WTHB Under-the-Radar Roster: Position Players

Yesterday, I caught up with my long-neglected Under-the-Radar Pitchers. Today, let's take a look at how the position players are faring.

CATCHERS:

Tyler Heineman S/R
.283/.322/.355 in 22 games for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks and 47 games for the AAA Fresno Grizzlies (promoted 5/22)
15-2B; 1HR; 27 RBI; 2 SB; 14 BB; 18 SO
36% Caught Stealing (25 SB; 14 CS)

Heineman has been a little slow to catch up with AAA pitching, but he has managed to hold his own. A switch-hitter, he is hitting better from the left (.286/.323/.370 with one home run and 13 of his 15 doubles), and he is hitting .300/.344/.433 with two outs and RISP.

Alfredo Gonzalez R/R
.322/.410/.383 in 13 games for the Low A Quad Cities River Bandits and 27 games for the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks (promoted on 5/7) and 26 games for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks (promoted 7/5)

6-2B; 1-3B; 2 HR; 34 RBI; 5 SB; 1 CS; 34 BB; 46 SO
48% Caught Stealing (26 SB; 24 CS)

Gonzalez had previously established his defensive bona fides, but this season his bat has caught fire. He doesn't have a lot of power (but should develop a bit more on that front), but his on-base percentage has been consistently high as has his batting average.

Alfredo Gonzalez - May 2015

Photo by Jayne Hansen

CATCHING RESERVES:

Jacob Nottingham R/R (Traded to the A's in July)
.326/.387/.543 in 59 games for the Low A Quad Cities River Bandits and .324/.368/.606 in 17 games for High A Lancaster JetHawks (promoted 6/30)
24-2B; 2-3B; 14 HR; 60 RBI; 1 SB; 2 CS; 21 BB; 61 SO
40% Caught Stealing (30 SB; 20 CS)

This could very well be one of those trades that comes back to bite the Astros one day with Nottingham going to the A's.

INFIELDERS:

1B/3B Matt Duffy R/R
.305/.380/.488 in 118 games for the AAA Fresno Grizzlies (68 games at 3B and 33 at 1B)
28-2B; 2-3B; 17 HR; 99 RBI; 4 SB; 1CS; 48 BB; 82 SO

Duffy started off the season a little slowly, but has gotten better and better throughout the season. (Click the chart to enlarge it.)

One very good sign is that he has walked 29 times while striking out 28 times in July and August. In the first three months of the season, he walked only 19 times to 54 strikeouts. That improvement in plate discipline was really the last piece of the puzzle for him.

Matt Duffy - May 2015

Photo by Jayne Hansen

1B/DH Chase McDonald R/R
.283/.359/.586 in 96 games for the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks
26-2B; 1-3B; 27 HR; 73 RBI; 2 SB; 1CS; 40 BB; 109 SO

McDonald has had an uneven season. In August, he is hitting .258/.314/.688 with five doubles, one triple and 11 home runs in 25 games.

3B Nick Tanielu R/R
.309/.356/.429 in 107 games for the Low A Quad Cities River Bandits
26-2B; 4-3B; 5 HR; 68 RBI; 2 SB; 7 CS; 30 BB; 61 SO

Tanielu, on the other hand, has been consistently good since getting past that first cold Midwest month of April. He was recently named a Midwest League Postseason All-Star.

SS/2B Mott Hyde R/R
.294/.379/.425 in 50 games for the Low A Quad Cities River Bandits and 66 games for the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks (promoted 6/9)
37-2B; 5-3B; 3 HR; 63 RBI; 5 SB; 6 CS; 57 BB; 102 SO

In 23 games in August, Hyde is hitting .380/.469/.570, and he leads the Astros minor league system in doubles.

2B/SS Kristian Trompiz R/R
.251/.286/.363 in 103 games for the Low A Quad Cities River Bandits
18-2B; 4-3B; 5 HR; 37 RBI; 7 SB; 2 CS; 18 BB; 74 SO

Trompiz is almost two and a half years younger than the average Midwest League position player and it has shown at times. He is hitting .296/.329/.366 in 21 games in August.

IF Joe Sclafani S/R
.292/.371/.340 in 66 games for the AAA Fresno Grizzlies and 3 games for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks (currently at Fresno)
2-2B; 3-3B; 21 RBI; 4 SB; 1 CS; 25 BB; 35 SO

Sclafani got a slow start this season, likely adjusting to his role as more of a bench player, but in July and August, he has been hitting .360 in his 24 games.

INFIELD RESERVES:

3B/1B Tyler White R/R
.327/.446/.496 in 59 games for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks and 47 games for the AAA Fresno Grizzlies (46 games at 3B, 26 at 1B and 32 at DH)
24-2B; 1-3B; 12 HR; 88 RBI; 1 SB; 1 CS; 77 BB; 65 SO

White was on my reserves because he left the team early in the season for a family matter and I wasn't sure of his status. Otherwise, he would have been a starter on my Under-the-Radar roster and, in looking at his stats, you can probably see why! He is hitting .373/.479/.571 since his promotion to Fresno and just recently debuted at #30 in MLB Pipeline's Top 30 prospect list.

SS/2B Chan Moon S/R
.263/.353/.350 in 17 games for the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks, 70 games for AA Corpus Christi and 2 games for AAA Fresno (currently at Corpus Christi)
11-2B; 2-3B; 3 HR; 24 RBI; 20 SB; 7 CS; 39 BB; 56 SO

OUTFIELD:

LF/RF Brandon Meredith R/R - Released in July
.248/.331/.369 in 40 games for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks
4-2B; 1-3B; 4 HR; 23 RBI; 2 SB: 4 CS; 18 BB; 38 SO

Shortly after being activated from the DL in early July, Meredith was released.

RF/LF Ronnie Mitchell L/L
.295/.364/.515 in 102 games for the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks
26-2B; 10-3B; 12 HR; 69 RBI; 1 SB; 3 CS; 41 BB; 81 SO

Mitchell is hitting .344/.380/.613 in 24 games in August and, with Brett Phillips having been traded, now leads the Astros minor league system in triples.

Ronnie Mitchell - May 2015

Photo by Jayne Hansen

CF/LF Bobby Boyd L/R
.280/.349/.345 in 107 games for the Low A Quad Cities River Bandits
15-2B; 4-3B; 1 HR; 35 RBI; 33 SB; 11 CS; 43 BB; 95 SO

Boyd is another player having a hot August; he is hitting .350/.430/.388 in 20 games. He is also second only to Jonathan Villar in stolen bases in the Astros minor league system.

CF/RF James Ramsay L/L
.315/.379/.459 in 119 games for the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks
28-2B; 4-3B; 10 HR; 57 RBI; 16 SB; 11 CS; 49 BB; 82 SO

Ditto on the Hot August ... .375/.442/.548 in 25 games.

OF/IF Marc Wik L/R
.266/.370/.424 in 86 games for the Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks
17-2B; 4-3B; 7 HR; 39 RBI; 9 SB; 5 CS; 47 BB; 94 SO

And yet another good August ... .320/.393/.440 in 21 games.

OUTFIELD RESERVES:

RF/LF Jon Kemmer L/L
.326/.420/.572 in 97 games for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks
25-2B; 3-3B; 17 HR; 59 RBI; 8 SB; 1 CS; 45 BB; 83 SO

Did I mention something about hot Augusts??? Try .386/.485/.699 with 11 doubles, three triples and three home runs in 23 games.

With several teams heading into postseason play, and all these hot bats, things could get very interesting!!!

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

For background information on these players and more information regarding their selection, see my prior posts on Pitchers and Position Players.