Glass Houses

Last night I was, of course, watching the final game of the ALCS. I was very happy that the Astros were able to battle back from a 0-3 deficit, but I wasn’t particularly surprised that their efforts fell short as they dealt with injuries and everything else that was a part of this hellscape we call 2020.

I was legitimately happy for the Rays to move on to the World Series and was about to post a congratulatory tweet when I saw the Rays AAA affiliate Durham Bulls put out a tweet calling the Astros trash. Here I am seeing a ton of Astros fans sincerely congratulating the Rays, and this Rays affiliate seems to be more excited to “trash” the Astros than they are about the fact that their team just advanced to the World Series. Nothing like being a sore winner.

Here’s the deal. I do not now nor have I ever condoned what the Astros did. They stole signs in a manner that was against the rules and it shouldn’t have happened. But it did. At the time, I wrote a post telling the players involved to grow up. Well, guess what? They did. They confessed. They apologized. And they owned it. And, in retrospect, that was the problem. Other teams were cheating in similar fashion around the same time. But they chose to obfuscate and cover up their investigations with the winking consent of Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. The Yankees have fought to keep sealed a letter regarding their own scandal because it “might harm their reputation.” No confessions. No apologies. And no owning it for them. Just sweeping it under the rug.

I was not proud of what the Astros did, but I am proud of the way the players handled it. They did not deflect blame. They did not hide behind Manfred’s skirts. They owned it. Carlos Correa went from a boy to a man in the blink of an eye and I could not be prouder of him. He became the team leader and franchise spokesman. Bregman ramped up his efforts to help the community during the current crisis. They refuse to let this scandal define them as people or as players.

The fans of other teams view the collective Astros brand as the boogeyman. They do not see the individual players for what they are. And these same people have zero self-awareness. Hey, Rays fans, since the Astros are so evil, please send us Charlie Morton back. He was one of those 2017 Cheating ‘Stros. You must really hate him. And while you’re at it, you can send us back your third base coach (Rodney Linares) and one of your bullpen pitchers (Ryan Thompson) because they were in the Astros system in 2017 and you wouldn’t want to risk being tainted by their Astros stank. And I know you just acquired Brett Phillips, but you do know that he is besties with Lance McCullers and Carlos Correa, right? And worst of all, you have a Special Assistant to the GM (Bobby Heck) that was, gasp, the Scouting Director for the Astros and was instrumental in signing George Springer and Carlos Correa. How do you know that he isn’t trying to corrupt your organization? And it’s not just the Rays. You will be hard-pressed to find an MLB organization with zero connection to this team. The Astros tentacles are everywhere.

This is the reality. Someone on your favorite team may very well be trying to get an edge by stealing signs or by doctoring a baseball or by taking performance-enhancing drugs. Or they may be gambling on baseball. Or they may be going out of their way to intentionally hurt other players with hard slides or beanballs. Or they may be domestic abusers. Or they may be stone-cold cowards who like to date underage girls (I’m looking at you A’s). Or your front office may be trying to steal proprietary information. Or your coaches or managers may be the ones who persuaded players to cheat. Or you may have players on your team who are just lousy human beings. Your team is only as pure and blameless as the worst person in your organization. Go ahead and throw stones, but don’t be surprised when the glass gets broken in your own house.

Oh, and one final word. Since the Astros (booga booga booga) are so horrible and evil, I am assuming that there is not one single fan of another team that will want George Springer in free agency. Who could possibly want “trash” like that? With that said, I am sincerely happy for the Rays and would like to congratulate them on moving on to the World Series.

2020 Astros Draft Picks/Undrafted Free Agents on Social Media

There are more pressing matters in this world at the moment, but nevertheless, let's welcome the 2020 Houston Astros draft class.

We hope that you all remain safe throughout these uncertain times and we look forward to seeing you on the field when things return to normal.

Round 2, Pick 72: Alex Santos II, RHP, Mount St. Michael Academy (Bronx, NY) - @alexxmansantos; committed to Maryland
Round 3, Pick 101: Tyler Brown, RHP, Vanderbilt - @TbTy10
Round 4, Pick 131: Zach Daniels, OF, Tennessee - @zach_daniels2
Round 5, Pick 160: Shay Whitcomb, SS, UC San Diego - @shay_whitcomb (Instagram)

UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS

In the past, there were players that apparently signed undrafted free agent deals but never actually appeared in a game anywhere in the Houston Astros organization. Baseball America is keeping track of undrafted free agent signings.

Jimmy Endersby, RHP, Concordia University Irvine (California) - @jimmyendersby20
Justin Dirden, OF, Southeast Missouri State - @j_dirr
César Gomez, RHP, UT-Arlington - @CDaGoat9
Peter Zimmermann, IF, Missouri - @PeterZim30
Jonathan Sprinkle, RHP, Central Missouri - @JSprinkle47
Kyle Gruller, RHP, Houston Baptist - @Kylegruller17
Cody Orr, OF, Tiffin - @Cody_Orr14
Zack Matthews, RHP, Oklahoma - @zack8matthews
J.C. Correa, IF, Lamar - @Jc_Correa1

Astros Minor League Transactions

Despite the prospect of no Minor League Baseball this year, we still have some transaction news to convey and, I'll be honest, it's not pleasant.

We'll update this post as we get more information.

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE

5/27 - RHP Carlos Manuel Hiraldo assigned to DSL Astros
- Hiraldo, 21, signed on February 24 of this year. There is also another Carlos Hiraldo already in the system, but he is a left-handed pitcher and his middle name is Julio.

RHP Alimber Santa assigned to DSL Astros
- Santa, who turned 17 on May 3, signed on February 28.

RELEASES

Cuts, unfortunately, have begun across MLB and according to Baseball America's Kyle Glaser, at least 20 players in the Astros system have been released.

LHP Brett Adcock and RHP Justin Ferrell confirmed their releases via Instagram.

Update, May 29: Here is the full list of players who have been released from the Astros organization.

The Astros have released 17 players in the past week. They also released 1 in March. Their total of 18 players released March-May compares to 10 in 2019 and 24 in 2018. pic.twitter.com/pZ3vhQQ9OQ

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) May 29, 2020

Update, June 15: OF James Nix (actually released June 5) and RHP Joey Gonzalez are listed as being released on their MiLB.com player pages.

What the Heck, Bobby? would like to wish each and every player who received this stunning and unfortunate news all the best in their future endeavors.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, April 9. 2020

A message from Dustin:

Right now, under normal circumstances, this post would consist of the previous night's results and happenings in the Houston Astros' minor league system. Usually, the second Friday in April is the first of these posts.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, we'll have to wait a while before we get a chance to see Forrest Whitley, Alex De Goti, Jeremy Peña, Cristian Javier, César Salazar, Cody Deason, Chas McCormick, Freúdis Nova, Nivaldo Rodriguez, and the rest of the players in the organization take the field.

We all have a role to play in curtailing the spread of COVID-19, whether it's through practicing social distancing when we're out in public or better yet, staying at home if we know we don't need to go anywhere. It's also made me think quite a bit before I head out; these days, I ask myself whether I need to be going anywhere that's not work and that's further than a mile from my house. And also, there are about a thousand things racing through my head whenever I do something harmless like walking by people when I'm at HEB.

I pray that we come out of this with our health and sanity close to intact as possible and I hope that I can provide you with everything you need to know in the Astros system in 2020.

Until then, don't forget to:

1. Check up on your loved ones.
2. Support local eateries when you get that chance.
3. Wear a mask if you need to be out and about! Maybe have a pair of gloves on hand too.
4. WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!!

And, this is probably the most important thing:

5. IF YOU DON'T NEED TO GO ANYWHERE, STAY HOME! I'd love to go relax at Sharetea in Bellaire, window-shop at The Galleria, spend some time at the Museum of Fine Arts and go out for some ice cream at Milk + Sugar in Montrose or Jeni's in The Heights but that's not possible if we keep going about our business like this! HEB is awesome but you really don't need to be going there that much! Seriously.

Yours truly,
Dustin Nguyen