1) Altuve had a ridiculous minor league season 2) Kody Hinze had a very nice season, too bad he just missed the nice round 30 HR, 100 RBI's numbers 3) Villar apparently sucks on defense and strikes out way too much for a SS
Villar supposedly has great range and arm, but obviously makes too many errors, though not unusual for a young SS, but something to watch next season. Next year is huge for him. Kody Hinze had a complete power outage towards the end of the season, after initially playing well in CC. Hopefully it was just fatigue rather than him not being able to handle it.
Short season/Rookie stats leaders. http://whattheheckbobby.blogspot.com/2011/09/hitting-category-winners-of-2011-short.html
Spot on with Villar, people seem to forget he is only 20...one of, if not, the youngest player in that league. He will improve, saw a number of his games in the 2nd half of the season and his range is excellent while a cannon for an arm. Offensively, he has an electric bat with serious pop but plate discipline is an issue which isn't unexpected for someone his age.
Best of the Astros minors, Part II: Top pitching performances Posted on September 7, 2011 at 9:29 am by Zachary Levine PITTSBURGH — To find the top performing pitchers in the Astros organization is a difficult task. ERA is one of the most common ways to measure it, but it’s hardly comprehensive, as different hitting environments cast different shadows on ERA and statistical luck has a big influence. So in addition to providing the best Astros pitchers by ERA in various categories of innings loads, here’s an isolation of a couple of pitching skills. Strikeouts per 9 innings is usually an indicator of stuff and can be a good projector going forward. Those with the low walks per 9 are generally those with the best control. Like in Tuesday’s entry on the best hitting stats, these are players who did not make the major leagues this year. The key to levels remains the same, in descending order: AAA – Oklahoma City, AA – Corpus Christi, A+ – Lancaster, A – Lexington, SSA – Tri-City, Rk – Greeneville, GCL – Gulf Coast League, DSL – Dominican Summer League. More stats including player ages can be found here. Best ERA, 100+ IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings ERA Andy Van Hekken AAA 129.2 3.40 Jake Buchanan A+/AA 165.2 3.80 Dallas Keuchel AA/AAA 163.2 4.12 Alex Sogard A 104.1 4.14 Sergio Perez AAA 110 4.25 Best ERA, 50-100 IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings ERA Dayan Diaz SSA 50 1.98 Nick Tropeano SSA 53.1 2.36 Jason Chowning A 58.2 2.45 Kyle Hallock SSA 61.2 2.63 Jorge De Leon A 55.1 3.42 Best ERA, 20-50 IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings ERA Juan Mojica GCL/RK 20 1.35 Blake Ford GCL 23.2 1.90 Reymin Guduan DSL 45.2 2.17 Ryan Cole SSA 27 2.33 Manuel Sanchez DSL 24.2 2.55 Those on the list for highest strikeout rate have, for the most part, struck out at least one batter per inning. Highest strikeout rate, 100+ IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings K/9 Jose Cisnero A+ 123.1 11.1 Alex Sogard A 104.1 9.7 Xavier Cedeno AA/AAA 137.2 9.0 Luis Cruz A/A+ 104 8.8 Jonnathan Aristil A+/AA 121.1 8.8 Highest strikeout rate, 50-100 IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings K/9 Dayan Diaz SSA 50 12.6 Nick Tropeano SSA 53.1 10.6 Danny Meszaros AA/AAA 61 10.5 Murilo Gouvea SSA/A 77.1 10.0 Arcenio Leon AA/AAA 66.2 9.9 Highest strikeout rate, 20-50 IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings K/9 Kelvin Santana DSL 20.1 13.7 Reymin Guduan DSL 45.2 12.0 Matison Smith Rk 34 11.9 Blake King AA 40.2 11.1 Ebert Rosario SSA 23.2 10.3 And those who made the list for the lowest walk rate all kept it below 2.2, which means that they didn’t allow more than one walk every four innings they pitched. Lowest walk rate, 100+ IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings BB/9 Carlos Quevedo A 151 1.1 Jake Buchanan A+/AA 165.2 2.0 Dallas Keuchel AA/AAA 163.2 2.1 Erick Abreu AA/AAA 128 2.2 Alex Sogard A 104.1 2.2 Lowest walk rate, 50-100 IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings BB/9 Luis Ordosgoitti GCL/Rk/SSA 53 1.7 Tanner Bushue A/GCL 85.1 1.8 Jorge De Leon A 55.1 2.1 Tyson Perez Rk 55 2.1 Gabriel Garcia A 69.1 2.1 Lowest walk rate, 20-50 IP Code: Pitcher Level Innings BB/9 Travis Smink SSA 45.1 1.6 Brad Hennessey AA/AAA 27 1.7 Evan Grills GCL 33 1.9 Ryan Cole SSA 27 2.0 Mitchell Lambson SSA 35.1 2.0
Altuve, Buchanan named Astros' 2011 Minor League Players of the Year Stephen Goff, Houston Astros Examiner September 15, 2011 HOUSTON -- The Astros Player Development Department announced their 2011 Minor League Players of the Year on Thursday evening, naming infielder Jose Altuve as Player of the Year and right-hander Jake Buchanan as Pitcher of the Year. Charley Taylor, the pitching coach of the Astros Gulf Coast League affiliate, earned Player Development Man of the Year honors. Luis Martinez, the manager and coordinator of the Astros Dominican Summer League, was named International Man of the Year. The Astros will honor all four during a pre-game ceremony at Minute Maid Park prior to hosting the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 24. Altuve and Buchanan are scheduled for a free autograph session from 4:45-5:15 p.m. that night on the main concourse at Minute Maid Park. Martinez is unable to make the ceremony due to a previous commitment. The 21-year-old Altuve, who earned a promotion to the big leagues on July 19, hit a combined .389 with 10 homers, 59 RBI, 22 doubles and 10 triples while compiling a stellar 1.017 OPS in 87 games at High A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi. He led all qualifying minor leaguers with an impressive .389 mark and turned heads as the starting second baseman for the World Team in the 2011 XM All-Star Futures Game at Chase Field. Altuve will enter Friday's series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field hitting .278 with two home runs, 12 RBI and nine doubles in 48 games (43 starts) for the Astros this season. "He's been a real bright spot for us this year," Astros general manager Ed Wade said. "His promotion from High A to the Double-A level to the big leagues in one season is a huge accomplishment." The 21-year-old Buchanan, an eighth-round pick by Houston out of North Carolina State in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, went 5-10 with a 3.80 ERA over 165 2/3 innings in 26 combined starts between Lancaster and Corpus Christi this season. He spent the majority of the 2011 campaign at Lancaster, ranking second in the California League in WHIP (1.21) and fifth in ERA (3.91). Buchanan, the first JetHawks pitcher to start at least 20 games and finish with an ERA in the 3.00s since Brandon Webb, tossed one of just three complete-game shutouts in the league. The young right-hander earned a promotion to Corpus Christi late in the season and made one start against Frisco on Sept. 1. He allowed an earned run on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts over seven innings in what turned out to be a no-decision effort. "Like Jose, Jake has handled some accelerated challenges extremely well," Wade said. "We're paying close attention to his progress." Taylor just completed his 30th season as a coach within the Astros' player development system after taking the 2009-10 seasons off while battling abdominal bladder and prostate cancer. He also oversees the Astros' pitching rehab program at the team's Spring Training complex in Kissimmee, Fla., and has been responsible in the development of over 65 pitchers who have made it to the big leagues, including Wandy Rodriguez and Bud Norris. "Charley Taylor is a hero to all of us," Wade said. "He has endured some tremendous challenges. He never gave up on his passion." Martinez completed his third full season as the manager and coordinator of the Dominican Summer League Astros and was a key member of the field staff during the club's recent move from the facility in San Pedro de Macoris to their new home in Santo Domingo. He plays a significant role in the day-to-day activities at the complex, such as coordinating workouts, scheduling games and helping the scouting department with their evaluations, in addition to serving as a positive mentor and advisor for the players "Luis and his staff have done a solid job in preparing our young Latin players for the challenges they will face in the United States and on their way to the big leagues," Wade said. For the latest Astros news, click on the Subscribe button at the top of the page. Also, be sure to follow Houston Astros Examiner Stephen Goff on Facebook and Twitter, or email sgoff80@yahoo.com.
A roster for the instructional league was announced... on Monday. Subject to change, but these guys will be packing their bags for Kissimmee. The league begins play on Sunday. http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...aul-shape-astros-instructional-league-roster/ And, Minor League Opening Day will be April 5, 2012 (a Thursday). OKC hosts Memphis, Corpus welcomes NW Arkansas, while the A clubs are on the road. Lexington goes to Greensboro, and Lancaster travels to High Desert.
Astros AAA skipper sees better days coming September 14, 2011 Greg Lucas Tony DeFrancesco had a rough debut managing in the Astros system in 2011. His Triple A Oklahoma City Redhawks were never a factor in the Pacific Coast League race and played and finished well under .500. It was new experience for DeFrancesco. Until 2011 he had managed in the Oakland system including seven very successful seasons at Triple A Sacramento. Before that he was introduced to the region by spending 1999 through 2002 at the helm at Midland in the Texas League. During that period the Jackie Moore led and Astro stocked Round Rock Express was one of the envies of the loop. Since then, however, the Astro system has declined to the point where no team in the system finished over .500 again in 2011. DeFrancesco says he is up to the challenge of helping players develop and bring the whole Houston system back to the most recent glory period of the early and mid 2000s. A resurgence of the Astro system would help develop the winning attitude for players on the way up that might translate into having a better idea how to win on the major league level. It is also a whole lot more fun on those hot long nights on the minor league trail. DeFrancesco was called to the Astros after the Oklahoma City season ended and has spent the Washington and Philadelphia series with the club. The first night with the Astros he was frankly not totally impressed with a couple of the more noted Astro rookies who skipped his team and went directly from Corpus Christi to the majors. But as he saw more games he saw the potential with those same players that was behind the Astros early call ups. He also become quite impressed with the extra pre-game work the club is conducting to help speed the development of those players. A real backer of most of the features exposed in the book and now movie, “Moneyball” thanks to his years in the Oakland organization, he thinks all hitters must learn how to be more patient and see more pitches per at bat. According to DeFrancesco that will result in more base runners thanks to more walks and it will require hitters to learn how to hit with and not be intimidated by having two strikes. Others outside the moneyball clique may agree with some of the general principles but are not sure everyone can be or should be taught to hit that way. As with anything if a hitter is having success it is risky to try and make him change. Regarding the two more noted players Tony found on his roster past the midway point of the season, Brett Wallace and Chris Johnson, he had high praise. Certainly disappointed at not only losing regular jobs in the major leagues, but being demoted at the same time, they could have been a problem. They weren't. DeFrancesco said both took the move to Oklahoma City in stride and did their best to prove they deserved another shot. Wallace drew high praise thanks to his .356 batting average and high on base percentage. DeFrancesco admits that the Astros would hope to see more power from the husky first baseman but as a high average hitter Wally was impressive. Johnson hit .272 with a bit more power, but had some injury problems that cost him a few games. Even so, DeFrancesco thinks both will be in the mix for major league regular jobs next spring. The latter was emphasized by Astro skipper Brad Mills on Tuesday when commenting on all the almost spring training type work the club has added to its home pre game routine. The purpose of the work is to help make the younger players even more ready to compete for jobs. Mills made sure the word “compete” was heard because no one has locked up a spot for next season yet. It will be this group plus some others that minor league skippers like Tony DeFrancesco may be helping develop down on the farm. Although not yet signed to return in 2012 Tony told colleague Steve Sparks he would like to come back and help get the Astros back to the top again. It would seem that with the deals bringing top minor league prospects into the system plus the top flight signees from the June draft the Astro minor league managers may have a lot more to work with soon.
http://whattheheckbobby.blogspot.com/2011/09/pitching-category-winners-full-season.html http://whattheheckbobby.blogspot.com/2011/09/pitching-category-winners-short-season.html
The Astros prospects who were named to the Arizona Fall League (Dallas Keuchel, Chris Hicks, Jason Stoffel, Josh Zeid, Kody Hinze, Jay Austin, and Jacob Goebbert) were assigned to the Salt River Rafters. They'll be playing with guys from Colorado, Detroit, Arizona, and the LA Dodgers. The AFL season will begin on October 4th (a Tuesday) with Salt River taking on the Peoria Javelinas.
We're a week into the Arizona Fall League season, and the Salt River Rattlers are 5-1, on a 4-game winning streak good for the East division lead. Here's how the Astros prospects have fared. Dallas Keuchel had a start last Friday against Mesa, going 3 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits and striking out 3. ERA of 3. Jason Stoffel has 3 appearances, with no record, a 3.38 ERA, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in 2 2/3, walking 5 and striking out 4. Chris Hicks got destroyed in his first appearance, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits, walking one and only striking out 1, which accounted for his lone out. He made an appearance on Friday, allowing 1 run on 2 hits in his inning of work. Hicks' numbers stand at: no record, 40.50 ERA, allowing 6 runs on 6 hits in 1 1/3, walking 1 and striking out 1. Jason Castro has not made an appearance as of yet, but he is listed on the roster. Kody Hinze has played 3 games, going 5-11 (.455) with 2 homers and 4 RBI. He's scored 3 times, drawn 3 walks, and hasn't struck out yet. He owns an OBP of .571 and is slugging a cool thousand. Jay Austin has only played once, going 2-5 with an RBI against Mesa on Saturday. Jake Goebbert is 2-12 with an RBI in his 3 games. He has 2 walks and 3 strikeouts.
The Hooks tweeted yesterday that they're making a major announcement today. I don't it's a personnel thing, though.
Deadline deals helped Astros stockpile talent ASTROS' TOP 10 PROSPECTS A look at how the Astros' Top 10 Prospects list looked at the beginning and end of the 2011 season: Code: No. Preseason Postseason 1. [B]Jordan Lyles, RHP[/B] Jarred Cosart, RHP 2. Delino DeShields, 2B Jonathan Singleton, 1B 3. Jonathan Villar, SS Villar 4. Mike Foltynewicz, RHP Foltynewicz 5. Jio Mier, SS Paul Clemens, RHP 6. Tanner Bushue, RHP DeShields 7. Ariel Ovando, OF Bushue 8. [B]J.D. Martinez, OF [/B] Brett Oberholtzer, LHP 9. [B]Jimmy Paredes, 2B/3B[/B] Wates 10. Austin Wates, OF Domingo Santana, OF Players in bold were removed from the list after reaching the rookie eligibility threshold. <hr/> By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com | 10/10/11 4:45 PM ET At the start of the 2011 season, MLB.com unveiled Top 10 prospect lists for all 30 Major League organizations on Prospect Watch. Over the course of the season, those lists changed due to graduations to the big leagues, trades and performances. With the season completed, MLB.com will review how the prospects on those lists fared in 2011. The Astros had some big league bats to trade away and the Philadelphia Phillies had two things that made for a good trade partner: the need for a right-handed hitting outfielder and highly-regarded prospects. So, off went Hunter Pence to Philly and in came a pair of Top 50 prospects: Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton. "Any time you get traded, it's a whirlwind," Cosart said. "It didn't help [that] we were on the road. We had a 6 a.m. flight the next morning. I had a day to get out of my lease. I threw as much stuff as I could into my truck -- my buddy drove it to Corpus Christi for me -- and I got on a plane to Midland, Texas, which isn't the best stop in the country. I had to meet 25 guys and go from there." For the most part, the Astros' new No. 1 prospect handled the transition well -- both to the new organization and the move up a level, from Class A-Advanced ball up to the Double-A Texas League. "It was great making the jump to Double-A," Cosart said. "That's what I wanted to do, and I'm not sure what the chance of that would've been with the Phillies. It was a good group in Corpus [Christi]. I think there's some talent there." Cosart made seven starts with Corpus Christi, and while his 4.71 ERA doesn't sound great, 16 of the 19 earned runs he allowed came in just two rough starts. In his other five, he yielded just three earned runs, for a much niftier 0.93 ERA. "Honestly, you just have to execute pitches," said Cosart, who credits the Astros for slowing him down on the mound and allowing him to command his three pitches more consistently. "The hitters are a lot more patient. If you get behind, they like to hit mistakes. You can't just lay it in there. "I had two awful starts there and I was pleased with the rest. My curve and change were great for me, and I was able to throw them in any count. That was my biggest concern before the trade. I feel I did that before the end of the year." That's what the Astros stressed in his end-of-year meetings. If he can continue to throw his three pitches for strikes, he knows a trip to Houston, just a stone's throw from where he grew up, is in his future. "I went to a lot of Astros games," said Cosart, who was very pleased to be injury-free in 2011 and, by far, set a career high for innings. "Getting traded home, not many guys have the opportunity to do that. It's pretty surreal to think about [pitching at home], to have all my friends and family there. "I've been watching the playoffs. It's fun to watch the pitchers I like and [envision] being a part of the group to turn the Astros around back to where they were in 2005." Top 10 review The Astros have done well in recent years via the Draft, helping to slowly rebuild a system that was, frankly, moribund. Their activity during this year's Trade Deadline sped up that process exponentially. Five of the organization's top 10 players at season's end joined the organization in the Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn trades. Cosart and Singleton top the list, both of whom -- along with player to be named Domingo Santana -- were Phillies when the season began. Paul Clemens and Brett Oberholtzer were the Minor League arms that came from Atlanta, along with Jordan Schafer. There were some who may have hoped for a more elite prospect for Bourn, but the Astros' need for quantity was an important one to address. Clemens and Oberholtzer may not be future aces -- Cosart does have that potential -- but they should be valuable big league starters in the near future. And as great as it was to add a Cosart and Singleton to the top of the list, the fact the Astros brought in eight young players (not including Schafer) was equally, if not more, important. Organizational Players of the Year MLB.com's Preseason Picks J.D. Martinez, OF: It was predicted that Martinez would become a two-time winner, while leading the system in hitting once again and making his big league debut in September. That debut actually came in late July. And while he didn't top the system in hitting, his .338/.414/.546 line was nonetheless impressive. Mike Foltynewicz, RHP: Making his full-season debut, Folty was supposed to lead the organization in ERA and strikeouts. He was not close in either, as the right-hander had an up-and-down campaign, finishing with a 4.97 ERA and 88 K's in 134 innings. MLB.com's Postseason Selections Jose Altuve, 2B: Altuve wasn't even on the Top 10 list at the start of the season, then was only on it briefly -- due to graduating off of it to the big leagues. He's hit at every stop, and 2011 was no different, with a .389/.426/.591 line between the California and Texas Leagues before jumping up to Houston. Jake Buchanan, RHP: The 2010 eighth-round pick had the unenviable task of making his full-season debut in hitter-friendly Lancaster, but finished eighth in the league in ERA (His 3.80 ERA was second in the system) and earned a late callup to Double-A.
Good news guys. Jason Castro caught his first game for the Arizona Fall Leagues Salt River Rafters on Tuesday. Wasn't a great performance according to stats, but its still game experience. Batted 0 for 3 with 1 walk, 1 strikeout, and 2 groundouts. Had 1 passed ball, allowed 2 stolen bases, but threw one guy out. His team lost allowing 10 runs mostly by the bullpen (not much can be taken from that having not seen the game though.)
I'll try to make a better effort covering the Astros prospects in Arizona, but I probably won't give recaps of every game like I did in the regular season. The Salt River Rafters are 9-2, still tops in the AFL. In their last game, they walked off 8-7 winners against Phoenix yesterday. Jay Austin went 1-3, drew 2 walks, stole a base, and scored twice. Kody Hinze went 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Josh Zeid pitched the 7th, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. What the Heck, Bobby? has a list of Astros farmhands who will be playing winter ball in Latin America. Not quite complete, but names will be added once more information comes out. http://whattheheckbobby.blogspot.com/2011/10/caribbean-winter-leagues.html MLB.com has all the offseason league coverage. Go to the "Events" section, the click on "Offseason Leagues." Here is a schedule for the next 3 days in Venezuela. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/schedule/?sid=l135
MILB.com caught up with Kody Hinze and asked him a few questions about playing in the Arizona Fall League. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19919743&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_19919743&v=3
This is not a playoff team without Aj. In fact, AJ's health is what has kept this team out of the playoffs. Luck is very very good, but he will cost of money, require a lot of patients, and may or may not live of the hype. Count me in as a Texans fan who is tired of mediocrity and waiting on players to develop at key positions.
