7 walks for Jarred Cosart. He was pulled after the 7th walk, which occurred to lead off the 6th. He also threw 2 wild pitches.
And there are the control problems.. Singleton with a walk to add to his impressive return. How long until he gets the call to CC?
We knew it was only a matter of time, but nonetheless it's good to see Correa getting some extra base hits.
Remember when the Astros considered drafting this guy 8th overall in 2010? http://deadspin.com/rays-prospect-throws-change-at-stripper-brags-about-it-510125034 Thankfully they did not.
Should we be paying attention to Tyler Heineman. He's only 21, which is actually a tad young for High A. I haven't heard much about him as a prospect, but he had great showing at tri-cities last year, and he's killing at Lancaster. His OPS is now .923, with an impressive 12-16 K to BB ratio. He's also caught 42% of baserunners thus far in the minors.
Ha. Yeah I wanted that guy as well. Nice to see Correa now at .292 BA. He seems to have figured out low A quick.
He shouldn't be ignored. His fatal flaw is that he doesn't hit for power at all. Stassi/Perez/Heineman give us a good group of minor league catchers. Heineman is almost 22 Stassi is 22 Perez is 22 That is ignoring other catchers having good seasons. All are blocked by Jason Castro who is having a great season and Carlos Corporan who is also having a great season.
Before the Oakland trade, I was a little concerned at catcher after Castro. I was a little worried injuries may have hampered his development. Did not expect Corporan to play well at all. Perez did as well at CC this year as he did in Lancaster last year and has been okay at AAA so far. Heineman only had the one short season. Hope the third base situation is like this a year from now.
I was under the impression that they would jump him straight to OKC, but I guess not based on what they are saying now. My guess is a week or so at each.
As much as it made me sick to think about Corporan being the primary backup, he has been very good the last 2 years (albeit in a limited sample size) and he's always been good at catching guys on the bases. I tend to see Carlos Perez being what Corporan is, but obviously has higher potential. I'd be interested to see what value is out there for Corporan. One big negative about Corporan is that he has been more impressive from the left-side. All 7 of his career HRs are from the left-side. I'd rather our backup be good against lefties, since that has been Castro's weakness.
Jason Stoffel. His 1.65 ERA in AAA ball this year after a quick promotion from AA (just over 7 innings of 1 run, no walk baseball) deserves to be monitored. Maybe it's just because I loathe the fact Ambriz is still on our roster, but Stoffel is doing a bang up job outside of a few walks. I know he needs a little more work at AAA, but he is a true reliever that our bullpen could use.
Tuesday Stories Minor league sweep! Jarred Cosart, effectively wild. The #2 prospect in the Astros system makes his long-awaited debut. Tyler Heineman on a sudden power surge. Somehow this appeals to me. Corpus used the power of a big inning to spur them on to victory in (Northwest) Arkansas. Oklahoma City 5, Omaha 2 The Redhawks took the series opener behind Jarred Cosart, who pitched 5 effective, yet horribly inefficient innings. He allowed 2 runs on only 3 hits.... but walked a season-high 7 and struck out 4. It took him 101 pitches (52 strikes) to labor through 5 innings. Cosart's 2nd run came when he allowed a double to Irving Falu in the 5th. He let him on home with 2 consecutive wild pitches. Jason Stoffel threw 3 perfect innings in relief, and Jose Valdez worked around a walk to rack up his 11th save. OKC got on the board first thanks to a 2-run triple from Fernando Martinez in the 1st. He'd eventually score on a single by Che-Hsuan Lin. Brett Wallace hit an RBI single in the 2nd, and one batter later, Martinez grounded into a force play that scored Jake Elmore. Wallace finished 2-3, and Marc Krauss was 2-3 with a double. Game 2 of this series has Science Guy taking on Ryan Verdugo. Eric Berger is being called upon for a spot start, as Brad Peacock was just recalled to Houston. First pitch is at 7:05. Corpus Christi 6, Northwest Arkansas 3 Trailing 3-1 to the Texas League's worst team, the Hooks put up a nickel in the top of the 7th to win the series opener and improve to 6-1 against the state of Arkansas this season. Michael Burgess was 2-4 with a solo homer (7) in the 6th that put Corpus on the board, down 2-1. That was his 5th blast in his previous 8 contests. After Mike Foltynewicz gave up a run in the bottom half of the inning, the Hooks mounted their rally. Jonathan Meyer, who finished 2-4, led off the inning with a double and would advance to 3rd on a wild pitch. Erik Castro then walked, and a sac fly from Enrique Hernandez brought Meyer home and made it a 3-2 game. Singles from Burgess and Zach Johnson loaded the bases for Ben Orloff, who promptly gave the Hooks the lead by shooting a 2-run single back up the middle. Rene Garcia followed that up by shooting another 2-run single, this time to left, for insurance. The Wizard finished 3-5 with a run scored, and Garcia went 2-5. David Martinez had another solid outing, as he went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 2. Folty bounced back from giving up a run in the 6th (the only one he allowed) to shut down the Naturals. He allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6 over 4 innings to get his first win at the Double-A level. In the middle game of this series, which will start at 7, R.J. Alaniz and Jorge De Leon will be tonight's pairing for the Hooks. Their opponent for NW Arkansas will be Brooks Pounders. Lancaster 10, Rancho Cucamonga 2 That's 7 straight wins for the Jethawks. They enjoyed wire-to-wire control in this game, and they were feeling rather generous too, allowing the Quakes 2 consolation runs in the bottom of the 9th for the score you see above. Everyone had at least one hit except for Delino DeShields and Joe Sclafani. Lancaster got on the board with 3 in the 2nd. After Telvin Nash hit a 1-out double, Tyler Heineman hit.... a 2-run home run (2). OK, it was an inside-the-park homer. This is Aaron West's breakdown of what happened: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>I saw a 200 foot inside the park homerun today. Thanks @<a href="https://twitter.com/theineman13">theineman13</a> for showing me anything is possible. <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23UltimatePoopie">#UltimatePoopie</a></p>— Aaron West (@WestAaron14) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestAaron14/status/339631875201064961">May 29, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>In all fairness to the people who didn't see @<a href="https://twitter.com/theineman13">theineman13</a> homerun the left fielder stopped to play musical chairs before throwin the ball in</p>— Aaron West (@WestAaron14) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestAaron14/status/339634415078621184">May 29, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>But a homerun is a homerun no matter how it happens.</p>— Aaron West (@WestAaron14) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestAaron14/status/339635058430324736">May 29, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>And when I say musical chairs I mean the bullpen stood up like bowling pins and the left fielder tried to knock them all over.</p>— Aaron West (@WestAaron14) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestAaron14/status/339636142360125442">May 29, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Raoul Torrez was 2-4 with a double in the 2nd, and he would score on an error as the Rancho RF flubbed a clean Chris Epps single. Epps also finished 2-4 with a double. Andrew Aplin was 2-4 with a triple and scored 3 runs. Brandon Meredith hit an RBI single in the 9th. Preston Tucker had a huge night, as he went 3-5 with a homer and 6 RBI. He hit an RBI single in the 3rd (scoring Aplin, who tripled), a 2-run double in the 5th, and a 3-run homer (9) in the 9th. He's now on a 12-game hitting streak, and his 45 RBI now leads all of Class A Advanced. Andrew Aplin had been the leader with 43. Brady Rodgers had a great outing, as he allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4 over 5 shutout innings. Chris Devenski went 4 innings and allowed 2 runs (both in the 9th) on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. The Jethawks will look for the sweep tonight. Tyson Perez and David Rollins will be on the mound, and they'll be facing Lindsey Caughel. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific. Quad Cities 7, Kane County 5 in 5.5 innings The game was called after the top of the 6th due to rain. The chance of rain persists throughout this series; 30% today, 80% tomorrow. In his season debut, Jonathan Singleton was inserted into the lineup as the DH and hit cleanup. All he did was reach base all 3 times he came up: a solo home run (1) in the 1st, an RBI single in the 3rd, and a walk in the 4th. Carlos Correa's 2 hits both resulted in RBIs as well. He hit a single in the 3rd and a 2-run double in the 4th. Miles Hamblin added a sac fly in the 4th. The only run that wasn't batted in came courtesy of Teoscar Hernandez in the 1st. He walked to lead off the inning, advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, stole 3rd (15), and scored on the errant throw to nab him. Jordan Scott walked twice and scored twice. Correa's triple slash line now reads as .294/.410/.424. Not too shabby considering his slow start. Dan Minor got the start and went 4 innings. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3. The 3 walks represent a career-high; he had never issued more than 2 walks before this. Richard Rodriguez allowed a 3-run homer to Dan Vogelbach in the 5th. Lance McCullers, after starting his career 0-8, finally got off the schneid, getting his 1st career victory. He worked around a walk to strike out the side in the 6th. Mike Hauschild and Colton Cain will take the mound in the middle game of the series, and they'll be opposed by Pierce Johnson. First pitch is at 7. Three Stars Taking a few liberties... 3. Carlos Correa, SS, Quad Cities, Mike Foltynewicz, P, and Michael Burgess, OF, Corpus Christi Correa: 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI Foltynewicz: W(1-0), 4 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 6 K Burgess: 2-4, HR(7), 2 R Who's still concerned about Correa? I asked this last night and still haven't received a response. It's safe to say that Folty has had a pretty good first month in AA. I think it'd be best for him if he spent the vast majority of the season in Corpus, with a cameo in OKC to finish the season. Burgess has feasted heartily this month. With his bat going, it just adds another threat to the Hooks' lineup. Whatever adjustments he's made this month, I hope he keeps them. Legit 20-homer power in his bat. 2. Preston Tucker, RF, and Brady Rodgers, P, Lancaster Tucker: 3-6, 2B, 3-R HR (9), 6 RBI Rodgers: W(4-1), 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K This is the Preston Tucker we've all been wanting to see. He's found himself at the plate, and now the power is coming out. I think it's a race between him and Andrew Aplin as to who gets to Corpus first. Rodgers' poor luck is starting to normalize. He's putting himself in prime consideration for a promotion to Corpus sometime this summer. 1. Jonathan Singleton, 1B and Lance McCullers, P, Quad Cities Singleton: 2-2, HR(1), 2 RBI, BB McCullers: W(1-4), IP, BB, 3 K Singleton hasn't missed a beat. McCullers finally gets that first win. Here's to many, many more down the road. Honorable Mentions Jarred Cosart, P, Oklahoma City: Wasn't pretty, but at least he limited the damage. Ben Orloff, 2B/SS, Corpus Christi: The Wizard delivers a clutch go-ahead hit! Tyler Heineman, C, Lancaster: The California League is weird. Andrew Aplin, CF, Lancaster: Now this is the Andrew Aplin we're accustomed to seeing. Brett Wallace, 1B/3B, Oklahoma City: It is time for your final judgment. David Martinez, P, Corpus Christi: He's just been dependable every time he takes the hill. Jason Stoffel, P, Oklahoma City: No strikeouts, but no nonsense. Please, can we see him in Houston soon? Goat Richard Rodriguez... I'm sure there are better relief options still in Kissimmee.
Remember when the 2010 draft was a bust with DDJ/Folty/Kvasnicka and Velaquez having Tommy John? Seems so long ago, even though Kvasnicka was a bust.
