Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week

It's time to look back at Week 20 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, August 10th and continuing through Saturday, August 16th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

This week, I'm going to acknowledge four nominees (in no particular order) in addition to this week's winner ~

OF Jon Kemmer (Lancaster)

.385/.385/.654 in 6 games
4R 4-2B HR 3RBI 0BB 4SO

OF Brauly Mejia (GCL)

.333/.462/.571 in 6 games
4R 2-2B HR 5RBI 3BB 4SO 3SB 0CS

1B/DH Telvin Nash (Corpus Christi)

.286/.400/.619 in 6 games
3R 2B 2HR 6RBI 3BB 6SO

2B Jonathan Matute (DSL)

.333/.333/.593 in 6 games
3R 4-2B HR 2RBI 0BB 4SO 1SB 1CS

My winner has only played in 15 games thus far in the Astros system, but he is already having an impact on a streaking Corpus Christi Hooks team with his 13 RBI in those 15 games, nine of which came last week.

3B Colin Moran (Corpus Christi)

.409/.440/.591 in 6 games
3R 2B HR 9RBI 2BB 4SO 0SB 1CS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 3B COLIN MORAN

Colin Moran - August 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

First up, my honorable mentions go to Oklahoma City's Rudy Owens; Lancaster's Vincent Velasquez (with 11 strikeouts in six innings!); Tri-City's Luis Ordosgoitti; and the DSL's Carlos Hiraldo, Albert Abreu, Salvador Montano and Edgardo Sandoval.

Four pitchers stood out from the pack, though, for what they were able to do in two appearances each over the week. My nominees, in no particular order, are ~

LHP Brian Holmes (Lancaster) - Win
0.82 ERA/0.818 WHIP .200 BA
11IP (2 games/1 start) 8H 1R 1BB 8SO

RHP Erasmos Pinales (DSL)
0.00 ERA/0.500 WHIP .081 BA
10IP (2 games/2 starts) 3H 1R/0ER 2BB 7SO

RHP Elieser Hernandez (Greeneville) - Win
0.00 ERA/0.875 WHIP .125 BA
8IP (2 games/1 start) 4H 3BB 9SO

Our winner not only dominated last week, but he has been very dominant all season. In 13 games (11 starts), he is 6-1 with a 2.91 ERA and a 0.969 WHIP. (And lest I get chastised by a certain Tri-City fan for leaving this out, I feel compelled to insert a "Vamos Gatos!" at this time).

RHP Joe Musgrove (Tri-City) - Win
0.00 ERA/0.316 WHIP .077 BA
12.2IP (2 games/2 starts) 3H 1BB 9SO

Joe Musgrove - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP JOE MUSGROVE

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

As always, the relief corps had some excellent outings. Honorable mentions go to Corpus Christi's Jordan Jankowski (8 strikeouts in 3 IP!); Quad Cities' Keegan Yuhl; Tri-City's Bryan Radziewski; Greeneville's Aaron Greenwood, Agapito Barrios and Juan Delis; the GCL's Daniel Mengden (perfect in two outings); and Diogenes Almengo and Gabriel Valdez in the DSL.

My nominees this week, in no particular order, are ~

LHP Chris Cotton (Quad Cities) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.529 WHIP/.150 BA
5.2IP (3 games) 3H 0BB 8SO
2 inherited runners/2 scored

RHP Jose Ramos (DSL) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.273 WHIP/.083 BA
3.2IP (2 games) 1H 0BB 4SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

RHP Tyson Perez (Corpus Christi) - 2 Saves
0.00 ERA/0.375 WHIP/.111 BA
2.2IP (3 games) 1H 0BB 6SO
1 inherited runner/0 scored

My winner has had an outstanding start to his professional career with a 1-1 record and three saves in 14 outings. He has a 2.20 ERA and a 0.857 WHIP, and has allowed only two walks while striking out 18 in 16.1 innings. In his three outings last week, he was nothing short of perfect. Vamos Gatos again!

RHP Derick Velazquez (Tri-City) - Win
0.00 ERA/.0.000 WHIP/.000 BA
4IP (3 games) 0H 0BB 5SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

Derick Velazquez - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP DERICK VELAZQUEZ