Castro the Astro was born in Castro Valley, CA and was drafted by Houston in the first round in 2008 out of Stanford. He made his major league debut in June 2010 and played in 67 games that season. Due to a torn ACL suffered in a base-running incident in Spring Training in 2011, he missed the entire 2011 season. Castro also suffered another injury in Spring Training 2012 somewhat so one could argue that 2013 is really the first healthy (knock wood) major league season of his career. He is showing what he can do when healthy, hitting .270/.328/.426 with 18 doubles and ten home runs in 60 games.
I always thought Castro would look good with a Clark Gable "Gone with the Wind" mustache so Steve Eisenhour aka (@KevinBassStache) indulged me with a little photoshop. Many thanks!
A Houston native, Cokinos was drafted in the 31st round in 2012 out of St. Mary's University. He spent his first professional season with the short season Tri-City team with good results. Cokinos bypassed Quad Cities and headed straight to Lancaster in 2013. In 42 games, he is hitting .318/.403/.500, playing some first base and a lot of DH, in addition to occasional catching duties.
Former Astros with birthdays today ~
RHP Fernando Rodriguez (29)
Originally drafted by the Angels out of high school in El Paso in 2003, Rodriguez came to Houston as a free agent in December 2010. In 118 games for Houston in 2011 and 2012, he had an ERA of 4.77 and a WHIP of 1.492. He was traded (along with Jed Lowrie) to Oakland for Max Stassi, Chris Carter and Brad Peacock in February 2013. Rodriguez recently underwent Tommy John surgery.
OF J.B. Shuck (26)
Shuck was a sixth round draft pick out of Ohio State in 2008 and made his major league debut in August of 2011. In 37 games with the Astros, he hit .272/.359/.321 with 11 walks to only seven strikeouts. In five minor league seasons in the Astros organization, Shuck hit .301/.382/.382. Shuck signed with the Angels as a free agent in November 2012.
I think JB Shuck was a little older than 1 when he was drafted. Add about 20 to the 1988 number and you'll have it. Was it jet lag?
ReplyDeleteI've posted over 2500 articles in less than two years. I am going to make an occasional mistake. It has been rectified.
ReplyDeleteYes, none are perfect. You do a great job and yours is one of the 2 blogs I read everyday about our Astros. Just helping out.
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