Monthly Split notes: Jon Kemmer has an ops over 1200 since Jun 1. Tony Kemp and Max Stassi have each increased his ops each month this season. AJ Reed has quietly had an ops over 1000 since July 1. Brock Dykxhoorn and Brett Adcock each have an era under 2.50 since Jun 1. Randy Cesar has increased his ops each month this season. Ryan Hartman has a 0.43 era in 4 July appearances. Carlos Sierra has lowered his era each month this season.
Could be a good thing? He just hit a grand slam in the 8th. 3 HR's in the past two games. The Fresno offense just keeps ticking
Juan Centeno went 3 for 3, and is hitting .324 in ~200 at bats. My favorite thing about Juan Centeno is that he played 2 games in the majors this year, and hit two homers. 52 games in the minors this year? 1 home run. In fact, across nearly 1900 plate appearances in the minors for his whole career, he's got all of 5 home runs.
Ranked Houston Astros #12 prospect after the 2016 season No college team of recent memory had a better collection of position-player arms than Cal State Fullerton in 2013 and 2014. Davis has a 70 arm on the 20-80 scouting scale that is one of the better throwing arms in the minors, but it ranked third-best on his college team because he shared the field with a pair of 80 throwers: third baseman Matt Chapman (now in the Athletics system) and center fielder Michael Lorenzen (now a Reds righthander). Davis played mostly DH and right field in college because of Chapman, but the Astros have focused on developing him at third base. His arm compensates for a lack of speed and agility, but scouts don't see him developing into better than a below-average defender because of limited range and below-average footwork, though his hands work well. He's a well below-average runner, which limits him to first base if he changes positions. Davis' plus-plus raw power is as impressive as his arm, but is more strength-based than generated from bat speed, and he strikes out frequently. That and his pull-heavy approach make it hard for scouts to project him as more than a fringe-average hitter. Davis is blocked by Alex Bregman and Yulieski Gurriel, so he will head to Triple-A Fresno in 2017 to wait for an opportunity somewhere.
That's a sweet swing. Damn, he is wirey. This year, dude, this year. He was always a fringe 3Bman, I was hoping that had improved to "better than Joey Gallo" levels.
From Fangraphs KATOH+ list (stats + prospect list combined value) Rank Name Team Pos KATOH+ 5 Kyle Tucker Astros CF 14.9 29 Derek Fisher Astros CF 8.2 32 Forrest Whitley Astros RHP 8.1 69 Garrett Stubbs Astros C 4.6 72 Francis Martes Astros RHP 4.6 75 David Paulino Astros RHP 4.5 85 Jake Rogers Astros C 4.1 93 Teoscar Hernandez Astros RF 3.9 It is very difficult for a pitcher in A+ for 3-4 starts to get on this list. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/katohs-midseason-2017-top-100-lists/
The GCL club topped the Cardinals 8-5 in a game that started on July 21 but was suspended due to rain. 2017 5th-round pick Nathan Perry hit his first professional home run in the GCL after play resumed. Perry went 3-3 with 4 RBI and scored twice. Jairo Solis, who started that game, came back after the restart. He went 7.2 innings and allowed 5 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits, walked 2, and struck out 6.
Whitley is the 4th ranked pitcher on that list. Tucker's the 1st OF. Others: Fisher: 12th OF Stubbs: 4th C Martes: 24th P Paulino: 25th P Rogers: 6th C Teoscar: 27th OF Also, Yordan Alvarez is on the stats only version.
Houstons farm is so deep in pitching and outfielders, but their infield leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the full season rosters; consider the everyday IF at each level: AAA: Reed, Kemp, Brignac, Davis AA: Singleton, Birk, Michelena, Nunez A+: Jones, Ayarza, Sierra, Cesar A: Sieber, Rojas, Trompiz, Duarte I would say Davis is the only bonafide prospect of the whole bunch.
Jesús Balaguer, a Cuban who signed shortly after the season started, was just promoted to Quad Cities. He'll turn 24 on August 12. Here are his numbers from the two short-season clubs (combined): 8 appearances, 1-1, 3 saves, 0.63 ERA, 14.1 IP, 6 H, ER, 5 BB, 24 K, 0.77 WHIP, .125 opponent average
