Not sure if this got posted yet but Derek Fisher got promoted to AAA yesterday and went 0-4. Hopefully he ends the year on a high note. Maybe will be a September callup although that probably means we were out of contention so I don't really see it happening. The Astros on Sunday promoted outfield prospect Derek Fisher to Class AAA Fresno from Class AA Corpus Christi. Fisher, the 37th overall pick in the 2014 draft, batted .245 with 16 home runs and an .804 OPS in 371 at-bats in Class AA. Baseball America last month ranked Fisher as the industry' 94th best prospect. http://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Astros-promote-Derek-Fisher-to-Class-AAA-9127711.php
You just gotta love moneyball. I wonder if Tyler Britton's scouting report was that he would be a great minor league pitcher but his ceiling was just short of the MLB.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Astros' Minor League Players of Month: White, Musgrove at Fresno, Stubbs, Frias as CC, Laureano, Thornton at Lanc, Straw, Hernandez at QC</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/762727295194959872">August 8, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sry if posted already. http://m.milb.com/news/article/20160808194373202/astros_tucker_earns_player_of_the_week There's always been the belief that Kyle Tucker would grow into some power. He may be doing it right in front of our eyes. The Astros' No. 4 prospect doubled his season total with three home runs and went 12-for-29 (.414) with seven extra-base hits over seven games for Class A Quad Cities to capture the Midwest League's Offensive Player of the Week award. The honor is the first of Tucker's career and his second recognition of the season after the 19-year-old outfielder was named to the Midwest League midseason All-Star team in June. It's felt good," Tucker said of his power surge. "I've tried to get my timing down a little bit better and tried to get in a better position to put backspin on the ball when I make contact.... I'm taking my hands back a little more, and that's helped me stay in the zone a little longer. It's definitely helped out." Tucker's homers came Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday -- all solo shots on the road -- and gave him four times round-trippers in a nine-game span, going back to July 27. Before that stretch, the left-handed hitter had only two homers in his first 84 games with the River Bandits and hadn't homered since June 26, a drought of 24 games. His .897 slugging percentage from Aug. 1-7 was second-highest among all Class A sluggers in that span. But it wasn't just some newfound power that Tucker showed off last week. He saved his most dramatic performance for Sunday when his 10th-inning single -- his third hit of the day -- gave Quad Cities a 2-1, walk-off win over Burlington to cap the week. That hit, Tucker noted, was his personal highlight for the week...
http://www.milb.com/news/article.js...d=194350504&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb Astros RHP Francis Martes, Double-A Corpus Christi: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K -- The Astros' top pitching prospect continued his dominant run with a third straight impressive start for the Hooks, going 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 28 strikeouts and four walks in those 20 1/3 innings. Sunday's gem marked the first time in that string, however, that Martes had faced a team other than San Antonio, beating Midland, 3-1, on the road. The 20-year-old with a plus fastball and curve had his bumps in the first three-plus months of the season but has his Texas League ERA down to 3.53, its lowest since April 16. His 9.5 K/9 and 2.86 FIP are both second-best among all qualified Double-A pitchers this season as well. Add the fact that the Dominican Republic native set a career high Sunday with 102 innings pitched in his second full season, and the right-hander looks set to impact the Major League rotation at some point in 2017.
McCullers, McHugh, Musgrove, and Martes....all those Ms need a nickname like the killer bees had Mmmm bop? (Awful 1990s Hanson boy band reference...)
Kyle Tucker has a very beautiful swing. Great eye and patience. Bat speed, hits for average, doesn't strike out much and power is coming. He is probably this group's last big hitter on his way to the Majors. Looking at a 2018 midseason call up.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/QCRiverBandits">@QCRiverBandits</a> have agreed to a two-year extension: <a href="https://t.co/2qGKrxmFNl">https://t.co/2qGKrxmFNl</a></p>— Houston Astros (@astros) <a href="https://twitter.com/astros/status/763109892886556673">August 9, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Hell yeah, he is 19 years old. 10% bb/rate, 124 wRC+ as one of the youngest players in the league. Going to be a good one.
I'm cautiously optimistic. He is several large development steps away from the MLB. We will see. I tend to pay more attention to AA/AAA players who are playing well, since they are closer to the show and their floors are more well defined.
