Happy Birthday - 1/12

RHP Francisco Baso (21)
Originally from Panama, Baso was signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent and first played for the VSL Astros in 2008.  2011 was his first season with the GCL Astros, but he only pitched 3.2 innings over 3 appearances.  In 2010 with the DSL, he had a 1.33 ERA and a 1.205 WHIP over 40.2 innings.

RHP Francis Ramirez (20)
Ramirez was signed by Houston as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic and first played for the DSL Astros in 2009.  He split the 2011 season between the GCL Astros and the Greeneville Astros.  Over 12 games (11 starts), he compiled a 4.78 ERA and a 1.286 WHIP.  In his last four starts at Greeneville, he had a 2.89 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP.

OF Mesac Laguna (20)
A non-drafted free agent from Nicaragua, Laguna played his second season with the DSL Astros in 2011 and compiled a .267/.318/.349/.666 batting line with a .329 batting average with RISP.  In August, he hit .357/.433/.446/.879.

Former Astros with birthdays today

UT Casey Candaele (51)
Obtained from the Montreal Expos in a trade for Mark Bailey, Casey Candaele played for Houston from 1988 to 1993.  His mother, Helen Callaghan, played for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, giving Casey the distinction of being a part of the only mother/son combination ever to play professional baseball. Casey liked to keep things loose.  In case you missed this interview from a couple of months back, Casey talks about naked batting practice, the Moneyball movie and more.  And then there was the break-dancing at the Astros Wives Gala.  You may also enjoy this Jayson Stark column from 2000 in which Casey reveals his dream to join the Latvian ski-jump team.

1B/OF Mike Simms (45)
Played in 181 games for Houston from 1990-1992 & 1994-1996