WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
Chas McCormick - July 2017
Photo by Jayne Hansen
4/16: RHP Nivaldo Rodríguez (21)
4/19: OF Chas McCormick (23)
4/21: RHP Justin Ferrell (24)
4/21: LHP Ryan Hartman (24)
4/21: LHP Cionel Pérez (22)
4/22: RHP Bryan Abreu (21)
TWEET OF THE WEEK
But honestly.....who looks better doing the “maternity” pose? pic.twitter.com/Fvp4tZqDCn— Brady Rodgers (@Rodg_20) April 14, 2018
ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS
4/14: LHP Carlos Hiraldo assigned to Quad Cities from extended spring training
4/14: RHP Brendan Feldmann assigned to Buies Creek from Fresno
4/13: 1B Yuli Gurriel (Houston) activated from the DL (Corpus Christi rehab assignment)
4/12: RHP Luis Garcia assigned to Quad Cities from extended spring training
4/12: RHP Cesar Rosado (Quad Cities) assigned to Tri-City (probably a roster management move)
4/12: 3B/1B J.D. Davis (Houston) optioned to Fresno
4/10: RHP Brendan Feldman assigned to Fresno from extended spring training
4/10: RHP James Hoyt (Fresno) recalled to Houston
ASTROS MILB DISABLED LIST
4/7: C Eduardo de Oleo (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP David Paulino (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Ryan Thompson assigned to Fresno (starting the season on the 7-day DL)
4/5: DH Randy Vasquez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Edgardo Sandoval (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Matt Ruppenthal assigned to Quad Cities (starting the season on the 7-day DL)
4/5: RHP Ángel Heredia (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Nick Hernandez (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Jose Luis Hernández (Buies Creek) placed on the 7-day DL
ASTROS MILB STANDINGS
FRESNO (Pacific Coast League)
1st 8-5 .727 -.-GB W5
CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League)
3rd 5-5 .500 2.0GB W1
BUIES CREEK (Carolina League)
T2nd 6-5 .545 1.0GB W2
QUAD CITIES (Midwest League)
8th 2-5 .286 4.0 GB L1
(The River Bandits schedule has taken a hit with all the bad weather. They've already had four postponed games!)
(The River Bandits schedule has taken a hit with all the bad weather. They've already had four postponed games!)
ASTROS MILB STANDOUTS FOR THE WEEK
Through the first 11 days of the season, there have already been a few players whose work has really stood out ..
FRESNO
OF Drew Ferguson - 10G .405/,522/.595
IF Jack Mayfield - 11RBI in 10G
LHP Kent Emanuel - 0.82 ERA/0.636 WHIP in 2 starts
LHP Reymin Guduan - 0.00 ERA/0.955 WHIP in 4 appearances (7.1IP)
CORPUS CHRISTI
OF Carmen Benedetti - 8G .333/.471/.444
OF Yordan Alvarez - 10RBI in 9G
OF Myles Straw - 8SB and 10BB in 10G
RHP Brock Dykxhoorn - 1.17 ERA/1.174 WHIP in 2 games/1 start (1BB:10K)
RHP Josh James - 2.25 ERA/0.750 WHIP in 2 games/1 start (2BB:16K)
BUIES CREEK
IF Josh Rojas - 11G .289/.426/.447
RHP Carson LaRue - 0.00 ERA/0.828 WHIP in 2 starts
RHP Corbin Martin - 0.00 ERA/0.800 WHIP in 2 starts
RHP Abdiel Saldaña - 0.00 ERA/0.889 WHIP in 2 games/1 start
RHP Justin Ferrell - 0.00 ERA/0.522 WHIP in 3 appearances (7.2IP)
RHP Jesús Balaguer - 0.00 ERA/0.529 WHIP in 2 appearances (5.2IP)
LHP Kit Scheetz - 0.00 ERA/0.923 WHIP in 3 appearances (4.1IP)
QUAD CITIES (only 7 games played due to weather)
OF Bryan de la Cruz - 5G .316/.381/.421
OF J.J. Matijevic - .542 SLG in 6G
RHP Yohan Ramirez - 0.00 ERA/0.800 WHIP in 1 start
PLAYERS TO WATCH
I plan to feature one player each week who bears watching (we'll see how long this lasts when I get super busy with travel and interviews this season). Today's player is LHP Kent Emanuel.
Kent Emanuel - April 2017
Photo by Jayne Hansen
I missed the boat on Emanuel when writing up my post on left-handers to watch over the offseason. I certainly hadn't given up on Emanuel, but his 2017 season was fairly lackluster (5.72 ERA/1.745 WHIP and 12.8 H/9 in 116.1 innings between AA Corpus Christi and AAA Fresno) so I didn't include him in that post. But apparently, he had a very good Spring Training which opened some eyes and has gotten off to a very good start in Fresno this season as well (0.82 ERA/0.636 WHIP in 2 starts). With an absolute dearth of lefty pitchers in Houston, it will be extremely interesting to see how Emanuel progresses and whether or not his stock continues to rise. Emanuel was drafted by the Astros in the third round in 2013 and he will be 24 in June.
NEWS AND LINKS
This Athletic ($) post on minor league pay was first published on April 4th, but I just now got a chance to read it. It is an excellent and well-dissected piece from Levi Weaver refuting Rob Manfred's stance on minor league pay and (deservedly) calling B.S. on it. Unfortunately, none of the minor league ballplayers who follow me can actually read it because they can't afford the subscription to the Athletic.
Corbin Martin is getting off to a good start.
Will Murphy, who I knew as the Lancaster JetHawks Assistant GM, is writing a great series about his journey working in minor league baseball. Here's Part I on finding his first MiLB job with the Modesto Nuts and Part II on his experiences getting ready for his first MiLB Opening Day. I can't wait for the next installment!!
And for another aspect of the MiLB life, check out this great advice for baseball WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends) who are just entering the life.
FORMER ASTROS UPDATE
Nick Tropeano - May 2013
Photo by Jayne Hansen
Checking in today with RHP Nick Tropeano. Drafted by the Astros in the 5th round in 2011 out of Stony Brook University (NY), Tropeano was ranked as high as #9 in the Astros system by Baseball America (2013) prior to being traded (along with C Carlos Perez) to the Angels for C Hank Conger in November 2014. Tropeano was working to become an established part of the Angels rotation in 2016 when he was sidelined by Tommy John surgery in August of that year. It was a long slog back for him, but Tropeano made his first appearance for the Angels since July 18, 2016 on April 12th and pitched 6.2 scoreless innings in that start. On a personal note, Nick (or "Sweet Nicky" as I called him back in the day) was one of the nicest, most genuine people I've had the pleasure to meet in my time covering the Astros minors. We at WTHB wish him all the best (except when he's pitching against the Astros).
WE'RE COMING TO TAKE YOUR JOBS (WOMEN IN BASEBALL)
Learn about the first girl to play Little League in the 1950's (podcast or transcript if you prefer).
Alyson Footer talks with former USA Women's Baseball team members as part of her coverage of the Trailblazer Series.
Fangirling with two American treasures - Shirley Burkovich and Mae Blair of the AAGPBL. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/2Mqk8C3new— Alyson Footer (@alysonfooter) April 14, 2018
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