lol oops, I forgot to segue to the next topic. But yes, Luis Rodriguez was the pitcher they got from the White Sox for Corey Julks.
My criticism of the system is the Astros have drafted under Click and now Brown, a lot of guys that really don’t have a natural instinct or ability for hitting…. Matthews, Melton, Cole, Corona, Leon …. All extremely strong athletes, all explosive, fast and strong gloves.. none of them have a natural aptitude to hit. I get it, sometimes Tori Hunter or Eric Davis pop up and put it all together … but you go through a lot of Kal Daniels and Jacque Jones’ to get there.
I forget who said it but one of the big prospect guys said something to the effect of "for an organization considered near the top for analytics... most of their top position prospects look like underwear models". Still cracks me up. *EDIT it was of course Longenhagen in last summer's Fangraphs Astros top prospect list:
They can play 1B, management is all tied up in politics instead of winning games. God, I miss Luhnow.
The Stros have gotten away from the scouting model that helped build a dynasty. They really miss Sig and Oz. Too bad they got run off by a bunch of read the back of the baseball card guys. The Stros are no longer a cutting edge org.
Pecko is a real sleeper guy, if he can hold everything together I think he stands a good chance of making the majors.
Lol Moneyball Beane "we're not selling jeans here" How'd that work out? a few years later: "our guys look good in jeans"
Jackson Nezuh completed the shutout for a 1-0 Fayetteville win. Kenni Gomez drove in the game's only run with a double and he also hit a triple.
My Astros prospects ranking updated for the end of May: Spoiler: Snake Diggit's May Astros Prospect Rankings Rank. Pos Name Grade Opening Day Rank Note CF Jacob Melton (1) 55 Not a breakout year so far but not necessarily disappointing. P AJ Blubaugh 55 (HM) Pitching like a potential ToR SP thru 40 AAA innings. CF Pedro Leon 50 (5) A delayed breakout; k rate <25% and hitting for power. Do not trade him. CF/1B Joey Loperfido 50 (2) I think he is what we've seen: a dynamic, versatile, athletic, smart, strikeout prone fringe regular. SS Brice Matthews 50 (7) Was actually good to see he was hurt because it explained his middling April; looked great since he came back, could breakout in June/July. 3B Zach Dezenzo 50 (4) Hurt. OF Luis Baez 50 (8) Hitting well and only 20, but he is limited defensively so he needs to mash to be a big time prospect. P Jake Bloss (15) 45+ Breakout who hasn't dominated AA but still looks good. P Miguel Ullola (17) 45+ Very high upside, will be in AA awhile to work on reducing walks and long balls. CF Kenedy Corona (6) 45+ Very disappointing April-May, power outage, I still have hope SS Chase Jaworsky (13) 45+ Really like the early returns, not quite a massive breakout, but looks like a legit prospect who just needs the power to develop without losing a step P Colton Gordon (24) 45+ Not a breakout but looks like a future MLB contributor P Alonzo Tredwell (18) 45+ He's a guy with middling early numbers but who is going to get a long leash and could take awhile. SS Shay Whitcomb (HM) 45+ VERY similar AAA #'s to Pedro Leon, probably won't make it thru Rule 5 again. IF Will Wagner (12) 45+ total power outage but never strikes out. Too bad he doesn't have much defensive value, future bench bat. P Julio Robaina (HM) 45+ probably the prospect I think is most underrated by the pros, he has looked very good this year IF Pascanel Ferreras (NR) 45 outta nowhere dominated high a then carried it over (155 wRC+) thru 95 pa in AA so far. I was not on him before this season but the numbers can't lie that much. IF Jeron Williams (HM) 45 breakout guy already in AA and has speed, contact skills, and defensive value, with enough power to keep pitchers honest; could rise fast over this season CF Zach Cole (HM) 45 One of many elite power/speed combo guys in the system, I like how he's looked in the small AA sample so far. P Andrew Taylor (26) 45 I liked what he was showing in Asheville but then he got hurt; not sure how serious it is. P Jose Fleury (16) 45 Not striking out enough AA hitters but has been fairly productive and is only 22. OF Nehomar Ochoa Jr. (14) 45 Super high ceiling and I'm very encouraged that he is holding his own and more in A ball, but being limited to a corner OF he is striking out too much to be a lot higher on this list. OF Colin Barber (9) 45 He was my #1 overall prospect in November but was unprotected from Rule 5 then had a bad April; he has rebounded in May but he looks like a 4th OF who can't play CF. CF Kenni Gomez (20) 45 He might be ranked way too low; big ceiling and I'm encouraged that he's holding his own in A ball, but he is not hitting as well as I hoped he would (28% k rate and middling power). OF Cesar Hernandez (23) 45 If you're going to post a 4% bb rate, you have to hit for more than a .072 ISO. Disappointing. SS Jesus Bastidas (NR) 45 Breakout minor league free agent who could be trade bait since he will require 40 man at year-end; his numbers are actually better than Whitcomb/Leon. C Miguel Palma (30) 45 It was too bad he got hurt in April because he looked great in the early going; he is back now so could shoot up this list if he continues hitting well and playing C most days in AA. P Luis Rodriguez (NR) 45 The return for Julks has looked badass in the FCL. P Trey Dombroski (HM) 40+ There are 2 dozen pitchers and another dozen position players you could swap in here; I think Dombroski could end up looking way better in AA than he does in High A. P Alex Santos II (11) 40+ I was super stoked when he was assigned to AA but he's been hit hard, walked too many guys, and has had some bad luck. Still only 22 and I think the stuff is still there so could break out at any time. Honorable Mention: C: Collin Price, Luke Berryhill, Luis Encarnacion, Victor Diaz, Will Bush, Juan Santander, Jancel Villarroel; Price's time is now if ever now that he's in Corpus; Victor Diaz has looked great in the complex and he's Yainer's brother; Santander cooled off in May but has a bat; Bush rebounded in May after looking completely overmatched in April, he could move up this list fast if he continues improving. IF: Jacob Amaya, Waner Luciano, Alberto Hernandez, Tommy Sacco Jr., German Ramirez, Camilo Diaz, Ryan Johnson, Alejandro Nunez, Anthony Sherwin, Austin Deming; Camilo Diaz could be ranked a lot higher but I don't like the k's even in the complex and he's looking more like a 3B than SS, otherwise a very middling group of guys barely on the radar. OF: Quincy Hamilton, Esmil Valencia, Tyler Whitaker, Luis Rives, Logan Cerny, Anthony Huezo, Oliver Carrillo, Cam Fisher; Hamilton is a AAAA player, I really like Valencia but we'll have to wait a year on him and Rives and Huezo, Whitaker/Cerny/Fisher are power/speed/strikeout guys who are striking out too much to get out of High A. P: Ethan Pecko, James Hicks, Alimber Santa, Forrest Whitley, Aaron Brown, Derek True, Antony Aparicio, Alain Pena, Yeriel Santos, Logan VanWey, Michael Knorr, Nolan DeVos, Raimy Rodriguez, Amilcar Chirinos, Abel Mercedes, Jackson Nezuh, Misael Tamarez, Ryan Gusto, Tyler Guilfoil, Brayan De Paula, Cole McDonald, Alejandro Torres, Jeremy Molero, Blair Henley, Jaime Melendez, Sandy Mejia, Bryan King, Julio Marte, Joey Mancini; really disappointed in Gusto and Melendez. Pitchers are impossible to evaluate unless you have eyes on them a lot or they are just crushing the upper levels. Graduated: P Spencer Arrighetti (3) Fell off: P Ryan Gusto (10), OF Tyler Whitaker (19), IF Camilo Diaz (21), P Abel Mercedes (22), P Forrest Whitley (25), P Jaime Melendez (27), C Will Bush (28), P Drew Strotman (29) I think the system has improved since last season, though not as much as hoped. Still, this system has a healthy 2nd/3rd/4th tier and is only 3-4 prospects away from being above average. This list will continue to fluctuate a lot month to month due to org philosophy of processing guys quickly.
Who are all these guys who have "natural aptitude to hit" that the Stros acquired in the past before Click and Brown? Correa, Bregman, Tucker (top of the draft guys). Alvarez (brilliant scouting).... Who else?
He's been on a run, only giving up 2 runs since the beginning of May. The last 3 games have been especially dominant with 24 strikeouts over 13 scoreless innings with just 2 walks and 5 hits.
Mike Kvasnicka Nolan Fontana Rio Ruiz Tyler Heineman Tony Kemp Jake Nottingham AJ Reed Nick Tanailu Garrett Stubbs Myles Straw Alex De Goti David Hensley Kessinger "Bat on Ball hitters", top 5 or so rounds, under Luhnow and others...done
Checking in on the 2023 draftees: Position players wRC+: Matthews (1) 170 Fisher (4) 92 Jaworsky (5) 103 Johnson (8) 112 Williams (9) 146 Deming (10) 130 Ochoa (11) 113 Huezo (12) 52 Guillemette (15) 80 Bush (16) 86 Duncan (19) did not sign Ferreras (20) 146 Pitchers xFIP: Tredwell (2) 4.04 Bloss (3) 3.53 Pecko (6) 3.15 Dixon (7) DNP Hicks (13) 2.58 Nezuh (14) 3.96 Langford (17) 4.13 True (18) 3.14
It HAS to be getting close to time for Leon to get a chance, isn't it? I realize with Meyers playing well and Tucker in RF everyday there really isn't much opportunity, but. . . Considering his tools, the length of time he has already spent in AAA, the level he has been playing all year (including improving as season goes on and now a K rate under 25%) and $4M of Crane's money that he has in the bank they can't just let him rot in AAA without finding out if he can be viable. Can they?
