Astros Farm Report: 6/11

Catching you up on the latest Astros MiLB news ...

Congratulations to Randy Cesar, who now has the longest hit streak in Hooks history at 28 games! Randy doubled in tonight's game to set the record.

Relive how Randy's put together the longest hit streak in @MiLB this season. #ReelFun pic.twitter.com/K2upgjHAWR

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) June 7, 2018

After breaking the record, Randy is still on a roll with an active streak of 32 games.

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

6/11: RHP Ernesto Jaquez (19)
6/13: RHP Leovanny Rodriguez (22)

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

6/10: LHP Reymin Guduan (Fresno) recalled to Houston
6/10: RHP Jacob Dorris (Fresno) released (signed as a NDFA in June 2015)
6/10: RHP Andrew Thome (Fresno) activated from the DL
6/8: C Tim Federowicz designated for assignment
6/8: C Luis Barajas (DSL) released
6/8: 2B Jeury Castillo assigned to GCL from DSL
6/7: RHP Forrest Whitley (Corpus Christi) activated from the restricted list
6/7: OF Alejandro Garcia (Fresno) released (Cuban player signed in July 2015)
6/6: RHP Akeem Bostick (Corpus Christi) activated from the DL (placed on DL 5/12)
6/6: LHP Sean Stutzman (Corpus Christi) released (NDFA signed in June 2016)
6/6: 3B/1B/LF J.D. Davis optioned to Fresno
6/5: OF Chas McCormick assigned to Corpus Christi from Buies Creek
6/4: SS Jonathan Arauz assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
6/4: 1B Jake Adams assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
6/4: 2B Alfredo Angarita assigned to Quad Cities from Buies Creek

ASTROS MILB DISABLED LIST

6/7: RHP Carlos Sierra (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
6/1: LHP Yeremi Ceballos (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
6/1: RHP Carlos Quintero (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
6/1: RHP Dariel Aquino (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
5/29: RHP Matt Ramsey (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
5/27: OF Carmen Benedetti (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
5/26: RHP David Paulino (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL (retroactive to the 25th)
5/16: LF Yordan Alvarez (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
5/8: RHP Kevin Hill (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
5/4: RHP Francis Martes (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
5/3+/-: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez had TJ surgery per Instagram post
5/2+/-: OF Patrick Mathis out for approx. 6 weeks per Instagram post
4/26: RHP J.B. Bukauskas (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Ryan Thompson assigned to Fresno (starting the season on the 7-day DL); according to Instagram Ryan has had surgery, but I don't know whether or not it was TJ
4/5: RHP Edgardo Sandoval (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Matt Ruppenthal assigned to Quad Cities (starting the season on the 7-day DL)
4/5: RHP Ángel Heredia (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Nick Hernandez (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL (Tommy John)
4/5: RHP Jose Luis Hernández (Buies Creek) placed on the 7-day DL

I will be keeping track of all the releases, retirements, trades and signings for the 2018 season here.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Good luck to all the STUDS still on the board today!! Never lose sight of your dreams even if it has to be a different route than the draft. Stay ready for that opportunity and when it comes, run with it!! You never know what can happen in one year #MLBDraft

— Kit Scheetz (@kit_scheetz) June 6, 2018

ASTROS MILB STANDINGS
Up and down arrows represent increase/decrease in win percentage over the prior week.

FRESNO (Pacific Coast League)

🠉1st 38-25 .603 -.-GB W1

CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League)

🠉2nd 37-25 .597 2.0GB W1

BUIES CREEK (Carolina League)

🠋2nd 34-28 .548 1.5GB L1

QUAD CITIES (Midwest League)

🠋 3rd 34-29 .540 3.0GB W2

DSL ASTROS (Dominican Summer League Northwest)
T7th 1-6 .143 5.0GB L5

TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League)
Season starts 6/15/18

GCL ASTROS (Gulf Coast League)
Season starts 6/18/18

ASTROS MILB TEAM STATS (FULL SEASON TEAMS)

FRESNO

Batting (through 63 games)
.292 BA: 2nd (out of 16 teams)
.374 OBP: 1st
.471 SLG: 3rd
.845 OPS: 3rd
128 2B: 3rd
25 3B: 3rd
70 HR: 4th
272 BB: 2nd
464 K: 14th
37 SB: Tied for 11th

Pitching (through 63 games)
4.24 ERA: 5th
1.31 WHIP: 4th
59 HR: 7th
210 BB: 11th
596 K: 1st

CORPUS CHRISTI

Batting (through 62 games)
.295 BA: 1st (out of 8 teams)
.366 OBP: Tied for 1st
.438 SLG: Tied for 2nd
.804 OPS: 1st
124 2B: 2nd
19 3B: 3rd
49 HR: 4th
218 BB: 2nd
472 K: 6th
90 SB: 1st

Pitching (through 62 games)
3.82 ERA: 2nd
1.39 WHIP: Tied for 2nd
41 HR: 7th
228 BB: 1st
549 K: 1st

BUIES CREEK

Batting (through 62 games)
.241 BA: Tied for 7th (out of 10 teams)
.319 OBP: 8th
.366 SLG: 7th
.686 OPS: 7th
102 2B: Tied for 3rd
16 3B: Tied for 2nd
38 HR: 7th
217 BB: 5th
505 K: 5th
86 SB: 1st

Pitching (through 62 games)
3.40 ERA: 1st
1.18 WHIP: 1st
41 HR: 5th
263 BB: 1st
608 K: 1st

QUAD CITIES

Batting (through 63 games)
.251 BA: 7th (out of 16 teams)
.338 OBP: Tied for 4th
.393 SLG: 3rd
.731 OPS: 4th
109 2B: Tied for 5th
23 3B: Tied for 1st
45 HR: Tied for 5th
236 BB: 6th
508 K: 11th
54 SB: Tied for 7th

Pitching (through 63 games)
3.16 ERA: 1st
1.31 WHIP: 3rd
26 HR: 16th
256 BB: 2nd
658 K: 1st

PLAYER TO WATCH:

Here is what I wrote about RHP Heitor Tokar in the offseason:

Although it is highly unlikely that I will get the opportunity to see Tokar until 2019 at the very earliest, I can't wait! Tokar, who only turned 17 in October, signed out of Brazil in July for $300,000. Baseball America had him as the #50 overall top prospect in the 2017 international class and called him an "enormous pitcher with a heavy build," an apt descriptor for a 6'7" (6'6" per Baseball-Reference) 250# pitcher (and that was when he was still 16!). Oz Ocampo of the Astros projects Tokar as a power starter with a fastball that is currently in the high 80's to low 90's, a solid changeup and two breaking pitches (curveball and slider) that he can throw for strikes. He is also said to have a nice repeatable delivery and advanced pitchability for his age. I expect him to start his season in the Dominican Summer League more due to his age than anything else.

As I surmised, Tokar started his season with the Dominican Summer League where he was given the Opening Day starter nod. In his first two professional appearances, Tokar has a 0.00 ERA, 0,240 WHIP and one walk to five strikeouts in 8.1 innings of work. And my irrational exuberance for this player continues unabated.

NEWS AND LINKS

Dustin has pulled together all of the social media info for the new draft picks here.

And Astros County does his usual great job looking at the Astros 2018 draft picks here, here and here.

Jake Kaplan also looks at the Astros first 10 rounds (paywall).

And in the off-chance that you missed it, Christian Boutwell looks at the Astros family connections in the draft.

Fresno RHP Josh James, my featured player from last week's Farm Report, has received some (well-deserved) attention from MiLB.com.

Sam Levitt talks with Hooks 1B Taylor Jones about some of his off-the-field interests.

As a follow-up to my former Astros feature on Braves RHP Mike Foltynewicz last week, FanGraphs looks at what has been working for Folty this season.

"Do we only care about little girls until we want to win baseball games?" Read this to see why many of us who were victims of childhood sexual abuse were extremely upset by those scoffing at our concerns over a potential draft pick.

And in case you missed any of these, here are my recent interviews:

OF Chas McCormick (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
OF J.J. Matijevic (Buies Creek)
RHP Brandon Bielak (Buies Creek)
LHP Brett Adcock (Buies Creek)
SS Alex De Goti (Corpus Christi)
1B Taylor Jones (Corpus Christi)
RHP Brock Dykxhoorn (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)

FORMER ASTRO UPDATE:

Jacob Nottingham - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

C Jacob Nottingham, originally drafted by the Astros in the 6th round in 2013 out of Redlands HS in Redland, CA, was traded to Oakland (along with Daniel Mengden) in July 2015 for Scott Kazmir. Oakland then traded Nottingham to Milwaukee for Khris Davis in February 2016. Nottingham received a brief 3-game promotion to the majors in April, but has spent the bulk of his season playing for the AAA Colorado Sky Sox where he has slashed .330/.400/.585 with seven doubles, one triple and five home runs in 26 games.

Tweet of the Day

This is how @_JM55 sleeps on buses!!😂 pic.twitter.com/pxK8ClKYEk

— Jacob Nottingham (@JayNott) June 25, 2015

Tweet of the Day

Feels great to represent @astros and @QCRiverBandits at the MWL All-Star game with my boys @TanieluN @jamieritchie35 pic.twitter.com/kDnIHlW4me

— Jacob Nottingham (@JayNott) June 23, 2015

WTHB May 2015 Astros MiLB Players of the Month

With no further ado, I present you with WTHB's May Players of the Month ...

Derek Fisher

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

OF Derek Fisher (Quad Cities/Lancaster)
I could have gone many, many different directions with this award, but not only did Fisher have a fantastic month, he ended it by breaking a California League record in the penultimate game of the month by collecting 12 RBI in one game. Yes, in Fisher's first game with Lancaster following his promotion, he was 4-for-6 with three home runs (two of them grand slams), a double and 12 RBI and he followed up with another home run and three RBI in his second game on Sunday. In May, he hit .313/.389/.554 with 10 doubles, one triple, 5 home runs, 28 RBI and he stole 5 bases.

There were certainly many other worthy contenders and, arguably, any and all of the following players were deserving. Honorable mentions go to OF Domingo Santana (Fresno), Jon Singleton (Fresno), Tony Kemp (Corpus Christi), OF Danry Vasquez (Lancaster/Corpus Christi), OF Brett Phillips (Lancaster), 1B A.J. Reed (Lancaster), 3B Nick Tanielu (Quad Cities) and OF Sean McMullen (Quad Cities).

PITCHER OF THE MONTH

RHP Chris Devenski (Corpus Christi)
You may remember that Devenski was my Pitcher of the Month in May after allowing ZERO earned runs in four appearances last month. Well, Devenski couldn't quite pull that off forever and he has now allowed three whole runs in nine games (46IP). In May, Devenski was 4-0 with a 1.01 ERA and a 1.050 WHIP in 5 games (4 starts), and he has a 0.59 ERA and a 0.870 WHIP for the season. This past Friday, Devenski pitched the first five innings of a rain-shortened 5.1 inning no-hitter (with Josh Hader contributing the extra out), the first no-hitter in Hooks history.

Honorable mentions go to RHP Vince Velasquez (Corpus Christi), RHP Mike Hauschild (Corpus Christi), LHP Brian Holmes (Lancaster/Corpus Christi), RHP Daniel Mengden (Quad Cities/Lancaster) and RHP Akeem Bostick (Quad Cities).

Chris Devenski

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE MONTH

RHP Travis Ballew (Corpus Christi)

I am particularly happy to hand out this award. Ballew's 2014 season did not go as planned, but so far in 2015, he is showing definite signs of his former dominance. In May, Ballew made 12 appearances out of the bullpen (13.2 innings) and compiled a 0.00 ERA and a 0.805 WHIP, walking two batters while striking out 11. For the season, he now has a 1.13 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP.

Honorable mention goes to RHP Tyson Perez (Fresno), RHP Richard Rodriguez (Fresno) and LHP Mitch Lambston (Fresno).

Travis Ballew

CATCHER OF THE MONTH

Jacob Nottingham (Quad Cities)
Nottingham took it to another level in May, hitting .355/.406/.591 in 23 games (17 of those behind the dish). He collected eight doubles, one triple, four home runs and 20 RBI. For the season, he has a 57% caught stealing rate.

Honorable mention goes to Tyler Heineman (Corpus Christi/Fresno).

Jacob Notthingham

April Players of the Month:
SS Carlos Correa
RHP Chris Devenski
RHP Ryan Thompson
C Tyler Heineman

Tweets of the Day

@JayNott guessing this is to me. You're as off limits as it gets

— Derek Fisher (@DeFish23) June 1, 2015

Tweet of the Day

Foul ball today left a little mark! Thought it was pretty cool!🙌 pic.twitter.com/wXkpWD6UzF

— Jacob Nottingham (@JayNott) May 17, 2015

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Sunday, April 12, 2015

Las Vegas 8, Fresno 7

W- Hansel Robles (1-0)
L- Kevin Chapman (0-1)
S- Cody Satterwhite (1)

Fresno home runs: Matt Duffy (1, 2-run in 1st)

The Grizzlies rallied to make it a 1-run game and had the bases loaded with one out in the 9th, but... no cigar. And so, they had to settle for the split.

Matt Duffy's 2-run blast in the 1st opened up the scoring. In the 6th, Preston Tucker hit an RBI single, and Matt Dominguez ripped a 2-run double. Fresno got plenty of traffic in the 9th as Joe Sclafani singled and advanced to 3rd on a Jon Singleton double. One batter later, Duffy brought them both home with a 2-run single. Tucker drew a walk, and then Max Stassi was hit by a pitch (on his head... again) to load the bases. Unfortunately, Alex Presley grounded into the game-ending double play. Sclafani finished 2-3 and scored 3 runs. Singleton was 2-5 with that double and scored twice. Duffy and Presley also went 2-5.

Luis Cruz went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (all on home runs) on 4 hits (solo and 2-run homers), walked 1, and struck out 5. Darin Downs allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in the 6th. Kevin Chapman was charged with the loss; he got 2 outs in the 7th, but allowed 3 runs (2 inherited runners charged to him) on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Jason Stoffel came on and faced a bases-loaded situation in the 7th; he allowed 2 of the 3 runners he inherited from Chapman to score. Stoffel walked 2 and struck out 1 in 1.1 innings. Jordan Jankowski allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 2 in the 9th inning.

In the second leg of their season-opening homestand, the Grizzlies are hosting Salt Lake for 4 games. In game 1, Brady Rodgers will face Zach Stewart at 6:35 Pacific.

Corpus Christi 4, Tulsa 0

W- Lance McCullers (1-0)
L- Jeremy Kehrt (0-1)

CC home runs: Telvin Nash (2, solo in 3rd)

4 games, 4 wins for the Hooks. 4 pitchers collaborated on the first Hooks shutout of the year.

Conrad Gregor and Teoscar Hernandez led off the 2nd with a single and a walk, respectively. Gregor came around to score the game's first run on a Leo Heras single. One batter later, Teoscar scored on a Brandon Meredith single. Telvin Nash homered for the 2nd straight game; this one was a solo shot in the 3rd. Meredith, who finished 2-4, brought home the final run of the afternoon with an RBI double in the 6th inning. Leo Heras and Tony Kemp also finished 2-4. Carlos Correa went 0-5, but he stole his first base of the season.

Lance McCullers was solid in his AA debut, and he brought the heat too; he was clocked as high as 99 with his fastball. He allowed 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 7 over 5 shutout innings. Travis Ballew tagged in for 2 innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3. Dan Minor, in his season debut, worked around a walk to throw a scoreless 8th, and Tyson Perez finished it off with a 1-2-3 9th inning.

In the middle game of this series, Mike Hauschild will face Matt Shelton at 7:05.

Lancaster 2, San Jose 1

W- Frederick Tiburcio (1-0)
L- Mason McVay (0-1)

Lancaster home runs: None.

The JetHawks got the split to begin the year; both of their wins came in walk-off fashion via RBI singles. Both teams traded sacrifice flies in the 2nd inning; the JetHawks got theirs courtesy of Jose Fernandez. Jobduan Morales delivered the game-winner in the bottom of the 9th after he had gone 0-3, striking out in all 3 of his trips to the plate. Chan-Jong Moon went 2-4 with a double, and Chase McDonald finished 2-3 with a run scored and a walk.

Troy Scribner has put up some gaudy numbers since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He had an outstanding 2015 debut as he allowed just 1 run on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 8 over 6 innings. Tyler Brunnemann was the first man out; he allowed a hit and walked 2 over 2.1 scoreless. Those 2 walks came in the top of the 9th, which brought about Frederick Tiburcio's entrance. He immediately gave up a single to Austin Slater, which loaded the bases. However, Tiburcio extricated himself from that pickle by striking out Tyler Horan and Brian Ragira to end the threat. And, when Morales came through, he got the win.

Lancaster will now host Stockton for 3 games. In the opener, Adrian Houser will take on Lou Trivino at 6:30 Pacific.

Quad Cities 7, Clinton 2

W- Austin Chrismon (1-0)
L- Patrick Peterson (0-1)

QC home runs: Jake Nottingham (1, solo in 5th)

The Banditos won their first game in front of their home crowd as they broke out for 5 runs in the 5th.

Jake Nottingham started it all off in that inning with a home run. Bobby Boyd, D.J. Fisher, and Nick Tanielu followed with RBI singles, and Tanielu wound up scoring on an error. Nottingham led off the 6th with a double, and after making his way around the bases, he'd score on a sac fly from Boyd. Alfredo Gonzalez scored on a balk in the 8th. Nottingham wound up finishing a triple shy of the cycle, and Boyd went 2-3 with his first stolen base of the season.

Austin Chrismon was excellent in his 6 innings; after giving up singles to the first 2 batters of the game, which Clinton got a sac fly out of, he went on a roll, retiring 18 of the final 19 batters he faced. Those 2 singles were the only hits he allowed in 6 innings, and that run was unearned. Chrismon walked 1 and struck out 3. Eric Peterson, whose twin brother, Patrick, was the starting pitcher for Clinton in this game, was the first man out of the bullpen, and he allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 1 in 2 innings. Ryan Thompson worked around a hit to finish off the game, striking out 2 in the 9th.

Game 2 of this series features Brock Dykxhoorn on the mound for the River Bandits. He'll face Lukas Schiraldi at 7:00.


Three Stars: Position Players

3.

Bobby Boyd, OF, Quad Cities

2-3, 2 RBI, R, SB (1)

2. 

Jake Nottingham, C, Quad Cities

3-4 (triple shy of the cycle), HR (1)

1. 

Matt Duffy, 3B, Fresno

2-5, 2-R HR (1), 4 RBI

Three Stars: Pitchers

Ooh, tough decision. Once again, I find myself unable to rank 3 outstanding mound performances. So, once again, the #1 star for pitchers will go to all three Three Stars candidates: Austin Chrismon, Troy Scribner, and Lance McCullers.

Austin Chrismon, RHP, Quad Cities

W (1-0); 6 IP, 2 H, unearned run, BB, 3 K

Troy Scribner, RHP, Lancaster

6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 8 K

Lance McCullers, RHP, Corpus Christi

W (1-0); 5 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 7 K

Honorable Mentions


- Frederick Tiburcio getting himself, and Tyler Brunnemann, out of a hazardous situation by getting the final 2 outs of the 9th via strikeout.
- Joe Sclafani has done nothing but perform since entering the organization, and he's continuing to make the most of his opportunities.
- Jobduan Morales was having a rough afternoon, but he pulled himself together and delivered the game-winning hit.
- Chase McDonald played all 4 games in the San Jose series and recorded 2 hits in 3 of them.
- Travis Ballew, Dan Minor, and Tyson Perez helped finish off Tulsa by keeping them off the scoreboard.
- Jon Singleton played in all 4 games of the Vegas series and got a hit in all of them. His struggles in Houston last year were well-documented, but we haven't heard the last of him. He can still be a contributor to the Astros.

Happy Birthday - 4/3

Wishing a Very Happy 20th Birthday to C Jacob Nottingham! Nottingham was the 6th round pick in 2013 and he will start the season with the Quad Cities team.

Nottingham - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Tweet of the Day

@JayNott touché my friend. Touché. pic.twitter.com/qsgAFJ4Uj5
— Derek Fisher (@DeFish23) October 6, 2014

Tweet of the Day

I guess my arm is comfy😂 pic.twitter.com/zWDXyTh0Ly
— Jacob Nottingham (@JayNott) August 29, 2014

Tweet of the Day

@JayNott Rookie mistake right there my man.
— Brett Phillips (@Brett_Phillips8) July 29, 2014

Tweets of the Day

Tomorrow needs to come lol
— Jacob Nottingham (@JayNott) May 16, 2014

@JayneWTHB well I get to play baseball
— Jacob Nottingham (@JayNott) May 16, 2014

Happy Birthday - 4/3

Happy Birthday to ~

C Jacob Nottingham (19)
Drafted by Houston in the sixth round in 2013, Nottingham spent his first professional season with the Gulf Coast League Astros. In 44 games, he hit .247/.347/.363 with 10 doubles, two triples and a home run. He also swiped four bases. Triples and stolen bases? Are we sure he's a catcher?

DSL Pitching Coach Rick Aponte (58)
Aponte spent six seasons pitching in Houston's minor league system from 1976 to 1981. From 1981 to 2006, Aponte stayed with the organization as a coach, scout and manager until he became the bullpen coach for the Washington Nationals in 2006 under Manny Acta (Aponte had coached Acta early in his career). Aponte returned to the Astros organization in 2009. In 2013, he was the pitching coach for the Dominican Summer League, a role that he will reprise in 2014.

Tweet of the Day

Houston at night looks sexy!!!
— Jacob Nottingham (@JayNott) November 11, 2013

Astros Minor League Recaps

Tuesday's Games

Oklahoma City over Albuquerque 6-5
Jake Buchanan (5IP 8H 3R 1BB 3SO) got the start and was followed by Jason Stoffel and Pat Urckfitz who combined to allow the next two runs across. Hector Ambriz and Rhiner Cruz each pitched a perfect frame in relief and Cruz was rewarded with the win. The RedHawks drew first blood with a George Springer solo home run in the first (his 17th at Oklahoma City and his 36th overall). Three more runs scored in the fifth on a Trevor Crowe bases-loaded walk and a Jose Martinez (3x5 2B 3RBI R) two-RBI single. Down one run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Martinez doubled in Carlos Perez and was then driven in by a George Springer walk-off single. Che-Hsuan Lin was two-for-three with a triple, walk and a run scored. George Springer is now at 36/39 in his quest for the 40/40 club. The RedHawks magic number to win the division is now at eight with 13 games remaining.

Corpus Christi over Midland 3-2 in 10 innings
Nick Tropeano tossed the first six innings, allowing one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four. Alex Sogard allowed the final Midland run to score in the seventh on a solo home run. Carlos Quevedo (2IP 1H 4SO) and Jonas Dufek (1IP 1H) took it the rest of the way with Dufek earning the win. The Hooks scored one in the third on a Cody Clark sac fly, and one in the seventh on a Drew Muren home run to tie the game. Jonathan Meyer singled in Preston Tucker with one out in the 10th for the walk-off win. Kike Hernandez went three-for-five and Drew Muren was three-for-four with the solo home run and scored twice.

Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 5-4
Vincent Velasquez (3.2IP 7H 5R 3BB 4SO HR) saw his first action in the California League and mostly cruised through the first three innings. In the fourth, he allowed a single and a home run to start the inning; however, he was poised to escape with just the two runs allowed, but he couldn't get that elusive third out. With two on and two out, Velasquez gave up three straight singles, threw a wild pitch and walked a batter before Michael Dimock came in to get the final out of the frame. Dimock and Jordan Jankowski combined to allow only one hit (with five strikeouts) over the last four and a third innings. The 'Hawks scored two in the fourth on a Dan Gulbransen (2x3 BB) home run and their final two runs in the fifth on an Andrew Aplin (2x4 2-2B R) RBI double and a Tyler Heineman RBI single.

Quad Cities over Burlington 9-2
Josh Hader (5H 2R 2BB 2SO) pitched the first five and earned the win. He was followed by three scoreless innings from Jamaine Cotton and one from Patrick Christensen. The Bandits got their first run in the second as Bobby Borchering (3x4 2B HR 2R) doubled, advanced on a ground out and scored on an Austin Elkins (2x2 2B HR BB 3RBI 2R) sac fly. Elkins led off the fifth with a home run and was followed by RBI singles from Tony Kemp (3x5 3B 2RBI 2R) and Carlos Correa (1x4 BB 2RBI) to make the lead 5-2. QC then padded their lead with two in the sixth on back-to-back RBI triples from Tony Kemp and Teoscar Hernandez (3x5 R SB) and two in the seventh on a Borchering home run and an Elkins RBI double.

Tri-City over Vermont 2-1
Andrew Thurman cruised to his fourth win of the season as he allowed only one run on five hits and a walk. He struck out two. Thurman was followed by three scoreless innings from Adrian Houser (2H 3SO) and a perfect frame from Gonzalo Sanudo who earned his second save in his third appearance for Tri-City. Tri-City only got five hits, but made them count. In the second, Conrad Gregor hit a lead-off double, advanced on a ground out and scored on a Ronnie Mitchell (2x3) single. In the third, James Ramsay walked, advanced on a ground out and scored from second on a Mike Martinez single. It wasn't much, but the pitching staff ensured that it would be enough. Tri-City reclaimed first place in the division and are now a half game up on Lowell who lost on Tuesday.

Elizabethton over Greeneville 10-8
Francis Ramirez struggled through three and allowed seven runs on nine hits and two walks and was charged with the loss. Three more scored against Christian Garcia in his three innings of work, two via the long ball. Ryan Connolly stopped the bleeding with two scoreless innings. Greeneville was down 8-0 going into the sixth, but battled back with a six-run frame which featured seven walks, a sac fly, a fielding error, a wild pitch and only one hit, a single. Greeneville scored another pair in the ninth on a two-run Ariel Ovando homer, but ultimately fell short. After all was said and done, Greeneville scored eight runs on only four hits, but drew 11 walks. Edwin Gomez had four walks. Angel Ibanez and Darwin Rivera drew three each. Greeneville is still in first place by a half game, but lost ground against Kingsport who won on Tuesday.

GCL Phillies over GCL Astros 3-2 in 10 innings
Joe Musgrove put up a solid five innings (8H 1R 0BB 6SO), an encouraging sign as he works toward showing his shoulder is healthy. Musgrove was followed by Matt Heidenreich in his latest rehab outing (2IP 0H 1R/0ER 1BB 1SO) and Justin Hess with two perfect innings (3SO). Erick Gonzalez (2H 1R 2SO) allowed the final run across in the 10th and was charged with the loss. The Astros got one in the fourth as Jacob Nottingham tripled and came home on an Alex Gonzalez single and one in the sixth as Nottingham hit a lead-off double and came around to score later in the inning. Nottingham went three-for-four with two doubles and a triple and scored twice. Jason Martin was three-for-five and stole a base.

DSL Astros at DSL Indians postponed due to rain

Players of the Day: I'm splitting the honors again. Jacob Nottingham's two doubles and a triple get him a share of the pie. And Austin Elkins not only had a great game on Tuesday, he also has been having a great August so far, hitting .364/.396/.636 in 13 games.

Pitchers of the Day: The Tri-City gets my love today. Andrew Thurman, Adrian Houser and Gonzalo Sanudo did a terrific job of giving their team the chance to get back into first place.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

Oklahoma City over Reno 4-3
Wade LeBlanc had a solid start, going six and a third innings and giving up two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight, before giving way to scoreless outings from Jorge de Leon and Alex Sogard. Jason Stoffel allowed the final run across in the ninth and was charged with a blown save, but he also got the win as the RedHawks came back and scored in the bottom of the frame on a Brandon Laird RBI single. The rehabbing Trevor Crowe was three-for-four with an RBI single; Carlos Perez was three-for-three with a sac fly RBI and scored a run. The win was OKC's sixth in a row and took them into a tie for second place in their division.

Corpus Christi over San Antonio 4-3
David Martinez got the start and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts over seven and a third innings to earn his 13th win of the season. Pat Urckfitz took it the rest of the way with scoreless relief and earned the save. The Hooks put up two in the second on RBI singles from Michael Burgess and Kike Hernandez and the final two in the fifth on a two-run home run from Max Stassi (3x4 3B HR 2RBI 2R), his fifth in the last eight games and his 11th in the month of July. Jonathan Meyer was two-for-three and scored a run, and Ronald Torreyes was two-for-five.

Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 15-10
Despite striking out 14 batters, the pitching staff was, to put it mildly, rather ineffective. Aaron West gave up seven runs in only two and a third innings, Michael Dimock (1.2IP) watched two two-run home runs leave the yard, Kenny Long (3IP) added two more to the total and Cameron Lamb (2IP) was responsible for the final two. The 'Hawks drew first blood with a big five-run second inning, with runs scored on a Matt Duffy home run, a Nolan Fontana single (3x4 BB HR 4RBI 2R), an Andrew Aplin bases-loaded hit by pitch and a two-RBI single from M.P. Cokinos. Two more came across in the fourth on RBI singles from Tyler Heineman and Aplin, and the final three in the eighth on a three-run Fontana dinger. Delino DeShields was two-for-five with a double and scored a run. Chris Epps and Joe Sclafani also doubled in the game.

Quad Cities over Peoria 4-3
Mark Appel had a strong start, pitching four and two-thirds and allowing only one run on six hits and no walks. He struck out three. Appel was followed by Gera Sanchez who gave up two runs (one earned) in his outing before giving way to a scoreless appearance from Mitch Lambson. Lambson got the win in relief as Quad Cities came back with three in the ninth for a walk-off win. The first run came across in the seventh as Terrell Joyce scored on a fielding error. With the team down 3-1, Austin Elkins reached in the ninth on a hit by pitch and was driven in with a home run from new teammate Danry Vasquez (3x5). Carlos Correa then doubled and was driven in with a Bobby Borchering (2x5 SB) single.

State College over Tri-City 7-4
Six pitchers combined in this one for Tri-City, presumably just to annoy me as I try to write the recaps. Evan Grills (6H 3R/2ER 2SO) started and went three innings, and was followed by a scoreless inning from Charles Basford. Kevin Comer was charged with the loss as he allowed two unearned runs, Andrew Walter was charged with a blown save, J.D. Osborne gave up two more runs without recording an out, and Richard Rodriguez pitched an uneventful eighth. Jake Rodriguez was one-for-four with three RBI, and Jon Kemmer recorded the only extra base hit, a double.

Greeneville over Burlington 3-1
Great pitching all around as the staff combined to allow only four hits and one walk in this game. Frederick Tiburcio (2H 1BB 2SO) provided five scoreless innings and Krishawn Holley (1H 3SO) followed with two more. Raul Rivera (1H 1R 1SO) gave up the only Burlington run on a solo home run in the eighth and was followed by a perfect ninth from Gonzalo Sanudo who recorded his seventh save. Tyler White was three-for-four with a double. Tanner Mathis, Ariel Ovando and Thomas Lindauer were all credited with RBIs.

GCL Astros over GCL Pirates 18-6 in 5 innings
I did actually look to see if this game was called on some sort of mercy rule after the Astros put up 11 runs in the fifth inning, but nope, it was called for rain. Yonathan Mejia and Jacob Nottingham got things started in the first, driving in the first two runs on a single and a ground out. Two more runs came across in the third as Nottingham and Jose Solano drove in runs on force outs. In the fourth, Jason Martin tripled and then scored on a passed ball and was followed later in the inning by a Luis Reynoso RBI single, and just to shake things up a bit, Nottingham drove in his third run of the game with a sac fly this time. And then came the fifth inning, where a lot of things happened, including Mejia's fourth single and second RBI of the game, Nottingham's fourth and fifth RBI of the game and home runs from Jose Solano (3-run home run), Ydarqui Marte and Yoel Silfa (two-run home run). Luis Ordosgoitti got his first start of the season and allowed only one hit and struck out two in his two innings. Javier Lozano pitched one scoreless inning before giving way to Joe Musgrove who was victimized by two errors and a bit of wildness on his part. In two innings, he gave up six runs (two earned) on four hits and struck out one.

DSL Astros over DSL Rays 8-7
Harold Arauz tossed the first six and allowed only one unearned run on three hits on his way to his second win of the season. Junior Garcia and Victor Mesa gave up six runs between them over the next two and a third innings before Angel Heredia came in to put out the fire with a scoreless outing. The Astros scored one in the second on a Marlon Avea RBI double and two in the eighth on a Hector Roa (2x4 2R) home run and a Luis Payano (2x4 2-2B RBI) sac fly, but it was the big five-run sixth inning that made the difference in this game, featuring a bases-loaded walk by Brauly Mejia, a bases clearing double from Jean Estrella (2x3 2B BB 3RBI 2R) and another RBI double from Avea.

Player of the Day: Welcome to the Astros, Danry Vasquez! Nothing like going three-for-five and tying up the game with a home run in the bottom of the ninth to make a good first impression. Honorable mention goes to Jacob Nottingham for accomplishing the unusual feat of driving in five runs despite recording only one single in the game.

Pitcher of the Day: David Martinez gets the nod for his Lucky 13th win. He has a 2.01 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP, 20 walks to 79 strikeouts and he definitely does not get the attention that he deserves!!!