Astros Farm Report: 9-3

Bringing you the latest news from down on the farm ...

In case you missed these, here are my recent interviews from Corpus Christi
Colin McKee
Enoli Paredes and Cristian Javier

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Here are the latest roster moves. An ongoing list of all of the 2019 season transactions and roster moves can be found here. There may be a few additional moves in advance of the start of the postseason which starts Wednesday, 9-4.

9-?: C Nate Perry assigned to Fayetteville from Tri-City (unofficial on MiLB, but widely reported)
9-2: LHP Cionel Perez recalled to Houston
9-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
9-2: OF Kyle Tucker recalled to Houston
9-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
9-2: OF Stephen Wrenn assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-2: 2B/3B Enmanuel Valdez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
9-2: RHP Francis Martes (Round Rock) activated from the IL
9-2: RHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from Tri-City
9-2: LHP Juan Pablo Lopez assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
9-1: RHP Francis Martes (Round Rock) sent to Quad Cities on a rehab assignment
8-31: LHP Kit Scheetz (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-31: RHP Jose Urquidy recalled to Houston
8-30: RHP Jacob Billingsley assigned to Fayetteville from Quad Cities
8-29: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) activated from the IL (had been rehabbing in Fayetteville)
8-29: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-29: RHP Justin Ferrell activated from the Round Rock IL and assigned to Corpus Christi
8-29: RHP Felipe Paulino released (Paulino reportedly asked for his release and re-signed with the independent league Sugar Land Skeeters)
8-28: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-27: LHP Brayan de Paula assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-26: OF/SS Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-26: LHP Daniel Bello assigned to the GCL from the DSL
8-26: RHP Jherson Pereira assigned to the GCL from the DSL
8-26: Jesus Hernandez signed (no information available)
8-25: LHP Framber Valdez (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-25: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-25: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to Fayetteville on a rehab assignment
8-25: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-24: OF Ramiro Rodriguez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-24: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Cristian Javier assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-23: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Abdiel Saldana (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-23: OF Marty Costes (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez (GCL) activated from the 60-day IL
8-22: RHP Josh James sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment - activated 9-1
8-22: IF Abraham Toro (Round Rock) called up to Houston
8-22: IF Jack Mayfield optioned to Round Rock
8-22: LHP Reymin Guduan moved from the suspended list to the restricted list
8-22: RHP Tyler Ivey (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-22: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-22: OF Corey Julks assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-22: RHP Brady Rodgers (rehabbing) released
8-21: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-21: OF/SS Myles Straw recalled to Houston
8-21: OF Ronnie Dawson assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-19: IF Jack Mayfield recalled to Houston
8-19: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-19: RHP Joey Gonzalez activated from the Fayetteville IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-19: OF James Nix assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-18: LHP Kit Scheetz (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Justin Ferrell (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-18: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-18: RHP Rogelio Armenteros optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Rogelio Armenteros (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-17: RHP Francis Martes activated from the restricted list and placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Erasmo Pinales (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-17: RHP Abdiel Saldana assigned to Fayetteville from Quad Cities
8-17: RHP Valente Bellozo assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-17: RHP Tanner Duncan (Fayetteville) released
8-16: RHP Garrett Gayle (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-16: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) activated from the IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-16: RHP Ryan Gusto assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-15: RHP Lupe Chavez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-15: C C.J. Stubbs assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: IF AJ Lee assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) released
8-14: RHP Cy Sneed (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-14: RHP Joe Biagini optioned to Round Rock
8-14: OF/SS Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-13: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-13: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-13: OF/SS Myles Straw (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-13: RHP Brett Conine assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-13: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-13: Jose Bolivar signed (no info available)
8-13: 2B/OF Alfredo Angarita (Corpus Christi) released
8-12: OF Raider Uceta (GCL) placed on the 60-day IL
8-12: OF James Nix assigned to Quad Cities from the GCL
8-12: RHP Hunter Martin (Quad Cities) released
8-11: RHP Joey Gonzalez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-11: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-11: RHP Jayson Schroeder (Tri-City) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment (MiLB.com doesn't actually show Schroeder as being on the IL)
8-10: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-10: IF Michael Wielansky (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Akeem Bostick (Round Rock) released
8-9: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-9: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-9: C Cesar Salazar (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP R.J. Freure (Quad Cities) activated from the temporary inactive list (Freure had been representing Team Canada at the Pan Am Games)
8-8: C Garrett Stubbs optioned to Round Rock
8-8: 1B Zach Biermann (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-8: RHP Ryan Gusto (11th round 2019) assigned to the GCL
8-7: RHP Riley Ferrell (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-7: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-6)
8-7: RHP Danny Cody assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-6: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Corpus Christi from Round Rock
8-6: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-6: RHP Ryan Pressly sent to Corpus Christi for a rehab assignment (activated 8-9)
8-6: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to the GCL from Fayetteville
8-5: RHP Humberto Castellanos assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-5: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-5: RHP Luis de Paula assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-5: RHP Alex House (Quad Cities) released - House had been on the IL all season
8-3: OF Jacob Meyers assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-3: RHP Brad Peacock sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment (activated 8-18)
8-3: RHP Ronel Blanco (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-3: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from the GCL
8-3: OF Wilyer Abreu assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
8-2: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF/IF Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-2: RHP Jose Urquidy optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-1)
8-2: RHP Bryan Abreu optioned to Corpus Christi
8-2: RHP Brandon Bailey (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-2: RHP Tanner Duncan assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-2: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) sent to Tri-City on a rehab assignment
8-1: 3B Abraham Toro assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: C Lorenzo Quintana assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: 1B Jake Adams assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jonathan Arauz assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: RHP Forest Whitley assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-1: C Ruben Castro (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-1: 1B/3B David Hensley assigned from Quad Cities to Fayetteville

Players who started the 2019 season on the DL

C Ruben Castro - activated 5-25
RHP Nick Hernandez - activated 5-8
RHP Alex House - released 8-5
OF Alex McKenna - activated 4-29
RHP Hansel Paulino - activated 6-14
RHP Erasmo Pinales - activated 5-20
RHP Abdiel Saldana - activated 7-5
RHP Kyle Serrano - activated 6-26
RHP Jairo Solis

Restricted List
RHP Francis Martes (80-game suspension) - suspension ended 6-26, but only activated 8-17 due to visa issues; immediately placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
1B/OF J.J. Matijevic (50-game suspension) - activated 6-21

2019 FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

The regular season is at an end and these are the final regular season standings for each team. Up and down arrows denote an increase or decrease in win percentage over the last week.

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)
Division Winner

🠉 1st 84-56 .600 -.-GB L1

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

4th 66-73 .475 7.0GB L3 (Overall)
🠋 4th 33-37 .471 6.0GB L3 (Second Half)

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)
2nd half Division Winner

3rd 72-67 .518 15.0GB W2 (Overall)
🠉 1st 41-29 .586 0.0GB W2 (Second Half)

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner

2nd 79-57 .581 0.5GB W1 (Overall)
🠋 5th 36-34 .514 10.0GB W1 (Second Half)

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
🠉 4th 32-42 .432 9.0GB W3

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
🠉 4th 25-26 .490 3.5GB W1

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
🠉 2nd 38-31 .551 2.5GB W2

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

AAA ROUND ROCK - Postseason starts Wednesday 9-4

The Round Rock Express (84-56) will host the Iowa Cubs (75-65) for the first two games of the Pacific Coast League Semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday in a best-of-five series before heading to Des Moines for games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if all games are necessary). Round Rock won the season series against Iowa 11 to 5, but has not faced that team since mid-July.

The winner of the Express-Cubs matchup will face either the Sacramento River Cats (73-67) or the Las Vegas Aviators (83-57) in a best-of-five series for the PCL Championship. The PCL Champions and the International League Champions will then face off for a one game winner-take-all AAA Championship game.

HIGH-A FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS - Postseason scheduled to start 9-4 (if weather allows)

UPDATE: Due to impending weather from Hurricane Dorian, the teams will be playing a double-header in Fayetteville on Wednesday (starting at 2:00 pm CT) and hope to play again on Friday in Kinston. This is currently a fluid situation (no pun intended) and the schedule will be subject to further changes as the weather warrants.

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (72-67) will host the Down East Wood Ducks (87-42) for the first two games of the Carolina League Semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday in a best-of-five series before heading to Kinston, NC for games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if all games are necessary). Note that Kinston is closer to the North Carolina coast than Fayetteville and all eyes are on Hurricane Dorian to see if this series can even be played. Fayetteville is 7-9 against the Wood Ducks for the season, but 7-3 against that team from August 1st forward.

The winner of the Woodpeckers-Wood Ducks matchup will face either the Wilmington Blue Rocks (82-56) or the Salem Red Sox (67-70) in a best-of-five series for the Carolina League Championship.

LOW-A QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS - Postseason starts 9-4

The Quad Cities River Bandits (79-57) will face the Cedar Rapids Kernels (78-62) in a best-of-three quarterfinal series starting in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday before heading home to Davenport on Thursday and Friday (if necessary). Cedar Rapids owns the season series 9 to 7, but Quad Cities won 4 of 7 games against the Kernels in August.

The winner of the River Bandits-Kernels matchup will face either the Kane County Cougars (81-58) or the Clinton LumberKings (78-61) in a best-of-three series for the Western Division Championship. The Western Division and Eastern Division Champions will then face off in a best-of-five Midwest Championship series.

WATCH THIS SPACE

I plan to use "this space" to feature players who are currently flying below the radar, but who deserve a closer look.

Nate Perry - July 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

C Nate Perry was originally drafted by the Astros in the 5th round in 2017 out of Bassett HS (VA) and his third season in the organization has proven to be a break-through season for him. His batting line of .244/.354/.462 (11 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs) in 67 games for Tri-City in 2019 becomes even more impressive when you find that he hit only .174 in his first month of the season in June. In August, he hit a robust .274/.373/.558 with four doubles, a triple and seven home runs in 27 games. He is also boasting a 37% caught stealing percentage for the year. When Perry was pulled from Sunday's game, my first thought was that he would be headed to Low A Quad Cities to help them with their postseason efforts, but it was reported that Perry would instead be rewarded with a promotion to High A Fayetteville for their postseason push. Watch this space ...

FORMER ASTRO UPDATE

Mike Hauschild - June 2016

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RHP Mike Hauschild was drafted by the Astros in the 33rd round in 2012 out of the University of Dayton. He spent all or parts of seven seasons in the Astros organization (with a Rule 5 draft side trip and a cup of coffee with the Texas Rangers). He got another cup of coffee with the Blue Jays in 2018 before signing as a free agent with the Cardinals prior to the 2019 season. He signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters in early August and has made quite an early statement with the team. He is 4-0 in six starts with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.352 WHIP (8 BB:27 K in 30.1 IP). Hauschild is scheduled to start for the Skeeters on Thursday and will face another 2012 Astros draft pick, RHP Daniel Minor (9th round, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) of the York Revolution.

RANDOM PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Dubrovnik, Croatia - 2005

Photo by Jayne Hansen