Edinson Batista, Fabricio Reina, and Rhett Kouba combined on a 9-0 shutout win for Fayetteville. Batista: 4.2 IP, H, 3 BB, 5 K Reina: 0.1 IP, K Kouba: 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 8 K
For somebody that is supposed to have problems covering the upper outside of the plate, he certainly didn't have any difficulty giving that one a ride
May Stock Watch Up (position players) - Enmanuel Valdez: We might be reaching the point where Valdez might need a test in Sugar Land. - Corey Julks: Awoken in a huge way after a rough start to his season. Obviously, what he did this month probably won't be sustainable, but Julks has probably hit his way into the Astros' plans. - Justin Dirden: Baseball America described Dirden as having an ideal bench player skill set. He really has been quite the find... will there be an opening in Sugar Land soon? - Kenedy Corona: Corona has really found his power stroke towards the end of this month. Not really any space for him in Asheville at the moment, but his season might be unfolding the same way that Wilyer Abreu's 2021 did: non-descript prospect re-tools his approach and is now able to get to his power in games. - Colin Barber: Barber is starting to show off the potential that prompted the Astros to give him a million bucks. So far, he's been healthy and that's a great sign. Should be in Corpus by the end of July. Up (pitchers) - Jacob Coats: An undrafted free agent out of Houston Baptist, Coats has been excellent at the A levels in his first pro season. Could a fast track be in his future? - Chayce McDermott: Dominant May for McDermott. Aside from two meh outings, he's gotten better as the month progressed and should be in line to see Corpus by season's end. (preferably ASAP) - Rhett Kouba: Kouba pitched very well in Fayetteville to end 2021 and it's been more of the same in his return to start this season. He probably won't be with the Woodpeckers much longer. - Edinson Batista: Fayetteville has some interesting arms and Kouba and the Dominican trio of Batista, Miguel Ullola, and Carlos Calderon might be the best of the bunch. Batista struck out 10 in relief back on May 13... mostly on some pretty nice breaking balls. I've been wavering between Calderon and Batista as to who has the higher upside. I'm still in Calderon's camp, but Batista has definitely emerged as one to watch. Down (position players) - Shay Whitcomb: I'm sure he's looking forward to a new month. Whitcomb was an absolute wreck in May. - Tyler Whitaker: The Woodpeckers are still sticking with Whitaker as an everyday player, but an FCL stint should probably be the move. Let him reset there and bring him back in July. Down (pitchers) - Jaime Melendez: Still a believer, but this speed bump for Melendez has been a lot harsher than expected. Ah well, he'll get another crack at Corpus in 2023. - Shawn Dubin: Well, his promotion audition didn't go well this month.
He would probably only be an emergency option at 1B; he’s all of 5’9” on a good day. He is not terribly slow though so I wouldn’t mind seeing him get some time in LF.
My updated Top 30 after May: 1. SP Hunter Brown grade 60: stock up, if he's traded it needs to be for a star player with multiple years of control 2. OF/IF Pedro Leon 50 3. C Korey Lee 50: stock down, needs to start striking out less or hitting for a LOT more power 4. RHP Forrest Whitley 50 5. OF Colin Barber 50: stock up, 200 good PA in AA would have him getting a lot of hype 6. RHP Alex Santos 50 7. 1B/LF JJ Matijevic 45: More and more I think he'll be an everyday big league bat 8. OF/IF Tyler Whitaker 45: stock down, probably needs some time back in the complex league 9. 3B Joe Perez 45: stock down because he's hurt 10. RHP Adrian Chaidez 45: bad start in AA but I'm a new believer 11. RHP Chayce McDermott 45: I think he's victimized by Asheville and will shine once he gets promoted 12. RHP Shawn Dubin 45: stock down, he is striking guys out but walking too many and getting hit hard 13. RHP Peter Solomon 45: stock down, had a bad month 14. OF Wilyer Abreu 45: stock up, underlying stats look very good 15. 3B/2B Enmanuel Valdez 45: stock way up, scorching month that put him in elite company stat-wise 16. C/1B Yainer Diaz 45: He's a tweak away from being an elite hitter 17. LHP Parker Mushinski 45 18. IF Grae Kessinger 45: underlying numbers look like he could be due some good luck regression 19. RHP Jaime Melendez 45: stock down, bad couple months in AA but hes still very young 20. RHP Spencer Arrighetti 45: needs to cut down on the walks but otherwise looks good 21. OF Jordan Brewer 45: has to stay healthy and probably needs to get up to AA before we can really assess 22. IF Cristian Gonzalez 45: still looking overmatched but has slightly improved; still time 23. RHP Misael Tamarez 45: stock down, struggling in AA, still time 24. RHP Angel Macuare 45: stock down, pretty bad month in AA, still time 25. RHP Edinson Batista 40: stock up, looking good in A ball 26. OF Luis Baez 40: Int'l signee, hoping he is assigned to FCL 27. IF Will Wagner 40: putting up big numbers in Asheville but we won't know much until he gets to AA 28. C Nerio Rodriguez 40: stock up, looks good in Asheville and is young enough that it won't be an issue if he stays there all season 29. RHP Ryan Gusto 40: stock up, good month but might be hurt now 30. RHP Rhett Kouba 40: off to a dominant start in A ball, should see Asheville soon Others stock down from April: Shay Whitcomb, David Hensley, Tyler Brown, Jonathan Bermudez, Julio Robaina Others stock up from April: Jacob Coats, Miguel Ullola, Carlos Calderon, Quincy Hamilton, JC Correa, Kenedy Corona, Cory Julks, Justin Dirden, Joey Loperfido, Chad Stevens, Ross Adolph
Another home run for Emmanuel Valdez, who I think deserves a promotion. Leads Texas League in batting average as well.
Hunter Brown only gave up two hits tonight for Sugar Land and struck out four. The problem was one of those two hits was a three-run homer. He also walked four in 3.2 innings.
Carlos Calderon in relief vs. Fredericksburg: 3.2 IP, H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K The two runs were inherited runners that scored and were charged to him.
I followed the live stats. Very good first 3 innings - 4 K, 0 H, 1 BB (erased on a DP). Faced the minimum. Then he started to fall apart in the 4th. Two runners were left stranded by Rosscup, who got the final out that inning. After two promising outings, he has another one where he slows down late. I am not as concerned as I was a month ago, but this is something to watch.
In other news, Korey Lee went 3-4 (2 singles, 1 double; 3 RBI). Avg sits at 216 but a step in the right direction. Hopefully he has a good June.
Taylor has options, right? Not sure how much downside there could be from swapping Taylor for Mushinski with Mushinski already on the 40 man roster.
2020 was his first year on a 40-man roster and he's only been sent down in one season (beginning of 2020), so I'm saying "yes"
I mean at what point do you just disregard what any scout thinks about any hole in Valdez's swing. At this rate, I would be more likely to believe he is using some form of performance enhancing drug than I believe the scouts. Hes doing about what Altuve did the year he came out of nowhere. Two years older at the same level, though part of that could be explained by Covid. He has an insanely high BABIP, but also an insanely high 30% line drive percentage this year. He probably strikes out a bit too much, but let's close our eyes and think if this was Pedro León putting up this kind of year. He would be a top 10 prospect on every mid season list, and Leon is older than Valdez. I don't care what the scouts say. You don't stumble into hitting .365 over 200 plate appearances in AA playing half his games in an extreme pitchers park. I am not expecting future stardom from him, but I would be surprised if he's not a future major leaguer for an extended time at this point. I can still recall scouts doing the same thing with Ben Zobrist. That was a long time ago now, but he just ate AA pitching alive for the Astros, but there was just always some caveat or some scout there to explain why it was a mirage or not sustainable, yet here we are in 2022 after Zobrist just finished up a near hall of Fame career.
