The only thing McCullers needs to show at Quad Cities is more strike throwing, so I would understand him moving to Lancaster after some of the draftees who start at Low-A Tri Cities get moved up to Quad Cities. I wouldn't read much into McCullers' stats at A+ if/when he does move there though. He's basically what everyone expected so far--unhittable for young hitters. He just needs to throw some strikes.
Folty has been devastating in CC, 17 hits in 33 innings, walks are a little high though. Probably gonna be in CC the rest of the year, which I'm fine with. I'd like to seem him stretched out though, not a huge fan of the tandem system at AA at this point , served it's purpose and has been a good idea, but should be over IMO.
One thing the tandem system has done, whether intended or not, is limiting the number of major injuries. I fully expected the tandem system to break down when pitchers got injured taking the number of starters from 8 closer to 5. That hasn't happened and furthermore its all to easy to throw a reliever in to throw 2-3 innings in place of a tweeked elbow and not disrupt the rotation.
Probably trying to get springer to change his approach at the plate. Get on base instead of trying to mash.
It is interesting. In the last 8 games, his K rate is only about 20%. Of course, only 1 HR, but he does have 5 doubles and is hitting .400.
Excellent. I noticed he wasn't striking out as much. Maybe this is what's going to get him to turn the corner
Not saying you are not right, it very well could be about his approach. BUT, his on base percentage for the year is .412, so getting on base hasn't been a problem at all.
Abridged Recap OKC 5, Omaha 2: Jonathan Villar went 2-4 with 2 RBI and 2 steals (19). The Redhawks broke through with 3 in the 6th, but the Storm Chasers threatened with the bases loaded and no outs in the 7th, but C.J. Fick denied them by getting 3 straight outs. Strong outing for Brett Oberholtzer last night, as he went 6 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 7. Fick went 1 2/3 and allowed a run on 4 hits, but his work in the 7th really preserved the win for the Redhawks. In game 3, Ross Seaton will match up against Chris Dwyer. First pitch is at 7:05. Corpus Christi 5, Midland 0: 5 runs in the 2nd turned out to be enough, as David Martinez and Mike Foltynewicz combined on a 2-hitter. Martinez went 5 and allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 5 to improve to 9-0. Folty tagged in to finish it, and he allowed a hit, walked 2, and struck out 3. Enrique Hernandez hit an RBI single to open the scoring, then Jio Mier hit into a force out that allowed Jonathan Meyer to score. George Springer then hit an RBI double, and Jose Martinez finished with a 2-run single. Carlos Quevedo and Jake Buchanan will be on the mound as the Hooks open a 4-game series in San Antonio. Their opponent will be Keyvius Sampson. First pitch is at 7:05. San Jose 8, Lancaster 4: A grand slam from San Jose's Mac Williamson was the KO punch for the Giants. Kyle Hallock only laasted 3 innings and allowed 7 runs (6 earned, 2 inherited) on 3 hits (grand slam), walked 3, and struck out 1. He failed to retire any of the 6 hitters he faced in the 4th. T.J. Geith finished out the 4th, but not before allowing 2 of Hallock's runners to score, and he gave up 1 of his own. Luis Cruz tossed 4 scoreless and allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and fanned 5. Delino DeShields went 3-5 with a 2-run single in the 6th. Nolan Fontana and Matt Duffy had 2 hits apiece. Chris Epps hit an RBI double in the 6th. Game 3 of this series is at 5:00 Pacific. Aaron West will take the hill against Ty Blach. His partner is TBA, as Blair Walters was placed on the 7-Day DL. Quad Cities 6, Cedar Rapids 1: Carlos Correa and the River Bandits responded by taking 2 of 3 from the 1st-place Kernels, after Byron Buxton's rampage in the opener on Wednesday. The Kernels got on the board first, but QC scored 6 unanswered. Correa went 2-5 with an RBI double and 2 runs scored. Jordan Scott hit a 2-run triple to precede Correa. Jesse Wierzbicki hit an RBI double in the 5th and later in the inning, Roberto Peña hit an RBI single. Dan Minor went 3 innings and allowed a run on 4 hits, walked 2, and fanned 1. Mitch Lambson struck out the side in order in the 4th. Lance McCullers didn't allow a hit in his 4 innings, and he walked 2 and struck out 5. John Neely struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th. The River Bandits' roadtrip continues in Peoria, as Mike Hauschild and Colton Cain will face Joe Cuda in the opener at 6:30. DSL Astros 6, DSL Royals 4: Despite committing 6 errors, they won. All 6 of the Academy's runs came in the 4th. Luis Payano, Arturo Michelena, Randy Cesar, Dariel Aquino, Brian Peña, and Jean Estrella had 1 RBI apiece. Peña and Victor Tavarez both went 2-4. Elieser Hernandez got the victory, allowing an unearned run on 3 hits, walking 1, and striking out 4 in 5 innings of work. Rayderson Chevalier went 2 1/3 and also gave up an unearned run on 1 hit. He walked 2 and fanned 1. Javier Saucedo got the 2nd out of the 8th, but not before walking 1. Harold Arauz allowed 2 unearned runs on 1 hit, walked 1, and struck out 1 in 1 1/3 to get the save (2).
Obiehockie is having a bad year overall (4.91era) but it's not all bad starts. Three of his last ten games have been real gems and he's averaging nearly 8.3k/9 at AAA over that span. May 10: 5.2ip, 1h, 2bb, 0r, 0er, 9k May 21: 7ip, 3h, 1bb, 0r, 0er, 9k June 7: 6ip, 3h, 3bb, 1r, 1er, 7k Now the rest ranged from mediocre to straight-up stinkers but there are some very positive things in those 3 good starts. If he can slowly make his way from 3 good starts to 7 bad to a 5:5 ratio then eventually a 7:3 ratio then we might have a nice BOR lefty in the coming seasons. None too soon as advanced lefty starters are still a hole in the system.
Kevin Chapman's splits against lefties have been damn impressive all year. He seems like our Wesley Wright replacement, and frankly, I'm not convinced he wouldn't be an upgrade there already. Oberholtzer seems like a future long reliever. Travis Blackley type, which is fine by me.
Beyond the Box Score did a fantastic look at success rates of minor league players with high K-rates. They based it off of George Springer's impressive season at AA thats coupled with his extremely high K-rate. They found that looking at strikeout and walk rates together give more insight on potential success than just k-rate. On average, their numbers say that a high-K player with a similarly high bb rate (>11%) is about 20% more likely to be a productive major leaguer than a high-k player with an average or low bb%. They list several good players that had both high k's and bb's in the minors. The list includes players like Manny Ramirez, Ryan Howard and David Ortiz. Other Astros related tidbits include: -Carlos Correa having a high K/avg bb in LoA being relatively positive. -Jio Mier being listed on the sleeper list. At 22 and being a former 1st rounder with upside that people continue to recognize, he'll probably merit inclusion on the 40 man roster come Rule V time. EDIT* a link would help: http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/20...eague-baseball-walk-strikeout-rates-prospects
Saturday Stories Heartbreaker in Peoria. Jake Buchanan Texas League Domination Tour makes a stop in San Antonio. Recap Omaha 1, Oklahoma City 0 before it was suspended Rain forced the suspension of this contest in the bottom of the 1st. It will be finished on July 23, the next time OKC returns to Omaha. Ross Seaton, who I'm pretty sure won't be continuing, has runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. The Redhawks struck out in order to open the game. OKC and Omaha will wrap up this series tomorrow afternoon at 2:05. Jarred Cosart will be on the hill for the finale, and his opponent will be Everett Teaford. Corpus Christi 5, San Antonio 1 After taking 3 of 4 from Midland, the Hooks took the series opener over the Missions behind a strong pitching performance from Carlos Quevedo and Jake Buchanan. Quevedo tossed 5 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and striking out 3. Buchanan tagged in for 4, and he allowed an unearned run on 1 hit, walked 1, and struck out 1. Justin Maxwell still hasn't gotten a hit in his rehab assignment, but he hit a sac fly in the 1st to put the Hooks on the board. Jonathan Meyer scored on an error and George Springer hit an RBI single in the 2nd. Domingo Santana (11) and Rene Garcia (3) hit solo shots in the 6th. They, along with Erik Castro, had 2-hit nights. Bobby Doran and Nick Tropeano will be tomorrow night's pairing, and their opponent will be Matt Wisler. First pitch is at 6:05. San Jose 7, Lancaster 0 Suddenly, the Jethawks are on a 6-game losing streak. They were held to 5 hits; Andrew Aplin went 2-4, and Preston Tucker's only hit of the evening was a double. Aaron West allowed 5 runs on 9 hits and fanned 1 in 3 innings. Jonas Dufek retired all 6 Giants he faced, striking out 1. Cam Lamb went 2 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Tom Shirley worked around a walk to retire the side in the 8th. He struck out 1. Lancaster will look to avoid being swept for a 2nd consecutive series as they send Chris Devenski and Brady Rodgers out. They will be opposed by Eric Surkamp, who's making his return from Tommy John surgery. First pitch will be at 1:00 PM Pacific. Peoria 1, Quad Cities 0 The River Bandits walked off with a loss, thanks to..... a wild pitch while they were trying to intentionally walk someone. QC had 5 hits; all of them were singles. Mike Hauschild was excellent in his 5 innings, as he allowed 5 hits and fanned 5. Colton Cain threw 3 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 2, and striking out 1. Gera Sanchez got 1 out in the 9th, but while trying to intentionally walk Jeremy Schaffer, he went wild, which allowed Jacob Wilson to break the scoreless tie. He allowed a hit and walked 1. Game 2 of this series has Jordan Jankowski and a mystery partner taking on a rehabbing Jake Westbrook. First pitch is at 5:00. As far as the 1st-half playoff picture goes: Cedar Rapids leads Beloit by 1.5 games, who leads Quad Cities by 1.5 games, who leads Peoria by 1.5 games. 1st-4th in the Midwest League's Western division is separated by only 4.5 games. DSL Astros 6, DSL Dodgers 4 in 8 innings Game was called due to rain. The big hit of the morning belonged to Hector Roa, who hit a grand slam (1) in the 6th. He also added an RBI single in the 7th. Jean Estrella scored the only run that wasn't driven in, as an error allowed him to score in the 7th. Juan Hernandez went 3 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Junior Garcia got his first professional win with 4 excellent innings, allowing a hit and striking out 5. Victor Mesa got 2 outs in the 8th, but he also allowed a 2-run home run to Jose Luis Javier in the inning. Angel Heredia then struck out Deivy Castillo to end the inning. Three Stars 3. Junior Garcia, P, DSL Astros W(1-0), 4 IP, H, 5 K Garcia is one of the pitchers I'll be keeping an eye on from the Academy. He's got a bit of projection remaining. I hope he continues to gain velocity on his fastball. His curve could be really good. 2. Hector Roa, 1B, DSL Astros 2-4, Grand Slam (1), 5 RBI Roa's got pop, and his bat should probably carry him through the system. Offensively, he's probably one to watch. 1. Carlos Quevedo, P, and Jake Buchanan, P, Corpus Christi Quevedo: W(2-4), 5 IP, 4 H, 3 K Buchanan: Save(1), 4 IP, H, unearned run, BB, K Quevedo had a solid outing as he's looking to rebound after a rough May. Buchanan gonna Buchanan. Honorable Mention Even though he's got holes in his swing, I'll gladly take an .867 OPS from Domingo Santana, who, lest we forget, is the Texas League's 2nd-youngest everyday player. Goat Wild pitch on an intentional walk? How did that ball get away????
Only 9 more days until Short-Season Opening Day. Can you believe that? Tri-City will open at home against Vermont on June 17. Greeneville opens on the road in Bluefield as they take on the Blue Jays on June 20. The next day, the GCL Astros will begin play as they host the GCL Braves.
My guess is that Thurman, Emmanuel, Comer, and Musgrove pitch for Tri City. Appel may start there. A pitchers league with high level pitching prospects may cause Tri City hitters learn humility this season.
I'd be really surprised if they started Appel at short-season. Luhnow already said Appel could handle AA but they're more likely to start him at QC.
So when can the Astros get out of Lancaster? Since it seems like the Astro's are unwilling to send any of our main pitching prospects there for any significant time so we are missing a key level in our prospects progression.
