Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Let's play 2 in Davenport! Never mind.

Oklahoma City 2, Round Rock 0

W- Rhiner Cruz (1-0)
L- Justin Germano (1-3)
S- Josh Zeid (3)

OKC home runs: Gregorio Petit (2, 2-run in 1st)

This game lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes. This was the shortest OKC game since the 2012 season finale: September 3, 2012. The RedHawks topped Round Rock 1-0 that day in 2 hours, 2 minutes.

Well, there you have it. All the offense in this game came off the bat of Gregorio Petit in the 1st inning. That blast would also be the only OKC hit until the 6th, when Ronald Torreyes singled. Max Stassi had the other RedHawks hit, a single in the 7th.

The pitching staff combined on a 4-hitter. Mike Foltynewicz pitched 4 innings and allowed 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3. Rhiner Cruz threw 2 scoreless and allowed 2 hits while striking out 3. Chia-Jen Lo struck out 2 over 2 perfect frames, and Josh Zeid finished it with a 1-2-3 9th.

Jake Buchanan will face Ryan Feierabend in game 3 of this series. First pitch is at 7:05. The tandem system in OKC is now in a holding pattern, per Brian McTaggart.

Luhnow said OKC going with six-man rotation now that Seaton and Harrell out. Will go back to tandem starters later.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 29, 2014

OKC rotation: Owens, Foltynewicz, Buchanan, Tropeano, Martinez and Doran.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 29, 2014

Midland 9, Corpus Christi 8

W- Jesus Castillo (1-0)
L- Jorge De Leon (1-2)

CC home runs: Chris Epps (2, 3-run in 2nd)

The Hooks coughed up a 7-1 lead and wound up walking off with the loss after the RockHounds put up 4 in the bottom of the 9th.

7 of the 8 Corpus runs came in the 2nd inning. Tyler Heineman began the assault with a bases-clearing double. Chris Epps then clubbed a 3-run homer (2), and Matt Duffy added an RBI double. Andrew Aplin went 2-5 with an RBI single in the 9th, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Matt Duffy and M.P. Cokinos both finished 2-4, and everyone in the lineup scored a run except for Joe Sclafani, who was 0-2 with 3 walks.

Matt Heidenreich allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on a force out and a sac fly, a hit, walked 6, and struck out 2 in 4.2 innings of work. Jordan Jankowski went 1.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Travis Ballew was the only Hooks pitcher with a scoreless outing, as he allowed 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1 over 2 innings. Jorge De Leon blew it.

Game 2 will feature Tommy Shirley as he faces Drew Granier at 11:00 A.M. Is the tandem system also on hold in Corpus?

Lancaster 5, High Desert 3

W- Lance McCullers (1-1)
L- Scott DeCecco (1-2)
S- Jamaine Cotton (3)

Lancaster home runs: Brandon Meredith (5, solo in 8th)

Before the game, a players-only meeting was held. According to Eric Smith, although no one discussed what was said behind closed doors, it seems that the purpose was to let some frustration go. The venting looked like it had a positive effect, as the JetHawks snapped a 3-game losing streak. Lance McCullers rendered the High Desert offense useless, and now they're in a 3-way tie with the Mavericks and Lake Elsinore at the top of the Cal League South division.

The JetHawks struck out 17 batters, which tied a team record set back in 1997, when they were a Mariners affiliate. McCullers tossed 5 shutout innings and allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out a career-high 10. Kyle Smith allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits (solo homer) and struck out 7 in 3.2 innings. Jamaine Cotton got D.J. Peterson to fly out for the final out of the game.

The Lancaster offense finally cracked Scott DeCecco, who had really shackled them in his first 2 appearances. Brandon Meredith went 3-4; he singled to lead off the bottom of the 4th and scored the first run of the night on Dan Gulbransen's double. Gulbransen would score on a Carlos Perdomo sac fly, and Ruben Sosa added an RBI single to wrap up the scoring in the 4th. Perdomo, who went 2-3, scored on a force out that was hit by Jake Rodriguez in the 6th, and Meredith hit a solo shot (5) in the 8th. Rodriguez finished 2-4 with a run scored and was credited with an RBI on his force out in the 6th.

Josh Hader and Chris Devenski will face Dylan Unsworth in game 3 of this series. First pitch is at 6:30 Pacific.

Quad Cities and Clinton was rained out, again

Due to wet grounds. They'll play two doubleheaders; 2 games tonight and 2 games on Thursday. Kent Emanuel (game 1) and Jandel Gustave (game 2) will be the pitchers for tonight. Emanuel will face Eddie Campbell and Gustave is taking on Tommy Burns. First pitch of game 1 will be at 6:00.


Three Stars: Position Players

3. ALL THE OFFENSE

Gregorio Petit, SS, Oklahoma City
1-3, 2-R HR (2) in 1st

2. They only had 1 hit apiece, but they sure made 'em count.

Chris Epps, OF, Corpus Christi

As the DH: 3-R HR (2) in the 2nd

4 of Epps' 7 hits have gone for extra bases. He's sporting an .848 OPS despite only hitting .206 through his first 10 games with the Hooks.

Tyler Heineman, C, Corpus Christi
1-3, 3-R 2B in 2nd, R

1.

Brandon Meredith, OF/1B, Lancaster
3-4, solo HR (5), 2 R

Three Stars: Pitchers

Hmm.... shutout, or team record?

2.

Lance McCullers

W (1-1), 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 10 K

Kyle Smith

3.2 IP, 6 H (solo HR), 3 R (1 earned), 7 K

Jamaine Cotton

Save (3); Recorded final out of the game

Cotton only needed to get one out, but his role was just as big as McCullers' and Smith's. Also, if a team's pitchers all performed well, then it would make sense to include all of them, right?

1. OKC shutout wins.

Mike Foltynewicz

4 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 K

Rhiner Cruz

W (1-0), 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K

Chia-Jen Lo

2 IP, 2 K

Josh Zeid
Save (3), IP

Happy Birthday - 4/7

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Josh Hader (20)
Originally drafted by the Orioles in the 19th round in 2012, Hader came to the Houston organization as a part of the July 2013 trade that sent Bud Norris to Baltimore. In five regular season starts for Quad Cities last season after the trade, Hader was 2-0 with a 3.22 and a 1.164 WHIP. In his first start for Lancaster this past Saturday, he allowed four hits and one run while striking out 10 in his four innings of work. Hader was recently named the #14 prospect in the Astros system by Baseball America.

RHP Chia-Jen Lo (28)
A native of Taiwan, Lo was signed by the Astros before the 2009 season. After pitching in 17 games at three levels of the minor leagues in 2013, Lo made his major league debut on July 31, 2013. He appeared in 19 games for the Astros, compiling a 4.19 ERA and a 1.397 WHIP. He is starting this season as a part of the AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks bullpen.

2014 Grapefruit League Recap

Houston Astros 7, Atlanta Braves 5

2014 Grapefruit League record: 1-0

YEAH BASEBALL!





Well, the wait is finally over. At long last, a beacon of hope shining in the throes of Old Man Winter. Baseball season is upon us. The Houston Astros opened up Grapefruit League play at Disney World and topped those darn Braves in a pretty fun affair, which took a brisk 3:39 to play.

W- Matt Albers (1-0)
L- Jordan Walden (0-1)
S- Chia-Jen Lo (1)

Home runs: None for Houston.

Starting Pitcher: Lucas Harrell

Lucas Harrell got the nod for this first game of spring training as he is looking to put the debacle that was his 2013 season far, far behind him. He pitched the first 2 innings and allowed a run on a bases-loaded walk in the 1st. 3 of his 4 walks came in that 1st inning. Harrell's 2nd was much more quiet, as he induced 2 groundouts and a foulball out after a leadoff walk. His one strikeout was in the form of Chris Johnson in the 1st.

Final line: 2 IP, H, ER, 4 BB, K, 3 groundouts, 0 flyouts

Bullpen

Peter Moylan was the first man out of the bullpen for Houston. He allowed a hit and issued a walk in a scoreless 3rd inning.

Matt Albers began his 2nd tour of duty with the Astros by coming out for the 4th. He allowed a run on a Freddie Freeman single, but at the same time got out of the inning as Brett Wallace and Matt Dominguez threw out Joey Terdoslavich to end the threat. Albers was shaken up a little bit on the play but left under his own power.

The next man up was Paul Clemens, and he allowed 2 runs on 5 hits (all but one was a single), walked 1, struck out 1, uncorked a wild pitch, and was called for a balk in his 2 innings of work. He bowed out by inducing a rather slick 4-6-3 double play from Tyler Greene to end the 6th inning, which got him out of a bases-loaded situation.

Darin Downs made his Astros debut, walking 1 in a scoreless 7th inning.

Rudy Owens, fresh off a stellar winter campaign in the Dominican Republic, pitched the 8th. He shook off a solo homer from Todd Cunningham to retire the side and preserved a 6-5 lead.

Chia-Jen Lo shut the door in the 9th in impressive fashion, finishing off with 2 strikeouts after getting Greene to fly out to lead off the inning. This was the first 1-2-3 inning from an Astros pitcher in the spring.

Offense

The Astros scored a touchdown with 2 runs in 3 different innings and tacked on the extra point in the 9th inning.

In his first plate appearance as a member of the Houston Astros, Dexter Fowler flied out to center. He would give the Astros the lead with a 2-run single in the top of the 2nd. Fowler also drew a walk in the 5th before giving way to Delino DeShields. This substitution turned out to be a turning point in the game.

DeShields wasted no time in leaving his mark on the game as he stole 2nd on the first pitch to Jose Altuve and advanced to 3rd when Altuve grounded out. He eventually scored on a double from Marc Krauss, who then made way for George Springer. Springer didn't hesitate to get in on the action as he stole 3rd and scored on a double from Chris Carter. Preston Tucker then emerged to pinch-run for Carter. The Astros would not relinquish the lead again after their half of the 5th.

The bench was emptied in the bottom of the 5th inning, and the prospects got their chance to show a little something. From that point on, DeShields was in center field, Springer was in right, and Tucker DH'd for the rest of the game. In addition, Max Stassi, J.D. Martinez, Jonathan Meyer, Jonathan Singleton, Marwin Gonzalez, and Carlos Correa were subbed in.

Correa singled to kick off the 6th, advanced to 3rd on a Stassi double, and scored on a DeShields groundout. Marwin then sent a double down the left-field line to score Stassi. In the 9th, Springer drew a 1-out walk, swiped his 2nd bag of the night, and scored on a Tucker single to give the Astros that vital insurance run.

Marc Krauss went 2-3 and was the only Astro with a multi-hit night. George Springer notched his first 2 steals and scored his first 2 runs of this calendar year.

Dustin's Random Observations

Normally I would be freaking out over the pitchers issuing 9 walks, but... this is the 1st spring training game. It's way too early for me to be pulling my hair out over that.

The bullpen competition will be incredibly stiff and probably won't be settled until the very end. Lo delivered a very strong opening argument for his case, and I (am getting ahead of myself) would not be surprised if he gets a few chances to close games during the course of the regular season.

I forgot who was on the mound at the time, but this was how Steve Sparks described his breaking ball.

"A late-breaking, slurvy type of slurve" - Steve Sparks
— Dustin Nguyen (@itsDTrain) March 1, 2014

Carlos Correa seems like he's simply unfazed. He's not even 20 yet but he carries himself with the poise of a 10+ year MLB veteran. Selfishly, I'm hoping he earns a spot on the Corpus roster for Opening Day.

Josh Fields was scheduled to appear in this game, but Paul Clemens wound up pitching 2 innings.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME

3.  

Dexter Fowler, CF

1-2, 2 RBI, BB

2.

Marc Krauss, RF

2-3, 2B, RBI

1.

Chia-Jen Lo, RHP

Save (1), IP, 2 K

NEXT UP

The Astros will make the journey to Lakeland, where they will take on the Tigers and old friend Brad Ausmus at 1:05 Eastern. Scott Feldman will make his Astros debut, and he will be opposed by Drew VerHagen.

Roster Moves

[UPDATED TO ADD]
Houston/Oklahoma City
RHP Jarred Cosart called up to Houston (MLB debut scheduled for Friday)
OF Jimmy Paredes re-assigned to Oklahoma City

Corpus Christi
RHP Chia-Jen Lo assigned from Quad Cities to Corpus Christi

Lancaster
RHP Mike Hauschild assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster
LHP Kyle Hallock assigned from Corpus Christi to Lancaster
RHP Tyson Perez placed on the 7-day DL (retroactive to 7/9)

Quad Cities
RHP Mark Appel assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities
3B Bobby Borchering assigned from Greeneville to Quad Cities
OF Teoscar Hernandez placed on the 7-day DL retroactive to 7/08
RHP Chris Devenski assigned from Lancaster to Quad Cities
C Luis Alvarez assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities

Roster Moves

I missed this Baseball America transaction post from over the weekend. Apparently, Kyle Weiland is NOT a figment of our imagination:

Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Murilo Gouvea, RHP Chia-Jen Lo, RHP Kyle Weiland, LHP Sergio Escalona, LHP Kenny Long, C Max Stassi, 3B Andy Simunic, 3B Brandon Wikoff, OF Grant Hogue, OF Telvin Nash

In addition, RHP Edgar Gonzalez was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays and 2B/LF Ruben Sosa was assigned to Oklahoma City.

Rumors have been floating about Paul Clemens coming to Houston, but nothing official has been announced by the team.

UPDATES:

• RHP Paul Clemens is indeed headed to Seattle to join the team as RHP Josh Fields goes on the DL with forearm tightness.
• RHP Ross Seaton is being sent to Oklahoma City from Corpus Christi.
• RHP Carlos Quevedo is being sent to Corpus Christi from Lancaster.
• RHP Michael Dimock is headed from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities.
• According to Daniel Makarewicz (who covers the Quad Cities team), RHP Jordan Jankowski is being sent from Quad Cities back to Extended Spring Training.
• LHP Tommy Shirley activated from the temporary inactive list for Lancaster.

Happy Birthday - 4/7

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Chia-Jen Lo (27)
A native of Taiwan, Lo was signed by the Astros before the 2009 season. He split his first season between Lancaster and Corpus Christi with terrific results as he compiled a 2.10 ERA and a 1.135 WHIP in 64.1 innings pitched over 42 appearances. Unfortunately, due to injury issues and subsequent surgery, he only pitched in 9 games between 2010 and 2011 before coming back toward the end of the 2012 season. In 19 games in 2012, he had a 0.90 ERA and a 0.833 WHIP. It was reported that he was to be on the Corpus Christi Hooks roster to start the season, but it appears that he is still in extended spring training at this time.

Astros Winter League Cumulative Stats - Pitchers

The regular seasons are over for all of the winter season leagues except for the Australian Baseball League so let's take a look at how your Astros did. Today, let's look at the pitchers. To me, there were two real standouts among them.

RHP Nick Tropeano (Arizona Fall League)

Tropeano pitched out of the bullpen to minimize his innings after having pitched 158 innings during the regular season. After putting together a very successful season at Lexington and Lancaster, he continued to impress in the AFL. His 1.00 WHIP was tied for sixth and he held some of the best prospects in the minor leagues to a .189 batting average.

RHP Carlos Quevedo (Liga Paralela & Venezuelan Winter League)

Quevedo was credited with helping the championship Liga Paralela Magallanes team make it to the playoffs. His dominance in the Liga Paralela led to a call-up to play for the main Magallanes team where he made one successful appearance before the regular season ended. Quevedo's 1.38 ERA led the Liga Paralela for pitchers pitching a minimum of 30 innings and he continued to put together a very healthy strikeout to walk ratio.

Others of Note

I was happy to see RHP Chia-Jen Lo continue his comeback from surgery with a successful AFL season. Several 2012 Astros who are currently free agents had good seasons as well, particularly RHP Sergio Perez who led the Venezuelan Winter League in wins and was tied for second in WHIP and strikeouts. Free agents  Erick Abreu, Adalberto Flores and Enerio del Rosario also had strong campaigns.

And finally, after having mixed results out of the bullpen for Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League, 21-year old RHP Raul Rivera finished off his season with an excellent seven-inning start for Carolina. After missing all of 2011, Rivera put up some strong numbers for the GCL in 2012. It may not sound like much, but the combination of those two factors intrigues me enough that I will be paying closer attention to Rivera in 2013.

Here are the full regular season stats for all Astros pitchers participating in winter league play. Cameron Lamb is the only player whose team hasn't finished the regular season.

*Free Agent

Next Up: I'll be looking at the position players on Wednesday.

Roster Moves

The huge infusion of talent that the Astros have added to the farm system via recent trades means that some of the current rosters are getting strained to the breaking point. There are only so many prolonged DL stints and temporary inactive designations before players will have to be released. We've already seen a couple of these at Lancaster with the recent releases of Brian Streilein and Kirk Clark. I will do my best to keep on top of these moves and let you know when I have confirmed information. With that said, here are your latest moves.

Oklahoma City
LHP Rudy Owens will be has been assigned to Oklahoma City.
According to Sports Reporter (and Jake Buchanan girlfriend) Chelsa Messinger, RHP Jake Buchanan will be has been assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.
ADDED: LHP Xavier Cedeno is being called up to Houston.
ADDED: RHP Jose Cisnero is being assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.
ADDED: RHP Jarred Cosart is being assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.
ADDED: RHP Jonnathan Aristil was released.

Corpus Christi
CF Robbie Grossman was assigned to Corpus Christi.
ADDED: IF Jordan Kreke was assigned from Oklahoma City to Corpus Christi.
ADDED: RHP Paul Clemens is being assigned from Oklahoma City to Corpus Christi.
ADDED: OF Austin Wates was placed on the 7-day DL.
ADDED: RHP Adalberto Flores was assigned from Oklahoma City to Corpus Christi.

Lancaster
RHP Chia-Jen Lo was assigned to Lancaster.
LHP Colton Cain was assigned to Lancaster.
LHP Brad Dydalewicz was placed on the 7-day DL.
DH Rafy Valenzuela was placed on the TI list.
LHP Blair Walters was activated.

Tri-City
RHP Steven Dennison was assigned from the GCL to Tri-City.

Greeneville
C Cristian Moronta was assigned from the GCL to Greeneville.
RHP Michael Feliz was assigned from the GCL to Greeneville.

GCL
RHP Raul Rivera was assigned from Tri-City to the GCL.
C Jon Carnahan was assigned to the GCL.

Roster Moves

Oklahoma City
LHP Wes Musick was placed on the 7-day DL.
RHP Hector Ambriz was signed as a free agent and assigned to Oklahoma City.

GCL Astros
Chia-Jen Lo was assigned to the GCL Astros.

Happy Birthday - 4/7

RHP Chia-Jen Lo (26)
A native of Taiwan, Lo was signed by the Astros before the 2009 season.  He split his first season between Lancaster and Corpus Christi with terrific results as he compiled a 2.10 ERA and a 1.135 WHIP in 64.1 innings pitched over 42 appearances.  Unfortunately, due to injury issues and subsequent surgery, he only pitched in 9 games between 2010 and 2011 and, according to this article by Zachary Levine, is expected to miss most of the 2012 season as well.