Kenedy Corona hit a two-run homer and a two-run double in Asheville's 11-2 win over Winston-Salem. Corona now has 16 home runs on the year. Zach Daniels (19) and Tim Borden (2) also homered for the Tourists.
He is still learning to actually pitch but the blow away stuff is very elite. After a terrible start he is hitting his stride. At this point walks are his bane.
If the Astros can make an adjustment or two to Borden, and he works on his pitch recognition, I think he could be a late-round surprise. He was a top prospect out of HS, chose to go to college, and was still drafted near the end of the draft. Was hurt his junior year, and then transferred from Louisville to GT for his senior year. Unlike everyone else, he went straight to Asheville (in part due to Chad Stevens going on the IL, I presume). All the damage so far has been away from the friendly confines of Asheville. Every year there's a handful of late round sleepers and I think he could be one.
You are right to be skeptical. I absolutely hate the reports that he is uncoachable, but I would still call him up in September. If nothing else, if he gets bombed it might calm his immature ass down.
Hey man, things look up more than we have expected in, what, about 3 years? Lotto tickets sometimes pay off, it's pretty crazy he's still only 24 and in AAA after all the ridiculous b.s. and injuries. eta: I think we've said it a few times already, but this offseason is huge for him. Make or break his career type stuff.
He's had good stuff and precious little control or durability. I hope that changes. But he had to show he can dominate over more than a couple of weeks with his history.
Update: Entered the game in relief. Hopefully this means Justin is okay, but I doubt they'd be sure this soon. Forrest Whitley (already on the 40-man) is another candidate to be called up.
Chandler Rome @Chandler_Rome Hunter Brown came in mid-inning tonight out of the bullpen for Triple-A Sugar Land, notable because his other relief appearances were part of tandem starts, which allowed him to start clean innings. Here were his first five pitches out of the bullpen Brown is still pitching, btw
I want Hunter Brown on the Postseason Roster over Phil Maton. Forrest Whitley needs to be called up and get some experience in the Majors. Even if not on Postseason Roster, just be around the team. Postseason baseball, it depends on the Coaching Staff and his health.
I especially agree with you on Forrest Whitley. He's already on the 40-man roster, and with all that he's gone through, now that he's showing promise again, it would really serve him well to see what an MLB dugout/locker room is really like and how big leaguers act. He'd also learn a lot just by being around guys like JV and Maldy regularly.
MLB Pipeline @MLBPipeline Top @astros prospect Hunter Brown didn’t allow a hit across 3 1/3 innings in his first scoreless outing since June 30 for the @SLSpaceCowboys: https://t.co/NUWm80C7ZL
Please clarify. Is this a comment on his not having a couple of dominant weeks yet? If so, I agree. 7 SO is great if it's also accompanied by ZEROS on the scoreboard. And I haven't seen that yet, much less from game to game. I check MiLB stats on Baseball Reference and all I see is the high ERA, high BB and low IP. The rest is like Christmas ornaments without a tree. Like I said, I'm rooting for the guy, but I agree with you that it's this OFFSEASON that he has to show progress, not before. Brown is another story, he's shown everything he needs to show for a call-up as soon as there is a spot for him to see action, not just warm the bench. I don't know of any other team that wouldn't have called him up yet, but I also don't know of any other team with our 13 pitcher depth.
