Thursday Stories And once again, our AAA team is better than yours, Mr. Ryan. It hasn't really gone well for Jarred Cosart after this.... <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Sad when people from your own organization doubt you and your team. It's about time to silence critics. hey @<a href="https://twitter.com/astros">astros</a> I'm coming for ya</p>— Jarred Cosart (@JarredCosart) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarredCosart/status/204975575545294849" data-datetime="2012-05-22T16:42:40+00:00">May 22, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Lancaster might want to invest in a humidor? Lexington lets one get away late. Recap OKC defeated Round Rock 10-6 Man, it's been a really rough season for the Round Rock Express. Oh wait, they're not affiliated with the Astros anymore? Right then. OKC took the series opener 10-6, as Brandon Barnes went 3-5 with a 3-run homer (1st with OKC, 8 overall), 4 RBI, and scored 3 times. Jimmy Paredes also went 3-5 and scored twice. Scott Moore was 4-4 with 2 RBI singles, and Mike Hessman had a 2-run single. Sergio Perez got the start and in 3 2/3 innings, he allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 5, and struck out 2. Adalberto Flores got the win in relief, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless and walking 2. Corpus Christi lost to Frisco 4-3 Carlos Lee began a rehab assignment and hit a 2-run homer in the 1st. Jair Fernandez was 2-3 with an RBI double in the 5th. And that was pretty much it for the Hooks on offense, as they only had 5 hits in the game. Jarred Cosart went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2. Arcenio Leon finished off the game with 2 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and fanning 2. Lancaster beat Inland Empire 12-8 Jesus Christ, balls just left the Hangar at an alarming rate. Both teams combined for 8 homers, all allowed by the starters. Travis Witherspoon led off the game with a homer, and Alex Todd responded by leading off with a homer in the bottom of the 1st. Yeah, typical night in the California League. That was Todd's 1st homer with Lancaster and 2nd on the season. He finished 3-4 with. Enrique Hernandez was 2-5 with a 2-run homer in the 4th, his 4th of the season. Jonathan Meyer also went 2-5 and also hit a 2-run home run in the 4th, which was his... 4th of the season. But this game belonged to George Springer, who went 3-4 with 2 homers (14). Telvin Nash was 0-2, but on the bright side, he drew 3 walks (to only 1 strikeout) and scored twice. I've officially lost count of his strikeout streak. Erik Castro, Domingo Santana, and Rene Garcia drove in 1 apiece. R.J. Alaniz was bombed in his 4 innings as he allowed 8 runs on 11 hits (3 homers), walked 2, and struck out 5. Brian Streilein got the victory as he threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing a hit and striking out 2. Lexington loses 5-4 to Asheville Murilo Gouvea allowed the go-ahead RBI single to Taylor Featherston in the top of the 9th, and the Legends went down in order to end it. Delta Cleary was a pest for Lexington pitching, as he went 4-5 with 3 doubles, a 2-run homer, and scored 3 times. 4 Legends drove in 1 apiece. Matt Duffy hit his 11th homer of the year off of Alex Gillingham in the 3rd. Jesse Wierzbicki, Zach Johnson (61), and Brandon Meredith had the other 3 RBIs. Delino DeShields was 1-5 with his 43rd steal of the season. Luis Ordosgoitti pitched 6 innings and allowed 4 runs on 9 hits (2-run homer to Cleary), walked 1, and struck out 4. DSL Astros defeat the Indians 6-4 Edwin Villarroel looks like he's putting himself on the map as possibly one to watch in the future. He threw 7 2/3 innings and allowed 4 unearned runs (again) on 7 hits, walking 3 and striking out 3. Elieser Hernandez got the save by getting the final 4 outs, allowing 2 hits and striking out 1. Tomas De La Cruz had an RBI groundout. Arturo Michelena went 1-5 with an RBI single and scored twice. Randy Cesar could be another to keep an eye on. He went 2-4 with an RBI double and a 2-run single. Mesac Laguna also chipped in with an RBI single. Game Scores Sergio Perez: 50 Jarred Cosart: 47 R.J. Alaniz: You might not want to know. Luis Ordosgoitti: 41 Edwin Villarroel: 57 Three Stars 3. Edwin Villarroel, P, DSL Astros W, 7.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R (all unearned), 3 BB, 3 K, 57 Game Score Small sample size says: The Astros really got a nice find. 2. Brandon Barnes, CF, Oklahoma City 3-5, 2B, 3-R HR (8), 4 RBI, 3 R Barnes isn't on the 40-man roster, but he's looking like a late bloomer. It's nice to see him keep up his torrid start to the season. 1. George Springer, CF, Lancaster 3-4, 2 HR (14), 3 RBI, 3 R What, did you expect anything less? Honorable Mentions Matt Duffy, 3B, Lexington: I don't think he should be hanging around the Sally League anymore. For the umpteenth time, he could hold his own in Corpus. Lancaster offense: Oh, just another night in The Hangar. Jimmy Paredes, 2B, Oklahoma City: WALK!!!!! But really, his plus athleticism should allow him to sustain a high BABIP. Why not? Scott Moore, 3B, Oklahoma City: Perfect night at the plate always deserves a shoutout. Goat Tough luck for Murilo Gouvea tonight, as he allowed the go-ahead run for Asheville to score in the 9th. Dishonorable mention goes to Luis Reynoso for a hat trick. Looking Ahead The battle of Astros affiliates, past and present, continues at 7:05, with Brian Bass getting the start for OKC. He'll be opposed by Martin Perez, the Rangers' top pitching prospect, and #2 prospect overall. The Rangers-Astros battle continues down in AA as well, as Corpus and Frisco go at it again at 7:05. Ross Seaton will be starting for the Hooks; opposing him will be Ryan Tepesch. Lancaster and Inland Empire will play the middle game of their series at 7 Pacific. David Martinez will oppose Manny Correa. Lexington plays the 2nd game in their 4-game series with Asheville at 7:05 Eastern. Luis Cruz has been in a tailspin as of late... he'll get the start for the Legends. The DSLstros will square off against the Indians at 10:30 AM Eastern.
Time to move Springer up. Nothing left to prove/show at Lancaster. That would justify a trip to Corpus for the MadMax family, too
Profiles of the 2012 Greeneville Astros At leroy's request, I will not be using the term "G-Stros" this season. Appy Astros is appropriate enough.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/carloscorrea255">carloscorrea255</a> @<a href="https://twitter.com/astros">astros</a> Carlos looked great in scrimmage game today going 2/3 with a HR. The HR was a long bomb down the LF line.</p>— Bill7 (@BillMo7) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillMo7/status/213712988358713345" data-datetime="2012-06-15T19:22:01+00:00">June 15, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On the road all day tomorrow.... will be back in Houston in the evening. Now, you get the bare-bones stuff. OKC lost to Round Rock 2-0 Only 4 hits in this game for the Redhawks. Brian Bass allowed both runs on 9 hits, walked 4, and only struck out 1 in his 6 innings of work. Mickey Storey finished with 2 perfect innings, striking out 2. Corpus Christi loses 3-2 against Frisco Ross Seaton had to settle for a no-decision despite pitching well in his 7 innings. He allowed 2 runs on 7 hits and struck out 7. Kody Hinze hit a solo homer (7) in the 7th that tied the game at 2. Jonathan Singleton had an RBI single in the 1st that opened the scoring for the Hooks. Hinze's homer was erased as Kevin Chapman helped the Roughriders untie the game by allowing Leury Garcia to score on a force play in the bottom of the 8th inning. Lancaster defeats Inland Empire 14-4 The Jethawks scored in every inning but the 7th, and overall, they had 19 hits, with everyone getting at least 1. George Springer, Erik Castro, Domingo Santana, and Chris Epps had 3 hits apiece. For all that offense, the only homer of the night belonged to Epps. Epps paced everyone with 4 RBI, falling a double short of the cycle. Castro and Santana drove in 3 each, while Springer was 3-4 with an RBI and scored 3 times. Rafael Valenzuela went 2-4 with an RBI triple, and Jonathan Meyer and Enrique Hernandez drove in 1 as well. David Martinez was excellent, allowing only 2 hits in 7 shutout innings and striking out 5. Brad Dydalewicz got tagged with 4 runs in the 8th, but whatever... the Jethawks still won comfortably. Lexington loses to Asheville, 5-3 Carlos Quevedo served up a 3-run homer to Rosell Herrera in the top of the 9th. Delino DeShields, Jay Austin (season debut), and Justin Gominsky drove in 1 apiece. DeShields added 2 more steals in this game, giving him 45 on the season. Quevedo's failure ruined a very nice outing from Luis Cruz. In 8 innings, Cruz allowed 2 runs on 7 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. DSL Astros defeat the Indians 3-0 The Academy won despite only managing 5 singles all game. Yoel Silfa drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the 7th to break a scoreless tie. Randy Cesar scored on the play. Mesac Laguna scored on a wild pitch later in the inning. Jarico Reynoso (no relation to Luis) had an RBI single in the 8th. Juan Hernandez threw 5 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, walking 3, and fanning 5. Javier Saucedo got the win in relief, as he pitched the final 4 innings, allowing 3 hits, walking 1, and striking out 5.
tellitlikeitis, I would be very interested in getting your thoughts on how you'd rank the Astros CURRENT top 20 prospects, along with some explanation for each player belonging on the list. I suppose you could add Correa (but not any unsigned draft picks) and Toney. If you could also note (maybe at the end) where some other draft picks (like McCullers, Fontana, Virant, Hinojosa, etc.) would slot in on that list. Perhaps you could then update it after the signing deadline. I appreciate all the work you put in to your minor league updates and figured you'd be well-positioned to give a thoughtful analysis of the Astros' top prospects as of right now.
Dallas Keuchel will make his major league debut Sunday for Astros http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...ake-his-major-league-debut-sunday-for-astros/
I'd be interested in what other people think, but here's my opinion: 1)correa: both ba and law have said that they would put him first; I agree. Obviously he's further away than singleton (the other player in contention for #1) but offers a more complete skill set. A reseasonable upside is a tulowitski type ss. Should hit for both avg and power and he'll play a premium positions either at ss or at 3b. 2) Jonathan singleton: should be the top 1b prospect in baseball once rizzo graduates. A top 25 overall type prospect. Has had a good year showing off hit and power tools at AA at 20 yr old. But as a 1b all his value is tied up with the bat and has little margin for error. Should graduate at some point next year. 3) George springer: is hitting 300 with a 550 slg at A+ but it's hard to put a lot of stock in the numbers bc of the park. The strikeout numbers are concerning but he's been better in a small sample this month. AA will be the real test. Should be around a top 50 type prospect. There's a drop off in the system after springer. 4) Jarred cosart: might place McCullers here when he signs. Cosart still shows top of the rotation stuff but the results just aren't there. K rate is not where you would expect it and is walking a decent numbers of hitters. Era is following suit in the 4s. If he fails as a starter could be a lights out closer but I'd image they give him a long leash to work out his kinks as a starter. He's in double A but there's no rush. If nothing else it's a plus that he's putting his second straight healthy season together with his stuff intact. 5)Jonathan villar: toolsy player who looks like he's starting to consolidate his improvements. Had a brutal first month but has hit over 300 since and is starting to hit for power again. On pace to steal 50+ bases. Had been rushed so far but looks like he's starting to put it together. 6) mike foltynewicz: has been a lot better in repeating low A. Good reports on stuff but subpar k rate is a concern. 7) Domingo Santana : good numbers ; good tools. Same grains of salt as with springer about lancaster influencing numbers. K rate is the huge conern with him. He has power it's just a matter of him making contact to use it in games. Has been ok in that regard this year especially after a bad first month. 8) deshields: has been better in a repeat year at lexington. Around 270/370/370. Is running better and more. Power hasn't shown itself, defense is raw, and is still striking out too much. Still it's good that he's showing signs of life after a brutal year last season. Still shows tools and,fingers crossed, a breakout season may happen soon, it's just hasn't quite happened yet. 9) Brett Oberholtzler: has pitched very well the last month at AA. Overall though his season numbers are just ok. Probably has a reasonable upside as a good number 4, but he's close to the majors and has a good shot at reaching that. Also probably the only legit starting lhp prospect in the system. 10) Paul clemens: almost made the team out of spring training. But has struggled a lot in AAA. Like Oberholtzler still has back of the rotation potential and is close to majors. Others to consider: houser, Velasquez, tropeano,ovando. Paredes already lost his eligiblity, but if he were eligible he'd be somewhere 6-10 on the list. I'd put McCullers at 4 or 5. Fontana in the back of the top 10. Ruiz would also be back of top 10 or early teens. Virant as well. Phillips and rodgers are somewhere 10-20. Overall I think (assuming everyone signs) it's a top ten system. Other than maybe Clemens I don't think they'll graduate any of their top prospects. But there are still holes including high end starting pitching.
As good as the pence trade was the Bourn trade was just as bad. Particularly for instance when you consider what the mets got for 1/3rd of a season of Beltran. The Bourn trade was the perfect example of the downside of the quanity over quality approach
As much as I love Correa, I'm always a bit reluctant to put guys that have yet to play a game at the top. But his overall package has to be a 70 or a 75 on the 20-80 scale.
No. They (the developers, I guess) did follow me on Twitter for about a week or so. I'm looking through the game website right now.
I haven't played it in a couple years, but it is a lot of fun and pretty deep, seems like it would be right up your alley. There used to be a clutchfans league.
