Already posted in the Tigers series thread, but Congratulations to Jordan Jankowski! He'll be the 7th member of the Astros' 2012 draft class to make it to the Majors. He was a 34th-round pick that year out of Catawba, a Division II school in North Carolina.
Interesting. I would have never guessed that Tolliver and Jankowski would be early call-ups this year. Good for them. Kinda sucks for the all the position guys who have no avenue to move up.
Didn't realize that Stassi isn't on the 40 man roster anymore, just checked with Centeno's call-up in light of McCann going on the DL. I assume that means Stassi's chances of catching on with the Astros are essentially over (barring some injuries to McCann, Gattis and/or Centeno)? Being fourth in line with no minor league options left is not a good place.
Nolan Fontana has been promoted to the majors by the Angels. That makes 8 guys from that draft to reach the majors. Out of 41 picks, 10 didn't sign. Of those 10, 6 ended up in affiliated ball. Pat Blair topped out in AA. Mike Clark never got out of Rookie league. Tanner Mathis signed with Houston the next year and topped out in High A. CJ Hinojosa, Zach Remillard, and Joe Shaw are still active in other orgs. Out of the 31 picks who signed, 8 have reached the majors (5 with Houston, 3 with other teams, although Hauschild is back in Houstons farm). Another 7 have reached AAA (all still active: Aplin, Phillips, Heineman, Holmes, West, Ballew, Dimock). Even accounting for the extra pick and pool manipulation that netted McCullers (and to a lesser extent Ruiz and Phillips), it's a very productive draft. There will very likely be 10+ major leaguers, with 3 or 4 having extended careers (2-3 becoming stars).
I think Centeno was called up instead of Stassi because they knew it would only be for a week and they will need that 40 man spot in short order. Due to Stassi's recent performance in AAA they figured he wouldn't pass through waivers (while Centeno will), and it wasn't worth risking losing him permanently to call him up for 2-3 games. I think if there were a longer term injury to Gattis or McCann, Stassi would be added and called up. That said, it is hard to see Stassi having a long term future with Houston; he's much more likely to draw interest from another team and bring back a lottery ticket in trade. But if Luhnow decides Gattis is better used as a strict DH next year I could see Stassi being the backup to McCann.
J.D. Davis hit a 2-run homer for Corpus today; it's his 10th homer of the season. Drew Ferguson (4) and Trent Woodward (2) also homered for the Hooks as they snatched a 7-6 win in Frisco. Ferguson extended his hitting streak to 19 games. The winning hit was a 2-run triple from Ramon Laureano in the 9th inning.
Did Tolliver get sent down? I kinda liked his stuff. Makes sense though since he won't be able to pitch for a few days
He was the bright spot of the weekend, you could tell he was crazy nervous that first inning, but he can help the team this year if he can pitch like that.
Marcos Almonte hit his 6th homer of the year for Quad Cities. The 2-run shot puts them up 2-0 on Peoria. Cionel Perez is through 4 innings. The only baserunner he's allowed came on a walk and he's also struck out 7.
The other Perez, Hector, didn't fare too well for Buies Creek. 5 IP, 8 H (2-R HR), 8 R (6 earned), BB, 6 K
I may have asked you this before, but where did this guy come from and what's he got? I never noticed or paid attention to him before this year. He was raking the first month or 2, last I looked.
I think you did, but I don't mind answering again. EDIT: Actually, I might have said something about him a couple of weeks back and then you replied that he and Alex De Goti (who's been on the DL since then) have both come out of nowhere with pretty solid seasons. The Astros signed Almonte in 2014 for just $35,000. He's is a guy who's played multiple positions in his career, primarily at SS, 2B, and CF, so he seems like a pretty good athlete; he's got a good pair of wheels as he's swiped 20, 19, and 14 bases in his first 3 years. Not sure where he ends up down the line, but he should find a place in the lineup most nights thanks to his bat. Almonte appears to have some pop that is starting to manifest itself in game situations. That homer he hit tonight was his 6th, which matches a career high that he set in 2015 in the complex leagues. He also seems to be a little more patient at the plate than most players of his ilk; he doesn't strike out at an astronomical rate (16.1% career K rate entering tonight) and also draws a fair amount of walks (career 8.8% BB rate). MiLB.com lists him at 5'10", 163, which I don't believe one bit. Here's what Oz Ocampo had to say about him last year: