Happy Birthday - 10/10

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Ydarqui Marte (22)
A non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic, Marte spent his fifth professional season with the Greeneville Astros. In 51 games, he hit .269/.338/.383 with eight doubles and four home runs.

Several former Astros mark the day as well ~

RHP Brian Powell (died 10/5/09 at age 35)
A second round pick by Detroit in 1995, Powell came to Houston in a December 1999 trade. In ten games (six starts) for the Astros in 2000 and 2001, he was 2-2 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.602 WHIP.

SS Roger Metzger (67)
A first round pick by the Cubs in 1969, Metzger came to Houston in an October 1970 trade. In eight seasons for the Astros (from 1971 to 1978) he hit .229/.291/.293 and led the league in triples in 1971 and 1973. He also led the league in fielding percentage for a shortstop in 1973 and 1976 and won a Gold Glove in the first of those two years.

IF Rob Sperring (65)
Originally drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 1971, Sperring came to Houston in a March 1977 trade with the Giants. In 58 games played with the Astros that season, he hit .186/.254/.233.

OF Fernando Martinez (26)
Signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, Houston obtained Martinez off waivers from New York in January 2012. He played in 52 games for Houston over two seasons, hitting .225/.285/.424 with seven doubles, one triple and seven home runs.

Happy Birthday 10/10

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Ydarqui Marte (21)
A non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic, Marte first played for the DSL Astros in 2010. He has spent the three seasons with the GCL Astros, this year hitting .247/.317/.349 in 49 games. He also played in four games at Tri-City this season.

Former Astros with birthdays today:

RHP Brian Powell (died 10/5/09 at age 35)
A second round pick by Detroit in 1995, Powell came to Houston in a December 1999 trade. In ten games (six starts) for the Astros in 2000 and 2001, he was 2-2 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.602 WHIP.

SS Roger Metzger (66)
A first round pick by the Cubs in 1969, Metzger came to Houston in an October 1970 trade. In eight seasons for the Astros (from 1971 to 1978) he hit .229/.291/.293 and led the league in triples in 1971 and 1973. He also led the league in fielding percentage for a shortstop in 1973 and 1976 and won a Gold Glove in the first of those two years.

IF Rob Sperring (64)
Originally drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 1971, Sperring came to Houston in a March 1977 trade with the Giants. In 58 games played with the Astros that season, he hit .186/.254/.233.

OF Fernando Martinez (25)
Signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, Houston obtained Martinez off waivers from New York in January 2012. He played in 52 games for Houston over two seasons, hitting .225/.285/.424 with seven doubles, one triple and seven home runs. He was traded to the Yankees in June for RHP Charles Basford.

Roster Moves

In addition to the news that OF Fernando Martinez cleared waivers and has been assigned to Oklahoma City, RHP Philip Humber has been DFA'd and RHP Edgar Gonzalez has been resigned, there are a couple of additional moves at Quad Cities.

QUAD CITIES
RHP Mike Hauschild assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training.
RHP Cameron Lamb assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training.
RHP Richard Rodriguez assigned from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities.

There have been a lot temporary re-assignments back and forth to/from Extended Spring Training so don't read too much into these except for the assignment of Richard Rodriguez to Quad Cities since that is a new assignment. I'm assuming that Lamb is a temporary move to make room for Josh Fields on his rehab assignment.

Happy Birthday - 10/10

OF Fernando Martinez (24)
Signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, Houston obtained Martinez off waivers from New York in January 2012. In 90 games with AAA Oklahoma City this season, he hit .314/.367/.507 with 23 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs. In 41 games with the Astros, he hit .237/.300/.466 with seven doubles, one triple and six very, very long home runs.

CF Ydarqui Marte (20)
A non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic, Marte first played for the DSL Astros in 2010. He has spent the last two seasons with the GCL Astros, this year hitting .210/.222/.306 in 33 games.

Former Astros with birthdays today:

RHP Brian Powell (died 10/5/09 at age 35)
A second round pick by Detroit in 1995, Powell came to Houston in a December 1999 trade. In ten games (six starts) for the Astros in 2000 and 2001, he was 2-2 with a 6.82 ERA and a 1.602 WHIP.

SS Roger Metzger (65)
A first round pick by the Cubs in 1969, Metzger came to Houston in an October 1970 trade. In eight seasons for the Astros (from 1971 to 1978) he hit .229/.291/.293 and led the league in triples in 1971 and 1973. He also led the league in fielding percentage for a shortstop in 1973 and 1976 and won a Gold Glove in the first of those two years.

IF Rob Sperring (63)
Originally drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 1971, Sperring came to Houston in a March 1977 trade with the Giants. In 58 games played with the Astros that season, he hit .186/.254/.233.

Oklahoma City Redhawks Season Recap

So far we have looked at the DSL Astros season, the GCL Astros season, the Greeneville Astros season and the Lexington Legends season. Now let's take a look at the AAA Oklahoma City affiliate. Here's a quick look at how the 2011 and 2012 teams compare.


2011 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 68-75/.476
2012 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 78-65/.545

2011 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 619 - 717 = (98)
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 764 - 758 = 6

2011 Team ERA & WHIP: 4.63 & 1.516
2012 Team ERA & WHIP: 4.91 & 1.508

2011 Team Batting Line: .260/.341/.381
2012 Team Batting Line: .282/.349/.434

It's hard to truly judge a AAA affiliate because those teams are generally a mix of lifetime minor leaguers who may get an occasional MLB callup to fill a hole, struggling major leaguers who have been sent down to work on things and a few true prospects. With that said, it's difficult to read too much into the results and season comparisons at this level.

So which players had standout seasons in Oklahoma City?

There were several position players whose 2012 seasons resulted in a call-up to the Astros, such as OF Brandon Barnes (.321/.381/.514 39-2B 1-3B 12HR between Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City), 3B Matt Dominguez (.298/.347/.398), IF Scott Moore (.318/.410/.555 26-2B 1-3B 10HR), OF Fernando Martinez (.314/.367/.507 23-2B 2-3B 13HR) and C Carlos Corporan (.286/.349/.447 15-2B 6HR).

But probably the most noteworthy of those getting call-ups was OF Jimmy Paredes. In 124 games, the 23-year old hit .318/.348/.477 with 28 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs and 37 stolen bases (tied for second in the league). He was third in the league in hits with 161 and fifth in runs scored with 92.

Of the position players left behind, the best seasons belonged to SS Angel Sanchez (.320/.390/.407 13-2B 1-3B 5HR), OF Brad Snyder (.304/.375/.550 23-2B 3-3B 20HR) and the ever dependable albeit not flashy OF J.B. Shuck (.298/.374/.352 with 11-2B 3-3B). Sanchez ranked in the top 20 in the league in batting average and on-base percentage. Snyder was seventh in slugging, eighth in OPS and was tied for 11th in home runs.

The 34-year old journeyman IF Mike Hessman deserves his own paragraph. Although he only hit .231 with a .301 OBP, he was 13th in the league with a .515 slugging percentage, first in home runs with 35 (and third in strikeouts with 136), and was tied for 11th in the league in RBI.

Several relief pitchers shuttled back and forth from Oklahoma City to Houston and back again, such as Fernando Abad (now starting), Xavier Cedeno and Enerio del Rosario. But it was RHP Mickey Storey that opened some eyes with his performance at Oklahoma City and merited an August 3rd call-up. In 38 appearances, including two spot starts, Storey was 7-4 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.169 WHIP. Another standout was RHP Jose Valdez who ranked third in the league in saves with 21. His season numbers do not impress at first glance, but if you throw out his June numbers when he was nursing an injury that would eventually land him on the DL, his ERA drops to 2.84 with a 1.237 WHIP for the remainder of the season.

LHP Dallas Keuchel (6-4 in 16 starts, 3.90 ERA, 1.213 WHIP) had a good season with OKC before his call-up and RHP Edgar Gonzalez (1-0 in 2 starts, 0.69 ERA, 0.615 WHIP) barely saw the inside of the clubhouse at OKC before his call-up.

Of the pitchers left behind, three in particular made that crucial step from AA to AAA during the season and showed good progress in their development. LHP Brett Oberholtzer (10-10 in 38 starts, 4.37 ERA, 1.356 WHIP combined) actually got stronger as the season progressed and ended the season at Oklahoma City with a 2.02 ERA and a 1.121 WHIP over his final five starts. RHP Jarred Cosart only made six appearances (five starts) with Oklahoma City, but had a very impressive 2.60 ERA and 1.410 WHIP. His combined numbers for the season were 6-7 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.395 WHIP. RHP Jose Cisnero was 4-1 at Oklahoma City and ended the season with a 3.70 ERA and 1.409 WHIP (combined), and a 4.54 ERA and 1.764 WHIP at Oklahoma City -- not the most impressive of numbers but a decent first step.

I will continue with my look at the final three teams' seasons when they finish post-season play. I hope I have to wait a good long while!

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

Wednesday's Games

DSL Athletics	DSL Astros	9:30 CST
GCL Cardinals	GCL Astros	10:00 CST
Lexington	Hagerstown	4:05 CST MiLB.tv
State College	Tri-City	5:00 CST	Sampson, Adrian (0-0, 9.00)
Johnson City	Greeneville	6:00 CST		Minor, Daniel (0-0, 2.57)
Oklahoma City	New Orleans	6:00 CST MiLB.tv		Martin, J.D. (4-7, 7.15)
Tulsa	Corpus Christi	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Gardner, Joe (3-5, 4.52)	Cisnero, Jose (5-6, 3.62)
Visalia	Lancaster	9:00 CST	Meo, Anthony (3-4, 3.79)
GCL Cardinals	GCL Astros	Game 2

Tuesday's Results

DSL Athletics over DSL Astros 4-0
Edwin Villarroel (L, 2-1) allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks over his five innings. The Astros only managed four hits with Randy Cesar and Jarico Reynoso getting two each.

GCL Astros over GCL Marlins 4-0
Edison Frias (W, 2-0), Michael Feliz and Erick Gonzalez combined for a five hit shutout. Darwin Rivera was three-for-five with an RBI; Carlos Correa had the only extra base hit, a double; Yonathan Mejia was two-for-for with an RBI; and Ydarqui Marte had two hits as well.

Greeneville at Kingsport postponed

Asheville over Lexington 2-1
Jonas Dufek got the start but only pitched one inning before the rain came. After the delay, Tommy Shirley (L, 0-1) pitched four as did Mitch Lambson. Lambson was particularly effective, allowing only one hit and no walks with seven strikeouts. But Lexington just never got much of anything going at the plate. Mike Kvasnicka scored the only Lexington run on a wild pitch. Matt Duffy was two-for-four with a double and Justin Gominsky hit a double as well. Delino DeShields got his 58th stolen base.

Tulsa over Corpus Christi over Tulsa 5-1
Jarred Cosart got knocked out of the game after only 4.2 innings in which he gave up four runs on eight hits. He tweeted right after the game about a blister, a problem that sidelined him earlier in the season. Erick Abreu allowed no runs over his 3.1 innings, and Arcenio Leon allowed one in the final frame, but the Hooks never got anything going beyond an RBI single by Jonathan Villar in the third inning. Drew Muren and Jay Fernandez both hit doubles, two of only four hits for the entire Hooks staff for the night.

Oklahoma City over Memphis 11-10 in 10 innings
Starter Aneury Rodriguez allowed seven runs on 10 hits over 4.1 innings. A total of six pitchers were used with Xavier getting charged with a blown save in the ninth and Mickey Storey getting the win in the tenth. Jimmy Paredes (3x5, 2B, 3B), Mike Hessman (1x5, HR, 3RBI), Brett Wallace (3x3, RBI), J.B. Shuck (1x4, 2B, 3RBI), and Carlos Corporan (1x4, 2RBI) all had good nights at the plate, but it was Fernando Martinez' two-run walk off home run that made him the hero of the night.

Modesto over Lancaster 7-6 in 11 innings
Jorge de Leon pitched an effective four innings but a big fifth was his undoing as he allowed five runs on four hits and two walks in six innings. His team bailed him out by tying things up in the ninth. It was Kirk Clark who got charged with the loss in extras. The top of the order did a fine job of hitting with Grant Hogue going two-for-four and scoring three runs; George Springer two-for-four with a double and his 17th home run; Erik Castro three-for-six with two doubles and two RBIs; and Domingo Santana hitting a clutch two out two run single to tie the game in the ninth.

Game of the Day
Tri-City over Lowell 7-2
Juri Perez pitched seven very strong innings and it was a pitcher's duel through the top of the eighth, Lowell scored two runs off reliever Juan Minaya in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Trailing 2-0 going in to the top of the ninth, it looked likely that the 10-game winning streak wouldn't make it to 11. But then the improbable happened. Two hit batsmen to start the inning followed by three singles and another hit batsman, a sac fly that didn't result in an out due to a fielding error, force out, sac fly, stolen base, single, two more stolen bases, and finally a strikeout = seven runs for Tri-City. Jamaine Cotton, who came in to relieve Minaya in the bottom of the eighth, pitched a very effective ninth for the win.

What went right: Frankly, Andrew Aplin, Dan Gulbransen and Emilio King taking it for the team as they all got hit by pitches really helped set up the win.

What went wrong: 11 strikeouts.

Juri Perez - 7IP 5H 0R 2BB 6SO
Juan Minaya - 0IP 2H 2R 1BB 0SO
Jamaine Cotton (W, 1-0) - 2IP 0H 0R 2BB 0SO

Ryan Dineen - 2x4 2RBI SO R

Player of the Day: Fernando Martinez walk-off bomb anyone? Don't mind if I do.

Pitcher of the Day: Juri Perez kept Lowell from scoring for the first seven innings to give Tri-City the chance to get their 11th straight win.

Roster Moves - 6/26

Oklahoma City/Houston
3B Scott Moore was called up to Houston as Justin Maxwell was placed on the DL.
RF Fernando Martinez, who had been on a rehab assignment at OKC, was optioned to OKC.
LF Travis Buck, who had been on a rehab assignment with Corpus Christi, was designated for assignment.

Lexington
It was announced that newly signed draft pick SS Nolan Fontana will be assigned to Lexington.

Roster Moves - 6/21

Oklahoma City
LHP Brett Oberholtzer was assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.
OF Fernando Martinez was sent from Houston to Oklahoma City on a rehab assignment.

Corpus Christi
RHP Bobby Doran was assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.

Tri-City
OF Justin Gominsky was assigned from Lexington to Tri-City.

GCL
OF Austin Wates was sent from Corpus Christi to the GCL for a rehab assignment.
RHP Lance McCullers was assigned to the GCL.

Welcome to Houston Fernando

Roster Moves - 6/2

Oklahoma City
OF Fernando Martinez optioned to Houston to replace OF Travis Buck who went to the DL.
RHP Jordan Lyles recalled to Houston.
UT Matt Downs optioned to Oklahoma City.

Lexington
RHP Richard Rodriguez assigned from the GCL Astros to Lexington.
1B Jesse Wierzbicki assigned from Lexington to Tri-City.

There are additional moves forthcoming late today. I will post those as soon as I am at liberty to do so.

Minor League Schedule and Results

SATURDAY'S GAMES

Kannapolis at Lexington at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Brandon Parrent (0-0, 6.23) and TBD
Available on MiLB.tv

Oklahoma City at Memphis at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Henry Sosa (0-0, 2.25) and LHP Nick Additon (0-0, 5.40)

Corpus Christi at Northwest Arkansas at 7:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Brett Oberholtzer (0-0, 6.23) and TBD
Available on MiLB.tv

Lake Elsinore at Lancaster at 9:00 CST
Probable Pitchers:  TBD

FRIDAY'S RESULTS

Lake Elsinore at Lancaster - Postponed

Lexington over Kannapolis 6-5 in 11 innings
Noteworthy:  Matt Duffy, Justin Gominsky and Alex Todd (with a walk-off home run) provided most of the offensive output, a much needed contribution as Zach Johnson, Jordan Scott and Delino DeShields Jr. seemed to have been carrying the majority of the load lately.  Jonas Dufek had a solid start and there were good relief outings from Evan Grills and Dayan Diaz (W, 2-0).  Murilo Gouvea was charged with a blown save and a throwing error.

Corpus Christi over Northwest Arkansas 12-2
Noteworthy:  I'd like to know what the team OBP was before and after this game as everyone made it on base at least once as Corpus collected nine hits and a whopping 11 walks.  Even though this one was a group effort, Brandon Barnes (3x5 with a double and two RBI) and Jake Goebbert (2x4 with two doubles and three RBI) stood out.  Jose Cisnero earned the win with a strong six inning start in which he gave up only three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.  Henry Villar was very good in two innings of relief, but Josh Zeid gave up three hits and two runs in his one inning.

GAME OF THE DAY
Oklahoma City over Memphis 11-3

What went right:  Jordan Lyles' start and some gaudy offense.  There's no real need to embellish this win with words ... let's just go directly to the stats.

Jordan Lyles (W, 2-0) - 7IP  3H  2R  0BB  7SO  1HR
Adalberto Flores - 1IP  3H  1R
Enerio del Rosario - 1IP  1SO

Brian Bixler - 4x5  RBI  2R  SB
Angel Sanchez - 3x5  HR  2RBI  SO  3R
Fernando Martinez - 2x3  2HR  6RBI  SO  2R
Brett Wallace - 3x5  SO  R
Jordan Lyles - 1x3  2B  2RBI  2SO

What went wrong:  Lyles was a little rocky with his first two batters as he hit the first batter and gave up a home run to the second, but after that it was smooth sailing.

PITCHER OF THE DAY
Jordan Lyles for getting his second win against Shelby Miller and helping his cause with a two-RBI double.  His ERA now stands at 2.08.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Um, yeah, if you get a grand slam, you're probably going to earn my player of the day honors.  Add in a second 2-run home run and that kind of seals the deal.  Fernando Martinez is hitting .361 and has three home runs and 13 RBI already in this young season.

A NOTE ON MINOR LEAGUE RECAPS - I don't plan on doing full-blown recaps of the games this season as that would keep me from writing other things that you may find of interest as it pertains to the Astros minor league system.  For more information (and different perspectives), you should check out Astros County and The Crawfish Boxes for their minor league recaps.

Minor League Schedule and Results

SATURDAY'S GAMES

Game 1: Lexington at Greensboro at 4:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Tanner Bushue and TBD

Game 2: Lexington at Greensboro at time TBD
Probable Pitchers: RHP Carlos Quevedo and TBD

Northwest Arkansas at Corpus Christi 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Noel Arguelles and RHP Jose Cisnero
Available on MiLB tv

Memphis at Oklahoma City at 7:05 CST
RHP Joe Kelley and LHP Dallas Keuchel
Available on MiLB tv

Lancaster at High Desert at 9:05 CST
RHP Zachary Grimmett and LHP James Gillheeney

FRIDAY'S RESULTS

Greensboro over Lexington 7-0
Noteworthy: Not a lot of note offensively as Lexington only managed 4 hits in the opener. Foltynewicz gave up 6 runs, but only 2 of them were earned.  LHP Evan Grills did a great job in 3.1 innings of long relief, giving up 3 hits, no runs and 2 walks with two strikeouts.

High Desert over Lancaster 9-5
Noteworthy:  George Springer and Ben Heath had solid nights at the plate.  Ruben Alaniz had a decent, if unremarkable, first start.  Lancaster led a couple of times, but Jorge de Leon's late implosion on the pitcher's mound sealed the deal.

Northwest Arkansas over Corpus Christi 5-3
Noteworthy:  Brandon Barnes and Kody Hinze (with a 2-run home run) were the offensive standouts of the evening.  Ross Seaton had a decent debut, except for those two pesky home runs he gave up.  Jonathan Singleton and J.C. (Jose) Thompson are still looking for their first hits.

GAME OF THE DAY
Oklahoma City over Memphis 12-3

What went right:  Offense and pitching.  The offensive output was impressive with several players having good nights.  Add a solid start by Aneury Rodriguez and four scoreless innings of relief, and I think you can say it was a good night all around.

Justin Ruggiano - 3x4  2B  2RBI  BB  3R  SB
Angel Sanchez - 2x4  BB  R
Fernando Martinez 1x4  HR  3RBI  SO  R
Mike Hessman 2x3  2B  RBI  SO  R
Brett Wallace 2x4  2B  2RBI  BB  SO  R

Aneury Rodriguez - 5.0IP  7H  3R  1BB  9SO  HR
Adalberto Flores - 1.2IP  3H  0R  1BB  1SO
Jose Valdez - 0.1IP  0H  0R  0BB  1SO
Sergio Perez - 2.0IP  1H  0R  2BB  2SO

What went wrong:  Not a lot.  I'll have to go with the 8 LOB.

PITCHER OF THE DAY
Lexington's Evan Grills gets the nod.  Long relief isn't glamorous, but he handled it very well.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
I have to go with Fernando Martinez for his 3-run shot in the first to set the tone for the OKC offensive barrage.

A NOTE ON MINOR LEAGUE RECAPS - I don't plan on doing full-blown recaps of the games this season as that would keep me from writing other things that you may find of interest as it pertains to the Astros minor league system.  For more information (and different perspectives), you should check out Astros County and The Crawfish Boxes for their minor league recaps.