Greeneville Astros Season Recap

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be looking at some of the standout players from each of the Astros minor league teams. So far, I've looked at the offensive standouts and the pitching standouts on the Astros Dominican Summer League teams and at the Gulf Coast League Astros. Today, let's look at the Rookie League Greeneville Astros.

The team finished with a 32-34 record (.485 win percentage). As a team they ranked within the league as follows:

Greeneville Team Batting
.239 BA - 9th out of 10 teams
.324 OBP - 7th
.343 SLG - 8th

They were also first in walks in the League and ninth in strikeouts.

Greeneville Team Pitching
3.60 ERA - 5th
1.361 WHIP - 5th
595 SO - 2nd
240 BB - 4th

Below I am indicating the player's current age as well as information as to how many years the player has been playing. Any players who were promoted to Tri-City or above prior to the end of the season will be addressed in the season recap for that team.

First of all, as you can see above, this team was not particularly strong offensively. Many of these players were first year drafted players whose offensive contributions are still a work in progress, as well as a few younger international players who lack experience playing at the level.

CATCHERS

Jacob Nottingham - 19; 2nd season
The 6th round 2013 draft pick is still a bit rough around the edges offensively. He hit .230/.307/.385 in 48 games, walking 18 times while striking out 54 times. But Nottingham showed more than a little bit of pop at the plate; he hit 10 doubles, one triple and five home runs. Nottingham is also a plus defender behind the plate and caught 41% of would-be base stealers.

Trent Woodward - 22; 1st season
Woodward only caught in five games and also spent time at first base, left field and DH before being shelved for the season on July 23rd. He started off the season hot, hitting .313/.455/.438 in June, but ended up hitting .234/.364/.394 for his shortened season. Woodward was drafted in the 20th round in 2014 out of Fresno State University. He is a switch-hitter.

Richard Gonzalez, the 29th round 2014 pick out of Alabama State University didn't do much in his first professional season as he hit only .207/.339/.293 in 33 games (29 with the GCL and 4 with Greeneville). He is 20 years old.

INFIELDERS

1B Bryan Muniz - 21; 1st season
An above average defensive player, Muniz' bat was a work in progress as he hit .220/.315/.315 in 36 games over the season, but improved to .291/.385/.382 in his 16 games in August. Muniz was drafted in the 22nd round in 2014 out of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida.

1B Yonathan Mejia - 21; 5th season
From the Dominican Republic, Mejia is a plus defender and has more than a little pop in his bat. In 50 games this season, the switch-hitter batted .235/.297/.350 with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 18 RBI.

3B Randy Cesar - 19; 3rd season (1st in U.S.)
Cesar played all but three of his 52 games with the GCL before his end-of-season promotion to Greeneville. The young Dominican hit .273/.309/.381 with 12 doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI for the season. In August, he hit .333/.378/.500. His plate discipline (10 walks to 43 strikeouts) and his defense both need a little work.

3B Cesar Carrasco - 20; 3rd season
Obtained from the Diamondbacks in a July trade for lefty Alex Sogard, Carrasco is another work-in-progress defensively. In 35 games for the Appy Astros, he hit .228/.326/.325 with nine doubles and a home run. He is from the Dominican Republic.

SS Jeffry Santos - 21; 4th season
Another mid-season trade acquisition (White Sox for RHP Bobby Doran), Santos hit better before the trade (.295/.483/.386 in 3 games) than he did afterwards (.218/.285/.273 in 34 games). On paper, his defense appears to skew average to slightly below average. He is a switch-hitter.

2B Antonio Nunez - 21; 1st season
Nunez, an 18th round 2014 draft pick, may not have managed to hit over the Mendoza line, but he did have a very healthy .342 OBP as he managed to walk 36 times while striking out only 26 times. A more or less average defender, Nunez hit .190/.342/.241 in 52 games and is headed to the Fall Instructional League.

OUTFIELDERS

Hector Roa - 19; 3rd season
Roa split his time between the outfield and first base, playing slightly more games at the former position. In 26 games with the GCL, he hit .280/.324/.500 before being promoted to Greeneville in late July. In 29 games with the Appy Astros, he hit .236/.281/.406. For the season, Roa had 15 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 27 RBI. There was, however, the matter of the 13 walks to 75 strikeouts. Roa was a plus defender at first base, but wasn't quite as strong defensively in the outfield.

Edwin Medina - 21; 1st season
A 33rd round draft pick in 2014, Medina also split his time between the GCL (27 games) and Greeneville (23 games), hitting .257/.397/.311 with six doubles, a triple and nine RBI. Medina walked 33 times while striking out 35 times. He had a very good season defensively.

Alexander Melendez - 19; 2nd season (1st in U.S.)
Melendez started the season with the GCL (30 games) and ended it in Greeneville (12 games), with a little side trip to Quad Cities in between (six games). All told, he hit a robust .343/.430/.394 in 48 games, with five doubles, a triple and 16 RBI. He also swiped 20 bags and was caught stealing five times. Add his overall above average defensive abilities to that bat and Melendez could be a player to watch. He is from Puerto Rico.

Ydarqui Marte - 21; 4th season
A more or less average defender, Marte hit .269/.338/.383 with eight doubles and four home runs in 51 games.

Sean McMullen - 22; 1st season
A lefty hitter, McMullen hit .256/.302/.365 with nine doubles, a triple and three home runs in 42 games for the Appy Astros. The 30th round 2014 draft pick's defense skews somewhat above average.

Ramon Laureano - 20; 1st season
Unfortunately, this 16th round draft pick was injured after appearing in only 16 games. Well have to wait until next season to see more from Laureano.

LEFTY PITCHERS

There weren't many lefties who finished their seasons with Greeneville. Reymin Guduan throws really hard, but the 22-year old Dominican is still a work in progress. He had a 4.47 ERA and a 1.805 WHIP in 13 games (9 starts) for the season. He missed part of the season on the DL. Austin Nicely, the Astros 2013 10th round pick, also had a somewhat uneven season, ending it with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.664 WHIP in 12 games (10 starts). Nicely is 19. Ambiorix de Leon, 23, spent all but the last couple of weeks of the season on the DL. He only pitched 7.2 innings at the end of the season (but didn't allow a run).

RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS

Agapito Barrios - 20; 4th season
Barrios was a standout from the Greeneville pitching staff for the season. The Panamanian-born Barrios was 5-0 with a 2.09 ERA and a 0.893 WHIP in 13 games (six starts). He issued 11 free passes while striking out 46 in 56 innings of work. In five games (three starts) in August, he had a 0.77 ERA and a 0.577 WHIP.

Jorge Perez - 21; 2nd season
Perez started slow and ended slow, but in between he did quite nicely. In his seven appearances in July, he had a 1.54 ERA and a 1.200 WHIP. For the season, the 30th round 2013 draft pick had a 2.97 ERA and a 1.619 WHIP in 18 bullpen appearances. He walked 17 batters and struck out 39 in 30.1 innings.

Joshua James - 21; 1st season
James, drafted in the 34th round in 2014, had a very nice start to his professional career as he compiled a 2.72 ERA and a 1.261 WHIP in six games (three starts). He walked 15 batters and struck out 45 in his 39.2 innings.

Eric Peterson - 21; 1st season
The 37th round 2014 draft pick had an excellent season out of the bullpen for Greeneville. In 19 appearances, Peterson was 1-0 with seven saves, a 2.35 ERA and a 1.087 WHIP. Five of those saves came in August as he compiled a 0.00 ERA and a 0.250 WHIP in eight appearances. Peterson walked seven batters and struck out 32 in 23 innings of work.

Jose Montero, 21, missed almost a month on the DL, but otherwise had a nice season with his 3.27 ERA and 1.212 WHIP in nine games (six starts). Likewise, Gerardo Juarez missed almost the entire season, but didn't allow a run in four appearances after coming off the DL. Juarez turned 22 today.

11th round 2013 draft pick Devonte German (19) was 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.646 WHIP in 13 games (nine starts). Brock Dykxhoorn (4.31 ERA & 1.213 WHIP in 12 games/4 starts) got much stronger as the season progressed, ending with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.933 WHIP in his four appearances in August. Dykxhoorn, 20, was the Astros 6th round 2014 draft pick. Aaron Greenwood, the 28th round 2014 draft pick, had a 4.66 ERA and a 1.241 WHIP in 17 games (29 innings). He is 23. [UPDATE] I accidentally on purpose left out Dean Deetz, the Astros 11th round draft pick in 2014. Let's just say that the 20-year old Deetz did not have the best inaugural season. He will be going to the Fall Instructional League shortly.

There was a group of Latin pitchers who started their seasons with the GCL and were promoted to Greeneville during the season with varying degrees of success. Of this group, the standouts are Elieser Hernandez and Harold Arauz. Hernandez, a 19-year old from Venezuela in his first season in the U.S. (third overall), was 5-1 with a 2.17 ERA and a 0.985 WHIP combined between the two venues. He walked 13 batters and struck out 42 in 45.2 innings. The Panamanian-born Arauz (also only 19) had a 3.76 ERA and a 1.156 WHIP in 11 games (6 starts) in the GCL and a 1.46 ERA and a 0.730 WHIP in three games (one start) at Greeneville. Arauz walked 19 and struck out 68 in 53 innings pitched.

Next up will be the Tri-City ValleyCats team.