Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, August 2, 2018

Nashville 2, Fresno 1

W- Liam Hendriks (3-0)
L- Brendan McCurry (5-6)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Sounds walked off with the win by scoring a run in each of the last two innings.

Fresno had the bases loaded to start the 4th but all they got was one run when Yordan Alvarez grounded out, which allowed Kyle Tucker to score. Jack Mayfield went 2-4 with a double.

Rogelio Armenteros allowed four hits, walked four, and struck out six over five shutout innings. Dean Deetz didn't allow a hit in his two innings; he walked one and struck out four. Reymin Guduan came on for the 8th but only got one out via the strikeout. He allowed a hit and had an inherited runner charged to him when Brendan McCurry induced a pop fly that turned into a force out. McCurry allowed the winning run on three hits, walked one, and struck out two in 1.1 innings.

Brady Rodgers will get the start as the Grizzlies look to avoid a sweep. He'll take on Frankie Montas at 7:05.

Frisco 4, Corpus Christi 1

W- Jonathan Hernandez (3-4)
L- Brock Dykxhoorn (2-1, 7-3 season)
S- Tyler Davis (2)

CC home runs: None.

Tough to win when only three guys get hits...

Brock Dykxhoorn went 4.1 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits, walked two, and struck out three. Akeem Bostick got the last 3.2 innings and allowed an unearned run on three hits while fanning three.

Abraham Toro put Corpus on the board when he ripped an RBI double in the 2nd inning. Chas McCormick and Alex De Goti both finished with two hits on the night. Carlos Correa went 0-3 with a couple of strikeouts in the first game of his rehab assignment. Well, at least he's progessed to playing games.

Brandon Bielak will get the start in game two. First pitch is at 7:05.

Buies Creek 4, Wilmington 3

W- Enoli Paredes (1-1, 3-4 season)
L- Tyler Zuber (1-1)

BC home runs: None.

The Carolina Stros walked off with the win and got a little payback by taking this series from the Blue Rocks after dropping the series in Wilmington last weekend.

Jake Meyers drew a leadoff walk in the 6th but was caught stealing. Corey Julks got on with a single; he fared a little better in his attempt to steal second and scored Buies Creek's first run on a single from Bryan de la Cruz. De La Cruz led off the bottom of the 9th with a single. Seth Beer followed with a base hit of his own and Cody Bohanek drew a walk to load the bases. Carlos Canelón went down on strikes but Jonathan Arauz was the hero as he ripped the double that brought everyone in and sent the crowd at Campbell University home happy. Julks, de la Cruz, and Beer all went 2-4 on the evening. Julks' stolen base gives him 13 in the Carolina League and 27 on the season.

In his Carolina League debut, J.B. Bukauskas went five innings and allowed two runs on four hits, walked two, and struck out five. Jose Luis Hernandez was the first man out of the Buies Creek bullpen and he allowed a run on three hits, walked one, and fanned three in his three innings. Enoli Paredes allowed a hit and struck out the side in a scoreless 9th.

The Carolina Stros will begin a three-game weekend series with Lynchburg at 6:00 Eastern.

Quad Cities 4, Clinton 2

W- Chad Donato (1-0, 4-0 season)
L- Scott Boches (2-3)
S- Bryan Abreu (3)

QC home runs: None.

The Banditos opened things up a bit with a three-run 4th inning. Meanwhile on the mound, Chad Donato turned in yet another nice start and Bryan Abreu continues to carve up the Midwest League.

Donato allowed two runs on five hits, walked one, and struck out six in six innings. Abreu shut things down over the last three innings; he allowed just one hit and struck out six.

Miguelangel Sierra singled to lead off the 3rd and scored the first run of the game on an errant pickoff throw that somehow made it all the way to the right-field corner. Well then. Ruben Castro singled to start the 4th, advanced on a sac bunt, and scored on Colton Shaver's single. Shaver advanced on a wild pitch and came around to score on a Mike Papierski double. Sierra followed by bringing Papierski in with a single. Sierra went 2-3 and was the only Quad Cities player to finish with a multi-hit game.

Luis Garcia will start the series finale and he'll take on Randy Bell at 6:35.

Lowell 5, Tri-City 3

W- Eduard Bazardo (5-3)
L- Alex House (0-2)
S- Kris Jackson (3)

TC home runs: Andy Piñeda (1, 3 season; solo in 6th), Trey Dawson (1, solo in 6th)

Andy Piñeda and Trey Dawson went back-to-back in the 6th to pull the ValleyCats to within a run... but the Spinners got the runs back in the 7th.

César Salazar got plunked to lead off the 7th and ended up scoring on a passed ball. Alex McKenna went 2-2 with a double, but unfortunately, he got hurt trying to get back to first base on a pickoff attempt. Michael Wielansky went 3-4 with a double and Oscar Campos finished 2-4 with a double. Piñeda also went 2-4; the homer was his third of the season, which sets a new career high for him in that statistic. He hit two in his second game with Corpus Christi back on July 1.

The one run that Alex House allowed in his two innings came on a home run. House also allowed two other hits and struck out two. Devin Conn was the first man out of the ValleyCats bullpen and threw 1.2 innings, allowing two unearned runs and walking three. Brett Conine allowed two runs on three hits, walked two, and struck out one in 3.1 innings. Luis de Paula and Jacob Billingsley both turned in scoreless innings; de Paula walked one in the 8th, while Billingsley allowed a hit and struck out the side in the 9th.

Tri-City leads Lowell by 1.5 games in the New York-Penn League's Stedler Division; in fact, all four teams are separated by just 3.5 games. Brett Daniels will take on Brian Brown in game two of this series. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros 5, GCL Mets 3

W- Joey Gonzalez (4-1)
L- Malky Mena (2-1)

GCL home runs: None.

The Palm Beach Stros saw a 3-0 lead vanish in the top of the 8th but they were able to quickly regain control with a couple of runs in the bottom of the 8th.

Francis Martes worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 1st, striking out one. Jose Alberto Rivera tagged in for four innings, allowing a hit and striking out two. Manny Ramirez cruised through two innings but hit the wall in the 8th; he allowed all three of the Mets' runs (one inherited runner charged to him) on three hits, walked two, and struck out six in 2.1 innings. Joey Gonzalez struck out two over the last 1.2 innings.

The GCL squad turned a bases-loaded situation to lead off the 5th into three runs as Juan Ramirez and Freúdis Nova had RBI singles, while Sean Mendoza drew a bases-loaded walk. Ramirez smacked a two-run double in the 8th that turned out to be the game-winning hit. Ramirez and Freúdis both finished with two hits on the afternoon.

DSL Red Sox1 3, DSL Astros 2 in 10 innings

W- Osvaldo de la Rosa (1-2)
L- Jeremy Molero (0-3)

DSL home runs: None.

The Academy walked off with a loss.

Their only scoring play was a two-run single in the 3rd from Yimmi Cortabarria. Victor Mascai went 3-4 and drew a walk.

Jairo Lopez and Diosmerky Taveras both threw three scoreless innings. Lopez allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out four, while Taveras had the same line; he did not issue a walk, however. Ricardo León came on for the 7th but failed to record an out. He walked the bases loaded and allowed two runs (one earned), both of which were inherited runners that were charged to him. Flaer Gonzalez allowed three hits, walked two, and struck out one over three innings. Jeremy Molero got one out in the 10th and allowed the winning run on a wild pitch.

Thursday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Jairo Lopez, RHP, DSL Astros: 3 IP, H, BB, 4 K
Diosmerky Taveras, RHP, DSL Astros: 3 IP, H, 4 K

Photo by Bryan Green. Jose Alberto Rivera not pictured.

Juan Ramirez, OF, and Jose Alberto Rivera, RHP, GCL Astros

Ramirez: 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI

Rivera: 4 IP, H, 2 K

Jonathan Arauz, IF, Buies Creek

Walk-off 3-RBI 2B in 9th

Andy Piñeda, OF, Tri-City

2-4, solo HR (1, 3 season)

Quad Cities River Bandits pitchers: W 4-2 vs. Clinton

9 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 12 K

Chad Donato: W (1-0, 4-0 season), 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K

Bryan Abreu: Save (3), 3 IP, H, 6 K

Dean Deetz, RHP, Fresno

2 IP, BB, 4 K

Akeem Bostick, RHP, Corpus Christi

3.2 IP, 3 H, unearned run, 3 K

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Monday, July 16, 2018

Sacramento 4, Fresno 3

W- Tyler Beede (4-8)
L- Reymin Guduan (3-3)
S- Pierce Johnson (2)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Grizzlies got nipped by a run in the 8th. They were also not very satisfied with home plate umpire Clay Park as their feud was re-ignited.

Clay Park rings up Derek Fisher on a pitch eight inches outside, and Fisher gets tossed. Third ejection of a Fresno batter by Park this season. Rogelio Armenteros has taken long pauses tonight in protest of the strike zone as well.

— Paul Braverman (@PaulBraverman) July 17, 2018

D.J. Fisher and Nick Tanielu made their displeasure known about Park's strike zone; Park was clearly not receptive to their criticism and tossed them both from the game. Fisher's night ended in the 3rd and Tanielu joined him in the 6th. Rogelio Armenteros was also not pleased and let Park know about it in a more subtle fashion.

Armenteros turned in a bare minimum quality start, allowing nine hits and striking otu six. Reymin Guduan allowed the go-ahead run on four hits and struck out one in 1.2 innings, and Riley Ferrell retired all four Rivercats he faced, striking out two.

All three Fresno runs came in the 4th as J.D. Davis smacked a two-run double; he came around to score on a Tony Nuñez single. Nuñez went 3-4 with a stolen base (7); Jamie Ritchie finished 2-4 with a double and scored a run on Davis' two-bagger.

Josh James takes on Daniel Camarena in game two of this series. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.

Frisco 5, Corpus Christi 3

W- Justin Topa (1-2)
L- Akeem Bostick (1-3)
S- Cole Wiper (1)

CC home runs: None.

A three-run homer from Destin Hood in the 6th condemned the Hooks to a defeat on Monday night.

Corpus got on the board in the first as Andy Piñeda and Chas McCormick both scored on wild pitches. Piñeda scored again in the 8th when Carmen Benedetti drew a bases-loaded walk.

Piñeda and McCormick both finished with two hits and a stolen base on the night. For Piñeda, that is is his first theft of the season, while McCormick now has 13 on the year.

Akeem Bostick went six innings and allowed five runs on seven hits (three-run homer), walked three, and struck out four. Alex Winkelman allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out five over three scoreless innings.

Jorge Alcala will get the nod for game three. He'll face Ariel Jurado at 7:05.

Winston-Salem 12, Buies Creek 10 in 10 innings

W- Daniel Gonzalez (1-0)
L- Colin McKee (1-1, 4-2 season)

BC home runs: Osvaldo Duarte (7, solo in 5th)

The Carolina Stros saw an 8-2 lead vanish and they eventually walked off with the loss after the Dash hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 10th.

Jake Meyers and Osvaldo Duarte had big nights at the plate for Buies Creek as they, along with Bryan de la Cruz, finished with three hits in the contest. Meyers doubled to lead off the game and Duarte opened the scoring by bringing him in with a single. Meyers drove in a run with a sac fly in the 2nd inning. The Carolina Stros scored twice in the 4th as Chuckie Robinson hit an RBI single and Meyers added an RBI double to his ledger.

Duarte led off the 5th with a homer and then Jake Adams smacked a two-run double in the 7th. An error on the play allowed Adams to advance to third and he came home on Robinson's second RBI base hit of the evening. J.J. Matijevic hit a two-run single in the first extra frame that briefly gave Buies Creek the lead. Adams and Robinson had two hits apiece in this game.

Abdiel Saldaña went 4.1 innings and allowed two runs, both of which were inherited runners that were charged to him. He also allowed three hits, walked two, and struck out four. Jesús Balaguer got the final two outs of the 5th and he technically turned in a scoreless outing, but Saldaña's two baserunners scored on his watch. Balaguer allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out one. Patrick Sandoval and Colin McKee had to bear the brunt of the Winston-Salem assault in this one...

Buies Creek has Tuesday off as they head back to Campbell. The Salem Red Sox are in town for three starting Wednesday.

Bowling Green 6, Quad Cities 5

W- Orlando Romero (3-0)
L- Tanner Duncan (2-2)

QC home runs: Chandler Taylor (3, solo in 6th)

Both teams scored in three separate innings; the difference was the Hot Rods scoring two runs in three innings, while Quad Cities scored two runs in two separate innings and only one run in another. The Banditos pitchers were all over the place as they issued ten walks on the day.

Chad Donato and Enoli Paredes both pitched three innings on the afternoon. Donato hit his first speed bump of the year as he allowed four runs (two inherited runners charged to him) on four hits, walked five, and struck out five. Paredes didn't allow a hit, but he walked three, struck out five, and allowed two of the three runners he inherited from Donato to score. Tanner Duncan allowed two of everything in his two innings. He also struck out... two.

Marty Costes doubled to lead off the 2nd and scored the first run of the day on an error that also allowed David Hensley to reach. Hensley smacked a two-run double in the 4th. Chandler Taylor led off the 6th with a homer and Mike Papierski added an RBI single later in the frame. Seth Beer finished 2-4 with a double and scored a run.

Quad Cities has Tuesday off as they make their way back home. They'll start a three-game series with the South Bend Cubs on Wednesday.

Tri-City 2, State College 1

W- Nivaldo Rodriguez (1-1)
L- Kevin Hamann (0-1)
S- Tim Hardy (3)

TC home runs: None.

The ValleyCats are heading out of Penn State with a sweep thanks to a run in the 9th that broke a 1-1 tie.

Carlos Hiraldo and Nivaldo Rodriguez both threw four innings for Tri-City; Hiraldo allowed the Spikes' only run on four hits, walked one, and struck out three. Nivaldo turned in a scoreless outing, allowing three hits and striking out two. Tim Hardy worked around a couple of walks in the 9th to close it out, striking out two.

Ramiro Rodriguez walked to lead off the 5th and advanced to third thanks to an errant pickoff attempt. Carlos Machado brought him in with a sac fly. Michael Wielansky singled with one out in the 9th and he wound up scoring the winning run on a base hit from Oscar Campos. Tri-City did not record an extra-base hit in this game.

The ValleyCats are back in the Capital District and they will start a three-game series with the Brooklyn Cyclones at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros 3, GCL Marlins 2 in 10 innings

W- Fredy Medina (1-0)
L- Cason Sherrod (1-2)

GCL home runs: Ronaldo Urdaneta (1, 2-run in 8th)

Ronaldo Urdaneta launched a game-tying two-run homer in the 8th and the Palm Beach Stros walked off with the win in the first extra frame. Hector Martinez started the 10th in scoring position and scored the winning run when Cason Sherrod went full aggy (apologies to any Aggies reading this). Juan Ramirez laid down a sacrifice bunt and Sherrod threw the ball away after fielding it, which allowed Martinez to come home.

Matt Ramsey allowed a double in the 1st which ended up becoming an unearned run due to an error. Ramsey also struck out one in his two innings. Jose Bravo allowed two hits and struck out one over three scoreless innings of work. Javier Navas allowed a run on a sac fly that turned into an inning-ending double play, a single, and walked one in the 6th. Fredy Medina allowed a hit, walked two, and struck out six in four scoreless innings.

DSL Astros 2, DSL Red Sox1 1 in 7 innings

W- Ricardo León (2-1)
L- Miguel Suero (2-1)
S- Diosmerky Taveras (2)

DSL home runs: None.

This game was called with one out in the top of the 8th due to rain.

Abraham Castillo hit a two-run single in the 1st inning for the Academy. Jairo Lopez allowed three hits and struck out one over four scoreless innings. Ricardo León didn't allow a hit and also struck out two in his 2.2 innings, but he allowed a run and also issued five walks. Ronny Garcia got the final out of the 6th. Diosmerky Taveras got the first out of the 7th and walked the bases loaded before play was halted.

Monday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Fredy Medina, RHP, DSL Astros: W (1-0), 4 IP, H, 2 BB, 6 K

Jake Meyers' photo is his mugshot on MiLB.com.

Jake Meyers, OF, and Osvaldo Duarte, UTIL, Buies Creek

Meyers: 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB (2, 15 season)

Duarte: 3-6, solo HR (7), 2 RBI, SB (19)

This is his mugshot on MiLB.com.

Nivaldo Rodriguez, RHP, Tri-City

W (1-1), 4 IP, 3 H, 2 K

Andy Piñeda, OF, Corpus Christi

2-4, 2 R, SB (1)

Alex Winkelman, LHP, Corpus Christi

3 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K

Antonio Nuñez, IF, Fresno

3-4, RBI, SB (7)

Astros Farm Report: 7/16

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

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

Ángel Heredia - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

7/22: RHP Ángel Heredia (26)

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

According to the transaction info posted on the Astros website, 30 of the 40 draft picks for 2018 signed (all of the top 20 and 30 of the top 32).

7/16: IF Tyler White optioned to Fresno
7/14: OF Jake Marisnick optioned to Fresno
7/14: RHP Jose Luis Hernandez (Buies Creek) activated from the DL (had been on a rehab assignment with Tri-City)
7/13: RHP Brady Rodgers activated from the DL and optioned to Fresno (had been sent to Fresno 7/12 on rehab assignment)
7/12: RHP Matt Ramsey (Fresno) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment (on the DL since 5-29)
7/12: RHP Tommy DeJuneas assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
7/11: RHP Ken Giles optioned to Fresno
7/11: LHP Cionel Perez (Corpus Christi) recalled to Houston
7/11: RHP Hector Perez assigned to Corpus Christi from Buies Creek
7/11: OF Carmen Benedetti activated from the Corpus Christi DL
7/11: RHP J.P. France (14th round pick) assigned to Tri-City
7/10: OF Jake Marisnick (Fresno) recalled to Houston
7/10: RHP Carlos Sanabria assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
7/10: LHP Adam Bleday (Buies Creek) released (2017 27th round draft pick out of the University of Pennsylvania)
7/10: RHP Edgardo Sandoval (Quad Cities) sent from GCL to Tri-City on a rehab assignment
7/10: RHP Luis Garcia assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
7/10: RHP Bryan Abreu assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
7/10: RHP Dariel Aquino (Quad Cities) released (signed out of the Dominican Republic in March 2013)
7/10: RHP Ian Hardman (Tri-City) released (2016 36th round draft pick out of Seminole State College)
7/10: RHP Jacob Billingsley (32nd round pick) assigned to Tri-City
7/9: SS Ricardo Balogh signed (16 year old from the Dominican Republic)

ASTROS MILB DISABLED LIST

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
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 PLAYER

CF Andy Pineda: super quick-twitch athlete, 80 runner, sneaky pop, plus CF, 3.65 jailbreaker, great makeup. Not surprised one iota. @cchooks @DSLAstros #Astros

— Oz (@OcampoBaseball) July 3, 2018

You can be forgiven if you don't know who Andy Piñeda is. Although he is in his fifth season with the Astros organization, he had not progressed beyond short season Tri-City until his June 29th promotion to Corpus Christi. His 2017 season with Tri-City was rather uneven, but the Astros front office must have seen marked improvement in the 21-year old Dominican in his time at extended Spring Training this year since Piñeda played only four games with Tri-City before leapfrogging the two full season A-level teams and landing directly with the AA Hooks. Part of the reasoning for this move is likely that the Astros have been, for the most part, moving players much more aggressively over the past couple of years, particularly those that have been in the system for four or five years. But it is unlikely that they would have moved Piñeda all the way to AA unless they felt he was up to the challenge. And he certainly has proven that he is in the early going. In 11 games with the Hooks, he is hitting .364/.417/.591 with two doubles, a triple and two home runs. Yes, it is a small sample size, but with Piñeda's speed, defensive capabilities and developing power, he will be a fun player to watch.

Andy Piñeda - July 2018

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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

FRESNO (Pacific Coast League)

🠋1st 54-39 .581 -.-GB W2

CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League)

🠋1st 60-32 .652 -.-GB L1 (overall)
1st 17-6 .739 -.-GB L1 (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 53-41 .564 4.0GB L1 (overall)
2nd 16-9 .640 0.5GB L1 (second half)
2nd 37-32 .536 3.5GB L1 (first half)

QUAD CITIES (Midwest League)

🠉2nd 52-41 .559 0.5GB W1 (overall)
T4th 12-11 .522 3.5GB 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 17-12 .586 -.-GB W2

GCL ASTROS (Gulf Coast League)
🠉3rd 12-11 .522 4.0GB W6

DSL ASTROS (Dominican Summer League Northwest)
🠉6th 15-21 .417 10.0GB L1

NEWS AND LINKS

Gilberto Celestino, who just made our Prospect Team of the Week, is off to a 🔥 start for @ValleyCats this week, too: 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs & a SB. 5 straight multi-hit games for the #Astros' No. 22 prospect: https://t.co/7k5y8upli6 pic.twitter.com/AZLrV29NF0

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 9, 2018

Hooks 3B Abraham Toro (see below for my interview with him) made FanGraphs Fringe Five. h/t to Astros County

Astros 2017 1st round pick J.B. Bukauskas is making his way back.

A cold, nasty Spring did not help MiLB attendance numbers.

FanGraphs updated their Top 10 Astros prospects. Notably, Hooks RHP Corbin Martin's stock is on the rise. Look for my interview with him coming out later this week.

The social media post for the new draft picks has been updated to denote those players who have officially signed.

And in case you missed any of these, here are my recent interviews:

RHP Corbin Martin (Corpus Christi) - coming soon
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)

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Wednesday, June 21, 2017

The A teams on their final night off made for a rather quiet night in the system.

Fresno was off

The Grizzlies start a 4-game series with Sacramento tonight at 7:05 Pacific. Charlie Morton will begin a rehab assignment and he'll take on Andrew Suarez. Morton has been on the DL since May 25 due to a lat strain.

San Antonio 7, Corpus Christi 4

W- Michael Kelly (7-2)
L- Kent Emanuel (3-4)
S- Trey Wingenter (5)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks were behind the 8-ball early, trailing 5-0 after 1.5 innings. This early deficit proved to be too much to overcome.

Corpus got a couple in the 2nd on a Garrett Stubbs RBI groundout and a Ramon Laureano RBI single. Jack Mayfield hit an RBI single in the 4th, and Kyle Tucker scored on an error following a J.D. Davis single in the 7th. Jon Singleton went 2-4 with a double and scored twice. Mayfield (2B, RBI, R, SB) and Jason Martin (2B, 3B) also finished with 2 hits.

Kent Emanuel went 6 innings and allowed 5 runs on 6 hits (grand slam), walked 4, and struck out 2. The 2 runs that Jacob Dorris allowed in his 2 innings came on a 2-run homer hit by Noah Perio in the 7th. Dorris allowed 2 other hits and struck out 2. Riley Ferrell worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 9th, striking out 1.

Akeem Bostick will start the first game of a 4-game set against Frisco. He'll go up against Ariel Jurado at 7:05.

Buies Creek was off

The Carolina Stros will begin a 4-game series in Winston-Salem at 7:00 Eastern.

Quad Cities was off

Quad Cities welcomes Cedar Rapids to Modern Woodmen Park for a 4-game series. Game 1 starts at 6:35.

Tri-City 5, Lowell 4

W- Humberto Castellanos (1-0)
L- Joan Martinez (0-1)

TC home runs: None.

The ValleyCats entered the win column for the first time in 2017 in walk-off fashion.

Patrick Sandoval turned in 5 solid innings, allowing a run on 4 hits, walking 1, and striking out 8. The Spinners got to Leovanny Rodriguez in the 6th, though. Rodriguez only got 2 outs (both via strikeout) and allowed 3 runs on 2 hits and walked 2. Reggie Johnson got Rodriguez out of a bases-loaded predicament and went on to throw 2.1 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 2, and striking out 3. Humberto Castellanos worked around a couple of hits to throw a scoreless 9th, striking out 1.

Vicente Sanchez doubled in the 2nd and scored TC's first run of the season on an infield single from Andy Piñeda. Sanchez hit a sac fly in the 3rd and Piñeda followed with an RBI sac bunt. Frankeny Fernandez led off the 9th with a single and Ruben Castro ripped a double to join him on the bases. Sanchez went down on strikes, but an error allowed Piñeda to reach, and Fernandez and Castro scored the tying and winning runs.

Piñeda finished 2-3 and was credited with an RBI on what turned out to be the winning play. Troy Sieber (2B) and Castro (2B, R) also had 2 hits on the evening. Fernandez finished 3-4 and scored twice.

Ricardo Castro takes the mound in game 2. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern.

DSL Astros Blue 5, DSL Braves 2

W- Angel Macuare (1-1)
L- Jhonny Diaz (2-1)

Blue home runs: Brandon Benavente (1, 2-run in 8th), Ronaldo Urdaneta (1, solo in 8th)

This game was called with 1 out in the 9th due to rain. The Blue team broke a 2-2 tie with a pair of home runs in the 8th.

Both teams scored in the 3rd; Team Blue got their run on an Angel Tejeda RBI single. Kendy Moya scored on an error that allowed Anthony Rodriguez to reach in the 5th. Brandon Benavente whacked a 2-run homer in the 8th inning and Ronaldo Urdaneta went back-to-back with a solo blast. Tejeda finished 2-4.

The one run that Antonio Pujols allowed in his 4 innings came on a solo homer hit by Yenci Peña in the 3rd. He allowed 2 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Jean Reyes and Bryan Solano pitched an inning apiece; Reyes worked around a hit and a walk to throw a scoreless 5th, striking out 1. Solano allowed a run on a groundout, a run, and walked 2. Angel Macuare allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 2 in 2.1 scoreless innings.

DSL Astros Orange 6, DSL Indians/Brewers 3

W- Diosward Gonzalez (1-1)
L- Henry Garcia (0-1)
S- Luis De Paula (1)

Orange home runs: None.

Team Orange only scored in one inning and only had 4 hits. They had as many hits as they did strikeouts. They won anyway.

Carlos Perdomo allowed 4 hits and struck out 3 over 3 scoreless innings. Angel Ortega recorded a strikeout in a 1-2-3 4th inning. Diosward Gonzalez went 4 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and struck out 2. Luis De Paula worked around a couple of walks in order to save the game.

The Orange team scored all 6 of their runs in the 8th without a hit. Only in the Dominican Summer League.

Freudis Nova got plunked to lead off the inning and Euclides Chavez drew a walk to join him on the bases. Jose Carrillo got hit to load the bases, and Jose Alvarez got plunked to bring Nova in for the Orange team's first run of the day. Jeury Castillo drew a bases-loaded walk, which prompted the Brewdians to make a pitching change.

Carrillo scored on a wild pitch. Gerry Castillo, who was at the plate at the time, eventually walked. While Michael Garcia was at the plate, Alvarez scored on a passed ball and Jeury scampered home on a wild pitch. Garcia ended up coaxing a walk. He then stole 2nd and Renaigel Martis walked to re-load the bases for Deury Carrasco, who walked to bring Gerry Castillo home.

Alvarez had 3 of Team Orange's 4 hits, all of which were singles; Carrasco had the other hit. Martis walked 4 times. Team Orange drew 12 walks on the day.

Wednesday's Stars

All photos are from Jayne unless stated otherwise.

Antonio Pujols, LHP, DSL Astros Blue: 4 IP, 3 H (solo HR allowed), ER, BB, 4 K
Jose Alvarez, C/1B/OF, DSL Astros Orange: 3-3, RBI, R, 2 SB (3)

Patrick Sandoval, LHP, and Reggie Johnson, RHP, Tri-City

Sandoval: 5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 8 K

Johnson: 2.1 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K

Andy Piñeda's picture taken by Bryan Green

Frankeny Fernandez, OF, and Andy Piñeda, OF, Tri-City

Fernandez: 3-4, 2 R

Piñeda: 2-3, 3 RBI

Jack Mayfield, IF, Corpus Christi

2-3, 2B, RBI, R, SB (6)

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Friday, August 19, 2016

Omaha 11, Fresno 7

W- Benino Pruneda (3-1)
L- Eury De La Rosa (0-1)

Fresno home runs: Colin Moran (9, 2-run in 3rd), Jon Kemmer (16, solo in 4th)

The Grizzlies couldn't overcome an early 7-0 deficit, and they dropped the series.

Colin Moran's 2-run homer put Fresno on the board in the 3rd inning. Jon Kemmer led off the 4th inning with a home run, and the Grizzlies got 3 more runs in the inning thanks to an RBI double from Andrew Aplin and RBI singles from D.J. Fisher and Moran. Kemmer drove in Fresno's final run with an RBI groundout in the 9th. Moran finished 2-4 on the evening.

Eury De La Rosa went 4 innings and allowed 7 runs on 10 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 2. Chris Cotton was the first man out of the Grizzlies bullpen, and he allowed 3 runs, all of which were inherited runners that were charged to him, 2 hits, and walked 1. The one hit that Aaron West allowed in his 1.1 innings was a bases-clearing double in the 6th that resulted in all of Cotton's runners coming home. Kevin Chapman allowed an unearned run on 2 hits and struck out 1 in 2 innings.

The Grizzlies are in Albuquerque tonight to begin a 4-game series with the Isotopes. David Paulino will make his AAA debut tonight. He was originally scheduled to take on Jeff Hoffman, but Hoffman was called up by the Rockies. First pitch is at 7:05 Mountain.

Corpus Christi 4, Arkansas 3

W- Trent Thornton (2-1, 9-5 season)
L- Alex Klonowski (0-1)
S- Jacob Dorris (2, 12 season)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks had to hold off a furious 9th-inning rally from the Travs to take game 1 of this series.

Trent Thornton allowed 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5 over 6 shutout innings. Kyle Smith walked 1 and struck out 2 over 2 scoreless. Michael Freeman came on in the 9th, but he failed to record an out. He allowed 3 runs (1 earned, 2 inherited runners charged to him), a hit, and walked 2. Jacob Dorris took ownership of the 9th; he allowed a hit and struck out 2; he hit the first man he faced to bring in a run, and the one hit was a two-out RBI single. Bobby Boyd ended the game by throwing out Zach Welz at the plate.

Corpus got on the board first thanks to a pair of RBI singles from James Ramsay and Tony Nuñez in the 2nd inning. Boyd ripped an RBI double in the 4th, and he scored on a Conrad Gregor groundout in the 7th inning. Boyd, Gregor, Roberto Peña, and J.D. Davis all finished 2-4.

Francis Martes will start game 2 of this series. He'll take on Jose Molina at 7:10.

Lancaster 6, Lake Elsinore 3

W- Brock Dykxhoorn (9-4)
L- Jerry Keel (2-2)
S- Ryan Deemes (6, 7 season)

Lancaster home runs: None.

The JetHawks doubled up the Storm as they took the first game of the series.

Lancaster took the lead in the 3rd inning on a pair of RBI singles from Osvaldo Duarte and Bryan Muñiz. Jamie Ritchie hit an RBI single in the 5th, and Muñiz scored later in the inning when Jason Martin grounded into a force out. With the JetHawks holding on to a one-run lead in the 9th, Trent Woodward provided some crucial insurance by ripping a 2-run double.

The first five hitters in the Lancaster lineup were Myles Straw, Johnny Sewald, Duarte, Muñiz, and Ritchie, and they all finished with 2 hits and were involved in all of the JetHawks' scoring plays.

Brock Dykxhoorn went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and struck out 4. Alex Winkelman allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 over 1.2 scoreless, and Ryan Deemes got the save; he allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and fanned 2 in 2.1 innings.

In game 2 of this series, Elieser Hernandez will face Chris Huffman. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.

Quad Cities 8, Kane County 2

W- Hector Perez (2-0, 4-0 season)
L- Jose Almonte (2-4)
S- Juan Carlos Santos (3, 5 season)

QC home runs: Hector Roa (5, solo in 3rd)

The Banditos put the Cougars away with 4 runs after stretch time.

Hector Perez and Juan Carlos Santos turned in solid nights on the mound; Perez allowed a run on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 7 in 5.2 innings, and Santos finished it off, allowing a run on 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 6 in 3.1 innings.

Hector Roa led off the 3rd inning with a home run that put Quad Cities on the scoreboard. The Banditos took control in the 5th with a couple of RBI singles from Anthony Hermelyn and Kristian Trompiz. Randy César added an RBI single in the 6th, and in that deciding 7th inning, Dex McCall smacked a 2-run double. César brought him home with an RBI double, and Stephen Wrenn provided the icing with an RBI single. Trompiz, César, and Wrenn all went 2-4.

Game 2 of this series will start at 6:00.

Aberdeen 7, Tri-City 4

W- Cody Dube (3-1)
L- Dustin Hunt (0-1)

TC home runs: None.

The Ironbirds foiled the ValleyCats' bid for a sweep by jumping out to a 6-1 lead.

Rodrigo Ayarza drove in Tri-City's first run with an RBI double in the 3rd inning. In the 8th, he scored on a triple from Miguelangel Sierra. Chuckie Robinson scored on a wild pitch in the 9th, and Connor Goedert hit an RBI double. Goedert went 2-4.

Dustin Hunt went 2.2 innings and allowed 2 unearned runs on 2 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3. Sean Stutzman allowed 4 runs (1 inherited runner charged to him) on 4 hits in 1.2 innings. Abdiel Saldaña was next, and he threw 3.2 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and fanning 6. Howie Brey allowed a run on 2 hits and walked 1 in the 9th.

The ValleyCats will begin a 3-game series with Hudson Valley tonight at 7:00 Eastern. Austin Nicely will get the start.

Greeneville 2, Danville 0

W- Jorge Alcala (2-1, 3-2 season)
L- Joey Wentz (0-3)
S- Ricardo Castro (2)

Greeneville home runs: None.

Jorge Alcala and Ricardo Castro dominated the Braves on their way to posting a shutout for the Appy Astros. Alcala walked 1 and struck out 7 over 5 innings, and Castro brought it home, allowing 3 hits and striking out 6 in the final 4 innings.

Oscar Campos tripled to lead off the 5th inning and scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch. Reiny Beltre went 2-4 and hit an RBI single in the 6th.

Cristian Javier will start the series finale. He'll face Jeremy Walker at 7:00 Eastern.

GCL Astros 7, GCL Nationals 3

W- Gabriel Valdez (2-2)
L- Tomas Alastre (0-2)

GCL home runs: None.

The Kissimmee Stros got a solid outing from Lupe Chavez and they put the game way with an offensive surge in the middle innings.

Chavez allowed 3 hits and struck out 2 over 4 scoreless innings. Gabriel Valdez struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 5th inning. Hansel Paulino was next, and he walked 3 and struck out 2 in 2 innings. Ian Hardman allowed a run on 2 hits in the 8th, and Dariel Aquino allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in the 9th.

Joan Mauricio opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 2nd. Andy Piñeda hit an RBI double in the 5th and came around to score on a single from Wander Franco. Mauricio singled in the 6th, and an error on the play allowed L.P. Pelletier to score. In the 7th, Piñeda scored on an error, Jose Benjamin hit into a force out that allowed Wilson Amador to score, and another error in the inning allowed Benjamin to score.

Piñeda finished 3-4 with a stolen base (15), and Mauricio went 2-3.

DSL Rays1 2, DSL Astros Blue 1

W- Luis Medina (2-2)
L- Robert Corniel (0-2)

Blue home runs: None.

The Rays got their 2 runs late to snatch the win from the Blue team.

Carlos Canelon's RBI groundout in the 6th was the Blue team's only scoring play.

Ronel Blanco allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 7 over 5 shutout innings. Juan Lopez allowed an unearned run on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3 in 3 innings, and Robert Corniel allowed a run on 2 hits and walked 1 in the 9th.

DSL Astros Orange 4, DSL Phillies2 2

W- Gerardo Bojorquez (3-5)
L- Abdallah Aris (3-1)
S- Gabriel Pirela (2)

Orange home runs: None.

The Orange team got some vital insurance runs late and were able to navigate around a potential Phillies threat in the 9th to get the win.

Yordan Alvarez opened the scoring with an RBI groundout in the 1st. This was their only scoring play until the 8th, when Samir Caraballo whacked an RBI double. In the 9th, Alvarez scored on a wild pitch and Ramiro Rodriguez hit an RBI single. Ramiro and Caraballo both went 2-4.

Diosward Gonzalez went 3 innings and allowed an unearned run on 3 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3. Jose Antonio Hernandez walked 2 in 2 innings. Gerardo Bojorquez was next, and he allowed 3 hits and struck out 1 over 3 scoreless. Nivaldo Rodriguez got 1 out in the 9th; he allowed an unearned run on 2 hits, and Gabriel Pirela walked 1 and got the final two outs of the game.

Friday's Stars

Ronel Blanco, RHP, DSL Astros Blue: 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 7 K

Colin Moran, 3B, Fresno

2-4, 2-R HR (9), 3 RBI

Trent Thornton, RHP, Corpus Christi

W (2-1, 9-5 season), 6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Bobby Boyd, OF, Corpus Christi

2-4, 2B, RBI, R, SB (2, 35 season)

OF assist threw out would-be tying run to end game

Hector Perez, RHP, Quad Cities

W (2-0, 4-0 season), 5.2 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Juan Carlos Santos, RHP, Quad Cities

Save (3, 5 season), 3.1 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K

Photo by Bryan Green

Abdiel Saldaña, RHP, Tri-City

3.2 IP, 2 H, 6 K

Photo by Bryan Green

Jorge Alcala, RHP, Greeneville

W (2-1, 3-2 season), 5 IP, BB, 7 K

Photo from MiLB.com

Ricardo Castro, RHP, Greeneville

Save (2), 4 IP, 3 H, 6 K

Photo by Bryan Green

Guadalupe Chavez, RHP, GCL Astros

4 IP, 3 H, 2 K

Photo by Bryan Green

Andy Piñeda, OF, GCL Astros

3-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB (15)

Happy Birthday - 11/11

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Tommy Shirley (26)
Originally from Pennsylvania, Shirley was drafted in the ninth round in 2010 out of Xavier University. Shirley had a breakout season in 2014, starting the year in AA Corpus Christi and ending it in AAA Oklahoma City. In 30 games (16 starts), he had a 2.53 ERA and a 1.099 WHIP. He walked 32 and struck out 100 in 117.1 innings of work.

OF Andy Pineda (18)
An international signing out of the Dominican Republic, Pineda played his first professional season with the Dominican Summer League team, hitting .279/.384/.312 in 65 games.

Bullpen Catcher Javier Bracamonte (45)
Bracamonte has been a bullpen catcher for the Astros since 2001 and is genuinely one of the nicest, friendliest people you would ever want to know.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

CF Scott Loucks (58)
A fifth round pick by Houston in 1977, Loucks played in 69 games scattered over 1980 to 1983 hitting .260/.308/.288. In July 1984, he was traded to the Montreal Expos for Brad Mills (yes, that Brad Mills).

C/1B J. R. House (35)
Originally drafted by the Pirates in the fifth round in 1999, House came to Houston as a free agent in 2006 and again in 2008. In four games in 2006 and three games in 2008 for the Astros, he never got a hit. However, in 12 seasons of minor league and independent ball, he hit .300/.361/.470. After believing his baseball career to be over due to injuries, he enrolled in West Virginia University and played football for a season in 2005 before coming back to baseball in 2006. In 2012, he became a hitting coach in the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system and managed their Short Season A team in 2014.