Astros took 2 of 3 from the Royals for their 2nd series win of the season. After the 3-1 win last night, they have today off. I might shelve the open threads after this one, considering that all the other ones are mostly me talking to myself. Oh well, it was worth a shot. All times Central. Audio links Oklahoma City (27-18) @ Fresno (26-21), 9:05 The series finale presents a pretty good pitching matchup, as Jarred Cosart will face off against Mike Kickham. Kickham is the #5 prospect in the Giants' system, according to Baseball America. Cosart's looking to rebound from an outing in which he only lasted 4 1/3 innings, an outing in which he ran up a high pitch count early. Corpus Christi (26-19) vs. Northwest Arkansas (14-29), 7:05 Bobby Doran and Nick Tropeano will be tonight's pairing for the Hooks. Their counterpart for NW Arkansas will be Brooks Pounders. Doran and Tropeano have really struggled as of late; they'll look to get themselves back on track. Lancaster (25-20) vs. Inland Empire (25-19), 9:00 The Jethawks are welcoming the team ahead of them in the standings to The Hangar for 3 games; the 66ers have a 1/2-game lead over them in the California League South. The series opener will have 3 southpaw starters. Blair Walters and Tom Shirley will take the hill for Lancaster, and Inland Empire will be sending out Eswarlin Jimenez. Quad Cities (23-21) vs. Wisconsin (20-21), 7:00 The River Bandits will look to snap a 5-game losing streak in the middle game of their series with the Timber Rattlers. Tag team match here, as both teams will be employing the tandem approach tonight. QC is sending out Jamaine Cotton and Vince Velasquez, while Wisconsin will go with Jorge Lopez and Ryan Gibbard.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Cosart enters tonight fifth in PCL in ERA (2.49), third in opponent batting average (.197), & fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (9.98).</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/337675002562367488">May 23, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Is the general belief that Cosart really has ace type stuff? I was talking to a guy here at work the other day about the Astros future and he was exhuberantly optimistic about this team's future. While I am hoping that this renewed emphasis on the minors helps this team drag itself out of the doldrums, what I have seen to this point of our farm system arms (and I'm speaking mostly of the AA/AAA guys) seems as though we might have some guys that can help on the starting pitching front, but we don't have much in the way of top flight talent in that area. He seemed to disagree. Of guys like McCullers, Cosart, Tropeano, etc -- any of them have real potential to be a stud?
Yes, the only thing that will hold him back is command and control. He can be inefficient. Also, you're forgetting Foltynewicz who sits in the mid to high 90s and is succeeding at AA. He was one of the first rounders in 2010. Velasquez (2nd rounder from 2010) and McCullers (41st overall pick who we went overslot to sign at 2.5 million) are also really good and have hit 100 this year. The pitching down on the farm has been a bright spot so far this year for sure.
Meyer just hit a laser to left field to score him and Santana. The fog horn is a great touch in CC for homers.
Rene Garcia just nailed down a runner at second. Guy has a cannon for an arm and it was a speedy dude running.
Two hooks have been erased on base running miscues. Up 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Also, the stadium and atmosphere is a must. Just a fun overall energy.
He's got an OPS around .900 this month after a slow start. I believe he's got a rep for a plus glove, so that would be great. Stassi also has a decent bat so far. With him and Perez in AAA, the organization has some interesting catching depth.
Springer is 1-3 with 2 walks and a stolen base Correa is 0-2 with 2 walks Santana is 2-4 with a double Ruiz is 0-2 with 2 walks Velasquez with 3 ip, 1 h, 0 er, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Velasquez was about as dominant as it gets. 4 innings, 1 hit, 1 walk, 8 Ks. 3 groundball outs and a foul pop were his non K outs. Even the hit he allowed was on the ground. Losing effort for Quad Cities, but always good to see. I like the amount of walks Correa has drawn. Really good sign for someone his age.
Great start for Velasquez tonight. 4IP 1H 8SO. Nice to see Max Stassi with a 3-4 night with 2 2Bs. The reviews of his defense were good when he came over, so if he continues to hit he and Carlos Perez might really push for a roster spot next year. Makes you wonder if the Astros think about dealing Carlos Corporan (who, I think, is under team control until at least 2015?).
Speaking of Carlos Perez, has he been injured? I can't remember the last time I saw him playing for OKC. Lots of Jaramillo lately.
