Someone will be looking to get him and platoon him I would think. He has SOME value, and he is a good defensive option at first base.
And can someone explain how arbitration comes into play with Cosart? Maybe he isn't the next in line to get a call up, but the dude is dealing thus far this year. Another 5 1/3 1R outing tonight. Aside from one start, he has been nails so far. So nice to see him healthy and at the top of his game.
Tuesday Stories Catchers rule the day for Quad Cities. Jarred Cosart outpitches his opposition in a big matchup. Recap Oklahoma City 4, Nashville 2 The Redhawks are now on a 5-game winning streak, as they took the series opener from the Sounds. Jarred Cosart had a nice outing, allowing a run on 4 hits, walking 2, and striking out 6 in 5 1/3 innings. C.J. Fick threw 1 2/3 scoreless, allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 1. Kevin Chapman struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 8th, and Josh Zeid closed the door, despite allowing a solo homer to Caleb Gindl in the 9th. Marc Krauss went 2-3 and hit a solo shot in the 2nd, his 6th of the season. Also in the inning, Che-Hsuan Lin had an RBI groundout and Jonathan Villar stole home. Jimmy Paredes scored on a passed ball in the 6th. The series continues with TBA taking on Tyler Thornburg at 7:05. Dallas Keuchel was originally scheduled to start, but he's heading to Houston with Jordan Lyles. Corpus Christi 1, Midland 0 Rene Garcia's RBI single in the 3rd was the lone tally, giving the Hooks the opening game of the series. Erik Castro, who drew a walk with 1 out, scored on the play. Ben Orloff went 2-4, and Jio Mier was 1-3. All of their hits were singles. Jake Buchanan continued his fine start to the season as he tossed 5 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out 4. Carlos Quevedo tagged in and he threw 2 2/3 scoreless, allowing 2 hits, walking 1 and fanning 1. Alex Sogard got a 4-out save, allowing a hit and walking 1. As the calendar turns to May, the Hooks and Rockhounds will play game 2 of their series. The team of Nick Tropeano and Bobby Doran will take on Zach Neal at 7:05. Side note: While listening to the Lancaster game, play-by-play man Jason Schwartz was looking at his Twitter, and saw a couple of tweets from Rafael Valenzuela. Schwartz immediately deduced that Valenzuela may have been released. Here are the tweets in question: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Welp.... See ya later</p>— Rafael Valenzuela (@RafyValenzuela) <a href="https://twitter.com/RafyValenzuela/status/329437572969398272">May 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Just wanna thank the @<a href="https://twitter.com/astros">astros</a> for the opportunity and for the great friends and memories... Good luck to all of the boys the entire season</p>— Rafael Valenzuela (@RafyValenzuela) <a href="https://twitter.com/RafyValenzuela/status/329437858094014464">May 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Valenzuela, 25, hit .284/.349/.429 with 6 homers and 35 RBI in 73 games with Lancaster in 2012. He returned to Lancaster this year, going 4-14 with a homer and 3 RBI in 4 games. After his promotion to Corpus, he went 0-14 with a run scored in 3 games. So... here's a flurry of moves. Greg Rajan no longer covers the Hooks; he's now the sports editor for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. They're being covered by committee at the Caller-Times this season. The following tweets were retweeted by him. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/cchooks">cchooks</a> postgame player moves (1): P Jason Stoffel, C Carlos Perez to Triple-A; OF Austin Wates active; C Max Stassi, 1B Zach Johnson to CC</p>— George Vondracek (@Caller_GeorgeV) <a href="https://twitter.com/Caller_GeorgeV/status/329443825091223552">May 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/cchooks">cchooks</a> postgame player moves (2);1B Rafael Valenzuela released</p>— George Vondracek (@Caller_GeorgeV) <a href="https://twitter.com/Caller_GeorgeV/status/329443903667326976">May 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Lancaster 3, Inland Empire 2 The Jethawks have lost 3 in a row for the first time this season. All the scoring for both teams was done in the 6th. Preston Tucker's 2-run double was the only scoring for Lancaster. Nolan Fontana went 2-4 with a double. Luis Cruz had a solid outing, as he threw 5 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits, walking 2, and fanning 5. Unfortunately, he left without a decision as Tom Shirley lost the lead in the bottom half, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and walking 2. T.J. Geith finished it out, allowing 3 hits and striking out 2 over 2 scoreless innings. The middle game of this series will take place at 11 AM Pacific. TBD is listed as the starter for the Jethawks; I think it's Mike Foltynewicz's turn. His partner will be Blair Walters. The 66ers will go with Eswarlin Jimenez. Quad Cities 17, Great Lakes 6 First, a bit of bad news. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Carlos Correa taken out after getting hit in the 7th inning with a pitch. He did complete the inning @<a href="https://twitter.com/qcriverbandits">qcriverbandits</a></p>— Daniel Makarewicz (@danmak57) <a href="https://twitter.com/danmak57/status/329426117096259584">May 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Carlos Correa update: Hit on right hand, no X-rays as of now. Will be re-evaluated on Wednesday in South Bend @<a href="https://twitter.com/qcriverbandits">qcriverbandits</a></p>— Daniel Makarewicz (@danmak57) <a href="https://twitter.com/danmak57/status/329443510765883394">May 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> The River Bandits took the series as their catchers ran roughshod over the Loons. Jobduan Morales and Roberto Peña both went 2-5. Morales was behind the plate and hit his 1st home run of the season, a grand slam in the 6th. Peña, as the DH, had an RBI double in the 1st, a sac fly in the 6th, and hit a 2-run homer (2) in the 8th. They also put up a touchdown and tacked on the extra point in the 6th to blow the game wide open. Everyone in the lineup had at least 2 hits and an RBI except for: Austin Elkins, who came on to play 2B after Carlos Correa left. He walked and scored on Peña's homer. No official at-bats for Catfish. Ryan Dineen was 0-2 with 2 strikeouts, but he walked 4 times and scored a run. And Jordan Scott was 0-4 with a strikeout and a run scored. So, despite the fact that not everyone who appeared had a hit, they all scored. Teoscar Hernandez went 2-5 with an RBI double in the 2nd and scored 3 times. Correa brought him home with an RBI single; he went 2-3 with 3 runs scored and a walk before exiting. Jesse Wierzbicki was 3-6 with a double and a 2-run single in the 6th. Joe Sclafani was 2-3 with a 2-run single in the 7th, scored twice, and walked 3 times. And, Terrell Joyce was 2-4 with a double and an RBI single in the 2nd. Joe Bircher went 4 2/3 innings, allowing a run on 6 hits, walking 1, and striking out 3. Mike Dimock got the victory by getting the final out of the 5th. Vince Velasquez probably had his worst outing of the season, only lasting 2 2/3 innings and allowing 5 runs (4 earned, 2 inherited) on 4 hits (2-run homer), walking 1, and striking out 6. Gera Sanchez finished it out with 1 1/3 scoreless, walking 2. The River Bandits will now start a roadtrip. First stop: South Bend for 3 with the Silverhawks. Dan Minor and Lance McCullers will go up against Daniel Watts at 7:05 Eastern.
After the first month of the season, where do the Astros' affiliates stand in their leagues? Oklahoma City leads the Pacific Coast League's American Southern division at 15-10, 1 game ahead of Albuquerque. At 14-11, Corpus Christi is tied with Frisco for the lead in the Texas League's South Division. Midland and San Antonio are both 1 game behind, with 13-12 records. 7 of the league's 8 teams are separated by 2 games; Northwest Arkansas is the outlier at 9-16. With their loss to Inland Empire, Lancaster falls to 14-10, and their lead over the 66ers is now half a game in the California League's South Division. 1st and 4th are currently separated by 2 games. Quad Cities is 15-8, which puts them in 2nd place in the Midwest League's Western Division, 3 games behind Cedar Rapids. So... the Astros organization has a 58-39 record. When I find out where that puts them, I'll put it here.
Three Stars: April All of this is open to interpretation. So... disagree? Feel free to chime in. Oklahoma City 3. Jimmy Paredes, 3B/OF .355/.421/.579, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 11 BB, 15 K, 6 SB (4 CS) Paredes is halfway to last season's walk total after 25 games. He drew 22 in 124 games in 2012. Coming out of the gate, he has picked up right where he left off last season, with the added bonus of a drastically increased walk rate. The question is... where will he fit in Houston? 2. Jarred Cosart, P 3-0, 2.63 ERA 27.1 IP, 19 H (1 HR), 9 R (8 ER), 11 BB, 29 K, 1.10 WHIP, .190 opponent average Cosart is finally showing some signs of being the frontline starter that this fanbase was hoping for when the Astros traded Hunter Pence to get a package including him. Aside from one clunker, Cosart has absolutely mowed down the opposition to open the season. 1. Marc Krauss, 1B/DH .333/.417/.679, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 13 BB, 14 K, 2 SB (1 CS) What a machine. #FreeKrauss Corpus Christi Now this was pretty tough... 3. Jake Buchanan, P 2-0, 1.47 ERA 30.2 IP, 20 H (2 HR), 5 ER, 2 BB, 16 K, 0.72 WHIP, .187 opponent average Buchanan has rediscovered the form that made him so good in Lancaster in 2011. He's sneaking back into the conversation for a possible audition with the Astros. 2. (tie) Asher Wojciechowski, P 2-1, 1 SV, 2.08 ERA 26 IP, 17 H (1 HR), 6 ER, 7 BB, 27 K, 0.92 WHIP, .189 opponent average Wojo didn't close out the month too well, but really, one grand slam blew up his ERA. He has really been on a tear since coming over to the Astros organization. David Martinez, P 2-0, 1.19 ERA 22.2 IP, 15 H (3 HR), 4 R (3 ER), 5 BB, 13 K, 0.88 WHIP, .190 opponent average The less-heralded half of the tandem has been just as dominating as his partner. He hasn't allowed a run as a starter. Martinez has advanced one level at a time after 4 seasons with the now-defunct VSL team. He's proven to be a servicable arm at every stop. 1. George Springer, CF .297/.407/.648, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 15 BB, 32 K, 4 SB (2 CS) He's been on an absolute rampage to start the season. And as a result, speculation on when he'll be making an appearance in an Astros uniform has intensified greatly. I think juicy's scenario is the most likely. Lancaster 3. Luis Cruz, P 1-1, 3.47 ERA 23.1 IP, 18 H (1 HR), 9 ER, 11 BB, 30 K Cruz has probably been the best starter in a thin crop of lefties in this system. Lancaster PBP man Jason Schwartz says that Cruz reminds him of another diminutive left-handed starter that used to pitch for the Houston Astros. 2. Matt Duffy, 3B .324/.429/.592, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 8 BB, 13 K, 5 HBP Duffy continues to hit, regardless of stop. He's definitely got a chance to advance to Corpus. 1. Nolan Fontana, SS .365/.513/.565, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 26 BB, 18 K, 4 SB (2 CS) He reached safely in all but 1 game in April. The California League has really been a miracle worker for him. Fontana could find himself in Corpus by June if Jio Mier continues to scuffle. Again, I'm chalking Mier's early struggles up to the adjustment period. But, Fontana is right on him. Quad Cities 3. Carlos Correa, SS .221/.384/.397, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 15 BB, 23 K, 1 SB (1 CS) Yeah, the average isn't very good, but it's likely that poor luck is playing a factor. Correa's BABIP is .256, which is well below the Midwest League average of .307. Once everything returns to the mean, you could see that number climb back into the .270-.280 range. Even with the high K rate, you have to love the fact that he's still getting on base. His pitch recognition is extremely advanced for his age. No need to fret... he'll be fine moving forward. There won't be another DeShields episode. Also, I hope he's feeling better after taking a pitch off his hand. 2. Teoscar Hernandez, CF .297/.337/.440, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 20 K, 8 SB He's rapidly gaining momentum amongst the prospect pundits. Hernandez has made in impact in almost every game this season. Still a bit unrefined, but my ceiling for him still remains George Springer lite. 1. Vince Velasquez, P 3-0, 2.45 ERA 25.2 IP, 14 H (2 HR), 8 R (7 ER), 7 BB, 31 K, 0.82 WHIP, .156 opponent average Would you take it easy on Velasquez, considering that this is his first full season coming off Tommy John surgery? He's come back in absolutely dominant fashion.
Crazy thing is that I have no interest in baseball really and only casually follow the Astros (moved out of Htown a few months ago). But I love to read these recaps and the threads about the draft speculation. Probably some of the highest quality discussion on the board in these threads. Makes me sad I am not a more invested fan.
I just really can't watch baseball on TV. I used to like to go down to MMP every once and awhile. I would surely watch if they were in the playoffs. I moved to Houston the year before we went to the World Series. That was a cool time to move down here. The team was pretty good.
Nice to see our minor leaguers getting more national attention. This was from a cbssports fantasy baseball article, but still some nice coverage of 2 of our guys: http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fa...own-on-the-farm-drawing-the-line-on-prospects Preston Tucker, OF, Astros Affiliate: Class A Lancaster 2013 stats: .324/.373/.588/.962, three doubles, five home runs, 14 runs, 16 RBI in 17 games Good luck finding Tucker on any prospect lists. Although he was taken in the first 10 rounds of the 2012 draft and had a promising pro debut last season, Tucker still flew under the radar coming into 2013. Well, it might not be much longer before the baseball world starts to take notice of the 6-0, 217-pound outfielder. Tucker is once again hitting for power and average after posting a .321/.390/.509/.899 slash line in 42 games in short-season Class A last year. Poking around the Internet, one will discover Tucker hasn't been a well-liked prospect throughout his career, but all he has done is hit since he was in high school. The scouting report on Tucker is he is a one-tool player -- a left-handed power bat -- with some people comparing him to Mike Carp and Jack Cust. Well, those guys have never been elite Fantasy options, but they still made it to the majors and had impacts at one point or another. Tucker has seemed to defy the odds throughout his career, so we shouldn't doubt a possible path to the majors. Asher Wojciechowski, SP, Astros Affiliate: Double-A Corpus Christi 2013 stats: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 19 strikeouts, eight hits allowed, four walks in four outings (two starts, 18 innings) Wojciechowski was once considered a top 10 prospect in the Blue Jays' system and had a ceiling as high as being a No. 2 starter in the majors. Unfortunately, his career stalled out in high Class A. The 2010 supplemental first-round pick spent the entire season in the Florida State League in 2011 and was sent back there in 2012 before Toronto finally moved him to Houston last summer in the J.A. Happ trade. That deal has allowed Wojciechowski's career to flourish. He finally progressed to Double-A last season, where he posted a 2.06 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in eight starts. He's back in the Texas League again to start 2013, but he's showing as much promise in the hitter-friendly league as he did last season. The pluses for Wojciechowski are he has a durable frame and throws strikes, but he needs to work on pitch efficiency and pitching deeper into games. Some feel Wojciechowski still might end up in the bullpen, but since the trade he's rekindled the hope he might live up to the potential as a major-league starter.
Left side of the Quad Cities infield has really taken a couple of big hits lately. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Rio Ruiz placed on the DL today by the @<a href="https://twitter.com/qcriverbandits">qcriverbandits</a>, retroactive to April 29. Brian Blasik transferred for EST to Bandits <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23youngStros">#youngStros</a></p>— Daniel Makarewicz (@danmak57) <a href="https://twitter.com/danmak57/status/329297238654328833">April 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Brian Blasik is a 23-year-old 2B from Germantown, Ohio. He played at the University of Dayton, leading the Flyers to their first NCAA Tournament berth in school history in 2012. While at Dayton, he was a 3-year starter, earning All-Atlantic-10 honors from 2010-2012, and he was also honored as a 3rd-team Louisville Slugger All-American in 2012, hitting .343/.390/.484 with 3 homers and 48 RBI. He also stole 36 bases (caught 3 times), drew 18 walks, and struck out 16 times. He signed with the Astros as an undrafted free agent last season and joined his Dayton teammate, RHP Mike Hauschild, in Greeneville. He was probably the Appy Astros' most consistent hitter last year en route to winning team MVP honors. Blasik hit .318/.346/.424 with 1 home run and 43 RBI in 55 games. He went 6-7 in steal attempts, walked 11 times, and struck out 25 times.
The River had a slow start to the season... I wonder if that can be attributed to his injury. Granted, he is also very young.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Join me for some early baseball today… <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23JetHawks">#JetHawks</a> and 66ers just under way. Tune in here: <a href="http://t.co/msaVsJAPzP" title="http://bit.ly/10AhT6S">bit.ly/10AhT6S</a></p>— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasondschwartz/status/329658945255915520">May 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Hopefully Correa picks it up - Byron Buxton has been the better prospect so far hitting .392 in A ball and flashing power and speed.
Oh wow, Kenny Long is clutch. He navigates out of a bases loaded and no out situation in the 8th to preserve a 5-3 Lancaster lead.
