Cole Irvin is the only low 90s 4S fastball thrower (throws it 35% of the time only) that has been good and under 30 that I can find among starters (30 inn minimum). There are a few veterans that are low 90s making it work, but most of them threw a little harder when they were rookies.
I can't imagine them getting rid of the DSL, if for no other reason than the ability to have those 10k signings throw some innings without even having to worry about visa issues. I'm greedily hoping that the Astros liked the number of players they go through in the minors and view this as a replacement for Tri-City, but I could also see it being a 1 year thing to evaluate guys after the lost 2020 season. From the batted ball profile, I'd guess he's more the 4-seam up in the zone type than Keuchel's heavy sinker
MLB's Pitching prospects off to a hot start Astros: Jaime Melendez, RHP Signed for $195,000 out of Mexico in 2019, Melendez has an unconventional 5-foot-8, 190-pound build but owns a 92-95 four-seamer and a pair of hard breaking pitches. Making his full-season debut as a 19-year-old in Low-A, he sports a 0.60 ERA with a .115 opponent average and a 31/5 K/BB ratio in 15 innings.
Not a ton out there, nothing in regards to him signing with the Astros or bonus amount that I could find. Based on a 5 min google search: There's a 2 min youtube video from January of him working out. I really liked what I saw. Quick bat that flashed power, great speed, good fielding approach and really quick throwing motion, arm looked solid. They listed his 60 time as 6.1 which would fantastic. There's also a pic on his Instagram and he's ripped, for what that's worth (not much). 639 OPS in 2019-2020 Cuban league. At 21 he'd probably be put in full season ball either later this year or to start next season, so it wouldn't take long for us to get an idea of how good he is. Astros seem to be really involved with Cubans.
A couple of promotions today: Felipe Tejada to Corpus, Angel Macuare to Asheville, and Julio Robaina takes Macuare's spot in Fayetteville.
Shay Whitcomb hit his fourth homer of the year (3-run) in the first game of Fayetteville's doubleheader today.
No Worries semi-analytical look at Astros minor league hitters. OPS > .800 and ~20 games AAA Jose Siri CF .984 Michael Papierski C .975 Ronnie Dawson RF .898 Bryan De La Cruz RF .869 Jake Meyers LF .852 AA Marty Costes RF .862 J.J. Matijevic 1B .847 David Hensley 2B .839 Norel Gonzalez 1B .830 Scott Manea C .804 A+ Alex McKenna CF .972 Korey Lee C .841 Scott Schreiber 1B .832 Colin Barber OF .818 A- Matthew Barefoot DH 1.017 Joe Perez 3B .907 Yeuris Ramirez 3B .812 Shay Whitcomb SS .803 Justin Dirden RF .798
No Worries semi-analytical look at Astros minor league pitching. WHIP < 1.0 and ~10 IPs AAA Carson LaRue WHIP 0.556 IP 9.0 SO9 10.0 Brett Conine WHIP 0.947 IP 19.0 SO9 7.6 Nivaldo Rodriguez WHIP 1.0 IP 11.0 SO9 9.8 AA A+ A- Jaime Melendez WHIP 0.733 IP 15.0 SO9 18.6 Peyton Plumlee WHIP 0.8 IP 10.0 SO9 9.0 Angel Macuare WHIP 0.83 IP 15.2 SO9 13.8
I expect Norel Gonzalez to be moved up to AAA. He's a 26 year old Cuban the Astros signed this offseason. He has played 1B, LF, and RF so far in AA. He started out slow but had another big day today. Today 3-4, HR, 2B, 4RBI Season .273 AVG, 6HR, .356 OBP, .558 SLG, .915 OPS,
He’s been scorching hot the last couple weeks. I wouldn’t mind seeing him move up. At his age might as well see if he can make it in AAA.
Hunter Brown turned in his first half-decent outing of the year for Corpus: 4 IP, H, ER (on a sac fly), 3 BB, 6 K
Home runs hit today Colton Shaver (1st in AAA; 2 season) J.J. Matijevic (3-run, 7) Norel Gonzalez (solo, 6) Matthew Barefoot (4 in High-A; 8 season) Alex McKenna (8) Yeuris Ramirez (3)
