so, if you hop over the wall, wait for the ball, and grip the wall from the other side with your non-glove hand so that your fingers are hanging over into the field of play, that would be an out?
Yeah, I've always heard that if your momentum carries you over the wall, it's an out. If you are just standing on the other side waiting, it is not.
http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/...tebook_id=30640774&vkey=notebook_hou&c_id=hou Mike Foltynewicz will be the starter for Lexington tonight in Asheville. Let's se if he can continue his excellent form. Damn. I knew Jack Armstrong had an injury history, but he had Tommy John surgery two weeks ago? I don't know how news like that could fly under the radar. Also, it looks like Jio Mier's hamstring injury could shelve him for quite some time.
Armstrong was an injury risk when they drafted him. Hopefully the TJ surgery fixes him for good and he can get out there. Sucks for Mier. He was really starting to put things together. I thought he was in line to finally see the beaches in Corpus. Might still be later one but this will certainly set him back.
An Interview with Mike Foltynewicz On his approach on the mound: "I'm real competitive and everything and I'll do everything I can to get a guy out. I'm just going to go at him and not back down. I don't care who it is. Just go right at him. Who cares?" On how his curveball is coming along: "I feel it's gotten a lot better since Greeneville a couple of years ago. I kind of had trouble with it a lot so I got into instructs that year and then spring training and then instructs again and I've worked on it a lot. Made it a lot sharper, made it break more and it's coming along at a decent pace right now. I'm still trying to get the hang of it, trying to throw it where I want to throw it more than just a guess where it's going to go. So it's coming along for me." On his pitches: "Fastball has to be my best pitch. Change up is coming along real nice ... It's a 4-seam circle change up and it's just slower really. I just throw it just like my fastball and it's gotten a lot of swing and misses, a lot of pop ups to first base, grounds out to first base. It's basically night and day on my change up when I first came into professional baseball. It's coming along real well. It's probably my second best pitch." On his velocity: "Fastball the last couple games I've been sitting, I think Bork [pitching coach Dave Borkowski] told me 93-94, getting up to 96 a couple times in the game. It's getting there. It's staying the same. I'm getting it above 92." On what he works on in the off-season: "I try to gain weight. It's hard for me. I don't know why. I just lose it. I eat and eat like a horse. Just get big and work out and work on the mechanics. That's what we worked on a lot in instructs last year was my mechanics, so I just took that in the off-season as well." On the biggest difference between this season and last: "Just the confidence, I think, and just a little tweak in the mechanics and in my motion. After Hagerstown [his second start], I had a pretty good outing and I just felt real confident after that. I just felt like no one could hit me - just go out there, let them try and hit me. I'm just really in the zone a lot of people like to be in. Just go along with it. I'm getting a lot of strikeouts so far this year, a lot better than last year. I feel like I'm putting guys away better than last year, making them hit it on the ground better. It's all starting starting to come together for me." On the long delay in getting his first professional win: "It didn't really bother me. Borkowski would joke with me all the time about it. It was just kind of in the back of my head. It's like ... I gotta get that first win, I gotta get that first win. It was a pretty fun time when I got that first win." On whether workload contributed to his late-season fade in 2011: "It might have been. It was my first full season. There was just a lot of hype on me, a lot of people watching me because it would be my first year to see what I could do. I was a little nervous all year, didn't know what to expect and it was a real long year. But now I know. I know how to train in the off-season. I know what to expect." On where he sees himself and the key to getting there: "Where I see myself ... I always thought of myself as 2-3 [in the rotation], maybe 1, maybe some day down the road. The key there is to stay healthy and work hard every day. When I'm between those lines, it's 100%. I'm going at it. There's a time to joke around and a time to have fun, but when I'm out there to work on something, I'm going to do it the best I can and I think that's going to take me where I need to go. Whatever Bork says or Matlack [Jon Matlack, roving Pitching Coordinator] has to say to try to fix my mechanics or something, I'll do it and see how it works and try to work on that every day and get better and that's what I think is going to get me there. And stay healthy." On who on the team makes him laugh: "Chowning, it's gotta be Chowning. [Jason] Chowning, [Tanner] Bushue and [Nathan] Pettus ... all those guys are funny. [More on Jason Chowning] He's a good guy. Basically took me in last year. He was in Lexington with me last year, and we just hit it off in Spring Training. He's a real good guy. I love hanging around with him. He's one of those people to look up to. He's done it all already." On what he would do if he couldn't play baseball: "If I couldn't play baseball, I'd more than likely try to play golf, try to get on the tour. Or play basketball. Try to get in the NBA. Because I was decent in high school in basketball. [Did he ever play football?] Mom wouldn't let me. Mom wouldn't let me play football." On which teammate he would least like to face in the batter's box: "Johnson [1B Zach Johnson] right now because he's been on a tear. He's hitting anything. [Matt] Duffy - he kind of scares me in there, just a big figure. Looks like he's got a ... tree trunk for a bat. He's got good power." On something most people don't know about him: "I play the drums. I play the drums all the time, and I used to be in a band in high school, high school days. That's what a lot of people don't really know about me. I used to play the drums a lot. I used to play them every time before a game in high school." Any final words?: "I'm a real competitive guy and I'll do anything to win out there. I'll lay it on the line for the team every day and try to get a win, hopefully a championship ring down the road some day."
I am not sure, he has a better slugging% than Deer regularly exhibited. If he can hit what he has in the past (.265) with solid walks, he can be Greg Vaughn.
Monday Stories This whole night was just one giant trash fire for the Astros organization. 2 stinkers, 2 solid starts. 0 wins. Recap OKC started off a day of misery as they were doubled up 8-4 by Omaha. Not really that close, as the Storm Chasers pounded Paul Clemens for 8 runs in 3 innings, and the KO punch came courtesy of a David Lough grand slam off Clemens. Crash Hessman hit a solo homer (4) in the 2nd to put the Redhawks on the board first. Fernando Martinez had an RBI double, and Justin Ruggiano went 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Clemens went 3 1/3, allowing 8 runs on 11 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1. The bullpen made sure no further damage was done, as they shut out the Chasers for the rest of the game by allowing only 2 hits, walking 3, and striking out 6 in the final 4 2/3. Rhiner Cruz looked a lot better in his 2nd rehab appearance. He allowed a hit in a scoreless 8th inning and had a strikeout. Corpus has yet to score in their series with San Antonio. They lost 1-0 and are now on a 9-game losing streak. The Hooks were held to 4 hits and have not scored since the top of the 8th inning against Midland on Friday night, a drought of 28 innings. Jose Martinez had 3 of the 4 hits, while Brandon Barnes had a double. They left Wes Musick out to dry in his Corpus debut. In 7 quality innings, he allowed a run on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 7. Musick threw 89 pitches tonight, getting 3 groundouts and 4 flyouts. He more than did his part... I can't say the same for the offense. Jason Stoffel finished the game with 2 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3. Lancaster could not have had a worse start tonight. They were down 9-0 to Bakersfield and it had all the makings of a laugher. Zach Grimmett was horrid, as he allowed 7 runs on 7 hits (2 2-run homers) in 3 innings, striking out 2. Andrew Robinson allowed 2 more in the 4th to make it 9-0, but the light turned on for the Jethawks, as they slowly clawed their way back into the game, and it was made possible with a Blaze error. With 2 men on in the 5th, George Springer hit a routine flyball to right that would have ended the inning. Instead, Stephen Hunt dropped the ball and Springer, Enrique Hernandez, and Rafael Valenzuela all scored. One batter later, Telvin Nash launched one out of the Hangar for his 10th homer of the season. But alas, it was not to be, as Lancaster ultimately fell 9-6. Valenzuela had a triple in 3 at-bats, drew 2 walks, and scored 3 times. Rene Garcia went 3-4. Springer went 1-3 with a sac fly and stole his 7th base. And the big story... Telvin Nash went 3-4 and added an RBI double in addition to his homer. Lexington let their game with Asheville get away late, as Dayan Diaz served up a solo homer to Will Swanner in the 8th that broke a 3-3 tie, and resulted in a 4-3 loss. Sigh. Mike Foltynewicz was a bit off at times, but still handcuffed the Tourists in his 6 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits, walking 4 and striking out 4. John Hinson, a native of Asheville, North Carolina, went 2-4 with a double and scored all 3 Legends runs. Jordan Scott doubled him home in the 3rd, and Delino DeShields singled him home in the 5th and 7th. DeShields was also caught stealing for the first time, as he was run down in the 7th to end the inning. Three Stars I think I'm going to take a few liberties and name an extra person as a star of the night. 4. John Hinson, 2B, Lexington 2-4, 2B, 3 R as the DH He's having a great series in his hometown. As long as he's hitting, he'll find his way in the lineup a little more often. I think he could turn in to a legitimate sleeper candidate as the season goes on. 3. Mike Foltynewicz, P, Lexington ND, 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 4 K He wasn't sharp all evening, but he turned in another quality start for the Legends. The strides that Folty has made this season has me thinking that he could become a better version of Bud Norris down the line. He's still a few years away from the Astros truly knowing what they have, but I'm thinking they've got a great #3 or a good #2 on their hands. 2. Telvin Nash, 1B/DH, Lancaster 3-4, 2B, HR (10), 2 RBI as the LF Hopefully, this could be the start of a turnaround, as Nash has had a miserable start to May. I'll temper my right-handed Ryan Howard ceiling a little until he drastically cuts down the strikeout rate. I like the Greg Vaughn comparison, although I think he'll be somewhere in between Mo and Greg. 1. Wes Musick, P, Corpus Christi L, 7 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 7 K on 89 pitches Great debut. Kept the Missions guessing and was efficient all night. Might be his only start in Corpus for a while, at least until the promotions are in full swing. Given his age, they should keep him up. Seems like a late-bloomer type. Sadly, his offense didn't do him any favors. Honorable Mentions Justin Ruggiano, CF, OKC: Good insurance in the outfield. Sergio Perez: I'm sort of rooting for him to get to Houston, even if only for a cup of coffee. Partly because that 2006 draft was pretty craptacular. Rhiner Cruz: Looked much better this time around. I look forward to seeing him back in Houston in a week or so. Jose Martinez: Lone bright spot as Corpus embarrassed themselves on offense yet again. His personal tragedy has motivated him to become a better player, and I'm 100% behind him. Jeff Luhnow saw the potential he had as a teenager, and after injuries and that horrific episode in his life, he's displaying that potential. Goat For the second straight night... Shut out once again, on a 9-game losing streak. Need I say more? Dishonorable mentions go out to Dayan Diaz for allowing the go-ahead home run that turned out to be the difference, and Paul Clemens and Zach Grimmett for stinking up the joint in their starts. I still like Diaz though. He should be on his way up once the promotions start. Looking Ahead After getting swept out of Omaha, OKC has lost possession of first place in their division and is now on a 5-game losing streak. They'll look to snap out of it as they return home for 2 4-game series. First up, the Las Vegas 51s. Jarred Cosart will get the start in a one-off. After that, he'll be on his merry way back to Corpus. His opponent will be Drew Carpenter. First pitch 7:05. Will Corpus finally score a run? Well, they'll probably have to if they want to try to salvage this disastrous series against San Antonio, and they're trying to avoid a 10-game losing streak in the process, AND they're trying to keep the Missions in last place while they try to avoid falling into that hole themselves. Should be incentive enough to win this one, right? Ross Seaton will take the mound against Keyvius Sampson, the Padres' #10 prospect. Sampson is holding his own in AA after skipping the Cali League to begin the season. First pitch will be at 7:05. Lancaster had a 4-game winning streak snapped, and for the time being, they're 1 game under .500. The Jethawks will call on R.J. Alaniz tonight in the 2nd game of their series against Bakersfield. Gametime will be at 7 Pacific. Don't look now, but Luis Cruz has strung together a couple of nice starts for Lexington. He gets the start in the 3rd game of their series with Asheville. First pitch will be at 7:05 Eastern. The Tourists will go with Alex Gillingham. Yes, yes, wins and losses don't matter, yada yada yada. But it's time for a... Standings Update OKC is 17-13 and they have dropped to 3rd in the PCL American Southern Division, thanks to their 5-game losing streak. They are 2 games behind Albuquerque, and have one more loss than New Orleans, who are in 2nd. Corpus Christi is on that dreadful 9-game losing streak, and they find themselves tied with San Antonio for last place in the Texas League's South Division, and tied with San Antonio for the worst overall record at 12-19. This team has been the biggest disappointment so far. The Hooks are 8 games behind Frisco. Lancaster stands at 15-16, good for 3rd in the California League South, 1.5 games behind High Desert, but they're only a half-game out of last, too, as they, Inland Empire, and Rancho Cucamonga are tied with 15 wins, but the 66ers and Quakes have 17 losses. Lexington, at 14-17, is in 4th place, smack-dab in the middle of the South Atlantic League's Southern Division. They are 8 games behind Charleston, and ahead of Augusta on percentage points, as the GreenJackets are 13-16 and also 8 games back. The Legends may need to pick it up a bit, as they're starting to lag behind Asheville and Savannah, who are in a tie for 2nd at 19-12.
Also, I don't know why I keep forgetting to mention this, but the Dominican Summer League will begin play on June 2. The bonus babies will finally be in action. I guess being the Dominican Summer League is reason enough. And, I'll probably write all the recaps in the mornings from now on, since I'd venture to think that not very many people will be reading all of that at 1 or 2 in the morning. I'd say this is pretty reasonable. Howard, as a former MVP, is the absolute best case. The other three have carved out some nice careers, too. So, Telvin Nash could shape up to be a great major league DH. Or, he could turn out to be another Mike Hessman. Speaking of Nash, here's a Baseball America write-up on him that was posted just this morning. http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/05/astros-telvin-nash-gets-back-to-home-cooking/
I don't want to be that guy (oh right, I am), but the almost-Astros prospect, Anthony Gose, smacked a 2-run triple off Jarred Cosart tonight.
The sad part is that Brett "Hitting Machine" Wallace is 0-2 with a K, the player for whom Gose was flipped for.
Just browsing though some of our minor league numbers this morning. Got to Springer and Telvin Nash's numbers. They looked OK, maybe a little dissapointing given the extreme hitters environment. But then i got to their peripherals. Springer 42 Ks in 31 games, with only 9 walks. Nash 43 K's in 27 games with only 12 walks. Those are terrifyingly high rates. I understand they are both still raw, but if they are striking out that much in A-Ball, it's a concern. It's the kind of thing that can still be ironed out, but somebody needs to put a governor on these kids before these bad habits set to strongly.
Most of us were so happy, and thought we had made the Oswalt deal so much better when we traded Gose for Wallace. Problem is, ultimately we are looking at stats and old scouting reports and rankings, so we were never in a position to evaluate that trade as fans. The one trade that I think Ed Wade definitely lost during his tenure. Gose may not make it, but at least he'd be a valuable asset, while Wallace is Chris Davis (who finally seems to have put it together at the ML level).
Tuesday Stories Jarred Cosart makes his one and only start for OKC, at least for the time being. Corpus tries desperately to break a long, long scoring drought, a 9-game losing streak, and to salvage something, anything from a poor series. R.J. Alaniz back in action for Lancaster, in a very odd game of sorts. Lexington looks to finish their roadtrip with a winning record as they look to earn a split in Asheville. Recap OKC is still mired in their recent run of poor form, dropping a 4-1 decision to Las Vegas in their series opener. This marked their 6th straight loss. Jarred Cosart had his one-off start in Aneury Rodriguez's stead, and pitched OK. In 6 innings, he allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. The Redhawks defense was rather shaky, as they committed 3 errors. 2 from Jimmy Paredes, and 1 from Brian Bixler. The only run came courtesy of a Justin Ruggiano double that scored Fernando Martinez. Now, on to a sore point for some of us.... Brett Wallace went 0-4 with a strikeout. The guy they flipped for him went 2-5 with a 2-run triple and scored twice. Corpus Christi, in the midst of a 9-game losing streak and a 28-inning scoreless drought, looked to salvage their series with San Antonio. The Hooks failed to score in the 1st, so make that 29 innings without a run. Well, what happened next was the Hooks just going on a rampage, as they scored 13 unanswered on their way to a 17-3 romp. For such a show of force, there was only 1 home run in the game. That homer came off the bat of Jonathan Singleton, and it was a solo shot in the 7th for his 4th homer of the season. He went 1-3 with 3 walks and scored 4 times. All 9 guys got a hit tonight. Austin Wates went 3-5 with a triple and scored 3 times. Jonathan Villar got the show started with an RBI sacrifice bunt that scored Singleton in the 2nd, which tied the game at 1. One batter later, Ryan McCurdy ripped an RBI double that gave the Hooks the lead, and sent them on their merry way. Jake Goebbert went 3-5, drew a bases-loaded walk, had an RBI single, and scored 3 times. Jose Martinez went 2-6 with 3 RBI. Brandon Barnes was 2-2, drew 4 walks, and scored 3 times. Andrew Simunic had a sac fly in the 8th, and an error on the very same play cleared the bases for runs 15, 16, and 17. Jonathan Villar went 1-5 with 3 RBI, 2 of which came on outs, and the other came on an RBI single after Singleton's homer. Ross Seaton seems to be a lot more confident once he's been staked to a massive lead. He allowed 1 run on 4 hits in 7 innings, striking out 2. He even got in on the act as he chipped in with a 2-run single. I'm a little startled at how drastic his strikeout rate has dropped. As of right now, Seaton only has 14 strikeouts through 35 2/3 innings of work and has yet to strike out more than 4 in a game. Speaking of that bases-clearing error, here it is. Sorry, no embed code. http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=21279501 In a rather uncharacteristic game at the most extreme hitter's park in the Minors, Lancaster was held to 4 hits in a 3-2 loss to Bakersfield. The Jethawks were flustered by Blaze starter Justice French, who was making his first start since being promoted from low-A Dayton. In 6 innings, French handcuffed Lancaster, limiting them to 2 hits, and he walked 2 and struck out 4. R.J. Alaniz had another fine pitching performance tonight; in 8 innings, he allowed 2 runs (both in the 7th) on 7 hits, walked 1, and fanned 5. The Jethawks only had 4 hits, and 3 of them were doubles. The big hit came off the bat of Enrique Hernandez, who jacked a very, very long 2-run double that tied the game in the 8th. Unfortunately, Pat Urckfitz untied the game by serving up a solo shot to Donald Lutz in the 9th. Telvin Nash answered with a double to lead off the bottom half of the inning, was lifted for Rafael Valenzuela, and was glued there to end the game, as Erik Castro and Domingo Santana struck out, and Jonathan Meyer grounded out. Lexington earned a split in their series in Asheville, winning 2-1 despite committing 3 errors. The win also ensured that they would finish their roadtrip with a winning record. Both Legends runs were scored in the 3rd, as John Hinson was able to come home on a passed ball, as Delino DeShields struck out and reached 1st safely. DeShields would come home as Jordan Scott ripped a double to right field. There were no earned runs in this game for either team. Luis Cruz had another nice start. In 6 innings, he allowed an unearned run in the 3rd on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. Carlos Quevedo followed up with 2 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 2, and striking out 1. Jason Chowning allowed an infield single in the 9th to Brian Humphries, who got as far as 3rd. But, Chowning was able to earn his 5th save by getting Rosell Herrera to ground out to end the game, leaving Humphries 90 feet away. Hinson went 2-4, as did Roberto Pena. Jordan Scott had the RBI double that proved to be the difference. Luis Cruz is in the same boat as Tanner Bushue. Young guy in his 3rd year with Lexington. But, Cruz has fared infinitely better than Bushue has. I asked around as to whether or not he had a future with the Astros and got this. Please promote Jason Chowning as soon as possible. It would be greatly appreciated. There was also a roster move made between the A clubs, with Jio Mier getting placed on the DL. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Alex Todd has been promoted to Lancaster to fill the hole left by Jiovanni Miers hamstring.Chan Moon is replacing him in Lexington</p>— Brooks Parker (@Subber10) <a href="https://twitter.com/Subber10/status/200078896035667968" data-datetime="2012-05-09T04:25:00+00:00">May 9, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> If you're not familiar with him, Chan-Jong Moon was signed in 2009 out of a South Korean high school for $350,000. He spent last season in Greeneville, hitting .207/.302/.293 with 1 homer, 12 RBI, and had a 16:51 BB:K figure in 43 games. Moon's MiLB player page: http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=578628 Astros County write-up after his first season in the Gulf Coast League: http://www.astroscounty.com/2010/09/gcl-astros-chan-jong-moon.html Three Stars Once again, I'm feeling that some extra liberties need to be taken. And some really tough choices to make, since there were some standout pitching performances tonight. 4. Luis Cruz, P, Lexington W, 6 IP, 4 H, R (unearned), BB, 5 K He's been a very pleasant surprise since entering the rotation. Upside seems limited due to his small stature (5'9", 170) and the fact that there are better pitchers in the system. Could this be the year he puts it all together so he can finally get out of Lexington? 3. R.J. Alaniz, P, Lancaster ND, 8 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K Bakersfield finally solved Alaniz in the 7th, but he's dispelling the notion that it's excruciatingly tough to pitch in Lancaster. He's another guy looking to get to Corpus by mid-season. I haven't seen any reports on his stuff, but if he is indeed in the mid-90s already, then he could finish with some gaudy numbers. 2. Ross Seaton, P, Corpus Christi W, 7 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 K I really, really hope that Seaton can string together some really nice starts. Before the season, I wrote that all he needed was consistency, and that he would get a good dose of it in repeating a level for the first time. So far, it hasn't quite come to fruition yet. Tonight was a step in the right direction, but my question is: Can he stay in the right direction? 1. The entire Corpus Christi offense 17 R, 16 H, E After not scoring for almost an entire series, the Hooks O just absolutely erupted and emphatically ended their 9-game losing streak. Contributions came in from everyone. Probably the most complete offensive performance of any team in the system this season. Goat Seems easy to give this one to Pat Urckfitz for allowing a go-ahead homer in the 9th that turned out to be the winning run. Dishonorable mentions go out to Erik Castro and Domingo Santana for having horrendous at-bats which pretty much wasted Telvin Nash's double to lead off the bottom of the 9th. Looking Ahead A light slate in the schedule today, as Corpus and Lexington have today off. OKC will be back in action at 11:05 AM as they play game 2 of their series with Las Vegas. Dallas Keuchel will take the mound against Scott Richmond. Corpus has today off, then Frisco will come to town for 4 beginning tomorrow. Lancaster concludes their series with Bakersfield tonight. First pitch will be at 7 Pacific, with Lancaster's starter to be determined. Lexington is heading home in order to begin a brief homestand against Hagerstown beginning tomorrow. After that, they'll be hitting the road again, travelling to West Virginia and Kannapolis.
We knew the Ks were going to be a big concern with both. Nash will survive no problem if he can get his rate down to 25%. Springer probably needs to get it down to about 20%. Way too early to judge Springer, especially since we knew he might take longer than the typical college player, but when you look at what Taylor Jungmann, Jed Bradley, Matt Barnes, & Sonny Gray are doing, you have to wonder what if.
The difference between Gose and Wallace is simply age and their respective positions on their career arcs. One still seemingly has potential because he has not reached the point where Wallace has to show that the potential is not going to come to fruition. It's about like the difference between Tim Redding and Kirk Saarloos circa 2003. Redding had come up and been shown to be a fraud, Saarloos was still down in AAA so we still had some possible hope. Saarloos just needed the time to come up and show to also not be good just like Redding. Give Gose time and his career arc will follow Wallace's to a T.
