Working on throwing different pitchers in different counts and sequences. No idea how much of that played into his performance. Also pitched out of the stretch a lot.
And on the fourth day ... another all or nothing outcome. Organizationally the Astros are 3-1 over the last four days.
Preston Tucker hasn't gotten as much written about him lately, but he's off to a nice start in AAA. He's hitting .364 with a .935 OPS, and most significantly, his K rate is down to 15%. He's typically hovered closer to 20%. He's walking less, and has only produced two home runs, but it's nice to have quality depth. It'd be interesting to see if he or Teoscar would be the next OF called up. Also, Tyler White is an interesting follow. He's not off to a great start with the bat -- hitting .319, but with limited power/walks. However, they're trying to make him into an oddball versatile defender -- he's played 62 innings at 3rd, 37 innings at shortstop, and 24 innings at 2nd base. He also pitched 1/3 of an innings and played an inning at 1B.
Another under-the-radar arm in Quad Cities had a solid outing today. Jorge Alcala shook off back-to-back solo homers in the 2nd and went 6 innings. The other 3 hits he allowed were singles. He also walked 1 and struck out 8. First 3 appearances this season: 3 starts, 1-0, 2.30 ERA, 15.2 IP, 8 H (3 HR allowed, all solo), 4 R, 8 BB, 16 K, 1.02 WHIP, .154 opponent average His top two pitches, per a brief scouting report from Oz Ocampo, are a mid-90s fastball (up to 98) and a mid-80s slider (up to 88).
I agree! I was hoping when we moved into the AL, we'd go back to a modernized version of them... not that I dislike our current uniforms...
I have to say, I am really pulling for JD Davis. I went to two sprint training games, and he stuck around and signed autographs for the kids both times. Something small, but I thought it was great. Also, dude is a massive human being, so if he taps into his potential, he could really be a monster on the diamond.
