I'm not really worried at all about Appel. The only part that stings is the fact that Jonathan Gray is obliterating the California League right now.
Since low A is comparable to college ball this is likely just a bad stretch opposed to him having to make adjustments. We've already seen him dominate college ball.
I thought low A (Quad Cities) had better competition than college ball. Most of the college draftees start out in the short summer leagues (Greeneville or Tri Cities).
Could just be time to shut him down for the season. I wouldn't have a problem with that. Let him get some rest and on a program to start next season in AA.
I honestly think had the stimulant report on Gray hadn't come out Astros might of drafted him. I saw what he did to LSU and was impressive. If he masters a 3rd pitch he will be dominant. But Appel seems to me like he will be more durable and be able to pitch next season in the majors. As far as Bryant though I don't he will hit for a high average so Astros were smart drafting Appel.
I think this is right. Appel's had a lot of mileage on his arm over the last 2 college seasons, and I imagine he's approaching his innings limit for the Astros soon. After 106 IP in college, he's logged about 30 in the pros. I'd be ok if they shut him down at 150-160 IP for the year.
Luhnow said on radio he had two more starts, probably at a higher level but didn't say high A or AA. Think it was on 790
Im at the point where I want to avoid this thread because Im getting tired of all the Springer production...I just feel like it's a complete waste at this point. Every hit, every rbi, every run...just going down the drain. Just kick me in my nuts, hard.
Alex Freedman had the scoop on the Springer inside the park HR. Apparently Tucson has a 40ft batter's eye in CF, and Springer hit the ball off the top of it and it stayed in play. Tucson's center fielder, apparently new to the team, didn't figure out what was going on in time to go and pick up the ball and throw it back in.
Gives Luhnow another reason to keep him down... clearly wouldn't have been a HR in the big leagues. He needs to work on some more things like hitting real HR's apparently. (I really hope people sense the sarcasm/tone and don't reply to my last two posts with endless pages about how I should never criticize Luhnow and how I don't really know what is going on because I'm not a baseball exec... I'm just going to have fun with Springer at this point. It may be the best baseball he ever plays professionally, right now.)
I haven't been impressed with Springer's home run trot. Still needs more time in AAA working on this.
Tuesday Stories How did Asher Wojciechowski and Mike Foltynewicz fare on the mound last night? Luis Cruz could be neck-and-neck with David Rollins in terms of being the top lefty in the system. Recap Tucson 13, Oklahoma City 6 Well, any day now, George Springer will be unleashed upon Major League Baseball. For now, he's just biding his time. He opened up the scoring with a 2-run inside-the-park homer (13, 32 season) in the 1st. Jose Martinez was 2-4 with a sac fly in the 3rd and a run scored. In the 4th, the Redhawks got a pair of RBI doubles from Jonathan Singleton and Marwin Gonzalez to tie the game at 5. But, the Padres went on an 8-1 run to close out the game. The 1 for OKC was an RBI single from Carlos Perez in the 6th. Perez finished 2-4. Brandon Laird was 3-4 with 2 runs scored, and Trevor Crowe went 3-5 with a run scored. Not a good night for OKC pitching. Wojo went 5 innings and allowed 7 runs (6 earned) on 8 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4. Rhiner Cruz only got 1 out in the 6th, giving up 3 runs (1 inherited) on 2 hits and issuing a walk. Wade LeBlanc retired all 5 Padres he faced. Cruz's inherited runner (which he gave up) scored on a sac fly. Jose Cisnero got 2 outs in the 8th via strikeout, but he also gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and walked 1. Pat Urckfitz induced a force out to end the inning. Game 3 of this series features Bobby Doran on the mound as he takes on Burch Smith. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific. Northwest Arkansas 10, Corpus Christi 1 Mike Foltynewicz struggled and the bullpen was pounded as the Hooks fell to the Naturals in the opener of their series in Springdale. Folty went 5 1/3 and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits (2 solo homers), walked 3, and struck out 2. T.J. Geith pitched an inning and gave up 2 runs (both inherited) on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Cam Lamb went 1 2/3 and allowed 5 runs on 5 hits (grand slam and a 2-run homer) and walked 3. Erik Castro's RBI single in the 5th was the lone tally for Corpus. He, Preston Tucker, and Jonathan Meyer had 2-hit nights. In the middle game of the series, Nick Tropeano will face Kyle Zimmer. First pitch is at 7:00. Lancaster 11, Inland Empire 5 The Jethawks got 7 gritty innings from Luis Cruz and the customary offensive outburst at The Hangar to take the opener against the 66ers. Cruz gave up 4 runs (all in the 5th) on 7 hits, walked 1, and struck out 8. Despite a 5.16 ERA, he's got a 3.37 FIP and a 3.16 SIERA. Kenny Long finished it out; he allowed a solo homer to Andy Workman in the 9th. Long gave up 2 other hits and struck out 2 in 2 innings. Nolan Fontana put the Jethawks on the board first in the 2nd with a grand slam (7). After the 66ers tied it at 4 in the 5th, the Jethawks retaliated by taking control of the game with a 5-spot in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Heineman hit a 2-run single, and Dan Gulbransen blasted a 3-run homer (2, 5 season). Gulbransen finished 3-5 and added an RBI double in the 7th. Also in the 7th, Delino DeShields hit an RBI infield single. To 1st base. DeShields went 2-5 and added a double and a steal (43). Heineman scored 3 times. Fontana will almost certainly finish with 100 walks and 100 strikeouts this season. In the middle game of this series, Aaron West will take on Dan Reynolds. First pitch is at 7:00 Pacific. Quad Cities was off The River Bandits make the short trek down the Mississippi River to Clinton, where they'll play a 3-game series against the LumberKings. Josh Hader will start the opener against Rigoberto Garcia at 7:00. New York-Penn League All-Star Game: American League 4, National League 3 The ValleyCats All-Stars were on the National League team. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>To clear this up a bit, even though the Astros moved to the AL, the 'Cats are on NL team to keep the <a href="https://twitter.com/nypennleague">@nypennleague</a> teams balanced...</p>— Tri-City ValleyCats (@ValleyCats) <a href="https://twitter.com/ValleyCats/statuses/367375132882649088">August 13, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>If they were part of the AL, the league would have 8 AL and 6 NL teams to choose the All-Star rosters from.</p>— Tri-City ValleyCats (@ValleyCats) <a href="https://twitter.com/ValleyCats/statuses/367375459023347713">August 13, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Well, the AL walked off with a win as Oscar Hernandez hit a walk-off fielder's choice in the bottom of the 9th. Chan-Jong Moon started as the DH and went 1-2 with a run scored. Michael Feliz struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 4th. Chris Cotton allowed a run on a wild pitch, a hit, and struck out 1 in the 6th inning, and Andrew Walter threw a 1-2-3 7th, striking out 2. Tri-City will return to action tonight. They'll be on the road for 5 games, starting with 2 in Connecticut. Starters for both sides are TBA, and first pitch is at 7:05 Eastern. Johnson City 10, Greeneville 3 Greeneville pitchers got swamped in the first 5 innings, as Johnson City's bats launched an assault on them. The Appy Astros briefly held the lead as they put up 2 in the 2nd to take a 2-1 lead. Darwin Rivera scored on an error that allowed Wallace Gonzalez to reach, and Tanner Mathis hit an RBI sac bunt. And... that was as good as it got on offense for them. Angel Ibañez hit a sac fly in the 5th. Frederick Tiburcio went 3 innings and gave up 6 runs on 9 hits (solo homer), walked 2, and fanned 2. Kevin Ferguson allowed 4 runs on 5 hits (solo and 2-run homers), walked 1, and struck out 1 in 2 innings. Christian Garcia allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in 2 scoreless, and Ryan Connolly allowed a hit and fanned 1 in a scoreless 8th. In the series finale, Enderson Franco will take on Will Anderson. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern. GCL Tigers 6, GCL Astros 4 In a GCL game that started at 7 PM Eastern, the Kissimmee Stros were the victims of a 6-0 run over the final 6 innings as they dropped this game in Lakeland. Jean Carlos Batista drove in all 4 runs; the first came on an RBI single in the 1st, and the other 3 came courtesy of a 3-run homer (1) in the 3rd. Luis Reynoso was 2-4 with 2 runs scored. Kent Emanuel threw 2 more scoreless innings; he allowed a single. Austin Nicely got knocked around in his 3 1/3 innings; he allowed 4 runs (1 inherited) on 3 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3. Devonte German got the final 2 outs of the 6th, but gave up a run on 2 hits and walked 1. He also gave up the lead. In his debut, Justin Hess allowed a run on 3 hits and struck out 1 in 1 1/3. Javier Lozano got the final 2 outs of the 8th, striking out 1. The GCLstros are in Tampa, where they'll be taking on the Yankees' 2nd GCL squad at noon Eastern. DSL Astros 2, DSL Royals 1 The Academy was outhit 11-7, but they won in the column that counts. Both of their runs came in the 6th, as Hector Roa hit an RBI single and Randy Cesar scored on a Brauly Mejia GIDP. Arturo Michelena went 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Edwin Villarroel threw 5 shutout innings and allowed 5 hits and struck out 4. Robert Corniel allowed 2 hits in a scoreless 6th. Starlyng Sanchez allowed a run on 2 hits while getting 2 outs in the 7th. Yonquelys Martinez got the final out of the inning, then threw a scoreless 8th. He walked 1 and fanned 1. Angel Heredia allowed a hit and walked 1 in the 9th, but he was able to close it out, striking out 1.
Has there ever been any reports of Springer having attitude issues? I haven't heard anything like that but really trying to figure out why they don't want him here.
