Interested in seeing how Cisnero and Tropeano progress as the season goes along. I have moderately high hopes for both.
One positive is that it isn't cheap HR's helping Mier right now. He's actually slugged better in respect to his batting average when he was in Lexington. Mier has always been able to take a walk, but still strikes out too much. He'll play in the majors one day, but that isn't really saying much for a 1st round pick. I'm still thinking at best Adam Everett, at worst Tommy Manzella.
I don't know much about Cisnero, but outside of Lancaster he has shown talent. They've brought him along slowly, but with his K rate, I'm surprised I've heard so little about him.
Stories of the Night Beast. OKC sweeps a doubleheader with Nashville! Corpus gets rocked. Lancaster gets rocked. Update on Paul Clemens: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Astros Class AAA OKC lists Paul Clemens' rotation spot as TBA. He'll miss a start as a precaution with back spasms.</p>— Zachary Levine (@zacharylevine) <a href="https://twitter.com/zacharylevine/status/193072304610213889" data-datetime="2012-04-19T20:23:19+00:00">April 19, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Recap Let's play 2 in Nashville. And let's take both games while we're at it. OKC sweeps the doubleheader with their hosts, winning Game 1 4-3 and Game 2 by a count of 4-2. In Game 1, Brian Bixler went 3-4 with a double and scored twice. Scott Moore went 1-3 with 2 RBIs; his first was an RBI single in the 1st that scored Bixler and put the Redhawks up first. He also drew a bases-loaded walk in the 3rd that scored Jordan Lyles. Justin Ruggiano added a sac fly in the 3rd, and Landon Powell hit an RBI single in the 6th. Jordan Lyles went 5 2/3, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits, walking 1 and striking out 6. Xavier Cedeno got a 5-out save, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, and striking out 2. In the 2nd game, it was the Jimmy Paredes show. He hit his first homer of the season, a solo shot in the 3rd. He also hit the go-ahead 2-run single in the 7th to give OKC the lead and the win. J.B. Shuck added an RBI single in the 3rd. Sergio Perez was the starter in the 2nd game; he allowed a run on 5 hits in 2 innings, walking and fanning 1. Mickey Storey allowed a solo homer in the 4th to Corey Patterson, the only run he allowed in 3 innings of relief. He allowed 1 other hit, walked 1, and struck out 4. Fernando Abad got the win by pitching 2 shutout innings after that, allowing only 1 hit and fanning 4. Nothing of note for Corpus as they were trampled 10-0 by Frisco. The Hooks were held to 3 hits in the game. Jonathan Singleton went 1-2 with 2 walks; Brandon Barnes had a double, and that was about it. Jose Cisnero had a pretty blah outing tonight. In 4 2/3 innings of work, he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 3, and struck out 6. Lancaster was not really in it against Lake Elsinore, as they were trounced 8-1. The Jethawks were also held to 3 hits. Domingo Santana had a triple and scored on a Rafael Valenzuela groundout. Yawn. Bobby Doran went 6 innings, allowing 4 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits, walking 3 and striking out 4. So the Storm exacted a bit of revenge on him, as the last time Doran faced them, he shut them out for 7 innings. Doran followed that up with a decent start, although he got the loss tonight. The last time Nick Tropeano faced Kannapolis, he was excellent, holding them to 4 hits in 6 shutout innings, walking 2 and striking out 8. Unfortunately, he had to settle for a no-decision as he was matched step-for-step by his Kannapolis counterpart Kevin Vance. Nathan Pettus didn't help matters either as he broke a scoreless tie by serving up a homer, and the Legends wound up losing 3-1. Let's fast forward to tonight. What would be in store for Nicholas Tropeano in his 2nd matchup against Kannapolis???? Nothing much, just continuing his blistering start. Tonight, he went out and spun himself a gem. In 8 shutout innings, he allowed 4 hits, walked 2, and fanned 9 while inducing 8 groundouts and 2 flyouts. But like last time, he left in a 0-0 game. Would he have to settle for a no-decision in a Lexington loss? That was left in the hands of a Legends offense that has been nothing but moribund, for the most part. Let's go to the top of the 9th, shall we? After Zach Johnson flew out, Matt Duffy walked. Tyler Burnett then proceeded to pop out to 2nd. Alex Todd comes up and pokes a ball out to left for a single. After that, Roberto Pena comes through for the biggest hit of the night: a 2-run double down the right field line that stayed just fair. With the scoreless tie broken in the 9th, Jason Chowning would come on and..... strike out the Intimidators in order for a huge 2-0 victory. And, in the process, Nick Tropeano gets his first win of the season. He now sports a 1-0 record, with a 0.47 ERA. In 19 innings, he's allowed 1 run on 12 hits, walked 5, and struck out 27. Opponents (well, Hagerstown and Kannapolis) are hitting .185 off of him. So, when's his promotion coming?
Henry Sosa reports that Jordan Lyles was consistently hitting 93 with his fastball last night. And shoutout to Nick Tropeano from Baseball America. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2012/2613288.html Subber10 on Tropeano: Sounds like the real deal to me. He'll be on his way out of Lexington... best case (all my opinion), end of May... if they keep him there a little longer, the middle of June.
In terms of on-field results, yes. Though it was tough, I'm giving him the nod over Jordan Lyles, Mike Foltynewicz, and Dallas Keuchel. Tropeano may not be an ace, but he can become a solid 3/fringe 2 starter down the road. Stories of the Night Some solid pitching performances to report tonight. Tough luck for one of them, though. After getting pounded last night, how did Corpus Christi respond? By getting even, of course. All in all, a good night on the farm. Recap OKC continues to mow everyone down this season. Tonight, they grinded out a 2-1 win over Nashville. Henry Sosa was outstanding, allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 6 over 7 shutout innings to get the victory. J.B. Shuck went 2-4 and scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the game. Jimmy Paredes went 2-4 with a double and an RBI single in the 4th. Jose Valdez made things a bit interesting in the 9th by allowing a double to Brooks Conrad, who eventually scored on a sac fly. Luckily that was the 2nd out, and Valdez ended it by getting Martin Maldonado to ground out. After getting pounded 10-0 by Frisco last night, Corpus Christi returned the favor by blanking them 6-0. Brett Oberholtzer rebounded from 2 rough first starts to dominate the Roughriders, allowing 3 hits and striking out 8 over 7 shutout innings. Kevin Chapman finished the game, allowing 3 hits across the 8th and 9th, fanning 2. Neither of them issued a walk. Offensively, Jonathan Singleton hit his first homer as a Hook, a solo shot in the 4th to put Corpus on the board first. Brandon Barnes sent 2 solo shots out, one in the 6th and the other in the 8th. Jake Goebbert and Andrew Simunic chipped in 1 RBI each. Simunic also stole home in the 7th. Wes Musick threw a complete game for Lancaster. Sadly, he took the loss, as Lancaster was held to 3 hits in a 2-1 loss to Lake Elsinore. A 2-run homer by Rymer Liriano in the 5th proved to be the difference. Musick went 8 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4. Erik Castro scored on Rafael Valenzuela's groundout in the 2nd. And that was about it. Trailing Kannapolis 4-3 entering the 6th, Lexington scored 3 unanswered for the 6-4 win. Delino DeShields went 3-5 with a run scored, 2 Ks, and ran his stolen base total to 10 with 2 more steals. Zach Johnson went 2-3 with 2 RBIs; he was plunked with the bases loaded to send in Lexington's first run, DeShields. Justin Gominsky tied the game in the 6th with an RBI single that scored Alex Todd, and later in the inning, Johnson singled home Drew Muren. On that same play, Gominsky was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. In the 7th, Todd, who went 2-4, would poke a ball into left for a single that scored Matt Duffy. Kyle Hallock allowed 4 runs on 11 hits in 5 innings. He walked 1 and fanned 4. Carlos Quevedo shut out the Intimidators in his 3 innings of work, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, and struck out 4. Jason Chowning shut the door for his 3rd save. I don't know why Chowning had to repeat Lexington; he had great numbers there last season. Jordan Scott's hit the wall lately; he's in a 4-31 slump in his last 8 games.
Deshields compares somewhat favorably to Bill Hamilton in my opinion. Maybe not quite as blazing fast, but Deshields has a similar line this year as a 19 year old in A ball to what Hamilton had last year as a 20 year old at the same level. Hamilton 278/340/360 Deshields 277/373/369 It is still early of course. Hamilton swiped 103 bases last year. Deshields is on pace for about 80.
Oh year, and Hamilton also struck out 133 times last year in 550 at bats. Deshields has a slightly higher rate at the moment, but neither are good at not striking out.
Hamilton is a shortstop, DeShields is a second baseman. That is a huge difference in value. Hamilton is also faster than DeShields and a better defender at his more valuable position. So, maybe DeShields is a very poor man's Hamilton. He does have more power potential I guess.
The chances of Hamilton staying at shortstop are slim and none, and slim just left town. He is light years away from being even serviceable. Strictly at the plate is where I was making the comparison. Hamilton was in rookie ball at the age in what is Deshield's second year in A ball this year.
Stories of the Night Mike Foltynewicz turned in another solid start tonight. Also, a big night from Zach Johnson at the plate. Lancaster's struggles on the road continue. Corpus Christi's bats come alive! Recap After sweeping Nashville on the road, OKC came home to host Albuquerque, and their guests promptly defeated them by a score of 6-1. The only RBI in the game for the Redhawks was a Fernando Martinez sac fly in the 1st. Aneury Rodriguez was roughed up, allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits (2 solo homers) in 3 2/3, walking 4 and striking out 5. Corpus Christi's bats were out in full force tonight as they smacked Frisco 11-3. Jake Buchanan allowed a leadoff homer to Engel Beltre, then more or less let his offense do the work. He had a bare minimum quality start, allowing 12 hits, but didn't walk anyone and struck out 8. Jason Stoffel and Arcenio Leon shut down the Roughriders, as they combined to allow 2 hits (1 apiece) and struck out 3 (Stoffel 1, Leon 2) in 3 relief innings (Stoffel 1, Leon 2). Everyone in the lineup had a hit tonight except for T.J. Steele, who had a hat trick. God, I wish Adam Bailey hadn't been sent down... he'd at least be half-competent at the plate, and could take a walk every now and then. Jonathan Villar was knocked down to the 8 spot in the order, and he responded by going 3-4 with a triple, a 2-run single, and an RBI single. He also scored twice and stole his 8th base of the season. For all that offense tonight, the lone Corpus homer belonged to Chris Wallace, who went solo in the 5th for his 1st homer of the season. Andrew Simunic went 2-3 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI, 1 of which came on a sac fly. Why is Brandon Barnes still in Corpus? He went 3-5 with a double, 2 RBI, and scored twice. He's now hitting .404/.424/.754. Kody Hinze had an RBI single, and Jonathan Singleton went 2-5. Lancaster lost another tight one in Lake Elsinore tonight, falling by a final count of 4-3. Ben Orloff scored the first run for the Jethawks on a wild pitch in the 4th. He scored again in the 6th on a George Springer triple. Telvin Nash drove in Springer with a double in the 8th. The triple was Springer's only hit of the game in 3 at-bats, and he also drew a walk. He's now hitting .217 on the season. David Martinez went 3 1/3, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits (2-run homer) and striking out 5. Alex Sogard was excellent in relief, pitching 4 1/3 and only allowing 1 unearned run on 2 hits, walking 1 and fanning 4. Mike Foltynewicz had another strong start for Lexington tonight as he got the win in a 7-1 beatdown of Kannapolis. In 6 innings, he allowed 1 run on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. As for the bullpen, Evan Grills pitched 2 scoreless, allowing 1 hit and walking 2. Banished from the rotation, Tanner Bushue finished the game with a scoreless 9th, walking 1 and striking out 1. He's gotta start somewhere, and it was a good start. Hopefully Bushue can regain his confidence in a relief role. Zach Johnson had a huge night at the plate, going 2-4 with 5 RBIs. He cleared the bases with a double in the 1st and added a 2-run double in the 5th. Johnson now has 23 RBI on the season, which not only leads the Sally League (he leads Hagerstown's Matt Skole by 1), he leads everyone in the Minors. Of course, he's old for low-A, but he's raking. Alex Todd went 3-5 with an RBI and scored on both of Johnson's doubles. Delino DeShields went 0-3 with a sac fly, drew a walk, and scored on Johnson's first double. The Legends also possess two sub-.100 hitters in their lineup in Emilio King and Mike Kvasnicka. They combined to go 0-8 with 3 strikeouts, and together, they are hitting .071 (6-84) with 2 RBI, with 8 walks and 36 strikeouts.
Stories of the Day Jimmy Paredes has busted out in a huge way. An unlikely player came up huge in the late stages of the game, as well. Welcome back, Jarred Cosart. Another excruciating 1-run loss for Lancaster. Lexington with the... Recap Welcome to Triple-A, Ross Seaton. He was moved up to fill in for Paul Clemens, who was placed on the DL with back spasms, in game 2 of OKC's series with Albuquerque. And it was a wild, back-and-forth tilt at Bricktown today. OKC jumped out to a 4-0 lead, then the Isotopes exploded for 6 in the 4th, capped by a grand slam from Josh Bard. Ross Seaton's afternoon lasted 4 2/3 innings, and he allowed 6 runs (5 earned) on 7 hits (grand slam), walked 2, and struck out 1. The Redhawks clawed back slowly but surely and took a 7-6 lead into the 8th, where the bullpen promptly failed by allowing 4 runs in the 8th. So, the Redhawks found themselves running out of time trying to make up a 10-6 deficit. Well, enter Carlos Corporan. Yes. Carlos Corporan. And you what he did? He clubbed a 3-run homer to tie the game at 10, and it turns out that he forced extra innings with that shot. And that would be the score until the 14th when..... Sergio Perez allowed a leadoff triple to Josh Fields, who scored on a Tim Fedorowicz single. And that... would be the winning run, as the Redhawks couldn't answer in the bottom half after Diory Hernandez led off with a single. And so, OKC lost in 14 innings to Albuquerque today by a final score of 11-10. What a game from Jimmy Paredes. He went 4-7 with 3 doubles, an RBI, and scored 3 times. Brian Bixler also went 4-7 with an RBI. Scott Moore, Brett Wallace, and Landon Powell also chipped in 1 RBI each. Dallas Keuchel even had himself a pinch-hit single. The Redhawks also drew 12 walks today. No time to rest... game 3 in this series is manana. For the first time since Opening Day (17 days), Jarred Cosart returned to the mound for Corpus after blisters on his hand prevented him from making 2 starts. In the series finale against Frisco, Cosart was excellent in 5 shutout innings. He allowed 4 hits, didn't walk anyone, and struck out 4 in a 5-3 victory. Cosart was consistently in the 95-98 range today, and touched 100 on a pitch or two. Jonathan Singleton had a 2-run single in a 4-run 5th. Also occuring in that inning: Austin Wates had an RBI single and Brandon Barnes had an RBI double. Kody Hinze's RBI double put the Hooks on the board first. Despite all that, it got a bit hairy as Adalberto Flores allowed 3 runs in 2 2/3 innings relief, with a 2-run homer to Mike Olt in the 8th serving as the knockout blow. Kevin Chapman came in and walked a guy, then struck out Chris McGuinness... but somehow he reached 1st. However, no harm done, as Jason Stoffel cleaned up to get the save. Hooks took 3 out of 4 from Frisco, and they'll head home to host Midland for 4 starting tomorrow. Lancaster walked off 5-4 losers to Lake Elsinore today. Can't think of anything more rough; losing another 1-run game, or blowing a 4-0 lead in the 8th and 9th. Ben Heath hit a solo homer in the 6th for his first homer of the year. Erik Castro, Adam Bailey, and Domingo Santana drove in 1 each. George Springer went 2-5 and stole 2 bases today, giving him 4 steals on the year. R.J. Alaniz was excellent today, allowing 3 runs (1 of which was allowed in by Pat Urckfitz) on 7 hits in 7 1/3, walking 1 and striking out 3. Urckfitz let in 1 of his own later in the 8th, giving him a blown save. Jorge De Leon served up a double to Bryan Altman that sent the winning run home. The Jethawks are probably glad to be home; they're now 1-10 away from their bandbox, where they'll be hosting Rancho Cucamonga for 4, starting tomorrow. Also, this is probably a series that they'd like to forget, as they lost the last 3 games by 1 run. Lexington broke a 6-6 tie with Kannapolis late to get the sweep with an 11-6 win. The two guys that weren't even hitting .100 entering today might have read what I said about them last night, because they got over that hump. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-5 and scored twice; he is now hitting .104. Emilio King went 2-4 with an RBI and scored 3 times; he bumped his average up to .111. Drew Muren went 3-4 and scored twice. Jordan Scott hit a 2-run single in the 4th. The Legends also took advantage of 2 very costly Kannapolis errors late in the game to get the win. Alex Todd legged out an infield single, and an error allowed King and Scott to score. Todd got greedy, though, and was thrown out at 3rd to end the top of the 6th. That would break a 4-4 tie. In the 7th, Rangel Ravelo threw the ball away on a Roberto Pena sacrifice bunt attempt, resulting in Zach Johnson coming home. Later, Jimmy Howick drew a walk (one of 3 on the day) with the bases loaded, bringing in Matt Duffy. And in the 9th, Howick and Todd sealed the game for Lexington. Howick delivered a 2-run single, and Todd drove in the final run of the game with an RBI single. Luis Cruz replaced Tanner Bushue in the Legends' rotation today; in 5 innings, he allowed 6 runs on 10 hits (2-run homer), walked 1, and fanned 3. Dayan Diaz pitched 3 perfect innings of relief, striking out 2, to get the win, although he was also charged with a blown save. That's because he allowed a sac fly to Martin Medina (which was charged to Cruz) that tied the game. This game really does work in mysterious ways. Murilo Gouvea finished the game, allowing 1 walk and striking out 2. It was a well-earned sweep for the Legends, as they get a day off tomorrow. Tuesday, they will be beginning a homestand, starting off with 4 games with the Charleston Riverdogs.
Nick Tropeano, RHP, Houston Astros Current Level: A- 2012 Top 15 Prospects Ranking: NR Current Value: Monitor Closely Tropeano just narrowly missed the Astros Top 15 list for 2012 and he’s trying to make me look bad. Selected in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, the right-hander has posted impressive pro numbers with decent, but not stellar stuff, and above-average control/command. The college product is pitching in low-A ball so he’s not exactly young for the league but he’s dominating the competition. In 19 innings he’s given up just 12 hits and five walks. Tropeano has K’d 27 batters. Because Houston’s high-A affiliate is in the launching pad known as Lancaster, the right-hander’s next promotion could be to double-A. link
His promotion is probably dependent on somebody joining the ML roster. The rotation at CC and OKC are both pretty set. The rotation in Lancaster has been surprisingly solid so far this season. I'd prefer Tropeano and Folty skip Lancaster, but they are solidly blocked everywhere else right now.
Its a serious problem that the Astros have to think twice about sending any pitcher to high A due to the hitter friendly nature of the league/environement. Really wish they could get a better situation there.
Also, while we're on the subject of top Astros pitching prospects, Brett Oberholtzer had the highest game score over the weekend, according to Baseball America. His 7 IP, 3 H, 8 K line earned him a 79 score. http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog...ances-by-pitching-prospects-over-the-weekend/
Good read on T.J. Steele. I don't know why the brass is still infatuated with him while his career is effectively in reverse. http://whattheheckbobby.blogspot.com/2012/04/curious-case-of-tj-steele.html
