Monday, May 7, 2018

Astros Farm Report: 5/7

Catching you up on the latest Astros MiLB news ...

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

Luis Payano - August 2016
Photo by Jayne Hansen

5/9: LHP Buddy Boshers (30)
5/10: 1B A.J. Reed (25)
5/12: RHP Tyler Ivey (22)
5/12: OF Luis Payano (22)

TWEET OF THE WEEK

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Note that any moves to and from the GCL and Tri-City (teams which are not yet playing) are likely moves on paper only for the purposes of roster management.

5/6: RHP Josh James assigned to Fresno from Corpus Christi
5/6: RHP Riley Ferrell (Corpus Christi) activated from the DL
5/5: RHP Ralph Garza (Corpus Christi) activated from the DL
5/5: OF J.J. Matijevic (Quad Cities) activated from the DL
5/4: LHP Chris Nunn assigned to Fresno from Corpus Christi
5/1: IF Arturo Michelena (Corpus Christi) released
5/1: RHP Corbin Martin assigned to Corpus Christi from Buies Creek
5/1: 3B Josh Rojas assigned to Corpus Christi from Buies Creek
5/1: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
5/1: RHP Gabriel Valdez assigned to Buies Creek from extended spring training
4/30: RHP David Paulino activated from the Fresno DL

ASTROS MILB DISABLED LIST

5/4: RHP Francis Martes (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
5/3+/-: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez had TJ surgery per Instagram post
5/2+/-: OF Patrick Mathis out for approx. 6 weeks per Instagram post
4/30: RHP Andrew Thome (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
4/26: RHP J.B. Bukauskas (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
4/25: 1B Roman Garcia (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
4/7: C Eduardo de Oleo (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Ryan Thompson assigned to Fresno (starting the season on the 7-day DL); according to Instagram Ryan has had surgery, but I don't know whether or not it was TJ
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 19-12 .613 -.-GB L2

CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League)
🠋T2nd 17-13 .567 3.0GB L2

BUIES CREEK (Carolina League)
🠋1st 18-12 .600 -.-GB L2

QUAD CITIES (Midwest League)
🠉3rd 16-12 .571 -.-GB W6
(Up from 7th place in the division last week!)

ASTROS MILB STANDOUTS FOR THE WEEK

For the week of 4/30 through 5/6, here are just a few of the players whose work really stood out ...

FRESNO
CORPUS CHRISTI
  • RHP Erasmo Pinales: 0.00 ERA/0.882 WHIP in 2 bullpen appearances (5.2 IP); 0 of 1 inherited runners scored
  • RHP Kevin Hill: 0.00 ERA/1.167 WHIP in 2 bullpen appearances (6.0 IP); 0 of 2 inherited runners scored
  • RHP Akeem Bostick: 0.00 ERA/1.250 WHIP with a save in one appearance out of the bullpen (4.0 IP)
  • RHP Brock Dykxhoorn: 2.08 ERA/1.154 WHIP in 2 games/1 start (8.2 IP)
  • LHP Ryan Hartman: 2.61 ERA/1.161 WHIP in 2 starts (10.1 IP)
BUIES CREEK
QUAD CITIES
PLAYERS TO WATCH

I plan to feature one player each week who bears watching (as long as my travel schedule allows). Today's player is 3B Randy César.


Randy César - April 2018
Photo by Jayne Hansen

My biggest concern with César going in to the 2018 season was that it would be his seventh season since signing with the Astros in July 2011 out of the Dominican Republic for $100,000 and he had yet to play above A ball. Fast forward through the first few weeks of the 2018 season and César is more than holding his own at the plate at AA, hitting .323/.356/.458 through 24 games (although his walk to strikeout rate of 5 BB:24 K isn't where he needs it to be). César is a mostly solid defender at third base with somewhat limited range so it will be his bat that will either make or break his major league ambitions. As he rapidly approaches minor league free agency, don't be surprised to see him get some experience at AAA if/when either J.D. Davis or Tyler White get recalled to Houston as the Astros will likely try to determine any potential trade value for César before he hits free agency.

NEWS AND LINKS

Baseball Prospectus looks at why ticket prices don't go down when payroll does.

Quad Cities C Michael Papierski spent part of his offseason training alongside a "rock star."

A great piece from Chris Cotillo on Quad Cities RHP  Tanner Duncan. "It was just a bullpen ... that was going to decide my future."

Astros front office analyst Sig Mejdal on spending time in the trenches, er, dugout in this New York times piece. "It’s grown men playing a game in the dirt; it’s not curing cancer. But it is still something to take very seriously. It is players’ dreams."

In case you missed these, I interviewed Hooks RHP Brock Dykxhoorn who is off to a fabulous start this season, and I look at several other players with great early numbers in this April Standouts post. The interview with Dykxhoorn, who is from Canada, was retweeted by his Member of Parliament, a definite first for me!

And, speaking of Canadians, here's a fun interview with Friend of the Blog Johnny Stewart who did a Q&A with me (mentioned in this interview) that helped land him his current job!

And just for grins ...



FORMER ASTROS UPDATE

Elieser Hernández - August 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

You may remember that RHP Elieser Hernández was claimed by the Marlins in the December 2017 Rule 5 draft despite never having pitching an inning above High A in the Astros system. After putting up some impressive numbers in Spring Training for the Marlins, Hernández was sidelined when his wisdom tooth surgery resulted in an infection. Following one rehab start in early April, Hernández was back on the shelf for a couple more weeks with a broken nail. He has now made three additional rehab appearances with mixed results and will likely be recalled by the Marlins soon. It will be interesting to see if the 23-year old Venezuelan can stick or if he will be offered back to the Astros.

WE'RE COMING TO TAKE YOUR JOBS (WOMEN IN BASEBALL

The B.C. Badgers, an all-women team, will be playing against the boys this year in British Columbia in a men's league. 
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)