Showing posts with label Bryan Radziewski. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bryan Radziewski. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Getting to Know Astros/JetHawks LHP Bryan Radziewski

LHP Bryan Radziewski, a 2014 9th round pick out of the University of Miami, Coral Gables, started his season with Quad Cities, putting up a 2.05 ERA and 0.909 WHIP in 5 appearances (3 starts) before his early May promotion to Lancaster. Following his first three appearances in the California League, Radziewski now has a 1.96 ERA and a 1.064 WHIP for the season. He has walked 10 batters and struck out 37 in 36.2 innings.

Bryan Radziewski - May 2015
Photo by Jayne Hansen

When I spoke with Radziewski last week, I asked his opinion of what I had written in my Astros MiLB handbook over the offseason:
According to Tri-City Pitching Coach Chris Holt, Radziewski's slider is one of the best breaking balls in the Astros system. The key for him is good fastball command and effective use of his fastball/changeup combo to set up the slider for best effect. Radziewski's fastball, reported to be in the high 80's when he signed, has seen a slight jump in velocity (88 to 92 mph) through better use of his lower half. When all is said and done, he should end up with a low 90's fastball and a plus slider.
After Radziewski declared that description to be spot on, we discussed his development so far this season, In describing his accomplishments in the new season, he said, "I've gained more confidence in my fastball and I can use my changeup now as opposed to just throwing straight sliders. In college, after shoulder surgery, I was throwing about 82 to 83 mph, and I was just afraid to throw a fastball which is why I developed bad habits with throwing my slider so much."

Radziewski's fastball command is the key to everything for him. According to Lancaster Pitching Coach Don Alexander, "I don't care how good your secondary stuff is or how good your breaking ball or changeup is, if you can't command your fastball, if you can't pitch off your fastball, you're going to have a hard time." Alexander is working with Radziewski on trusting his fastball, but likes what he has seen in Radziewski's short time with the JetHawks, "He's got the chance to have some pretty good stuff if he just learns to trust it more. He's another guy that you like how he goes about his business. He just comes right at you, he's not afraid to challenge you. He's not afraid to be aggressive in the strike zone, and he's also got a good mix of pitches. I think there's more coming with him, but he's riding a nice little wave of success right now."

When asked what people who have never seen him pitch before can expect to see from him on the mound, Radziewski responded, "They'll just see someone who's not afraid of a challenge. When it's second and third or bases loaded, I have more of a chance of getting out of it than most people because I just have that confidence in myself, making pitches in big situations."

Who in the Astros minor league system has a pitch that Radziewski would like to steal? "Whoever has a good fastball! [Adrian] Houser throws like 97. I'll take his fastball. Whoever throws hard, I'll take their fastball." And what hitter would he want to avoid? "I'll say probably [Nick] Tanielu or [Mott] Hyde because I lived with them and they know exactly what I would throw them. (Hyde) is having an incredible year ... humble, works hard."

With the current depth of talent in the Astros system, I asked Radziewski if there was someone he thought might be flying under the radar somewhat. According to Radziewski, "I'll go with Bruno [Tyler Brunnemann]. He's been doing real well. And [Albert] Minnis. The good thing about Minnis is he gets a lot of groundball outs and that's going to go a long way for him. Those are two people who are low key that people may not know about that are doing well in a league you're not supposed to do well in."

As a final question, I asked Radziewski what he would do if he couldn't play baseball. He responded, "I would teach baseball, some way, somehow become a coach. I like teaching. I learn as much as I can. I ask stupid questions, even if it's not about me. I just want to learn and share that information with other people."

Thank you for your time, Bryan, and the best of luck as the season continues to unfold.

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

Other recent interviews:
1B Jon Singleton

You can find more on virtually every player in the Astros minor league system in the 2015 Houston Farm System Handbook available on Amazon for download to your kindle, iPad, laptop, desktop or smart phone.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Monday, April 27, 2015 and Tuesday, April 28, 2015

A pretty forgettable last couple of days on the farm.



Monday: Fresno 4, Reno 2

W- Jake Buchanan (2-0)
L- Blake Beavan (0-1)
S- Kevin Chapman (1)

Fresno home runs: Preston Tucker (8, solo in 5th)

Another big night for Preston Tucker, who is sending baseballs out of ballparks with quite a bit of regularity. He finished 3-4 and opened up the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st, then in the 5th, he bashed his organization-leading 8th homer of the year. The Grizz got 2 in the 4th inning on a Max Stassi RBI single and a sac fly from Nolan Fontana.

Jake Buchanan went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 9 hits (solo homer) and struck out 2. Darin Downs struck out 2 over 1.2 near-perfect frames; he hit a batter. Jordan Jankowski got the final out of the 7th and the first out of the 8th inning. He allowed a hit, walked 1, struck out 1, and uncorked a wild pitch. Despite facing a bases-loaded situation in the 8th, Kevin Chapman was able to seal the win as he walked 1 and struck out 2.

Tuesday: Reno 3, Fresno 2

W- A.J. Schugel (1-2)
L- Dan Straily (2-1)
S- Jake Barrett (4)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Grizzlies threatened in the bottom of the 9th as they got some traffic on the basepaths, but.... no cigar. They were foiled in their bid to sweep the series.

Their 2 runs came in the 5th inning on a Preston Tucker sac fly and a Domingo Santana RBI triple. Ronald Torreyes led off the bottom of the 9th with a double, but he was thrown out at home trying to score the tying run on a Nolan Fontana fielder's choice. Alex Presley and Preston Tucker walked to load the bases, but sadly, Jon Singleton flied out to end the game.

Dan Straily pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Richard Rodriguez struck out 2 over 3 perfect frames, and James Hoyt struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 9th.

Fresno has a day off as they head up to Tacoma; they'll finish up April and begin May there.

Monday: Midland 9, Corpus Christi 8

W- Jonathan Joseph (1-0)
L- Kent Emanuel (1-1)

CC home runs: None.

The Hooks walked off with the loss as Carson Blair took Kent Emanuel deep to tie the game at 8, and Matt Olson hit a sac fly to bring home Chad Oberacker with the winning run.

Carlos Correa got things started when he cracked an RBI triple in the 1st inning. He drove in another run with a single in the 3rd inning. Two batters later, Tyler White added a 2-run single. Leo Heras hit an RBI single in the 4th. After the Rockhounds took a 7-5 lead into the 7th inning, Corpus went back to work as Conrad Gregor made it a 1-run game with an RBI double, and then in the 8th, they took the lead thanks to a Tony Kemp RBI groundout and a Colin Moran RBI double.

Kemp went 1-3 with the RBI groundout, 2 walks, and scored 3 times. Moran, who stretched his hitting streak to 5 games, finished 3-5 with 2 doubles and a run scored; he's ripped 5 doubles during that streak. Tyler White finished 2-4, and Telvin Nash went 2-3 with a run scored.

Aaron West went 5 innings and allowed 5 runs, all on 3 home runs; he allowed 2 solo homers and was taken deep for a 3-run homer. He also allowed 4 other hits and struck out 3. Kent Emanuel tagged in for 3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits (solo homer), walking 2, and striking out 1. Mitch Lambson got 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, allowing a hit and walking 1.

Tuesday: Midland 8, Corpus Christi 4

W- Joey Wagman (1-0)
L- Kyle Westwood (1-1)

CC home runs: Carlos Correa (5, solo in 8th)

Rough day for Hooks pitchers, who walked 7 and allowed 13 hits. They also gave up 8 runs.

The Hooks got on the board first with a Conrad Gregor sac fly in the 1st. Unfortunately, they would not score again until the 8th; in between, Midland scored 7 runs. Carlos Correa finished 2-2 with a double and a solo homer in the 8th inning. Corpus got 2 more in the 9th on an RBI double from Telvin Nash and an RBI single from Teoscar Hernandez. Tyler Heineman went 2-4. Correa's 2-2 day raised his average to an even .400. Be still, my heart.

Kyle Westwood allowed 4 runs on 10 hits and walked 2 over 4.1 innings. Jonas Dufek tagged in for 2.1 innings; he allowed 3 runs on 2 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2. He had all the strikeouts for the Hooks in this game. Angel Báez pitched 1.1 innings and walked 2; the only hit and run he allowed came off a solo homer from Colin Walsh in the 8th.

Mark Appel takes the hill in game 3 of this series; he'll take on Jake Sanchez at 6:30.

Tuesday: Rancho Cucamonga 10, Lancaster 5

W- Scott Barlow (2-1)
L- Evan Grills (1-2)

Lancaster home runs: Jack Mayfield (1, solo in 2nd)

In this battle for first place, the Quakes fired the first shot as they doubled up the JetHawks.

Jack Mayfield's first homer of the year put Lancaster on the scoreboard in the 2nd and tied the game at 1. Unfortunately, that would be the only run they would score until the 7th, as the Quakes built up a 9-1 lead on the strength of a 6-run 6th inning. In the 7th, though, the JetHawks got a bases-clearing triple from Chan-Jong Moon, who ended up scoring himself on a wild pitch. Unfortunately, that outburst wouldn't be enough in this one. Moon and J.D. Davis finished with 2 hits apiece.

Evan Grills went 4 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 2, and struck out 3. Tyler Brunnemann worked around a hit and a walk to throw a scoreless 5th, striking out 2. Troy Scribner tagged in for 3 innings and allowed 7 runs on 6 hits (5 singles and a solo homer), walked 3, and struck out 3. Gonzalo Sañudo walked 1 in a scoreless 9th.

In game 2, Blaine Sims will face Jeff Brigham at 6:30 Pacific.


Tuesday: Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 0 in 11 innings

W- Cameron Booser (1-0)
L- Joe Musgrove (3-1)
S- Trevor Hildenberger (2)

QC home runs: None.

Well, that stunk...

Joe Musgrove probably would've liked to have that 11th inning back as the first 3 Kernels to bat in the inning reached base on him; 2 of them reached on errors that he committed, and Cedar Rapids ended up getting the only run (which was unearned) of the game off of him on a sac fly. That was a tough end to an otherwise fine outing for Musgrove, who went 6 innings and allowed 4 hits while striking out 1. Bryan Radziewski was absolutely stellar in his start as he allowed just 2 hits and struck out 4 over 5 shutout innings.

The River Bandits outhit Cedar Rapids 9-6, but they were unable to get a run across. Mott Hyde went 3-5 with a double, while Sean McMullen finished 2-4 with a triple.

In game 2 of this series, Dan Mengden will take on Mat Batts at 7.

Monday's Three Stars


3.

Carlos Correa, SS, Corpus Christi
2-4, 3B, 2 RBI

2.

Colin Moran, 3B, Corpus Christi
3-5, 2 2B, RBI, R


1.

Preston Tucker, OF, Fresno
3-4, solo HR (8; leads organization), 2 RBI


Tuesday's Three Stars: Position Players

3. 
Mott Hyde, 2B/SS, Quad Cities
3-5, 2B

2. 
Chan-Jong Moon, SS/2B, Lancaster
2-4, 3-R 3B in 7th, R

1. 
Carlos Correa, SS, Corpus Christi
2-2, 2B, solo HR (5)

Tuesday's Three Stars: Pitchers

3. 

Joe Musgrove, RHP, Quad Cities
L (3-1), 6 IP, 4 H, unearned run, K

2. 
Bryan Radziewski, LHP, Quad Cities
5 IP, 2 H, 4 K

1. 
Richard Rodriguez, RHP, Fresno
3 IP, 2 K

Friday, April 17, 2015

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, April 16, 2015

Let's play.... 1.5 (I guess) in Quad Cities!

Fresno with the...

Organization sweep! Double brooms! 
 

Fresno 5, Salt Lake 4

W- Dan Straily (2-0)
L- Alex Sanabia (0-2)
S- James Hoyt (2)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Grizzlies stormed out of the gate with a huge 1st inning and held off the Bees to get the sweep.

Fresno put up 4 runs in the 1st on 3 straight doubles from Matt Duffy, Preston Tucker (his drove in 2), and Matt Dominguez. Nolan Fontana tripled to lead off the 4th and scored on an Alex Presley groundout. The two of them, along with Domingo Santana, finished with 2 hits. Everyone in the lineup had a hit except for Max Stassi, who went 0-1 as he walked, had a sacrifice, and got plunked.

Dan Straily went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 10 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Richard Rodriguez was the first man out; he allowed a run on 2 hits and walked 1. Darin Downs allowed a hit over 1.1 scoreless, and James Hoyt, in his first attempt to put that nightmare on Wednesday behind him, did so by working around a hit to record the final 2 outs of the game.

The Grizz hit the road for the first time this season; first stop, Sin City. Luis Cruz gets the start in game 1... he will take on Tyler Pill at 7:05 Pacific.

Corpus Christi 8, Springfield 0

W- Mark Appel (2-0)
L- Mike Mayers (0-2)

CC home runs: Telvin Nash (3, 3-run in 5th)

The Hooks, playing in front of their home crowd for the first time this season, put on a show on offense and their pitchers shut the Cardinals down.

A week ago, the Corpus offense torched Springfield starter Mike Mayers for 5 runs in 2 innings; this time, they knocked Mayers around for 5 runs in 4.1 innings. Leo Heras led off the 3rd with a triple. One batter later, Brandon Meredith got things started with a triple of his own to bring Heras home. Meredith came home on a Carlos Correa single. Telvin Nash struck out in his first 2 at-bats entering the 5th inning, but the third time proved to be the charm as he pulverized a Mayers pitch for a 3-run home run. Heras swatted another triple in the 8th; this one drove in a run. He would score on an error that allowed Meredith to reach. Tony Kemp ripped a double for the final Corpus run, as Meredith scored. Correa (RBI single), Heras (2 triples), and Meredith (RBI triple) all finished with 2 hits.

Mark Appel and two relievers combined on a 5-hitter. 2013's #1 tossed 5 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 4. Travis Ballew pitched 2 scoreless and allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 1. Dan Minor closed it out as he allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 over 2 scoreless.

Game 2 of this series has Kyle Westwood taking on Thomas Lee at 7:05.

Lancaster 10, High Desert 7

W- Michael Feliz (1-1)
L- Luis Parra (0-2)
S- Frederick Tiburcio (1)

Lancaster home runs: A.J. Reed (1, solo in 2nd), Chase McDonald (1, solo in 7th)

The JetHawks got the win in their first game away from The Hangar.

This was apparently a weird game all around. Let's let Jason Schwartz explain. The first two tweets happened in the middle of the 2nd inning.

And then...
Well, at about 9:50 Pacific time, we had that explosion.

With that out of the way, let's get to the actual game. The JetHawks put up 6 in the 4th to take a 7-3 lead and got some runs late to reinforce that lead.

A.J. Reed put Lancaster on the board in the 2nd with his, and the JetHawks', first home run of the season. Think about it... the JetHawks played an entire homestand in one of the biggest hitter's parks in professional baseball without hitting a home run. And in their first road game, they hit their first 2 home runs of the season. Baseball!

In that 6-run 4th, Brett Phillips kicked things off with a 1-out double, and he came around to score on an error after a Chan-Jong Moon single. James Ramsay added an RBI double, and then Danry Vásquez followed that up with an RBI single; another error allowed Ramsay to come home. Reed ripped an RBI double, and Jose Fernandez finished off the scoring in the inning with an RBI single. Chase McDonald led off the top of the 7th with a homer, and then Phillips tripled with 1 out and scored on a Moon sac fly. J.D. Davis drove in the final Lancaster run of the evening with an RBI single in the 8th. Ramsay (2 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB [1]) and Phillips (2 2B, 3B, 2 R) both finished 3-5. Reed finished 2-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, and everyone in the lineup had a hit. Davis and McDonald extended their hitting streaks to 5 games.

Zach Morton pitched 4 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits (solo and 2-run homers), walked 2, and struck out 4. Michael Feliz tagged in for 3.2 innings and the only hit he allowed was a solo homer to Ryan Cordell in the 7th. Cordell also scored an unearned run off of him in the 5th after a Davis flub in the field. He walked 2 and struck out 6. Frederick Tiburcio got the 4-out save, striking out 1.

In game 2 of this series, Evan Grills and Troy Scribner will take on Tyler Smith at 6:35 Pacific.

Resumed game: Quad Cities 6, Beloit 4

W- Bryan Radziewski (1-0)
L- Kevin Johnson (0-1)
S- Keegan Yuhl (1)

QC home runs: D.J. Fisher (3, 2-run in 7th)

Beloit solved its lighting problems, and D.J. Fisher delivered an electric moment after the game resumed. OK, that was terrible. I'll stop.

After play resumed, the River Bandits got a couple of 2-run innings. In the 6th, they got a couple of RBI doubles from Mott Hyde and Bryan Muniz, who was making his season debut. Then, Fisher homered for the 3rd consecutive game with his 2-run blast in the 7th. He finished 2-4 with 2 runs scored. Alfredo Gonzalez went 2-4, and Jamie Ritchie scored 2 runs.

Chris Lee went 4 innings and allowed 3 runs (1 earned, 1 inherited runner charged to him) on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. When the game was suspended, there was a runner on 1st base for Beloit that Lee was responsible for. Bryan Radziewski allowed that run to score on a force out after play resumed. It was bit hairy as the Bandits committed 2 errors in the 5th inning, but other than that run, the Snappers offense was rendered useless by Radziewski, who struck out 6 over 4 near-perfect innings. Keegan Yuhl gave up a run on 2 doubles in the 9th, but he was able to close the game out.

Regularly scheduled game: Quad Cities 5, Beloit 1

W- Joe Musgrove (2-0)
L- Jordan Schwartz (0-1)
S- Eric Peterson (1)

QC home runs: None.

The Banditos also took the regularly scheduled game, which was shortened to 7 innings because of the suspension of Wednesday's game. They scored 1 run in 5 of the 7 innings.

Ryan Bottger grounded into a force out that scored Bobby Boyd in the 1st. Then, in the 2nd, Alex Hernandez hit an RBI single. He added another RBI single in the 4th. Mott Hyde chipped in an RBI single of his own in the 5th. Boyd tripled to lead off the 7th and scored the final run of the evening on a wild pitch. He, Hernandez, and Hyde had 2 hits apiece. Boyd also stole his 2nd base of the season, as did Jamie Ritchie.

Joe Musgrove turned in another fine start as he allowed just 1 run on 5 hits and struck out 5 over 5 innings. Eric Peterson finished it off with 2 perfect innings, striking out 3.

The River Bandits will look for the sweep as Dan Mengden and his 'stache take the mound at 6:30.

Three Stars: Position Players

Stats from the suspended game will be included.

3.
D.J. Fisher, OF, Quad Cities
2 games: 3-8, 2B, 2-R HR (3), 2 R

2. 
Leo Heras, OF, Corpus Christi
2-4, 2 3B, RBI, 2 R

1. 
James Ramsay, OF, Lancaster
3-5, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R

Brett Phillips, OF, Lancaster
3-5, 2 2B, 3B

Three Stars: Pitchers

Again, three really great performances on the mound. Of course, Bryan Radziewski did allow an inherited runner to score... but I'm a forgiving person.

Bryan Radziewski, LHP, Quad Cities
W (1-0), 4 IP, allowed inherited runner to score, 6 K

Mark Appel, RHP, Corpus Christi
W (2-0), 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K

Joe Musgrove, RHP, Quad Cities
W (2-0), 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 5 K

Honorable Mentions

- Carlos Correa had that little mini-slump, but it appears that he's busted out of that brief lull to continue tearing the Texas League a new one.

- Brandon Meredith just keeps hitting. That Corpus lineup, top to bottom, has 9 guys who can, and on most nights, will absolutely put a beating on opposing pitchers.

- A.J. Reed has gotten off to a slow start; hopefully this solid game jump-starts his bat a bit.
- Bobby Boyd is showing that he could be an effective table-setter for Quad Cities.

- James Hoyt had a better showing as he looks to rebound from that disaster. As we know... every pitcher has had an outing like that as some point in their baseball life.

- Travis Ballew and Dan Minor were excellent as they completed the Corpus shutout.

- Michael Feliz wasn't fazed in his 2nd California League appearance. Obviously, the Cal League isn't an ideal pitching environment, but he's considered one of the elite pitching prospects in this organization and excelling in the Cal League will definitely confirm that status.

- Eric Peterson hasn't gotten much attention, but he posted fine numbers in Greeneville and could be one of those guys that might ascend rather quickly through the system.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Tweet of the Day

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Happy Birthday - 2/21

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Bryan Radziewski (23)
Drafted by Houston in the ninth round in 2014, Radziewski spent his first professional season with the Tri-City team. In 15 games (one start), he was 2-0 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.162 WHIP.

One former Astro celebrates the day as well ~

RHP Jack Billingham (72)
Billingham came to Houston in a trade with the Expos prior to the 1969 season and pitched for the Astros from 1969 to 1971. In 131 appearances (61 starts), he was 29-32 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.297 WHIP. According to Baseball-Reference, he was a part of this trade to the Reds in 1971 ~
November 29, 1971: Traded by the Houston Astros with Ed Armbrister, Cesar Geronimo, Denis Menke and Joe Morgan to the Cincinnati Reds for Tommy Helms, Lee May and Jimmy Stewart.
He had his best season for the Reds in his 1973 All-Star season. That year he was 19-10 in 40 starts, pitching 293.1 innings with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.200 WHIP. Apparently, his arm didn't fall off after that workload since he went on to pitch another seven seasons in the majors.

Our good friend Appy Astros pointed out that Billingham went on to coach in the minor leagues for several years ending in 2004 as the Pitching Coach of the League Champion Greeneville Astros.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Tweet of the Day

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Tweet of the Day

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Saturday, June 21, 2014