Who homered today Franklin Barreto (4, 3-run) Will Wagner (4, solo) Chad Stevens (6, solo) Quincy Hamilton (1, 7 season; solo) Tyler Whitaker (3, 3-run)
Kenedy Corona just hit his 7th homer for Fayetteville. 5 of his 7 home runs have come in the last week.
Rainer Rivas (from the Stassi trade a few years back) got added to the Fayetteville roster and is making his full season debut today. Pure bat prospect but supposedly posts elite exit velocities.
Miguel Ullola with a nice relief outing for the Woodpeckers: 3 IP, BB, 3 K Pretty solid first month for him (he started the season on the IL): 3.29 ERA in 6 appearances (4 starts). 19 strikeouts in 13.2 innings, but the 12 walks is obviously a concern. Ullola only had one walk-free appearance in May, but to be fair, half of those walks came in his first two outings.
Chad Stevens has a HR, his 7th of the season and 6th in May. I do not consider him a legit prospect but that is an absolutely monster month.
Wasn't a ton of support to call Cristian Javier a true prospect either despite exceptional production. These guys get it wrong quite slot, particularly with prospects that don't have the pedigree that scouts like.
I have legit questions about his bat and doubt he'll be an MLB regular, but I like what little I've seen defensively. I posted it before but there are some good highlights from last year showing his strong arm and good instincts. He could play his way into being at least a glove-first bench player.
Enmanuel Valdez reached base in all six of his plate appearances tonight: 3 hits, 3 walks. RBI single, 2-run double, and a game-tying RBI double.
Not too many hitters who can play 2B/3B and post 1000+ ops in AA at age 23 over 200+ pa end up completely busting. He may end up having a zone coverage weakness that can be exploited in the majors that will prevent him from being an above average everyday player, but he projects to at least be a viable bench bat. If he ends up hitting as well in AAA there will be even more confidence in that floor. He’s not an elite/top prospect, but he’s definitely a prospect. Astros prospects with >150 wRC+ in AA age 23 or younger, 2013 to present (min 100 pa, not splitting seasons): Correa Bregman Springer Alvarez Beer Reed Valdez That’s the entire list. The only guys other than Valdez who’ve posted those types of numbers at that age who can play an up the middle position have been Springer, Correa, and Bregman. Even if you split seasons, the guys added to the list are Stubbs, Laureano, Kemp, and Toro. Going back to 2009 only adds Altuve and JD Martinez. So all that is to say what Valdez is doing in Corpus puts him in good company.
I agree he is a prospect, but not an Astros prospect. Altuve is not going anywhere for the next few years and 2nd base is Valdez's best position. I tend to think of him as an ace in the hole to be brought out at a key moment in a trade negotiation.
Another HR for Stevens today, 8th of the season and 7th this month. Let him keep that up thru June and then see if he can replicate it in 200+ pa in AA; if he can do that it’ll be time to call him a real prospect.
J.C. Correa went 3-5 for the second straight day to push his average above .300 for the first time this season. He actually had a higher OPS on the road than in Asheville entering today (.781 away/.714 home), but that gap's probably closed now.
Zach Daniels quietly has had an extremely promising May, mostly on the strength of a much improved K/BB ratio. Went from 6/1 in April to under 2/1 in May on route to a .842 OPS. I know people were raving about his tools when they brought him in, so I've kept an eye on him. Still striking out way too much, but he's the kind of guy that could take off if he puts it together.
https://www.milb.com/florida-complex/schedule Complex league games start next week (6/6). Astros will have 2 complex league teams. Not sure how they’re going to stock them before the draft but there’s a good amount of talent there. The rosters have not been released yet.
