Could Martinez's get swapped for each other while one is hot and the other is not?? I forget that J.D. has never played in AAA before so maybe he could get going down there.
They seem reluctant to send J.D. down, but that is the only way I think they make that move. If they send down Bogey, he'll be on waivers, and I don't think they want to do that.
Sunday Stories OKC's bats are on fire. In before "hitter's park" comments. Jose Cisnero's forgettable May continues. I swear, the entire Corpus offense decided to slump. A very forgettable day for starting pitching in the Astros organization. Luis Cruz turned in yet another great start. Who would have thought Tropeano, Foltynewicz, and Cruz would be Lexington's top 3 starters? Recap OKC earned a split with Reno, defeating them 10-9 in the 4th and final game of their series. Fernando Martinez clubbed a 2-run homer (8) as part of a 5-run 2nd inning. Landon Powell went 2-5 with a 2-run homer (3; 3rd straight game with a homer) in the 3rd. Scott Moore had a solo homer (6) of his own in the 4th, and Brett Wallace went 2-5 with a solo homer (6) in the 7th. Brian Bixler and Jimmy Paredes had 2 hits and an RBI apiece. Mickey Storey got the spot start and went 3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 7. Corpus unraveled late in Midland, as they allowed the Rockhounds to score 5 in the bottom of the 8th to run away with a 9-3 victory. Really, no standout offensive performer, as Jake Goebbert had an RBI double for the Hooks' lone extra-base hit and Austin Wates had an RBI single. Ryan McCurdy scored the other Hooks run on a wild pitch in the 5th. Jose Cisnero's struggles continue, as he allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in only 4 innings. He walked 3 and fanned 5, and it took him 97 pitches to get through those 4 innings. Cisnero got the loss, but Josh Zeid was just manhandled in the 8th, as he gave up 5 runs on 4 hits and walked a man while only getting 1 out. Another classic case of... Lancaster was whacked in their series opener with High Desert, losing 11-4. Adam Bailey went 4-4 with a 2-run homer (7) in the 1st. George Springer went 2-4 with 2 singles and scored twice to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, and his 1.000+ OPS-streak to 8 games. Ben Heath went 2-4 with a double and an RBI, and Domingo Santana got an RBI on an out. David Martinez was pummeled in his 4 1/3 innings, allowing 7 runs on 9 hits (2-run homer), walking 3 and striking out 8. In the only good start by a pitcher in the Astros organization, Luis Cruz owned Kannapolis for 7 2/3 shutout innings in a 7-1 Lexington win. Cruz allowed 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 7 to improve to 4-1 on the year. The Legends were led offensively by Zach Johnson (2-5 with a double), Matt Duffy (4-5 with 2 doubles), and Drew Muren (3-4), who drove in 2 apiece. Delino DeShields was the only person in the lineup without a hit, but drew a walk and scored a run. Game Scores Luis Cruz, Lexington: 78 Jose Cisnero, Corpus Christo: 38 Mickey Storey, Oklahoma City: 34 David Martinez, Lancaster: 22 Three Stars 3. Matt Duffy, 3B, Lexington 4-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI As you've heard me say it before, I wouldn't be opposed to sending Duffy to Corpus Christi. His bat looks advanced enough to skip Lancaster. 2. Adam Bailey, RF, Lancaster 4-4, HR (7), 2 RBI One of the lone bright spots in a grim afternoon for Lancaster. Too bad he's buried on the depth chart. 1. Luis Cruz, P, Lexington W, 7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 78 Game Score Cruz looks like he came out of nowhere, didn't he? The truth is, he's back in Lexington for the 3rd time. He pitched reasonably well the first time he was in Lexington during the 2010 season, got shelled in 1 start in Lancaster last year, and was alright (but homer-prone) in his second time back, so why is he back again? Honorable Mentions Zach Johnson, 1B, Lexington: That's 46 RBI in 40 games. I think he could be ready for a promotion. Drew Muren, RF, Lexington: Another solid game from him. The lanky OF (think Kevin Martin) looks like he's one of those late-bloomer types. Brett Wallace, 1B/3B, Oklahoma City: Terrible plate discipline will keep him stuck in AAA for the foreseeable future. But it's nice that he's showing some signs of life, because he really needs to pick it up in a hurry. Goat Well, for turning what was a manageable game into a laugher, I'd say Josh Zeid gets the nod. Dishonorable mentions go out to the Sunday starters not named Luis Cruz. Looking Ahead OKC continues their trip by kicking off a series with Colorado Springs. TBD vs. TBD will be the pitching matchup for the game, which starts at 7:05. Brett Oberholtzer takes the hill for Corpus against Midland, who will go with Murphy Smith. First pitch will be at 6:30. Bobby Doran will take the mound for Lancaster, as they look to regain sole possession of 1st in the division from High Desert. TBD will oppose him. First pitch will be at 7 Pacific. And Lexington will make a quick pit stop at home as they host West Virginia at 7:05 Eastern. In a rematch of Wednesday's pitching matchup, Jonas Dufek will go up against Ryan Hafner.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Wes Musick has been promoted to Oklahoma City and will start tonight.</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/204690696261734402" data-datetime="2012-05-21T21:50:39+00:00">May 21, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Correction, he's in the game right now.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Jesse Wierzbicki seems to be moving up to @<a href="https://twitter.com/LexingtonLegend">LexingtonLegend</a> from EST <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%2523astros">#astros</a></p>— Brooks Parker (@Subber10) <a href="https://twitter.com/Subber10/status/204753802841174018" data-datetime="2012-05-22T02:01:25+00:00">May 22, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> A 24th round pick out of North Carolina in the 2011 Draft, Wierzbicki hit .265/.358/.444 with 5 homers and 28 RBI in 45 games with Greeneville. I may be reading a little too much into this, but either Matt Duffy or Zach Johnson will be moving on up.
Monday Stories Wes Musick earned himself a spot start for OKC. How did he fare? Nice start from Brett Oberholtzer. Hopefully, he can get some kind of consistency. Well, Bobby Doran couldn't elude the Lancaster effect all season, right? Unfortunately, Lexington let a game slip away late. Recap OKC kicked off the 2nd leg of their roadtrip by beating Colorado Springs 5-3 in the series opener. J.B. Shuck and Jimmy Paredes both went 3-5 and scored twice from the top of the order. Paredes had himself an RBI single in the 3rd. Then, one batter later, Fernando Martinez sent Shuck and Paredes home with a single of his own. Those would be the only runs scored for a while. But I'll get to that in a bit. Wes Musick was solid in his Triple-A debut, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits in 6 innings of work. He walked 1 and struck out 2. Adalberto Flores allowed a solo homer to Wil Nieves in the 7th that tied the game at 3. But, Mike Hessman came through in the 9th by delivering a pinch-hit go-ahead 2-run single. Jose Valdez allowed a hit and a walk in the 9th, but nothing came of it, and he was able to get his 10th save of the season. Corpus earned a split in their series with Midland by winning 5-2. Jose Martinez went 2-4 with an RBI single in the 1st for the opening run of the game. Big night for Jonathan Villar, as he went 4-5 with a 2-run single in the 2nd. Jake Goebbert also scored a run in the 2nd on an error from Midland pitcher Murphy Smith. And finally in the 8th, Brandon Barnes scored on a wild pitch. Brett Oberholtzer was solid, throwing 6 shutout innings. He allowed 8 hits (1 double, only extra-base hit), walked 1, and fanned 9. Kevin Chapman allowed 2 runs in the 8th, but Erick Abreu was able to shut the door for his 1st save. Lancaster dropped another one and surrendered 1st place to High Desert, losing this one 8-2. Bobby Doran's had a great start to the season, and strangely enough, he's pitched much better at home than on the road. But let's get real for a moment. He got bit by the Lancaster effect last night. In 6 1/3 innings of work, he allowed 5 runs (4 earned, 2 inherited) on 5 hits (solo homer), walked 3, and struck out 7. Well, Doran didn't pitch horribly. The 2 inherited runs charged to him really damaged his line, though. On the offensive side, nothing really went right. Domingo Santana had an RBI single in the 1st, and Erik Castro hit a solo homer (7) in the 7th. George Springer went 1-4 with a double and scored on Santana's single, running his hit streak to 12 games. His 1.000+ OPS streak was snapped at 8 games. Lexington let it slip away late, as Murilo Gouvea allowed an RBI single in Gregory Polanco that resulted in the go-ahead run for West Virginia. That would be the difference in a 4-3 Legends loss. Jonas Dufek probably had his best start of the season, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits (solo homer in the 7th that tied the game at 3) in 7 innings, walking 1 and striking out 3. Delino DeShields went 1-4 with a walk, scored twice, and stole 2 bases to give him 28 on the season. Jordan Scott went 1-4 with an RBI groundout, Zach Johnson was 2-3 with an RBI single, and Chris Epps had an RBI double in the 4th. As my previous post stated, Jesse Wierzbicki, who was the regular 1B in Greeneville last season, will be heading to Lexington from extended spring training. No word on a corresponding roster move, but I'm assuming that either Matt Duffy or Zach Johnson is moving up. Game Scores Brett Oberholtzer: 64 Wes Musick: 53 Jonas Dufek: 53 Bobby Doran: 49 Three Stars 3. Wes Musick, P, Oklahoma City ND, 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K, 53 Game Score Did well enough. He's really turned into a dependable pitcher, no matter where he's at. He kept Colorado Springs at bay and gave OKC a chance to win. Nothing more you can ask from Musick... he did very well. 2. Jonathan Villar, SS, Corpus Christi 4-5, 2 RBI, SB After struggling mightily to open the season, Villar looks like he's coming around. He's slugging .299 on the season, but that's because he's been hitting a lot of ground balls, and his flyball rate is well below the Texas League average. He has decent power and really good speed, so I think the extra-base hits will come in time. His K rate is down this season, but at the same time, his walk rate has dropped as well. 1. Brett Oberholtzer, P, Corpus Christi W, 6 IP, 8 H, BB, 9 K, 63 Game Score Only one of the 8 hits he allowed went for extra bases. He didn't pitch terribly last time out, either, but Josh Zeid decided to charge 3 runs to him against San Antonio. He's allowed quite a few cheap hits this season, to the tune of a .329 BABIP (Texas League average: .300). Oberholtzer is a strong turnaround candidate once everything returns to the mean, and it's looking like he's back on track. Honorable Mentions J.B. Shuck and Jimmy Paredes, Oklahoma City: For setting the table effectively and causing fits for CS pitching all night. Mike Hessman, 1B, Oklahoma City: Crash Hessman comes through in the clutch! Jonas Dufek, P, Lexington: He's struggled a bit in the Sally League, but he came out and had a solid start. Only mistake was allowing that solo homer to tie the game. Also, congratulations go out to Jesse Wierzbicki for getting the call. To Lexington, of course. Another soul liberated from extended spring training! Although, I personally wouldn't complain about a longer spring (the season). Goat Andrew Robinson is Monday's goat, for allowing 2 Bobby Doran runners to score, and for good measure, gave up 2 of his own to turn the Lancaster game into a rout. Dishonorable mention goes out to Murilo Gouvea for breaking the tie that Lexington had, and for getting the loss because of it. Looking Ahead Paul Clemens will try to salvage a disastrous May by having his 2nd consecutive quality start as OKC and Colorado Springs go at it in game 2 of this 4-game set. He'll be opposed by Edgar Gonzalez. First pitch 6:05 Mountain. Corpus has the day off. They'll be heading home to begin a series with the Arkansas Travelers. Jake Buchanan will take the mound against Orangel Arenas. Tyson Perez will start for Lancaster as they look to get something going against High Desert, as they just haven't been able to hang. Perez is fresh off a complete game 2-hitter on 81 pitches his last time out. The Mavericks will go with Cameron Hobson. It's a field trip day for the kids, so game time will be at 11 AM Pacific. TBD and TBD will be the pitching matchup for Lexington and West Virginia at 7:05 Eastern. I believe Nick Tropeano will be the starter. He's looking to rebound from his worst start of the season, when Kannapolis got tired of him dominating them, and in a measure of retribution, tagged him for 5 runs in 6 innings. Hey, but even when he's off, he still finds a way to not crap all over the bed (8 Ks, 0 walks).
Villar having 4 hits is great, but what happened to his power? 0 HR, compared to having 14 last year.
Delving more into Jonathan Villar's numbers Villar is hitting fewer flyballs. His line drive percentage is right in line with the Texas League average, and his groundball percentage is well above league average. I don't think he's sacrificing power from his game, but the extra-base hits will come with time. He's not gonna be slugging .299 all season. I think that should be around .365-.375 as the season plays out. Also, Jarred Cosart might have taken some offense to the Armando Galarraga signing. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Sad when people from your own organization doubt you and your team. It's about time to silence critics. hey @<a href="https://twitter.com/astros">astros</a> I'm coming for ya</p>— Jarred Cosart (@JarredCosart) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarredCosart/status/204975575545294849" data-datetime="2012-05-22T16:42:40+00:00">May 22, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Was coming to post the same tweet. I was wondering what he meant. That is certainly a possibility, though I don't see how that would be a slight to the team.
Me too, wonder what he was talking about? Maybe someone told him he needs to change his approach or something. Regardless, the Astros need to do a better job of educating the "kids" on the dangers of Twitter and social media. Come on, Scrunchie! Can someone tweet what Cosart said to Footer?
I'm pretty sure she knows (since she follows him, and it was tweeted @astros), but I'll ask if she knows what he is talking about. She usually answers.
I know this is asking a lot, but is there a source, maybe one of you, that has a depth chart regarding our minor league up and coming/almost ML ready players? For instance I hear we are have good depth in the outfield & 2nd base. But where do we stand on catchers, SS, and most importantly pitching. Most seem to agree we take the nest overall player in the upcoming draft. I am not about to argue otherwise, especially since Appel seems the leading candidate. Or is he? Buxton anyone? But he is another OF'r. I dont think Mike Zunino is on anyone's radar for the first pick, but boy do we need help at catcher.
Despite the fact that this draft is less stellar than last year's draft with no clear cut number one or the depth that last year's draft had, there is talent in this draft that can be had. If the Astros choose to take Appel (RHP) or Buxton (OF) over Zunino (C), there are other catchers in the draft. Baseball America did a piece on Tom Murphy (C) from Buffalo who has flown under the radar for a while, but fared pretty well against Kevin Gausman (RHP from LSU) during Team USA practice. Luhnow, Heck and Co. will more than likely draft BPA and should be able to acquire more talent in the later rounds.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Springer, Bailey, Santana go back-to-back-to-back in the 8th. <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%2523JetHawks">#JetHawks</a> score 5 but still down by 4 going to the 9th.</p>— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasondschwartz/status/205039701676130304" data-datetime="2012-05-22T20:57:28+00:00">May 22, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
