple A National Championship game against the Columbus Clippers on Tuesday so they are officially the Kings of the World!!! (Or at least of the minor leagues.) Now let's see how the team performed within the league and who the team standouts were ...

James Hoyt - September 2015

Note all rankings are out of 16 total teams

FRESNO GRIZZLIES TEAM BATTING
Batting average: .274 (8th)
On-base percentage: .357 (1st)
Slugging percentage: .416 (8th)
Doubles: 243 (13th)
Triples: 36 (8th)
Home runs: 124 (T7th)
Walks: 606 (1st)
Strikeouts: 1014 (10th)
Stolen bases: 157 (T1st)

FRESNO GRIZZLIES TEAM PITCHING
ERA: 4.24 (9th)
WHIP: 1.369 (7th)
Walks: 417 (14th)
Strikeouts: 1096 (3rd)

FRESNO GRIZZLIES BATTING LEADERS (minimum 50 games for BA, OBP and SLG)
Batting Average: Tyler White (.362)
On-Base Percentage: Tyler White (.467)
Slugging Percentage: Tyler White (.559 - after Santana who was traded)
Doubles: Matt Duffy (29)
Triples: Nolan Fontana (6)
Home Runs: Jon Singleton (22 - T7th in the league)
RBI: Matt Duffy (104 - 2nd in the league)
Stolen Bases: Jonathan Villar (35 - 1st in the league)
Walks: Nolan Fontana (74 - 2nd in the league)
Runs: Matt Duffy (94 - 1st in the league)

Tyler White didn't have enough at-bats at the level to qualify as a league leader, but old friend Domingo Santana (traded to the Brewers) ended the season as third in the league in average, second in the league in on-base percentage and first in the league in slugging. Now let's look a little closer at some of the team standouts.

3B/1B Matt Duffy (26)
Shortly after earning MVP honors for the Pacific Coast League, Duffy was called up to Houston as recognition of his great season. In 127 games, Duffy hit .294/.366/.484 with 29 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs and 104 RBI.

1B Jon Singleton (24)
In 102 games for Fresno, Singleton hit .254/.359/.505 with 25 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs and 83 RBI. He walked 64 times to 99 strikeouts.

OF L.J. Hoes (25)
Hoes had a great season for Fresno. In his 99 regular season games for the team, he hit .295/.383/.400 with 24 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 53 RBI. He also stole 26 bases to 8 caught stealing and walked 52 times to 62 strikeouts.

OF Alex Presley (30)
In 89 games for Fresno, Presley hit .292/.345/.367 with 14 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 49 RBI and 15 stolen bases.

3B Tyler White (24)
White did well in his 59 games with Corpus Christi (.284/.415/.426), but he kicked it into overdrive following his early July promotion to Fresno (.362/.467/.559 in 57 games). He ended the season with a combined 25 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs and 99 RBI. He walked 84 times and struck out 73.

IF/UT Joe Sclafani (25)
As a bench/utility player, Sclafani didn't see regular playing time, but he hit a very nice .300/.381/.345 in 72 games and got stronger at the plate as the season progressed.

In the Corpus Christi season review, I touched on three players who spent parts of their seasons with Corpus Christi and put up very good numbers at the lower level, but all three also put up very respectable numbers at Fresno and I look for them to build on that experience next year: IF Tony Kemp (.273/.334/.362 in 71 games), OF Andrew Aplin (.275/.392/.348 in 74 games) and C Tyler Heineman (.271/.312/.370 in 56 games).

FRESNO GRIZZLIES PITCHING LEADERS (minimum 50IP for ERA and WHIP)
ERA: Jordan Jankowski (3.18 in 62.1IP)
WHIP: Brett Oberholtzer (1.186 in 70IP)
Strikeouts: Dan Straily (124 - 1st in the league)
Saves: James Hoyt (9)

In looking at the standouts for the season, let's start with Team Rehab. RHP Tyson Perez had a terrific season before going on the DL in late August. For the season (including three appearances for Corpus Christi, Perez had a 2.45 ERA and a 0.986 WHIP in 42 appearances. Perez underwent surgery this week. I believe that it was Tommy John surgery, but I have not seen that confirmed yet. LHP Tommy Shirley was building on his great 2014 season when he disappeared to Weiland Island at the end of May. In 11 games (7 starts), he had a 3.07 ERA and a 1.049 WHIP. Unfortunately, I don't know his status.

RHP Mike Hauschild (25)
Hauschild started the season with Corpus Christi, compiling a 3.20 ERA and a 1.204 WHIP in 10 games (8 starts) before earning a mid-June promotion to Fresno. Following the promotion, Hauschild had a 3.49 ERA and a 1.289 WHIP in 15 starts. His 138.1 total innings pitched were the most in the Astros minor leagues this season.

RHP Jordan Jankowski (26)
Jankowski had a really solid season for Fresno (3.18 ERA/1.428 WHIP) anchoring their bullpen. He ended the season on a high note as he didn't allow a run in his final 13 appearances of the regular season. He also didn't allow a home run in 55 regular season appearances (62.1 innings), a streak which came to an end in the postseason.

RHP James Hoyt (28)
Hoyt missed almost a month on the DL from mid-May to mid-June. After his return from the DL, Hoyt allowed only six earned runs in his final 33 appearances to end the season with 3.49 ERA, a 1.204 WHIP and nine saves.

LHP Brett Oberholtzer (26)
In 12 starts for the Grizzlies, Oberholtzer had a 3.86 ERA and a 1.186 WHIP. He walked only 12 and struck out 52 in 70 innings at the level.

There was a whole group of pitchers at the level that had uneven seasons and could be brilliant one day and struggle the next, including LHP Luis Cruz, RHP Mark Appel, RHP Brady RodgersLHP Kevin Chapman, RHP Jake Buchanan, RHP Dan Straily, and RHP Asher Wojciechowski. No one exemplifies this better than Mark Appel. On August 12th, Appel went eight innings, allowing only four hits, one walk, one run and he struck out eight. In his next start he lasted only 4.2 innings and allowed nine runs (six earned) on 12 hits and two walks and struck out three.

In an interview with Kevin Chapman a couple years ago, he told me that the main difference between the minor leagues and the major leagues is consistency, the difference between doing well 90% of the time and doing well 95% of the time. It is also the thing that drives minor league fans crazy as they want to see a favorite player find that consistency and succeed. It is my sincere belief that each of these talented pitchers are capable of making that final leap and that each one will have a successful major league career.

Previous Season Reviews:
Dominican Summer League Astros
Gulf Coast League Astros
Greeneville Astros

Astros Daily Farm Report: 9/25

Today will be a little different as I finish up my season recaps and take a final look back at the 2015 Astros minor league seasons as a whole, including run differentials and cumulative team season stats. I will then tuck this info away on the blog's sidebar for handy reference throughout the offseason.

FINAL STANDINGS, RECORDS AND SEASON STATS

FRESNO

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 84-59 -.-GB L1 
(Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title; won the conference series; won the PCL Championship; won the AAA National Championship)

Playoff Record:
Won Pacific Conference Championship 3-1 over El Paso
Won Pacific Coast League Championship 3-2 over Round Rock
Won the Gildan AAA National Championship 1-0 over Columbus

Run Differential: +144

Cumulative Team Stats:
.274 BA
.357 OBP
.416 SLG
4.24 ERA
1.369 WHIP

CORPUS CHRISTI

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 89-51 -.-GB W2
(Clinched playoff berth; clinched first half title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 1-3 to Midland in the Southern Division Playoffs


Run Differential: +189

Cumulative Team Stats:
.275 BA
.356 OBP
.413 SLG
3.62 ERA
1.330 WHIP

LANCASTER

Final Regular Season Record: 3rd 75-65 3.0GB L1
(Clinched playoff berth via the wild card)

Playoff Record:
Lost 1-2 to High Desert in the South Division miniseries


Run Differential: +160

Cumulative Team Stats:
.291 BA
.369 OBP
.481 SLG
4.60 ERA
1.417 WHIP

QUAD CITIES

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 88-50 -.-GB L1
(Clinched playoff berth; clinched first half title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 0-2 to Cedar Rapids in Western Division Quarterfinals

Run Differential: +207

Cumulative Team Stats:
.265 BA
.346 OBP
.380 SLG
2.66 ERA
1.152 WHIP

TRI-CITY

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 42-33 -.-GB W1
(Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 0-2 to Staten Island in Semifinal Championship Series


Run Differential: +45

Cumulative Team Stats:
.261 BA
.345 OBP
.367 SLG
3.79 ERA
1.318 WHIP

GREENEVILLE

Final Regular Season Record: 2nd 34-33 5.5GB W1
(clinched playoff berth; won League Championship)

Playoff Record:
Won 2-1 in best-of-three semifinals over Kingsport
Won 2-1 in the best-of-three League Championship Series over Princeton

Run Differential: +53

Cumulative Team Stats:
.249 BA
.325 OBP
.359 SLG
3.18 ERA
1.235 WHIP

GULF COAST LEAGUE

Record: 4th 19-41 16.5GB L7
(Eliminated from postseason play)

Run Differential: -75

Cumulative Team Stats:
.200 BA
.287 OBP
.262 SLG
3.83 ERA
1.408 WHIP

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE BLUE TEAM

Record: 1st 43-29 -.-GB L3
(Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title)

Playoff Record: 
Won first round of playoffs over DSL Blue Jays 2 games to 0
Lost second round of playoffs to DSL Rangers1 2 games to 0

Run Differential: +81

Cumulative Team Stats:
.243 BA
.356 OBP
.349 SLG
3.47 ERA
1.342 WHIP

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE ORANGE TEAM

Record: 5th 28-44 22.0GB W1
(Eliminated from postseason play)

Run Differential: -94

Cumulative Team Stats:
.253 BA
.339 OBP
.358 SLG
4.26 ERA
1.526 WHIP

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Corpus Christi Hooks: 2015 Season in Review

Corpus Christi ended the season with a 89-51 record, which was the most wins in the minors in 2015. The Hooks clinched their playoff berth by virtue of winning the first half of the season and although they won the first game of the Southern Division playoffs, they lost the next three in the best of five to Midland. Midland went on to sweep the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in the Texas League finals. Let's take a look at the team performance within the league and some of the individual standouts.

Jon Kemmer - May 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

Note all rankings are out of 8 total teams

CORPUS CHRISTI HOOKS TEAM BATTING
Batting average: .275 (2nd)
On-base percentage: .365 (virtual tie for 1st)
Slugging percentage: .413 (3rd)
Doubles: 243 (3rd)
Triples: 29 (3rd)
Home runs: 117 (T2nd)
Walks: 569 (2nd)
Strikeouts: 997 (5th)
Stolen bases: 148 (2nd)

CORPUS CHRISTI HOOKS TEAM PITCHING
ERA: 3.62 (2nd)
WHIP: 1.330 (3rd)
Walks: 409 (8th)
Strikeouts: 1042 (4th)

The team was strong across the board in terms of both pitching and offense. Let's take a look at some who excelled at the level.

CORPUS CHRISTI HOOKS BATTING LEADERS (minimum 50 games for BA, OBP and SLG)
Batting Average: Tony Kemp (.358)
On-Base Percentage: Tony Kemp (.457)
Slugging Percentage: Jon Kemmer (.574 - 1st in the league)
Doubles: Conrad Gregor (29 - T8th in the league)
Triples: Jon Kemmer, Brett Phillips and Andrew Aplin were tied with 4 each
Home Runs: Jon Kemmer (18 - T2nd in the league)
RBI: Conrad Gregor (73 - 5th in the league)
Stolen Bases: Teoscar Hernandez (33 - 3rd in the league)
Walks: Conrad Gregor (65 - 6th in the league)
Runs: Teoscar Hernandez (92 - 2nd in the league)

The batting average and on-base leader is a bit misleading due to my arbitrary 50 game minimum. Jon Kemmer in his 104 games at the level was the actual league leader in average and ranked second in on-base percentage for all qualified players.

OF Jon Kemmer (24)
Kemmer had a remarkable season and silenced any detractors that felt his 2014 numbers were impacted by the Lancaster effect. In 104 games, he hit .327/.414/.574 with 28 doubles, four triples, 18 home runs, 65 RBI and nine stolen bases. He also walked 45 times to 89 strikeouts. Kemmer won the batting title for the Texas League and was named the Hooks Player of the Year.

3B Colin Moran (22)
Moran started off the season a little slowly (for him) and ended up missing a month due to a freak jaw injury he suffered in a game at the end of April. It took a while for him to get back up to speed, but he kicked it into high gear after the All-Star break, hitting .333/.416/.526 in 59 games after the break and .306/.381/.459 with 25 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 67 RBI in 96 total games for the season. Moran was called up to AAA for the playoffs when Matt Duffy got the call to Houston.

C Alfredo Gonzalez (23)
Gonzalez started the season with Quad Cities (.326/.482/.395 in 13 games), was promoted to Lancaster in early May (.340/.388/.425 in 27 games) and was promoted again to Corpus Christi in early July (.300/.395/.320 in 32 games). Gonzalez is a good defensive catcher as well and had a 47% caught stealing rate for the season (although there is that matter of the 11 passed balls).

3B Tyler White (24)
White spent roughly half of his season with Corpus Christi (.284/.415/.426 in 59 games) before his early July promotion to Fresno (.362/.467/.559 in 57 games). He ended the season with a combined 25 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs and 99 RBI. He walked 84 times and struck out 73.

Jack Mayfield (24)
Mayfield fared better in his 66 games at Lancaster (.303/.370/.458) than he did in his first 48 games with Corpus Christi (.260/.330/.416), but he ended the season with a very respectable .286/.354/.441 for the season. Mayfield had a combined 19 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs and 65 RBI in 114 games.

Three other players spent portions of their seasons with Corpus and did very well at the level: IF Tony Kemp (.358/.457/.420 in 50 games), OF Andrew Aplin (.343/.458/.448 in 31 games) and C Tyler Heineman (.318/.383/.400 in 22 games). 1B A.J. Reed hit .332/.405/.571 in 53 games at Corpus following his mid-July promotion. See the Lancaster season in review (link below) for much more information about Reed.

CORPUS CHRISTI HOOKS PITCHING LEADERS (minimum 50IP for ERA and WHIP)
ERA: Jandel Gustave (2.15 in 58.2IP)
WHIP: Michael Feliz (0.915 in 78.2IP)
Strikeouts: Chris Devenski (104 - 6th in the league)
Saves: Jandel Gustave (20 - 2nd in the league)

The 2015 Corpus Christi pitching class was mostly known for a trio of pitchers who were called directly to the big leagues from there: RHP Michael Feliz (2.17 ERA and 0.915 WHIP in 78.2IP); RHP Vince Velasquez (1.91 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in 33IP); and RHP Lance McCullers (0.56 ERA and 0.938 WHIP in 32IP). But there were others who had excellent seasons at the level as well.

RHP Chris Devenski (24)
Devenski got a little off track in the middle of the season, but he started it with a bang and ended it with a bang too! Before the All-Star break, Devenski was 7-1 with a 1.16 ERA and a 0.914 WHIP in 70 innings pitched. He ended the season with a callup to Fresno to help out with their postseason needs and an MVP award in his back pocket for his start in the AAA National Championship. For the season, Devenski had a 3.01 ERA (2nd in the league) and a 1.253 WHIP (5th in the league) in 119.2 innings of work. Devenski was recently named the Hooks Pitcher of the Year.

RHP Jandel Gustave (22)
The Astros front office has got to be VERY happy that Gustave was returned after being claimed in the Rule 5 draft last December. In 46 appearances for the Hooks (58.2IP), Gustave had a 2.15 ERA, a 1.295 WHIP and 20 saves.

RHP Aaron West (25)
After an injury shortened season in 2014, West came back to shine in 2015. After a few early starts, he was moved to the bullpen with excellent results and ended the season with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.126 WHIP in 84.1 innings pitched (30 appearances/4 starts).

RHP Joe Musgrove (22)
I touched on Musgrove in my Lancaster season review, but the young right-hander continued to impress after his mid-June promotion to Corpus Christi where he compiled a 2.20 ERA and a 0.911 WHIP in eight appearances (seven starts). For the season, Musgrove had a 1.88 ERA and a 0.924 WHIP in 100.2 innings, walking only eight batters all season while striking out 99. And, if you missed my awards post from yesterday, he was also my Pitcher of the Year.

LHP Chris Cotton (24)
After Cotton's late May promotion to Corpus Christi, he had a 3.05 ERA and a 1.185 WHIP in 33 bullpen appearances. Cotton received another promotion to Fresno at the end of the season and ended the year with a combined 2.60 ERA and a 1.139 WHIP in 48 appearances.

Starter RHP Mike Hauschild (3.20 ERA and 1.204 WHIP in 50.2IP) did well at the level prior to his mid-June promotion to Fresno as did bullpen pitcher RHP Juan Minaya (3.25 ERA and 1.331 WHIP in 44.1IP) prior to his late August promotion to AAA.

Previous Season Reviews:
Dominican Summer League Astros
Gulf Coast League Astros
Greeneville Astros

Astros Daily Farm Report: 9/24

Everything you need to know from down on the farm ...

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ...

RHP Jake Buchanan (26)
Buchanan was born September 24, 1989 in Charlotte, North Carolina and was drafted by Houston in the 8th round in 2010. He pitched in five games for Houston in 2015, but spent the remainder of the season playing for the AAA Fresno Grizzlies.

RHP Harlen Florencio (20)
Florencio was born September 24, 1995 in Cotui, Dominican Republic and signed with Houston in December 2014. He played his 2015 season for the Astros Orange team.

TWEET OF THE DAY
ROSTER MOVES AND OTHER NEWS

In case you missed it yesterday, I posted my 2015 Bobby Awards for outstanding Astros minor league performances (and some other quirky awards). Even if you did read it yesterday, I added one (scroll to the very bottom of the post) that I had inadvertently forgotten about. (Thanks to Jason Schwartz for jogging my feeble memory!) And to Derek Fisher for forgetting this ... mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

9-23: 1B Jon Singleton recalled to Houston
9-22: IF Jio Mier assigned from Corpus Christi to Fresno
9-22: RHP Jandel Gustave assigned from Corpus Christi to Fresno
(Mier and Gustave had both been traveling with the team but hadn't been activated.)
9-21: RHP Dan Straily recalled to Houston

WTHB's Season in Review series:
Dominican Summer League Astros
Gulf Coast League Astros
Greeneville Astros
Tri-City ValleyCats
Quad Cities River Bandits
Lancaster JetHawks

Coming soon: The Corpus Christi Hooks

FINAL STANDINGS AND RESULTS

FRESNO

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 84-59 -.-GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title; won the conference series; won the PCL Championship; won the AAA National Championship)

Playoff Record:
Won Pacific Conference Championship 3-1 over El Paso
Won Pacific Coast League Championship 3-2 over Round Rock
Won the Gildan AAA National Championship 1-0 over Columbus

CORPUS CHRISTI

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 89-51 -.-GB W2 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched first half title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 1-3 to Midland in the Southern Division Playoffs


LANCASTER

Final Regular Season Record: 3rd 75-65 3.0GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth via the wild card)

Playoff Record:
Lost 1-2 to High Desert in the South Division miniseries


QUAD CITIES

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 88-50 -.-GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched first half title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 0-2 to Cedar Rapids in Western Division Quarterfinals

TRI-CITY

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 42-33 -.-GB W1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 0-2 to Staten Island in Semifinal Championship Series


GREENEVILLE

Final Regular Season Record: 2nd 34-33 5.5GB W1 (clinched playoff berth; won League Championship)

Playoff Record:
Won 2-1 in best-of-three semifinals over Kingsport
Won 2-1 in the best-of-three League Championship Series over Princeton

GULF COAST LEAGUE

Record: 4th 19-41 16.5GB L7 (Eliminated from postseason play)

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE BLUE TEAM

Record: 1st 43-29 -.-GB L3 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title)

Playoff Record: 
Won first round of playoffs over DSL Blue Jays 2 games to 0
Lost second round of playoffs to DSL Rangers1 2 games to 0

Season Over

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE ORANGE TEAM

Record: 5th 28-44 22.0GB W1 (Eliminated from postseason play)

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

WTHB 2015 MiLB Astros Awards

It's time to hand out the postseason Bobby Awards to a few deserving players and coaches for their 2015 seasons. I will start with the more serious awards and follow with the not-so-serious ones. The envelope please ...

FULL SEASON STARTING PITCHER OF THE YEAR: RHP JOE MUSGROVE

Big Joe Musgrove built on a terrific 2014 and earned not one but two promotions during the 2015 season. He ended the season going 12-1 with one save, a 1.88 ERA and a 0.924 WHIP in 19 appearances (14 starts) between Quad Cities, Lancaster and Corpus Christi. Musgrove walked only eight batters all season while striking out 99 in 100.2 innings of work.

Joe Musgrove - May 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

FULL SEASON RELIEF PITCHER OF THE YEARRHP TYSON PEREZ

Perez started the season with Corpus Christi, but quickly earned his promotion to Fresno. In 42 bullpen appearances in 2015, he had a 2.45 ERA and a 0.986 WHIP. Perez doesn't get a lot of strikeouts, but he is a highly efficient pitcher who can and has retired the side on seven or eight pitches.

Tyson Perez - May 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

FULL SEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: 1B A.J. REED

A.J. Reed has pretty much silenced any detractors with his astonishing 2015 season. In a total of 135 games between High A Lancaster and AA Corpus Christi, Reed hit a robust .340/.432/.612 with 30 doubles, five triples, 34 home runs, and 127 RBI. He also walked a whopping 86 times to 122 strikeouts. Reed was a two-time Player of the Month in the California League, a midseason All-Star, a postseason All-Star, and Rookie of the Year and MVP in the California League as well.

A.J. Reed - May 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

SHORT SEASON STARTING PITCHER OF THE YEAR: RHP DEAN DEETZ

Deetz started his season with the Short Season A Tri-City ValleyCats where he was 4-2 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.129 WHIP in seven appearances (five starts). After a late July promotion to Low A Quad Cities, Deetz kicked it into overdrive, going 5-1 in seven games (six starts) and compiling an 0.76 ERA and a 0.849 WHIP. He finished the season with a combined 1.70 ERA and a 0.974 WHIP in 63.2 innings pitched.

Dean Deetz - August 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen


SHORT SEASON RELIEF PITCHER OF THE YEAR: LHP STEVE NAEMARK

Naemark not only pitched well, but he did so at four different levels. Drafted in the 40th round, Naemark made only two appearances with rookie level Greeneville before being promoted to Tri-City. Nine appearances with Short Season A Tri-City led to a promotion to Low A Quad Cities; eight more appearances there and Naemark was headed to High A Lancaster for his final two regular season appearances. For the season, Naemark compiled a 1.47 ERA and a 0.880 WHIP in 21 bullpen appearances (30.2IP).

Steve Naemark - August 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

SHORT SEASON PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: (TIE) 3B BOBBY WERNES AND OF ANDY PINEDA I just loved what both of these players accomplished in 2015 and ultimately decided that both players deserved to be acknowledged.

Wernes, the 30th round 2015 draft pick out of the University of Arkansas, not only won the New York-Penn League batting title, but also led the league in on-base percentage. In 53 games for the ValleyCats, Wernes hit .346/.434/.388 with eight doubles and 29 RBI. He walked 27 times and struck out 27 times.

Pineda, who won't be 19 until November, was a team leader for the Astros DSL Blue team in batting average, on-base percentage, stolen bases and runs scored, hitting .293/.417/.378 with 10 doubles, four triples, one home runs, 29 RBI and 30 stolen bases. He also walked 46 times to only 44 strikeouts and contributed nine outfield assists. In the postseason, he hit .318/.318/.545 with one double, two triples, one RBI and one stolen base.

CATCHER OF THE YEAR: ALFREDO GONZALEZ

Gonzalez was promoted twice in 2015 for a reason. Always a solid defensive catcher with a good arm, Gonzalez added a solid hit tool to go with it. Between Quad Cities, Lancaster and Corpus Christi, Gonzalez hit .321/.409/.378 in 72 games and he even stole five bases! He also had a .990 fielding percentage and a 47% caught stealing rate for the season. (He will, however, need to cut down on the number of passed balls he allowed.)

Alfredo Gonzalez - May 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

COMEBACK/BREAKTHROUGH PLAYER OF THE YEAR: 1B CONNOR GOEDERT

After being drafted by the Astros in the 15th round in 2014, Goedert struggled mightily for his first club. In 17 games for Greeneville, Goedert hit only .125/.242/.179 and was sent to the Gulf Coast League to finish his season where he hit .179/.247/.218 in 21 games. What a difference a year makes! Goedert hit .286/.349/.449 with 20 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 43 RBI in 63 games for Greeneville in 2015 and was named team MVP.

COMEBACK/BREAKTHROUGH PITCHER OF THE YEAR: RHP DEAN DEETZ

Granted Deetz, the 11th round pick in 2014, was still coming back from Tommy John surgery last year, but his reputation for control issues preceded the surgery and Deetz ended his freshman season with Greeneville posting a 8.88 ERA and a 1.934 WHIP in 25.1 innings. Fast forward to 2015 and Deetz had a 2.86 ERA and a 1.129 WHIP in seven games (five starts) with Tri-City before receiving a promotion to Quad Cities. After the promotion, Deetz was even better in his seven appearances (six starts) at that level, posting a 1.27 ERA and a 0.849 WHIP.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR: FRESNO'S TONY DEFRANCESCO

DeFrancesco brought something to the City of Fresno that they never had before ... a League Championship series and a title. In the first year of their affiliation with the Astros, the people of Fresno embraced the Astros AAA club and the team embraced the City. It was a great partnership and Tony D brought some great excitement to the fans with his team. That AAA National Championship was just gravy.

HITTING COACH OF THE YEAR: RENE ROJAS OF THE DSL ASTROS BLUE TEAM

The Dominican Summer League Astros Blue team was the first Astros DSL team to make it to the playoffs in 14 years. A big part of that was the development of the hitters on the team. They were fairly average in the league in terms of batting average and slugging, but showed signs of developing power and great plate discipline. They had one of the highest on-base percentages in the league as well as one of the highest walk rates to go with one of the lowest strikeout rates in the league. Kudos to Rojas for getting the most out of his squad.

PITCHING COACH OF THE YEAR: QUAD CITIES' DAVE BORKOWSKI

In his six years of coaching in the Astros minor league system, Borkowski has seen a lot of talent, but this season was different. Borkowski oversaw 37 pitchers who came through Quad Cities. The team ERA was 2.66 and the team WHIP was 1.152. Bork would likely proclaim modestly that he was nothing more than a traffic director for all those great arms, but I think he deserves recognition for those fantastic results.

TEAM OF THE YEAR: (TIE) FRESNO GRIZZLIES AND GREENEVILLE ASTROS

League Champions, Baby!!! 'Nuff said.

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

Now for some of the not-so-serious awards ~

BEST ANTI-JINX TWITTER TROLL: KENT EMANUEL
Recovering from Tommy John surgery, Emanuel had some extra time on his hands this season. He made it his life's purpose to call out Sports Center every time they jinxed a no-hitter.
BEST TWITTER HANDLE: STEVE NAEMARK
25-year old rookie Naemark gets the nod for his @GrandpaSteve1 handle.

BEST NAME IN THE ASTROS SYSTEM: FORD STAINBACK
That's Raiford Hammond Stainback to you! Honorable mention goes to Jacques Reeving Constantino Sambo.

NAME MOST LIKELY TO BE MISSPELLED: BROCK DYKXHOORN
Dykxhoorn is our reigning champion. His name is also probably the most likely to be mispronounced as well, but he's Canadian so he'll always be gracious about any gaffes.

MOST LIKELY TO STAR IN A CHICK FLICK: JASON MARTIN
Those eyes!

Jason Martin - August 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

BEST MUSTACHE: ZACH DAVIS
Not everyone is a fan of his Clark Gable-esque upper lip, but frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!

Zach Davis - August 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

MOST LIKELY TO GET PLACED ON THE NO-FLY LIST: ANDREW APLIN
Either that or most likely to get an offseason job as a lumberjack!

Andrew Aplin - August 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

PLAY OF THE YEAR: TYLER HEINEMAN
I could watch this over and over and over. And I have.


STUDMUFFIN OF THE YEAR: CHRIS DEVENSKI
Stud = seven innings with one hit (perfect through five), no walks and nine strikeouts in your first AAA start in a nationally televised Championship game.
Muffin = one of the nicest, friendliest, most accessible player you will ever meet.

MR. SEPTEMBER: KEVIN CHAPMAN
Chapman pitched 8.2 innings in 9 appearances in September (including the postseason) with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.692 WHIP. I'm sure that it was just a coincidence that Chapman recently started wearing high socks!

THE ALLEVE AWARD: BRANDON BENAVENTE
Benavente was hit by pitches more than anyone else in the Astros system this year ... 15 times in only 37 games. Ouch.

ARMED AND DANGEROUS: C OSCAR CAMPOS
Campos led the Astros system with his 57% caught stealing rate.

THE WORKHOUSE AWARD, PART I: RHP MIKE HAUSCHILD
Hauschild just quietly goes about his business and gives you a lot of innings. He was just behind the innings leader in 2014 with his 133.1 innings, but he led the Astros minor leagues in 2015 with 138.1 innings in the regular season.

THE WORKHORSE AWARD, PART II: RHP JORDAN JANKOWSKI
Jankowski led the Astros minors in bullpen appearances with 55 appearances for 62.1 outings. And that was only the regular season!

THE WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER AWARD: RHP EDISON FRIAS, RHP MIKE HAUSCHILD AND RHP JOE MUSGROVE
This trio tied with 12 wins each to lead the Astros minors, HOWEVER, Joe Musgrove had a 12-1 record for a .923 win percentage in the 13 games for which he received a decision.

THE MIGHTY MOUSE AWARD: RHP JANDEL GUSTAVE
No one else was even close to Gustave's 20 saves. And for those who don't get the Mighty Mouse reference, go here.

MOST LIKELY TO OUTRUN A COYOTE: (TIE) OF BOBBY BOYD AND OF JOHNNY SEWALD
Boyd led the Astros minors with 40 stolen bases in 117 games. Sewald swiped 31 in only 70 games. Boyd had better watch his back because Sewald may be gaining on him next season. Two great roadrunners. Meep meep!

WALK LIKE A MAN AWARD: C JAMIE RITCHIE
Ritchie walked a whopping 95 times (to only 81 strikeouts) in 111 games.

THE WIZARD OF OZ AWARD: 1B A.J. REED
There's no place like home and that's precisely where this wizard sent 127 players as he led the organization in RBI.

ONE FOR THE MONEY AWARD: 1B A.J. REED
Reed led the Astros minor leagues in hits with 178.

TWO FOR THE SHOW AWARD: IF MOTT HYDE
Hyde doubled himself to second base 40 times in 2015.

THREE TO GET READY AWARD: OF RONNIE MITCHELL
Mitchell was tied at 11 triples with former Astros farmhand Brett Phillips.

GO, CAT, GO AWARD: 1B A.J. REED
Reed's organization-leading 34 home runs earn him a pair of blue suede shoes.

MOST REMARKABLE FEAT: 1B JON SINGLETON
In a May 13th 17-6 drubbing of Albuquerque, Singleton hit a two-RBI single in the first, a grand slam in the second, a two-run home run in the third, and a two-RBI single in the 6th to end the day with 10 RBI in one game.

MOST REMARKABLE FEAT, PART II: OF DEREK FISHER
I'm not sure how I forgot about this, but friend of the blog Jason Schwartz jogged my memory. Only about two weeks after Singleton's big game, Derek Fisher hit a solo homer in the first, a grand slam in the second, another grand slam in the third, and a bases clearing double in the seventh. That's right ... three home homes, including two grand slams, and 12 RBIs. And did I mention that it was his first game after his promotion to HIgh A?!?! How did I forget that?

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

I wish I could have given an award to every player in the system after such a terrific year, but, alas, I finally ran out of time and ideas.



Astros Daily Farm Report: 9/23

Everything you need to know from down on the farm ...
You heard the man. Another season is in the books. Keep coming back through the offseason for everything you need to know from down on the farm. More about that Championship momentarily, but first a few housekeeping items.

ROSTER MOVES AND OTHER NEWS

Former Astros farmhand RHP Adrian Houser got the call yesterday. He and several of his Biloxi Shuckers teammates were headed to join the Brewers in Chicago yesterday. Houser was traded to the Brewers (along with Josh Hader, Brett Phillips and Domingo Santana) for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers in July. WTHB wishes Adrian nothing but the best!

Also, RIP Yogi Berra, one of the few people in this life who made people smile just at the mention of his name. He will leave a very big hole in all of our hearts.

9-23: 1B Jon Singleton recalled to Houston
9-22: IF Jio Mier assigned from Corpus Christi to Fresno
9-22: RHP Jandel Gustave assigned from Corpus Christi to Fresno
(Mier and Gustave had both been traveling with the team but hadn't been activated.)
9-21: RHP Dan Straily recalled to Houston

WTHB's Season in Review series:
Dominican Summer League Astros
Gulf Coast League Astros
Greeneville Astros
Tri-City ValleyCats
Quad Cities River Bandits
Lancaster JetHawks

Coming soon: The Corpus Christi Hooks

STANDINGS, RESULTS AND LAGNIAPPE

FRESNO

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 84-59 -.-GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title; won the conference series)

Playoff Record:
Won Pacific Conference Championship 3-1 over El Paso
Won Pacific Coast League Championship 3-2 over Round Rock
Won the Gildan AAA National Championship 1-0 over Columbus

Tuesday's Game: Fresno 7 over Columbus 0

Chris Devenski got in the zone early.
And locked in he was!!! Devenski was perfect through the first five innings and that perfection was marred only by one single in the sixth. He was expected to give Tony DeFrancesco three or four innings, but he gave him seven almost perfect frames and ended on a high note, striking out the side in his final inning of work for nine total strikeouts for the night. Jordan Jankowski and James Hoyt each pitched an inning and each allowed a single so the Fresno staff ended with a very impressive combined line, allowing three singles, no runs, no walks and striking out 12.

The Grizzlies offense gave Devo more than enough to work with, scoring three runs before he even toed the rubber. Fresno played small ball in the first, collecting four singles and a sac fly and taking advantage of a Columbus error to score those first three runs. They added on two more in the second as Tony Kemp singled and stole second and was driven in by an Alex Presley single. An RBI double from Tyler White scored Presley. In the third, Fresno added insult to injury (and another run) as Andrew Aplin drew a walk, advanced on a passed ball and a ground out and then scored on a Tyler Heineman "duck fart" single to center. Aplin was back at it in the fifth as he doubled, advanced to third on a double play and scored on a Jio Mier single for the final run of the game. (As a side note, Jio was activated to replace Nolan Fontana who had fouled a ball off his shin in Sunday's game.)

There were several very good offensive performances ... Alex Presley (3x5 2B RBI 2R), Andrew Aplin (2x4 2B BB 2R), Jio Mier (2x4 2B RBI) and Tyler White (2x4 2B RBI BB R) ... but Chris Devenski was the clear winner for MVP of the game.
A very polite team photo before mayhem ensued back in the clubhouse.
Guns on display ...
Last men standing ...
And that's a wrap ...

CORPUS CHRISTI

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 89-51 -.-GB W2 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched first half title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 1-3 to Midland in the Southern Division Playoffs


Season Over


LANCASTER

Final Regular Season Record: 3rd 75-65 3.0GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth via the wild card)

Playoff Record:
Lost 1-2 to High Desert in the South Division miniseries


Season Over

QUAD CITIES

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 88-50 -.-GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched first half title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 0-2 to Cedar Rapids in Western Division Quarterfinals

Season Over
TRI-CITY

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 42-33 -.-GB W1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 0-2 to Staten Island in Semifinal Championship Series


Season Over

GREENEVILLE

Final Regular Season Record: 2nd 34-33 5.5GB W1 (clinched playoff berth; won League Championship)

Playoff Record:
Won 2-1 in best-of-three semifinals over Kingsport
Won 2-1 in the best-of-three League Championship Series over Princeton

Season Over

GULF COAST LEAGUE

Record: 4th 19-41 16.5GB L7 (Eliminated from postseason play)

Season Over

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE BLUE TEAM

Record: 1st 43-29 -.-GB L3 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title)

Playoff Record: 
Won first round of playoffs over DSL Blue Jays 2 games to 0
Lost second round of playoffs to DSL Rangers1 2 games to 0

Season Over

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE ORANGE TEAM

Record: 5th 28-44 22.0GB W1 (Eliminated from postseason play)

Season Over

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Lancaster JetHawks: 2015 Season in Review

Lancaster ended the season with a 75-65 record in third place in their division, three games behind High Desert and Rancho Cucamonga who were tied for first. The JetHawks made it to the playoffs as a wild card and, although they won the first game in the three-game South Division mini-series which would have sent them to the Division Finals, they ultimately dropped the next two games to High Desert and did not advance. Let's take a look at the team performance within the league and some of the individual standouts.

Keegan Yuhl - May 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

Note all rankings are out of 10 total teams

LANCASTER JETHAWKS TEAM BATTING
Batting average: .291 (1st)
On-base percentage: .369 (1st)
Slugging percentage: .481 (1st)
Doubles: 288 (T3rd)
Triples: 67 (1st)
Home runs: 174 (1st)
Walks: 588 (1st)
Strikeouts: 1196 (3rd)
Stolen bases: 115 (5th)

As you can see, this team had a ton of power and also drew a lot of walks, but they also struck out at a fairly high clip.

LANCASTER JETHAWKS TEAM PITCHING
ERA: 4.60 (7th)
WHIP: 1.417 (7th)
Walks: 463 (2nd)
Strikeouts: 1183 (5th)

A 4.60 ERA might not sound that impressive to some, but it is very good for a team that played half of their games in The Hangar and another dozen or so games in High Desert. That 4.60 mark was the best for the JetHawks since 2008. That walk rate on the other hand ... not so good. But before we dive any further into the pitching on the team, let's first look at some of the offensive standouts.

LANCASTER JETHAWKS BATTING LEADERS (minimum 50 games for BA, OBP and SLG)
Batting Average: A.J. Reed (.346 - 1st in the league)
On-Base Percentage: A.J. Reed (.449 - 1st in the league)
Slugging Percentage: A.J. Reed (.638 - 1st in the league)
Doubles: James Ramsay (32)
Triples: Ronnie Mitchell (11 - T2nd in the league)
Home Runs: Chase McDonald (30 - T2nd in the league)
RBI: J.D. Davis (101 - 2nd in the league)
Stolen Bases: Derek Fisher (23 - 8th in the league)
Walks: A.J. Reed (59 - 2nd in the league)
Runs: J.D. Davis (93 - 3rd in the league)

1B A.J. Reed (22)
Reed may have been promoted to Corpus Christi in mid-July, but he spent enough time in the California League to lead the league in several categories and to win the league Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and Postseason All-Star awards. Reed slashed .346/.449/.638 with 16 doubles, four triples, 23 home runs, 81 RBI and 59 walks to 73 strikeouts in his 82 games at that level.

1B Chase McDonald (23)
McDonald's playing time increased following Reed's promotion to Corpus and he ended the season with a .279/.358/.592 line over 105 games with 30 doubles, one triple, 30 home runs and 80 RBI. McDonald's slugging percentage was second in the league behind only A.J. Reed.

3B J.D. Davis (22)
Davis had a great sophomore season, hitting .280/.370/.520 with 28 doubles, three triples, 26 home runs and 101 RBI in 120 games.

OF James Ramsay (23)
Ramsay really came into his own in 2015, hitting a robust .322/.384/.463 with 32 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 64 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 127 games. His average and on-base percentage were third in the league; he was second in the league in hits with 160; and his 88 runs scored were fourth in the league.

OF Ronnie Mitchell (24)
Aside from leading the Astros systems in triples, Mitchell had a very nice season, hitting .286/.356/.496 with 27 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs and 72 RBI.

SS Alex Bregman (21)
The 2015 first round draft pick spent only 29 games with Quad Cities before his promotion to Lancaster where he hit .319/.364/.475 with eight doubles, four triples, three home runs, 21 RBI, eight stolen bases to four caught stealing and 12 walks to 17 strikeouts in 37 games. For the season, Bregman hit .294/.366/.415 with 13 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 34 RBI, 13 stolen bases to six stolen bases and 29 walks to 30 strikeouts in 66 total games.

Several other players were promoted to Lancaster during the season as well. Here's a look at their numbers with Lancaster and their season totals:

IF Mott Hyde (23)
.312/.384/.447 24-2B 4-3B 2HR 49RBI in 74 games at Lancaster
.304/.384/.433 40-2B 5-3B 3HR 67RBI in 124 games for the season

OF Derek Fisher (22)
.262/.354/.471 10-2B 7-3B 16HR 63RBI in 84 games for Lancaster
.275/.364/.483 21-2B 8-3B 22HR 87RBI in 123 games for the season

C Jamie Ritchie (22)
.308/.422/.444 11-2B 2-3B 1HR 8RBI in 39 games at Lancaster
.281/.426/.393 21-2B 4-3B 5HR 35RBI in 111 games for the season

OF Sean McMullen (23)
.293/.394/.511 8-2B 3-3B 2HR 16RBI in 25 games at Lancaster
.255/.343/.429 21-2B 6-3B 7HR 48RBI in 91 games for the season

A few other players were promoted from Lancaster to Corpus Christi during the 2015 season. We'll look at Jack Mayfield and Alfredo Gonzalez, in particular, in conjunction with the Corpus season review, but I did want to make a special note regarding OF Danry Vasquez. Vasquez hit .315/.365/.470 in 40 games in Lancaster, but was unable to duplicate those numbers in his 73 games for the Hooks. He was hitting much better by the end of the season, though, and is over three years younger than the average Texas League position player so there is no reason to believe that Vasquez won't be able to make the necessary adjustments to fully catch up with the higher levels at some point.

LANCASTER JETHAWKS PITCHING LEADERS (minimum 50IP for ERA and WHIP)
ERA: Keegan Yuhl (1.94 in 79IP)
WHIP: Keegan Yuhl (1.203 in 79IP)
Strikeouts: Troy Scribner (111 in 100IP)
Saves: Tyler Brunnemann (5)

It is sometimes difficult to gauge how well a pitcher has done in the California League so I'm going to simply point out a few pitchers that thrived at the level, and a few more that did a good job of surviving it.

RHP Keegan Yuhl (23)
Yuhl was promoted from Quad Cities in mid-May and was so successful with the JetHawks that he earned a spot in the starting rotation by mid-July. Yuhl was 4-1 with a 1.94 ERA and a 1.203 WHIP in 24 appearances (8 starts) for Lancaster. For the season, he compiled a 1.74 ERA and a 1.139 WHIP in 98.1 innings of work.

LHP Brian Holmes (24)
Holmes flourished with Lancaster this season leading to his late May promotion to Corpus Christi. In seven games (four starts) at the level, he had a 2.37 ERA and a 0.923 WHIP over 30.1 innings.

RHP Frances Martes (19)
Martes spent the bulk of his season with Quad Cities where he had a 1.04 ERA and a 0.885 WHIP in 52 innings, but he excelled at Lancaster as well with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.114 WHIP in 35 innings. He was promoted to Corpus Christi in late August and ended the season with a 2.04 ERA and a 1.092 WHIP in 101.2 innings over 19 games (16 starts).

RHP Joe Musgrove (22)
Musgrove also climbed the ladder this season and compiled a 2.40 ERA and a 0.967 WHIP in six games (four starts) for Lancaster. (Look for more about Joe in the Hooks season review coming soon.)

LHP Bryan Radziewski (23)
Following Radziewski's early May promotion to Lancaster, he put together a very solid season with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.357 WHIP in 84 innings at the level (18 games/14 starts). For the season, Radziewski had a 3.48 ERA and a 1.264 WHIP in 106 innings of work.

RHP Kevin Comer (23)
Comer's 4.45 ERA and 1.324 WHIP in 62.2 innings pitched for Lancaster following his early June promotion to Lancaster were solid, but he really excelled down the stretch when he was used solely out of the bullpen. In 30.1 innings out of the bullpen for the JetHawks, he had a 1.78 ERA and a 0.857 WHIP.

RHP Michael Freeman (23)
The 2015 7th round draft pick made quick work of Lancaster following an early August promotion from Quad Cities, compiling a 0.49 ERA and a 0.709 WHIP in seven bullpen appearances (18.1IP) before receiving an early September promotion to Corpus Christi. He ended the season with a combined 1.17 ERA and a 0.991 WHIP in 17 games (38.1IP).

LHP Chris Cotton (24)
Cotton's introduction to Lancaster last season was a tad bit rough, but he came back in 2015 and tamed the beast, putting up a 1.40 ERA and a 1.052 WHIP in 13 appearances (25.2IP) at the level before receiving a late May promotion to Corpus Christi.

RHP Edison Frias (24)
Frias managed a very respectable 4.18 ERA and a 1.280 WHIP in 79.2 innings over his 18 games (14 starts) for Lancaster prior to his August 1st promotion to Corpus Christi.

RHP Michael Feliz (22)
I'll be honest. I totally forgot that Feliz started the season with Lancaster, but he managed a solid 4.41 ERA and a 1.286 WHIP in eight games (five starts) at the level prior to his late May promotion to Corpus Christi.

RHP Tyler Brunnemann (24)
Brunnemann had a 3.50 ERA and a 1.232 WHIP in 38 bullpen appearances for Lancaster prior to a late August promotion to Corpus. He walked 22 and struck out 70 in 61.2 innings.

LHP Steve Naemark (25)
Naemark only tossed 4.1 innings for the JetHawks (2.08 ERA and 0.923 WHIP), but it was the last stop on his remarkable journey that saw him drafted in the 40th round and promoted three times in a little over two month's time. He ended the season with a 1.47 ERA and a 0.880 WHIP in 21 bullpen appearances (30.2 innings).

Previous Season Reviews:
Dominican Summer League Astros
Gulf Coast League Astros
Greeneville Astros

Astros Daily Farm Report: 9/22

Everything you need to know from down on the farm ...

One more game for bragging rights, but first ...

WTHB wishes Carlos Correa a Very Happy 21st Birthday!!!

Carlos Correa - August 2012 (at 17)
Photo by Jayne Hansen

I just realized that I missed another birthday. Wishing a Very Happy 21st Birthday to LHP Alejandro Solarte who spent the 2015 season with the Greeneville Astros!

TWEET OF THE DAY
ROSTER MOVES AND OTHER NEWS

9-21: RHP Dan Straily recalled to Houston

WTHB's Season in Review series:
Dominican Summer League Astros
Gulf Coast League Astros
Greeneville Astros
Tri-City ValleyCats
Quad Cities River Bandits

Coming soon: The Lancaster JetHawks

STANDINGS, RESULTS AND LAGNIAPPE

FRESNO

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 84-59 -.-GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title; won the conference series)

Playoff Record:
Won Pacific Conference Championship 3-1 over El Paso
Won Pacific Coast League Championship 3-2 over Round Rock

Today's Game: The Gildan AAA National Championship at 7:05 CST televised nationally on NBCSports (649 on Comcast, 220 on DirecTV, 159 on Dish, 1640 on AT&T U-Verse)

Probable Starters: RHP Chris Devenski (Fresno) vs. LHP Ryan Merritt (Columbus)


CORPUS CHRISTI

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 89-51 -.-GB W2 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched first half title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 1-3 to Midland in the Southern Division Playoffs


Season Over


LANCASTER

Final Regular Season Record: 3rd 75-65 3.0GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth via the wild card)

Playoff Record:
Lost 1-2 to High Desert in the South Division miniseries


Season Over

QUAD CITIES

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 88-50 -.-GB L1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched first half title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 0-2 to Cedar Rapids in Western Division Quarterfinals

Season Over
TRI-CITY

Final Regular Season Record: 1st 42-33 -.-GB W1 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title)

Playoff Record:
Lost 0-2 to Staten Island in Semifinal Championship Series


Season Over

GREENEVILLE

Final Regular Season Record: 2nd 34-33 5.5GB W1 (clinched playoff berth; won League Championship)

Playoff Record:
Won 2-1 in best-of-three semifinals over Kingsport
Won 2-1 in the best-of-three League Championship Series over Princeton

Season Over

GULF COAST LEAGUE

Record: 4th 19-41 16.5GB L7 (Eliminated from postseason play)

Season Over

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE BLUE TEAM

Record: 1st 43-29 -.-GB L3 (Clinched playoff berth; clinched division title)

Playoff Record: 
Won first round of playoffs over DSL Blue Jays 2 games to 0
Lost second round of playoffs to DSL Rangers1 2 games to 0

Season Over

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE ORANGE TEAM

Record: 5th 28-44 22.0GB W1 (Eliminated from postseason play)

Season Over