I dig Altuve like everyone else but as with the Rockets, no one is untouchable. If Detroit offered Turner, Castellenos and some lower prospects, Luhnow would be hard pressed to pass on that deal. Similarly if Pittsburgh offered up Cole or Taillon as a centerpiece, he'd also have to consider it. But we're talking Mat Latos/Gio Gonzalez-level deals, which are ridiculously unlikely. There's only one GM I know of who's ever traded a young, team-controlled All-Star away from a rebuilding team. That man is Billy Beane, who traded former all star Trevor Cahill to the D-Backs. Cahill still had 3 seasons of team control (arbitration years). I digress. Basically I don't think there's an untouchable player on the roster right now. Though Luhnow would a) have to have giant balls and b) get a ridiculous haul back. There's a great fan write-up on the odds of different Astros getting traded at the Crawfishboxes.
BTW I think the Astros uncovered another hidden gem in the 5th round. It's well known tellitlikeitis loves Nick Tropeano (last year's 5th round pick). My new under-the-radar guy is Andrew Aplin. He's only played about two weeks worth of Class A short-season ball, but he is freaking killing it. He's hitting .421/.547/.553 in 13 games with 9 SB's and an 11:3 BB:K ratio. That's absurd. He needs to be fast-tracked to Lexington. That is all.
I can see Aplin ending the year in Lexington. He could even skip the level and go straight to Lancaster to open 2013.
Phillips, our 6th round pick, has also been terrific in rookie ball, posting a .417 OBP, and a. 996 OPS, thanks to his absurd 5 triples through 13 games. Nice centerfielders in the low levels. A lot to like from our draft picks so far. I hope Correa ends the year strong.
speaking of ruggiano, only a 60 AB sample size, but the guy has kind of been killing it for the Marlins. good trade for both sides maybe?
Uh oh.... <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>After Tulsa makes it 4-1, Jarred Cosart pulled mid-count, leaves mound with trainer. Had just uncorked his third wild pitch of game.</p>— Greg Rajan (@GregRajan) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregRajan/status/220327906575003648" data-datetime="2012-07-04T01:27:21+00:00">July 4, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>If anyone has cures for blisters that work and I havent tried I'll pay you</p>— Jarred Cosart (@JarredCosart) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarredCosart/status/220339375060430849" data-datetime="2012-07-04T02:12:55+00:00">July 4, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Springer with another home run. I like that he's hitting them on the road lately because his home/road splits are pretty drastic. .358 with 11 homers at home .264 with 6 homers away
Except he got 3 in this one! Another big game for Wallace. 3-3 with 2 walks. His OPS since the start of June is about 1.200. For those interested, the Jonathan Villar walk-off home run is online. Pretty nice opposite field shot.http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=22797649
No big deal. I like the approach most analysts have taken on him. He's performing well, albeit in the Cali league, and he's already ranked pretty fairly. Mid-50's on most lists. He hasn't done anything to greatly increase or decrease his value because despite his performance, some of his advanced stats are mediocre. So everyone is just waiting to see what he does at AA. If he keeps this up in AA, he's a top 20 prospect AND probably will be fast-tracked to Houston by late next season. He should probably be moved up to AA soon. It's just wait and see with him, but he is an exciting player. He's my organizational minor league player of the year right now
Three Stars post coming up momentarily. Tuesday Stories Walk-offs. One walked off with a loss, though. Tri-City keeps the streak alive!!! Jarred Cosart's blisters strike again.... Rockies minor league clubs got the best of the Astros' system last night. Recap Ah, Jeff Luhnow probably enjoyed this tilt between OKC and Memphis. The Redhawks walked off in breathtaking fashion, 11-10 in 10 innings. Fernando Martinez played hero, as his 2-run shot (9) with 1 out in the 10th was the winner. In regular time, the offense received contributions from Crash Hessman, who hit a 2-run shot (26) in the 6th and finished 1-5 with 3 RBI. Brett Wallace went 3-3 with an RBI and 2 walks. Carlos Corporan had a 2-run double, and J.B. Shuck drew a bases-loaded walk and hit a 2-run double. Aneury Rodriguez's wheels fell off in the 5th. He allowed 7 runs on 10 hits (3-run homer) in 4 1/3 innings of work, walking 1 and striking out 2. Xavier Cedeno allowed his first earned run in an OKC uniform since May 20 when he allowed a game-tying single to Adron Chambers in the 9th. Mickey Storey allowed another RBI single to Chambers in the 10th that gave Memphis the lead, but F-Mart sent the crowd home happy. Corpus fell 5-1 to Tulsa, as they were held to 4 hits. Jonathan Villar's RBI single was the only scoring. Jarred Cosart allowed 4 runs on 8 hits and struck out 5 in 4 2/3 before his blisters struck again. With the exception of serving up a double to Angelys Nina, the #2 hitter in the Drillers lineup, in the 1st, all the hits he allowed were singles. Yeah, that's not gonna help the BABIP. Erick Abreu pitched 3 1/3 perfect innings after Cosart bowed out, striking out 5. Arcenio Leon served up a solo homer to Kent Matthes in the 9th. Lancaster walked off too. But they walked off with a 7-6 loss in 11 innings to Modesto. George Springer kicked things off in the 1st with a solo shot, his 17th of the season. He, Domingo Santana, and Erik Castro had 2 RBI apiece. Springer added an RBI double in the 9th. Castro went 3-6 with an RBI single and 2 doubles, one of which went for an RBI. Santana went 1-5 with a 2-run single that tied the game in the 9th. Grant Hogue went 2-4 with 3 runs scored and a steal (6). Jorge De Leon went 6 innings and allowed 5 runs on 4 hits (solo homer). He walked 2 and struck out 3. Brad Dydalewicz served up a solo homer to Kyle Parker, the only run and hit he allowed in 2 innings of relief. He walked 1 and struck out 3. Kirk Clark got the loss despite only giving up 1 hit in 2 1/3 innings of relief. He walked Juan Crousset to lead off the 11th, then Crousset was sacrificed over to 2nd. Jayson Langfels then proceeded to rip a double down the left-field line, and that was all she wrote. Lexington dropped 4 in a 5-game series with Asheville, losing 2-1 in the series finale. Jonas Dufek allowed a hit and struck out 1 in the first before a rain delay cut his outing short. Tom Shirley came on in his stead and was the hard-luck loser in this one. He went 4 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on a hit (double), walking 3 and striking out 6. Both runs occurred in the top of the 4th. Mitch Lambson finished with 4 dominating innings, allowing a hit (infield single) and striking out 7. He's now on a 15-inning scoreless streak to start the season. In that stretch, he's allowed 5 hits and struck out 21. No walks. Offensively, Matt Duffy was 2-4 with a double. That double led off the 8th, but he was stranded there to end the inning. Mike Kvasnicka scored the lone Legends run in the 5th when Vianney Mayo went wild. Delino DeShields went 0-3 with a walk, 2 Ks, and stole his 58th base of the year. He also committed an error in the 4th by booting a grounder into right field. That led to Asheville's 2nd run. Tri-City is now on an 11-game winning streak as they rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the 9th against Lowell by rolling off 7 runs in the inning. The 7-2 win gave them a sweep of the Spinners. Juri Perez had an excellent start for the ValleyCats, throwing 7 shutout innings. He allowed 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 6. Unfortunately for him, Mike Augilera and Francisco Taveras matched him every step of the way. There was no score until the 8th, when Lowell got 2 off Juan Minaya. Kendrick Perkins (not to be confused with the OKC center) hit an RBI single, and Mookie Betts hit a sac fly off Jamaine Cotton (run charged to Minaya). But the ValleyCats offense awoke to keep the streak alive! The rally started off in a rather painful way, as Andrew Aplin and Dan Gulbransen were hit. Jobduan Morales singled to load the bases, then Ryan Dineen tied the game with a 2-run single. The next batter, Tyler Heineman, put the ValleyCats ahead with a single scoring Morales. Emilio King was hit to re-load the bases. Jarrod McKinney hit a sac fly to score Dineen, and on the ensuing error by Spinners CF Williams Jerez, Heineman scored. Austin Elkins reached 1st on a force play as McKinney was thrown out at 2nd, and Joe Sclafani followed that up with a sac fly. Elkins stole 2nd (5), and Aplin singled him home. Aplin would steal his way to 3rd (10 and 11), but Gulbransen struck out to end the inning. Aplin finished 1-4 with the RBI single, the 2 steals, and eek 2 strikeouts. Elkins was also 1-4 and had 2 thefts of his own (5). Dineen finished 2-4, the only ValleyCat with a multi-hit game. Jamaine Cotton got the win in relief, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, and one of Minaya's runs to score in his 2 innings. Greeneville's series finale with Kingsport was postponed due to rain. That game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on July 20, when the Appy Astros return. The GCLstros downed the Marlins 4-0 behind a strong pitching performance. Edison Frias threw 5 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits, walking 2, and striking out 4. Alan Abreu followed up with 3 scoreless of his own, allowing 2 hits and striking out 1. Erick Gonzalez finished it out in a non-save situation. Carlos Correa went 1-4 with a double, his 5th straight hit that has resulted in a double. Hey, he's flashing some gap power. Consistency will come. Brett Phillips went 1-2 with an RBI single, 2 runs scored, 3 walks, and a steal (4). Darwin Rivera went 3-5 with an RBI single of his own, and Yonathan Mejia was 2-4 with an RBI single as well. Phillips scored the one run that wasn't driven in, coming off an error in the 6th. The Academy was shut out 4-0 by the A's. They only had 4 hits, with Randy Cesar and Jarico Reynoso having 2 between them. Edwin Villarroel went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits, walking 2. Luis Abad allowed a run without allowing a hit in 2 innings, walking 2 and striking out 1. Rauldison Rodriguez got a strikeout in a 1-2-3 9th. Looking Ahead OKC hits the road to start a 5-game series with New Orleans at 6. Paul Clemens will oppose J.D. Martin. Corpus and Tulsa will play the finale of their series at 6:05. Jose Cisnero will take the mound looking to build off his great June. He will be opposed by Joe Gardner. Lancaster heads home to host Visalia for 4 games, starting at 7 Pacific. David Martinez will start for the Jethawks; the Rawhide will go with Anthony Meo. Lexington's on the road for the 4th... they're kicking off a series with Hagerstown at 5:05 Eastern. TBD will oppose TBD. Tri-City is heading home as they look to keep the streak alive. They'll begin a homestand by playing 3 with State College beginning tonight at 6 Eastern. Joe Bircher will get the start. The Spikes will go with Adrian Sampson. On a personal note.... Jared Lakind, who I went to high school with, is a corner infielder for State College. He turned down Arkansas to go pro. Greeneville will open up a series with Johnson City at 7 Eastern. Dan Minor will start for the Appy Astros. He will match up against TBD. GCLstros and Cardinals are in progress, as is the Academy and the A's.
When was the last time anyone in the Astros organization had a 20/20 season?!?! I think Drew Sutton(astro killer) just barely slid one in around '08. Well George C. Springer is 3/3 away at just pass the halfway mark of the season. Yes he's in Lancaster but that's still an impressive feat. Oh and did I mention he's rocking a .316 avg with almost a .400 OBP?? Time to go up up up!
Tuesday Game Scores Aneury Rodriguez: 16 Jarred Cosart: 37 Jorge De Leon: 45 Jonas Dufek: N/A (Tom Shirley: 57) Juri Perez: 71 Edison Frias: 65 Edwin Villarroel: 51 Three Stars 3. Fernando Martinez, RF, Oklahoma City 1-5, walk-off 2-R HR (9) Hero mode activated. He had a rough time during his brief stay in Houston, but he'll be back soon. 2. (flickr photo courtesy of BeGreen90) Juri Perez, P, Tri-City 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 71 GS He'd probably like to be rewarded with a win for his efforts. A really solid start. Did his part to keep the streak alive. Mitch Lambson, P, Lexington 4 IP, H, 7 K Check out his numbers from his first 2 years at Arizona State. He's not overpowering (fastball barely touches 90, if at all), but his sloooooow curve (he throws 2 curveballs) is quite unfair. One of these curves was clocked at 61. Small sample size, but he has just flat-out dominated everyone in his path. Edison Frias, P, GCL Astros W, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K At 21, he's old for the GCL. He must have had to sit out while his identity was being verified. But with the start he's having, he may not be there long. 1. Tri-City Valleycats W 7-2 @ Lowell I've probably said this about 10 times already, but the streak is alive!!!! And the offense was absolutely clutch in this one. Honorable Mentions George Springer, Erik Castro, and Domingo Santana, Lancaster: They were the Lancaster offense. Springer drew 21 walks in June (against 22 Ks). In April and May combined, he walked 16 times (65 Ks). Castro would be better served with a promotion. He obviously hits better at home, but his away split isn't overly extreme. Santana's been flirting with .300 lately. If he's over .300 by the end of the month, he could be off to Corpus. Brett Wallace, 1B/3B, Oklahoma City: #FreeBrettWallace Jimmy Paredes, 2B, Oklahoma City: I'm still waiting for the day that he's in the lineup as a CF. #FreeJimmyP Tom Shirley, P, Lexington: Tough loss for him to take. He pitched pretty well. Brett Phillips, CF, GCL Astros: 16 strikeouts in 38 at-bats is definitely an area that needs to be improved upon. But 9 walks shows that he's willing to demonstrate some patience, too. But I don't think he wants to be in Kissimmee any longer. Goat Juan Minaya made Juri Perez settle for a no-decision. Well, all was forgiven when the streak was kept alive.
I'd say Villar also has a very outside chance. Steals wise he's already there but his power has picked up substantially as of late. He's at 8 HR right now, but 6 have come since June 1. If he can continue that pace he'll hit 20 HR by the end of the season. It would also make him a monster prospect because he's on pace for a 50 SB season. Imagine a short-stop hitting .280 and 20/50 in AA (drools...)
Yeah his skill set and potential is very exciting. Reminds me a little of Jose Reyes! This is why I'm one of the ones who thinks trading Lowrie isn't a bad idea assuming it's a decent deal.
