Franny Cobos closed out a 2-1 Fayetteville win by striking out 9 over 4 perfect innings. Quincy Hamilton went 2-3 and drove in both of the Woodpeckers' runs with a sac fly and a solo homer (3).
Ryan Gusto with a great outing for Fayetteville: 6ip, 6k, 1bb, 2h, 0r. Era down to 2.25. Was a sleeper pick for me prior to missing last year hurt. Still have some hope for him.
Enmanuel Valdez hit a go-ahead three-run homer with two outs in the 9th to give Corpus Christi a 7-5 win in Tulsa. Valdez now has 4 home runs this season.
One month down. Here's who has caught my eye and who has me a bit concerned... Stock up - position players David Hensley - Looking like he might be the next late-round senior sign who finds a way to get to Houston. Enmanuel Valdez - Valdez hasn't missed a beat coming off a nice year where he led the system in home runs and RBI. Wilyer Abreu - Finding a way to hit for power has done wonders for Abreu, who now looks like a semi-legit (read as: back-end top 30) prospect. Jordan Brewer - At 24 in High-A, Brewer's potential to contribute as an everyday player for a top club has probably fallen by the wayside. That doesn't mean that he can't be a useful player at the MLB level though... he's gotten a clean bill of health and is showing why he's been touted as one of the top athletes in the system. Stock up - pitchers Ernesto Jaquez, Carlos Calderon - See comment #354. Ryan Gusto - Gusto got 4th-round money as a Day 3 JUCO pick. Nice pro debut but then he missed two full years due to injury and the pandemic. Sounds a lot like Jaquez (they're both the same age). If Calderon doesn't get moved up first, Gusto might be the next Fayetteville pitcher to head to Asheville. Adrian Chaidez - Chaidez turned some heads during spring training and so far he's lived up to that hype in his first full season. He was described as struggling to harness his stuff at UCLA, but sometimes professional instruction just gets things to click. Jose Betances - After pitching like a release candidate for 3 years in the Dominican Summer League, Betances has found life in America to be a little bit kinder. If his bottom-of-the-scale command can somehow improve to below average, that's an MLB bullpen arm, albeit in low to medium-leverage situations. Devin Conn - He's been exclusively a reliever since turning pro and has put up solid numbers with negative fanfare. Could be a middle-relief option in 2023. As expected Hunter Brown - I think Brown is in position to see Houston at some point this year. All he really has to do is put up the same numbers he did this month with a dominant outing sprinkled in here and there. So far, so good. Misael Tamarez - Well, he walked 6 last night, which is probably the lone blemish on a solid first month in AA. One of the fastest risers in the system, I think Tamarez could be an option in 2023. Pedro Leon - Still too early to call him a disappointment, but he's definitely the most polarizing position player prospect in the system. Could see Houston if he was more consistent at the plate, but I don't see any point in starting his clock this year. Let him try to find that consistency with a full year in Sugar Land. Yainer Diaz - Bit of a slow start, but Diaz is starting to get himself going after almost two weeks without an RBI. Shay Whitcomb - The Astros' utility man of the future just continues to plug away. Should be in Sugar Land by August. Concerned - position players Zach Daniels - By now, we probably know what the Astros look for in their outfielders: 3.5-4 tools and the hope that they'll hit enough. Daniels is also an outstanding athlete, but he's starting to look like a miss. Cristian Gonzalez - Clearly not having a good time in his first go-round with Asheville. He's still going to get plenty of chances to turn it around and a repeat year won't hurt him either. Logan Cerny - Probably being a bit harsh. Hoping that fast start wasn't illusory... he hasn't driven in a run since April 14. Grae Kessinger - Also might be harsh here... but honestly, I was never really high on Kessinger. Probably looks like an up-and-down infielder at this point. If he ever hits enough to get himself in that position. Concerned - pitchers Chayce McDermott - He'll probably see Corpus this year just so the organization can get him out of Asheville. Not overly concerned, but he needs a few good outings to make the line a little more palatable before he leaves that bandbox. Alex Santos - Again, I'm not too worried about Santos, who has two stellar outings sandwiched between two struggle outings. ERA inflated because he gave up 6 runs in 1.2 innings in his first appearance of the year. Jonathan Bermudez - If he was striking out people at last year's rate, he'd be in the "as expected" section. I don't think it's too big of a concern, but going from 11 K/9 to 7.4 is a pretty precipitous drop, so for that, his stock is slightly down in my book. Just slightly. We'll see if he can start missing more bats. Jaime Melendez - Yeah... I think I'm being excessively harsh here, considering that he's hitting his first real speed bump since turning pro. Gave up one run in 3.2 innings last night, so hopefully that's a start towards righting the ship.
I don't pay anywhere near the much appreciated attention you give the minor leagues, but Kessinger always gave me a Tom Nevers/ Nolan Fontana vibe.
Good stuff. My Top 30 updated after April with notes: 1. SS Jeremy Pena, grade 60: Totally legit, ROY candidate probably should have been a MLB Top 25 prospect coming into the season. 2. SP Hunter Brown, grade 55+: Approaching untouchable territory. Ace ceiling. Probably needs a couple more months of refinement. 3. C Korey Lee, 50: Hasn't dominated AAA, but hasn't sucked either. He is young for his level and still projects as an average MLB starting catcher. 4. CF/SS Pedro Leon, 50: His K rate is concerning, but I won't really worry until he's had 200 pa in AAA. I am still giving him some grace given his inconsistent playing time over the last 3 years. His stock is slightly down and he won't be on any midseason Top 100's but the ceiling/floor is still the same. 5. SP Forrest Whitley, 50 6. SP Peter Solomon, 50: He has looked really good and may be a solid MoR SP. Stock up, might be Houston's most likely deadline trade chip. 7. OF Colin Barber, 45+: great k/bb numbers but his power hasn't been there. I think it'll get there. Hoping for a monster May-June followed by a promotion to AA. 8. SP Alex Santos II, 45+: strikeouts have been there but too many walks. Still young for his level. 9. OF/IF Tyler Whitaker, 45+: Has looked a little overmatched in Fayetteville but I think he'll adjust. Stock slightly down. 10. IF/OF Joe Perez, 45+: Not a great start but he got jerked around due to having to fill in on Houston's bench. 11. RHP Shawn Dubin, 45+: Disappointed he didn't start in Sugar Land’s rotation and that he's walked too many guys, but I am still a believer that he will be at least a very effective RP if not a good MoR SP. 12. RHP Angel Macuare, 45: Very good start for him in AA. Potential MoR SP. Stock up. 13. 1B/LF JJ Matijevic, 45: Stock up. Potential everyday power bat. Could compete to replace Gurriel or Brantley next offseason. 14. RHP Jaime Melendez, 45: Too many walks but the k's are still there. Stock slightly down. 15. C/1B Yainer Diaz, 45: Doesn't walk so he needs to hit for more power and didn't in April. 16. C Mike Papierski, 45: Totally ignored prospect who I am convinced is MLB ready. Solid defender who you can count on to get on base. 17. RHP Misael Tamarez, 45: Stock up a bit. 10.3 k/9 in AA at 22 is good. 18. IF Shay Whitcomb, 45: Solid month debut in AA. Should make a great MLB bench player. 19. RHP Adrian Chaidez, 45: Dominant out of the gate after getting hype in spring. Stock way up. 20. IF Grae Kessinger, 45: Has had a little bad luck in April (.121 BABIP); underlying numbers arent great but not as bad as it looks. Still, stock down and could fall fast. 21. IF Cristian Gonzalez, 40+: Totally overmatched in High A. Stock way down, but still young enough that he may just need time. 22. RP Parker Mushinski, 40+: Good month for him and he got called up. Great sign that they value him. Could be a solid LHRP but not much ceiling there. 23. IF David Hensley, 40+: Late bloomer keeps blooming. Stock way up. Probably k's too much to be a star, but walks and hits for power and can play all over the field. May still have some upside even though he's 26. 24. RHP Spencer Arrighetti, 40: Good opening month. Stock slightly up. 25. IF Enmanuel Valdez, 40: Hit for a lot of power in April and looking like he has a chance to be a good bench bat or fringe regular. Stock up. 26. OF Wilyer Abreu, 40: Hit for a lot of power in April and looking like he has a chance to be a good bench bat or fringe regular. Stock up. 27. RHP Tyler Brown, 40 28. RHP Chayce McDermott, 40: was hoping for more from him out of the gate 29: LHP Jonathan Bermudez, 40 30. LHP Julio Robaina, 40: Struggled out of the gate in AA but he's still young. Honorable mention: Nerio Rodriguez, Miguel Palma, Jordan Brewer, Ryan Gusto Other Hitters hitting for power: Victor Mascai, Will Wagner Other Pitchers who are doing well at striking guys out: Ernesto Jaquez, Carlos Calderon, JP France Other Pitchers who aren't walking guys: Aaron Brown, Alfredi Jimenez, Ray Gaither, Brett Conine, Cesar Gomez I would say overall a disappointing month for Houston's farm. Biggest negative notes are Pedro Leon's k rate and Whitaker and Gonzalez being overmatched. Biggest positive notes are the SP in AAA (Brown, Solomon) and that its still early.
Chayce McDermott closed out Asheville's 3-2 win with 4 scoreless... he allowed 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 6. Adrian Chaidez got the start and he allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3 in four innings.
Man Leon’s power looks so easy. I really think he has at least 60 grades on all of his power, speed, and arm. And he’s walking at a good clip. If he can just get to where he doesn’t strike out so much he could be an absolute stud.
J.C. Correa hit a couple of homers and Michael Sandle also went deep for Asheville. For Correa, those were his first two home runs of the year. Sandle also has two home runs.
Ross Adolph hit his 2nd HR of the season for Corpus. He’s flown under the radar and has an odd line but he’s off to a very good start (160 wRC+). Huge walk rate but a lot of k’s and not too much power. But he’s a really good 4th OF profile.
Didn't realize he finished April with a .528 OBP (he's already been hit by a pitch 5 times this year).
Really good line. Ironically, the two walks were both to the same person - CJ Hinojosa, his former teammate. He threw 76 pitches, 54 of them strikes (71%). As I've stated before, the Sugar Land manager likes to use starters in long relief in situations like this (Ivey went 3 IP and allowed 5 R on 4 H (one homer) and 3 walks, to go with 5 K). Pressly also pitched a 1-2-3 4th inning (all 3 via groundout, on 6 pitches, all strikes). Very nice to see Brown get the walks under control, and drop his ERA back down to 2.35. I hope to see him in Houston sooner rather than later, but the timing has to be right. I am extremely high on him, and the stuff is really good. So far walks have been the biggest concern and probably the number one obstacle keeping him from being called up for the moment.
