Loving the new top 10 lists, also note, we still have a chance to pick up another prospect for Wandy and I think Houser will end up on the list also.
I honestly don't remember the last time I was actually excited about the Astros top 10 prospects list, but that feeling has definitely come back.
Also, next year's #1 overall pick will have to be at least top 5 (if not higher). WOOH..... PROSPECTS!
True and consider this, we get the #1 pick and first pick in EVERY round. If Crane is really about spending in development and you know there will be a high priced prospect there for the taking...could be an interesting draft next year.
I still think last year's trifecta first rounders will be a contributing force for the big league club some time in the future... Kvasnicka, Folty, DD Jr (in that order).
I agree with DD Jr and Folty but Kvasnicka is starting to worry me. As a college hitter, I expected more power but so far he is pretty much a singles hitter...won't cut it at 3B.
love the springer blurb. lets get him signed already. braves trade really annoys me. wish we got 1 top prospect for him, similar to the beltran/giants deal. the return is decent, when a great one was necessary. i have said this throughout the season, but unless they are blown away by an offer for wandy, it is idiotic to trade him. you have all these guys who are projected to be a 3rd starter or maybe a 2nd....well he is a 2nd, and a helluva good one, and there is no reason to believe that he won't be in 3 years, which is hopefully the latest it would possibly take for us to be good again.
get ready folks... Lance McCullers Jr. not necessarily a "strassburg" or "harper" but they say is ceiling is around Roy Oswalt level
The Stros puzzle me with minor league decisions so often. They aren't as bad as they were a few years ago but still make some odd choices. Take for instance JB Shuck, the kid is 24 batting over .300, OBP is over .400, has 7 triples and has walk almost double the times he has struck out. So basically everything you look for in a leadoff guy minus power. So what do they do...bring up a guy they had in the system for 1 month?!? Not that Durango hasn't had impressive minor league season himself but right now Shuck was clearly the better option but I guess irrelevant when Schafer gets healthy.
You mean minus Power and Speed. Shuck's problem is that he is a LF. If he had been a 2B, he'd have a lot better chance in the majors.
Well he has 19 steals and 7 triples so, while no Bourn, he has speed and has played center before so it wouldn't be strange to him. I guess he might not have the range to play it a MMP but won't matter much in about 2 weeks anyway. Chase Davidson is a beast so far, curious to see where he goes next season.
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog...spn.go.com/mlb/blog?name=mlb_draft&id=6826906 Could someone post this Insider article on Jack Armstrong? Thanks.
Vanderbilt's Jack Armstrong and Mount Olive's Carter Capps were both selected in the third round of the 2011 Draft. Armstrong was taken by the Houston Astros as the 99th overall pick and Capps was selected by the Seattle Mariners at 121. Both pitchers are big right-handers with fastballs that reaching 95 mph, and both are spending the summer in the Cape Cod League trying to improve their negotiating leverage with the teams that drafted them. The comparisons stop there, however. They say you can't teach a 95 mph fastball. And by that same logic, you can't teach 6-foot-7. The fact Armstrong fits both descriptions -- and has a father who played in the big leagues -- bodes well for his future. If you lined up all of the Cape pitchers and had to pick the obvious first-rounder by looks alone, you'd probably choose Armstrong. At 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, the blond-haired pitching coming off his junior college season certainly looks the part. The problem is Armstrong has yet to pitch the part for Wareham this summer. After his freshman season, Armstrong impressed scouts when he posted a 2.57 ERA with 31 strike outs in 35 innings on the Cape. As a sophomore at Vandy, he compiled a 4.71 ERA in 16 starts and had a 50-39 strikeout-to-walk ration in 78 innings. But this past college season, Armstrong fought back issues and pitched only 17 innings, striking out 17 batters while walking 18. This summer, he has a 4.91 ERA in 14 2/3 innings. In his last outing, Armstrong left after one inning due to tightness in his elbow. I don't know if Armstrong's been hurt as a result of his pitching or if his pitching has suffered because he's been hurt, but either way the inconsistency of Armstrong's body and performance are large hurdles he must overcome at the next level. Given his athleticism, one would assume Armstrong is capable of quickly making the physical adjustments necessary to repeat his delivery and become more consistent, but Armstrong has had little success doing either of late. Over his last couple starts, Armstrong has struggled with his release point, thus leaving a lot of balls up in the zome, and hitters are making hard contact far more often than you'd expect considering his velocity. He has featured a power curve and a plus change-up at times but rarely in the same outing. Unless Armstrong finds a way to harness his gifts and translate them into a consistent production on the mound, his chances for success in pro ball are limited. On the flip side is Capps, who has been the epitome of consistency. While he hasn't faced Division I competition, Capps has been dominant at Mt. Olive. After redshirting his freshman year to make the conversion from catcher to pitcher, Capps went 10-0 in 2010 and 14-1 in 2011. Combined, Capps has a 1.75 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 118 innings with only 82 hits and 18 walks. At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Capps is just as imposing on the mound as Armstrong. Capps can touch 96-97 mph, but he pitches effectively around 92 mph. Capps mixes a heavy two-seam fastball to his arm side with a four-seam fastball to his glove side. He also differentiates his slider -- anywhere from 76-82 mph depending if it's a get-me-over pitch early in the count, or a harder version that he uses as an out pitch. Capps has a tendency to tip the slider by how he breaks his hand behind him out of the glove. This is something that can be easily remedied. But what makes Capps so impressive, in addition to his pure stuff, is the way he commands the bottom part of the strike zone. Capps is so determined to keep the ball down that he actually comes close to dragging the shin of his back leg along the ground in order to create angle on every pitch. Capps has put together a stellar summer, posting a 0.41 ERA with 24 strikeouts and only one walk in 22 innings. In the Cape Cod League all-star game at Fenway Park last Friday, he struck out the side in his inning of work, sitting 94-97 mph. Two of those strikeouts came on the slider. Right now, Capps seems an obvious choice for a set-up role in the bullpen, but the development of a third pitch could create an opportunity for him to start.
OKC was blanked 2-0 by Memphis.... J.B. Shuck had 3 of the Redhawks' 6 hits. Lucas Harrell left after only 1 1/3, allowing 2 runs in the 2nd on 3 hits, striking out 1. Wesley Wright retired every batter he faced in 3 2/3 innings of relief, also striking out 1. After scoring 1 in the top of the 7th to break a 2-2 tie, Corpus allowed 2 in the bottom half, leading to a 4-3 loss to Midland. Chris Wallace hit a solo homer in the 6th, his 6th with the Hooks, and 20th overall. Jonnathan Aristil went 4 2/3, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, but was all over the place, walking 5 and fanning only 2. Blake King allowed both runs (1 earned, the other unearned) in the 7th to get the loss. Lancaster fell to Bakersfield 4-3. Austin Wates and Erik Castro drove in 1 each. Jonathan Singleton went 2-5 and scored. Jose Cisnero went 5 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits (solo homer), walking 3 and fanning 7. Lexington walked off 8-7 victors over Kannapolis in 11 innings. The Legends scored 6 in the 4th, topped off by a 3-run homer from Dan Adamson, his 4th of the season. Mike Kvasnicka drove in 2. Ruben Alaniz allowed 3 unearned runs on 2 hits without walking or striking out a batter in 5 innings. Kvasnicka scored on an error in the 11th to make a winner out of Jason Chowning. The normally stout Tri-City pitching was mauled in a 13-6 loss to Auburn. Jonas Dufek allowed 5 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits in 3 2/3, walking 1 and striking out 5. Brandon Meredith hit his first homer of his professional career, a 2-run shot in the 7th. Bubby Williams added a solo homer in the 8th, his 4th. Neiko Johnson drove in 2, and Drew Muren drove in the other. Greeneville took out Princeton 7-2, using 3-run innings in the 5th and 7th for the win. Chase Davidson hit his 10th homer, a solo shot in the 2nd. Ariel Ovando went 1-4 with 2 RBI. Ruben Sosa, Josh Magee, and Alex Todd drove in 1 apiece. Todd went 2-3 and scored twice. Tyson Perez allowed 4 hits in 5 shutout innings, striking out 2. The Gulf Coast club lost 4-3 in 13 to the Mets. Ydarqui Marte drove in 2, and Wallace Gonzalez drove in the other. Evan Grills allowed 3 runs on 4 hits in 1 2/3, walking 2 and striking out 3. The Academy was thrashed 10-1 by the Royals. Jose Solano got the only RBI on an out, scoring Juan Santana. Geronimo Franzua allowed 8 unearned runs on 3 hits in 1 2/3, walking 3 and fanning 2.
19 steals is great, but 10 caught stealing isn't. His speed isn't a big enough plus for it to be a major factor. Those triples have more to do with his hustle, than his actual speed. He could play center, but he would be below average defensively there, which is why he has never been a regular CF in the minors despite playing the position in college. I'm not disagreeing that he deserves a call-up, but it is unfortunate he is primarily a LF. He could have a career as a great bench player, though.
“@Darren_Headrick: #OKCRedHawks transactions (8/2): OF Jake Goebbert promoted to OKC from AA-Corpus Christi. P Casey Fien released by Houston. @astros” I like Goebbert but worry about his power production as a corner OF. Austin Wates has to get the call now, CC's OF is pretty bad now.
