For those hoping to see Springer this year: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>For all the talk about Springer, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Astros&src=hash">#Astros</a> have no plan to rush him. Class AAA promotion more likely.</p>— Brian T. Smith (@ChronAstros) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChronAstros/statuses/347372095363248128">June 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Understandable. Was hoping to see him at the end of the year, but a trip to OKC soon would make me happy for now.
What are everyone's thoughts on Austin Wates? More of a 4th outfielder type, but he's been remarkably consistent. I wouldn't mind a .300/.350/.400 guy who can steal 20 bases. Not sure if he's injured right now, but I hope we see him soon in he bigs.
I think this is ideal and hope that they do it relatively soon. Other than his K-rate, there's little left for him to do in AA.
That's about right for him. He's on the shelf with a broken wrist after he got hit by a pitch on May 24. Wates has missed quite a bit of time last season too, so he'll never be a regular. But, that line's probably an absolute best-case scenario from him while playing all 3 outfield spots.
I like him. J.B. Shuck level player. Doesn't walk enough or have enough speed to make up for a lack of power. At best he'll give you what we've seen from Altuve. At worst he'll give you what we've seen from J.R. Towles. He has been on the DL.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23cchooks&src=hash">#cchooks</a> radar gun just reported 99 mph for Mike Foltynewicz. For you skeptics: I'm just telling you what was flashed on the scoreboard.</p>— Greg Rajan (@GregRajan) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregRajan/statuses/347510630003126272">June 20, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Also, Michael Feliz vs. Vermont: 5 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, 9 K ValleyCats lead 6-1 in the 5th
From here on out, the Three Stars, Honorable Mentions, and Goat sections will be in a separate post. Wednesday Stories Jose Valdez fails again. Tri-City with the... Recap New Orleans 4, Oklahoma City 3 Jose Valdez gives up a walk-off grand slam to Kyle Skipworth with 1 out in the 9th. It's the 5th save opportunity he's blown. He negated a good outing from Philip Humber, who allowed 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 6 over 5 shutout innings. Kevin Chapman worked around a hit in the 6th to retire the side in the 6th, striking out 2. Jason Stoffel then came on to throw 2 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3. Unfortunately, Valdez blew it again. Again, the Redhawks got their 3 runs in the 7th. Che-Hsuan Lin's RBI double broke a scoreless tie. He then stole 3rd (13), and after Robbie Grossman walked, he stole 2nd (8). Another walk to Jonathan Villar loaded the bases. Then.... New Orleans pitcher Chris Hatcher tried to pick Villar off, but he threw it away. Lin scored, and then Grossman was allowed to score when Hatcher was called for pitcher interference. Yeah, bizarre. Villar finished 2-4 In game 3 of this series, Jarred Cosart will take the mound for OKC, and he will be opposed by Matt Neal. First pitch is at 7:05. Corpus Christi 4, San Antonio 2 The Hooks avoided the sweep, thanks to an RBI single from Rene Garcia in the 7th. Also scoring on the play was Jio Mier, thanks to an error from Rico Noel. Domingo Santana hit his 14th homer, which was a 2-run shot in the 2nd. The Hooks only had 5 hits, with 1 also coming from Mier, Enrique Hernandez, and Erik Castro. Mike Foltynewicz reached the 75-pitch limit in 4 1/3 innings. His only blunder was serving up a 2-run homer to Eddy Rodriguez in the 2nd that tied the game at 2. Ultimately, he allowed 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 8. Kenny Long allowed a hit and got the 2nd out of the 5th. David Martinez finished it out and got the W, as he allowed 3 hits and struck out 2 over 4 1/3 scoreless. And with that, Martinez became the first pitcher in the minors to 10 wins. 1-1 to open the 2nd half, the Hooks will hit the road to begin a 4-game series in Frisco. Jake Buchanan will start the opener, and he'll take on Neil Ramirez. First pitch is at 7:05. Lancaster was off The Jethawks will kick off the 2nd half by hosting Rancho Cucamonga for 4 games starting at 7:00 Pacific. Quad Cities was off The River Bandits will be starting off the 2nd half of the season at home as well. They'll host Kane County for 4 beginning at 7:00 PM. Tri-City 8, Vermont 2 The ValleyCats start their season by sweeping the Lake Monsters out of Troy! Michael Feliz was absolutely electric. In 5 innings, he gave up a run (on a bases-loaded walk in the 2nd) on a hit, walked 3, and struck out 9. Andrew Walter looks like he'll be Feliz's partner in the rotation. He went 3 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits and struck out 3. Christian Garcia had a happy homecoming, as he worked around a walk and a hit to retire the side in the 9th (non-save situation). Garcia is a native of Gansevoort, New York, which is about a couple hours north of Albany. After falling behind 1-0 in the 2nd, the ValleyCats responded with 3 in the bottom of the inning. Dan Gulbransen was 2-3 and poked an RBI single out to right field in the inning. Then, D'Andre Toney hit a sac fly to give TC the lead. And Mike Martinez, who went 3-4 with 2 runs scored in his season debut, scored one of those 2 runs on a passed ball. In the 4th, Toney delivered the crushing blow: a 3-run homer, his 1st of the season. He finished 2-3 with 2 runs scored. The Cats tacked on 2 more in the 6th on an RBI single from Tony Kemp (Toney scored) and Chan-Jong Moon scored as Jose Fernandez scored on a double play. Kemp also added a steal (2). Tri-City will now hit the road, with their first stop coming in Lowell for 3 games with the Spinners. The starter is TBD; this team's really under some kind of lock-and-key measures or something. Andrew Thurman has joined the team, although I don't think he'll be starting tomorrow. Well, whoever gets the start will be opposed by Simon Mercedes. First pitch is at 7:05 Eastern. Greeneville begins its season tomorrow Against Bluefield at 7:05 Eastern. GCL Astros begin its season Friday Against the Braves at noon Eastern. DSL Astros 6, DSL Mariners 2 in 17 innings Well, the Academy got 4 in the top of the 17th and got the victory. Victor Tavarez hit his first professional home run, which was a 2-run shot that tied the game in the 9th. It would stay 2-2 until the 17th, when.... With the bases loaded, Luis Payano hit a 2-run single. Before that, he had been 0-7 with a golden sombrero. Jarico Reynoso, who was intentionally walked before Payano, then scored on a wild pitch, and Payano would eventually score on an RBI single from Arturo Michelena. Hector Roa went 4-8 with a double, and Jean Estrella went 3-7 with a run scored. Payano, despite hitting only .185, leads the Academy with 9 RBI. Elieser Hernandez went 5 innings and allowed an unearned run on 3 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3. Rayderson Chevalier went 1 2/3 and allowed 2 hits and walked 1. Angel Heredia threw 4 1/3 innings, and a solo homer fro Luis Liberato was his only blemish. Heredia allowed 1 other hit, walked 3, and struck out 6. Juan Delis then came on for 2 1/3, and he walked 2 and struck out 2. Javier Saucedo followed him for 1 2/3 innings, and he allowed a hit, walked 1, and fanned 3. Victor Mesa got the win with 2 scoreless, allowing a hit and walking 2. So, the Academy's bullpen came on to throw 11 innings of 1-run baseball. They did issue 12 walks, but then again... they only gave up 2 runs. The DSLstros will now travel to the Red Sox complex for a game at 10:30 AM Atlantic.
Was in attendance tonight for the Tri City Valleycats game tonight. Michael Feliz was absolutely amazing tonight. He struck out the first 4 batters he faced. He did lose it a bit in the 2nd Inning as he walked a guy then hit the next batter but bounced right back and and had 3 more great innings.... Andrew Walter came in to relieve Feliz and Walter was not as good as i thought. Walter was very wild and wasn't really effective. Christian Garcia came in and pitched the 9th.. Cant really say to much on him cause he faced 3 or 4 batters. Christian Garcia doesn't live a couple hours from Troy. Hes about 1/2 hour 45 minutes from Troy. The Hitters right now are all hitting and contributing right now. D'Andre Toney hit a nice 3 run blast. Tony Kemp is just 1 big ball of energy. He is the spark plug that makes this team go... Talked to Andrew Thurman tonight. He said he will be pitching in like 4 or 5 days. So he wont be pitching tomorrow but will probably pitch sometime next week... Also the news of the day is Appel has signed and is heading to Florida then Tri City. Cant Wait to see him... He will be here and gone i assume in a few weeks. Dont expect him to be here all season.. Also in attendance this 3 game homestead was Rovers Adam Everett Dyar Miller and Quinton McCracken.
Three Stars: June 19 I'll probably post a midseason top 30 list on July 1. Three Stars 3. Jason Stoffel, P, Oklahoma City 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K Please, no more Hector Ambriz.... 2. D'Andre Toney, CF, Tri-City 2-3, 3-R HR(1), 4 RBI, 2 R Toney ended up having a pedestrian half-season last year with Greeneville after a spectacular debut in the Arizona League, which probably did cast a bit of doubt on his true upside. However, he did lead Greeneville in walks and not only did he lead them in stolen bases, he was also much more efficient in doing so (15-20 in 2012, compared to 7-18 in 2011). I still can't believe that the Astros got Kevin Chapman and him as a PTBNL for Humberto Quintero and Jason Bourgeois. Lest we forget, Toney's got a pretty nice package of tools too, so he's still got quite a bit of untapped potential. 1. Michael Feliz, P, Tri-City W(1-0), 5 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, 9 K In 2012, Feliz straight up dominated the GCL before heading up to Greeneville to finish the season, and he did struggle a bit there in a small sample size. However..... his 5.13 ERA masked a 3.16 FIP and a .351 BABIP. 5 days older than Lance McCullers, he's always been young for his level, and he's more than held his own wherever he's been posted. He's got a fastball that he can run up to the mid-90s; not sure about his secondary stuff, though. Feliz is definitely one to watch in the short-season leagues, and he only solidified that status with a dominating first impression. Honorable Mentions Domingo Santana, RF, Corpus Christi: He might strike out over 40 times this month, but... he's also put up a season-best in OPS this month. There's a pretty good chance that he could hit 25 homers this year. I'd take that from one of the youngest players in AA. Would you? Philip Humber, P, Oklahoma City: A very solid outing from him. At this point though, he's AAA insurance. David Martinez, P, Corpus Christi: First to 10 with an outing that we've been accustomed to: excellent. Mike Martinez, 1B/DH, Tri-City: He's a solid hitter, and should be a good organizational bat. DSL Astros bullpen (Rayderson Chevalier, Angel Heredia, Juan Delis, Javier Saucedo, and Victor Mesa): Pitching is shaping up to be the Academy's strength this year. A few of these guys are making strong early cases to be candidates for a move to America in 2014. Normally, 20-year-olds aren't really prospects, but Heredia looks like he's got some promise. Mike Foltynewicz, P, Corpus Christi: Wasn't his sharpest outing, but he still posted a pretty nice line. Goat Jose Valdez with his 2nd straight epic fail.
Also, since Stoffel was my not top 10 prospect to pick for the season, I think we need to take a look at his stats: The dude has been fantastic since joining our system after the Kepp trade. My only complaint is that he has a higher walk rate than you would want, but man... everything else seems to be in check. 3.7 hits per 9 and yet to give up a home run? Ambriz has been over worked, bad performance or not, and someone like Stoffel would really boost our bullpen.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Parker Hipp (ss), Gerardo Ramirez (RHP) & Ryan Connolly (RHP) have been added to the Greeneville Astros roster.</p>— Appy Astros (@AppyAstros) <a href="https://twitter.com/AppyAstros/statuses/347697655742345217">June 20, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Bobby Borchering is also beginning his rehab in Greeneville.
Some GCL-related moves.... RHP Javier Lozano to GCL from DSL. RHP Francis Ramirez is also on the GCL roster. LHP Joe Bircher is rehabbing. 2B Brandon Wikoff is also rehabbing from injuries he suffered in a car crash in the spring. RHPs Joe Musgrove and Reymin Guduan are on the 7-day DL.
