Happy Birthday - 10/19

No future Astros with birthdays today, but numerous former Astros mark the day ~

RHP Jordan Lyles (24)
A 2008 supplemental first round draft pick by the Astros out of high school in South Carolina, Lyles pitched in 72 games (65 starts) for Houston from 2011 through 2013, compiling a 14-29 record with a 5.35 ERA and a 1.454 WHIP. Lyles was traded to Colorado (along with Brandon Barnes) for Dexter Fowler prior to the 2014 season. In his first season for the Rockies, he was 7-4 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.366 WHIP in 22 starts.

LHP J.A. Happ (32)
Originally drafted by the Phillies in the 3rd round in 2004, Happ came to the Astros in July 2010 in the Oswalt trade and he departed Houston in a huge July 2012 10-player trade with the Blue Jays. In between, he was 18-28 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.461 WHIP in 59 starts. For Toronto this season, he went 11-11 in 30 games (26 starts) with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.335 WHIP.

OF/1B Walt Bond (died September 14, 1967 at age 29)
A member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, Bond played for the Colt 45's in 1964 and the Astros in 1965.  I was not aware of Bond's history until I read this entry from the TBHOF site.

"Standing at 6' 7" tall and weighing between 235–250 lbs, Big Walt Bond had his best year as a Houston Colt .45 in 1964 when he hit 20 home runs and drove in 85 runs—the first true power hitting ballplayer in team history."

But that was only part of the story.  He was one of many silent heroes who helped to integrate baseball.  He was active in the community, working to support local school sports programs.  And he showed enormous courage and strength in his fight against leukemia which he sadly lost at the age of 29.  I encourage reading the entire entry.

OF Brock Davis (71)
Originally signed as a NDFA by Houston in 1963, Davis played for the Colt 45's in 1963 and 1964 and for the Astros in 1966. In 45 games for Houston, he hit .176/.263/.247. Davis made his major league debut at 19. He went on to have a couple of modestly successful seasons with the Cubs and the Brewers in 1971 and 1972 respectively before a knee injury ended his career.

RHP Dave Veres (48)
A fourth round draft pick by Oakland in 1986, Veres signed with Houston as a free agent in May 1992 and eventually pitched in 104 games for Houston in 1994 and 1995. In those games he was 8-4 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP. He was traded to the Expos in December of 1995 for Sean Berry.

OF/2B Joe McEwing (42)
Originally drafted by the Cardinals in the 28th round in 1992, McEwing was purchased from Kansas City in March of 2006. McEwing appeared in only seven games for the Astros in 2006 and never got a hit. In 2013, McEwing was the third base coach for the White Sox.

Happy Birthday - 10/19

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Jordan Lyles (23)
A 2008 supplemental first round draft pick by the Astros out of high school in South Carolina, Lyles started the season in Oklahoma City where he was 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA and a 1.521 WHIP in six games (five starts) in April before being recalled to Houston for the rest of the season. In his 27 appearances (25 starts) for the Astros, he was 7-9 with a 5.59 ERA and a 1.511 WHIP.

Several former Astros celebrating birthdays today ~

LHP J.A. Happ (31)
Originally drafted by the Phillies in the 3rd round in 2004, Happ came to the Astros in July 2010 in the Oswalt trade and he departed Houston in a huge July 2012 10-player trade with the Blue Jays. In between, he was 18-28 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.461 WHIP in 59 starts. For Toronto this season, he went 5-7 in 18 starts with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.468 WHIP.

OF/1B Walt Bond (died September 14, 1967 at age 29)
A member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, Bond played for the Colt 45's in 1964 and the Astros in 1965.  I was not aware of Bond's history until I read this entry from the TBHOF site.

"Standing at 6' 7" tall and weighing between 235–250 lbs, Big Walt Bond had his best year as a Houston Colt .45 in 1964 when he hit 20 home runs and drove in 85 runs—the first true power hitting ballplayer in team history."

But that was only part of the story.  He was one of many silent heroes who helped to integrate baseball.  He was active in the community, working to support local school sports programs.  And he showed enormous courage and strength in his fight against leukemia which he sadly lost at the age of 29.  I encourage reading the entire entry.

OF Brock Davis (70)
Originally signed as a NDFA by Houston in 1963, Davis played for the Colt 45's in 1963 and 1964 and for the Astros in 1966. In 45 games for Houston, he hit .176/.263/.247. Davis made his major league debut at 19. He went on to have a couple of modestly successful seasons with the Cubs and the Brewers in 1971 and 1972 respectively before a knee injury ended his career.

RHP Dave Veres (47)
A fourth round draft pick by Oakland in 1986, Veres signed with Houston as a free agent in May 1992 and eventually pitched in 104 games for Houston in 1994 and 1995. In those games he was 8-4 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP. He was traded to the Expos in December of 1995 for Sean Berry.

OF/2B Joe McEwing (41)
Originally drafted by the Cardinals in the 28th round in 1992, McEwing was purchased from Kansas City in March of 2006. McEwing appeared in only seven games for the Astros in 2006 and never got a hit. In 2013, McEwing was the third base coach for the White Sox.

Looking at the Astros/Blue Jays July 2012 Trade

Going into July 20, 2012, the Toronto Blue Jays were 45-47. They were in 5th place in their division, 12 and a half games out. And then Astros GM Jeff Luhnow came in and robbed them blind. That day a 10-player trade went through sending RHP Brandon Lyon, RHP David Carpenter and LHP J.A. Happ to the Blue Jays in exchange for MLB OF Ben Francisco and RHP Francisco Cordero, and minor-leaguers RHP Asher Wojciechowski, C Carlos Perez, LHP David Rollins, RHP Joe Musgrove and RHP Kevin Comer as the player to be named later.

Toronto went 28-42 the rest of the season and ended in 4th place, 22 games behind in their division. Here's what they got:

Brandon Lyon (currently 33)
Lyon pitched 25 innings in 30 appearances for Toronto. He was 4-0 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.120 WHIP. He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Mets on February 8th.

David Carpenter (currently 27)
Carpenter only pitched in three games at the MLB level for Toronto. In two and two-thirds innings, he had a 30.38 ERA and a 3.750 WHIP. In 16 minor-league appearances, he was 0-1 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.245 WHIP. He was part of an October trade that brought 31-year old infielder Mike Aviles to Toronto from Boston. A month later, Carpenter was selected off waivers by Atlanta.

J.A. Happ (currently 30)
In ten starts for Toronto, Happ was 3-2 with a 4.69 ERA and a 1.289 WHIP. For his MLB career, he is now 35-35 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.388 WHIP. He is still with the Blue Jays.

Net for the Blue Jays: A 30-year old LHP (Happ) and a 31-year old infielder (Aviles)

Here is what the Astros got in the trade:

Francisco Cordero (currently 37)
Cordero was released by the Astros on September 10th after going 0-3 with a 19.80 ERA and a 3.400 WHIP in six games (five innings).

Ben Francisco (currently 31)
Francisco played in 31 games for the Astros, hitting .247/.289/.365 before being traded to Tampa Bay on August 31st for a player to be named later. The player turned out to be Theron Geith, a 23-year old lefty relief pitcher who had a 2.98 ERA and a 1.086 WHIP in 31 appearances in High A.

Asher Wojciechowski (currently 24)
A first round draft pick in 2010, Wojciechowski was ranked #14 in the organization in the recent Baseball America Prospect Handbook and #15 by Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. In eight starts for AA Corpus Christi after the trade, he was 2-2 with a 2.06 ERA and a 1.008 WHIP.

Carlos Perez (currently 22)
Perez's rankings are a mixed bag. Baseball America has him at #27, Mayo at #20, but Fan Graphs liked him enough to rank him #9. In 26 games after the trade, Perez hit .318/.368/.409 at High A Lancaster and boasted a 47% caught stealing percentage.

David Rollins (currently 23)
Rollins was 1-3 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.161 WHIP in six starts at Low A Lexington after the trade. For the season, he was 7-4 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.252 WHIP in 24 starts.

Joe Musgrove (currently 20)
A 2011 first round pick, Musgrove is currently ranked by Jonathan Mayo at #19 in the Astros system. Musgrove was coming off an arm injury in 2012 and only pitched 17 innings with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.353 WHIP for the season in the Rookie Appalachian League.

Kevin Comer (currently 20)
Comer was also a first round pick by the Blue Jays in 2011, but signed late and did not play until 2012. Comer was 3-4 with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.277 WHIP in 12 appearances (eight starts) for the season, playing in the Rookie Appalachian League. He is currently ranked by Jonathan Mayo at #17 in the Astros system.

Net for the Astros: A 24-year old AA RHP (Wojciechowski), a 23-year old High A lefty reliever (Geith), a 23-year old Low A lefty starter (Rollins), a 22-year old High A catcher (Perez), and two 20-year old rookie league first round RHP's (Musgrove and Comer). Four of the six are ranked in the Astros top 20 by Jonathan Mayo. In Luhnow we trust.

Tomorrow I'll be posting more on this topic over at The Futurists blog, including thoughts from Jonathan Mayo. [UPDATED with the link to the second post.]

Happy Birthday - 10/19

RHP Jordan Lyles (22)
A 2008 supplemental first round draft pick by the Astros out of high school in South Carolina, Lyles split his time this season between Oklahoma City and Houston. In seven starts for the Redhawks, he was 5-0 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.205 WHIP. By the end of May, Lyles became a permanent member of the Astros starting rotation. In 25 starts, he was 5-12 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.422 WHIP. However, he ended the season strongly as he went 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.087 WHIP in his final four starts.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

LHP J.A. Happ (30)
Originally drafted by the Phillies in the 3rd round in 2004, Happ came to the Astros in July 2010 in the Oswalt trade and he departed Houston in a huge July 2012 10-player trade with the Blue Jays. In between, he was 18-28 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.461 WHIP in 59 starts. For Toronto this season, he went 3-2 in 10 games (six starts) with a 4.69 ERA and a 1.289 WHIP before his season ended early due to injury.

OF/1B Walt Bond (died September 14, 1967 at age 29)
A member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, Bond played for the Colt 45's in 1964 and the Astros in 1965.  I was not aware of Bond's history until I read this entry from the TBHOF site.

"Standing at 6' 7" tall and weighing between 235–250 lbs, Big Walt Bond had his best year as a Houston Colt .45 in 1964 when he hit 20 home runs and drove in 85 runs—the first true power hitting ballplayer in team history."

But that was only part of the story.  He was one of many silent heroes who helped to integrate baseball.  He was active in the community, working to support local school sports programs.  And he showed enormous courage and strength in his fight against leukemia which he sadly lost at the age of 29.  I encourage reading the entire entry.

OF Brock Davis (69)
Originally signed as a NDFA by Houston in 1963, Davis played for the Colt 45's in 1963 and 1964 and for the Astros in 1966. In 45 games for Houston, he hit .176/.263/.247. Davis made his major league debut at 19. He went on to have a couple of modestly successful seasons with the Cubs and the Brewers in 1971 and 1972 respectively before a knee injury ended his career.

RHP Dave Veres (46)
A fourth round draft pick by Oakland in 1986, Veres signed with Houston as a free agent in May 1992 and eventually pitched in 104 games for Houston in 1994 and 1995. In those games he was 8-4 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP. He was traded to the Expos in December of 1995 for Sean Berry.

OF/2B Joe McEwing (40)
Originally drafted by the Cardinals in the 28th round in 1992, McEwing was purchased from Kansas City in March of 2006. McEwing appeared in only seven games for the Astros in 2006 and never got a hit. In 2012, McEwing became the third base coach for the White Sox.

Mega Trade

The Astros traded LHP J.A. Happ, RHP Brandon Lyon and RHP David Carpenter to Toronto for major leaguers RHP Francisco Cordero, OF Ben Francisco, minor league players RHP Joseph Musgrove, LHP David Rollins, C Carlos Perez, RHP Asher Wojciechowski and a PTBNL. Click on the name to see the players stats page. For the full story, see the Houston Chronicle article here.

Three of the four named minor league players were listed in Jonathan Mayo's Top 20 prospect list for the Blue Jays coming in to the 2012 season.

8th - C Carlos Perez was described as a very good defensive catcher (34% caught stealing coming in to the 2012 season) that has some ability with the bat. Baseball America had him at 14th and agreed that, even though he had an off-season in 2011, he has the ability to swing the bat well.

10th - RHP Asher Wojciechowski could be a workhorse starter if he can find consistency with his fastball. He has a plus fastball, above average slider and has a changeup that needs work. Baseball America also ranked him 10th and also cited the need to find consistency with his fastball and repeat his mechanics but thought he had the potential of a #2 starter.

11th - RHP Joe Musgrove is a hard thrower with good sink. He has a pretty good breaking ball and has used a splitter in the past. According to Baseball America who had him ranked 20th, his fastball has a very good combination of velocity and life and he has been known to hit 98.

UPDATED TO ADD: Jonathan Mayo just posted his take on these prospects and included some information on LHP David Rollins here.

Roster Moves - 12/12

The Astros came to terms with C Humberto Quintero and signed him to a one-year contract.  In related news, C Jason Castro is having foot surgery due to an injury suffered in the final game of the Arizona Fall League.  He will miss at least the first part of Spring Training.

The Astros also tendered a contract to LHP J.A. Happ.

Happy Birthday - 10/19

RHP Jordan Lyles (21)
A 2008 supplemental first round draft pick by the Astros out of high school in South Carolina, Jordan is the second player (behind Jason Castro) from that draft class to make it to the bigs.  After starting the year in Oklahoma, Jordan made his major league debut on May 31st.  At Oklahoma City, Jordan was 3-3 in 12 appearances (10 starts) with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.299 WHIP.  At Houston, he was 2-8 in 20 appearances (15 starts) with a 5.36 ERA and a 1.415 WHIP.

LHP J.A. Happ (29)
Originally drafted by the Phillies in the 3rd round in 2004, Happ came to the Astros in 2010 in the Oswalt trade.  Happ struggled during much of the season until he was sent to Oklahoma City to work on his mental game mostly.  For the season, he was 6-15 with a 5.35 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP, but he was much improved in August and September as he went 2-2 in 7 starts with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.268 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today

OF,1B Walt Bond (died September 14, 1967 at age 29)
A member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, Bond played for the Colt 45's in 1964 and the Astros in 1965.  I was not aware of Bond's history until I read this entry from the TBHOF site.

"Standing at 6' 7" tall and weighing between 235–250 lbs, Big Walt Bond had his best year as a Houston Colt .45 in 1964 when he hit 20 home runs and drove in 85 runs—the first true power hitting ballplayer in team history."

But that was only part of the story.  He was one of many silent heroes who helped to integrate baseball.  He was active in the community, working to support local school sports programs.  And he showed enormous courage and strength in his fight against leukemia which he sadly lost at the age of 29.  I encourage reading the entire entry.

OF Brock Davis (68)
Played for the Colt 45's in 1963 and 1964 and for the Astros in 1966

RHP Dave Veres (45)
Compiled a 2.31 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP in 104 appearances in 1994 and 1995

2B Joe McEwing (39)
Appeared in 7 games in 2006

Tweet of the Day

@Darren_Headrick Darren Headrick
Final: #OKCRedHawks 4, Iowa 0. WP - Happ (1-0); LP - J. Jackson (7-13) *Happ and Abad combined on 1 hitter. @astros

It would be really great to see J.A. Happ figure things out. Maybe Burt Hooten has done his magic.