<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Front row seats to the Springer Show | George Springer 2run HR: <a href="http://t.co/ZsFGh8ADkS">http://t.co/ZsFGh8ADkS</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/YouTube">@youtube</a></p>— Mr. Crawfish (@CrawfishBoxes) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrawfishBoxes/statuses/353695320242262017">July 7, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Interesting note -- since the Astros acquired Ronald Torreyes, he's been playing 2B for Corpus. Kike Hernandez has slid over to SS, sending Mier to the bench.
Saturday Stories Andrew Thurman took the mound for his first career start. I LIKE U, MICHAEL FELIZ Happy Birthday Preston Tucker George Springer continues his path of destruction in the Pacific Coast League. Recap Oklahoma City 6, New Orleans 5 The Redhawks mounted a late rally for the victory. George Springer with a pretty good night at the office. He finished 2-4 with 2 homers (4, 23 season). The first was a 2-run shot in the 1st that put the first runs on the board for the Redhawks, and he added a solo shot in the 4th that tied the game at 3. Jonathan Villar hit an RBI single in the 8th and had a steal (30). Brandon Laird then hit the game-tying RBI double. And finally, Carlos Perez capped off the comeback by leading off the 9th with a solo homer (2, 3 season). Everyone in the OKC lineup had at least 1 hit. Jarred Cosart went 5 1/3 and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits (solo homer), walked 4, and struck out 3. Jose Valdez threw 1 2/3 perfect innings. Science Guy got 1 out in the 8th, and Jason Stoffel got the other 2, striking out 1. Josh Zeid worked around a walk to get the save, striking out 2. The Redhawks will look for the series win, as Asher Wojciechowski will face off against Jared Rogers. First pitch is at 6:00. Corpus Christi 4, Tulsa 2 Preston Tucker turned 23 yesterday... NSFW. Spoiler <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/K7l5ZeVVoCA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> ...and all he did was become the Hooks offense, as he was involved in all 4 runs. He hit a solo homer (1, 16 season) in the 2nd, and then he was the one-man rally, hitting the go-ahead 2-run triple in the 9th, and scoring on a wild pitch/Michael Burgess walk. David Martinez pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed a run on 8 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Kenny Long got the final out of the 6th, allowing a hit and walking 1. Matt Heidenreich allowed a solo homer to Kiel Roling in the 7th. He also walked 1. Pat Urckfitz threw a 1-2-3 8th, and Jorge De Leon closed it out, striking out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th. Nick Tropeano is expected to be activated from the DL, and he'll be starting the middle game of the series. He'll be taking on Sean Gallagher at 7:05. Inland Empire 10, Lancaster 8 The Jethawks couldn't get the sweep, as they tried to rally from an 8-0 deficit, and they fell just short. Aaron West only got 2 outs in the 1st, 1 via strikeout, and he allowed 5 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits (all singles). Chris Devenski went 3 1/3 and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits (3-run homer), walked 2, and struck out 3. Blair Walters allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2 in 4 innings. Joe Sclafani put the Jethawks on the board with a solo homer (5) in the 4th. They trailed 8-1 after that. They got 5 in the 7th, thanks to an RBI double from Carlos Perdomo, an RBI single from M.P. Cokinos, and a 3-run homer from Matt Duffy (12). Brandon Meredith homered for the 2nd straight game with a solo homer (10) in the 8th, and Tyler Heineman hit an RBI single in the 9th. A Meredith GIDP ended it. Delino DeShields had his 7-game hit streak snapped with an 0-5, 2 K line. Sclafani finished 2-5 with 2 runs scored. Cokinos was 3-4 with 2 runs scored and the RBI single. He's now hitting .355. Duffy's 3-run shot was his only hit of the night. Perdomo finished 3-4. The Jethawks will travel to High Desert to begin a 3-game series. Brady Rodgers will start the series opener against TBD at 2:05 Pacific. Quad Cities 5, Kane County 0 The River Bandits got on the board in this series as the pitchers held Kane County to 3 hits. Mike Hauschild threw 7 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out 2. Dan Minor, just activated from the DL, walked 2 in the 8th, but struck out the side. Chia-Jen Lo struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 9th. Jobduan Morales was 2-3 with an RBI double in the 2nd that put QC on the board first. Jordan Scott hit an RBI double of his own in the 3rd, and he'd score on the very same play, thanks to an error from Cougars C Carlos Escobar. Teoscar Hernandez went 2-5 and grounded into an RBI force out in the 4th, and after Dan Gulbransen led off the 5th with a triple, he scored on a sac fly from Rio Ruiz. Gulbransen finished 2-4. Game 4 of this series pits Colton Cain against Tayler Scott. First pitch is at 1:00. Lowell 4, Tri-City 3 Pat Christensen failed in horrific fashion, as he allowed a grand slam to Cleuluis Rondon with 1 out in the top of the 9th. The ValleyCats had been leading 3-0. Andrew Thurman had a fantastic first start, as threw 4 shutout innings, allowing a hit, walking 1, and striking out 1. Michael Feliz tagged in for 4 1/3 and allowed a run (inherited) on 2 hits and struck out 6. Albert Minnis allowed 2 runs (both inherited) on a hit and a walk. He did not record an out. Christensen got the final 2 outs via strikeout.... but he gave up the grand slam before that. Rondon was charged to him. Not sure if Ed Romero decided to get too cute, or if Feliz was nearing a pitch limit. Either way, that kind of bit him in the derrière. Feliz now has a 25-3 K-BB ratio in 20.1 innings so far this season. All 3 of those walks came in his first start of the season. Tony Kemp was 3-5 with an RBI single in the 2nd and 2 steals (11). Ryan Dineen also had a 3-hit evening (in 4 at-bats) and he hit an RBI single of his own in the 4th. He also stole a base (2, 6 season). Mike Martinez was 2-4 with a solo homer (2) in the 5th. After dropping their first series of the season, the ValleyCats will welcome the Aberdeen IronBirds for 3 games in Troy. Kyle Westwood and Chris Cotton will face off against Darth Sebastian Vader at 5:00 Eastern. Greeneville 3, Bristol 1 The Appy Astros took 2 of 3 from this 4th of July weekend series thanks to 2 late runs. They've now won 8 of their last 9 games. In that stretch, they've allowed 14 runs. Frederick Tiburcio went 5 innings and allowed a run on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 6. Jordan Mills got the win with 3 1/3 scoreless, as he allowed 3 hits and fanned 3. Gonzalo Sanudo got the final 2 outs, striking out 1. After the White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd, Darwin Rivera tied the game with a sac fly. Brett Phillips put Greeneville ahead with another sac fly in the 7th. Rivera scored the insurance run on a passed ball/Chase McDonald walk in the 8th. So, none of the runs that the Appy Astros scored came on balls that were put in play. Brian Holberton went 2-3 with a run scored. Greeneville will now travel to Kingsport. The first night of this series features a doubleheader. They had been scheduled to play on Wednesday, but that game was rained out. Game 1 is at 5:00 Eastern and features... well, I'm sure Jordan Mills won't be starting. Enderson Franco looks like he'll be starting game 2, so I suppose he'll be bumped up to Game 1. GCL Blue Jays 7, GCL Astros 2 Well, not really much to report here. Jason Martin tripled and scored in the 4th on a Yonathan Mejia sac fly. Mejia hit an RBI double in the 6th. Samil De Los Santos allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2 in 3 innings. Jose Montero went 2 innings and allowed 3 on 4 hits, walked 1, and fanned 2. Raul Rivera threw a 1-2-3 6th. They'll play the Braves at noon Eastern in Kissimmee on Monday. DSL Astros 1, DSL Red Sox 0 Randy Cesar's RBI single in the 4th proved to be the difference for the Academy. Marlon Avea was 2-3. Rayderson Chevalier threw 5 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 3. Joselo Pinales allowed 4 hits in 2 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out 3. Angel Heredia earned the 4-out save, allowing a hit, walking 2, and striking out 1. The DSLstros will return to their complex to take on the Red Sox on Monday at 10:30 AM Atlantic. Three Stars 3. Preston Tucker, RF, Corpus Christi 2-4, go-ahead 2-R 3B in 9th, HR (1, 16), 3 RBI, 2 R Now that's a pretty good birthday gift to yourself. 2. Mike Hauschild, P, Quad Cities Andrew Thurman and Michael Feliz, P, Tri-City Hauschild: W(6-1), 7 IP, 3 H, 2 K Thurman: 4 IP, H, BB, K Feliz: 4.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 6 K Hauschild had another fantastic start. Frankly, he's been fantastic as a starter all season. Thurman should be a fixture in the TC rotation moving forward after getting his feet wet in relief. A very good first start for the 2nd-rounder. Feliz has been straight dominant. That run wasn't even his fault, either. 1. George Springer, CF, Oklahoma City 2-4, 2 HR (4, 23 season), 3 RBI I would say that Springer has acquiesced himself to AAA rather well. Again, I still don't see much of a benefit to keeping him in the minors all season. Everyone's been clamoring to see him in Houston all season, so... might as well, once August rolls around. Honorable Mentions Frederick Tiburcio, P, Greeneville: He, Jandel Gustave, and Chris Lee have been the stars of the Greeneville rotation so far. M.P. Cokinos, C/1B, Lancaster: Could he be the next Jethawk called up? Tony Kemp, 2B, Tri-City: Kemp's my favorite position player in the short-season ranks. He'll be a fan favorite no matter where he goes. Rayderson Chevalier, P, DSL Astros: The Astros think they may have something in Chevalier, judging by the fact that he's already made 6 relief appearances. He showed that he could handle starting too. Last season, he made 5 starts. Goats Albert, Pat.... <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/m5RtlpXsl8k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Former <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Astros&src=hash">#Astros</a> farm director Fred Nelson now the manager for <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Rockies&src=hash">#Rockies</a> high-A affiliate in Modesto. Seriously. <a href="http://t.co/lHsSwrzNkW">http://t.co/lHsSwrzNkW</a></p>— Greg Rajan (@GregRajan) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregRajan/statuses/354008618259054593">July 7, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Not really sudden, it's been pretty steady .597 in April .640 in May .739 in June 1.040 so far in July A lot of us though he would have to repeat, but if he finishes with this progression even if the final OPS is underwhelming a trip to Lancaster next season would be in order. Perfect example of why not to freak out over slow starts. With Duffy killing at Lancaster and Meyer finally hitting at CC the 3B situation is looking a lot better than it did 2 months ago. Meanwhile NiTro back with a vengeance.
Chris Epps continues to mash -- he's now 3rd in the CAL league in OPS at .983, just a few points behind #1, MP Cokinos. Not bad for a #9 hitter (though he's old for the league). Of the 2013 draftees, hard to find a guy off to a better start than 13th rounder Kyle Westwood. 18.1 innings, 13 Ks, and he's allowed 4 hits and 2 walks for a WHIP around 0.3. His BAA is .068, and he's given up 1 ER for a 0.49 ERA.
Sunday Stories Let's play 2 in Kingsport! Lancaster doing Lancaster things. Nick Tropeano makes a triumphant return from the DL. Could Kyle Westwood become the next Tri-City success story? Recap Oklahoma City and New Orleans was rained out This was the Redhawks' last trip to New Orleans this season. They'll face the Zephyrs in a 4-game series in Oklahoma City beginning on Thursday, so this game may or may not be made up. They'll now travel to Round Rock to begin a 3-game set. Asher Wojciechowski will start the opener against Brad Mills. First pitch is at 7:05. Corpus Christi 5, Tulsa 0 The Hooks blanked the Drillers and held them to 4 hits to get the series win. Nick Tropeano, fresh off the DL, was excellent in his 6 shutout innings. He allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. Kenny Long allowed a hit, walked 2, and fanned 1 in 1 2/3 innings. And finally, Andrew Robinson retired all 4 Drillers he faced, striking out 2 of them. The Hooks got on the board in the 1st as Tulsa 1B Kiel Roling flubbed a Preston Tucker grounder, which resulted in Rene Garcia and Jonathan Meyer scoring the first 2 runs of the evening. The 3 Hooks RBIs came off solo homers from Erik Castro (10) in the 3rd, Enrique Hernandez (6) in the 7th, and Jonathan Meyer (11) in the 8th. Meyer and Hernandez both finished 2-4. The Hooks will look for the sweep, as they'll send out Bobby Doran to take on Chad Bettis. First pitch is at 7:05. Bettis, who was drafted out of Texas Tech in the 3rd round in 2010, was an 8th-round pick of the Astros in that one draft. After being ranked #3 in the Rockies system in 2012, he entered this season as the Rockies' #5 prospect, according to BA. Lancaster 10, High Desert 2 The Jethawks ran roughshod on the Mavs in the series opener as they scored 10+ runs for the 26th time this season. Everyone in the lineup had at least 1 hit except for Tyler Heineman, who was 0-4, getting hit by a pitch and scoring a run. Nolan Fontana walked to lead off the game, and it didn't take long for him to score, as Carlos Perdomo scorched an RBI triple. He would score on an Andrew Aplin groundout. Chris Epps finished 3-5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. One of those doubles drove in a run in the 2nd. Perdomo, who finished 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 2 walks, added an RBI single in the 2nd. Brandon Meredith hit a 2-run triple in the 5th, and then in the 6th, Aplin hit a solo homer (7). M.P. Cokinos brought in a run in the 8th with a sac fly, and then Joe Sclafani hit an RBI single, and Matt Duffy scored the Jethawks' final run on an error. Sclafani and Duffy also had 2 hits apiece. Brady Rodgers threw 6 innings and his only blunder was a solo homer to Steven Baron in the 3rd. He allowed 7 singles and struck out 5. Cam Lamb pitched the final 3 innings and allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 1. In the middle game of this series, Tyson Perez will take on TBA at 7:05 Pacific. Quad Cities 12, Kane County 5 The River Bandits drew even in the series by pulling away late. They had a 7-2 lead turn into a 7-5 one, but they were able to put the Cougars away with 1 in the 8th and 4 more in the 9th. After Kane County took a 1-0 lead in the 1st, Roberto Peña responded with a solo homer (4) in the 2nd. Then in the 3rd, the River Bandits took the lead thanks to RBI doubles from Dan Gulbransen and Jesse Wierzbicki. They both had 2 hits; Gulbransen scored twice. Brian Blasik had the big hit... a grand slam (2) in the 6th. Both of his home runs this season have been grand slams. Rio Ruiz went 3-4 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored; his first RBI was himself, on a solo homer (5) to lead off the 8th. And then in the 9th, Wierzbicki's 2nd double of the afternoon drove in 2. He'd score on a double from The River. Jordan Scott went 3-5 with a double and a run scored. Austin Elkins walked 3 times, and Jobduan Morales walked twice. Colton Cain's went 5 1/3 and allowed 4 runs (2 earned, 2 inherited) on on 5 hits, walked 3, and struck out 6. Gerardo Sanchez allowed a run of his own on 3 hits and fanned 1 in 1 1/3. Mitch Lambson threw 1 1/3 scoreless, allowing a hit and fanning 1. And Chia-Jen Lo threw a 1-2-3 9th. The series finale features Lance McCullers, who is coming off the worst outing of his career. He'll take on Michael Heesch at noon. Aberdeen 3, Tri-City 1 The ValleyCats actually lost 2 of 3 to Vermont at the beginning of the month, so they've actually dropped 2 series this season. Well, they're currently in a bit of a rut. Kyle Westwood threw 5 excellent innings again, as he allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 3. On the other hand, Chris Cotton couldn't preserve the lead, as he allowed 3 runs (1 earned, 1 inherited) on 4 hits and struck out 1 in 2 1/3. Andrew Walter didn't have a run charged to his line in 1 2/3 innings, but he did allow 1 of Cotton's runs to score. He allowed a hit and struck out 1. With this outing, Westwood lowered his ERA to a New York-Penn League-leading 0.49. His .067 opponent average and 0.33 WHIP also lead the league. TC's only run of the game came on an RBI error from Ryan Dineen in the 3rd. The TC offense only had 4 hits; Jon Kemmer's double was the only extra-base hit. Randall Fant and Zach Morton will face off against Steven Brault in the middle game of this series. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern. Game 1: Kingsport 3, Greeneville 0 Brett Phillips led off the game with a double... and that was about it for the Appy Astros offense. Darwin Rivera had the other hit. Enderson Franco pitched 3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3. Krishawn Holley tagged in for 2 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 1, and fanning 2. Ryan Connolly allowed an unearned run and struck out 2 in the 6th. Did they have better luck in game 2? Game 2: Kingsport 4, Greeneville 1 No. On the bright side, Chase McDonald hit his first professional homer, a solo shot in the 2nd. Cristian Moronta went 2-2 with a double. Edison Frias pitched 5 innings and allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits (solo homer) and struck out 5. Tyler Brunnemann struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 6th. Game 3 of this series pits Chris Lee against Martires Arias. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern. GCL Astros were off They'll play the Braves in Kissimmee tomorrow at noon. DSL Astros were off The Academy will take on the Red Sox at 10:30 AM Atlantic.
MiLB.com: Tri-City's Westwood posting zeros Here's what Mike Elias had to say about this year's 13th-round pick:
Mark Appel will be pitching tomorrow at 11am for the Tri City Valleycats. TC hits the road wednesday for a long road trip and Appel will more than likely not be with the team.. Also friday when appel pitched he changed his shirt and socks 2x and had everything authenticated my MLB. He will have his TCV jersey put up for auction. I havent heard if hes on the same pitch count but i would assume still 2 innings 30 pitches.
BA: Midseason Top 50 Prospects 9. Carlos Correa 20. George Springer 22. Jonathan Singleton 31. Mike Foltynewicz 46. Lance McCullers
