Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for July 29-30, 2018

Sunday: Let's play two in Troy!
Monday: Let's play two in the Dominican Republic!

Sunday games first.

Fresno

Both teams scored in extra innings on Saturday, but in the end, Omaha emerged with a 5-4 victory in 11 innings.

Jamie Ritchie opened the scoring with a pop-up that dropped in for an RBI single in the 2nd inning. Tony Nuñez led off the 3rd with a triple and scored on a sac fly from Jake Marisnick. Ritchie hit a leadoff double in the 5th and Nuñez brought him in with a base hit. Myles Straw led off the 10th in scoring position and scored on a single from D.J. Fisher.

Ritchie went 3-5 on the night and Nuñez finished 2-4. Straw also stole a base, which gives him 19 with Fresno and 54 on the season.

Trent Thornton went seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits (two-run homer), walked one, and struck out seven. Dean Deetz allowed two hits and struck out the side in the 8th. Brendan McCurry got three innings and allowed two unearned runs (leadoff runner scored both times) on two hits and struck out two.

The Grizz earned the split with a 5-3 win on Monday.

Josh James went 6.1 innings and allowed three runs on four hits, walked three, and struck out eight. Buddy Boshers was the first man out of the Fresno bullpen and struck out two over 1.2 perfect innings and Riley Ferrell worked around a couple of hits in the 9th to close it out, striking out one.

Tony Nuñez opened the scoring with a two-run single in the 2nd inning. A.J. Reed ripped an RBI double in the 3rd and scored on a two-run homer from Yordan Alvarez. Taylor Jones and Jamie Ritchie both finished with two hits on the evening.

The Grizzlies have Tuesday off as they'll be traveling to Nashville.

Corpus Christi

After dropping the first two games of their four-game series with Midland, the Hooks battled back to earn the split with a 4-2 win on Sunday.

Hector Perez, in what turned out to be his final appearance as a member of the Houston Astros organization, went five innings and allowed two runs on three hits, walked two, and struck out six. Brett Adcock finished it off by not allowing a hit in the final four innings; he walked four and struck out one.

All four of Corpus Christi's runs on Sunday came in the 6th, right after the Hounds had gotten on the board with a pair in the 5th. Aníbal Sierra ripped a one-out double and then Carmen Benedetti put the Hooks on the board with a two-run homer, his 6th of the season. Stephen Wrenn followed with a double. Randy César went down on strikes for the second out of the inning, but Josh Rojas came through by bringing Wrenn in with a double. Rojas wound up scoring the final run of the night on a wild pitch and an errant throw at third. Benedetti and Wrenn both finished 2-4; Wrenn's two hits were both doubles.

Framber Valdez enjoyed a career night on Monday as the Hooks opened up a series with San Antonio with a 3-0 win.

Framber allowed two hits and struck out a career-high 12 over 7.2 shutout innings. He made way for Justin Ferrell, who wrapped things up by getting the last four outs of the evening; two came via the strikeout.

Rojas opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st. César, who advanced to third on the hit, wound up stealing home. César finished 3-4 and capped off the evening with an RBI single in the 8th inning. Abraham Toro went 2-3.

Game two of this series features a couple of Texas arms as Corbin Martin (Cy Ranch/Texas A&M) takes on Chris Paddack (Cedar Park). First pitch is at 7:05.

Buies Creek

The Carolina Stros lost 7-2 in the finale of their three-game series with the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

J.J. Matijevic finished 2-3 and drove in both Buies Creek runs with singles in the 1st and the 3rd. Jake Meyers finished 2-4 with a double and scored on Matijevic's RBI single in the 1st.

Abdiel Saldaña went four innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits, walked two, and struck out three. Carlos Sanabria allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out two in a scoreless 5th inning. Carson LaRue pitched the final three innings and allowed three runs on six hits, walked one, and struck out three.

Buies Creek had Monday off. They'll start a three-game series in Lynchburg at 6:00 Eastern.

Quad Cities

The Banditos knocked off Cedar Rapids 6-0 on Sunday despite issuing ten walks. On the flip side, they held Cedar Rapids to two hits and most importantly, zero runs.

Parker Mushinski and Luis Garcia didn't have their best stuff or their sharpest command, but they both threw four scoreless innings. Mushinski allowed a hit, walked six, and struck out three, while Garcia allowed the other hit, walked four, and struck out one. Tanner Duncan completed the shutout with a 1-2-3 9th, striking out one.

Quad Cities got out to a quick start on Sunday with four runs out of the gate. Marty Costes and Seth Beer led off the game with singles and they both scored on a Colton Shaver... triple. Yes, Colton Shaver with the two-run triple. Shaver trotted home on an Alfredo Angarita double and Ruben Castro brought Angarita in with a single. Angarita tripled to lead off the 6th and Castro brought him in with a sac fly. Shaver hit a leadoff single in the 8th and scored the final run of the day on a single from Miguelangel Sierra. Shaver finished 3-4; Angarita, Castro, and Sierra all had two hits on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the Kernels turned the tables as the series shifted back to the Quad Cities as they pummeled the Banditos 8-0. Quad Cities only had one hit in this game and David Hensley broke up the no-hit bid with a single with two outs in the 9th inning. Chandler Taylor was the only other player in the lineup to reach base; he did so by walking on four pitches in the 5th.

César Rosado got roughed up as he failed to make it out of the 2nd inning. He allowed five runs on five htis (three-run homer), walked four, and struck out one in 1.2 innings. Brendan Feldmann was the first man out of the bullpen; he threw 3.1 innings and allowed three runs on two hits (two-run homer), walked three, and struck out three. Humberto Castellanos allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out five over three scoreless innings, and Willy Collado threw a 1-2-3 9th, getting a groundout and two flyball outs.

Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids will conclude their series at 6:35.

Tri-City

The ValleyCats split a Sunday doubleheader with Staten Island; they lost 2-0 in game one and walked off with a 2-1 victory in eight innings.

Austin Dennis, Luis Encarnación, and Trey Dawson singled in the first game.

Alex House allowed an unearned run on a groundout, a single, and struck out two in two innings. Brett Daniels went four innings and struck out five; the one hit he allowed was a solo homer. Riley Cabral worked around a couple of walks to throw a scoreless 9th, striking out two.

Tri-City won game two via shrimp. That's a walk-off walk.

Michael Wielansky doubled to start the third and scored the first run of game two on a single from Jeremy Peña. Enmanuel Valdez came on for Oscar Campos to begin the 8th. He advanced to third on a bunt single from Peña. Ramiro Rodriguez and Andy Piñeda went down on strikes, but Dennis got a free pass to first to bring up Encarnación, who walked Valdez in to win the game. Peña finished 2-4.

Nivaldo Rodriguez allowed a run on five hits, walked one, and struck out four in 5.2 innings and Tim Hardy struck out three over 2.1 perfect innings.

The ValleyCats broke a 3-3 tie with three runs in the 8th to come away with a 6-4 win in their series opener with Brooklyn on Monday.

Carlos Hiraldo allowed three runs on seven hits, walked one, and struck out six in 4.2 innings. Mark Moclair was the first man out of the Tri-City bullpen and didn't allow a hit in his 2.2 innings, but he had a run that was charged to him after J.P. France allowed a double. Moclair also walked three and struck out five. The double was the only hit that France allowed in 1.2 innings; he also walked one and struck out two.

Both teams scored a run in the 1st; the ValleyCats got theirs on a solo homer from Alex McKenna, his third of the season. Alex Holderbach doubled with one out in the 2nd and scored on Jeremy Peña's base hit. Holderbach led off the 4th with a homer, his second blast of the year.

Andy Piñeda got the 8th-inning rally started with a one-out single. Holderbach reached on a fielder's choice and César Salazar put Tri-City in the lead with a two-run double; an error on the play allowed him to move to third. Peña brought Salazar in with a single. Holderbach, Peña, and Enmanuel Valdez all finished with two hits; Holderbach also scored three times.

The ValleyCats and Cyclones will play again at 11:30 AM Eastern.

DSL Astros

The Academy swept a doubleheader with the Braves on Monday, winning 12-3 and 4-3.

They busted game one open with four runs apiece in the 3rd and the 4th.

In the first game, Enmanuel Morillo and Jose Alvarez both finished 3-3 and scored three runs; Morillo smacked a two-run homer in the 3rd, the first of his pro career. Abraham Castillo went 4-4 with a double and drove in two with a single in the 4th.

Meanwhile in game two, Fabricio Reina and Franny Cobos turned in hitless outings. Reina walked one and struck out four in three innings, while Cobos struck out two over two perfect innings of work.

There, we're all caught up.

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Saturday, July 28, 2018

Let's play two in Wilmington and Troy... again!

Fresno 3, Omaha 2

W- Brady Rodgers (1-1)
L- Zach Lovvorn (1-5)
S- Rogelio Armenteros (1)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Storm Chasers scored the first two runs of this game and the Grizzlies responded by scoring the last three.

Brady Rodgers turned in a solid outing as he went six innings and allowed two runs on four hits (solo homer), walked one, and struck out one. Rogelio Armenteros brought it home by not allowing a hit over the final three innings; he walked two and fanned five.

D.J. Fisher walked to keep the 3rd inning alive and scored Fresno's first run when he dashed home on a Jack Mayfield double. Jake Marisnick hit a double with one out in the 5th and scored on a single from A.J. Reed. Jake would strike again in the 6th when he ripped an RBI double that turned out to be the game-winning hit. Both of Jake's hits were doubles; Yordan Alvarez also finished with two hits on the evening.

Trent Thornton takes on Jake Kalish in game three of this series. First pitch is at 5:00 Pacific.

Corpus Christi 7, Midland 5

W- Erasmo Pinales (2-4)
L- Nolan Blackwood (5-3)

CC home runs: Lorenzo Quintana (11, solo in 4th), Alex De Goti (11, walk-off two-run in 9th)

The Hooks snapped a season-high six-game losing streak by stunning the Hounds with five runs in the final two innings of this game, culminating in Alex De Goti's walk-off shot in the bottom of the 9th.

Randy César hit a two-out double in the 1st and scored the first run of the evening on a double from Taylor Jones. Lorenzo Quintana smacked a solo homer in the 4th that tied the game at 2. This would be Corpus Christi's last scoring play until they came alive in the last two innings; in the meantime, Midland took a 5-2 lead.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th, Aníbal Sierra hit an RBI single and De Goti scored another run when they tried to get Quintana at second. The game log says he "scored on the throw," it doesn't specify where the throw was going. Well, anyway. Stephen Wrenn got plunked to lead off the 9th; he got his revenge by stealing his way to third and scoring the tying run on a sac fly from Jones. Josh Rojas worked out a walk to bring up De Goti, who sent the Whataburger Field crowd home happy by launching a Nolan Blackwood offering into the South Texas night to win the game.

Jones finished 4-4 on the night. De Goti (2-R HR, 2 R) and Quintana (2B, solo HR) both finished with two hits, and Wrenn's two steals give him 36 on the season.

Brandon Bielak went six innings and allowed four runs on nine hits (solo homer), walked two, and struck out four. Alex Winkelman tagged in for 2.1 innings and allowed a run on two hits, walked two, and struck out five. Erasmo Pinales got the last two outs of the 9th, striking out one.

Hector Perez will start the finale of this series and he'll face Ben Bracewell at 6:05.

Game 1: Wilmington 1, Buies Creek 0

W- Gerson Garabito (5-6)
L- Cristian Javier (3-3, 5-5 season)
S- Tyler Zuber (6)

BC home runs: None.

There was one run in game one and it did not belong to the Carolina Stros. They outhit the Blue Rocks 7-2 but couldn't push any runs across. Bryan de la Cruz and Chuckie Robinson both went 2-3 in game one.

Cristian Javier went 5.2 innings and allowed that one run on a homer. He also allowed one other hit, walked two, and struck out eight. Tommy DeJuneas got the last out of the 6th.

Game 2: Buies Creek 3, Wilmington 0

W- Tyler Ivey (2-3, 3-6 season)
L- Daniel Tillo (2-2)
S- Colin McKee (5)

BC home runs: None.

The Carolina Stros held Wilmington to one run on three hits in the span of two games... and finished with a split in the doubleheader.

De La Cruz accounted for three of Buies Creek's four hits in game two; he hit an RBI single in the 1st and another RBI single in the 3rd inning. Before his second RBI base hit, Corey Julks scored on a wild pitch. The other hit belonged to Ronnie Dawson. The Carolina Stros walked eleven times and struck out only once in this game.

Tyler Ivey allowed a hit, walked two, and struck out eight over six shutout frames. Colin McKee struck out one in a 1-2-3 7th to complete the shutout.

Buies Creek and Wilmington will conclude this series at 1:35 Eastern.

Quad Cities 3, Cedar Rapids 2

W- Bryan Abreu (2-0, 4-0 season)
L- Blayne Enlow (2-3)
S- Chad Donato (2)

QC home runs: David Hensley (2, solo in 3rd)

Bryan Abreu mowed down the Kernels and Chad Donato held them off to secure the win.

Abreu went five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits, walked two, and struck out a career-high 11, while Donato allowed a hit, walked one, and fanned four over the final four frames. Donato bounced back nicely after allowing four runs in each of his last two outings.

Miguelangel Sierra ripped a double with one out in the 2nd inning and he scored the game's first run on a single from Logan Mattix. Quad Cities scored twice in the 3rd as Marty Costes led off with a triple and scored on a Seth Beer groundout, and one batter later, David Hensley smacked a solo home run. Hensley and Mattix both finished with two hits on the night.

Parker Mushinski will take on Jordan Balazovic in the second and final game of the road leg of this four-game series. First pitch is at 2:05.

Staten Island 2, Tri-City 0

W- Nolan Martinez (4-0)
L- Brett Conine (1-1)

TC home runs: None.

Well, there was supposed to be a doubleheader, but the horrid weather continues to wreak havoc in upstate New York. ValleyCats management issued a letter of apology to the fans:
As for the game, both teams recorded five hits but only the Yankees were able to push across any runs.

All five Tri-City hits were singles; no one finished with more than one hit.

Brett Conine pitched well but could only take the loss. He allowed a run on three hits, walked one, and struck out eight over 4.2 innings. Devin Conn pitched 1.1 innings and allowed a run on two hits and walked one.

Weather permitting, the ValleyCats and Yankees will attempt to play a doubleheader with game one starting at 4:00.

GCL Astros 3, GCL Mets 2

W- Jose Bravo (1-3)
L- Ramón Guzmán (5-2)
S- Joey Gonzalez (1)

GCL home runs: Hector Martinez (2, solo in 8th)

Hector Martinez had a nice afternoon at the plate as he went 2-3 with an RBI double in the 6th and a solo homer in the 8th. Freudis Nova had an RBI base hit in the 6th.

Jose Bravo allowed a hit and struck out seven over five shutout innings. Fredy Medina cruised through three scoreless innings but the final out of the game eluded him. In 3.2 innings, Medina allowed two runs on four hits, walked one, and struck out three. Joey Gonzalez came on with two runners on and got that last out without incident.

DSL Astros 5, DSL Athletics 0

W- Valente Bellozo (2-1)
L- Stiven Montilla (0-2)
S- Alfredi Jimenez (2)

DSL home runs: None.

Valente Bellozo and Alfredi Jimenez shut the A's down as they combined on a one-hitter. Bellozo allowed that one hit and struck out three in his five innings. He allowed six runs, five of which were earned, during his pro debut on June 5. Since then, he's pitched 35.2 innings and has not allowed a run. Jimenez struck out seven over the last four innings; one of his strikeout victims reached base.

Yimmi Cortabarria and Jeury Castillo both went 2-3 on the day. Cortabarria drew a walk and scored twice; one of his runs came on a base hit from Castillo in the 8th inning.


Saturday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

DSL Astros pitchers: W 5-0 @ DSL Athletics
9 IP, H, 10 K
Valente Bellozo: W (2-1), 5 IP, H, 3 K
Alfredi Jimenez: Save (2), 4 IP, 7 K; one strikeout victim reached on passed ball

Hector Martinez, OF, GCL Astros: 2-3, 2B, solo HR (2), 2 RBI

Alex De Goti, IF, Taylor Jones, 1B, and Lorenzo Quintana, C, Corpus Christi
De Goti: 2-5, walk-off 2-R HR (11), 2 R
Jones: 4-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
Quintana: 2-3, 2B, solo HR (11)

Quad Cities River Bandits pitchers: W 3-2 @ Cedar Rapids
9 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 15 K
Bryan Abreu: W (2-0, 4-0 season), 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, career-high 11 K
Chad Donato: Save (2), 4 IP, H, BB, 4 K

David Hensley, IF, Quad Cities
2-5, solo HR (2)

Tommy DeJuneas' and Tyler Ivey's photos are their mugshots on MiLB.com.
Buies Creek Astros pitchers: L 1-0 (game 1) and W 3-0 (game 2) @ Wilmington
13 IP, 3 H (solo HR allowed), ER, 4 BB, 17 K
Game One
Cristian Javier: L (3-3, 5-5 season), 5.2 IP, 2 H (solo HR allowed), ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Tommy DeJuneas: 0.1 IP; out recorded via groundball
Game Two
Tyler Ivey: W (2-3, 3-6 season), 6 IP, H, 2 BB, 8 K
Colin McKee: Save (5), IP, K

Photo by Bryan Green
Bryan de la Cruz, OF, Buies Creek
2-3 in game one of doubleheader
3-3, 2 RBI in game two of doubleheader

Rogelio Armenteros, RHP, Fresno
Save (1), 3 IP, 2 BB, 5 K

This is his mugshot on Cal State Fullerton's athletics page.
Brett Conine, RHP, Tri-City
L (1-1), 4.2 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 8 K

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Interview with Quad Cities/Astros RHP Jairo Solis and C Ruben Castro

For the last few years, I've worked with Doris Gonzalez, the Astros Supervisor of Education, Acculturation and Language Development on getting a few of the Latin players in the system used to doing interviews in English. She will let me know what players she feels are up to the challenge and I will record a short (and hopefully painless) video interview with a couple of players. On my recent trip to Quad Cities, I paired C Ruben Castro and RHP Jairo Solis.

Ruben Castro - July 2018
Photo by Jayne Hansen

Castro was drafted out of Puerto Rico in the 19th round in 2014. He has hit .260/.393/.365 for Quad Cities this season and boasts a 41% caught stealing rate. Quad Cities Pitching Coach Graham Johnson said of Castro, "From an offensive standpoint he came up and gave us a shot of energy into the lineup. He can run a little bit, obviously hit from the left side so adds another dimension for us in that way. Then went into a little bit of a lull, but of late has really come on and really had some good ABs. Even when he's not putting the ball in play, he's having some quality ABs and when he is, he's striking the ball well. From a defensive standpoint he works extremely hard. The big thing for him is receiving. That's going to be a big thing for him of how good he gets on that part of the game, but (he) blocks well, throws really well."

Jairo Solis - July 2018
Photo by Jayne Hansen

Solis signed with the Astros out of Venezuela as a 16-year old in 2016 and cruised through three levels in his first season in 2017. And at three years younger than the average River Bandits pitcher, Solis has (with a couple of notable exceptions) done quite well for himself. In 11 games (10 starts), he has a 3.67 ERA and a 1.704 WHIP (41.2 IP). Back out his first outing and his last outing and that drops dramatically to a 1.66 ERA and a 1.421 WHIP in 38 innings. Not bad at all for someone who doesn't turn 19 until December. Johnson said of Solis, "Very young and at the same time extremely gifted, extremely talented and that's obviously why he's here. As soon as he got into the Astros organization, they saw some very quick development and that's why he shot right to us. The big thing for him is he's got the power fastball and the offspeed is there, but it's more about how to use and when to use the offspeed. That is going to be the key to unlocking what he can really do on the mound."

Without further ado, here is the interview. I apologize for the sound quality; there was a TON of background noise. Enjoy!

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Friday, July 27, 2018

Not a fun night in the Astros organization.

Omaha 15, Fresno 4

W- Arnaldo Hernandez (2-0)
L- Brock Dykxhoorn (5-2, 7-2 season)

Fresno home runs: D.J. Fisher (10, solo in 1st), Jack Mayfield (11, solo in 2nd)

No comment.

Midland 5, Corpus Christi 3

W- Brian Howard (1-2)
L- Akeem Bostick (1-4)
S- Kyle Finnegan (7)

CC home runs: Carmen Benedetti (5, 3-run in 9th)

Carmen Benedetti's blast got the Hooks back in this, but it's a little tough for a team to win when they only have three hits in a game.

Benedetti accounted for two of those hits; the other one belonged to Randy César.

Akeem Bostick went four innings and allowed four runs on five hits (solo homer), walked two, and struck out eight. Kit Scheetz tagged in for two innings, allowing a run on three hits, walking one, and striking out three. Ralph Garza Jr. allowed a hit and struck out three over three scoreless to give Corpus a chance.

Jorge Alcala was scheduled to start tonight's game and today also happens to be his birthday, but he is now a member of the Minnesota Twins organization. Whoever gets the nod will take on Logan Shore at 7:05.

Buies Creek and Wilmington was postponed

Due to rain. Today's doubleheader is scheduled to start at 4:30 Eastern.

Quad Cities 8, Burlington 7 in 11 innings

W- Willy Collado (1-2)
L- Zack Kelly (2-1)

QC home runs: Scott Schrieber (1, solo in 5th)

This game started on Thursday but was suspended because the lights went out. Quad Cities wrapped this one up quickly so they could start the regularly scheduled contest in a timely fashion.

Colton Shaver started the top of the 11th in scoring position and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

Seth Beer went 3-4 with an RBI single and he also scored twice. Scott Schreiber smacked a homer to lead off the 5th inning; he finished 2-6 and also scored twice. The homer was his first as a pro.

The Quad Cities bullpen finished with 7.2 scoreless innings. Humberto Castellanos walked one and struck out four over 3.2 no-hit frames. Brendan Feldmann and Willy Collado both threw two innings; Feldmann allowed an unearned run on two hits and struck out three, while Collado fanned four in a perfect outing.

Burlington 4, Quad Cities 2

W- Michael Santos (2-1)
L- Edgardo Sandoval (0-1, 0-3 season)
S- Austin Krzeminski (4)

QC home runs: None.

The Bees stung the Banditos with three runs in the 5th inning to take the lead and foiled Quad Cities' attempt to sweep the series.

J.B. Bukauskas and Edgardo Sandoval ended up with the exact same lines, although Bukauskas pitched 4.1 innings and Sandoval was on for the final 3.2 innings. They both allowed two runs (well, Bukauskas' second run was an inherited runner that was charged to him) on three hits, walked two, and struck out seven. I can't remember the last time that this occurred.

David Hensley was involved in both Quad Cities scoring plays in this game; he hit an RBI single in the 1st and grounded into a double play in the 3rd that also resulted in Marty Costes scoring.

Bryan Abreu will start the opener of a four-game series with Cedar Rapids; the first two games will take place in Cedar Rapids. He'll face Blayne Enlow at 6:35.

Tri-City and Staten Island was postponed

Due to rain. It's the third time this week that the ValleyCats have had games suspended or postponed by the weather. A doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 5:00 Eastern. The first game originally started last Sunday in Staten Island so they'll get that one done with. These two teams will play another doubleheader on Sunday.

GCL Nationals 13, GCL Astros 7

W- Fray Perez (2-1)
L- Bryan Solano (2-1)

GCL home runs: Hector Martinez (1, 3-run in 2nd)

The Palm Beach Stros scored seven runs in a three-inning span; unfortunately, their complex mates responded with nine in a separate three-inning span.

Hector Martinez launched his first homer of the season, a three-run shot in the 2nd inning. Wilyer Abreu went 2-4 with a couple of doubles, drove in a run, and scored twice. Ronaldo Urdaneta went 2-2 and scored a run.

Jonathan Bermúdez was the only pitcher to turn in a scoreless outing; he walked one and struck out two over 2.1 no-hit frames.

DSL Astros 9, DSL Athletics 6

W- Jairo Lopez (1-2)
L- Yorlenis Noa (0-1)
S- Ronny Garcia (2)

DSL home runs: None.

Javier Bermúdez, Jose Mendoza, and Enmanuel Morillo all finished with two hits on the day; Morillo and Abraham Castillo drove in two runs apiece.

Jairo Lopez allowed two hits and struck out three over three scoreless as the first man out of the bullpen.

Friday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Jairo Lopez, RHP, DSL Astros: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 K
Enmanuel Morillo, IF, DSL Astros: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R

Jonathan Bermúdez, LHP, GCL Astros: 2.1 IP, BB, 2 K
Wilyer Abreu, OF, GCL Astros: 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R

Quad Cities River Bandits bullpen: W 8-7 (11 innings) @ Burlington
7.2 IP, 2 H, unearned run, BB, 11 K
Humberto Castellanos: 3.2 IP, BB, 4 K
Brendan Feldmann: 2 IP, 2 H, unearned run, 3 K
Willy Collado: W (1-2), 2 IP, 4 K; perfect outing

Seth Beer, LF/1B, and Scott Schreiber, OF/1B, Quad Cities
Beer: 3-4, RBI, 2 R
Schreiber: 2-6, 2B, solo HR (1), 2 R

Carmen Benedetti, OF, Corpus Christi
2-4, 3-R HR (5)

Ralph Garza Jr., RHP, Corpus Christi
3 IP, H, 3 K

Friday, July 27, 2018

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, July 26, 2018

Let's play two in Potomac and Troy!

Fresno 5, Iowa 4 in 10 innings

W- Brendan McCurry (5-4)
L- Craig Brooks (1-1)

Fresno home runs: A.J. Reed (22, 2-run in 6th)

The Grizzlies rallied from a 4-1 deficit to walk off with the win and they also swept the I-Cubs out of the Central Valley.

Mike Hauschild went six innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits, walked two, and struck out two. Dean Deetz and Buddy Boshers both threw a scoreless inning out of the bullpen; Deetz had to get himself out of a bases-loaded predicament in the 7th and did so without incurring any damage. He allowed a hit, walked two, struck out one. Boshers plunked the first man he faced in the 8th but retired the next three batters via a sac bunt, flyball out, and a soft line drive. Brendan McCurry allowed two hits and struck out one over two scoreless innings.

Jake Marisnick singled to lead off the 1st and then stole second and advanced to third on the errant throw down. Tyler White opened up the scoring with a sac fly. A.J. Reed whacked a two-run homer in the 6th to cut Fresno's deficit down to one run and Nick Tanielu scored the tying run on a botched force out attempt in the 7th. Myles Straw started the inning in scoring position but was erased on a fielder's choice. Jake got caught stealing second, but D.J. Fisher kept the inning alive by drawing a walk. Fisher was successful in his attempt to take second and he scored the winning run on White's single.

White went 2-3 and has hit safely in 12 straight games for the second time this season. Tanielu and Jamie Ritchie both finished 2-4 on the evening.

Brock Dykxhoorn will start the first of a three-game series with Omaha at 7:05 Pacific. He'll face Arnaldo Hernandez.

Midland 4, Corpus Christi 1

W- Joel Seddon (6-6)
L- Ryan Hartman (9-3)
S- Kyle Finnegan (6)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks scored first, but they weren't able to tack on any more runs after the opening frame. 

Ryan Hartman went five innings and allowed two runs on three hits, walked three, and struck out three. Corbin Martin pitched the last four innings and he allowed two runs on three hits (solo homer), walked two, and struck out six.

Carmen Benedetti scored Corpus Christi's lone run when Taylor Jones hit into a fielder's choice in the 1st inning. Randy César finished 2-3.

Jorge Alcala will get the start in game two of this series. First pitch is at 7:05.

Game 1: Buies Creek 2, Potomac 1

W- Brandon Bailey (5-8)
L- Jacob Condra-Bogan (0-1)
S- Yohan Ramirez (2, 3 season)

BC home runs: None.

The Carolina Stros scored twice in the 6th to take the first game of the twinbill.

Corey Julks got plunked with one out in the 6th. He advanced to third on a J.J. Matijevic base hit and scored the first run of game one on a wild pitch. Ronnie Dawson, who was at the plate at the time, brought Matijevic in with a double and he then proceeded to steal third. Dawson's RBI double was Buies Creek's only extra-base hit in game one and his steal gives him 29 on the season.

Brandon Bailey turned in six shutout innings, allowing five hits, walking one, and striking out eight. Yohan Ramirez allowed an unearned run on two hits and struck out one in the 7th.

Game 2: Potomac 2, Buies Creek 1 in 8 innings

W- Jeremy McKinney (3-2)
L- Enoli Paredes (0-1, 2-4 season)

BC home runs: None.

Buies Creek ended up on the losing end of the same scoreline in game two... because they could only muster up one hit.

Chuckie Robinson drew a walk in the 3rd inning, advanced to third on that one hit, a single from Jake Meyers, and scored on a wild pitch.

The one run that Jose Luis Hernandez allowed in his five innings came on a homer. He allowed two other hits, walked one, and struck out four. Enoli Paredes pitched 2.1 innings and allowed the winning run on a single and struck out three.

Buies Creek will begin a three-game series with the Wilmington Blue Rocks at 7:00 Eastern.

Quad Cities and Burlington was suspended

With the game tied at 7 heading into the bottom of the 10th. A power surge knocked out the lights in left field and they couldn't turn them back on. This game will resume at 5:30, and the regularly scheduled game will go seven innings. Seth Beer is currently 3-4 with an RBI single and he's also scored twice. Scott Schreiber smacked a homer to lead off the 5th inning, and Humberto Castellanos walked one and struck out four over 3.2 no-hit frames.

Since Beer and Schreiber are still in this game, they won't be eligible for the Stars section until it's completed; I'll add them afterwards. However, since Castellanos is finished, I'll include him.

Game 1: Auburn 4, Tri-City 3

W- Chandler Day (1-1)
L- Felipe Tejada (2-3)
TC home runs: Luis Encarnación (5, solo in 5th)

The Doubledays took the first game of this doubleheader by scoring three in the top of the 7th to take the lead. 

Oscar Campos opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 3rd. Luis Encarnación led off the 5th with a homer and Trey Dawson added a sac fly in the 6th. Encarnación and Jeremy Peña both finished with two hits in game one.

Juan Pablo Lopez allowed a hit, walked two, and struck out four over three scoreless innings. Felipe Tejada tagged in for 3.1 innings and allowed four runs (one inherited runner charged to him) on four hits, walked two, and struck out six. Jacob Billingsley got the last two outs of the 7th, one via strikeout, and allowed two hits.

Game 2: Tri-City 3, Auburn 2

W- R.J. Freure (3-0)
L- Tim Cate (1-2)
S- Luis de Paula (2)

TC home runs: None.

Auburn made things interesting in the 7th once again, but the ValleyCats hung on in order to earn the split.

All three Tri-City runs in game two came in the 3rd on an RBI single from Carlos Machado. Andy Piñeda stole home as part of a double steal with Machado, who advanced to third on an error. Dawson brought Machado in by smacking a double. Piñeda and Alex McKenna finished 2-3 in game two.

Austin Hansen struck out two over 2.2 near-perfect innings; the one runner who reached against him did so on an error. R.J. Freure and Cody Deason both pitched two innings. Freure allowed a hit, walked two, and struck out one. Deason had two inherited runners charged to him and allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out one. Luis de Paula allowed a hit and got the last out of game two with a strikeout. 

The ValleyCats will take on Staten Island this weekend. Game one starts at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Marlins 8, GCL Astros 6

W- Joe Strzelecki (1-1)
L- Jervic Chavez (0-1)
S- Cason Sherrod (1)

GCL home runs: Ronaldo Urdaneta (2, solo in 7th)

The Marlins took control with four runs in the 5th inning, which gave them an 8-4 lead.

Ronaldo Urdaneta had a nice afternoon at the plate as he reached in all five of his plate appearances. He finished 2-2 with an RBI single in the 1st and a solo shot in the 7th inning. Wilyer Abreu went 2-4 with an RBI single and a sac fly, and Yeuris Ramirez ripped a two-run triple in the 3rd.

Manny Ramirez allowed four runs on four hits, walked three, and struck out five in three innings. Jervic Chavez pitched a scoreless 4th but got tagged for three runs in the 5th; all three runs scored after he left. He allowed two hits and also hit a batter. Jose Alberto Rivera took ownership of the 5th; in addition to unloading the bases and the runs on Chavez, he allowed a run of his own on three hits and struck out six in four innings. Daniel Bello escaped a bases-loaded situation in the 9th; he allowed two hits and walked one.

DSL Rays1 1, DSL Astros 0

W- Matthew Peguero (4-1)
L- Jojanse Torres (1-2)
S- Jose Cerda (4)

DSL home runs: None.

The Astros outhit the Rays 6-3... but they were outscored 1-0.

Heitor Tokar threw a 1-2-3 1st inning in his first action in nearly two weeks. Wender Oberto allowed a hit and struck out five over four scoreless. Jojanse Torres was next and he allowed the only run of the day on two hits, walked one, and struck out three. Alex Blanco walked one and struck out one in a scoreless 9th.

Thursday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Wender Oberto, RHP, DSL Astros: 4 IP, H, 5 K

Ronaldo Urdaneta, UTIL, GCL Astros: 2-2, solo HR (2), 2 RBI, 3 BB

Brandon Bailey, RHP, and Jose Luis Hernandez, RHP, Buies Creek
Bailey: W (5-8), 6 IP, 5 H, BB, 8 K in game 1 of doubleheader
Hernandez: 5 IP, 3 H (solo HR allowed), ER, BB, 4 K in game 2 of doubleheader

Tyler White, IF, Fresno
2-3, 2 RBI; walk-off single in 10th, 12-game hitting streak

Luis Encarnación, 1B, Tri-City
2-2, solo HR (5) in game 1 of doubleheader

Austin Hansen, RHP, and Juan Pablo Lopez, LHP, Tri-City
Hansen: 2.2 IP, 2 K in game 2 of doubleheader
Lopez: 3 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K in game 1 of doubleheader

Humberto Castellanos, RHP, Quad Cities
3.2 IP, BB, 4 K

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Rain, rain, go away...

Fresno 9, Iowa 1

W- Cy Sneed (9-5)
L- Casey Coleman (2-2)
S- Kent Emanuel (1)

Fresno home runs: Garrett Stubbs (3, 3-run in 2nd), D.J. Fisher (9, 2-run in 2nd), Jack Mayfield (10, 2-run in 4th)

A couple of big innings allowed the Grizzlies to cruise to a victory.

Cy Sneed also turned in a nice outing, which definitely helped. Sneed allowed three hits, walked two, and struck out four over six shutout innings. The I-Cubs spoiled the shutout with a run off of Kent Emanuel in the 9th. Emanuel pitched the final three innings and allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out four.

Jack Mayfield walked to lead off the 2nd. He moved to third on a Yordan Alvarez single and scored the game's first run on a Myles Straw single. One batter later, Garrett Stubbs smacked a homer and the rout was on. Tony Nuñez walked, stole second... and got greedy and was thrown out at third. Jake Marisnick drew a walk and then D.J. Fisher whacked a two-run homer to extend Fresno's lead to 6-0. Fisher singled to start the 4th and scored on a Tyler White double. Two batters later, Mayfield launched a two-run homer. Fisher went 3-5 and finished a triple shy of the cycle. A.J. Reed went 2-4.

The Grizzlies will look to sweep the series on Thursday. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.

San Antonio 1, Corpus Christi 0

W- Chris Paddack (3-1)
L- Framber Valdez (3-4)
S- Miguel Diaz (3)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks got shut out and swept out of San Antonio.

Framber Valdez wasn't awful, but he ran up a high pitch count and also allowed the only run of the game. In 4.2 innings, he allowed six hits, walked two, and struck out nine. Justin Ferrell was the first man out of the Corpus bullpen and did not allow a hit in his 2.1 innings; he issued a walk and fanned four. Erasmo Pinales worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 8th, striking out two.

Taylor Jones' double was the Hooks' only extra-base hit on the evening. Alex De Goti, Chas McCormick, and Stephen Wrenn all singled. McCormick now has a 10-game hitting streak.

Corpus will head home to start a four-game series with Midland at 7:05. Ryan Hartman is listed as the Hooks' probable starter for game one.

The doubleheader between Buies Creek and Potomac was postponed

Due to inclement weather. They'll try to play the doubleheader today, with game one starting at 4:00 Eastern. Also, the twinbill will constitute the entire series as this was supposed to be the final series between both clubs. One game has been canceled.

Quad Cities 6, Burlington 5 in 10 innings

W- Luis Garcia (2-2)
L- Anfernee Benítez (3-1)
S- Willy Collado (4)

QC home runs: None.

The only crooked numbers in this game came in the first extra frame. The Banditos broke a 3-3 tie with three in the top of the 10th and then the Bees made things really interesting with a home run that cut the lead to one run. Fortunately, Quad Cities was able to escape with the W.

Leovanny Rodriguez allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out six over five shutout frames. César Rosado was the first man out of the bullpen and went three innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking two, and striking out two. The two runs that Luis Garcia allowed in his 1.2 innings came off the homer in the 10th. As the homer occurred in an extra inning, the man on second was charged as an unearned run. Garcia allowed two other hits, walked one, and struck out three. Willy Collado was greeted by an infield single from Torii Hunter, but he buckled down and got that elusive final out with a strikeout.

Quad Cities scored the first three runs of this game: Jonathan Lacroix scored the first run when Scott Schreiber grounded into a force out in the 3rd and then Marty Costes and Chandler Taylor had RBI base hits in the 5th and the 6th, respectively. Schrieber started the 10th in scoring position; he advanced to third on a Seth Beer single and scored the go-ahead run on a single from David Hensley. Beer and Hensley scored when Alfredo Angarita flared a ball down the right field line and kept it just fair. Beer and Hensley both finished 2-5 on the night; Mike Papierski also finished with two hits out of the #8 spot in the order.

Jairo Solís will get the start in game two. He'll take on Oliver Ortega at 6:30.

Tri-City and Auburn was postponed

Due to rain. The series will conclude with a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 AM Eastern. Jayne is satisfied with this development as it has allowed her to catch up on sleep.

DSL Rays1 8, DSL Astros 5

W- Daniel Santana (2-1)
L- Fabricio Reina (3-4)
S- Shuruendy Valeriano (3)

DSL home runs: Victor Mascai (5, 2-run in 4th), Yimmi Cortabarria (2, solo in 8th)

The Rays put up crooked numbers in all of the innings in which they scored to top the Astros in DSL play.

Jherson Pereira allowed two runs on five hits and struck out one in three innings of work. Valente Bellozo worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 4th, striking out one. Fabricio Reina and Franny Cobos both pitched two innings; Reina allowed six runs (five earned, three inherited runners charged to him) on four hits and walked two, while Cobos allowed three hits.

Victor Mascai and Yimmi Cortabarria both finished 2-4 and they were both responsible for the offensive production in this game. Mascai put the Astros on the board when he launched two-run homer in the 4th inning. Cortabarria hit an RBI single in the 6th, Mascai drew a bases-loaded walk in the 7th, and Cortabarria struck again in the 8th with a homer to begin the inning. Abraham Castillo and Javier Bermúdez also finished with two hits on the day.

Wednesday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.
Photographer unknown, picture provided by Baseball Brazil
Victor Mascai (left), OF/1B, and Yimmi Cortabarria (not pictured), OF, DSL Astros 
Mascai: 2-4, 2-R HR (5), 3 RBI
Cortabarria: 2-4, solo HR (2), 2 RBI

Derek Fisher, OF, Fresno
3-5, 2B, 2-R HR (9), 2 R

Cy Sneed, RHP, Fresno
W (9-5), 6 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Corpus Christi Hooks pitchers: L 1-0 @ San Antonio
8 IP, 7 H, ER, 3 BB, 15 K
Framber Valdez: L (3-4), 4.2 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Justin Ferrell: 2.1 IP, BB, 4 K
Erasmo Pinales: IP, H, 2 K

Leovanny Rodriguez, RHP, Quad Cities
5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K

David Hensley, IF, Quad Cities
2-5, go-ahead RBI single in 10th, 2 R

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Fresno 2, Iowa 1

W- Josh James (4-4)
L- Rob Zastryzny (3-2)
S- Brendan McCurry (12)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Tacos scored in more innings than the Cubs and Josh James continues to pile up the strikeouts.

James allowed an unearned run on two hits, walked four, and struck out 11 in his six innings. Riley Ferrell, Ken Giles, and Brendan McCurry all pitched scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Ferrell was first and he struck out two in a 1-2-3 7th. Giles and McCurry both allowed a hit and struck out one in the 8th and the 9th, respectively.

Tyler White opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 3rd inning and Nick Tanielu broke the 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th. Tanielu, Jack Mayfield, and Myles Straw all finished with two hits on the evening; Straw also stole a base, which gives him 17 in AAA and 52 on the season.

Cy Sneed takes on Casey Coleman in game two of this series. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.


San Antonio 4, Corpus Christi 3 in 10 innings

W- T.J. Weir (2-0)
L- Alex Winkelman (4-3)

CC home runs: Lorenzo Quintana (10, solo in 3rd)

The Hooks erased an early 3-0 deficit... only to walk off with the loss in extras.

Lorenzo Quintana led off the 3rd with a homer to put Corpus on the board and Taylor Jones tied the game with a two-run single in the 8th. Quintana went 3-4 and scored two of the Hooks' three runs on the evening. Chas McCormick, who scored on Jones' single, went 2-3 and drew a couple of walks.

Brett Adcock shook off a rocky 1st inning in which he allowed three runs and ended up going four innings, allowing four hits, walking four, and striking out three. Hector Perez tagged in to throw five scoreless, allowing a hit, walking two, and striking out four. Alex Winkelman got one out in the 10th; he issued an intentional walk, a single, and the winning run with another walk.

Framber Valdez will get the start as the Hooks look to avoid a sweep. He'll take on Chris Paddack at 7:05.

Buies Creek and Potomac was postponed

Due to rain. A doubleheader will be played Wednedsay with game one scheduled to start at 4:00 Eastern.

Quad Cities was off

The Banditos will start a three-game series in Burlington at 6:30. Leovanny Rodriguez will take on Max Herrmann.

Tri-City 5, Auburn 4 in 10 innings

W- J.P. France (1-0)
L- Tanner Driskill (1-2)

TC home runs: Carlos Machado (1, 3-run in 6th)

The ValleyCats tied it in the 6th and walked off with the win in the first extra frame.

The one hit that Shawn Dubin allowed in his three innings of work was a homer. He struck out five. Mark Moclair's weird debut season continues. He threw 1.1 innings and all four outs he recorded came via strikeout. He also allowed an unearned run on five hits.

Moclair has struck out 24 in just 10.2 innings, but he's also allowed 14 hits, walked eight, and hit four batters. He's not exactly getting shelled but when he's not allowing baserunners in bunches, he's mowing them down with relative ease. Anyway, back to the action.

Hansel Paulino was next and the two runs he gave up in his 3.2 innings came on a homer. He allowed one other hit and fanned five. Tim Hardy walked two and struck out the side in the 9th but walked the first two men he faced in the 10th, which resulted in J.P. France getting summoned to extricate him from this predicament. All France did was strike out the first man he faced and then he induced an inning-ending double play.

Carlos Machado walked to lead off the 3rd and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Oscar Campos wound up reaching on an error and then they both pulled off a double steal. Machado scored Tri-City's first run on a sac fly from Jeremy Peña that turned into a double play. Machado struck again in the 6th when he smacked a three-run homer that tied the game at 4.

Campos started the 10th in scoring position but Austin Dennis took his place. Peña hit a bunt single to move Dennis over and then he took second on defensive indifference. Gilberto Celestino got a free pass to first to load the bases for Alex McKenna.... who went down on strikes. Enmanuel Valdez came through with the winner, however. He poked one through the right side of the infield to bring Dennis in with the winning run. Celestino and César Salazar both finished 2-4.

Tri-City and Auburn will continue their series at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros and GCL Cardinals was suspended

This game was suspended after the 4th inning due to rain with both teams tied 0-0.

Angel Macuare allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out four in 3.1 innings and Jonathan Bermúdez got the last two outs of the 4th.

DSL Astros 8, DSL Royals1 2

W- Jose Antonio Hernandez (3-2)
L- Luis Villar (1-1)

DSL home runs: None.

The Academy busted this one open with four runs in the 5th.

Ernesto Jaquez continues to be absurd, but he turned in his second-worst outing of the year as he allowed an unearned run on two hits and struck out seven in four innings. (The one where he allowed an earned run was worse) That was just the second run that he's allowed all season. Flaer Gonzalez allowed a run on two hits and struck out one in the 5th. Jose Antonio Hernandez did not allow a hit over the last four innings; he walked two and struck out two.

The DSL squad got a couple of runs in the 3rd on a Jose Mendoza groundout and a Carlos Hurtado double. Junior Marte singled to lead off the 5th and scored on Yefri Carrillo's double. Carrillo scored on a Mendoza base hit; Mendoza advanced to third on Hurtado's second double of the day and scored on an Enmanuel Morillo groundout. Hurtado came home on a double from Abraham Castillo. Abraham Castillo scored on a wild pitch in the 8th and Carrillo's groundout allowed Jeury Castillo to score the final run of the day.

Abraham Castillo finished 3-4 with a double and scored a run. Carrillo, Mendoza, and Hurtado all finished with two hits.

Tuesday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Ernesto Jaquez, RHP, and Jose Antonio Hernandez, RHP, DSL Astros
Jaquez: 4 IP, 2 H, unearned run, 7 K
Hernandez: W (3-2), 4 IP, 2 BB, 2 K

Carlos Hurtado, C, DSL Astros: 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, R
Jose Mendoza, IF, DSL Astros: 2-5, 2 RBI, R
Abraham Castillo, OF, DSL Astros: 3-4, 2B, RBI, R
Yefri Carrillo, OF, DSL Astros: 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R

Shawn Dubin not pictured.
Shawn Dubin, LHP, and Carlos Machado, OF, Tri-City
Dubin: 3 IP, H (solo HR), ER, 5 K
Machado: Game-tying 3-R HR (2) in 6th, 2 R, SB (2)

Hector Perez, RHP, Corpus Christi
5 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K

Lorenzo Quintana, C, Corpus Christi
3-4, solo HR (10), 2 R

Ken Giles' photo taken by Bryan Green
Fresno Grizzlies (dba Fresno Tacos) pitchers: W 2-1 vs. Iowa
9 IP, 4 H, unearned run, 4 BB, 15 K
Josh James: W (4-4), 6 IP, 2 H, unearned run, 4 BB, 15 K
Riley Ferrell: IP, 2 K
Ken Giles: IP, H, K
Brendan McCurry: Save (12), IP, H, K

Astros Farm Report: 7/25

Late edition (my apologies) as Jayne is on her travels. Let's catch up on all the latest happenings in the Astros system...

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

Jorge Alcala - May 2018
Photo by Jayne Hansen

7-27: RHP Jacob Billingsley (24)
7-28: RHP Jorge Alcala (23)

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

7-24: RHP Peter Solomon assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
7-23: OF Andy Piñeda assigned to Tri-City from Corpus Christi
7-23: RHP Edgardo Sandoval (Quad Cities) activated from the 7-day DL
7-23: RHP Ronel Blanco (Corpus) placed on the 7-day DL
7-23: LHP Framber Valdez activated by Corpus Christi; may have been suspended or placed on temporarily inactive list
7-22: 1B Taylor Jones assigned to Corpus Christi from Fresno
7-22: RHP Trent Thornton (Fresno) activated from temporarily inactive list
7-20: 3B J.D. Davis recalled to Houston from Fresno
7-20: RHP J.B. Bukauskas activated from DL and assigned to Quad Cities
7-18: RHP Alex House assigned to Tri-City (2017 24th-round pick)
7-17: RHP Enoli Paredes assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
7-17: LHP Brett Adcock assigned to Corpus Christi from Buies Creek
7-17: RHP Ralph Garza assigned to Corpus Christi from Fresno
7-17: RHP Jayson Schroeder assigned to GCL (2018 2nd-round pick)
7-17: LHP Javier Navas (GCL) released

ASTROS MILB DISABLED LIST



7/23: RHP Ronel Blanco (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
7/11: RHP Forrest Whitley (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
7/11: RHP Carlos Sierra (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
6/19: OF Drew Ferguson (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL (hand)
6/1: LHP Yeremi Ceballos (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
6/1: RHP Carlos Quintero (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
5/26: RHP David Paulino (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL (retroactive to the 25th)
5/4: RHP Francis Martes (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
5/3+/-: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez had TJ surgery per Instagram post
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: RHP Matt Ruppenthal assigned to Quad Cities (starting the season on the 7-day DL; according to Instagram, Ruppenthal had elbow surgery to transpose the ulnar nerve in early April and started to throw mid-June)
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 (Tommy John)
No date: RHP Alex House (Tri-City) appears to be on the DL per his Instagram account but working his way back (end of June)

ASTROS MILB RESTRICTED LIST

6/22: RHP Yoanys Quiala placed on the restricted list (80 game suspension for performance-enhancing substance); Quiala won't be eligible to play again until approximately mid-April of 2019.

MISSING IN ACTION

Now that all of the short season teams have started playing, I've gone through my records and the following players all show as "active" on MiLB, but they haven't played yet this season. If anyone has any info on the following players, please let me know.

RHP Hunter Martin
LHP Javier Navas - made his first appearance of the season for the GCL team 7/16, released 7/17
RHP Kyle Serrano - made his first appearance of the season for the GCL team 7/6

I will be keeping track of all the releases, retirements, trades and signings for the 2018 season here.

FEATURED PLAYERS

This edition of the Farm Report has a triple feature...

Bryan Abreu - July 2018
Photo by Jayne Hansen


Bryan Abreu, Jojanse Torres, and Ernesto Jaquez are names that very, very few Astros fans know, but they're all starting to gain helium within the system and Oz Ocampo, who is now one of Jeff Luhnow's special assistants and the leader of the Astros' international operations, is extremely excited about the stable of arms that he and his team have unearthed, and are working to unearth, in Latin America. Abreu, Torres, and Jaquez look to be the latest success stories.

Abreu began the 2018 season with Tri-City and was called up to Quad Cities two weeks ago. He was originally signed in November 2013 out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 16 but was not highly regarded, even though he signed in his first year of eligibility. At the time, according to Oz Ocampo, Abreu threw 84 and had a 12-6 curveball as his primary off-speed offering. Ocampo and his team saw plenty of promise in Abreu and it's been a little bit of a slow burn as he spent his first two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and his third in the Gulf Coast League before leaving the complex leagues for good with Greeneville in 2017, where he posted an unsightly 7.98 ERA in eight appearances (six starts). Despite the rough showing in the Appalachian League, Abreu still showed some of the promise that Oz Ocampo saw in him (even though it was often hidden behind some of those four and five-run outings), like when he allowed four hits and struck out eight over five shutout innings on July 27.

Now, Abreu has gained several ticks on his fastball and has two more pitches in his arsenal and he's harnessed his newfound stuff to dominate the New York-Penn League and he's now taken his act to the Quad Cities. His most recent appearance was Saturday and he got the save by allowing a hit, walking two, and striking out seven over four scoreless innings. Obviously, the small sample size caveat applies, but he's taken the hard lessons that he learned in the Appalachian League and honed his craft to become a more complete pitcher.

Jojanse Torres made his pro debut on June 19. According to the Astros' transactions page, he officially signed on April 24. Torres, a native of the Dominican Republic, will turn 23 on August 4, so yes, he's ancient for the Dominican Summer League. With that being said, a mid-to-upper-90s fastball and a potentially plus slider will turn heads, no matter where one plays. He's also gotten a mention in Baseball America's midseason update of the Astros' top 10 prospects. Torres last appeared on Friday and recorded his first professional win by allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out seven over five shutout innings. Ronel Blanco signed as a 22-year-old, turned 23 during his first professional season, and now he's in Corpus. It's entirely possible that Torres could hop on a path similar to Blanco's.

Ernesto Jaquez signed last July for $95,000 out of the Dominican Republic. He turned 19 on June 11 and he's caught my attention mainly for his absurd performance in his second season in the DSL. Jaquez has allowed two runs (one earned) in 36 innings this season. No, that is not a typo. Jaquez is described by Oz Ocampo as having a four-pitch mix and he can throw strikes with all four of his offerings. Since literally like three people have been able to touch Jaquez while he's on the mound, I wonder about the amount of deception that he has in his delivery. He doesn't have the pure stuff of Jojanse Torres, but at 6'2", 190, that doesn't mean that he won't be able to gain another tick or two to his arsenal as he continues to progress through the system. Jaquez has had his way with DSL hitters all season and he might be making his way to the US soon.

ASTROS MILB STANDINGS
Up and down arrows represent increase/decrease in win percentage over the prior week.

Most of the clubs outside of the complex leagues have been a bit uneven as of late, but they've held steady in terms of their position within their divisions.

FRESNO (Pacific Coast League)
🠋1st 58-43 .574 -.-GB W1

The Grizzlies currently lead Tacoma by seven games in the PCL Pacific Northern division.

CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League)
🠋1st 63-37 .630 -.-GB L2 (overall)
1st 20-11 .645 -.-GB L2 (second half)
1st 43-26 .623 -.-GB W5 (first half division winner)

The Hooks have made the playoffs as the first half winners of the Texas League South Division.

BUIES CREEK (Carolina League)
2nd 57-44 .564 4.0GB L1 (overall); no change in overall winning percentage
🠋2nd 20-12 .625 1.5GB L1 (second half)
2nd 37-32 .536 3.5GB L1 (first half)

QUAD CITIES (Midwest League)
🠋3rd 55-45 .559 2.5GB W1 (overall)
🠋5th 15-15 .500 6.5GB W1 (second half)
1st 40-30 .571 -.-GB W6 (first half division winner)

The River Bandits have made the playoffs as the first half winners of the Midwest League Western Division.

TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League)
🠋1st 20-15 .571 -.-GB W1

Tri-City leads Lowell by a half-game in the New York-Penn League Stedler division.

GCL ASTROS (Gulf Coast League)
🠉3rd 16-14 .533 5.5GB W1

DSL ASTROS (Dominican Summer League Northwest)
🠉6th 20-23 .465 11.0GB W1

NEWS AND LINKS

- MK Bower, in his latest for Forbes, discusses how the Astros clubhouse was an ideal environment for Kyle Tucker to enter.

Check out Jayne's photos from her recent trip to the Quad Cities.

Baseball America (subscription required) recently released updated top 10 prospect lists for all thirty teams. Forrest Whitley and Kyle Tucker are holding steady in the top two spots and they've taken notice of Corbin Martin's breakout 2018. 

- Sad news to pass along as former Astros clubhouse manager Dennis Liborio has passed away at the age of 63. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

- In a video package for the All-Star Game discussing the impact of the video game "Fortnite" across the league, George Springer was featured doing the eagle dance that was originally done by Dahyun, a member of the K-pop girl group Twice (and the origins of her doing that dance is a lot deeper and I don't think I have time to go in on that). Apparently the game's dance emotes are influenced by K-pop.

- For the soccer fans: Son Heung-min, my Korean older brother, just signed a contract extension which will keep him at Tottenham Hotspur (England) until 2023.


And in case you missed any of these, here are Jayne's recent interviews:

RHP Corbin Martin (Corpus Christi)
3B Abraham Toro (Corpus Christi)
RHP Trent Thornton (Fresno)
OF Chas McCormick (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
OF J.J. Matijevic (Buies Creek)
RHP Brandon Bielak (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
LHP Brett Adcock (Buies Creek)
SS Alex De Goti (Corpus Christi)
1B Taylor Jones (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)
RHP Brock Dykxhoorn (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)