I don't think Armstrong has pitched for us yet. He pitched in the Cape Cod League during the summer, but that is an amateur league.
Jeff Luhnow chatted online with fans during the game today, and briefly discussed Ovando, Armstrong, etc. Here's the excerpt. And the full transcript of the chat can be found at: http://footer.mlblogs.com/2012/04/0...transcript-from-the-chat-with-gm-jeff-luhnow/
Baseball America shows some love to Corpus; the Texas League will be stacked this season, IMO: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/04/top-10-minor-league-teams-on-opening-day/ http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/04/astros-roster-roundup/
Corpus Christi lineup vs. NW Arkansas: Starter: Jarred Cosart 1. Jonathan Villar, SS 2. Austin Wates, LF 3. Kody Hinze, DH 4. Jonathan Singleton, 1B 5. Brandon Barnes, CF 6. T.J. Steele, RF 7. Jose Martinez, 2B 8. Chris Wallace, C 9. Jordan Kreke, 3B OKC lineup vs. Memphis Starter: Paul Clemens 1. J.B. Shuck, CF 2. Angel Sanchez, SS 3. Fernando Martinez, LF 4. Mike Hessman, 1B 5. Brett Wallace, 3B 6. Brad Snyder, RF 7. Landon Powell, C 8. Jimmy Paredes, 2B 9. Paul Clemens, P
Finally, I get to do this once again. Yay me. :grin: Mike Hessman's solo homer in the 2nd opened up the scoring for OKC in their game against Memphis. Unfortunately, the Redbirds scored 4 unanswered to take a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th. Angel Sanchez got himself a 2-run double to make it a 4-3 game, but after Fernando Martinez was intentionally walked to load the bases, Hessman struck out, and a Brett Wallace GIDP ended the game. Paul Clemens took the loss, allowing 6 hits (2 solo homers) and 2 runs in 6 innings. He walked 1 and struck out 4. Enerio Del Rosario actually pitched worse, walking a batter and allowing 2 runs on 3 hits in the 7th, which pretty much sealed the game. Corpus started their season off with a bang, taking advantage of 5 Northwest Arkansas errors by pounding them 9-0. Austin Wates had a bases-clearing triple in a 7-run 6th. Jonathan Villar went 2-5 with an RBI double and swiped 2nd and 3rd in the 1st inning. Brandon Barnes went 2-4 with a 2-run single in the 6th. T.J. Steele went 2-4 and scored twice. He tripled in the 2nd and ended up scoring on the very same play after a Naturals error. Jonathan Singleton went 0-3 with a run scored, a walk, and 2 Ks. Jarred Cosart threw a shutout..... but he only went 4 1/3, allowing 4 hits and 3 walks in the process while recording 5 strikeouts. Cosart threw 90 pitches tonight, 54 going for strikes. Erick Abreu, the elder statesman of the Hooks, threw 2 2/3 stellar innings in relief, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk while also fanning 5. Chris Hicks finished the night with 2 perfect innings, striking out 1. If you haven't heard, that George Springer guy sent one out of High Desert for a grand slam. That slam actually tied the game at 7 in the 6th. Unfortunately, Alex Sogard allowed 2 to the Mavericks in the bottom half of the inning, and as a result, got the L in a 9-7 game. Telvin Nash clubbed a solo shot to lead off the top of the 2nd. Springer also had an RBI single in the 3rd, sending Enrique Hernandez home. Erik Castro added an RBI single in the 4th. David Martinez allowed 6 runs on 8 hits (2 2-run homers) in 4 innings, walking 1 and fanning 1. Sogard, in 2 innings of relief, allowed 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2, in addition to the 2 runs he allowed. All 3 Lancaster pitchers (Brian Streilein was the other) got wild, with Sogard doing so twice. Lexington was rained out in Greensboro today. They will play a regularly scheduled game tomorrow. The game that was scheduled for tonight will be part of a doubleheader on Saturday.
Happy with what I'm seeing overall except for OKC not being able to plate the tying run with the bases loaded and no outs. Hope Springer keeps it up and gets promoted to Corpus soon.
OKC's bats showed up in full force tonight as they demolished Memphis 12-3. For all that offense, the only homer for OKC belonged to Fernando Martinez. It was a 3-run homer in the 1st that pretty much set the tone for this game. The Redhawks scored 6 in the 7th to blow open a 6-3 game. Justin Ruggiano went 3-4 with a double, 2 RBI, and scored 3 times. Brett Wallace went 2-4 with an RBI double in the 2nd and an RBI single in the 5th. Aneury Rodriguez allowed 3 runs on 7 hits (2-run homer) in 5 innings. He walked 1 and struck out 9. <iframe src="http://www.twitvid.com/embed.php?guid=SU66F&autoplay=0" title="Twitvid video player " class="twitvid-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="360" frameborder="0"></iframe> Corpus fell 5-3 to NW Arkansas. The Hooks had no answer for Jake Odorizzi, who held them to 3 hits in his 5 innings, striking out 8. They were able to touch up the Naturals bullpen, but couldn't come back. Kody Hinze smacked a 2-run homer (video above, if not there, then http://twitvid.com/SU66F; also, the audio on the video doesn't match) and T.J. Steele had an RBI single. Jonathan Singleton was in left field tonight, and he went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. Jose Thompson has struck out in 5 straight at-bats if you include the Astros exhibition game. Ross Seaton got the loss, going 5 innings, allowing 4 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits (solo and 2-run homer). He didn't walk anyone, but only recorded 1 strikeout. Ben Heath had a 2-run single in the top of the 8th that put Lancaster up 5-4, but Jorge De Leon couldn't hold on, allowing 5 runs in the bottom half to High Desert resulting in a 9-5 loss. R.J. Alaniz had a nice debut, but he left the bases loaded with 2 outs in the 5th. He allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits in 4 2/3, walking 3 and striking out 4. Alaniz struck the Mavs' Brad Miller out 3 times. Pat Urckfitz got out of the jam, and pitched alright up until the 7th, where he allowed a tiebreaking run. De Leon came on and limited the damage to that single run, but the wheels fell off for him in the 8th. George Springer went 2-4 with a run scored. Heath had all 3 RBIs. Rafael Valenzuela scored on a Jonathan Meyer GIDP in the 4th, and Rene Garcia scored on a play where Valenzuela was thrown out trying to make it to 2nd on an error. Lexington was stifled in Greensboro, falling 7-0. A 5-run 3rd doomed the Legends, who were flummoxed by Adam Conley, who held them to 2 hits over 5 innings. The former Washington State lefty walked 1 and struck out 7. Mike Foltynewicz went 2 2/3, allowing 6 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits (solo homer), walking 1 and striking out 4. He only threw 30 pitches tonight. Lexington only managed 4 hits tonight, all of which were singles. Evan Grills pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 2. So, I guess Grills gets the Legends player of the game nod here.
Dallas Keuchel was dominant in his season debut for OKC, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3 in 6 shutout innings against Memphis. He narrowly missed a no-decision as Juan Abreu nearly blew a 5-0 lead in the 9th. Luckily, the Redhawks escaped with a 5-4 victory. Mike Hessman opened up the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st, and Landon Powell added a 2-run single two batters later. Brad Snyder smashed a 2-run triple in the 5th. Abreu allowed a solo homer to Steven Hill and a 3-run homer to Matt Adams. On the strength of a 5-run 4th, Corpus Christi took down NW Arkansas 7-2. Austin Wates, Kody Hinze, and Jonathan Singleton combined to go 7-12 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Jose Martinez had 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Jose Cisnero had a 1-hitter going..... through 4 innings. He walked 4 and struck out 3, throwing 91 pitches (51 strikes) in the process. Henry Villar got the victory, throwing 3 innings of relief, allowing 2 hits (solo homer) without walking or striking out a batter. Lancaster was dominated in all facets of the game by High Desert tonight, losing 16-2. They were held to 5 hits tonight; none of which resulted in an RBI. Rafael Valenzuela was 2-3, and that's pretty much it. Rene Garcia scored on a George Springer GIDP and Adam Bailey (who was demoted from Corpus without making an appearance) scored on a wild pitch. Zach Grimmett went 4 innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits (2-run homer), walking 1 and striking out 3. He fared much, much better than the 3 guys who relieved him. Let's just leave it at that. Lexington split a doubleheader with Greensboro, getting thrashed 11-1 in Game 1. The Grasshoppers scored 9 in the 3rd, with 7 coming off Tanner Bushue and 2 off Luis Cruz. Bushue only lasted 2 1/3, allowing 9 hits (solo homer), walking 1, and striking out 1. Delino DeShields Jr. had the lone RBI. Not an encouraging way to start your third go-round at the same level. In Game 2, however, the Legends scored 3 in the top of the 7th to take the lead and steal the win. DeShields went 1-4 with the game-tying RBI single, and Jordan Scott was 2-3 with 3 RBI, with a 2-run single in the 3rd and the go-ahead sac fly in the 7th. Roberto Pena was 1-2 with an RBI and scored twice. Carlos Quevedo went 4, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits (solo homer), walking 1 and fanning 4. Dayan Diaz got the victory in relief, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless. He allowed 1 hit, walked 2, and struck out 2. Mike Kvasnicka had a hat-trick. Struck out all 3 times he was up. He is 0-9 with a walk and 6 strikeouts in the early going.
In case anybody wants the stats of our top prospects, here is a good site http://houston.astros.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/#list=hou
Astros have claimed OF Justin Maxwell off waivers from NYY. He will report to the MLB club. Corresponding move to be made then.
OKC dominated Memphis across the board today, trouncing them 8-1. Jordan Lyles outpitched Shelby Miller, a guy who is arguably the top pitching prospect in the minors. Brett Wallace battered the Redbirds pitchers with his bat. Lyles went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits, walking 1 and striking out 5. Wallace was 3-4 with 2 RBI singles, a solo home run, and scored 3 times. Scott Moore had a 2-run double in the 8th for OKC's final runs. Austin Wates is en fuego for Corpus. Went 2-3 with an RBI, doubling twice. He's 9-16 with 3 doubles, a triple, and 5 RBI. Jose Martinez may not be a prospect at this stage of his career, but he's looking to regain some of it after missing much of the past 3 years. He had a 3-run homer in the 5th that broke a 4-4 tie. Unfortunately, Chris Hicks served up a grand slam to Tulsa's Kiel Roling in the top of the 6th that allowed the Drillers to retake the lead. The Hooks would go on to lose their series opener with Tulsa 9-7. Chris Wallace had a 2-run double. Brett Oberholtzer took the mound today and wasn't very sharp. In 4 1/3 innings of work, he gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits, walking 4 and striking out 2. He got himself an RBI double, though. Chris Hicks took the loss for giving up the grand slam. Lancaster will have to wait until tomorrow to try for their first win; they were swept out of High Desert, falling 8-6 in the series finale. Telvin Nash is a monster. He sent 2 out today; his first one was a solo shot in the 3rd, and his 2nd was a 2-run homer in the 7th that gave the Jethawks a 6-5 lead. Nash now has 3 in the early going. George Springer went 3-5 with an RBI single. Jonathan Meyer, the Astros' top 3B prospect, had a 2-run homer in the 2nd for his 1st of the year. Yes, you read that right. Really speaks to the dearth of half-decent third basemen in the system. Bobby Doran went 4, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits (2 solo homers), walking 4 and striking out 3. Alex Sogard took the loss after surrendering the lead in the bottom of the 7th. The Jethawks will travel to Rancho Cucamonga to begin a 3-game series tomorrow. Lexington committed 6 errors, and the final error would prove fatal, as they walked off 9-8 losers in Greensboro. Zach Johnson opened the game with a 3-run homer. 3 Legends errors in the bottom of the 2nd led to 6 Grasshoppers runs. Delino DeShields and Jordan Scott added RBI singles in the 4th. Matt Duffy hit a 2-run single scoring DeShields and Scott. Miles Hamblin broke a 7-7 tie with a solo homer in the 8th. DeShields and Scott are looking like a potent top-of-the-order combo in the early going; they both went 3-4 with their RBI singles and they both scored twice. DeShields added a stolen base, while Scott stole 2nd base 3 times. DeShields also committed 2 errors. Jonas Dufek went 4 innings, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits. He walked 4 and struck out 2. Scott Zuloaga was credited with a hold, but also took the loss. He committed the Legends' 6th error on a sacrifice bunt attempt, resulting in everyone being safe, and then he walked the next batter to load the bases. Jason Chowning came in and blew the save by allowing the game-tying RBI single, got a K for the 1st out, then walked Greensboro catcher Tony Caldwell to send in the winning run. Zuloaga, as a result, gets his name next to the L in the box score.
tellitlikeitis, you are the man. Thanks for doing this again...especially in a season where there is so much more to keep up with than in the past.
Thanks leroy! I feel that it's going to be a pivotal season from the minor league standpoint, now that the system has actual prospects (who project to be more than utility players/4th outfielders) and the #1 overall pick (and the #1 pick in the next 49 rounds) waiting in the wings. I'm going to cover all my bases here. At times I feel as if I've been a bit of a newsboy in regards to this thread, so I will make the effort to put in my 2 cents worth in my recaps from time to time. And I may not be Subber10 from the Crawfish Boxes, or Farmstros, or Astros County, or even Jayne from "What the Heck, Bobby?" but I hope I can get to that level soon. I don't know what piqued my interest in minor league baseball, but it probably had something to do with how horrid the Astros system was during the run of success they had earlier this century.
