He's at about 30% right now. With him doing well statistically in all the other areas it may not hurt to bump him a level and let him try AAA pitching.
This depends on the club. Some use it as you suggest, others use AAA even for their top prospects. The Astros seem to actually use their AAA -- e.g., Cosart, Villar, Wojo, Perez are all in OKC (and maybe Singleton once he's back)
I generally prefer a month or two in AAA, which is what I'd expect out of this regime, but we haven't really seen how they will handle a top prospect yet (we know Singleton would have played in AAA this year, but for how long?).
None of those guys are top 100 prospects (though Cosart and Villar have been). Would have been nice to have seen what they would have done with Singleton.
That doesn't make them top prospects. There are 600 top 20 prospects. I'm a fan of the Hunter Pence method. I do fully believe stars are going to succeed either way though.
Sunday Stories The clamor to promote George Springer gets a little louder. Let's play 2 in Iowa! Lance McCullers absolutely dominant in West Michigan. Recap Game 1: Iowa 5, Oklahoma City 2 Andy Simunic had a sac fly in the 2nd, and Carlos Perez hit his 1st AAA homer (2nd of the season), which was a solo shot in the 4th. Trevor Crowe went 2-4. Brett Oberholtzer took the loss, as he allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits (2-run homer), walked 2, and struck out 3 in 3 2/3 innings. Josh Zeid allowed a run on 2 hits and walked 3 in an inning (last out of the 4th and 2 outs in the 5th). Rhiner Cruz finished it out, walking 1. They had another game about 30 minutes after this one finished. So, what happened? Game 2: Oklahoma City 4, Iowa 3 in 10 innings The Redhawks got the split as Che-Hsuan Lin's RBI single in the 10th proved to be the difference. Brett Wallace hit a solo homer (3) in the 2nd, and Cody Clark hit an RBI single in the inning. Wallace put the Redhawks on top again in the 9th with his 2nd solo homer (4) of the game, but Jose Valdez walked Logan Watkins on a full count with 2 outs and the bases loaded, and the game was tied again. Kyle Hallock had a nice spot start, as he went 4 innings and allowed a run on 4 hits and walked 2. Jason Stoffel got a 1-2-3 5th and the 1st 2 outs of the 6th, retiring all 5 Cubs. Kevin Chapman got the final out of the 6th (via strikeout), but not before he allowed the Cubs to tie the game at 2. He allowed 2 hits and walked 1. C.J. Fick then came on for 2 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and striking out 1. Valdez couldn't close it out in the 9th, as he allowed the bases-loaded walk. He did get the win, though, as he also allowed 2 hits, 2 more walks, and struck out 1. Science Guy picked up the save, working around a leadoff single to retire the side, striking out 1. The Redhawks and Cubs will wrap up the series at 12:05. Ross Seaton will take on TBA. He'll actually be facing Matt Garza, who's on a rehab assignment. Corpus Christi 7, San Antonio 3 George Springer became the first player in the organization to 10 home runs with his solo blast off Ryan Kelly in the 7th. He also scored twice and stole 2 bases (7). J.D. Martinez looks like he's about ready to return, as he went 3-5 with a double, an RBI groundout in the 3rd, and a 3-run home run in the 5th. Jio Mier kicked off the scoring with a 2-run homer (2) in the 2nd. Enrique Hernandez was 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Bobby Doran went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs (on a 2-run homer) on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Nick Tropeano finished it out, allowing a run (on a solo homer) on 4 hits. Kalian Sams victimized the two of them. The 2-run shot came off Doran, and the solo homer off Tropeano. Big day tomorrow for one Michael Foltynewicz.... he will take the mound for his AA debut at 11:05 AM tomorrow. He'll be backed up by David Martinez, and they'll be opposed by Donn Roach. Lancaster 4, High Desert 1 A 4-run 7th spurred the Jethawks on to victory on a cold afternoon in Adelanto. Telvin Nash, Nolan Fontana (triple), and Tyler Heineman (double) had 2 hits apiece. Nash's single to lead off the 7th kickstarted the rally. One batter later, Tyler Heineman hit a double, and an error from Mavs CF Jamal Austin allowed Nash to score and tie the game. Heineman advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch, and Brandon Meredith's single gave Lancaster the lead. Meredith moved to 3rd on a Carlos Perdomo sacrifice, and then Nolan Fontana singled. Fontana was caught trying to steal 2nd, but M.P. Cokinos dealt the fatal blow: a 2-run homer (2). Blair Walters went 5 innings and allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4. Aaron West got the win coming off his DL stint, allowing 3 hits and fanning 5 over 4 scoreless. The series finale (7:05 Pacific) pits Chris Devenski and Brady Rodgers against TBD. Trevor Miller started for the Mavericks 5 days ago. Quad Cities 5, West Michigan 4 Lance McCullers probably had his best outing as a pro, as he owned the Whitecaps for 5 shutout innings. He allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 9, touching triple digits, according to West Michigan's stadium gun. However, he had to settle for a no-decision as the Whitecaps got 3 off Dan Minor and Mike Dimock in the 7th to tie the game at 4. Minor went 1 2/3, allowing 3 runs (1 earned, 1 inherited) on 4 hits, walking 1 and fanning 2. Dimock somehow got the win. He got the final out of the 7th, but not before allowing a run on 2 hits. Mitch Lambson walked 1 and struck out 2 in 1 2/3, and John Neely got the final out of the game for his 5th save of the season. The River Bandits drew first blood as Ariel Ovando drew a walk with the bases loaded in the 1st. That was 4 consecutive walks from West Michigan starter Montreal Robertson. Joe Sclafani went 2-4 with an RBI double in the 4th, while Terrell Joyce hit an RBI single in the 5th. Joyce would also reach on an error that allowed Austin Elkins to score in the 6th. Elkins would provide the go-ahead RBI in the 8th on a squeeze play. Teoscar Hernandez went 2-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. Jesse Wierzbicki pulled a Fontana, as he walked 4 times. QC will wrap up their series with West Michigan at 6:35 Eastern, as Colton Cain and Mike Hauschild will take on Charlie Gillies. Three Stars Brett Wallace and J.D. Martinez not eligible. Rehab assigments don't count, and doing something we all know you can do doesn't count either. Do it at the Major League level.... if you ever see it again. 3. George Springer, CF, Corpus Christi 1-5, solo HR (10), 2 R, 2 SB (7) First to 10! And now the promotion talk gets louder. 2. Aaron West, P, Lancaster W (1-1), 4 IP, 3 H, 5 K That's a nice way to come off the disabled list. Not overly concerned with his struggles early. He's still got the excellent BB:K ratio. However, opposing hitters have been getting extremely lucky against him. Entering this game, opposing hitters had an unreal .453 BABIP off of him. That's definitely going to come down, given his stinginess towards issuing walks. 1. Lance McCullers, P, Quad Cities 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 9 K Sure, he would've liked to get the win. But he can take solace knowing that he pitched extremely well today. Honorable Mentions Jesse Wierzbicki, 1B, Quad Cities: For a Fontana. Teoscar Hernandez, CF, Quad Cities: Really settled into the leadoff spot in the Quad Cities. Bobby Doran, P, Corpus Christi: Other than the 2-run home run he gave up, he was excellent. Nick Tropeano, P, Corpus Christi: Did you know that his opponent BABIP (.329 entering today) is above the Texas League average (.298)? Telvin Nash, 1B, Lancaster: For starting the rally that won the game for his team. M.P. Cokinos, C, Lancaster: For finishing it. Blair Walters, P, Lancaster: Walters put up a second consecutive good start. Goat 0-6, 4 Ks in the doubleheader for Jonathan Villar. Dishonorable mentions go out to Dan Minor and Mike Dimock for being unable to hold the lead for Lance McCullers.
Obviously there are many different "top 100" prospect lists out there, mlb.com has Cosart at 84 right now though so he is in their top 100. And the way he is performing so far this year I would expect he would be top 100 on most lists if they were printed out now. As for Springer and the AA/AA/AAAA discussion. It is certainly true that the Astros have not used AAA for their top prospects for quite some time. But a quick look at the top 10 list of most prominent publications shows most top prospects right now are all at AAA, and all younger than Springer. Profar, Taveras are both 20 at AAA, Myers, Wheeler, Cole are 22 at AAA, Skaggs is 21 at AAA, Fernandez is in the bigs at 20 and Bundy at 20 has thrown in the bigs. Every prospect is different and every situation is different. I'm not saying that Springer "should" be at AAA right now, and i'm not saying that if he couldn't handle AAA right now that means he won't be a star . . .but most guys who become stars (not all but most) could certainly handle AAA at 23 years old. It's a fun discussion, but none of us know what is right for Springer or the others nearly as much as Luhnow and the other decision makers of the organization . . .at least i hope they know more than us
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Looks like @<a href="https://twitter.com/astros">astros</a> Minor League system has the highest winning % in milb. Wish I could tell you it's the coaches. <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23ReallyGoodPlayers">#ReallyGoodPlayers</a></p>— Morgan Ensberg (@MorganEnsberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorganEnsberg/status/331446542407962625">May 6, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Repost.... thought this might've been a more appropriate spot. Housecleaning, Part 1. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Astros make roster moves. JD Martinez reinstated from DL, Paredes, Crowe called up from AAA; Ankiel, F. Martinez designated for assignment.</p>— Houston Astros (@astros) <a href="https://twitter.com/astros/status/331531803510853632">May 6, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Brandon Laird also optioned to AAA.</p>— Houston Astros (@astros) <a href="https://twitter.com/astros/status/331531855939641345">May 6, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I really like the Paredes call up. He is a true athlete, and someone I am pulling for to make a difference on this club... well I guess I am pulling for anyone to make a difference on this club, but him specifically.
Actually, now that I think about, I may change my allegiance to being a Paredes fan first and Astros fan second just to flood the board with POF threads and discussions.
Not a terrible start at AA for Folty 5 Innings, 1 hit, 1 bb, 9 k's, 0 runs!!! And another ho hum dinger for Springer, #11
Springer seems to be making a push for top-prospect status, at least till Correa steps it up. Really want to see him at AAA once Singleton returns.
