If he figures it out they are not going to hold him down like Springer. They have started bringing talent up. Springer was the first future guy this season.
So for those people tired of seeing the Astros strike out 15 times a game. Corpus is 2nd in walks, 1st in OBP, and last in K's. Lancaster is 1st in walks, 1st in OBP, and last in K's Quad Cities is 1st in walks, 1st in OBP, and 3rd from last in K's Tri Cities is 3rd in walks, 1st in OBP and next to last in K's OKC is 3rd in walks, 7th in OBP, and 6th (out of 16) in K's. Most of Luhnow's guys haven't quite reached OKC yet. We are clearly going after guys with good approaches at the plate, and the results are showing in a big way.
Just looked at the box score and can't believe no one mentioned Appel's "promising" start last night. 6 IP's, 5 hits, 2ER, 7 SO, 0 walks. Hopefully he is feeling healthier and ready to finish the season strong. 1 or 2 good starts in Lancaster and it might be time to promote him to AA. Such a strange situation but I am confident he has not forgotten how to pitch and the Astros don't seem to be worried about it at this point and keep rolling him out there.
And there was much rejoicing. People ripped their clothes and fell to the ground on their knees. Count me in the group of the quietly optimistic Appel supporters. So glad to see him have a good start last night with a low pitch count. Funny what a bullpen session can help tweak.
Telvin Nash, the Chris Carter of the farm, has quietly been on a tear. He has posted a 1.245 OPS in July. He still strikes out far too much and has lost status as a significant prospect, but it's still a good sign. Just for discussion, if he finishes the season with an OPS around or even over .900, which may be possible, do the Astros have to protect him in the Rule V?
No. He is a DH who would probably look like Santana did in the majors. Free money if a team took him, because they'd offer him back.
One start did the trick, eh <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Source: Mark Appel set for promotion to Class AA Corpus Christi <a href="http://t.co/xp8yKDn10C">http://t.co/xp8yKDn10C</a></p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/statuses/493050524296421377">July 26, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
To be honest getting out of the Lancaster launching pad might be the best thing that has happened to Appel all year.
Absolutely awesome Will be great to see how he performs in a different atmosphere With his recent comments it is clear he did not feel like he should have been in Lancaster
Yes, I know. DSL stats, take it with a grain of salt, all that good stuff. But, Frankeny Fernandez has had a very fine debut season for the Orange team after signing for $200K in the previous July 2 signing period. He's slashing .317/.429/.435 with a homer and 32 RBI and is 27-29 on stolen bases this year. The DSL teams haven't fared very well in the standings this season, but there will probably be some guys to keep an eye on in the coming years. Fernandez will surely be one of them.
