The Astros did not lose Bobby Abreu in the Rule 5 Draft [there's no such thing as a Rule V draft, btw]
Anderson Brito vs. Greenville: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K Garrett Guillemette has a three-run homer (2) in the early going for Asheville and Walker Janek is 2-3 with a double and a run scored.
Miguel Ullola made his first appearance of the year for Sugar Land and he allowed a run on a sac fly, a hit, and struck out two in two innings. He'll likely have restrictions to start off because of his arm issues towards the end of spring training.
Jackson Nezuh vs. San Antonio: 3.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 6 K The one run came on a solo homer in the 8th. He wound up taking the loss for Corpus, but that's a solid debut.
Sugar Land drew 17 walks in their 6-5 win over Albuquerque; Collin Price and Zack Short walked 4 times. Kenedy Corona drove in three runs on a couple of singles; the first one scored two in the 7th and he added another RBI single in the 8th.
Another minor league signing... RHP Cam Brown signed with the Tigers as an undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan following the 2021 draft. The Tigers released him at the end of spring training and the Astros signed him today. In 2024, Brown went 6-1 with 6 saves and a 3.51 ERA in 40 relief appearances (56.1 IP) at Low-A Lakeland. He allowed 24 runs on 51 hits (2 homers), walked 24, and struck out 56. Brown was sent to Fayetteville. He's 26 (he turns 27 next month) and hasn't gotten out of the low minors... so, a body at this point.
I did read he was up to 97 mph with his fb so I think he’s another big velo guy with lacking control.
Asheville took a page out of the Astros book today and blew an 8th-inning lead of their own. Well, they took the lead with three runs in the 7th, only to give it right back by giving up 3 in the top of the 8th. They loaded the bases with 0 out in the bottom of the 8th and didn't score. In his first appearance since May 7, 2023, Brett Gillis went four innings and allowed a run on two hits while striking out five. Gillis was the Astros' 9th-round pick in 2022 out of the University of Portland.
Bryce Mayer @ Delmarva: 3 IP, H, 5 K Colton Gordon vs. Albuquerque: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER (both on solo homers), 3 BB, 6 K
The minor leaguers appear to have gotten mostly thru a rotation, so the roles seem to be: AAA: SP: Gordon, Blubaugh, Walter, Ullola, Brown, Ivey RP: Castro, Hernandez, Murray, Tamarez, Weiman, Kouba, Robertson, Rodning *Ivey is probably more of swing guy AA: SP: Nezuh, Mancini, Swanson, Guilfoil, Hicks, Fleury, Dombroski, Rodriguez, Pecko, Knorr RP: Bido, Sanchez, Santa, Torres Knorr and Guilfoil may be more multi inning RP High A: SP: Bello, Guedez, Pena, Perez, Urias, Langford, Brito, True, Gillis, Santos RP: Rodriguez, Chirinos, Swiney, Leach, Linskey, Taylor A: SP: Ogando, Palmer, Hertzler, Raimy Rodriguez, Cruz, Luis Rodriguez, Mayer, David, Tredwell, Verdugo RP: Frias, Almonte, Burleson, Brown, Smith, Gonzalez
Whitley looked good in his inning in AAA last night. Only needed 11 pitches and had a clean inning. FB sat 95-96, topped 97. My guess is he an Ort will make 2 more appearances in AAA over the next week then get brought up if everything looks good. With how good King and Okert (last night notwithstanding) have looked, I’m really looking forward to a healthy bullpen of Hader, Abreu, King, Ort, Whitley, Okert, and Scott (in only low leverage), with one other optionable arm rotating through (Gusto, Sousa, VanWey, Hernandez, Robertson, Contreras) to always have a truly fresh arm.
Jancel Villarroel is playing 2B for Fayetteville in the first game of today’s doubleheader. So far this season he’s played C, LF and now 2B. Last season he also played 1B, 3B, and CF. Pretty rare for a fairly highly thought of prospect to move around so much, and I honestly don’t know how to read it. Defensive versatility is good, but it might also point to him not having a defensive home, and you’d think if he was a viable catching prospect, he’d play there 80% of the time.
I don’t know, potential answers: He’s got a minor injury and just got skipped once He’s got a major injury that they don’t want to report yet He threw a side session and McCullers took his spot last week
Alimber Santa didn't strike anyone out in his three innings for Corpus, but it was a scoreless outing. He allowed two hits and walked one. Pascanel Ferreras hit his first home run of the season.
In addition to Cam Brown, the Astros signed another pitcher who was cut from the Tigers. This transaction just popped up but was completed on April 9. RHP Garrett Apker signed with the Tigers as an undrafted free agent out of Cal State San Marcos. Apker spent most of his 2024 season in Class A, with a handful of appearances in the FCL. He went 7-2 with a save and a 3.88 ERA in 31 appearances (23 Lakeland, 8 FCL; 53.1 IP total). Apker allowed 25 runs (23 earned) on 42 hits (3 HR), walked 21, and struck out 55. Notably, he cut his walk rate from 6.7 BB/9 to a much more tolerable 3.5 while maintaining his strikeout rate. Looks like another big arm with known control/command issues. (already posted in the general season thread... Rafael Montero trade now complete) Patrick Halligan started his college career with two seasons at George Mason before going to junior college at Pensacola State College, where the Royals picked him in the 13th round in 2021. The Royals released him in late March 2023 and the Braves picked him up a week later. At the time of this trade, Halligan was with the Columbus Clingstones, the Braves' AA affiliate. (A clingstone is a peach in which the flesh clings to the pit. These peaches are usually canned.) He made his first appearance of the season on Tuesday, allowing a two-run homer, walking one, and striking out two.
