He had surgery in late January. Typically its 4-6 weeks of NO heavy lifting/straining/exercise of any kind. That would put him at mid-March before he was "cleared" to begin performing weight training, and getting some strength back after a period of long inactivity... and just one month later, he's pitching in potentially the most challenging league for pitchers in the minors. He may not have been in AA since this FO has an obsession for guys not skipping levels... but I also think he'd be more "impressive" in his pitching performances (and he did impress me in his start at MMP, even though it was against a Mexican league team).
Dude, did Appel sleep with you're GF or something. Good to see Springer go deep, seemed like he was off to a slow start and he still has a .937 OPS.
I think he's very close. HR he hit in Round Rock last weekend was an absolute shot. The rf didn't even move. If you know the Dell Diamond, it landed on the walkway above rf...which is fairly impressive.
So, your ability to do simple math kind of comes into question. Surgery was in January (pretty easy to look that up on the interwebs). Threw a whopping 3 innings in spring training. He's physically at least a month behind everyone else. At one point he struck out 5 of 6 last night. What exactly is your problem with him?
Erick Sifuentes is a Corpus Christi resident and a big Hooks fan. Corpus wore their new teal alternates for the first time last night, and I absolutely love them. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/LinoDeShields">@LinoDeShields</a> First of many photos to come this season. Welcome to <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23cchooks&src=hash">#cchooks</a> ! Good Luck!!! <a href="http://t.co/IC6wUWOul1">pic.twitter.com/IC6wUWOul1</a></p>— Erick Sifuentes (@Wicked_24Seven) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wicked_24Seven/statuses/454486104754765825">April 11, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Thursday Story Recap Oklahoma City 8, New Orleans 2 The RedHawks have now won 5 straight after sweeping the Zephyrs to wrap up their season-opening roadtrip. Japhet Amador went 1-4 with an RBI single in the 4th and a sac fly in the 6th. OKC busted this open in the 8th with 6 runs. George Springer finished 2-3 and led off the inning with his 1st homer of the year to give the RedHawks a 3-2 lead. Jon Singleton followed that up by sending one of his own (2) out of the park to double the lead. Ronald Torreyes added an RBI single, and another run scored on the subsequent error. Gregorio Petit capped it off with a 2-run double. He, Springer, and Jonathan Meyer all finished with 2 hits; Springer scored twice, walked twice, and stole a base (2). Austin Wates saw his 6-game hitting streak to begin the season get snapped, as he went 0-4 with a walk and 2 Ks. Bobby Doran went 4.2 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits (solo homer) and struck out 3. Raúl Valdés retired the only batter he faced to end the 5th. David Martinez tagged in to get the victory with 4 scoreless. He allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and fanned 2. The RedHawks and Zephyrs will meet again. Only this time, this 4-game series will be taking place in Oklahoma City. Rudy Owens and Mike Foltynewicz will take the hill, and they will be opposed by Elih Villanueva. First pitch is at 7:05. Corpus Christi 6, Tulsa 0 The Hooks took the series opener despite being no-hit for 6 innings. They finally broke the scoreless tie after stretch time, then proceeded to blow the game open. Nolan Fontana got things started by drawing a walk. Andrew Aplin broke up the no-hitter with a single that moved Fontana over to 3rd. The Hooks didn't have to wait long for a 2nd hit, as Matt Duffy opened the scoring with a single to bring Fontana home. Preston Tucker followed suit by bringing Aplin home. Duffy would score the 3rd run of the game on a Leo Heras groundout. And then... this happened. What GameDay says: Jiovanni Mier reaches on a fielder's choice out, second baseman Taylor Featherston to third baseman Joey Wong to catcher Tom Murphy. Preston Tucker out at home. Enrique Hernandez scores. Jiovanni Mier to 3rd. Throwing error by shortstop Cristhian Adames. So, in conclusion: Preston Tucker out at the plate, but Enrique Hernandez scored. I think that's what happened. The Hooks added 2 more in the 8th on an Aplin sac fly and another Duffy RBI single. Duffy finished 2-4. Fontana went 1-3 with a double and scored twice. Delino DeShields was 0-3, but drew a walk, scored, and stole a base (5). Ross Seaton tossed 5 shutout innings and allowed 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. Luis Cruz tightroped out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation unscathed by getting 2 Ks and a force out at home. Cruz went 3 scoreless and gave up 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4. Jordan Jankowski worked around a single to finish it, striking out 2. In the middle game of this series, Matt Heidenreich and Tommy Shirley will face Jonathan Gray. First pitch is at 7:10. Lancaster 6, Lake Elsinore 5 in 11 innings The JetHawks came out on top in their first road game of the season. Tony Kemp was 2-5 and scored the first run of the evening on a Teoscar Hernandez double. Hernandez also finished 2-5 and added a couple of steals (3) as the top 2 in Lancaster's order had a huge impact on the proceedings. Brandon Meredith also had himself a 2-hit night; he led off the 4th on a single, advanced to 2nd on a Danry Vasquez groundout, and scored on an error that allowed Roberto Peña to reach. A pair of wild pitches in the 5th allowed Hernandez and Carlos Correa to score. Kemp hit a 2-out double in the 6th and would score on a ball that was smacked by Hernandez that was momentarily caught, then dropped. Hernandez wound up advancing to 3rd on the E. Kemp hit the go-ahead sac fly in the 11th. This was his 3rd straight multi-hit game after going hitless in his prior 3 games. Carlos Correa's slump continued as he went 0-4, but he drew a walk, scored, and stole a base (1). Mark Appel fared much better in his second go; he allowed 2 runs on 3 hits (solo homer) and struck out 6 in 5 innings. Mike Hauschild had a solid piggyback outing, but the wheels fell off for him in the 9th. He went 4 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Juan Minaya got the win by striking out 2 in a 1-2-3 10th, and Lambson worked around a hit and a walk to finish it off, striking out 2. In game 2 of this series, Vince Velasquez and Kyle Westwood will join forces as they take on TBA at 7:05 Pacific. Quad Cities 5, Lansing 3 The River Bandits avoided the sweep as they scored 3 in the 7th. When it got a little tense, they added a big run in the 9th. Austin Elkins was 0-4, but he brought home QC's first run of the evening with an RBI groundout in the 2nd. Jobduan Morales walked to lead off the 7th, and made has way to 3rd on a sac bunt and a groundout. Brett Phillips then drew a walk, and both of them would score on an from Lansing CF D.J. Davis that allowed Tyler White to take 2nd. White would eventually score on a Conrad Gregor single. James Ramsay doubled to begin the 9th and advanced to 3rd on a Phillips single. A White GIDP allowed Ramsay to score the all-important insurance run. Phillips finished 3-4 with a run scored and Gregor went 2-5. Evan Grills went 5 innings and allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 5. Michael Feliz tagged in for 2 innings, and he gave up 2 runs on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Pat Christensen fanned 1 in a 1-2-3 8th, and Andrew Walter worked around a walk to close the door. In the 2nd leg of their roadtrip, the River Bandits will head to Midland, Michigan to begin a 3-game set with the Great Lakes Loons. In the series opener, Gonzalo Sanudo and Adrian Houser will take on James Campbell. First pitch will be at 6:05 Eastern. Three Stars 3. Tony Kemp, 2B, Lancaster 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R Clearly, the Astros have taken full advantage of the undersized infielders market. 2. Ross Seaton, RHP, Luis Cruz, LHP, and Jordan Jankowski, RHP, Corpus Christi Seaton: 5 IP, 5 H, BB, 6 K Cruz: W (2-0), 3 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K Jankowski: IP, H, 2 K The trio of Corpus pitchers gave up 10 hits, but they got a TOOTBLAN in the 2nd, got a pickoff to end the 6th, and stranded the bases loaded twice. They clamped down when they really had to, and as a result, kept Tulsa off the board for 9 innings. 1. George Springer, RF, Oklahoma City 2-3, solo HR (1), 2 R, 2 BB, SB (2) Cue the usual. Honorable Mentions Mark Appel, P, Lancaster: Looked a lot better this time around. His first start wasn't the best, but he wasn't getting shelled. Brett Phillips, CF, Quad Cities: He's got a nice little 4-game hitting streak going. Gregorio Petit, SS, Oklahoma City: He and Ronald Torreyes should be a good insurance policy in case the Astros need another backup infielder. Matt Duffy, 3B, Corpus Christi: 3 straight multi-hit games, but his first one last night was the big one, as he gave the Hooks a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Goat No goats because sweep
Hooks teeing off on Jonathan Gray in the first inning. They loaded the bases with singles from DDJ, Fontana and Aplin. Then they got a base-clearing double by Matt Duffy, RBI single from Tucker, and a 2-run homer from Enrique Hernandez. 7 hits, 6 runs in the first, knocking Gray out with only 2 outs recorded.
So Appel now has had a better professional career so far....small sample size so it means very little.
Velasquez starting off the year realllll strong. 13 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 16 SOs Damn he is about to shoot up the prospect lists.
Singleton has that OPS up to 1.008 here is the early going. Given the Wallacelike performance of Krauss, sure would like to see Singleton up here.
Yes. We are at the point where our best players should be out on the field for the Astros. This simply is not the case right now. Frustrating.
