NYPL All-Stars from Tri-City (Class A Short Season) C Jamie Ritche DH Nick Tanielu (2B) OF Bobby Boyd P Ryan Thompson Interestingly the big names who crushed it in their short stints were all left off: Reed, Davis and Fisher.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Teoscar Hernandez belts his first Double-A home run, a solo shot to left field. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cchooks?src=hash">#cchooks</a> up 1-0 B1</p>— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) <a href="https://twitter.com/cchooks/statuses/498237578269585408">August 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Colin Moran just homered as well. It's his 6th on the year. <iframe src='http://www.milb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=35233699&width=400&height=224&property=milb' width='400' height='224' frameborder='0'>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe>
Andrew Aplin 2-3 today, he's off to a good start at AAA. I've really come around to him as a prospect this year. By all accounts he can really go get it in the outfield, and offensively he has consistently gotten on base, and he has done so without striking out, which I personally find very impressive. He's not a rule 5 candidate, so he will probably get caught in a roster crunch heading into next season. He seems like a solid 4th OF at worst to me. I would much rather have him than the likes of Presley or Hoes.
Hoes struck out more than he walked, Aplin walks more than he strikes out, and more importantly he is a plus defensive player, that's the big one.
I see him as a Brandon Barnes-type player; lots of defensive value but below average offensively. To Aplin's credit, he has a near average hit tool; probably a 45-50 grade because he maintains strong OBP's. He's another guy who probably won't get a fair shake with all the OF roster depth.
BA: High Class A Best Tools California League Best Pitching Prospect: Josh Hader Best Strike-Zone Judgment: Tony Kemp Best Changeup: Chris Devenski Best Defensive Catcher: Roberto Peña Best Defensive SS: Carlos Correa Best Infield Arm: Correa Most Exciting Player: Correa Best Manager Prospect: Rodney Linares Low Class A Best Tools Midwest League Best Baserunner: Chan-Jong Moon
This goes along with all of the reports I've seen. I can't remember the last Astro I was this excited about seeing regularly. Maybe Chris Burke? Next spring training will be incredibly fun to watch.
Man. Let's see if he can pull through and settle it down the next few innings before he reaches his limit. Does anyone...ANYONE know WHY he's getting hit around so much? Last year in Low A he wasn't THIS bad. I would assume that high A hitters aren't 3 times as good as low A guys. Is he tipping his pitches? Is he showing the ball too early? Are his pitches being sequenced too predictably? Is he not mixing in a changeup? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnFvSkkOBUk Fastball velocity is there. The slider seems to have decent break, but not quite as sharp as Lidge in his prime. I think the STUFF overall is there to get guys out. But if you watch that sequence, Appel didn't throw a single fastball for a strike. That's not to say that Appel has been wild, his BB rate is actually insanely good. But perhaps his overall fastball command isn't quite where it needs to be. Maybe the fastballs he is throwing for strikes are hittable strikes. He threw two fastballs and the majority of the pitches were sliders. Why is that? Who knows, but from what I can tell, he has the stuff to get guys out.
Well in the third inning the first double was a grounder to the CF, which the Hooks radio announcer said it should have been an error on Teoscar (I assume he meant going from first to second? I tuned it a bit after the play). Another one was on a perfect bunt. He also had a wild pitch, which scored a run. I didn't watch the game, but I don't think he has been hit hard like he did back in Lancaster. About the fastball velocity part: from what I remember in his last game in Lancaster, when his FB was in the mid-90s it looked great, but then in the 3rd inning he lost 3-4 mph and he started to get hit. I don't know about the other games, so take it for what it's worth. At least he settled in and ended up with 7K in 5IP. Like you said he isn't walking, which is great.
Tonight: 5IP 8H 4R 4ER 1BB 7K 89 pitches; 61 strikes 1: 5IP 2H 0R 0ER 4BB 4K 2: 4.1IP 6H 4R 4ER 2BB 4K 3: 5IP 8H 4R 4ER 1BB 7K
He has had two bad innings in three starts... He also had 7 K's. He has just been weird in AA... In the first game he was good, in game 2 he had some bad luck and one bad inning... Today he had a bad 3rd inning but was striking guys out and looked good a majority of the innings. Obviously I would rather he be dominating AA, but he hasn't been as bad as it seems... Just not terribly polished or composed, which is NOT what you expect from him.
