Question: I wonder when we will start looking to possibly move some prospects for MLB ready talent? Will that start taking place once we are actually competing? It seems with all the pitching prospects and possibilities we have, I could see us maybe moving some around to look into acquiring a corner outfielder since Santana seems to be the only one that may translate... I am not saying that we should, I am merely pointing out that we may soon be getting to the point where moving some of these guys around instead of waiting for spots to open could be something of value. Then again, you can never have too much pitching.
I think you wait until you have enough up at the big leagues actually producing..building your team through the farm...and then supplementing with veteran pieces to acquire what you need.
More on this...he threw 109 pitches, and 85 were strikes. He struck out the last batter in the 8th inning with a 100 mph fastball.
There's a throw back. Ruggiano trade right? And he is sucking miserably in Quad City. His OPS is in the .500s. At age 22... that is concerning.
yeah, got him for ruggiano (who's name is somehow swirling in trade rumors). that's a shame. morales was showing some promise last year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Has anyone else heard the rumor that Mike Foltynewicz is about to be promoted to AAA?</p>— Mike Tauser (@farmstros) <a href="https://twitter.com/farmstros/statuses/360426892869898242">July 25, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Ten minor-league pitchers (from OKC to QC) have K:BB ratios over 3.5. Who are they? <a href="http://t.co/KsjDl301FF">http://t.co/KsjDl301FF</a></p>— Astros County (@AstrosCounty) <a href="https://twitter.com/AstrosCounty/statuses/360434651380203524">July 25, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> I like eating them though
I was a little surprised to see Aaron West on that list based on his results this year, but it prompted me to go look at his fangraphs page. He's been ravaged by a .372 BABIP and a low LOB%. His 5.5 ERA is hiding a 2.8 FIP, which is pretty exciting. He won't show up on any of our Top 20 lists this offseason, but he probably should. We should see him in Corpus next year.
Wednesday Stories Mike Foltynewicz dominant. Chris Cotton showing why he got 4 stars on the draft board. A scuffling Lance McCullers looked to get back on track. Walk-offs! Recap Oklahoma City 11, Omaha 4 The Redhawks buried the Storm Chasers with a furious rally, scoring 9 unanswered over the final 2 innings. Down 4-2 in the 8th, they unleashed hell on the Storm Chasers and finished the inning leading 9-4. Those 2 runs came courtesy of a 2-run homer from Brandon Laird (12) in the 4th. Robbie Grossman started off the inning with a single and immediately came home on a double from Jose Martinez. George Springer tied it with a single, after a wild pitch allowed Martinez to take 3rd. Laird reached on a single, and then Jimmy Paredes gave OKC the lead with an RBI single. An error on the play allowed Laird to score. All of this was done with no outs in the inning, and then Marwin became the first casualty of the 8th. A single from Jonathan Singleton put runners on the corners. Carlos Perez added a sac fly, and then Ruben Sosa hit his first home run as a professional. It was a 2-run, inside-the-park homer that gave the Redhawks a 9-4 lead. They added 2 more in the 9th for good measure, as Paredes hit another RBI single and Springer scored on a double play. Everyone in the lineup had a hit except for Carlos Perez, who contributed with that sac fly in the 8th. Springer finished 3-5 with a double and 3 runs scored. Paredes also finished 3-5. Martinez was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. Laird was 2-4 with the 2-run shot and scored twice. Sosa was also 2-4. Brad Peacock gutted out 6 innings, and he allowed 4 runs on 8 hits (solo and 2-run homers), walked 1, and struck out 6. Philip Humber tossed 3 perfect innings in relief and fanned 4. The Redhawks will wrap up this series tonight at 7:05. Jake Buchanan will be taking on Yordano Ventura. Corpus Christi 5, San Antonio 0 The Hooks took the rubber game of the series as Mike Foltynewicz was on fire. Folty threw 8 shutout innings and allowed 6 hits, walked 2, and struck out 8. Chia-Jen Lo worked around a hit to finish off the game, striking out 1. Max Stassi hit a sac fly in the 1st and a solo homer (11) in the 4th. Also in the 4th, Drew Muren hit an RBI double and advanced to 3rd on an error. He would score on a Jio Mier groundout. Zach Johnson swatted a solo shot (3, 5 season) to lead off the 7th. Muren had 2 of the 5 Corpus hits. Kenny Ryan is one of the writers covering the Hooks for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times this season. This was retweeted by Greg Rajan. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>That's 6 HRs for Stassi in his last 7 games. Pretty incredible run going for him</p>— Kenny Ryan (@Caller_Kenny) <a href="https://twitter.com/Caller_Kenny/statuses/360205869176193027">July 25, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> The Hooks will hit the road, and their first stop will be in Midland for 5 games. They have a suspended game that needs to be finished; that will be done on Friday. In the opener, David Martinez will take on Sean Murphy. First pitch is at 7:00. Lancaster 8, San Jose 7 The Jethawks won the series in walk-off fashion as Chris Epps delivered the winner, which was an RBI single. They had been leading 7-4, though. It's been a rough month for Travis Ballew. Tyler Heineman has 10 home runs now. Yeah, seriously. This is probably the most home runs he's ever hit in a season in his entire life. The 10th home run was a 2-run shot in the 2nd that gave the Jethawks a 2-1 lead. Andrew Aplin hit a sac fly in the 3rd. In the 5th, Aplin hit an RBI single and Joe Sclafani hit an RBI groundout. Brandon Meredith doubled in the 6th and scored on an Epps double. Heineman, who finished 4-5 with 3 doubles, hit one of them in the 7th, which scored Sclafani. His 3rd double of the evening came in front of Epps, who delivered the winning hit. Epps went 3-4. Sclafani and Matt Duffy both went 2-5. Delino DeShields was 2-3 with 2 steals (37) and 2 runs scored. Tom Shirley grinded out 7 innings, as he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits, walked 4, and fanned 5. Cam Lamb didn't get anyone out in the 8th. An error from Nolan Fontana, a walk, and a hit batter later, he was gone. Kenny Long got a strikeout, but allowed one of Lamb's runners to score as he allowed a single. Travis Ballew got the final 2 outs of the inning via strikeout. He gave up a 2-run double with 2 outs in the 9th which tied the game at 7. In all, Ballew pitched 1 2/3 and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. The Jethawks will be looking for the sweep, as Aaron West will face Clayton Blackburn in the series finale. First pitch is at 7:00 Pacific. Quad Cities 8, Burlington 5 The River Bandits took the series opener on the strength of a 5-run 2nd. Lance McCullers had a rough start.... to the game. He gave up a 2-run homer to Wade Hinkle in the 1st and that turned out to be the only 2 runs he allowed in his 5 innings. He also allowed a double in the 1st, which turned out to be the only other hit he allowed while he was in the game. [PANIC]oh god thats his 3rd straight start giving up a homer hes bad[/PANIC] Other than that, McCullers was filthy, although he had some issues with the free pass. He walked 4 and struck out 6. Juri Perez pitched a scoreless 6th, but the wheels came off for him in the 7th, as he gave up 2 runs (1 inherited, both in the 7th) on a hit and walked 4. Gerardo Sanchez picked up Perez and retired the side in the 7th. He did allow one of Perez's runners to score on a sac fly, though. Other than that, he allowed a single and struck out 2 in the 8th. Jordan Jankowski gave up a run on a hit (a single) and struck out 1 in the 9th. QC put up a 5-spot in the 2nd as Rio Ruiz hit a 2-run triple and scored on a wild pitch. Teoscar Hernandez then hit a 2-run shot (8). Hernandez finished 2-4. In the 7th, Dan Gulbransen hit an RBI single and Austin Elkins scored on a wild pitch. And finally in the 9th, Gulbransen scored on an error. Roberto Peña went 2-4 with a double and a run scored. Mark Appel will make his 3rd start in a River Bandits uni tonight, and he'll be taking on Tyler DeLoach. First pitch is at 6:30. Tri-City 4, Hudson Valley 0 The ValleyCats took the middle game of this series as Chris Cotton was excellent once again. He threw 5 1/3 shutout innings and allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. That was his first walk as a pro. Andrew Walter threw 2 2/3 scoreless and allowed 2 hits and fanned 3. J.D. Osborne allowed a walk and a hit in the 9th, but he struck out the side to end it. All 4 of the ValleyCats' runs came in the 5th. Brett Booth, in his Tri-City debut, scored the first run of the game on an error. Later, Conrad Gregor hit a 2-run single, and Mike Martinez hit an RBI single. Martinez went 2-4. The series finale has Zach Morton and Randall Fant taking on Aaron Griffin. First pitch is at 7:05 Eastern. Greeneville 9, Johnson City 7 in 13 innings Jack Mayfield was the hero as he hit a 2-run shot (3) off Norge Paredes in the bottom of the 13th to give the Appy Astros their 12th straight win. Greeneville got on the board first thanks to RBI singles from Edwin Gomez and Darwin Rivera. After the Appy Cardinals got 3 in the 3rd, the Astros got 3 of their own in the 5th to retake the lead, as Gomez hit another RBI single. Ricky Gingras and Brian Holberton joined in on the action. So, if you're keeping score, all 5 Greeneville runs to that point all came on singles. They got one more in the 7th as Holberton drew a walk with the bases loaded. Sadly, Tyler Brunnemann couldn't hold the lead. Mayfield actually drove in all 3 Greeneville runs in the extra frames. He tied it in the 11th with a single, then ended it with the homer in the 13th. He finished 2-6. Juan Santana was 2-5 with a double and 2 runs scored. Santana is currently on a 9-game hitting streak and for the season, he's hitting .282/.336/.350 as the youngest guy on the team. He's also got 2 RBI from the suspended game on Monday, so he technically has 19 RBI right now. Santana's really making the most of his opportunities with runners on. Gomez was 3-5. Rivera finished 2-5. Edison Frias went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. Chris Munnelly, in his Greeneville debut, pitched 2 scoreless and allowed a hit and fanned 3. Tyler Brunnemann struck out the side in the 8th but couldn't hold the 6-3 lead. He allowed 3 hits and walked 1. Krishawn Holley threw 3 and allowed an unearned run on 2 hits and struck out 2. Gerardo Ramirez pitched 2 scoreless and allowed a hit and walked 2. The Appy Astros will look for 13 wins in a row as they'll try for the sweep. Frederick Tiburcio will take on Will Anderson at 7:00 Eastern. GCL Astros and GCL Braves was suspended With the Kissimmee Stros leading 1-0 heading into the bottom of the 5th. Brian Holmes allowed a hit and struck out 6 over 4 shutout innings. They got their run in the 1st on a Jose Solano groundout. They'll wrap this up in Kissimmee tomorrow. DSL Astros 3, DSL Red Sox 2 Luis Payano swatted a 2-run homer (2) in the top of the 9th to put the Academy ahead, and that turned out to be the difference. Randy Cesar went 2-4 with an RBI infield single in the 1st to put the Academy on the board. He was one of 4 players with 2 hits; the other 3 were Kristian Trompiz, Payano, and Jean Estrella. Estrella pushed his average over the .300 mark with his 2-3 performance. Elieser Hernandez allowed a hit and fanned 2 over 5 shutout innings. Javier Saucedo blew it by giving up 2 runs (1 earned) in the 8th. He went 3 innings and allowed 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2. Victor Mesa allowed a hit in the 9th, but closed it out.
I could see the Astros trying to move some borderline rule 5 eligible prospects prior to the rule 5 draft. Those trades would only bring back less developed prospects.
I'm convinced we have the best system in baseball. It will become even more apparent when we draft Rodon. We will have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to starting pitching prospects. Rodon, Appel, Foltynewicz, Cosart, McCullers, Wojo, Lyles, Peacock, Tropeano, etc. Jesus.
Max Stassi homer!!! <iframe src='http://www.milb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=29123229&width=400&height=224&property=milb' width='400' height='224' frameborder='0'>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe>
A ton of depth in our system, but other organizations have had some real "breakout" performers this year that looks like future all stars. Our system is Top 5, easily. But "best" is hard to say, I think. Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and the Cubs all come to mind.
