2018 Astros Minor League Thread

Not exact date, but suspension is for 14 more games.

 

That slider is filthy. Hopefully he can repeat it.

I had no idea the guy is that big.

 

Before the hype train gets too much underway, Jones’ numbers in AA (at age 24) are very comparable to what Jon Singleton put up in AA (at age 21).

 

Quick, sign him to a major league contact

 

Not sure anybody is going to hype up a 24 year old in AA.

 

Can we teach him to hit left-handed?

 

Equally baffling is that he got promoted. "Hitting <.220 in low-A through 50 games? He's ready for the next level!" "Wait, he's now posting a sub <.300 SLG in High-A in a half season? Let's move him up to AA next year!"

He now has as many home runs in 32 games in AA as he did in 105 games across A and A+. Not that a 6-7, 225 pound guy developing power is surprising, but it's worth a look.

 

It is baffling that the guys who spend every single day with these players decided to move him up for "reasons". You and I can both continue to be as baffled as necessary.

 

I meant that in a "clearly the people making those decisions are way smarter than me and actually know what they're doing" way.

 

Josh Rojas is thru 50 pa in aa and the results have been amazing. 17% bb, 10% k, power, defensive versatility...150 more pa of that type of performance and I will be pretty much all-in on him as a future everyday big leaguer.

Alvarez, Straw, Toro, Arauz, Rojas, Stubbs, Davis, Ferguson, and Matijevic represent a good group of prospects who were already on the radar but have raised their stocks in the first 6 weeks of this season. Would love to see Tucker, Papierski, M Sierra, and Dawson join them. And Meyers, Jones, Sieber, and A Sierra have all done some really good things in the early going. Mostly positive news so far for the position player side of Houston’s farm.

 

Cough* Ramon Laureano

 

some of the starting pitching prospects are approaching innings counts that give meaning to their stats. Trent Thornton looks like he could contribute as a 5th or 6th starter later this season if needed. Ryan Hartman is having a breakout season in AA. He, C Perez, Dykxhoorn, and Bostick all should get a good stint in AAA later this season. LaRue, Adcock, and Bielak all look ready for AA, and aside from Bukauskas, the returns on virtually every SP in QC are positive. Josh James and Corbin Martin have been talked about but are the two biggest breakout guys so far.

A lot of disappointment from the very top pitching prospects (Martes, Whitley, Paulino, Alcala, H Perez, Bukauskas, Armenteros have all been bad in one way or another), but the depth is showing so well that the farm still looks very healthy from a pitching perspective.

 

I was never in on Laureano. Always struck out >20% and I didnt think he could stick in CF which limited him to corner OF. Rojas appears to be a more complete hitter, and although it remains to be seen, he also looks like he might be able to fit at 4-5 different positions.

 

Bostick just landed on the DL, so that may affect his ability to get to Fresno depending on the severity of the injury.

Leovanny Rodriguez got placed on the QC roster yesterday, he's put up good numbers in the lower levels of the minors, but I've never been able to find a scouting report on him. He's worked as a starter, but he's taking the spot of Corniel who was promoted to BC and had worked as a pure reliever, so it will be interesting to see what role he plays.

 

Rojas is entering interesting area like Laureano. Laureano didn't work out. Matt Carpenter worked out for the Cardinals. This doesn't make Rojas a great prospect, but if the Astros keep getting guys like Laureano to pop up, eventually one of them will end up like Carpenter or Kike Hernandez. I do have a preference for contact guys as they seem to have a better chance to not completely suck (i.e., they have a better chance to become a backup if things don't work great in the majors) so there is a little bias on my part.

The low chance for majors doesn't bother as much as I see it as a free chance. Him and Josh James are basically two guys that give the Astros free rolls to get a MLB player.

 

The Stros have had a lot of guys pop up and bust, like Laureano or Singleton but plenty others pop up and be legitimately good, like Kike or Domingo Santana. My general impression is that the Astros produce a lot of guys that "pop up" and are actually good, relative to other teams. Maybe the Yankees and Dodgers do it slightly better, but I can't think who else. Rojas could be a great Marwin-type to have in the future.

 

Kike Hernandez has had one ‘actually good’ offensive season, unless you consider an OPS of .742, .607, .729 or .734 actually good.

 

Sure, his slash line has only been really good one year, but over the course of his big league career, he’s been a roughly league average hitter, which is pretty good for a guy with as much defensive versatility as he has. He’s been worth 4.4 fWAR over roughly 400 games. Hernandez’s production would be a great outcome for Rojas.