Bummer, he and Barnes are two young guys I'd like to see up in Houston right now. A Wates/Barnes/JD outfield might be the worst defensive outfield ever, but it'd be exciting. Just gotta trade/release all the AAAA and utility guys first. ....and Schafer
Won't get fooled again? There’s a misperception about what the winning formula is. You can’t be the elite scouting and player development organization without the best scouts and coaches in the industry. Those are baseball people who have been in this their entire life and use their good judgment and experience to make decisions. The complementary part is adding a whole new area, which is really utilizing whatever technology and whatever capabilities are available, whether it’s understanding medical assessments, understanding performance histories, different ways to evaluate character. There’s a lot of science that can be added to the equation. But it’s really all about gathering up as much valuable information as you can, organizing in a way that makes sense and making the best possible decisions. -- Jeff Luhnow I, for one, eagerly await yall's next "prospect list". How informative.
Thanks. I've read a lot of fan-forum type minor league recaps and two keep impressing me: yours and the guy from the astros.com forum's. Link What's funny to me is that like you, people never say his screenname out loud and realize it's a phrase. (A sh^t talker). There was an online chat discussion with Luhnow at Astros.com that he moderated and I kept thinking "it's okay for the word sh^t to come up on screen 40 times?"
5 walks Thats a season's worth for Jimmy Paredes. Lets combine them to make the perfect 2B and lead-off hitter.
Jeff L told me that when they look at college players, they consider walks to be very "sticky" -- they'll translate to pro ball. Fontana was a guy he was very high on, perhaps in part that he walked nearly 2x the amount of times he struck out this year at florida
It's a bit presumptuous, but Fontana could end up being the steal of the draft. (I know I know, I say that about all of the top 11 picks). Relative to draft position, Luhnow already came out ahead. Fontana had been projected as a late-first to supplemental pick. Getting him with the 1st pick of the second round was a steal. The key thing is that his defense was projected to be his only plus tool at the big league level; but if his OBP stays a plus tool as well, he becomes a far more valuable prospect. I.e. possible above-average starter or borderline all-star if his power increases a little too. OremLK says picture Marco Scutaro. The Astros are going to have some HARD decisions to make on SS placement this offseason. They have every different type of SS possible. I feel bad for a lot of the lower level prospects because Correa/Villar/Fontana are going to get every opportunity possible. Many of them are having solid years and deserve future consideration. Chan Moon: .272/.370/.395 in LoA Alex Todd: .272/.388/.412 in LoA, .253/.360/.387 in HiA Jio Mier: .319/.414/.447 in HiA before his injury All three merit discussion as C/C+ level prospects. Moon and Todd would have been in our top 20 two years ago, Mier would have been a top 5 prospect two years ago. Actually I think he was anyway
I would think so, yeah. Shifting gears here... is Michael Feliz ready to leave Kissimmee? He turned in a dominant start in the GCL today.
To where though? We're at the point where all the rookie/short-season teams are performing well. His game score of 73 was good. His K-rate is rather unimpressive though. *After glancing at the Greeneville roster, he could potentially replace Frederick Tiburcio. That guy has been nothing but terrible every where he's gone. Sidenote: is it normal to have a night/night doubleheader? Tri-City has a double-header tonight and game 1 starts at 7pm EST.
Heads up, there's some nice pitching at every level tonight: AAA - Galarraga AA - Seaton HiA - Tropeano LoA - Cruz - 6ip, 7h, 3r, 3er, 3bb, 5k, ND --> 48 GS SS1 - Velasquez 5ip, 5h, 3r, 2er, 3bb, 4k, L --> 48 GS SS2 - Richard Rodriguez 5ip, 1h, 2r, 2er, 1bb, 5k, ND --> 61 GS Rk - Houser - 7ip, 4h, 0r, 0er, 2bb, 6k, ND --> 73 GS GCL - Feliz - 8ip, 4h, 1r, 1er, 1bb, 4k, W --> 73 GS
Early updates: -Houser matched Feliz's game score with a 7ip, 4h, 0r, 0er, 2bb, 6k outing - he left in the middle of nothing-nothing tie. -Greeneville went on to give up a run in the top of the ninth, losing 1-0. -Fontana is 0-3 in his first three at-bats in Lexington _______________________ Did the Astros ever consider Zunino? Knowing the state of our shortstop depth now and our dearth of catchers, it would have made more positional sense to take Zunino. I only bring it up because he won the Golden Spikes award today for top player in college baseball in addition to the Johnny Bench award (top college catcher). I know, I know... BPA BPA BPA...
Ross Seaton with a no-hitter through 5 which is cool but even cooler is his mound opposition is a dude named Sugar Ray.