To me the only concern about Correa is the strikeouts. Hopefully that will improve, and some more balls will start finding gaps.
That would explain some of his poor performance this year. I wonder if it was mostly that or if he's just sucking it up at Lancaster on his own.
Any of you guys listen to the early game today? Well, Brian Holmes (10) and Jordan Jankowski (4) combined to mow down 14 Great Lakes hitters in a 6-1 Quad Cities win. Carlos Correa got the day off.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Astros">#Astros</a> are open to calling up Jarred Cosart if situation's right but understand they don't need to rush him. Also don't want to jump gun.</p>— Brian T. Smith (@ChronAstros) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChronAstros/status/328991754734952450">April 29, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I think they want Cosart in the rotation and they don't want to send him back and forth. That is why they are waiting.
Seems like they're thinking about his arbitration clock too. That's how I interpreted the jumping the gun part.
Monday Stories Ross Seaton knocked out early, no problem for OKC. What has gotten into Jonathan Villar? Springers gonna Spring QC tandem throws one of the finest performances in the system. Recap Oklahoma City 9, Nashville 8 Ross Seaton couldn't make it out of the 2nd, but the Redhawks took the opening game of this series with a couple of big innings. Seaton was torched for 7 runs on 7 hits, walking 3 and fanning 2. Kyle Hallock stabilized the situation by throwing 4 1/3 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and walking 2. For his efforts, he earned his first win at the Triple-A level. Science Guy allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 1 in the 7th. And Jose Valdez got the 2-inning save, striking out 2 while retiring all 6 batters he faced. Seaton threw 45 pitches in 1 2/3. It took Hallock 46 pitches to get through 4 1/3. Down 7-1 heading into the bottom of the 2nd? Not a problem. The Redhawks answered with 3 in the bottom half, 4 in the 4th, and one more in the 5th to take the lead. Everyone in the OKC lineup had at least one hit except for Che-Hsuan Lin and Raoul Torrez, who came on as a defensive replacement for Andy Simunic. Trevor Crowe had a perfect night, going 3-3 with a 2-run homer in the 2nd (2), scored 4 times, walked twice, and stole 3 bases (9; 2nd twice and 3rd once). Jonathan Villar had his 10th multi-hit game in his last 12 contests, going 3-4 with a triple and adding an RBI single in the 4th which gave OKC an 8-7 lead. He also stole 2nd twice (6). Two weeks ago, Villar was struggling to get his average over .100; it's now .290. Marc Krauss had an RBI triple in the 4th. Jake Elmore went 2-4 with a 2-run homer (2) in the 4th and an RBI triple in the 5th. Brett Wallace, AAA Masher, was 2-5 with an RBI single in the 1st. Jason Jaramillo hit an RBI double in the 2nd, and Jimmy Paredes went 2-5 with a triple. Game 2 of the series has a pretty good pitching matchup, as Jarred Cosart will take on Johnny Hellweg at 7:05. Frisco 4, Corpus Christi 2 The Hooks will have to settle for a split. The 2 runs came off the bat of George Springer in the 3rd. That was his 8th blast of the season. Domingo Santana and Michael Burgess had 2 hits apiece. Matt Heidenreich went 4 innings and allowed an unearned run on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Pat Urckfitz allowed a run on 2 hits in the 5th, and R.J. Alaniz finished it out, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 2. Corpus will now head home to begin a 4-game series with Midland. Jake Buchanan and Carlos Quevedo will take the mound for the opener, which will start at 7:05. They'll be opposed by Murphy Smith. Lancaster was off The Jethawks will begin a 3-game series with Inland Empire at 7:05 Pacific. Aaron West was placed on the DL, so Luis Cruz's partner is to be determined. The 66ers will go with Mark Sappington. Quad Cities 6, Great Lakes 1 In the middle game of this series, Brian Holmes became the first pitcher in the Astros organization to strike out 10; he went 5, allowing an unearned run on 2 hits and walking 1. Jordan Jankowski finished the game with 4 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and fanning 4. The River Bandits got 2 in the 3rd and 4th and weren't really threatened, thanks to the solid performances they got on the mound. Everyone in the lineup had at least 1 hit except for Austin Elkins, who struck out in the 3rd but managed to reach base safely. Teoscar Hernandez and Joe Sclafani each had 2 hits. Sclafani had an RBI single in the 7th. Jobduan Morales hit an RBI double in the 8th, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Jesse Wierzbicki hit an RBI single in the 3rd, and Terrell Joyce had a 2-run single in the 4th. Jordan Scott scored the one run that wasn't batted in; that was on Elkins' strikeout in the 3rd. The series finale pits Joe Bircher and Vince Velasquez against... Angel Sanchez. First pitch is at 7. Three Stars 3. Kyle Hallock, P, Oklahoma City W(1-0), 4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB Thought about putting George Springer here. However, organizational guys need some love too. Hallock inherited a mess, but stopped the bleeding and once the OKC offense got going, he ended up with a victory. He might be an emergency callup who's never pitched above Low-A, but he's carving out his niche in AAA. 2. Brian Holmes and Jordan Jankowski, P, Quad Cities Holmes: W(2-2), 5 IP, 2 H, R (unearned), 2 BB, 10 K Jankowski: Save(1), 4 IP, 2 H, 4 K After getting shelled in his previous 2 appearances, Holmes came out with the form that made him almost untouchable in Tri-City. Jankowski has really been an effective piggybacker. Maybe he'll be able to replicate his gaudy strikeout numbers in that role. 1. Trevor Crowe, CF, Jake Elmore, 2B, and Jonathan Villar, SS, Oklahoma City Crowe: 3-3, 2-R HR (2), 2 BB, 4 R, 3 SB (9) Elmore: 2-4, 2-R HR (2), 3B, 3 RBI, SB (4) Villar: 3-4, 3B, RBI, BB, SB (6) Crowe's been some really good AAA insurance. Unfortunately, he's probably in a holding pattern unless the outfield situation in Houston gets thrown into flux. Elmore should be the first middle infielder to move up in the event Marwin/Cedeño/Altuve goes down, whether by injury (mostly Altuve) or by ineffectiveness (mostly Cedeño). I still believe in Villar. Honorable Mentions George Springer, CF, Corpus Christi: Yes, if he keeps this up, the peanut gallery will be DEMANDING to see him in Houston. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. Matt Heidenreich, P, Corpus Christi: An encouraging end to what's been an extremely tough first month for him. Jose Valdez, P, Oklahoma City: Lockdown. Has allowed a run in only 1 of his 10 appearances this season. Goat Triple-A has really been unkind to Ross Seaton so far.
When do you think Springer is getting the call to AAA? At this point they have nothing to lose giving him a full season at AA or an early look at AAA. Right now he's at about 100 PA's at AA (~180 with last season's PA's). I could see him getting another 100-150 PA's then getting the call to AAA.
Not sure, but I expect him to be in the majors towards the end of the season. At 23 years old no point in keeping him down there much longer.
If I made the decisions, Springer probably wouldn't see AAA at all. He'd stay in AA until July, and then I'd make a decision on where to put him. If major league team has an opening, I'm calling him up. If they don't, I'd send him to AAA with the plan of a callup when space becomes available.
I think I'd do roughly the same. I'd use the All-Star break as the reference point. If there's a reason to call him up then, do so. If not, send him to AAA with the intention of bringing him up Sept. 1.
J.D. Martinez is in Corpus on a rehab assignment. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Here's tonight's lineup against the @<a href="https://twitter.com/rockhounds">rockhounds</a>. Former <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23CCHooks">#CCHooks</a> OF Jake Goebbert is hitting 6th for the Hounds. <a href="http://t.co/NYIqHB5fxb" title="http://twitter.com/cchooks/status/329367158062723073/photo/1">twitter.com/cchooks/status…</a></p>— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) <a href="https://twitter.com/cchooks/status/329367158062723073">April 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
So how long until the Carlos Pena experiment is over? Krauss seems primed for a shot. HR #6 tonight w/ 25 rbis, healthy average and a low K rate. Plus, he is not getting any younger.
