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2017 Astros Minor League Thread

Discussion in 'Houston Astros' started by tellitlikeitis, Nov 17, 2016.

  1. tellitlikeitis

    tellitlikeitis Canceled
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    Minor League Opening Day is April 6, 2017.

    Fresno will open at home against Reno.
    Corpus Christi will start their campaign on the road in Arkansas
    The new Class A Advanced team:



    The Buies Creek Astros will play their games on the campus of Campbell University. They'll open 2017 at home against Salem.

    Quad Cities will host Wisconsin to begin the year.

    Short-season opening day is June 19. Tri-City will be in Connecticut that night. Greeneville's season will begin on June 22, and the GCL will start June 24. The DSL begins on June 3.

    So, as always, three quick questions.

    1. Breakout position player/pitcher
    2. Prospects facing make-or-break years
    3. Guys who caught your eye in 2016 and will be paying closer attention to in 2017

    Baseball America's Top 10 Astros prospects will be out tomorrow. Here's my top 15 entering the season. Feel free to chip in with your own list.

    1. Kyle Tucker
    2. Francis Martes
    3. Joe Musgrove
    4. Forrest Whitley
    5. David Paulino
    6. Franklin Perez
    7. D.J. Fisher
    8. Hector Perez
    9. Rogelio Armenteros
    10. Ronnie Dawson
    11. Garrett Stubbs
    12. Gilberto Celestino
    13. Ramon Laureano
    14. Stephen Wrenn
    15. Osvaldo Duarte

    My Next 15, in no particular order

    Guadalupe Chavez
    Jake Rogers
    Daz Cameron
    Myles Straw
    Jose Luis Hernandez
    Enoli Paredes
    Anibal Sierra
    Elieser Hernandez
    Brendan McCurry
    Jorge Alcala
    Jacob Dorris
    Reymin Guduan
    Cristian Javier
    Jonathan Arauz
    Yordan Alvarez

    *OP edited in light of McCann trade
     
    #1 tellitlikeitis, Nov 17, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2016
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  2. tellitlikeitis

    tellitlikeitis Canceled
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    Update on the new High-A team:



     
  3. Snake Diggit

    Snake Diggit Member

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    Breakout: Perez, Wrenn
    Make or break: Aplin, Ferrell
    Watchlist: Guzman, Nova, Celestino, Emanuel, Sierra, Tanielu, Laureano, Martin, Bostick, Radziewski, James, Birk, Duarte, Framber, Dawson, Sandoval, Chavez, Toro, Cueta

    Top 15:
    1. Tucker 60
    2. Martes 55
    3. Whitley 55
    4. Perez 55
    5. Cameron 55
    6. Paulino 55
    7. Fisher 55
    8. Abreu 50
    9. M. Sierra 50
    10. Nova 50
    11. Davis 50
    12. Celestino 50
    13. Stubbs 50
    14. Guzman 50
    15. Wrenn 45

    Other grade 45 hitters: Kemmer, Heineman, Garcia, Aplin, A Sierra, Tanielu, Laureano, Martin, Birk, Straw, Trompiz, Dawson, Duarte, Rogers, Arauz, Toro, Alvarez, Cueta

    Other grade 45 pitchers: Hauschild, Frias, Yuhl, West, Holmes, Guduan, McCurry, Jankowski, Sneed, Emanuel, Thornton, Armenteros, Deetz, Dorris, Bostick, Radziewski, James, Elieser, J Hernandez, Framber, Dykxhoorn, Ferrell, Quiala, CSierra, H Perez, Chavez, Sandoval, Adcock, Macuare, Alcala, Paredes, Javier

    Farm still stacked.
     
  4. MrBear1

    MrBear1 Contributing Member

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    A lot of people sleeping on Ramon Laureano
     
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  5. tellitlikeitis

    tellitlikeitis Canceled
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    1. Francis Martes
    2. Kyle Tucker
    3. David Paulino
    4. Franklin Perez
    5. A.J. Reed
    6. Forrest Whitley
    7. Teoscar Hernandez
    8. Yulieski Gurriel
    9. D.J. Fisher
    10. Garrett Stubbs
     
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  6. tellitlikeitis

    tellitlikeitis Canceled
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  7. Rockets FTW

    Rockets FTW Member

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    1st page. Future looks bright. Can't believe the Astros are finally at this point. Class of AL (arguably).
     
  8. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    Those of you looking for an ace to trade for might as well just look here. Martes has ace stuff.


    1. Francis Martes, rhp |

    Born: Nov. 24, 1995. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-0. Wt.: 232. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2012. Signed by: Albert Gonzalez/Sandy Nin/Domingo Ortega (Marlins).

    SCOUTING GRADES
    Fastball: 70.
    Curveball: 70.
    Changeup: 55.
    Control: 55.
    Based on 20-80 scouting scale—where 50 represents major league average—and future projection rather than present tools.

    Background: The Marlins don’t spend much money internationally, but they have done a great job of finding bargains on the international market. Miami signed Martes for just $78,000 in 2012 and watched him quickly develop from a pitcher with a high-80s fastball and some feel into a low- to mid-90s fireballer. He stood out in the Dominican Summer League in 2013 before he ever pitched in the U.S. Impressed with Martes’ ability to mix a plus fastball and plus curveball in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2014, the Astros ensured he was included in the Jarred Cosart trade that July, even though Martes was struggling to get outs and throw strikes in a complex league. He has made further developmental leaps since then as he has filled out and developed a changeup. Once considered a likely power reliever, Martes has developed into one of the fastest-moving starting pitchers in the minors. For example, he was the youngest pitcher in Double-A when the 2016 season began. Martes started slowly at Corpus Christi and had a 5.03 ERA in early June, but he went 5-4, 2.67 in the second half with 81 strikeouts and 20 walks in 71 innings.

    Scouting Report: Martes’ stuff has few peers in the minors or majors. He has touched 100 mph with his fastball and generally sits 93-97. His plus-plus four-seamer doesn’t have exceptional run, but it still generates plenty of swings and misses thanks to its extreme velocity and his ability to work in and out and up and down. Scouts do debate whether Martes’ ability to work all four quadrants is by design or by good fortune, because he sometimes misses his target significantly but still manages to be around the strike zone. Even though he’s short for a righthander—he is officially listed at 6-foot-1 but probably is closer to 6 feet—Martes gets some downhill plane when he works down in the zone. His hard downer curveball at 85-87 mph gives him a second potential 70-grade pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale. Its power and downward break is reminiscent of that of fellow Astros righthander Lance McCullers Jr. Martes’ curve comes in at slider speed, but it has true 12-to-6 or 11-to-5 break rather than the sweep of a slider. Unlike McCullers, Martes uses his fastball as his main weapon, which sets up his curve. His changeup is less consistent, but it generates plus grades from some and it improved as the year wore on. He throws it harder than most changeups, but it generates whiffs thanks to its late drop. It will show some late fade at times, though more by accident than design. The fade generally happens when he spins out of his delivery instead of staying direct to the plate. Martes has also toyed with using a cutter against lefthanders.

    The Future: Martes has the raw profile of an ace with two pitches that grade near the top of the scale, a changeup that is at least average and at least average control. He has filled out into a thick-chested, meaty righthander who evokes comparisons with Johnny Cueto because of his short stature and big stuff. Martes is ready for Triple-A Frenso as a 21-year-old and could reach the big leagues at some point in 2017.
     
  9. sealclubber1016

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    There appears to be a clear delineation between our prospects, at least to me.

    Tucker
    Martes
    Paulino
    Whitley
    F. Perez
    Fisher

    Those appear to be our clear top 6, top 9 if you want to include Teo, Reed and Musgrove. After that there appears to be a large group of projectable international players (celestino, m. sierra, a. sierra, nova etc), and a smaller group of less projectable, but further developed american players (rogers, dawson, ferrell, stubbs, davis). Throw Daz in as the projectable American prospect, and there seems to be 15 or so guys you could put in any order depending on your personal view of things.

    Daz, Rogers, Celestino, and Riley Ferrell would probably be my 7-10 right now
     
  10. vick

    vick Member

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    When no one signs Singleton the Astros will have 1 more player in their farm system.
     
  11. Snake Diggit

    Snake Diggit Member

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    My top 4 prospects by position with grades:

    C:
    Stubbs 50
    Rogers 45
    Heineman 45
    Toro 45

    1B:
    Reed 55
    Alvarez 45
    MacDonald 40
    Roa 40

    2B:
    Tanielu 45
    Arauz 45
    Birk 45
    Hyde 40


    SS:
    Sierra 50
    Trompiz 45
    Duarte 45
    Cueta 45

    3B:
    Moran 50
    Davis 50
    Nova 45
    Franco 45

    RF:
    Tucker 60
    Teoscar 50
    Wrenn 45
    Laureano 45

    CF:
    Cameron 55
    Celestino 50
    Aplin 45
    Straw 45

    LF:
    Fisher 55
    Dawson 45
    Martin 45
    Garcia 45

    RHP:
    Martes 55
    Whitley 55
    Perez 55
    Paulino 55

    LHP:
    Guduan 45
    Emanuel 45
    F. Valdez 45
    Sandoval 45
     
  12. Progs

    Progs Member

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    I'm rooting for the Astros to draft Brendan McKay or Seth Romero out of UH if he has a monster junior year. #2017MlbDraft
     
  13. ApolloRLB

    ApolloRLB Member

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    Hopefully one of the lefties work out. Been unlucky with physicals for LHP (Aiken, Perez).
     
  14. houstonstime

    houstonstime Member

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    I'm not well versed in the minor league, but everyone praises Tucker so much and is scared to trade him. Is he just killing it? How does he compare to Bregman or Correa when they were in the minors?
     
  15. sealclubber1016

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    No close to those 2 right now, they were super elite prospects. At this point Tucker is merely upper tier, but Bregaan was at the same place entering last year, and his performance moved him into elite status. Tucker could make a similar jump this year.

    His numbers aren't all that great, but his projection is what people like so much.The power isn't really there so far, but many think when he fills out a little he's going to be an absolute stud of a hitter, and his K/BB rates and production were extremely good for a player his age in A ball. Plus he has pretty good athleticism, so he should be a good OF.

    Having said that, I don't think anybody should be scared to trade him for an ace. Projections are just that, not guarantees.
     
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  16. Snake Diggit

    Snake Diggit Member

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    For reference, Tucker hit for a 119 wRC+ (9% BB, 17% k) as a 19 year old in A ball. Correa hit for a 149 wRC+ (11% BB, 16% k) as an 18 year old in the same league. SO Tucker is not on Correa's level. That said, he is still an elite prospect and probably a consensus MLB Top 50 prospect; he has the potential to be a rich man's Hunter Pence.
     
  17. panamamyers

    panamamyers Member
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    In my opinion Tucker will be a top 10 prospect by the end of next year.
    He really turned it on after his promotion.
     
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  18. CisBuds4U

    CisBuds4U Member

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    how does the Astros farm rank now compared to the rest of the league? Still Top 10?
     
  19. Joe Joe

    Joe Joe Go Stros!
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    My guess is yes, but could drop to middle of the pack quickly if the pitchers stick in majors and no one fills their void.
     
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  20. tellitlikeitis

    tellitlikeitis Canceled
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    So, here's this:

     

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