[rquoter]Luhnow on Springer’s future and a possible September promotion to Astros: No option is being ruled off the table. But the original plan was half the year in Corpus Christi and half the year in Oklahoma City. And that’s essentially what happened. We got him through the All-Star break in the Texas League and he will spend the last two months in Oklahoma City, and then we’ll have to make a decision after that time.[/rquoter] Per Brian Smith
Heineman sees your surprise and raises you homerun #7. George Springer's not the only guy with a multi-homer night.
Tuesday Stories George Springer 2-homer night. How predictable. Mark Appel bids adieu to the New York-Penn League. Recap Round Rock 11, Oklahoma City 8 Despite Springer tearing the former AAA team's starter, Evan Meek, apart, it wasn't enough as Wade LeBlanc also stunk it up. LeBlanc only lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed 9 runs (2 inherited) on 11 hits (2 homers), but on the bright side (big, big reach), he struck out 6. Jose Valdez was the first man out of the bullpen.... but he didn't record an out. In addition to the 2 runs he inherited from LeBlanc, Valdez allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and walked 2. Science Guy cleaned up the mess, getting the final 2 outs of the 4th and then throwing a 1-2-3 5th. Rhiner Cruz allowed a hit and struck out 2 in the 6th, Philip Humber worked around a hit to retire the side in the 7th, and surprisingly, Hector Ambriz threw a 1-2-3 8th. Springer finished 4-5, a double shy of the cycle. He hit 2 2-run homers (6, 25 season) in the 1st and the 3rd, hit an RBI triple in the 4th, and finished off his rampage with an infield single in the 8th. It was a roller back to the mound. Jose Martinez scored in the 2nd when Evan Meek threw a pickoff attempt away. Marwin Gonzalez scored on an error in the 8th. Marwin and Brandon Laird both went 3-5. Laird scored 3 times and Marwin twice. Jose Martinez and Carlos Perez both went 2-5. In the rubber game of this series, Brad Peacock will take on Scott Richmond. First pitch is at 7:05. Corpus Christi was off The Hooks are home and will begin a 4-game series against Frisco at 7:05. Ross Seaton will take on Kevin Pucetas. Lancaster 7, High Desert 5 The Jethawks took 2 of 3 as they were able to land a late counter-punch after the Mavericks tied the game at 5 in the 7th. The Jethawks got 2 in the the 4th thanks to a Tyler Heineman 2-run homer and 2 in the 5th on an M.P. Cokinos double. Brandon Meredith scored on an error in the 6th to make it a 5-2 game. Nolan Fontana made a costly error with 2 outs in the 7th that loaded the bases for the Mavericks; they were promptly emptied by a double from Pat Brady. That spoiled a rather nice start from David Rollins, who allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 8 in 6 innings of work. Jonas Dufek got two outs in the 7th, but also gave up that double. All 3 runs off of him were unearned, and he allowed 3 hits and walked 2. Michael Dimock got the final out of the inning. Heineman was back at it again, hitting his 2nd homer of the game, a solo shot with 2 outs in the 8th. He now has 7 on the season, and I'm guessing that total exceeds his high school and college total combined. Dimock worked around a walk (that was immediately erased by a double play) to retire the side in the 8th. Delino DeShields drew a walk in the 9th, advanced to 2nd on an errant pickoff throw, stole 3rd, and then stole home. The 2 steals give him 28 on the season. Travis Ballew, despite allowing 2 1-out singles in the bottom of the inning, struck out Dan Paolini and Jabari Blash to end it. Ballew picked up his 15th save of the season. The Jethawks welcome Inland Empire to The Hangar for a 3-game series beginning tonight at 7:00 Pacific. Luis Cruz will be on the hill for the opener, and he'll be taking on TBA. Alex Keudell started for the 66ers 5 days ago, when these two teams met at Inland Empire. Quad Cities was off The River Bandits will begin a 3-game set against Bowling Green at 7:00. Lance McCullers will take on Blake Snell in a matchup featuring two pretty good young pitchers. On Thursday, Mick Foley will make an appearance at Modern Woodmen Park as part of Pro Wrestling Night. Mark Appel will make his QC debut on Sunday, when the River Bandits take on the Dayton Dragons. Aberdeen 8, Tri-City 2 in 10 innings Earlier this morning, Appel had a fine start, but a meltdown from Kevin Comer and Pat Christensen in the 10th cost the ValleyCats the series, their 3rd straight series loss. Mike Martinez hit a 2-run homer (3) in the 4th for Tri-City's only runs. Tony Kemp and Chan-Jong Moon both went 1-2 with a steal (Moon 4, Kemp 12). Appel threw 3 scoreless innings and allowed 3 hits and fanned 5. Evan Grills pitched 3+ innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and walked 2. He did not retire any of the 3 Ironbirds he faced in the 7th. Kevin Comer pitched 3 2/3 and allowed 4 runs (2 inherited) on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Pat Christensen got the final out of the 10th, but not before allowing a 3-run homer to Anthony Vega, which resulted in both of the runners he inherited from Comer to score. Christensen was charged with Vega and gave up a run of his own later in the 10th. The ValleyCats continue their roadtrip with 3 in Mahoning Valley. Adrian Houser and Tanner Bushue will face Dace Kime at 7:05 Eastern. Kingsport 3, Greeneville 2 The Appy Astros lost the game, and the series, in walk-off fashion, as Gonzalo Sanudo was taken deep by Jeff Diehl to lead off the bottom of the 9th. Bobby Borchering hit an RBI single in the 4th, and Angel Ibañez hit an RBI single in the 8th that tied the game at 2. Chase McDonald went 2-4. Chris Lee went 4 1/3 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. Tyler Brunnemann threw 2 2/3 perfect innings, striking out 4. After getting knocked around in his first 2 appearances, the Astros' final pick in the 2013 draft has now thrown 5 straight scoreless appearances (spanning 7 2/3 innings). Gerardo Ramirez struck out the only batter he faced in the 8th. Sanudo got the final 2 outs of the inning, but Diehl took him deep to lead off bottom of the 9th. Greeneville will now head to Princeton to begin a 3-game series with the Rays. Jandel Gustave will take on Nolan Gannon at 7:05 Eastern. GCL Braves 6, GCL Astros 4 From the 6th to the 9th, the Braves outscored the Astros 5-2. Luis Reynoso couldn't replicate his 4-hit performance as he went 0-5 with an RBI groundout in the 2nd to put the GCLstros on the board first. Javaris Reynolds also scored in the inning on an error. Jason Martin was 2-4 with an RBI single in the 7th, and Brett Booth hit an RBI double in the 8th which had tied the game at 4. Ydarqui Marte was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. Ambiorix De Leon allowed 2 runs (1 inherited) on 4 hits, walked 2, and fanned 4 in 5 1/3 innings. Raul Rivera got the final 2 outs of the 6th, but not before coughing up the 2-1 lead. He also allowed both Braves he faced in the 7th to reach. In all, Rivera allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits in 2/3 of an inning. Juan Carlos Santos was tagged with the loss as he was charged with 2 runs (both inherited) on a hit, walked 3, and struck out 1. Erick Gonzalez allowed a hit in the 8th and didn't have a run charged to him.... but he did allow the 2 runners he inherited from Santos to score. The GCLstros will host the Tigers in Kissimmee. First pitch is at noon Eastern. DSL Royals 3, DSL Astros 2 in 11 innings The Royals pushed a run across in the 11th. Luis Payano walked to lead off the bottom of the 1st and came around to score on a double from Arturo Michelena. Michelena finished 2-4. In the bottom of the 5th, Jean Carlos Cortorreal scored on a wild pitch. Jean Estrella was 3-4 to push his average to .282. Edwin Villarroel went 5 and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and struck out 2. Gerardo Juarez threw 5 scoreless, allowing a hit and striking out 4. Yonquelys Martinez got the loss, as he allowed a run on 2 hits in the 11th. The winning pitcher for the Royals was Jose Veras. The Academy will travel to the Royals complex for a game there at 10:30 AM Atlantic.
I think it is unlikely that he comes up before August. I think he gets at least a full month in AAA, and he may stay through August for a 2nd run through the league. I want to see what the 40-man roster looks like after the deadline. Guys not currently on the 40-man deserving time this season: Asher Wojciechowski George Springer Jason Stoffel Josh Zeid Others: Jose Martinez Jonathan Singleton Kevin Chapman Carlos Perez Austin Wates I think Springer is the only one not subject to the Rule 5 draft, though I don't think Wates or Martinez are locks for 40-man spots before then.
At some point, though, the big club needs to give fans something to be excited about. I realize they're trying to do everything strictly in terms of what's best, baseball-wise. But they need to give us something. The stands are empty enough. What do you think they're going to look like in August in home series against the Mariners and Blue Jays? It's not the best reason...but if he's still doing this over the next couple of weeks, they need to bring him up.
How many seats will Springer fill? I'm sure if he is still hitting over .400 with a 1.400 OPS, that they will call him up. Of course, they haven't been quick with their top guys. We haven't seen Villar or Cosart either despite good runs in AAA and huge holes on the ML team at those positions.
Springer is older... and was a first round pick (with bigger expectations than the above 2, and more $$$ given to him). Like I said earlier, I no longer care about what he can do for the team/attendance by being called up... I care more about his career getting started when it should. He's proven himself at every level, and he's not getting any younger at AAA. Every AB taking in the minors is one less AB for him in the big leagues. He should be starting his MLB career now... especially when he's on a bad team with nobody of note blocking him (unlike Berkman, who I also feel started his career late... and his overall career #'s are less than what they could have been). Something tells me that if Springer was a Luhnow/Crane pick (instead of a Wade/Drayton pick) he'd be up already. Luhnow is going to be cautious with all the guys in the system he didn't select himself (including Folty and DDJr), whereas he'll be more biased on the guys he did select.
I'm pretty much ready for him. Part of me thinks he just wants to call them up together. The future of the Astros in one big swing.
Perhaps. What happens if they all struggle together in their first experience in the majors? Send them all down together??? :grin: Some guys just need to be up here to see what they can do. Its a totally different environment than the minors (from 5 star hotels, chartered flights, per diems, ballparks/pitchers) that you have to expect there to be an adjustment period REGARDLESS of how good a guy is before they start to excel. 2014 does figure to be damn exciting though. Barring anything unforseen, Springer, Singleton, Villar all starting on opening day. Add Altuve/Castro to them and that's a potential 1-5 that is the best lineup the Astros have had since 2001 (before I get killed for saying that, I said POTENTIAL). Wojo and Cosart knocking on the door for the pitching, with Lyles... and Appel won't be too far behind. Hell, in that scenario the Astros should hang on to Norris to potentially anchor a young rotation that needs a veteran/innings-eater.
I think it is worth looking at what DDS has done over the past 10 games: The XB hits may not be there, but he has had 5 multi hit games in the past 10 and has also given himself plenty of opportunities to get on base and steal some bags. On top of this, he has walked 9 times while only striking out 6 times. Keep in mind, he is coming off of a June where he struck out 24 times. So in these 23 opportunities where he has reached base, he has stolen 10 bags and only been caught once. DDS has yet to steal more than 8 bases in a month this season, but since he is already sitting on 8 in July, he should hopefully break that. In this (small) 10 game sample, DDS has a OPS over .900, but that doesn't do the base stealer justice. Granted, this is in my opinion, but I think stolen bases should be taken into account since a single and a steal may as well be a double. SO to adjust this, you add 1.000 to your slugging percentage for each steal as you would for an extra base on a regular at bat. I will not be taking CS into account, because I am unsure there is a fair way to do so. This would adjust his SLG% from .425 to a robust .675 and then move his OPS to a spectacular 1.155. Take it for what it is worth, but this 10 game stretch could be a huge launching point for his season. DeShields is coming off of an amazing season that led us to believe that he taking the "next step" and proving to be that first round pick that we spent on him. He may have had a slow start, but he is capable of doing big things on the base path when he puts it all together at the A+ level.
I'm excited about him... but something tells me that he may be one of those trade chips to get the team more stud pitching. As I mentioned above, he's part of the old regime's draft strategy (up the middle guys -- Castro, DDJr, Springer), and the fact that he really doesn't have a position will affect his path up here. Correa, Fontana, Villar, Altuve are all infielders that project to be here throughout the next 5-7 years... they could convert him back to the OF, but I see them seeing what they could get for him on the market to complement the young/young (young) rotation of Cosart, Folty, Lyles, Appel.
Forgetting 2004? This team should have won a WS. Biggio Bagwell Berkman Kent Beltran Or 2003? Biggio Berkman Bagwell Kent Ensberg Hidalgo 2005 is when it started going down, losing Kent/Beltran/Bagwell.
The one thing is, outside of Springer, our OF prospects are fairly weak. Santana has potential, and after that you start looking at Grossman, Tucker, etc, which don't really jump out at you.
