Astros Minor League Roster Moves/Transactions

Word came out this morning of a couple more Astros minor league player releases:

RHP Erick Gonzalez, drafted in the 15th round in 2012 out of GateWay Community College in Arizona, was 3-5 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.556 WHIP in 20 bullpen appearances with the Gulf Coast League Astros in 2013.

RHP Alan Abreu, was a non-drafted free agent out of Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina, and the story of his signing was an interesting one. He only pitched in one game for the Greeneville Astros in 2013.

In addition, it was announced that Jack Armstrong, Jr., the Astros third round pick in 2011 is retiring. He recently attempted to make the switch from the mound to first base after multiple injuries derailed his pitching career.

Also, I reached out to the Astros front office to enquire about 1B/DH Chase Davidson. Although he is still showing as active on MiLB.com, he did retire over the off-season. Davidson was first drafted by the Astros in the third round in 2008, but did not sign. He was re-drafted in the 41st round in 2011. Davidson had played in only a handful of games over the last two seasons, presumably due to injuries.

Finally, in case you missed it from yesterday, Peter Moylan and the Astros have parted company. Moylan tweeted this out yesterday evening ~

The @astros and I are consciously uncoupling. It was a fun spring. All the best to the team this year.
— Peter Moylan (@PeterMoylan) March 26, 2014

I have updated my ongoing off-season transaction list with these moves.

UPDATED with a couple of major league roster moves:

OF Alex Presley was claimed off waivers from the Twins and added to the Astros 40-man roster. In order to make room for him, LHP Raul Valdes was designated for assignment.

Happy Birthday - 1/10

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Erick Gonzalez (22)
A 15th round draft pick in 2012 out of Gateway Community College in Arizona, Gonzalez spent his second professional season with the GCL Astros. In 20 appearances, he was 3-5 with 4 saves, a 4.00 ERA and a 1.556 WHIP.

RHP Gonzalo Sanudo (22)
Originally signed as a NDFA out of Mexico by the Twins prior to the 2011 season, Sanudo came to the Astros organization in a March 2013 trade for Mike Kvasnicka. After a brief stint in Corpus Christi, Sanudo spent the bulk of his season with Greeneville before warranting a late season promotion to Tri-City where he appeared in nine games, converting eight of eight save opportunities and putting up a 0.00 ERA and a 0.308 WHIP to end the regular season. For the full season, Sanudo was 1-2 with 19 saves, a 1.16 ERA and a 0.621 WHIP in 30 appearances. He walked four batters and struck out 51 in 38+ innings.

Former Astros celebrating birthdays today ~

RHP Sammy Gervacio (29)
Gervacio was originally signed by the Astros as a NDFA out of the Dominican Republic in 2002.  He pitched in 35 games for the Astros in 2009 and 2010.  In 2009, he was particularly effective with a 2.14 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP in 29 games. He quickly became a fan favorite in Houston, mainly because of his elaborate wind-up and unconventional pitching style. He played in the Mexican League in 2013.

RHP Larry Hardy (66)
Originally drafted by the Padres in the 23rd round in 1970, this Bellaire, Texas native came to Houston in a December 1975 trade with San Diego. In 15 games for Houston in 1976, he had a 7.06 ERA and a 2.031 WHIP.

1B Jim Lindeman (52)
A first round pick by the Cardinals in 1983, Lindeman signed with Houston as a free agent in February 1993. In nine games with Houston, he hit .348.348/.478.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

Here is the latest update on the playoff picture.

Nashville over Oklahoma City 6-1
Asher Wojciechowski (4.2IP 6H 3R 2BB 4SO) got the start and the loss. Three more runs scored against Hector Ambriz and Wade LeBlanc in their outings while Rhiner Cruz pitched a scoreless ninth. The only RedHawks run scored in the fourth as Brandon Laird came home on a wild pitch. Of the six hits collected by Oklahoma City, a Jose Martinez double was the only extra-base hit. George Springer had a well-deserved night off. He is still at 37/43 in his quest to join the 40/40 club.

Frisco over Corpus Christi 10-6
Kyle Hallock allowed two runs via the long ball in the first and another three run homer in the second without recording an out and his night was done. Carlos Quevedo tossed five hitless innings, walking three and striking out four. Matt Heidenreich came into the game in the seventh and allowed five runs, including a walk-off grand slam in the ninth. Ouch. The Hooks scored three in the first on back-to-back home runs from Kike Hernandez (1x4 2RBI) and Erik Castro (2x4 2R); and Ronald Torreyes singled in one in the second. The final two runs came in the third on a Domingo Santana two-run home run in his first game since coming off the DL. Matt Duffy and Drew Muren both doubled in the game. Mike Foltynewicz was originally scheduled to start last night. It was later announced that he would pitch one inning. I haven't seen any information as to why he was scratched completely.

Lancaster over Lake Elsinore 4-3
Lancaster cruised to their 80th win of the season, something that hasn't been achieved by a JetHawks team since 2007. I can't help but notice that during the current homestand (in which the 'Hawks have won 5 of 6), the pitching has been quite good. They are averaging 2.5 runs allowed over those six games, a very nice accomplishment at the extremely hitter-friendly Hangar.

Mike Hauschild got the start and allowed two runs on nine hits over six innings. He got 11 groundouts to one flyout. He was followed by two scoreless innings from Michael Dimock (who has only allowed one run in his last seven appearances). Kenny Long allowed one unearned run (Sclafani throwing error) in the ninth. Long has only allowed one earned run in his last seven appearances as well. Travis Ballew (two runs allowed in his last seven) got the final two outs to earn his 21st save of the season. Carlos Perdomo (2x4 2R) and M.P. Cokinos (3x3 2B BB 2RBI) each singled in a run in the first, and Joe Sclafani drove in one in the fourth. A Cokinos RBI double in the eighth accounted for the final 'Hawks run. Jesse Wierzbicki also doubled in the game. Delino DeShields swiped his 48th and 49th bags of the season.

Quad Cities over Wisconsin 4-2
Chris Devenski (6IP 4H 1R 1BB 2SO) put up a solid start and came away with the win. Richard Rodriguez allowed the second Wisconsin run to score in the seventh, but Mitch Lambson and Andrew Walter were perfect in the final two frames. Quad Cities got started late, but got on the board with a three-spot in the sixth as Danry Vasquez tripled in two runs and was brought home on a Rio Ruiz single. Tony Kemp scored from second on a force attempt and throwing error in the eighth for the final Bandits run. Jordan Scott went two-for-four in the game.

Brooklyn over Tri-City 1-0
It was a pitchers' duel in Brooklyn as the two teams combined to allow only five hits and one walk on the night. Unfortunately, the 'Cats were on the wrong side of the duel and a Chan Moon single in the sixth and a Ronnie Mitchell walk in the ninth was all the action that Tri-City saw. Kyle Westwood pitched a brilliant six innings himself, allowing only one unearned run on four hits with one strikeout and was followed by two no-hit innings from Troy Scribner. Scribner struck out three.

Danville over Greeneville 5-2
Enderson Franco (5IP 4H 3R/2ER 2BB SO HR) took the loss and was followed by Ryan Connolly who allowed another two runs (one earned) to score in his two innings. Gerardo Ramirez and Chris Munnelly each pitched a scoreless frame. Tanner Mathis (3x4) doubled and later scored in the first for one run, but the Astros didn't see the run column again until the eighth when Thomas Lindauer reached on a error, advanced to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a Mathis single and scored on a Brett Phillips sac fly.

GCL Astros over GCL Yankees2 5-0
Gerardo Juarez (3IP 1H 3BB 6SO) in only his second appearance for the GCL Astros after his promotion from the Dominican Summer League combined with Erick Gonzalez (4IP 1H 4SO) and Brandon Culbreth (1H 1BB 3SO) to shutout the Yankees squad on three hits. It was Culbreth's first appearance since July 18th. The Astros were held to one hit through the first five, but a Luis Reynoso (2x4 2R) triple followed by a Yonathan Mejia (2x3 2B BB R) single got them on the board in the sixth. They put up another four runs in the eighth on five hits, including a two-RBI single from Jacob Nottingham.

Player of the Day: M.P. Cokinos had what was for him a bit of a slump in July in which he hit .264/.328/.446. He has heated up considerably in August and has hit .429/.442/.524 in his last 10 games. That's just what I want to see ... Cokinos coming in to the playoffs next week with a hot bat.

Pitcher of the Day: The GCL crew of Gerardo Juarez, Erick Gonzalez and Brandon Culbreth deserve the honors for their three-hit shutout, which also brought a three-game losing streak to an end. Honorable mention goes to Carlos Quevedo for a terrific long relief outing for the Hooks.

Happy Birthday - 1/10

RHP Erick Gonzalez (21)
A 15th round draft pick in 2012 out of Gateway Community College in Arizona, Gonzalez spent the majority of his season with the GCL Astros (plus one game with Greeneville). In 20 appearances, he was 2-0 with 10 saves, a 1.67 ERA and a 1.222 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Sammy Gervacio (28)
Gervacio was originally signed by the Astros as a NDFA out of the Dominican Republic in 2002.  He pitched in 35 games for the Astros in 2009 and 2010.  In 2009, he was particularly effective with a 2.14 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP in 29 games. He quickly became a fan favorite in Houston, mainly because of his elaborate wind-up and unconventional pitching style. He played in the Mexican League in 2012.

RHP Larry Hardy (65)
Originally drafted by the Padres in the 23rd round in 1970, this Bellaire, Texas native came to Houston in a December 1975 trade with San Diego. In 15 games for Houston in 1976, he had a 7.06 ERA and a 2.031 WHIP.

1B Jim Lindeman (51)
A first round pick by the Cardinals in 1983, Lindeman signed with Houston as a free agent in February 1993. In nine games with Houston, he hit .348.348/.478.

Gulf Coast League Astros Season Recap

On Monday, I took a look at the DSL Astros season and it wasn't the best of news. Things definitely look better for the GCL team though. Here's a quick look at how the 2011 and 2012 teams compare.

2011 Win Percentage - .370
2012 Win Percentage - .475

2011 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 215 - 280 = (65)
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 227 - 240 = (13)

2011 Team ERA & WHIP - 4.19 & 1.453
2012 Team ERA & WHIP - 3.45 & 1.387

2011 Team Batting Line - .231/.308/.314
2012 Team Batting Line - .244/.307/.342

There is still room for improvement but ending up three games below .500 instead of 14 games below .500 is definitely a step in the right direction. The biggest improvement, as measured against the rest of the league, was in team batting average and slugging percentage where the GCL Astros now rest comfortably in the middle of the pack instead of the bottom. Although the ERA and WHIP are improved over last year in terms of raw numbers, the team was still in the lower third of the league.

Whose individual performances merit recognition? I'm glad you asked.

3B Darwin Rivera led the team in most hitting categories as he hit .310/.373/.410 with 62 hits, 14 doubles, four home runs and 29 RBI. He was in the top 10 in the GCL in batting average, on base percentage and slugging and in the top five in the league in hits, doubles and RBI. He will be 21 in October.

2012 sixth round draft pick CF Brett Phillips hit .251/.360/.360 with six triples (tied for first in the league) and 28 walks (tied for fourth in the league). He also ranked in the top 15 in the league in on base percentage and runs scored. He is 18.

19-year old RF Teoscar Hernandez is in his first season in the GCL after excelling in the DSL in 2011. In 51 games, he hit .243/.325/.395. He ranks in the top 20 in the league in numerous categories, including slugging, runs scored, doubles, home runs, walks and stolen bases. He also had 12 outfield assists. He received a late call-up to Lexington to take the place of Jordan Scott who is on the temporary inactive list dealing with a family matter. He's only played in two games at Lexington at this point but he's made quite an impression, going four-for-seven with a double, home run, two RBI, two walks and two runs scored.

SS Juan Santana, who just turned 18 this month, hit .268/.309/.330 and is in the top 10 in the league in hits and RBI, and is tied for 11th in doubles.

There are only nine pitchers in the entire GCL who even qualify to be league leaders based on the innings pitched criteria. 18-year old RHP Agapito Barrios ranks fourth on that list with a 3.28 ERA and is third in WHIP at 1.196.

15th round draft pick RHP Erick Gonzalez pitched in 19 games for the GCL and was 2-0 with 10 saves, a 1.80 ERA and a 1.320 WHIP. He earned a late promotion to Greeneville where the 20-year old was perfect in one appearance.

RHP Edison Frias falls just short of qualifying, innings-wise, as a league leader but he would rank highly as the 21-year old, in his second season in the system, compiled a 4-1 record with a 2.14 ERA and a 1.273 WHIP.

18-year old RHP Michael Feliz went 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.887 WHIP before being promoted to Greeneville. He wasn't quite as effective at Greeneville as he was with the GCL, but he did earn a win in the final game of the season with an effective outing.

After sitting out the 2011 season, RHP Raul Rivera came back strong in 2012. In 12 appearances (six starts) he was 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.111 WHIP. His SO/9 is 8.8 and his BB/9 is 1.0. He is 21.

Since Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers and Rio Ruiz split their time between the GCL and Greeneville, I will be looking at them when I do my Greeneville recap -- coming soon.

The GCL and DSL did finish below .500, but of the remaining six Astros minor league affiliates, Greeneville finished their season four games over .500 yesterday; Oklahoma City, Corpus Christi and Tri-City are all guaranteed to finish over .500; and Lancaster is guaranteed at least a .500 finish. Lexington is currently four games over .500 with seven games left to play, in good position to finish over .500 as well. So as I  continue to do season recaps, the news will get better and better!

Roster Moves

Oklahoma City
I missed one. The Astros signed RHP Edgar Gonzalez who played most recently for Monterrey in the Mexican League. He got the start for the Redhawks on Friday.

Corpus Christi
RF Adam Bailey was placed on the 7-day DL.
RHP Josh Zeid was activated from the DL.

Greeneville
RHP Erick Gonzalez was assigned from the GCL to Greeneville.

GCL
CF Jordan Schafer was assigned to the GCL for rehab.