German Ramirez was suspended... apparently, there was an altercation on Friday where the benches cleared and he was one of the main characters in the scuffle.
Arturo Flores is currently 2-3 with an RBI double for Fayetteville... he's now on a 10-game hit streak.
Trade that's apparently happening: Marcus Brown was drafted in the 5th round by the Nationals out of Oklahoma State in 2023, and he signed for $350,000. He's more noted for his defense. In 34 games between A+ Wilmington and AA Harrisburg, Brown is hitting .228/.324/.304 with one home run and 9 RBI.
Ullola with another scoreless walk less appearance last night. Brett Gillis last 5 starts: 25ip 5er 12bb 23k; era under 3.00 since May 1st.
Minor league season halfway done. Stock up: IF Pascanel Ferreras, 1B Drew Brutcher, 2B/OF Yamal Encarnacion, OF Tyler Whitaker, IF Randy Arias, IF Albert Fermin, OF Ethan Wagner, OF Luis Rives, IF Anderson Arienamo, IF Juan Rojas, OF Yensi De La Cruz, C/1B Luis De Leon, 3B Trevor Austin, C Jason Schiavone, IF Alejandro Nunez, OF Caden Powell Stock down: OF Ethan Frey, C Walker Janek, OF Joseph Sullivan C/1B Will Bush and SS Max Holy have cooled off over the last few weeks. Both guys have seen their k rate get over 30% in AA. The current crop of DSL hitters might be the deepest Houston has had in over 10 years. Houston has the best position player prospect group below High A that they've had since the farm was highly rated. The High A pitching staff has been brutal.
Omar Damián walked three and struck out five over four scoreless, no-hit innings for the DSL Blue team. Adrian Ardines allowed a run on three hits, walked two, and struck out six in 5.1 innings in the FCL.
Big bonus power bat Eduardo Perez made his 2026 DSL debut today, going 0-2 with 2k and 1bb. After posting a 37.7% k rate last season and 50% in 2024, this is probably the end of the road for him if he can't show better contact/discipline.
Best crack at a 2030 all-internal Astros roster: CF Yensi De La Cruz? SS Albert Fermin? 2B Sami Manzueta? 1B Nehomar Ochoa Jr.? DH Kevin Alvarez RF Cam Smith 3B Xavier Neyens LF Joey Loperfido C Walker Janek Bench: OF/2B Brice Matthews, C Jason Schiavone, UT Max Holy, OF Zach Cole SP Ryan Forcucci? SP Omar Damian? SP Spencer Arrighetti SP Ethan Pecko SP Mike Burrows P Bryce Mayer P Cole Hertzler RP Miguel Ullola RP Alimber Santa RP AJ Blubaugh RP Bryan King RP Nick Potter RP Hayden Wesneski
Interesting. Spence seems to offer speed and defense with acceptable on base skills but a lack of power that prevents him from projecting as more than a 4th OF. But it’s good to see the AAA roster start to get filled up with some legitimate position player prospects, even if they are 3rd tier guys.
The DSL squads faced off against each other today and the Orange team walked off with a 4-3 win. Albert Fermín hit his first homer as a pro for the Orange team.
Chandler Rome had farm director Sam Niedorf in his podcast. They talked about the org focus on baserunning and defensive versatility. They talked about Jason Schiavone (they think he can stick at C), Nick Potter (his FB gives him a long leash as a starter), Ullola (like his aggressiveness in the bullpen), Pecko (5 pitch mix), and Janek (vague comment about him being in the complex). Niedorf mentioned P Jagger Beck and OF Justin Thomas as sleepers. Pretty obvious choices given their top line stats.
Anthony Huezo (14), Xavier Neyens (10), and Kevin Alvarez (6) all homered for Fayetteville. Back-to-back-to-back!
