I'm headed to Orlando next week, and was hoping to catch some Astros related stuff in Kissimmee, but just checked the schedule and I got screwed. Extended Spring Training ends tomorrow, and the Astros GCL club starts the day after I'm leaving.
Kody Hinze and Jake Buchanan were named to the California League All-Star Team. They'll be facing off against the Carolina League All-Stars on June 21 in Modesto. D-Backs prospect and Cali League K leader Tyler Skaggs of Visalia was named the starting pitcher. Both Jethawks are reserves.
OKC topped Omaha 4-3. The Redhawks opened the scoring in the 3rd and added 3 more in the 4th. The recently promoted Wladimir Sutil was in the lineup, playing SS and leading off. He went 0-3 with a successful suicide squeeze that scored Tommy Manzella. Drew Locke cleared the bases with a 4th inning double. Nelson Figueroa won, allowing 2 runs in 6 1/3. He walked 2 and fanned 6. Dan Carpenter recorded hit 4th save of the season. T.J. Steele went deep in the top of the 6th to extend the Hooks' lead on Midland to 4-2, but the RockHounds responded with 3 to take control in the bottom half. The Hooks would end up losing 6-4. Jose Altuve homered as he continues to be in a different realm in the box. Jonathan Villar had a 2-run double and took over the organization's steals lead tonight. Ross Seaton took the loss, allowing 5 hits and 5 runs (3 earned) in 6. But the backbreaker was the 3-run homer he served up to give Midland the lead in the 6th. Lancaster dropped the first game of their series with Inland Empire by a score of 3-2. Jonathan Meyer provided an RBI in the 4th and added a solo homer in the 7th. Robby Donovan took the loss but pitched pretty well, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in 6. He struck out 7 and only walked 1. In a battle of Astros and Rangers affiliates, Lexington blew a 7-2 lead to Hickory by allowing them to score 2 in the 8th and 4 in the 9th. Not a night to remember in the field for the Legends; they committed 4 errors, 2 of them committed by Mike Kvasnicka. Kvasnicka had a 2-run single but has been in a funk as of late, hitting .225 in his last 10 games. Jio Mier went 3-6 with 2 doubles and scored 3 times. Adam Bailey went 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Roberto Pena added a solo homer. But, an epic fail from the bullpen wasted Mike Foltynewicz's solid outing. He allowed 2 runs in 6, walking 3 and fanning 2. Jorge De Leon allowed 4 unearned runs in the 9th to complete the collapse. Oh, and Delino DeShields went 0-4 with an RBI, 2 walks and 2 K's. His average has now dropped to .215. Another note, looks like the Rangers' 2008 Latin American class (Odubel Herrera, Tomas Telis, Christian Villanueva, and Teodoro Martinez) is stacked. And they happen to be playing on the same team, in western North Carolina. They also have a future star-in-the-making in Jurickson Profar, a SS they signed from Curacao who's the youngest player in the Sally League ATM. The rains in the Dominican Republic have subsided, and the Astros were back in action against the Yankees' second squad. The 'Stros rallied from a 3-1 deficit by scoring 1 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th to win 5-3. The hottest bat so far is 16-year old SS Juan Santana, who went 2-3 to raise his average to .360. Also 19-year-old 3B Darwin Rivera is 9-19 with 3 RBI in the early going. 5 guys drove in 5 runs. Mesac Laguna, a 19-year-old Nicaraguan LF, Rivera, Mario Gonzalez, 19-year-old Panamanian 1B who's in the Dominican for the 3rd time, Franny Polanco, who is a 19-year-old catcher, and Jose Solano, a 19-year-old 2B. The win was picked up by Yeudy Perdomo, a 19-year-old pitcher in his 3rd go-around with the academy. He walked 1 and fanned 2. The starter, Agapito Barrios, a 17-year-old Panamanian, got the bare minimum quality start, striking out 4.
OKC allowed Omaha to jump them to the tune of a 5-2 deficit after 3 innings. The good news: That would be all that the Storm Chasers would score. The bad: The Redhawks wound up falling short, losing 5-4. Max Ramirez, Brian Dopirak, and Tommy Manzella each drove in a run. Andy Van Hekken took the loss, allowing all 5 runs in 2 2/3. Redhawks fun fact, courtesy of Brian McTaggart: The average age of the Astros' starting rotation is 25.8. The average age of their Triple-A Oklahoma City rotation is 30.4. Big outing from Dallas Keuchel as he and Sammy Gervacio combined on a 4-hitter in a 4-0 blanking of Midland. Jimmy Van Ostrand flew solo in the 5th, Jimmy Paredes went 2-3, scored twice, and stole a base. He's got 22, 1 behind Jonathan Villar, who is at 23 and went 0-5 tonight. Keuchel in his 7 innings allowed 1 hit and struck out 8. Gervacio allowed 3 hits in his 2 innings, striking out 2. They didn't walk anyone. Lancaster was up 2-1 in the 6th, but they allowed that lead to slip away as Inland Empire scored 1 in the bottom of the 6th and 2 more in the 7th to lose 4-2. Andrew Simunic, demoted twice in one season, and Austin Wates delivered the RBIs. Andrew Robinson allowed 2 runs, walked 2, and struck out 2 in 6, but got the no-decision as Chris Hicks coughed up the lead, allowing 2 runs in 2 innings of relief to get the loss. Lexington evened their series with Hickory as they came out on top 4-2. RBIs came from Jordan Scott, Jio Mier, Adam Bailey, and Emilio King, who went 3-4. Ruben Alaniz got the win, allowing only 3 hits, an earned run, and an unearned run in his 6 innings. He walked 3 and struck out 5. The DSL Astros walked off 3-2 winners over the Athletics in 10. Trailing 2-0 in the 6th, Juan Solano mashed the tying 2-run homer. The Astros had a walk-off scored on error on a failed pickoff attempt at 3rd. Cristian Murillo, who entered the game as a pinch runner, scored the winning run. Juan Santana owns a 6:1 BB:K ratio through 7 games. He went 1-3 and walked twice today. Reymin Guduan went 4 2/3, allowing 2 hits and 2 runs. He walked and struck out 4. Andres Feliz won in relief, pitching 3 innings, allowing 2 hits, walking 2, and striking out 3.
I'm trying to decide how excited I should be getting about this Altuve guy. I had never heard of him until this year, but sometimes these guys come out of nowhere, I suppose.
I don't know if he'll succeed in the majors, but all he's ever done is mash. I have high hopes that he'll at least turn out this good.
OKC got 2 in the top of the 11th to break a 4-4 tie against Omaha, a lead that would translate into a 6-4 win. Wladimir Sutil entered as a pinch-runner then stayed in to play 2nd base. He started off the 11th with a single, then Anderson Hernandez had a single of his own. Sutil then came around from 2nd to score on a J.B. Shuck single. Robinson Cancel then drove in Hernandez with a single to provide the insurance. Oswaldo Navarro had a 2-run homer in the 7th, and Cancel tied the game at 4 with an RBI single scoring.... Anderson Hernandez. Sergio Perez allowed 3 hits (2 homers), 4 runs (3 earned), walked 2, and struck out 2 in 6 innings. Obviously, he didn't get a decision. Fernando A-bad got the win in relief, pitching 1 1/3, striking out 3 and not allowing a runner to reach. The Hooks defeated Midland 9-4 tonight. Jonathan Villar, Jimmy Paredes, and Jose Altuve each scored twice. Altuve and Paredes had triples, and Altuve drive in 2. Villar stole #24 tonight, and Altuve stole #21. Jonathan Gaston drove in 2, and J.D. Martinez, Jimmy Van Ostrand, and T.J. Steele each drove in a run. Erick Abreu allowed 3 runs in 5 innings to get the win. He walked 1 and fanned 7. Jose Thompson had a 2-run single and a solo homer, but it wasn't enough as Lancaster lost 10-6 to Inland Empire. Andrew Simunic went 2-5 and scored twice. Austin Wates went 2-5 with an RBI, and Jay Austin had an RBI triple. Jose Cisnero was all over the place in his 4 innings, walking 5 to go along with 5 strikeouts, 5 runs, and 3 hits. He got the loss. Lexington was held to 2 hits while getting thumped 8-1 by Hickory. 1 of those hits was a home run for Delino DeShields Jr. That was his 6th of the season. It was his only hit in 4 at-bats, and he's steadied the average at .215. Tanner Bushue took the loss, allowing 3 runs in 4 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 1. The Dominican Astros squandered a 5-0 lead to Mets squad #2 by allowing them to score 2 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th. However, the young 'uns scored 1 in the bottom of the 8th to regain the lead. They ended up victorious, 6-5. Mesac Laguna went 3-4 with 2 RBI and scored twice. Darwin Rivera went 2-4 and scored twice. Luis Abada, the starter, allowed 2 hits in 6 shutout innings. He walked 2 and struck out 3. Manuel Sanchez got the win, pitching 2 innings of relief despite allowing 1 run.
Fernando A-bad coughed up a 4-4 tie in the 8th, which led to OKC's 5-4 loss to Omaha. Brian Bogusevic, Max Ramirez, and Oswaldo Navarro each drove in a run. RRS, allowed 8 hits and 3 runs in 6 innings. All 3 runs came off 2 homers from Clint Robinson, a 2-out 2-runner in the 1st, and a solo job in the 3rd. As mentioned, A-bad allowed the Storm Chasers to plate the go-ahead run to get the loss. San Antonio jumped the Hooks for 4 in the 1st, but CC tied the game by the 5th. However, the Missions scored 2 in the 8th, and that turned out to be the decisive inning as Corpus Christi loses, 6-4. The Villar-Paredes-Altuve combo is probably the best thing going for the worst team in the Texas League right now. They combined to go 5-9 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored. J.D. Martinez drove in the other run. Paredes has enjoyed a nice stretch at the plate that has seen his average rise to .282. Xavier Cedeno allowed the 4 runs in the 1st, but locked down the Missions bats afterwards to buy the Hooks offense time to get going. He went 5, allowing 6 hits, walking 2 and fanning 3. Shane Wolf allowed Anthony Contreras to hit a 2-run single in the 8th to get the loss. Two-man show for Lancaster as they scored a TD while shutting out Inland Empire. Kody Hinze had a 2-run homer in the 1st, his 15th. But the night belonged to Jose Thompson, who went 4-5, and his grand slam in the 5th sent the Jethawks on their way. He added an RBI single in the 7th for good measure. Zach Grimmett blanked the 66ers for 6, allowing 5 hits. He walked 2 and struck out 1. The bullpen allowed 1 hit. Lexington walked off 4-3 losers in 10 in their series opener with Augusta. Adam Bailey drove in Delino DeShields and Emilio King with a single, then scored when Mike Kvasnicka reached on an error. Carlos Quevedo went 7, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs, walking 1 and striking out 2. He got a no-decision for his efforts, as Jorge De Leon allowed the walk-off hit, but the loss and the run was charged to Brian Streilein. The Dominican Astros fell to the Red Sox 9-4. Juan Santana and Darwin Rivera homered, and they look like the top position players for the academy in the early going. Geronimo Franzua only lasted 1 1/3, allowing 1 hit, but walked 5 and allowed 4 runs (3 earned).
Is there anyone in all of baseball having a season like Altuve? It's mid-June and the kid is still hitting .411 with an OPS of 1.084 and 21 steals. I know he's young and inexperienced. But if it's August 1 and he's still putting up these ridiculous numbers, I give him a shot no later than as a Sept 1 call-up. Where this season is going, why the heck not?
The biggest issue with Altuve is that he's never "looked" like a prospect. He's short, had no real measurable tool with an upside, and thus was an afterthought when it came to players that would likely need to be watched closely for possible fast-track. Problem is, Altuve decided to throw a wrench in the plans and become a tremendous hitter, gamer, base-stealer... and now he's turned himself into somebody who should be considered. I hate the "he doesn't look like a prospect" schtick...
His size limits his range some, and the truth is, we haven't seen a guy that short in modern baseball. Lets not get caught up in his base stealing, since he gets thrown out a bit as well, though I'm sure he could develop into a more efficient one later on. Love the guy though, and I expect him to be our starting 2B within 2 years.
The kid is still absolutely raking but some of his advanced stats are down at CC. Small sample size but his walk rate is down almost 2/3's at CC and his SB rate is only 50%. His BABIP is off the charts unsustainable. He's averaging nearly .440 on balls in play. That's insanely high. My thoughts: let him ride until this magical run burns out. Promote him every two months if he keeps this rate up. Since he was a non-prospect to begin with, they really having nothing to lose. Flip side, Villar should not have been promoted with Altuve. His stats suggest he's overmatched for AA ball.
4 Hooks were named to the Texas League South division All-Star team: Wladimir Sutil, J.D. Martinez, Dallas Keuchel, and Xavier Cedeno. Martinez and Sutil were named starters. The Texas League All-Star game will be held in San Antonio on June 29.
Wladimir Sutil is in Oklahoma City. How does it work for the all star game when they are no longer in the league?
That's what I'm saying. If he's still destroying come August, give him a shot on 9/1. There's nothing to lose. Worst case scenario is that he's not ready but they at least rewarded him for an amazing season.
Will be interesting to see what the Astros do with the international free agent period coming up starting in July. Last year the Astros were 2nd in intl free agent spending at over 5 million. It's suppose to be an even better intl crop this year. Baseball America just started their coverage of it. Here's mlbtraderumors cliff notes: Less than thrilled by your team's draft haul? Don't forget about the July 2nd class of international players. This year's group is an improvement on the 2011 class, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America. He names the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rangers, Royals, Mariners, Pirates, Red Sox, and Reds as teams that could be active in the international market. Badler's info on a few of the top prospects: * Outfielders Ronald Guzman, Elier Hernandez, and Nomar Mazara could challenge Miguel Sano's $3.15MM record for a Dominican hitter, writes Badler. The Rangers, Red Sox, and Blue Jays have been connected to Guzman and the Royals are the frontrunner for Hernandez. * Speedy Venezuelan shortstop Wilmer Becerra has been linked to the Cardinals, Twins, and Athletics, says Badler. Becerra is projected by many to move to the outfield. * Mexican righty Roberto Osuna, nephew of Antonio, is a top prospect who is currently pitching in the Mexican League. The 15-year-old is battling all kinds of former big leaguers. Venezuelan righty Victor Sanchez is another one to watch, according to Badler. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/06/badler-examines-july-2-class.html Would love to see the Astros continue their investment into Latin America and tab one of this top guys. For those interested in following http://www.dplbaseball.com/ has a some free coverage and videos of the top dominican prospects. Baseball America has a lot of good coverage too but it's behind a pay wall.
OKC got a run in the 8th to cut their deficit to 1, but they couldn't muster anything in the 9th to top Albuquerque as they fell 4-3. Brandon Barnes drove in 2, and Robinson Cancel drove in the other run. The Hairless One allowed a 2-run homer to Jerry Sands and a solo shot to Trayvon Robinson in his 5 1/3 to get the loss. Chacin walked 2 and struck out 4. CC was blanked 4-0 by San Antonio. Hooks pitchers allowed 10 walks to San Antonio's hitters. Villar-Paredes-Altuve went 2-13. Emerson Frostad, a 28-year old catcher who spent the last 6 years as a Rangers farmhand, and who was playing independent ball before being signed on June 2, had 2 hits. Jonnathan Aristil allowed 3 hits and 1 run.... but only lasted 4 innings and was all over the place, walking 6. He got the loss. It took 14, and I almost got tired of waiting for it to end, but Lancaster pulled out an 11-8 victory over Lake Elsinore. Kody Hinze owned Lake Elsinore's pitchers tonight. He went 4-7 and took them deep twice. Both homers were of the 3-run variety. He's now hitting .345 and has 17 homers on the year to go along with 56 RBI. Jonathan Meyer also flew solo in the 4th, his 6th on the year. The Jethawks exploded for 5 in the top of the 14th to break a 6-6 tie. Grant Hogue had a 1-out single, stole 2nd, then scored on a Jay Austin single. Austin stole 2nd, then Austin Wates was plunked. Jay Austin later scored on a Jose Thompson single. Then Hinze, who hit his first 3-run homer in the 3rd and had an RBI single in the 10th, clubbed his 2nd 3-run homer to provide the cherry. The Storm pulled 2 runs back from Yordany Ramirez in the bottom half, but David Berner finally shut the door on them. Jake Buchanan allowed 4 runs (3 earned) in 6, walking 3 and fanning 6, but obviously didn't get a decision. Kirk Clark blew Buchanan's chances for a win by allowing a homer in the 9th. And Colton Pitkin allowed the runner he inherited from Michael Ness to score, ruining Ness' box score line in the process. Yordany Ramirez got the win, although that was more a result of the 5-run 14th than him actually pitching well. He allowed 4 hits and 2 runs in his 1 2/3 innings of relief, walking 1, striking out 2, and serving up a homer in the 14th. Lexington got thrashed by Augusta 8-3. Chris Wallace hit his 13th homer, and Mike Kvasnicka and Enrique Hernandez each drove in a run in the 9th to make it somewhat respectable. Alex Sogard allowed 8 hits and 5 runs (3 earned) to get the loss. He walked and fanned 3. Also, Tanner Bushue was placed on the 7-day DL. Taking his roster spot was Bryce Lane, who was tabbed for Tri-City. Playing right field, he batted 8th and went 0-3. The Dominican Astros fell 10-7 to the Royals. Pedro Coa, Mesac Laguna, and Mario Gonzalez each drove in 2. Juan Santana went 1-2 with an RBI and drew 2 walks. Yeudy Perdomo only got 1 out while allowing 6 runs (5 earned), walking 3 and striking out 1 in the process. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure what decision he got.
And I apologize for making a huge mistake in reporting the Dominican Astros score. The Dominican Summer League website says that they lost 10-7 to the Royals, while MILB.com shows they actually lost 5-1. Juan Solano went 3-3 with the only RBI. Edgar Ferreira lasted 1 2/3, allowing 2 hits, 3 runs, walking 2, and fanning 2 as he was charged with the loss.
