Happy Birthday - 4/22

Happy Birthday to ~

IF Joe Sclafani (24)
Drafted by Houston out of Dartmouth in the 14th round in 2012, Sclafani played his first 19 games in 2013 at Quad Cities before being promoted to Lancaster for the rest of the year, hitting a combined .302/.396/.474. Sclafani has become quite the utility player and has already played at second, third, short and a couple of innings in right field in his first six games of 2014, one in Oklahoma City and the rest in Corpus Christi.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

LHP Carlos Hernandez (34)
The Venezuelan lefty was signed by the Astros in 1997 and pitched in 35 games for Houston in 2001, 2002 and 2004. In his first three starts in the major leagues, he was 1-0 with a 1.02 ERA and a 1.019 WHIP and was considered one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. Then a jammed pitching shoulder diving back in to second base derailed his budding career. Though he continued to pitch after that injury for both the Houston and Tampa Bay organizations, he continued to suffer injuries that kept him from ever making a real comeback. He last pitched for Mexico City in the Mexican League in 2013.