Yep, Juicy was spot on.. http://brianmctaggart.mlblogs.com/2011/06/01/altuve-villar-promoted-paredes-to-3b/
Jonathan Villar is probably the most intriguing prospect and has the highest ceiling of the Astros prospect because of the position he plays, age, and skill set. He just turned 20 last month and is already at AA. He plays shortstop which is a premier position. I know he has struggled on defense but he is a great athlete with plenty of speed and should get better. He also is a switch hitter who walks a lot.
Altuve is really starting to intrigue. He could be this team's everyday whatever at this point, and I'd watch... Looks like he primarily plays 2b, but could probably fill in as a LF while we ride out the Keppinger heat-wave. Get rid of Carlos Lee and get these young guys up here!
If you sitting Lee for a Hook, it's for JD Martinez. Dude had another 2 hit night but if Altuve continues to produce and shows something in ST, I can see him being the everyday 2B while keeping Kepp or Sanchez as insurance.
Darn you rockets934life!!! Anyway, as I said earlier, the Dominican Summer League is underway. The Astros' academy opened up with losses to the Pirates and Rays before defeating one of the Yankees squads 10-6 yesterday. The Cubs, Mets, and Yankees each operate 2 teams in the league. Today, they faced the Indians, and held them in check until the 7th, when the Indians erupted for 5 runs and added 1 more in the 8th for the icing. Geronimo Franzua allowed 3 hits in his 6 innings of work and got the no-decision thanks to the bullpen failure. Wow, even the big club's bullpen failures are trickling down to the young Latin Americans. A valiant effort from OKC to draw to within 1, but they couldn't get the breakthrough as they fell 7-6 to Round Rock. Tommy Manzella and Koby Clemens homered. RRS allowed 5 runs, walked 5, and struck out 5 in 4 2/3 to earn the loss. See rockets934life's post for the Corpus Christi recap. New level, same results for Jose Altuve.... Xavier Cedeno once again held Springfield in check, unfortunately for him, he didn't factor in the decision. Jimmy Paredes now has 20 steals on the year. I believe that leads the organization, if I'm not mistaken. Replacing the dearly departed infield of Lancaster were Miguel Arrendell and, fresh from extended spring training, Hector Rodriguez. Arrendell played 2nd, hit 7th, and went 2-4 with an RBI. Rodriguez was at short and hit 9th. He went 2-4 and scored a run. Ben Heath drove in 2, and 5 other Jethawks drove in a run as they defeated Modesto 8-3. Jake Buchanan improved to 4-3 on the season, going 7 innings and allowing 8 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) without walking anyone. He struck out 7. His ERA now stands at 3.15. Lexington fell to West Virginia 5-1. Rather droll on the Legends' end.... they were held to 3 hits. Jordan Scott, last year's 14th-round pick, making his season debut, played left, batted 9th, and drove in the only run, going 1-3. He batted .301 with 10 RBI in 146 at-bats (42 games) with the Gulf Coast League team last year, with a .372 OBP and a .370 slugging percentage.
Villar, Altuve share "unbelievable" day: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/...&content_id=19911520&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb Also, I stand corrected. Jimmy Paredes drew even with Jonathan Villar in stolen bases tonight.
^^I just looked at the box score from the Hooks game and realized that it suddenly looks like we have quite a few good prospects at AA. JD of course, but now the infield of Altuve, Villar, and Paredes is very interesting. Throw in Wikoff and that's a good set of young players. With Lyles doing well at AAA/MLB, Wallace getting comfortable, and if Castro comes back strong....things could be looking up for this team in the next couple of years. /optimism
penciling in Lyles as an Opening Day starter already? you know, I hope you're right. if that's true, then things will turned around smashingly for us by then. I like your lineup, but you've left out at least one or two mid-30s has-been or never-were players that we sign for about $5-7 million because they had a nice season or two five or six years back. I'm just sayin'.
Don't forget Bourn has the devil as an agent, and Pence will be making big big money. By 2013, both maybe gone.
I actually hope they both are (I want a complete rebuild, and if you can get a great return on them you do it), but then I couldn't make it a 2013 lineup. I wouldn't know who would play CF(Bourgeois?) or RF. I'm also hoping for a different 3B, since Johnson at his best is Joe Crede offensively, and is a pedestrian defensive player.
Maybe by 2013 Austin Wates? Probably premature. Perhaps JB Shuck, although I'm skeptical on him being an every major leaguer.
Opening day lineup in 2013??? Hard to say but I can see Altuve, Wates, Villar and Clemens breaking camp with the team out of ST in 2013. I can also see Lyles, Foltyz and Dallas Keuchel being part of the roatation. I imagine Wallace is the only starters right now guarenteed a spot in two years. Pence and Bourn could be here but their age and value make them valuable trade assets. Happ, Norris, A. Rodriguez all seem to be part of the future while Wandy and Myers will be history by then either via trade or just contract running out.
Jason Bourgeois began his rehab assignment with OKC tonight. Playing center field, he was the leadoff hitter and went 2-4 with a triple and scored twice. The Redhawks jumped Round Rock for 5 in the 1st as they crushed the Express 11-1. Brandon Barnes drove in 2 and scored twice. J.B. Shuck went 3-4 with 4 RBI. The Hairless One, Gustavo Chacin, pitched 5 scoreless for the win. So we all waited in anticipation of Altuve and Villar's encore. The Hooks, however, got thrashed by Springfield 9-1. Altuve went 1-3, and Villar went 1-4 and came home when Jacob Goebbert singled in the 6th. Jonnathan Aristil walked 1 and fanned 8 in 5..... but the downside was that he allowed 5 runs in the same timespan. For that, he gets the loss. Lancaster tied the game at 4 in the 8th, but Modesto answered with 2 of their own in the bottom half to get the 6-4 victory. Kody Hinze hit his 13th homer of the year, a 2-run shot in the 4th. Bobby Doran left the game after only 1 inning. Hope it's not an injury, and hope he has a speedy recovery if it turns out to be one. I'm an extremely poor speculator, but I think he'd be a lot better off had he started off in Lexington. Michael Ness replaced him and proceeded to pitch 5 innings of 1-run relief. Wander Alvino took the loss. He only gave up 1 hit in his 2 innings, but allowed 3 runs (2 earned) and walked 4 Nuts. In Lexington, Alex Sogard took the hill for his first start of the season. He proceeded to allow a leadoff homer to Drew Maggi. The good news is that that would constitute all of the West Virginia offense today. Sogard lasted 5 innings, only allowing the homer. The Legends got to work with Adam Bailey tying the game with his 12th homer of the season. Mike Kvasnicka completed the rally with a 2-run homer in the 8th. Final score: Lexington 3, West Virginia 1. Brian Streilein got the win in relief, pitching 3 innings of 1-hit ball.
Why is Kody Hinze still at Lancaster, he's almost 24. Its not as if some stud is manning first at Corpus. I don't care that he isn't viewed as a major prospect. 1/3 of the way through the year, and he's tearing it up with no signs of slowing down.
Something people should understand. Don't overestimate a player because he played in the little toy box in Lancaster. The Clear Channel Stadium is ridiculous in terms of a hitter's park. Kobe Clemens had a crazy year there amongst others as well. It doesn't mean that if you're hitting .400 that you shouldn't get a chance, but just because someone is going crazy with offensive stats in Lancaster doesn't really mean they're any good.
