Astros Farm Report: 9-16

One final regularly scheduled Astros farm report to wrap up the season ...

Two teams (Fayetteville and Round Rock) made it to their respective League Championship Series, but ultimately neither team was able to bring home the hardware. The Astros minor league season officially ended on Saturday with Fayetteville's loss to Wilmington in Game 5. Despite a brilliant outing from MLB Pipeline 29th ranked Astro prospect Luis Garcia (6.1 IP 3H 1R 0BB 11K), Garcia was charged with the loss as the solo home run he allowed in the fourth inning proved to be all the run support Wilmington needed.

There will be one final minor league game on Tuesday as the Pacific Coast League Champion Sacramento River Cats will face the International League Champion Columbus Clippers for a one-game winner-take-all AAA Championship game on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. CT at the Memphis Redbirds Autozone Park. The game will be televised on FS1.

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Here are the final roster moves for the minor league season. An ongoing list of all of the 2019 season transactions and roster moves can be found here.

9-14: IF Jack Mayfield recalled to Houston
9-13: SS Carlos Correa sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment
9-7: SS/2B Anibal Sierra assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-7: RHP Bryan Abreu recalled to Houston
9-7: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-5: LHP Reymin Guduan released
9-5: OF/SS Myles Straw recalled to Houston
9-5: IF Osvaldo Duarte assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-4: RHP Bryan Abreu assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-4: RHP Forrest Whitley assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-4: OF Ramiro Rodriguez (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
9-4: IF Michael Wielansky (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
9-4: 1B Zach Biermann assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
9-4: SS AJ Lee assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
9-4: RHP Jairo Lopez assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
9-3: LHP Reymin Guduan activated from the restricted list and designated for assignment
9-3: RHP Francis Martes assigned to Corpus Christi from Round Rock
9-2: LHP Cionel Perez recalled to Houston
9-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
9-2: OF Kyle Tucker recalled to Houston
9-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
9-2: OF Stephen Wrenn assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-2: 2B/3B Enmanuel Valdez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
9-2: RHP Francis Martes (Round Rock) activated from the IL
9-2: RHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from Tri-City
9-2: LHP Juan Pablo Lopez assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
9-1: RHP Francis Martes (Round Rock) sent to Quad Cities on a rehab assignment

2019 FINAL SEASON STANDINGS

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)
Division Winner
Won over Iowa in Semifinals 3-2
Lost to Sacramento in LCS 0-3

1st 84-56 .600 -.-GB L1

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

4th 66-73 .475 7.0GB L3

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)
2nd half Division Winner
Won over Down East in the Semifinals 3-2
Lost to Wilmington in LCS 2-3

3rd 72-67 .518 15.0GB W2

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner
Lost to Cedar Rapids in MWL Quarterfinals 1-2

2nd 79-57 .581 0.5GB W1

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
4th 32-42 .432 9.0GB W3

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
4th 25-26 .490 3.5GB W1

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
2nd 38-31 .551 2.5GB W2

INTERVIEWS

The following links are to the interviews I conducted during the 2019 season. Here is a full list of links to all of the interviews I've done since December 2011.

Colin McKee
Enoli Paredes and Cristian Javier
Cesar Salazar
Brett Daniels
Felipe Tejada
AJ Lee
Peyton Battenfield
Franny Cobos and Juan Pablo Lopez
Austin Hansen
Jake Adams
Nivaldo Rodriguez and Enmanuel Valdez
Colton Shaver
Brett Conine
Bryan Abreu and Ronel Blanco
Granden Goetzman
Osvaldo Duarte and Jose Urquidy
Stephen Wrenn

WATCH THIS SPACE

If you are a regular reader, you know that I have regularly featured players who I felt were flying below the radar this season, in other words, players who weren't considered top prospects. Two of those players (Nivaldo Rodriguez and Taylor Jones) have since been included on MLB Pipeline's Top Prospect List for the Astros at #26 and #28 respectively and I wouldn't be surprised to see others added to the list as some of the current top prospects graduate over time.

But one of the biggest impacts this season has been the emergence of several Latin pitchers who seemingly came out of nowhere. Coming into the season, Cristian Javier (#10), Jose Urquidy (#12), Nivaldo Rodriguez (#26), Luis Garcia (#29) and Jose Alberto Rivera (#30) were not ranked at all by MLB Pipeline. But some of us have been paying attention all along. I would advise against getting wrapped up in the MLB June Draft as the be-all and end-all of player acquisition. The Astros have done an excellent job on the international front and the fruits of those labors are really starting to show.

So my final Watch This Space of the 2019 season is to remind you not to forget about the Latin players in the system. This group below from Corpus Christi represented 188 appearances (61 starts), a 32-26 record with 23 saves, and a 3.06 ERA and 1.169 WHIP over 558.2 innings. They combined for 708 strikeouts (11.4 SO/9). Watch this space ...

(L-R) Enoli Paredes, Erasmo Pinales, Bryan Abreu,

Yohan Ramirez, Carlos Sanabria, Willy Collado,

and Cristian Javier

Astros Farm Report: 9-9

A very abbreviated farm report today as two teams head to their respective League Championship Finals ...

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Here are the latest roster moves. An ongoing list of all of the 2019 season transactions and roster moves can be found here.

9-7: SS/2B Anibal Sierra assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-7: RHP Bryan Abreu recalled to Houston
9-7: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-5: LHP Reymin Guduan released
9-5: OF/SS Myles Straw recalled to Houston
9-5: IF Osvaldo Duarte assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-4: RHP Bryan Abreu assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-4: RHP Forrest Whitley assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-4: OF Ramiro Rodriguez (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
9-4: IF Michael Wielansky (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
9-4: 1B Zach Biermann assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
9-4: SS AJ Lee assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
9-4: RHP Jairo Lopez assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
9-3: LHP Reymin Guduan activated from the restricted list and designated for assignment
9-3: RHP Francis Martes assigned to Corpus Christi from Round Rock
9-2: LHP Cionel Perez recalled to Houston
9-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
9-2: OF Kyle Tucker recalled to Houston
9-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
9-2: OF Stephen Wrenn assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-2: 2B/3B Enmanuel Valdez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
9-2: RHP Francis Martes (Round Rock) activated from the IL
9-2: RHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from Tri-City
9-2: LHP Juan Pablo Lopez assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
9-1: RHP Francis Martes (Round Rock) sent to Quad Cities on a rehab assignment

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS PREVIEW

AAA ROUND ROCK - LCS starts Tuesday 9-10

The Round Rock Express won out over the Iowa Cubs on Sunday three games to two to take the Pacific Coast League American Conference title and will advance to the best-of-five League Championship Series which starts on Tuesday. They will face the Sacramento River Cats in Sacramento for two games (Tuesday and Wednesday) before returning to Round Rock on Friday for three games over the weekend (if all are necessary).

Sacramento (73-67 in the regular season) won out over the Las Vegas Aviators three games to two, clinching the PCL Pacific Conference title on Sunday. Round Rock (84-56 in the regular season) has only played Sacramento four times this season. In early August, Round Rock won the series three games to one.

The winner of the Pacific Coast League LCS will face the International League Champions in a one game winner-take-all AAA Championship game which will take place on Tuesday, September 17th in Memphis.

HIGH A FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS - LCS starts Tuesday 9-10

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers bested the Down East Wood Ducks three games to two to win the Carolina League Southern Division title on Sunday, earning them a ticket to the Carolina League Championship Series. They will head to Wilmington Tuesday and Wednesday to face the Blue Rocks in a best-of-five LCS. (The Blue Rocks won the Carolina League Northern Division in dramatic fashion on Sunday, coming back to win the final three games after digging an 0-2 hole vs. the Salem Red Sox to start the series.) The LCS will return to Fayetteville on Thursday and will continue on Friday and Saturday if those games are necessary.

Wilmington (82-56 in the regular season) owns the regular season series again Fayetteville (72-67 in the regular season), having won eight of 14 against the Woodpeckers; however, the two teams are tied 3-3 in their final two matchups during the season and Fayetteville has the better record over the second half of the season.

LOW A QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS - Eliminated in the Quarterfinals

The Banditos unfortunately did not survive the quarterfinals, succumbing to the Cedar Rapids two games to one in that best-of-three series.

Astros Farm Report: 9-3

Bringing you the latest news from down on the farm ...

In case you missed these, here are my recent interviews from Corpus Christi
Colin McKee
Enoli Paredes and Cristian Javier

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Here are the latest roster moves. An ongoing list of all of the 2019 season transactions and roster moves can be found here. There may be a few additional moves in advance of the start of the postseason which starts Wednesday, 9-4.

9-?: C Nate Perry assigned to Fayetteville from Tri-City (unofficial on MiLB, but widely reported)
9-2: LHP Cionel Perez recalled to Houston
9-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
9-2: OF Kyle Tucker recalled to Houston
9-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
9-2: OF Stephen Wrenn assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
9-2: 2B/3B Enmanuel Valdez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
9-2: RHP Francis Martes (Round Rock) activated from the IL
9-2: RHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from Tri-City
9-2: LHP Juan Pablo Lopez assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
9-1: RHP Francis Martes (Round Rock) sent to Quad Cities on a rehab assignment
8-31: LHP Kit Scheetz (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-31: RHP Jose Urquidy recalled to Houston
8-30: RHP Jacob Billingsley assigned to Fayetteville from Quad Cities
8-29: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) activated from the IL (had been rehabbing in Fayetteville)
8-29: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-29: RHP Justin Ferrell activated from the Round Rock IL and assigned to Corpus Christi
8-29: RHP Felipe Paulino released (Paulino reportedly asked for his release and re-signed with the independent league Sugar Land Skeeters)
8-28: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-27: LHP Brayan de Paula assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-26: OF/SS Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-26: LHP Daniel Bello assigned to the GCL from the DSL
8-26: RHP Jherson Pereira assigned to the GCL from the DSL
8-26: Jesus Hernandez signed (no information available)
8-25: LHP Framber Valdez (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-25: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-25: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to Fayetteville on a rehab assignment
8-25: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-24: OF Ramiro Rodriguez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-24: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Cristian Javier assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-23: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Abdiel Saldana (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-23: OF Marty Costes (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez (GCL) activated from the 60-day IL
8-22: RHP Josh James sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment - activated 9-1
8-22: IF Abraham Toro (Round Rock) called up to Houston
8-22: IF Jack Mayfield optioned to Round Rock
8-22: LHP Reymin Guduan moved from the suspended list to the restricted list
8-22: RHP Tyler Ivey (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-22: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-22: OF Corey Julks assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-22: RHP Brady Rodgers (rehabbing) released
8-21: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-21: OF/SS Myles Straw recalled to Houston
8-21: OF Ronnie Dawson assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-19: IF Jack Mayfield recalled to Houston
8-19: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-19: RHP Joey Gonzalez activated from the Fayetteville IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-19: OF James Nix assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-18: LHP Kit Scheetz (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Justin Ferrell (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-18: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-18: RHP Rogelio Armenteros optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Rogelio Armenteros (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-17: RHP Francis Martes activated from the restricted list and placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Erasmo Pinales (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-17: RHP Abdiel Saldana assigned to Fayetteville from Quad Cities
8-17: RHP Valente Bellozo assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-17: RHP Tanner Duncan (Fayetteville) released
8-16: RHP Garrett Gayle (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-16: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) activated from the IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-16: RHP Ryan Gusto assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-15: RHP Lupe Chavez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-15: C C.J. Stubbs assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: IF AJ Lee assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) released
8-14: RHP Cy Sneed (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-14: RHP Joe Biagini optioned to Round Rock
8-14: OF/SS Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-13: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-13: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-13: OF/SS Myles Straw (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-13: RHP Brett Conine assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-13: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-13: Jose Bolivar signed (no info available)
8-13: 2B/OF Alfredo Angarita (Corpus Christi) released
8-12: OF Raider Uceta (GCL) placed on the 60-day IL
8-12: OF James Nix assigned to Quad Cities from the GCL
8-12: RHP Hunter Martin (Quad Cities) released
8-11: RHP Joey Gonzalez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-11: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-11: RHP Jayson Schroeder (Tri-City) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment (MiLB.com doesn't actually show Schroeder as being on the IL)
8-10: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-10: IF Michael Wielansky (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Akeem Bostick (Round Rock) released
8-9: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-9: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-9: C Cesar Salazar (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP R.J. Freure (Quad Cities) activated from the temporary inactive list (Freure had been representing Team Canada at the Pan Am Games)
8-8: C Garrett Stubbs optioned to Round Rock
8-8: 1B Zach Biermann (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-8: RHP Ryan Gusto (11th round 2019) assigned to the GCL
8-7: RHP Riley Ferrell (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-7: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-6)
8-7: RHP Danny Cody assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-6: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Corpus Christi from Round Rock
8-6: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-6: RHP Ryan Pressly sent to Corpus Christi for a rehab assignment (activated 8-9)
8-6: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to the GCL from Fayetteville
8-5: RHP Humberto Castellanos assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-5: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-5: RHP Luis de Paula assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-5: RHP Alex House (Quad Cities) released - House had been on the IL all season
8-3: OF Jacob Meyers assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-3: RHP Brad Peacock sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment (activated 8-18)
8-3: RHP Ronel Blanco (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-3: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from the GCL
8-3: OF Wilyer Abreu assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
8-2: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF/IF Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-2: RHP Jose Urquidy optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-1)
8-2: RHP Bryan Abreu optioned to Corpus Christi
8-2: RHP Brandon Bailey (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-2: RHP Tanner Duncan assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-2: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) sent to Tri-City on a rehab assignment
8-1: 3B Abraham Toro assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: C Lorenzo Quintana assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: 1B Jake Adams assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jonathan Arauz assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: RHP Forest Whitley assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-1: C Ruben Castro (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-1: 1B/3B David Hensley assigned from Quad Cities to Fayetteville

Players who started the 2019 season on the DL

C Ruben Castro - activated 5-25
RHP Nick Hernandez - activated 5-8
RHP Alex House - released 8-5
OF Alex McKenna - activated 4-29
RHP Hansel Paulino - activated 6-14
RHP Erasmo Pinales - activated 5-20
RHP Abdiel Saldana - activated 7-5
RHP Kyle Serrano - activated 6-26
RHP Jairo Solis

Restricted List
RHP Francis Martes (80-game suspension) - suspension ended 6-26, but only activated 8-17 due to visa issues; immediately placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
1B/OF J.J. Matijevic (50-game suspension) - activated 6-21

2019 FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

The regular season is at an end and these are the final regular season standings for each team. Up and down arrows denote an increase or decrease in win percentage over the last week.

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)
Division Winner

🠉 1st 84-56 .600 -.-GB L1

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

4th 66-73 .475 7.0GB L3 (Overall)
🠋 4th 33-37 .471 6.0GB L3 (Second Half)

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)
2nd half Division Winner

3rd 72-67 .518 15.0GB W2 (Overall)
🠉 1st 41-29 .586 0.0GB W2 (Second Half)

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner

2nd 79-57 .581 0.5GB W1 (Overall)
🠋 5th 36-34 .514 10.0GB W1 (Second Half)

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
🠉 4th 32-42 .432 9.0GB W3

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
🠉 4th 25-26 .490 3.5GB W1

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
🠉 2nd 38-31 .551 2.5GB W2

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

AAA ROUND ROCK - Postseason starts Wednesday 9-4

The Round Rock Express (84-56) will host the Iowa Cubs (75-65) for the first two games of the Pacific Coast League Semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday in a best-of-five series before heading to Des Moines for games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if all games are necessary). Round Rock won the season series against Iowa 11 to 5, but has not faced that team since mid-July.

The winner of the Express-Cubs matchup will face either the Sacramento River Cats (73-67) or the Las Vegas Aviators (83-57) in a best-of-five series for the PCL Championship. The PCL Champions and the International League Champions will then face off for a one game winner-take-all AAA Championship game.

HIGH-A FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS - Postseason scheduled to start 9-4 (if weather allows)

UPDATE: Due to impending weather from Hurricane Dorian, the teams will be playing a double-header in Fayetteville on Wednesday (starting at 2:00 pm CT) and hope to play again on Friday in Kinston. This is currently a fluid situation (no pun intended) and the schedule will be subject to further changes as the weather warrants.

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (72-67) will host the Down East Wood Ducks (87-42) for the first two games of the Carolina League Semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday in a best-of-five series before heading to Kinston, NC for games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if all games are necessary). Note that Kinston is closer to the North Carolina coast than Fayetteville and all eyes are on Hurricane Dorian to see if this series can even be played. Fayetteville is 7-9 against the Wood Ducks for the season, but 7-3 against that team from August 1st forward.

The winner of the Woodpeckers-Wood Ducks matchup will face either the Wilmington Blue Rocks (82-56) or the Salem Red Sox (67-70) in a best-of-five series for the Carolina League Championship.

LOW-A QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS - Postseason starts 9-4

The Quad Cities River Bandits (79-57) will face the Cedar Rapids Kernels (78-62) in a best-of-three quarterfinal series starting in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday before heading home to Davenport on Thursday and Friday (if necessary). Cedar Rapids owns the season series 9 to 7, but Quad Cities won 4 of 7 games against the Kernels in August.

The winner of the River Bandits-Kernels matchup will face either the Kane County Cougars (81-58) or the Clinton LumberKings (78-61) in a best-of-three series for the Western Division Championship. The Western Division and Eastern Division Champions will then face off in a best-of-five Midwest Championship series.

WATCH THIS SPACE

I plan to use "this space" to feature players who are currently flying below the radar, but who deserve a closer look.

Nate Perry - July 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

C Nate Perry was originally drafted by the Astros in the 5th round in 2017 out of Bassett HS (VA) and his third season in the organization has proven to be a break-through season for him. His batting line of .244/.354/.462 (11 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs) in 67 games for Tri-City in 2019 becomes even more impressive when you find that he hit only .174 in his first month of the season in June. In August, he hit a robust .274/.373/.558 with four doubles, a triple and seven home runs in 27 games. He is also boasting a 37% caught stealing percentage for the year. When Perry was pulled from Sunday's game, my first thought was that he would be headed to Low A Quad Cities to help them with their postseason efforts, but it was reported that Perry would instead be rewarded with a promotion to High A Fayetteville for their postseason push. Watch this space ...

FORMER ASTRO UPDATE

Mike Hauschild - June 2016

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RHP Mike Hauschild was drafted by the Astros in the 33rd round in 2012 out of the University of Dayton. He spent all or parts of seven seasons in the Astros organization (with a Rule 5 draft side trip and a cup of coffee with the Texas Rangers). He got another cup of coffee with the Blue Jays in 2018 before signing as a free agent with the Cardinals prior to the 2019 season. He signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters in early August and has made quite an early statement with the team. He is 4-0 in six starts with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.352 WHIP (8 BB:27 K in 30.1 IP). Hauschild is scheduled to start for the Skeeters on Thursday and will face another 2012 Astros draft pick, RHP Daniel Minor (9th round, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) of the York Revolution.

RANDOM PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Dubrovnik, Croatia - 2005

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Farm Report: 8-26

Bringing you the latest news from down on the farm ...

In case you missed these, here are my recent interviews from Corpus Christi
Colin McKee
Enoli Paredes and Cristian Javier

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Here are the latest roster moves. An ongoing list of all of the 2019 season transactions and roster moves can be found here.

8-25: LHP Framber Valdez (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-25: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-25: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to Fayetteville on a rehab assignment
8-25: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-24: OF Ramiro Rodriguez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-24: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Cristian Javier assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-23: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Abdiel Saldana (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-23: OF Marty Costes (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez (GCL) activated from the 60-day IL
8-22: IF Abraham Toro (Round Rock) called up to Houston
8-22: IF Jack Mayfield optioned to Round Rock
8-22: LHP Reymin Guduan moved from the suspended list to the restricted list
8-22: RHP Tyler Ivey (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-22: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-22: OF Corey Julks assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-22: RHP Brady Rodgers (rehabbing) released
8-21: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-21: OF/SS Myles Straw recalled to Houston
8-21: OF Ronnie Dawson assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-19: IF Jack Mayfield recalled to Houston
8-19: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-19: RHP Joey Gonzalez activated from the Fayetteville IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-19: OF James Nix assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-18: LHP Kit Scheetz (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Justin Ferrell (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-18: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-18: RHP Rogelio Armenteros optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Rogelio Armenteros (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-17: RHP Francis Martes activated from the restricted list and placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Erasmo Pinales (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-17: RHP Abdiel Saldana assigned to Fayetteville from Quad Cities
8-17: RHP Valente Bellozo assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-17: RHP Tanner Duncan (Fayetteville) released
8-16: RHP Garrett Gayle (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-16: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) activated from the IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-16: RHP Ryan Gusto assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-15: RHP Lupe Chavez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-15: C C.J. Stubbs assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: IF AJ Lee assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) released
8-14: RHP Cy Sneed (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-14: RHP Joe Biagini optioned to Round Rock
8-14: OF/SS Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-13: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-13: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-13: OF/SS Myles Straw (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-13: RHP Brett Conine assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-13: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-13: Jose Bolivar signed (no info available)
8-13: 2B/OF Alfredo Angarita (Corpus Christi) released
8-12: OF Raider Uceta (GCL) placed on the 60-day IL
8-12: OF James Nix assigned to Quad Cities from the GCL
8-12: RHP Hunter Martin (Quad Cities) released
8-11: RHP Joey Gonzalez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-11: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-11: RHP Jayson Schroeder (Tri-City) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment (MiLB.com doesn't actually show Schroeder as being on the IL)
8-10: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-10: IF Michael Wielansky (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Akeem Bostick (Round Rock) released
8-9: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-9: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-9: C Cesar Salazar (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP R.J. Freure (Quad Cities) activated from the temporary inactive list (Freure had been representing Team Canada at the Pan Am Games)
8-8: C Garrett Stubbs optioned to Round Rock
8-8: 1B Zach Biermann (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-8: RHP Ryan Gusto (11th round 2019) assigned to the GCL
8-7: RHP Riley Ferrell (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-7: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-6)
8-7: RHP Danny Cody assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-6: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Corpus Christi from Round Rock
8-6: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-6: RHP Ryan Pressly sent to Corpus Christi for a rehab assignment (activated 8-9)
8-6: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to the GCL from Fayetteville
8-5: RHP Humberto Castellanos assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-5: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-5: RHP Luis de Paula assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-5: RHP Alex House (Quad Cities) released - House had been on the IL all season
8-3: OF Jacob Meyers assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-3: RHP Brad Peacock sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment (activated 8-18)
8-3: RHP Ronel Blanco (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-3: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from the GCL
8-3: OF Wilyer Abreu assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
8-2: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF/IF Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-2: RHP Jose Urquidy optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-1)
8-2: RHP Bryan Abreu optioned to Corpus Christi
8-2: RHP Brandon Bailey (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-2: RHP Tanner Duncan assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-2: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) sent to Tri-City on a rehab assignment
8-1: 3B Abraham Toro assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: C Lorenzo Quintana assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: 1B Jake Adams assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jonathan Arauz assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: RHP Forest Whitley assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-1: C Ruben Castro (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-1: 1B/3B David Hensley assigned from Quad Cities to Fayetteville

Players who started the 2019 season on the DL

C Ruben Castro - activated 5-25
RHP Nick Hernandez - activated 5-8
RHP Alex House - released 8-5
OF Alex McKenna - activated 4-29
RHP Hansel Paulino - activated 6-14
RHP Erasmo Pinales - activated 5-20
RHP Abdiel Saldana - activated 7-5
RHP Kyle Serrano - activated 6-26
RHP Jairo Solis

Restricted List
RHP Francis Martes (80-game suspension) - suspension ended 6-26, but only activated 8-17 due to visa issues; immediately placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
1B/OF J.J. Matijevic (50-game suspension) - activated 6-21

2019 STANDINGS/PLAYOFF PICTURE

Up and down arrows denote an increase or decrease in win percentage over the last week.

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)

🠋 1st 79-53 .598 -.-GB L1

Round Rock's division lead has dwindled to one game over the San Antonio Missions with eight games left in the season. The Baby Cakes have officially been eliminated and the four-game set between the two remaining contending teams which starts tonight in Round Rock will give The Express its best chance to increase their lead over the Missions. The final four games for Round Rock will be on the road against Omaha (55-76) while the Missions will head to Nashville (61-69) for their final four.

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

3rd 64-67 .489 5.5GB L2 (Overall)
3rd 31-31 .500 4.0GB L2 (Second Half)

The Hooks have stumbled badly in their playoff chances since my last update with Midland's five-game win streak making Corpus Christi's chances for a playoff berth much more tenuous. I could get into a bunch of details on how things currently stand, but the fact remains that unless the Hooks start winning decisively and the RockHounds start losing a lot of games, this postseason will just be a pipe dream for the Astros affiliate.

The good news is that all of the Hooks eight remaining games are at home. The bad news is that they are against the top two teams in the North Division. Good News/Bad News, Part II: Midland will play all eight of their remaining games on the road; however, all of their games are against the two teams with the worst records in the Texas League. The fat lady isn't singing yet, but she is definitely warming up.

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)

4th 65-65 .500 19.0GB W2 (Overall)
🠉 2nd 34-27 .557 0.5GB W2 (Second Half)

The Woodpeckers, on the other hand, have increased their odds of a playoff berth greatly over the last few days as the first and third place teams in the second half are on four-game and three-game losing streaks respectively. Since last week, the Fayetteville team went from a decent chance of getting into the playoffs as the second place team in the second half (if the first place team wins both halves of the season) to having a legitimate shot at winning the second half out right.

Fayetteville has nine remaining games, four against the last place place team in the division on the road, followed by five games against the first place team (Down East Wood Ducks) at home. Myrtle Beach (2.5 games behind the Woodpeckers) and Winston-Salem (4 games behind) have eight remaining games each.

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner

1st 77-51 .602 -.-GB L1 (Overall)
🠋 4th 34-28 .548 5.0GB L1 (Second Half)

Thankfully, Quad Cities is already in the playoffs by virtue of winning their division in the first half. And we even know that they will be facing the Cedar Rapids Kernels (the first half wild card) for the first series, a best of three division quarterfinal. And we even know the dates for that first series, September 4th at Cedar Rapids and September 5th and 6th (if necessary) at Quad Cities.

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
🠋 4th 27-40 .403 9.5GB W1

Tri-City has been eliminated from the postseason. They have eight games remaining.

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
🠉 4th 24-26 .480 4.5GB L1

The GCL 'Stros have 6 games left to go with an elimination number of 2.

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
🠉 2nd 38-31 .551 2.5GB W2

The DSL team was eliminated from the postseason and has completed their season with a very respectable second place finish.

WATCH THIS SPACE

I plan to use "this space" to feature players who are currently flying below the radar, but who deserve a closer look.

Nick Tanielu - August 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Nick Tanielu (correctly pronounced tan-ee-AY-loo) isn't exactly an unknown quantity in the Astros organization and may not technically be flying below the radar, but he probably deserves more attention than he's currently been getting from the prospect pundits of the world. Primarily a third baseman, Tanielu has also played more than a handful of games at first and second for Round Rock this year while compiling a .299/.359/.519 batting line in 117 games. His 37 doubles (to go with three triples and 17 home runs) are the third most in the Pacific Coast League. Tanielu had appeared on a few top 30 lists prior to an ACL injury causing him to miss most of the 2017 season, but he doesn't currently appear on the MLB Pipeline Top 30 list for the Astros. Personally, I think an argument could be made that he should be. If the Astros don't add him to the 40-man roster this fall, I would expect Tanielu to be claimed in the Rule 5 Draft.  Watch this space ...

FORMER ASTRO UPDATE

Luis Cruz - May 2015

Photo by Jayne Hansen

LHP Luis Cruz was first drafted by the Astros in the 9th round in 2008 out of Puerto Rico. The lefty spent eight seasons in the Astros system before being released in November 2015. After only playing in winter leagues the next couple of seasons, Cruz started play in independent ball in 2017 and has played in the Atlantic League the last two years. In 42 appearances for the Somerset Patriots this season, Cruz has a 3.02 ERA and 1.142 WHIP and 14 walks to 47 strikeouts in 44.2 innings of work.

RANDOM PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Washington - 2012

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Farm Report: 8-19

Bringing you the latest news from down on the farm ...

In case you missed these, here are my recent interviews from Quad Cities
Cesar Salazar
Brett Daniels
Felipe Tejada

And in honor of the blog's anniversary, I looked at eight years of WTHB by the numbers!

Look for another couple of interviews from my trip to Corpus Christi coming out this week.

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Here are the latest roster moves. An ongoing list of all of the 2019 season transactions and roster moves can be found here.

8-18: LHP Kit Scheetz (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Justin Ferrell (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-18: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-18: RHP Rogelio Armenteros optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Rogelio Armenteros (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-17: RHP Francis Martes activated from the restricted list and placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Erasmo Pinales (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-17: RHP Abdiel Saldana assigned to Fayetteville from Quad Cities
8-17: RHP Valente Bellozo assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-17: RHP Tanner Duncan (Fayetteville) released
8-16: RHP Garrett Gayle (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-16: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) activated from the IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-16: RHP Ryan Gusto assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-15: RHP Lupe Chavez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-15: C C.J. Stubbs assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: IF AJ Lee assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) released
8-14: RHP Cy Sneed (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-14: RHP Joe Biagini optioned to Round Rock
8-14: OF/SS Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-13: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-13: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-13: OF/SS Myles Straw (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-13: RHP Brett Conine assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-13: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-13: Jose Bolivar signed (no info available)
8-13: 2B/OF Alfredo Angarita (Corpus Christi) released
8-12: OF Raider Uceta (GCL) placed on the 60-day IL
8-12: OF James Nix assigned to Quad Cities from the GCL
8-12: RHP Hunter Martin (Quad Cities) released
8-11: RHP Joey Gonzalez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-11: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-11: RHP Jayson Schroeder (Tri-City) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment (MiLB.com doesn't actually show Schroeder as being on the IL)
8-10: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-10: IF Michael Wielansky (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Akeem Bostick (Round Rock) released
8-9: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-9: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-9: C Cesar Salazar (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP R.J. Freure (Quad Cities) activated from the temporary inactive list (Freure had been representing Team Canada at the Pan Am Games)
8-8: C Garrett Stubbs optioned to Round Rock
8-8: 1B Zach Biermann (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-8: RHP Ryan Gusto (11th round 2019) assigned to the GCL
8-7: RHP Riley Ferrell (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-7: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-6)
8-7: RHP Danny Cody assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-6: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Corpus Christi from Round Rock
8-6: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-6: RHP Ryan Pressly sent to Corpus Christi for a rehab assignment (activated 8-9)
8-6: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to the GCL from Fayetteville
8-5: RHP Humberto Castellanos assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-5: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-5: RHP Luis de Paula assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-5: RHP Alex House (Quad Cities) released - House had been on the IL all season
8-3: OF Jacob Meyers assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-3: RHP Brad Peacock sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment (activated 8-18)
8-3: RHP Ronel Blanco (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-3: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from the GCL
8-3: OF Wilyer Abreu assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
8-2: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF/IF Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-2: RHP Jose Urquidy optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-1)
8-2: RHP Bryan Abreu optioned to Corpus Christi
8-2: RHP Brandon Bailey (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-2: RHP Tanner Duncan assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-2: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) sent to Tri-City on a rehab assignment
8-1: 3B Abraham Toro assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: C Lorenzo Quintana assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: 1B Jake Adams assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jonathan Arauz assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: RHP Forest Whitley assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-1: C Ruben Castro (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-1: 1B/3B David Hensley assigned from Quad Cities to Fayetteville

Players who started the 2019 season on the DL

C Ruben Castro - activated 5-25
RHP Nick Hernandez - activated 5-8
RHP Alex House - released 8-5
OF Alex McKenna - activated 4-29
RHP Hansel Paulino - activated 6-14
RHP Erasmo Pinales - activated 5-20
RHP Abdiel Saldana - activated 7-5
RHP Kyle Serrano - activated 6-26
RHP Jairo Solis

Restricted List
RHP Francis Martes (80-game suspension) - suspension ended 6-26, but only activated 8-17 due to visa issues; immediately placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
1B/OF J.J. Matijevic (50-game suspension) - activated 6-21

2019 STANDINGS/PLAYOFF PICTURE

Up and down arrows denote an increase or decrease in win percentage over the last week.

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)

🠉 1st 75-49 .605 -.-GB L1

Round Rock had a very good week, capitalizing on the San Antonio Missions late season swoon to take the Southern Division lead. The Express are currently ahead of that Milwaukee AAA club by 1.5 games with 16 games left in the season. Four of those games will be against San Antonio at Round Rock. Eight of the remaining games for the Express are against sub-.500 teams. The Iowa Cubs have a comfortable 7-game lead in the Northern Division, but are headed into the week having lost four in a row.

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

3rd 61-64 .488 5.5GB L1 (Overall)
🠉 T2nd 28-28 .500 4.0GB L1 (Second Half)

The playoff picture for the Texas League South Division is getting VERY convoluted right now. Thanks to a great 5-2 week by the Hooks, they are suddenly very much in the mix for a playoff berth. Amarillo is currently the second half leader, but they already qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half; if they remain in first place in the second half, the second place team will advance. Corpus Christi is currently tied with Midland for second place in the second half and since the Hooks are 10-9 against the RockHounds in the second half, the Hooks would be the second half winners if the season ended now. But the season doesn't end now and Frisco trails both Corpus Christi and Midland by only one half game (Frisco has a 7-6 record against the Hooks in the second half and would win a potential tie with them).

The Hooks have 14 games remaining, none of them against their division rivals. They will be playing the two teams who are currently tied for the North Division lead for all of their remaining games, six on the road followed by eight at home. Midland will be playing their remaining 14 games against two sub-.500 teams in the North Division (six at home, followed by eight on the road). Frisco will be playing those same sub-.500 teams for their remaining 15 games (six at home, followed by nine on the road). Stay tuned because the field is wide open at this point.

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)

4th 62-63 .496 21.0GB L1 (Overall)
🠉 2nd 31-25 .554 2.5GB L1 (Second Half)

The Down East Wood Ducks currently lead the second half in the Southern Division by 2.5 games, but since they won the first half, it will be the second place team that advances if Down East holds on to that lead. That is precisely where the Woodpeckers stand as of today. They are two games ahead of Myrtle Beach and 3.5 games ahead of Winston-Salem. Fayetteville has 14 games remaining, seven of those against the first place Wood Ducks and the remaining seven against the last place team in each division. Myrtle Beach will face the Southern Division last place team for three games before heading out on the road for their final 11 against the first, second and third place clubs in the Northern Division (all .500+ teams).

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner

1st 74-47 .612 -.-GB W2 (Overall)
🠋 T3rd 31-24 .564 4.0GB W2 (Second Half)

Thankfully, Quad Cities is already in the playoffs by virtue of winning their division in the first half. And we even know that they will be facing the Cedar Rapids Kernels (the first half wild card) for the first series, a best of three division quarterfinal. And we even know the dates for that first series, September 4th at Cedar Rapids and September 5th and 6th (if necessary) at Quad Cities.

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
🠋 4th 25-36 .410 8.0GB L2

Barring a miracle, Tri-City will not be able to pull off a repeat of their 2018 League Championship. They have 14 games left to play and their elimination number is 6.

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
🠉 4th 21-23 .477 5.0GB W2

The GCL 'Stros have 12 games left to go with an elimination number of 8.

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
🠉 T2nd 35-30 .538 1.5GB W3

The DSL team has only six games remaining with the final two games against the first place Royals1 team.

WATCH THIS SPACE

I plan to use "this space" to feature players who are currently flying below the radar, but who deserve a closer look.

Jojanse Torres - June 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

I probably would have featured RHP Jojanse Torres (High A Fayetteville) sooner, but for some reason I thought he was already on the MLB Pipeline Top 30 list for the Astros. Torres is an older pitcher (24 on August 4th) signed by the Astros in April of 2018, but he is only in his second season of professional baseball. He started the season in the bullpen with the Quad Cities team, but quickly earned a promotion to Fayetteville in mid-May and has thrown several starts at the higher level. For the season to date, he is 10-0 with one save, a 1.89 ERA and a 1.097 WHIP in 22 games (9 starts). He has walked 40 batters and struck out 102 in 85.2 innings. Prior to the season, he was said to have a fastball in the mid to high 90's (touching 100) and an advanced slider and changeup. He may not be on the MLB Pipeline Top 30 list yet, but if he maintains his current success, look for that to change soon. Watch this space ...

FORMER ASTRO UPDATE

Jay Austin - May 2012

Photo by Bryan Green

And now for a Golden Oldie! OF Jay Austin was drafted by the Astros in the 2nd round in 2008 out of North Atlanta High School. Austin spent five seasons in the Astros system before his release in August 2012. After taking 2013 off, Austin tooled around independent league ball for the next few years before landing in the Mexican League in 2018. This season, he is hitting .326/.382/.484 with 21 doubles, three triples and 12 home runs in 100 games for the Piratas de Campeche. He has 29 stolen bases to 8 caught stealing and has 37 walks to 50 strikeouts. He was also selected to the mid-season All-Star team. Austin turned 29 last week.

RANDOM PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Race Rock Light, Long Island Sound - July 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen