Who homered Derek Fisher (9, 3-run) Seth Beer (20, solo) Nathan Perry (4, solo) A.J. Lee (2, 2-run) Jesús Liranzo (3, solo); cautiously optimistic for a breakout from him
Fisher, Ivey, Beer, Toro, Rojas, T.Jones, JBB, Armenteros, Sneed, Urquidy, B.Abreu, Javier are all prime trade candidates. I know there's more, esp in the lower levels.
Jones and Sneed have very little trade value. Otherwise you’re right. I’d throw Pena, Nova, Torres, and Conine in there from the lower levels.
Colton Shaver played catcher for the Hooks last night. Would be a huge boost to his potential value if he were able to catch full time. AJ Lee has 10 SB in 67 PA so far.
I think even an Gattis-like ability to catch could make him a useful player. It's not terribly hard to imagine him platooning with Beer at 1st and being the 3rd catcher on the bench, allowing Hinch to pinch hit or run for the catcher in critical spots. The 26 man roster would help create room for a player like that.
A Friend of mine bumped into him at the airport before the season started and he said that he was "taking a season off". We'll see if he's able to make a comeback or continue to fade into the abyss.
Forrest Whitley was back in action down in the GCL. He pitched 1.2 innings; all five outs he recorded came via the strikeout... but he issued three walks, one with the bases loaded, and the one hit he allowed was a two-run triple. Well, at least he's back.
Juan De Los Santos pitched 3 scoreless innings in the DSL this morning, keeping his era at 0.00 for the season over 14 IP. He is 19, but this appears to be his first year in pro ball. The Astros signed him in March, apparently one of their older signee finds. If he keeps this up, he will be heading for the GCL soon.
Jairo Lopez allowed two hits and struck out five in relief of Forrest Whitley. Lopez signed for $300,000 on July 2, 2017, out of Venezuela. According to BA's Astros International Review for that year, Lopez throws a fastball, curveball, and shows feel for a changeup. He is described as having good command of his fastball. BA's Ben Badler notes that Lopez has the potential to stick as a starter based on his repertoire, delivery, and pitchability. In his pro debut last year, Lopez went 1-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 appearances (6 starts) in the DSL. In 43.1 innings, he allowed 24 runs (16 earned) on 37 hits (1 HR allowed), walked 15, and struck out 41. Opponents hit .222 against him.
Joshua Rojas keeps hitting in AAA. He’s walking more than he strikes out, he has 6 HR and 12 SB in 39 games, and he’s played 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF, having made only 1 error. At this point he easily profiles as an everyday major league player, and he has potential to be a star. In 2018, here’s the list of players who had 15+ HR, 30+ SB, and k% <20%: Mookie Betts 10.4 fWAR Starling Marte 3.7 fWAR Trea Turner 4.8 fWAR Jose Ramirez 8.0 fWAR
Rojas was a senior sign out of Hawaii in the 2017 draft. Once out of Hawaii, Rojas turned out to be one of those players who thrive under the Astros system, absorbing everything the Astros threw at him. The Astros even threw him into the fray at Fresno that first year, where he thrived to the tune of an .833 OPS for his four games there (small sample size). He looked like a diamond in the rough then, but I'm not sure anyone expected what he has shown himself to be this year. I don't think he really took baseball seriously while on the island. But once he signed, he certainly started to.
Rojas really excites me. Hope to see him contribute in a big way next year. Maybe even a September call-up this year.
I don’t know about star, but credit the org for putting players in a position to make the majors. Guys like Rojas make it easier to carry multiple superlative bats with limited positional flexibility (eg, Alvarez, Brantley). Similarly... I don’t know how many organizations would have taken a guy like Myles Straw, by all accounts a plus CF, and made him learn to play shortstop too.
