Corpus Christi won both the first and second halves of the season and compiled the best record in the Texas League and the best record in the Astros system. They lost the Division series to San Antonio in five games. Here is how the Hooks 2012 and 2013 seasons compared.
2012 Win Percentage - .579
2013 Win Percentage - .593
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 736 - 628 = 108
2013 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 657 - 603 = 54
2012 Team ERA & WHIP - 4.06 & 1.332
2013 Team ERA & WHIP - 3.84 & 1.295
2012 Team Batting Line - .268/.342/.410
2013 Team Batting Line - .255/.331/.417
The offense on this team ranked in the top three in the Texas League (out of eight teams) in most major categories. They were first in home runs and slugging percentage, second in batting average and doubles, and third in on-base percentage and walks. Unfortunately, they were also first in a category that they probably would prefer not to be first in -- strikeouts. Speed was not a big factor on the team as they ranked seventh in triples and eighth in stolen bases. Let's look at a few of the offensive standouts on the team.
1B Erik Castro (25) started off the year slowly, but ended it hitting .280/.368/.480 with 28 doubles, 18 home runs and 65 RBI in 117 games. He ranked sixth in on-base percentage and slugging in the league; eighth in batting average, doubles and walks; and tenth in home runs (tied) and RBI. He was also in the top 20 in hits and runs scored.
3B Jonathan Meyer (22) hit .260/.318/.403 with 24 doubles, 15 home runs and 68 RBI in 129 games. He ranked in the top 10 in hits and RBI, and in the top 20 in doubles, home runs and batting average. He will be representing the Astros in the Arizona Fall League.
RF Domingo Santana (21) hit .252/.345/.498 with 23 doubles, two triples, 25 home runs, 64 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 112 games. He ranked third in slugging and home runs, sixth in runs scored, 11th in RBI, 13th in on-base percentage and was in the top 20 in doubles and walks.
Other players who ranked in the top 20 in the League were 23-year old SS Jiovanni Mier (walks) and 24-year old Drew Muren (triples). CF George Springer, who just turned 24 last week, was still fifth in stolen bases, tied for eighth in home runs and in the top 20 in RBI despite playing in only 73 games in the Texas League before his promotion. He hit .297/.399/.579 with 20 doubles, 19 home runs, 55 RBI and 23 stolen bases in a Hooks uniform. Likewise, C Max Stassi was 15th in RBI and tied for 13th in home runs in the league despite only playing in 76 games for the Hooks. He hit .277/.333/.529 with 20 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 60 RBI.
C Rene Garcia (23) hit .304/.348/.419 in his 73 games at Corpus Christi before his call up to Oklahoma City. He ended the season hitting .293/.336/.394 with 20 doubles, one triple and five home runs in 91 games. His caught stealing percentage for the season was 46%.
OF Preston Tucker (23) was a little slow to acclimate to the Texas League, but ended up with a .262/.347/.456 batting line, 14 doubles, one triple and 10 home runs. Combined with his time at Lancaster, he ended the season hitting .297/.368/.505 with 32 doubles, two triples, 25 home runs and 103 RBI. 3B Matt Duffy (24) came along a little later in the season, playing only his final 24 games with the Hooks. He hit .247/.295/.461 with four doubles and five home runs for the Hooks and ended the season hitting .309/.378/.535 with 24 doubles, four triples and 24 home runs.
In looking at the pitching, I was actually surprised to find that the Hooks ERA and WHIP ranked fifth out of eight teams in the Texas League until I noticed how closely bunched many of the teams in the league were in the rankings. The Hooks were next to last in allowing walks, but were dead last in strikeouts. There were a number of standout performances on the team.
RHP David Martinez (26) led the league in wins (14), ERA (2.02) and WHIP (0.997) and was promoted first to Oklahoma City and then to Houston. He ended the season (in the minors) with a 14-4 record, a 2.57 ERA and a 1.105 WHIP.
RHP Jake Buchanan, who turned 24 yesterday, did not pitch enough innings in the Texas League to qualify as a league leader due to his promotion to OKC, but his 2.09 ERA and 0.927 WHIP would have been good enough to split the top two spots in the league with Martinez if he had. Buchanan ended the season with a cumulative 12-7 record, 2.96 ERA and a 1.099 WHIP in 30 games (25 starts).
RHP Bobby Doran (24) had an 8-2 record with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.170 WHIP in 23 games (13 starts) at Corpus Christi before his promotion to Oklahoma City. He ended the season with a combined 11-2 record, 3.51 ERA and a 1.222 WHIP in 31 games (21 starts)
RHP Asher Wojciechowski (24) only pitched in six games for the Hooks before his promotion and was 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA and an 0.923 WHIP in those games.
Of those who pitched for the Hooks all season, two rank in the top 20 in the league. RHP Nick Tropeano (23) ranked 12th in the league in ERA (4.11), 11th in WHIP (1.339) and first in strikeouts (130). RHP R.J. Alaniz' ERA (4.53) also ranked in the top 20.
RHP Mike Foltynewicz, who will turn 22 next month, started his season in Lancaster but spent the bulk of 2013 with Corpus Christi. In 23 games (16 starts) for the Hooks, he had a 5-3 record with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.229 WHIP. He was in the top 20 in the league in strikeouts. Other starters promoted from Lancaster included lefties David Rollins and Luis Cruz and were included in the Lancaster season review.
As to the bullpen, RHP Andrew Robinson (25) was the one constant in the bullpen as there were a lot of comings and goings in the Hooks 'pen. Robinson didn't get much action to start the season with the tandem rotation in place and was a little rusty in the early going. Once he got regular work, he flourished as he had a 1.69 ERA and a 0.991 WHIP in 26 outings over the final three months of the season. He finished the season with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.236 WHIP in 38 appearances.
LHP Pat Urckfitz (25) and RHP Jorge de Leon (26) spent the bulk of their seasons with the Hooks before promotions to Oklahoma City (and to Houston in de Leon's case). In 50 appearances between the two venues, Urckfitz had a 2.94 ERA and a 1.381 WHIP. In 41 minor league appearances, de Leon had a 3.46 ERA and a 0.990 WHIP.
After an early season promotion from Lancaster, RHP Carlos Quevedo (23) pitched 81+ innings for the Hooks with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.212 WHIP. He was used early in the season in a tandem rotation (five starts), but he fared much better as a reliever (3.09 ERA & 1.094 WHIP). Quevedo has been at his best over the last two seasons when used in long relief.
I covered several other relievers who spent parts of their seasons with Corpus in yesterday's recap of Lancaster (including Kenny Long, T.J. Geith and Cameron Lamb), but I would like to include a final note about RHP Jonas Dufek (25) who I also covered yesterday. As discussed, Dufek struggled initially but performed very well as the season progressed. What I didn't note was just how well he did with the Hooks in his limited time with the team. In 14 appearances, he was 7-0 with an 0.47 ERA and an 0.776 WHIP. He will be participating in the Arizona Fall League along with LHP Alex Sogard (2.88 ERA and 1.440 WHIP in 16 appearances at Corpus), RHP Matt Heidenreich (8.23 ERA and 1.811 WHIP in 25 games, seven of them starts) and Andrew Robinson.
Seasons in Review for Other Astros Minor League Teams
DSL Season in Review
GCL Season in Review
Greeneville Season in Review
Tri-City ValleyCats Season in Review
Quad Cities River Bandits Season in Review
Lancaster JetHawks Season in Review
As you pointed out in the article that the Corpus Christi Hooks placed last in steals and I feel that really hurt them towards the end of the season as it took that dynamic of the game away. They Hooks were getting steals but not at the rate they were stealing when Austin Wates and George Springer were on the team.
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