Astros Farm Report: 11/8

More recognition of the Astros in the minor league MILBY awards, but first things first ...

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

11-8: OF/2B Juan Fuentes (22)
11-11: LHP Tommy Shirley (27) (Yeah, I messed up the date last week.)
11-11: OF Johnny Sewald (22)
11-11: OF Andy Pineda (19)
11-13: RHP Chris Devenski (25)

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Never had a coach have my back more than Doug Brocail. Sad to see him leave, but congratulations to him nonetheless.

— Brian Holmes (@BHolmes130) November 5, 2015

FALL/WINTER LEAGUE STATS

Here is how the Astros players participating in fall and winter leagues have fared to date (through Saturday, the 7th):

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE
3B J.D. Davis - .268/.333/.463 in 11 games
OF Derek Fisher - .167/.333/.278 in 11 games
IF Chan-Jong Moon - .111/.219/.148 in 8 games
1B A.J. Reed - .231/.326/.385 in 11 games
LHP Chris Cotton - 1.35 ERA/0.900 WHIP in 7 games (6.2IP)
LHP Brian Holmes - 0.69 ERA/1.308 WHIP in 5 games (13.0IP)
LHP Albert Minnis - 3.12 ERA/1.269 WHIP in 6 games (8.2IP)
RHP Keegan Yuhl - 6.00 ERA/1.167 WHIP in 6 games (6.0IP)

Holmes has continued to have good results, but has walked 11 batters to 10 strikeouts in his 13 innings of work, and Chris Cotton has proven himself to be the strongest relief pitcher on the Glendale Desert Dogs squad.

On the offensive side, Davis had an excellent week, hitting .333 with two doubles and three runs scored in four games prior to last night's Fall Stars game. Reed, also originally slated to be on the Fall Stars squad, was shut down early and sent home after winning just about every minor league offensive accolade in the books.

In the Arizona Fall Stars game on Saturday, Davis and Fisher got the start for the West team. Davis was 1-for-2 with a strikeout and Fisher was 0-for-2 with a strikeout. The West prevailed over the East 8-3.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE
C Tyler Heineman - .214/.340/.262 in 14 games
IF Jonathan Villar - .357/.438/.357 in 4 games
1B/DH Tyler White - .293/.423/.552 in 16 games
RHP Jake Buchanan - 2.45 ERA/0.818 WHIP in 5 games (18.1IP)
LHP Reymin Guduan - 1.50 ERA/1.167 WHIP in 6 games (6.0IP)
RHP Jandel Gustave - 0.00 ERA/1.125 WHIP in 7 games (8.0IP)
RHP Angel Heredia - 13.50 ERA/2.500 WHIP in 2 games (2.0IP) - Not playing at this time
RHP Juan Minaya - 12.60 ERA/1.800 WHIP in 4 games (5.0IP) - Did not play last week

Jonathan Villar showed up on the Aguilas team this past week and has had a very strong start. Buchanan, Guduan and Gustave continue with their solid work.

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE
IF Arturo Michelena - .167/.167/.167 in 2 games (has been playing in the Liga Paralela)
IF Kristian Trompiz - 2 games as pinch runner; no at-bats (has been playing in the Liga Paralela)
OF Danry Vasquez - .309/.352/.506 in 22 games
*RHP Ruben "R.J." Alaniz -7.98 ERA/1.941 WHIP in 2 games (5.2IP)
RHP Chris Devenski - 40.50 ERA/6.002 in 1 game (1.1IP)
RHP James Hoyt - 1.46 ERA/1.054 WHIP in 12 games (12.1IP)

*Free agent

Vasquez (4-for-6 HR 3R last night) and Hoyt have been very solid, but Chris Devenski's first start provided him with a rude welcome to Venezuela.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE
OF Leo Heras - .280/.429/.460 in 17 games
RHP Enrique Chavez - 9.00 ERA/3.000 WHIP in 1 game (1.0IP) - not currently playing
RHP Jose Hernandez - 1.20 ERA/0.933 WHIP in 4 games (15.0IP)
RHP Juan Robles - 0.71 ERA/0.711 WHIP in 6 games (12.2IP)

I continue to be blown away by what Robles has been doing in this league at the ripe old age of 18. Jose Hernandez improved upon his already good numbers with his strong start last night as he went five innings and allowed only four hits, no runs and no walks.

AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
C Jake Bowey - .048/.091/.048 in 6 games
IF Jared Cruz - .091/.091/.091 in 7 games - DNP last week
1B Connor MacDonald - .292/.438/.500 in 10 games
IF/OF Marc Wik - .302/.423/.395 in 12 games (including today's game)
RHP Kevin Comer - 16.88 ERA/4.499 WHIP in 4 games (2.2IP)

MacDonald and Wik continue with solid performances down under. And Wik really made an impression (on the wall) in this attempted catch ...

Wik, meet wall. Wall, this is @marcwik24. pic.twitter.com/8G6Tb7Zocv

— ABL (@ABLeague) November 6, 2015

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE
OF Robbie Grossman - .083/.185/.083 in 6 games
OF Edwin Medina - .000/.000/.000 in 1 game - not currently playing
C Roberto Pena - .158/.273/.211 in 6 games
C Max Stassi - .357/.438/.643 in 4 games
RHP Travis Ballew - 0.00 ERA/0.429 WHIP in 2 games (4.2IP)
LHP Luis Cruz - 9.00 ERA/2.400 WHIP in 2 games (5.0IP)

Stassi had a nice week going 4-for-12 with a double and a home run in three games. Ballew hasn't been used much yet, but he has been excellent in his limited work out of the bullpen.

NEWS AND LINKS

Building on last week's MILBY awards to A.J. Reed and Tyler White as top offensive players, this week the Astros won Best Farm System as voted by both fans and MiLB staff; the Fresno Grizzlies won Best Team (also voted by both fans and staff); and Astros OF Derek Fisher won Best Individual Performance (staff vote) for his 12-RBI game in May.

Friend of WTHB and sometimes contributor Jeremy Schmidt has started his own blog in which he will be Scouting the Texas League. In his first post, he looks at the 2015 Corpus Christi Hooks Offensive Efficiency. (SPOILER ALERT: Carlos Correa is good.)  Give him a read ... it's good stuff! (And give him a follow on twitter.)

Finally, last but certainly not least, I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to say how privileged I have been to be able to sit down and talk baseball with Doug Brocail. He's a great pitching coach and an even better person. The Tweet of the Week above is representative of many, many tweets from Astros minor leaguers who loved playing for and learning from Brocail. As he takes over as Pitching Coach for the Texas Rangers, WTHB wishes him the best of luck (except when the Rangers play the Astros). He will be missed.