Another Minor League season has wrapped up, and Lancaster brings home some Minor League hardware for the Astros organization, as they were crowned champions of the California League after a 3-game sweep of Modesto. Let's have a look back at the year that was in the Houston Astros' Minor League system. All of this will be broken down into a plethora of posts; how many, I don't know. And the pattern on my posting will be pretty erratic at best. All of this will ultimately culminate in my Top 30 prospects to end the season. First up... let's look at how each affiliate fared in their campaigns. Oklahoma City The Redhawks finished 78-65 in the Pacific Coast League American Southern division. That was good for a 2nd-place finish, 1.5 games behind Albuquerque. The Redhawks did not qualify for the playoffs. Corpus Christi The Hooks had an overall record of 81-59, best in the entire Texas League. They were 37-33 in the 1st half and 44-26 in the 2nd half. Their 2nd-half record was good enough for a playoff berth. Sadly, they were swept in 3 games by Frisco. Lancaster The Jethawks were 74-66 overall. In the 1st half, they were 37-33 and in a 3-way tie for 1st in the California League's South division. However, the tiebreaker went to High Desert. They also went 37-33 in the 2nd half, which gave them a wild-card playoff berth. In the playoffs, they defeated Lake Elsinore in the 1st round 2-1, then knocked off High Desert 3-1 in the South Division's Championship Series. And, for all the marbles, the Jethawks swept Modesto to win it all. Lexington The Legends, in their final season as an Astros affiliate, finished at .500 with a 69-69 record. They had a 39-30 record in the 1st half, but struggled mightily down the stretch, as their 30-39 mark in the 2nd half put them in next-to-last for that stretch. Tri-City Tri-City went 51-25, won the New York-Penn League's Stedler Division, and fell just short in the NYPL Championship Series. The ValleyCats defeated Auburn 2-1 in the 1st round and lost 2-1 to Hudson Valley in the Championship Series. Greeneville At 36-32, the Appy Astros finished 3rd in the Appalachian League West, 8.5 behind eventual league champion Elizabethton and missed the playoffs by 3.5 games. GCL The GCLstros went 28-31 and finished 3rd in the GCL East, 6.5 behind the Cardinals. DSL The Academy went 22-47, dead last in the Boca Chica Northwest division. They were 3rd-worst in the entire league.
Lexington was killed by losing Tropeano, Quevedo, Chowning, & DDJ. They never received similar level players back as guys like Andrew Aplin & Kenny Long skipped over Lexington.
Their 2012 record (69-69) is only 1.5 games off of the 2010 club (71-68). Id say they have rebounded nicely since last years rather dismal showing.
Yes. Just saying they would have been right there with the other clubs if not for those circumstances. Every team lost players in the shuffle, but only Lexington didn't have good players replacing them. With the big 3 probably starting off at Lexington, plus a number of the guys from Tri-City, our A affiliate (Quad Cities?) should be great next year.
My take away is that roster deployment greatly affects minor league team records. Tri City was loaded with talent that could been promoted mid-season to Lexington. Luhnow chose not to.
Definitely. I can't really argue with the front office's placements. The purpose of the affiliates is to most effectively develop talent for the big league club, not win games. 'mid-season' promotions from short-season to full-season don't make a whole lot of sense. First off, it's a very small sample size to draw from so you have to be damn sure the guy can handle the next level (e.g. Aplin). Secondly, you gotta start making tough decisions on cutting players from the organization because promoting players into the 4 full full-season squads equals turnover and churning.
Damn, almost forgot about this thread. Well, I've been doing an assessment of OKC as of late. Don't know when it'll get done, but it will... eventually
^^Nah, scratch that. What a year it was down on the farm. While the big club is working on back-to-back worst seasons ever, the system got a huge infusion of talent and depth through trades and the Draft (obviously). First off, let's have a look at the 2012 Draft class. The Big 3 of Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, and Rio Ruiz have starring roles in this crop, and the amount of success that they achieve in the future will determine as to whether Jeff Luhnow's first draft was a rousing success or a massive disappointment. I would venture to estimate that the 3 of them carry about 90% of the potential here. However, it's not all about them. The Astros received contributions from almost all of their signed draft picks, and many of the pitchers in this class were a part of a Tri-City staff that was one win away from winning the New York-Penn League. Jordan Jankowski, despite being old for the Appalachian League, mowed everyone down. He was 6 strikeouts behind Francis Ramirez (Greeneville's strikeout leader) despite throwing 21 fewer innings than Ramirez. Brian Holmes, Joe Bircher, Brady Rodgers, Aaron West, and independent league signing Lance Day were part of the NYPL's best rotation. Position-player wise, Nolan Fontana was singled out as a guy who could move quickly through the Minors. He was sent off to Lexington and received the lion's share of playing time at shortstop. He started off quickly and rather impressively, then hit the wall in August. Nevertheless, he was still able to maintain his excellent plate discipline. Fontana still managed to keep an .800 OPS despite only hitting .225 and slugging .338 for 49 games, which is a little over 1/3 of a season. The questions of whether he'll be able to hit consistently are fair, but I think he will be at least average in that department. Defensively, he was being touted as being excellent. From his arm, to his range and instincts, they were second to none in the shortstop crop this year. Andrew Aplin tore up the NYPL and wound up in Lancaster, where he played a role in the Jethawks' California League championship run. He isn't an elite athlete, but he just does everything so well. I think Doyle1228 could expound on this, but he drew walks, was solid on defense, flashed a bit of power, and while I also don't believe that he possesses elite speed, he most likely has great instincts on the basepaths. Since he finished up in Lancaster, I think he'll head back there with a chance to head to Corpus at some point in the season. Tyler Heineman became the regular catcher at Tri-City shortly after signing, and what an impressive debut for the 8th-rounder from UCLA. He managed to win the NYPL batting title and was 2nd in OPS (by 12 points), 2nd in on-base percentage, and 9th in slugging percentage, despite not even hitting a home run. Caught 41% of basestealers as a pro after catching 48% at UCLA. 1 error. His upside might not be as high as Jobduan Morales', but he might be another player that could move relatively quickly. It's possible that he could start in Lancaster. Preston Tucker took it a little easy after getting drafted, but he came on board towards the end of July and swatted 8 homers. He's got a great bat, but the outfield situation in Houston will probably move him to 1st or DH. It'll be interesting to see where he starts out next season. His bat is certainly advanced enough for him to skip the Quad Cities. How the 2012 Draft Class Fared 1. Carlos Correa, SS, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy & High School (San Juan, Puerto Rico)- 51 games between the GCL (39) and Greeneville (12): .258/.305/.400, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 28 R, 49 H (190 AB), 14 2B, 2 3B, 12 BB, 44 K, 6 SB (1 CS) 1S. Lance McCullers, Jesuit HS (Tampa)- 8 games (all starts) between the GCL (4) and Greeneville (4): 0-4, 3.46 ERA, 26 IP, 20 H (2 HR in Greeneville), 13 R (10 ER), 12 BB, 29 K, 1.68 GO/AO ratio, .202 average against, 1.23 WHIP 2. Nolan Fontana, SS, Florida - 49 games with Lexington: .225/.464/.338, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 37 R, 34 H (151 AB), 9 2B, 1 3B, 65 BB, 44 K, 12 SB (2 CS) 3. Brady Rodgers, RHP, Arizona State- 12 games (all starts) with Tri-City: 7-2, 2.89 ERA, 62.1 IP, 60 H (5 HR), 26 R (20 ER), 11 BB, 49 K, 1.79 GO/AO, .251 average against, 1.14 WHIP 4. Rio Ruiz, 3B, Bishop Amat HS (La Puente, California)- 38 games between the GCL (23) and Greeneville (15): .252/.336/.400, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 21 R, 34 H (135 AB), 11 2B, 3 3B, 16 BB, 32 K, 2 SB (both in the GCL, 0 CS) 5. Andrew Aplin, CF, Arizona State- 68 games between Tri-City (44) and Lancaster (24): .313/.386/.493, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 57 R, 84 H (268 AB), 13 2B, 7 3B, 28 BB, 38 K, 24 SB (10 CS) 6. Brett Phillips, CF, Seminole HS (Seminole, Florida)- 54 games in the GCL: .251/.360/.360, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 26 R, 44 H (175 AB), 7 2B, 6 3B, 28 BB, 48 K, 7 SB (5 CS) 7. Preston Tucker, RF, Florida- 42 games with Tri-City: .321/.390/.509, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 32 R, 53 H (165 AB), 7 2B, 18 BB, 16 K, 1 SB (2 CS) 8. Tyler Heineman, C, UCLA- 55 games with Tri-City: .358/.452/.430, 0 HR, 26 RBI, 33 R, 69 H (193 AB), 14 2B, 26 BB, 12 K, 6 SB (2 CS) 9. Dan Minor, RHP, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi- 11 games (all starts) with Greeneville: 3-2, 2.75 ERA, 59 IP, 51 H (3 HR), 23 R (18 ER), 10 BB, 48 K, 1.88 GO/AO, .229 average against, 1.03 WHIP 10. Joe Bircher, LHP, Bradley- 13 games (all starts) with Tri-City: 65 IP, 76 H (6 HR), 30 R (24 ER), 20 BB, 42 K, 0.86 GO/AO, .292 average against, 1.48 WHIP 12. Terrell Joyce, LF/1B/DH, Florida State College (NOT Florida State University)- 58 games with Greeneville: .273/.332/.432, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 31 R, 60 H (220 AB), 14 2B, 19 BB, 66 K, 2 SB (1 CS) 13. Brian Holmes, LHP, Wake Forest- 13 games (12 starts) with Tri-City: 7-2, 2.57 ERA, 1 complete game, 1 shutout, 66.2 IP, 39 H (4 HR), 22 R (19 ER), 25 BB, 65 K, 0.58 GO/AO, .165 average against, 0.96 WHIP 14. Joe Sclafani, SS, Dartmouth- 70 games with Tri-City: .271/.355/.338, 1 HR, 36 RBI, 39 R, 72 H (266 AB), 9 2B, 3 3B, 33 BB, 40 K, 16 SB (3 CS) 15. Erick Gonzalez, RHP, Gateway CC (Phoenix)- 20 games (all in relief) between the GCL (19) and Greeneville (1): 2-0, 10 saves (all in the GCL), 1.67 ERA, 27 IP, 24 H, 7 R (5 ER), 9 BB, 15 K, 1.46 GO/AO, .250 average against, 1.22 WHIP 16. Dan Gulbransen, OF, Jacksonville- 58 games with Tri-City: .218/.317/.354, 6 HR, 37 RBI, 31 R, 45 H (206 AB), 8 2B, 1 3B, 26 BB, 41 K, 7 SB (0 CS) 17. Aaron West, RHP, Washington- 12 games (all starts) with Tri-City: 6-2, 2.04 ERA, 61.2 IP, 50 H (3 HR), 15 R (14 ER), 9 BB, 59 K, 1.18 GO/AO, .218 average against, 0.96 WHIP 18. Ricky Gingras, C, Point Loma Nazarene University- 29 games with Greeneville: .190/.221/.300, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 7 R, 19 H (100 AB), 2 2B, 4 BB, 17 K 19. Austin "Catfish" Elkins, 2B, Dallas Baptist- 66 games with Tri-City: .272/.360/.398, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 45 R, 69 H (254 AB), 13 2B, 2 3B, 30 BB, 47 K, 18 SB (4 CS) 21. Marc Wik, OF, Chabot College- 40 games in Greeneville: .235/.359/.286, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 22 R, 28 H (119 AB), 3 2B, 21 BB, 46 K, 3 SB (6 CS) 22. Kenny Long, LHP, Illinois State- 29 games (all in relief) between Tri-City (17) and Lancaster (12): 2-1, 4 saves, 1.61 ERA, 22.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R (all earned), 7 BB, 38 K, 1.33 GO/AO, .099 average against, 0.63 WHIP eek:) 23. Travis Ballew, RHP, Texas State- 23 games (all in relief) with Tri-City: 5-1, 3 saves, 1.62 ERA, 39 IP, 23 H (2 HR), 9 R (7 ER), 17 BB, 44 K, 1.76 GO/AO, .174 average against, 1.03 WHIP 25. Ryan Dineen, 3B, Eastern Illinois- 66 games with Tri-City: .217/.314/.287, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 31 R, 50 H (230 AB), 6 2B, 2 3B, 28 BB, 69 K, 7 SB (1 CS) 28. Angel Ibanez, 3B, Texas-Pan American- 60 games with Greeneville: .264/.310/.317, 0 HR, 21 RBI, 30 R, 60 H (227 AB), 10 2B, 1 3B, 15 BB, 32 K, 3 SB (3 CS) 29. Christian Garcia, RHP, Florence-Darlington Technical College- 18 games (all in relief) with Greeneville: 2-0, 4.19 ERA, 34.1 IP, 34 H (4 HR), 16 R (all earned), 14 BB, 30 K, 1.03 GO/AO, .260 average against, 1.41 WHIP 30. John Neely, RHP, Texas Tech- 22 games (all in relief) with Tri-City: 0-1, 4 saves, 3.12 ERA, 40.1 IP, 45 H (2 HR), 18 R (14 ER), 11 BB, 37 K, 2.04 GO/AO, .285 average against, 1.39 WHIP 31. M.P. Cokinos, C, St. Mary's University (San Antonio)- 36 games with Tri-City: .320/.370/.440, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 18 R, 40 H (125 AB), 4 2B, 1 3B, 9 BB, 14 K, 1 SB (1 CS) 33. Mike Hauschild, RHP, Dayton- 19 games (1 start) with Greeneville: 2-2, 3 saves, 1.78 ERA, 30.1 IP, 22 H, 6 R (all earned), 9 BB, 39 K, 5.25 GO/AO, .202 average against, 1.03 WHIP 34. Jordan Jankowski, RHP, Catawba College- 23 games (all in relief) with Greeneville: 4-0, 4 saves, 2.23 ERA, 32.1 IP, 25 H (1 HR), 8 R (all earned), 10 BB, 53 K, 1.25 GO/AO, .205 average against, 1.09 WHIP 36. Michael Martinez, 1B, Florida International- 48 games with Greeneville: .273/.366/.380, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 26 R, 46 H (166 AB), 8 2B, 22 BB, 31 K, 1 SB 37. Michael Dimock, RHP, Wake Forest- 20 games (all in relief) with Greeneville: no record, 4 saves, 4.20 ERA, 30 IP, 26 H, 15 R (14 ER), 9 BB, 36 K, 1.08 GO/AO, .230 average against, 1.16 WHIP Where do they start off next season? Well, honestly, my guess is as good as yours. I doubt that any of them start in OKC or Corpus, that's for sure. Lancaster Fontana Long Aplin Tucker Rodgers West Heineman Quad Cities Minor Bircher Holmes Sclafani Elkins Ballew Hauschild Jankowski And the rest will probably go to extended spring training. I can see one of the Big 3 coming to Quad Cities halfway through the season. Correa will go there if he just balls out in the spring. Next up... the prospects acquired through trades.
Jeff Luhnow was called upon to become the general manager of the Houston Astros. All he's done so far is draft Carlos Correa #1 overall and restock the system. When the season became FUBAR, Luhnow was suddenly in scramble mode, as he shipped off the few remaining veterans on this team for.... assets. And we may see some of these assets in Houston at some point in 2013. March 20: Humberto Quintero and Jason Bourgeois traded to Kansas City for Kevin Chapman and a PTBNL, revealed to be D'Andre Toney This first trade occurred during the spring. Basically, two 30-year-old backups were traded here, so there really wasn't any significant loss for the Astros talent-wise. Chapman is a 24-year-old, hard-throwing lefty reliever from Florida who entered the season ranked #18 in the Royals system by Baseball America. Prior to joining Houston, he racked up some really gaudy strikeout numbers primarily using his mid-90s fastball. Chapman also throws a sweeping slider, and also has reports of control issues. After splitting time between High-A and Double-A in 2011, he spent the season at Corpus, where he primarily served as a 7th/8th inning bridge to Jason Stoffel. Chapman allowed fewer hits and homers per 9 innings, but his walk rate spiked up to 5 per 9 innings. He walked 15 in May and didn't walk more than 5 in any other month this season, so I'd imagine that he was going through a few issues with his stuff that month. In 39 games, all in relief, he went 6-3 with 2 saves and a 2.64 ERA. In 58 innings, he allowed 49 hits (3 homers), 19 runs (17 earned), walked 32, and struck out 59. Opponents hit .226 off of him. Other than the walks, which almost half came in one month, I think he had a nice season which should put him in contention for a bullpen spot in Houston this spring. D'Andre Toney was announced as the PTBNL on June 10. A toolsy 20-year-old CF, he was the type of outfielder that the Royals liked: plus athlete, high upside. There was a bit of buzz to him considering his debut in the complex-based Arizona League, where he hit .340/.432/.587 with 12 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homers, and 29 RBI. Kevin Goldstein named him a sleeper in their system prior to the season. He was sent to Greeneville and was the everyday CF there. In the more offense-neutral Appalachian League, we saw a regression in Toney's numbers, as he hit .252/.351/.326 with 3 homers and 18 RBI in 59 games. 8 doubles were his only extra-base hits. His K rate jumped to 21.9% from 15.9%, but his walk rate also increased to 9.6%, up from 8% in the Arizona League. Toney's BABIP was an above-average .329 (.315), which may lead one to believe that he's a slightly worse hitter than originally thought. However, he does have good speed. He also was well above average in infield flyball percentage (8.9% to 6.4%), which leads me to believe that he was trying to muscle balls out. And then he realized that balls don't really carry out as easily out east than they do in the desert. Toney also demonstrated a marked improvement in basestealing: After going 7-18 in the Arizona League, he swiped 15 in 20 tries with Greeneville. His power may have been a bit deceiving, especially in his pro debut, but there's still a lot to like about Toney. He'll only be 21 next year, and with Andrew Aplin blitzing the New York-Penn League on his way to Lancaster, there just might be an open spot in the Quad Cities for him. My grade: B then, A- now, if only for the fact that Quintero was cut loose and Bourgeois only appeared in the majors sporadically this season and is only getting significant playing time in September. Neither of them should figure into a team's plans at this stage of their careers. As far as the Astros are concerned, Chapman could provide some contributions out of the bullpen as soon as next season. Toney is just another high-upside talent that the organization can take their time with, especially with George Springer and Domingo Santana being the top 2 OFs in the system. May 26: Justin Ruggiano traded to Miami for Jobduan Morales This trade was the only one strictly involving minor leaguers. Ruggiano was signed in the offseason and came into Spring Training with the hopes of winning a backup role in Houston, but ultimately fell short. He was sent to OKC, where he proceeded to tear up the Pacific Coast League. He eventually parlayed that into getting traded to the Marlins, where he's put up one of the most improbable seasons I've seen. Coming to the Astros system was Morales, who played both 1st and 3rd before making the move behind the plate. As a pro, he has split time between 1st and catcher. He threw out 41% of basestealers in his 2009 debut, which dropped to 19% in 2010, and then to 15% in 2011. This year, though, he made an improvement in that area, catching 31%. Morales may have a little bit of work to do on defense, but the strides that he's made this year are certainly encouraging. His bat, on the other hand, could help carry him through the system. A switch-hitter, the numbers suggest that he might have the highest offensive upside of all the catchers in the system. He has a fair amount of pop, and draws his share of walks. Morales is 8 months younger than Carlos Perez, and their offensive skill sets look pretty similar. The only thing separating both of them is that Perez is much more refined offensively. I hope Morales gets to log in more time behind the plate in the Quad Cities in order to get more acclimated to catching every day. Grade: C+ for now. Well, who expected Ruggiano to do what he did? Morales is still kind of raw, but there's a lot to like if he puts his game together. July 5: Carlos Lee traded to Miami for Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen Only two words for me to say: Thank goodness. Albatross contract lifted for more assets! Dominguez was the 12th overall pick in 2007. That same year, his teammate, Mike Moustakas, went 3rd. He entered this season ranked #4 in the Marlins' system. Always known as a great fielder at 3rd, there were questions as to whether he would ever hit consistently to be a viable regular at the major league level. Those questions still lingered as he switched organizations. But suddenly, something clicked. After hitting only .234/.291/.357 with 7 homers and 46 RBI in New Orleans, those numbers jumped to .298/.347/.398. But, under than .234 average was a .240 BABIP, and 11.4% of the balls he put in play were pop flies; the PCL average was 7%. His major league numbers.... as with all small sample sizes, take it with a grain of salt. However, I believe he'll be starting at 3rd on Opening Day. Rasmussen was the #7 prospect in the system. An undersized lefty, he was thought of as a fast mover, not needing much more than another year in the minors. He has 4 pitches, all not great, but solid. And he mixes them relatively well. I thought he had a pretty meh season. Promoted to Corpus after being acquired, he went 4-4 with a 4.80 ERA in 11 games (10 starts). Rasmussen's starts varied quite a bit in quality. He didn't allow fewer than 2 runs in any of his starts except for 1. I think he'll still be a starter in 2013 due to the lack of quality left-handed starters in the system, but he's going to have to pick it up if he doesn't want to be relegated to the bullpen. He will likely make a return to Corpus, with the opportunity to move up to OKC if he does well. Grade: C+ to B-. Thank you Jeff Luhnow for taking Carlos Lee's contract off the books. Lee was largely nothing for the Marlins, who, if it weren't for the Red Sox and Phillies, would've been the biggest bust in MLB this season. The Astros might have found their starter at 3rd in Dominguez. Rasmussen.... well, he brings a bit of quality to a moribund position that still needs improvement. At least you can say that, right? July 20: J.A. Happ, Brandon Lyon, and David Carpenter traded to Toronto for Asher Wojciechowski, Carlos Perez, Joe Musgrove, Ben Francisco, and a PTBNL, revealed to be Kevin Comer Lyon had a nice rebound coming off one of the worst seasons I've ever seen. Happ, I'm sure most of us were glad that he was on his way out, and Carpenter.... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Sorry. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Oh God, I can't stop laughing..... The Blue Jays have an embarrassment of riches in the system, especially with pitchers. No, I doubt the Astros would've been able to land Noah Syndergaard, Justin Nicolino, or Aaron Sanchez. But they still got a nice package of arms. Francisco was pretty much outfield depth for a month in Houston until he was flipped to the Rays. Wojciechowski was the #10 prospect in the Blue Jays' system. According to Baseball America, he has the ceiling of a #2. After an uneven 1st full season, I think he had a breakout of sorts this year. He repeated High-A and was good, not great. After he was bumped up to Corpus, though, was probably when he took off. The 2.9 BB/9 (in 43.2 innings) with the Hooks could've been better, but what was impressive was that he allowed 5 hits twice, and more than 5 hits only once in his 8 starts. None of the 30 hits he allowed (6.25 H/9) were home runs. At 6'4", 235, Wojo is a big dude. He threw as high as 96 in college, but as a pro, he has dialed back his velocity a little in order to refine his secondary pitches. BA believes that may have been a factor in his meh debut season. He has a very outside shot for a rotation job in Houston. I believe he'll start off either in Corpus or OKC. Perez probably represents the best hope for the Astros as a long-term solution at catcher in the full-season ranks. The #14 prospect in the system, he fell behind Travis D'Arnaud and A.J. Jimenez in the Blue Jays' hierarchy at catcher. He was having a decent season in a repeat year at Lansing when he was traded. After the trade, he was promoted to Lancaster, where he split time with Roberto Pena. Perez knows how to handle the bat. I think he could hit 10-12 homers annually once he reaches his power potential. He threw out 29% of basestealers in 2011 and was at 30% at the time of the trade. That number shot up to 47% in Lancaster. I see him as an all-around catcher that may challenge Jason Castro, starting in 2014. Considering he's only played 26 games at High-A, Lancaster will probably be where he starts next season. But I'm not quite ruling out a bit of aggressiveness in sending him to Corpus, since Ben Heath would probably be the only competition there. Musgrove was ranked #20 before the season. A 6'5", 230 lb. righthander from El Cajon, California, he put himself on the scene with a strong senior season that culminated in him becoming the 47th overall pick in the 2011 draft. His fastball might be one of the best pitches in the system. Here's how BA describes it: He also has a power curveball in the making, a slider, and a splitter that doubles as a change. Musgrove made 2 appearances (1 start) with Bluefield prior to being traded. He had no record and a 1.13 ERA, allowing a run on 5 hits and striking out 9 in 8 innings of work. He had a nice relief outing on August 12, allowing 4 hits and striking out 6 in 3 1/3 scoreless innings, but was roughed up in his final 2 appearances. Since he appeared so sparingly this year, he's most likely destined for extended spring training. Tri-City might be his final destination. Comer, who was announced as the PTBNL on August 16, was taken 10 picks after Musgrove. He signed too late to play in 2011, so this year was his debut season. He went 3-3 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 games (7 starts) for Bluefield. Comer normally operates around 91-93, but was in the upper 80s at the time of the trade. That was due to the fact that he was instructed to work on his off-speed pitches. I don't believe that the velocity drop is a concern. Like Nick Tropeano, he should regain velocity by throwing it more often. He has the potential to be in the mid-90s regularly. Curveball is a work in progress, but is already being described as having plus potential, according to BA. Comer only made 2 appearances in Greeneville after the trade. The first one was a relief appearance on August 19. He was decent, allowing a run on a solo homer, 3 other hits, walking 1, and striking out 2. The other was a start on August 24, and he was knocked around to the tune of 5 runs on 6 hits (1 home run) in 3 innings. Tough way to end a pretty good debut season for Comer. He'll probably kick off 2013 in extended spring training, then probably head off... somewhere. Also, the Astros got some old, washed-up reliever in this trade. Grade: B... for now. How on earth did Jeff Luhnow pull this one off? Two blah relievers and a barely-mediocre starter for 4 top-20 prospects? I think we could see Wojo towards the end of next year. Perez is arguably the top catching prospect in the system. Musgrove and Comer are the wild cards. July 21: Brett Myers traded to White Sox for Matt Heidenreich, Blair Walters, and a PTBNL, later revealed to be Chris Devenski Myers pretty much did everything in his power to crater his trade value after such a brilliant start to the season. So, the Astros unloaded him to the team with the worst farm system in baseball. He has a clause in his contract that guarantees him $10 million next season if he finishes 45 games.... probability of that is 0.0%. On paper, this doesn't look like a very impressive haul. This was a move that basically added pitching depth. That didn't stop these three guys from having some good performances, though. Heidenreich could stand to add something to his Jeremy Lamb-type frame. He struggled in his first exposure to Double-A, which was in Birmingham, but he turned things around pretty nicely in Corpus, throwing 8 innings of 1-run ball in his debut. He also had a no-out outing on August 6 that really damaged his final line. Heidenreich is a sinkerballer with good control and command of his pitches, issuing only 25 walks in 146 total innings this season. I like that. How his secondary pitches (changeup and slider) progress should determine his ultimate upside. He reached Double-A at 21, but part of me is thinking that it went down like that because of the state of the White Sox system. I believe he'll repeat Corpus. Walters was the only one in the trio to be ranked by Baseball America; he came in at #26. He put himself on the map in his debut with a 9-0 season at Great Falls, leading the Voyagers to a Pioneer League championship. He has a mix of 3 pitches that he likes to throw. His fastball is a low-90s pitch with some sink. Hittable, but limits his walks. He also throws a changeup and a cutter-slider hybrid. Walters began this season in Low-A, at Kannapolis, and like Heidenreich after his promotion to Double-A, he struggled after moving up to High-A. He was then sent to Lancaster, where he was greeted rather rudely. He was able to string together 3 nice starts in the middle of August, and had two solid starts during the Jethawks' championship run. In his last appearance of the year, Walters threw 5 innings of 1-run ball, allowing 6 hits and striking out 6 in Game 2 of the California League championship series. Devenski, the PTBNL, was acquired on August 3. He was a 25th-round pick out of Cal State Fullerton in 2011. He was a JUCO transfer that originally played shortstop. The scouting report in the link says that he was up to 94 in the fall, but he dropped off a little during the season and was even in the upper 80s in some outings. He began the season as a reliever and struggled a bit in that capacity. He was then moved into the rotation where he showed some improvement before the trade. Devenski worked exclusively as a starter with Lexington, and in his final start of the season, had the best performance by any starter in the Astros system, firing a no-hitter and striking out 16 in a 10-0 win against Rome on September 1. He was 1 walk away from a perfect game. Great way to close out his season. A strong instructional league should make him a possible sleeper arm. There is, of course, that giant hurdle called Lancaster lying in wait. Grade: C+. The Astros got what they could for Myers. Devenski could become the best arm out of the three. July 25: Wandy Rodriguez traded to Pittsburgh for Rudy Owens, Colton Cain, and Robbie Grossman Welp, it was nice knowing you, Eny Cabreja. He was pretty much the same pitcher after going to Pittsburgh. This trade netted the Astros the #8, #13, and #16 prospects in the Pirates' system. Remember how we were all excited after thinking Alen Hanson was going to be a part of it? Well, he wasn't, and the returns seem a little blah. A Houston native, Grossman went to Cy-Fair, where he led them to a state championship in 2007. He was decent until his breakout season in 2011, where he drew 104 walks and scored 127 times, becoming the first player to walk and score 100 times since Nick Swisher. He probably has a higher ceiling than Austin Wates, but like Wates, Grossman is firmly in the second tier of outfielders behind George Springer and Domingo Santana. Coming off that 2011, this year probably felt like a bit of a letdown. He was hampered a little by a fractured hamate bone that he suffered in last year's Arizona Fall League. Despite that, I think Grossman will have an opportunity to earn a backup job in Houston. If not, he'll probably start off in OKC. I'm not very high on the pitchers, to be honest. Rudy Owens had a nice bounceback year after a very inconsistent 2011. I see him contending for a rotation spot in the spring, and he should be in Houston sometime next year. Colton Cain has workhorse upside. I hope he can find a little bit of velocity. He'll get another shot at trying to solve Lancaster, with the possibility of moving to Corpus at some point in the season. Grade: C. I'm feeling lower on this trade than the others. But really, I didn't see Pittsburgh parting ways with some of their more valuable pieces. I would've been a little more excited had they gotten Victor Black. Black might have emerged as a legit closer candidate for the Astros in the spring. July 29: Chris Johnson traded to Arizona for Bobby Borchering and Marc Krauss Image limit reached Now, I didn't see this one coming. CJ was decent, but honestly, he was barely performing better than a replacement-level player. And, despite hitting nearly .300 with the D-Backs, it was really more of the same. Borchering was the 16th overall pick in 2009. He is described as having prodigious power potential. He strikes out almost as much as Telvin Nash, too. Not a great fielder. That's being nice. Borchering has played left, 1st, and 3rd in his career. He's a below-average runner but doesn't look embarrassing in the outfield. He hit .163 in Double-A, so he'll have to figure it out there first. He's a possible DH option. Krauss, also another DH option, had a down 2011, struggling in Double-A. He had a good rebound year repeating the level, then tore Corpus a new one. Krauss would finish in OKC, where he probably envisioned a better end to his year. He's a big guy (6'2", 235) and isn't particularly athletic, so he'll have to keep hitting. However, he is a decent fielder. Not good, but not Carlos Lee either. He'll go back to OKC. Grade: C-C+. Matt Dominguez could probably step in next year and do a better job than Chris Johnson. Borchering and Krauss are DH potential. August 31: Ben Francisco traded to Tampa Bay for Theron Geith Francisco was flipped for Theron Geith, about whom little is known. A 39th-round pick in 2011, he pitched at High-A Charlotte, where he went 0-3 with 2 saves and a 2.98 ERA in 31 games, all in relief. In 54.1 innings, he allowed 19 runs (18 earned) on 48 hits (2 homers), walked 11, and struck out 49. Geith, a native of Peoria, Arizona, pitched 2 years at Yavapai CC before transferring to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Considering the numbers he put up in High-A, I think he'll be the lefty reliever in Corpus next year. Grade: C. Something for nothing, really. Another lefthander comes into the system. Whew. Finally. By my count, the Astros added 18 minor leaguers into the system this season. Before the season, Baseball America ranked the Astros' system 17th. With this haul, and this draft class, this is a surefire top-10 system that could have top-5 potential by the end of next season. I'm not going to say that all of these guys are stars in the making, because not all of them are. But, gone are the days of guys like Ole Sheldon, Mark Ori, and Chad Reineke being top-10 prospects. Gone are the days of Ed Wade trading for a middle reliever. Gone are the days of guys like Kaz Matsui getting a $16 million dollar contract and anal fissures. There are players in the Astros' minor leauge system that actually have a chance to contribute in some way, shape, or form to the major league club in the long run. I don't care if this team loses 100 again (although that is flat-out embarrassing).... if you simply keep your attention on the Astros, then you're not looking at the big picture. There is hope. We just have to stay patient.
Don't like the Myers or Wandy deals. We gave so much money away that I wanted more than likely backups. Hopefully we'll find a jewel in there somewhere.
The early returns on the 2012 draft make it one of the best Astros's drafts in recent memory. Way to go Mr Heck!!! I kid.
I like Matt Dominguez...I particularly like his glove. I think turning Carlos Lee into what I envision will be our opening day 3B next season makes that deal an A...given how worthless Lee had become.
Thanks tellitlikeitis, I love all of the trade recaps, but sorry I have to spread the reps around before getting back to you. I agree with this last paragraph the most, and I think this is probably why I have so much confidence in Luhnow and company. If you look at the way that the Cardinals are built, it is pretty damn impressive. They let quite possibly the best hitter of our generation walk in free agency, and their offense didn't miss a beat. Why is that? Because they have so much depth and talent, that as an offensive unit as a whole, other players stepped up and produced. I'm not sure if this is correct, but I essentially view Allen Craig as a microcosm of Luhnow's success with the Cards. It could just be that I am ignorant when it comes to the Cards minor league system, but it seems like he came out of nowhere (not sure if he was a highly ranked prospect, like a top 100 guy or anything). But Craig is such a valuable player to what the Cards are trying to do. Not only is he a great hitter, but his versatility on the field is a bonus. None of his tools might wow you, but you have a legit hitter when he is in the batter's box. As I eagerly read all of these prospect updates, I keep on reminding myself that not all of these guys have to turn out to be homeruns to be successful, we will still benefit if many turn out to be doubles and solid singles here and there. It seems to me that Luhnow does a very nice job of diversifying high risk/high reward type of players with players expected to be solid contributors (which are valuable too). I'm not really even sure if Luhnow had anything to do with drafting/obtaining Craig, but for some reason or the other, I look at the success of him and that gives me more hope and confidence that the Astros will have the most deep and talented 40 man roster this organization has ever seen.
> .500 Once you get there, you are usually competing for a playoff spot for most of the season. Hard to believe, but the Astros played thru May 25th at one game under .500, and since September 1st, are one game over .500. That is 37-37 looking at the first 45 games and last 29. We were 18-69 in between.
Ok, I'm still not sure....sorry I'd like to say 2 years from now they'll be fighting for a WC spot...I think that's POSSIBLE.
