Happy Birthday - 6/18

Happy Birthday to ~

C Jason Castro (27)
Castro the Astro was born in Castro Valley, CA and was drafted by Houston in the first round in 2008 out of Stanford. He made his major league debut in June 2010 and played in 67 games that season. Due to a torn ACL suffered in a base-running incident in Spring Training in 2011, he missed the entire 2011 season. In 2013, Castro earned his first All-Star nod, hitting .276/.350/.485 with 35 doubles, one triple and 18 home runs in 120 games. He's getting a little bit of a slow start in 2014, hitting .223/.303/.365 in his first 56 games.

1B/DH/C M.P. Cokinos (24)
A Houston native, Cokinos was drafted in the 31st round in 2012 out of St. Mary's University. He is in his first season with the AA Hooks this year and is hitting .244/.280/.269 in his first 35 games.

Two former Astros celebrate today as well ~

RHP Fernando Rodriguez (30)
Originally drafted by the Angels out of high school in El Paso in 2003, Rodriguez came to Houston as a free agent in December 2010. In 118 games for Houston in 2011 and 2012, he had an ERA of 4.77 and a WHIP of 1.492. He was traded (along with Jed Lowrie) to Oakland for Max Stassi, Chris Carter and Brad Peacock in February 2013, but shortly thereafter underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2013 season. In his first six appearances for Oakland this season, he was a 1.13 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP.

OF J.B. Shuck (27)
Shuck was a sixth round draft pick out of Ohio State in 2008 and made his major league debut in August of 2011. In 37 games with the Astros, he hit .272/.359/.321 with 11 walks to only seven strikeouts. In five minor league seasons in the Astros organization, Shuck hit .301/.382/.382. Shuck is currently playing with the Angels after having signed with them as a free agent in November 2012.

Happy Birthday - 6/18

C Jason Castro (26)
Castro the Astro was born in Castro Valley, CA and was drafted by Houston in the first round in 2008 out of Stanford. He made his major league debut in June 2010 and played in 67 games that season. Due to a torn ACL suffered in a base-running incident in Spring Training in 2011, he missed the entire 2011 season. Castro also suffered another injury in Spring Training 2012 somewhat so one could argue that 2013 is really the first healthy (knock wood) major league season of his career. He is showing what he can do when healthy, hitting .270/.328/.426 with 18 doubles and ten home runs in 60 games.

I always thought Castro would look good with a Clark Gable "Gone with the Wind" mustache so Steve Eisenhour aka (@KevinBassStache) indulged me with a little photoshop. Many thanks!

C M.P. Cokinos (23)
A Houston native, Cokinos was drafted in the 31st round in 2012 out of St. Mary's University. He spent his first professional season with the short season Tri-City team with good results. Cokinos bypassed Quad Cities and headed straight to Lancaster in 2013. In 42 games, he is hitting .318/.403/.500, playing some first base and a lot of DH, in addition to occasional catching duties.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Fernando Rodriguez (29)
Originally drafted by the Angels out of high school in El Paso in 2003, Rodriguez came to Houston as a free agent in December 2010. In 118 games for Houston in 2011 and 2012, he had an ERA of 4.77 and a WHIP of 1.492. He was traded (along with Jed Lowrie) to Oakland for Max Stassi, Chris Carter and Brad Peacock in February 2013. Rodriguez recently underwent Tommy John surgery.

OF J.B. Shuck (26)
Shuck was a sixth round draft pick out of Ohio State in 2008 and made his major league debut in August of 2011. In 37 games with the Astros, he hit .272/.359/.321 with 11 walks to only seven strikeouts. In five minor league seasons in the Astros organization, Shuck hit .301/.382/.382. Shuck signed with the Angels as a free agent in November 2012.

Happy Birthday - 6/18

C Jason Castro (25)
Castro the Astro was born in Castro Valley, CA and was drafted by Houston in the first round in 2008 out of Stanford. He made his major league debut in June 2010 and played in 67 games that season. Due to a torn ACL suffered in a base-running incident in Spring Training in 2011, he missed the entire 2011 season. Another injury set him back in Spring Training 2012, but he recovered sooner than expected. His major league career is just getting started in earnest this season. In 40 games he is hitting .252/.324/.370 and .300/.300/.400 over the last two weeks.

I always thought Castro would look good with a Clark Gable "Gone with the Wind" mustache so Steve Eisenhour aka (@KevinBassStache) indulged me with a little photoshop. Many thanks!

RHP Fernando Rodriguez (28)
Originally drafted by the Angels out of high school in El Paso in 2003, Rodriguez came to Houston as a free agent in December 2010. In 75 games for Houston in 2011 and 2012, he has an ERA of 4.29, a WHIP of 1.494 and a SO/9 of 9.4.

OF J.B. Shuck (25)
Shuck was a sixth round draft pick out of Ohio State in 1988 and made his major league debut in August of 2011. In 37 games with the Astros, he hit .272/.359/.321 with 11 walks to only seven strikeouts. Shuck is currently at AAA Oklahoma City and is hitting .286/.353/.333 with 18 walks to ten strikeouts and has played all three outfield positions multiple times this season.

C M.P. Cokinos (22)
A Houston native, Cokinos was drafted in the 31st round in 2012 out of St. Mary's University. He will be starting his professional with the Tri-City team which just happens to have its opening game today. For a little bit more about Cokinos, Astros County did this short write up in conjunction with the recent draft.