Astros Minor League Roster Moves/Transactions

As you probably already know, the Astros announced yesterday the signing of IF Cesar Izturis to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. The move is likely an insurance move as the middle infield depth at the highest levels of the organization is thin.

In addition, according to MiLB, RHP Christian Garcia has been released by the Astros. Garcia was drafted in the 29th round in 2012 and made all but two of his appearances in 2012 and 2013 for the Greeneville Astros.

UPDATE: Baseball America shows two additional releases which I had not reported earlier: RHP Javier Lozano and OF Javaris Reynolds. Lozano, a 20-year old from El Salvador, had a 5.00 ERA and a 1.833 WHIP in 13 appearances with the Gulf Coast League Astros in 2013. Reynolds was drafted in the 7th round in 2011 and only managed a .197/.287/.243 batting line for the GCL team in 2013.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Monday's Games

Oklahoma over Albuquerque 6-2
Bobby Doran got the start and the win, tossing seven innings and giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits. He also walked three and struck out three. Those three hits would be the only ones Albuquerque would muster as Eric Berger and Jose Cisnero each threw a hitless inning. The RedHawks scored all of their runs in the first inning, four of them on four consecutive one-out bases loaded walks followed by a Ruben Sosa sac fly RBI and a Trevor Crowe (2x3 2BB R) RBI single.

Corpus Christi - Travel Day

Lancaster - Off Day

Quad Cities over Burlington 6-1
Another pitching staff tossing a three-hitter! Mark Appel threw the first five and allowed one run on two hits and no walks while striking out six. The one Burlington run scored on an Appel wild pitch. Mitch Lambson pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts and Andrew Walter allowed one hit and one walk (with two K's) in the final two. The River Bandits scored three in the fourth inning on a Jobduan Morales bases-loaded walk and a two-RBI single from Tony Kemp (1x3 2BB R). The other three came across in the sixth on RBI singles from Danry Vasquez (2x4 BB 2RBI) and Bobby Borchering (1x3 BB RBI R). Teoscar Hernandez went two-for-four with a walk, stolen base (his 22nd) and run scored (he was also caught stealing). Austin "Catfish" Elkins was two-for-five with a stolen base (his 18th) and scored a run.

Vermont over Tri-City 7-2
Tanner Bushue got hit hard and early in this one to take the loss. In only two innings, he allowed six runs on five hits (two home runs) and a walk. Randall Fant allowed the final run across in his four innings. Charles Basford followed with three scoreless frames. Tri-City scored one in the second on an Adam Nelubowich RBI single and one in the seventh on a Ryan Dineen (2x4) RBI single scoring James Ramsay who had doubled in the inning. Tyler White was two-for-four. Tri-City dropped to second place in their division with the loss.

Elizabethton over Greeneville 2-0
Frederick Tiburcio allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out six in four innings and was saddled with the loss. Krishawn Holley (3IP 3H 4SO) and Chris Munnelly (1IP 2SO) provided scoreless relief. Greeneville was held to five hits in the shutout with two of those belonging to Chase McDonald (2x4 2B). Marc Wik walked twice.

GCL Phillies over GCL Astros 5-2
Kent Emanuel pitched the first three and Javier Lozano and Zach Dando pitched the last two with similar results, no hits and no runs. Unfortunately, the three innings in between didn't go quite so well. Austin Nicely allowed three runs in his two innings and Devonte German allowed two runs in his two. Nicely was charged with the loss. The Astros scored one in the fourth on a Jean Batista home run and one in the eighth on a Jason Martin sac fly scoring Mesac Laguna. Yonathan Mejia went two-for-four with a double. Jean Batista seems to be doing fine in his rehab assignment with the GCL. He's hitting .286/.306/.657 with two triples and three home runs in his last 10 games and it seems like he's ready for his next stop.

DSL Indians over DSL Astros 6-1
Edwin Villarroel allowed four of the Indians six runs over his four innings and came away with the loss. Five other pitchers combined over the final five innings and that is too much for me so here you go ...

DSL Astros
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Edwin Villarroel (L, 4-5)	4.0	3	4	4	3	2	0	2.56
Juan Hernandez	1.0	1	1	1	0	1	0	2.41
Junior Garcia	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2.81
Carlos Vasquez	0.2	1	1	1	2	1	0	4.26
Juan Delis	1.1	0	0	0	1	1	0	3.78
Geronimo Franzua	1.0	0	0	0	1	3	0	4.54
Totals	9.0	6	6	6	7	9	0	2.40

The Astros got their sole run in the fourth as Kristian Trompiz singled, advanced on two ground outs and scored on a passed ball. Trompiz' single was the only hit of the game; however, Marlon Avea did walk twice.

Player of the Day: Kristian Trompiz gets the nod today. Not only did he spoil the Indians shutout, he also ruined their no-hit bid.

Pitchers of the Day: I do not give the relief corps enough love. Today I want to acknowledge every relief pitcher who tossed hitless relief on Monday and it's a nice long list - Eric Berger, Jose Cisnero, Mitch Lambson, Javier Lozano, Zach Dando, Juan Delis and Geronimo Franzua. Delis also inherited bases loaded and did not allow any runners to score. He must know that that's the way to my heart!

Astros Minor League Recaps

Monday's Games

Round Rock over Oklahoma City 12-2
This one started off badly and then just got worse. Brett Oberholtzer (4R/3ER) gave up two hits and four straight walks while only recording one out before being lifted for Alex Sogard. Sogard got a quick double play to limit the damage and went on to strike out the side in the second, but things went south again in the third as five hits and two walks (one intentional) blossomed into another six Round Rock runs. Rhiner Cruz allowed the final two runs in the fourth before he, Jason Stoffel, Kevin Chapman and Che-Hsuan Lin provided scoreless relief the rest of the way. It is the second time that OF Lin has been called upon to pitch in the last four games. OKC put up one run in the seventh and one in the eighth (RBI from Fernando Martinez and Jose Martinez), but "too much, too little, too late." Jake Elmore went two-for-four; Marc Krauss was two-for-four with a double and a run scored; and Jon Singleton was one-for-four with a double and a strikeout in his second AAA appearance.

San Antonio over Corpus Christi 8-6
Bobby Doran (3IP 6H 3R 1BB 4SO) got the start and Corpus was leading until a four-run fifth derailed the team. Nick Tropeano (4IP 7H 4R 4SO) was charged with the loss. Andrew Robinson pitched the final two frames and gave up a solo home run, one of only two hits he allowed. The Hooks put two across in the first on a George Springer single and a Jonathan Meyer (1x3 2B BB) sac fly. Jio Mier (2x5 2R) followed up with a two-run home run in the second, his fifth long ball of the season. Kiké Hernandez added on a solo homer in the third, and George Springer doubled in Zach Johnson (2x4 2B 2R) for the final Hooks run in the fourth. Rene Garcia was two-for-five with a double and a run scored.

Lancaster - All-Star Break

Quad Cities - All-Star Break

Tri-City over Vermont 9-3
Evan Grills got the first start of the Tri-City season and gave up one run by way of a solo home run in his four innings of work. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out two. Edison Frias (3H 2R 1SO) provided one inning of relief before the second half of the tandem came in. Kevin Comer allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out five in his four innings. The offensive output was rather impressive with LF Jon Kemmer leading the charge.

 Ronnie Mitchell and Tony Kemp each swiped a bag as well.

DSL Athletics over DSL Astros 1-0 in 12 innings
This was an unbelievable pitcher's duel in the DSL with Harold Arauz (5IP 4H 5SO), Javier Lozano (3IP 1H 6SO) and Gerardo Juarez (3IP 2H 4SO) allowing zero runs and zero walks in the first 11 innings before Victor Mesa got touched for a solo home run in the 12th. The Astros were held to four hits with 2B Arturo Michelina getting two of them.

Player of the Day: Jon Kemmer gets the nod in his first professional appearance -- four-for-four with a two-run home run and a walk is certainly a nice start by any measure.

Pitcher of the Day: I'm going to give Kevin Comer honorable mention for his excellent first Tri-City start, but I've got to go with the DSL pitchers (Arauz, Lozano and Juarez) for their 11 shutout innings. The fact that they didn't walk a batter in those 11 innings puts them over the top. Great job!

Happy Birthday - 4/24

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Javier Lozano (20)
Lozano was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of El Salvador in 2010 and last played for the DSL Astros in 2011.  In five innings pitched over 4 games, he was 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.400 WHIP. As far as I know he is still in the Astros system.

OKC Manager Tony DeFrancesco (50)
Drafted by the Red Sox in the ninth round in 1984, Tony spent several years in the Boston and Cincinnati minor league systems, but never made it to the bigs. After coaching in the Oakland system for several years, DeFrancesco helmed the Redhawks team for the first time in 2011. After spending the bulk of the 2012 season with OKC, he took over as Manager for the Astros for the final 41 games of the season going 16-25. This season he is once again managing the RedHawks.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Ivan Murrell (died October 8, 2006 at 63)
Signed by the Colt 45's in 1963 out of Panama, Murrell played in 54 games for the 45's and the Astros in 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968 before being selected by San Diego in the 1968 expansion draft.

RHP Todd Jones (45)
A first round draft pick by Houston in 1989, Jones played for the Astros from 1993 to 1996 before being included in this trade to Detroit (according to Baseball-Reference):

December 10, 1996: Traded by the Houston Astros with Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Orlando Miller and cash to the Detroit Tigers for Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward.

He went on to play in 16 seasons for eight different teams. While with Houston, he was 18-12 with 39 saves in 194 games, and had a 3.27 ERA and a 1.330 WHIP. He was the AL saves leader and an All-Star in 2000 for Detroit.

CF Carlos Beltran (36)
Originally drafted by Kansas City in the second round in 1995, Beltran came to Houston in this trade:

June 24, 2004: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Kansas City Royals to the Houston Astros. The Oakland Athletics sent Mark Teahen and Mike Wood to the Kansas City Royals. The Houston Astros sent Octavio Dotel to the Oakland Athletics. The Houston Astros sent John Buck and cash to the Kansas City Royals.

In 90 regular season games for Houston in 2004, he hit .258/.368/.559 with 17 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs and 58 RBI. In post-season play for Houston, he hit .435 in 12 games with eight home runs and 14 RBI.

There are many awards and superlatives associated with Beltran's career, but because of the way he left Houston, one of the first things that comes to my mind when thinking of him is a sign I saw in the stands during the 2005 World Series reading "How's the view from your couch, Beltran?"

Beltran is currently in his second year with St. Louis.

Happy Birthday - 4/24

RHP Javier Lozano (19)
Lozano was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of El Salvador in 2010 and first played for the DSL Astros in 2011.  In five innings pitched over 4 games, he was 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.400 WHIP.

OKC Manager Tony DeFrancesco (49)
Drafted by the Red Sox in the ninth round in 1984, Tony spent several years in the Boston and Cincinnati minor league systems, but never made it to the bigs.  After coaching in the Oakland system for several years, DeFrancesco helmed the Redhawks team for the first time in 2011 with a 68-75 record.  The team has gotten off to a good start in his second season.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Ivan Murrell (died October 8, 2006 at 63)
Signed by the Colt 45's in 1963 out of Panama, Murrell played in 54 games for the 45's and the Astros in 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968 before being selected by San Diego in the 1968 expansion draft.

RHP Todd Jones (44)

A first round draft pick by Houston in 1989, Jones played for the Astros from 1993 to 1996 before being included in this trade to Detroit (according to Baseball-Reference):

December 10, 1996: Traded by the Houston Astros with Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Orlando Miller and cash to the Detroit Tigersfor Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward.

He went on to play in 16 seasons for eight different teams. While with Houston, he was 18-12 with 39 saves in 194 games, and had a 3.27 ERA and a 1.330 WHIP. He was the AL saves leader and an All-Star in 2000 for Detroit.

CF Carlos Beltran (35)
Originally drafted by Kansas City in the second round in 1995, Beltran came to Houston in this trade:

June 24, 2004: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Kansas City Royals to the Houston Astros. The Oakland Athletics sentMark Teahen and Mike Wood to the Kansas City Royals. The Houston Astros sent Octavio Dotel to the Oakland Athletics. TheHouston Astros sent John Buck and cash to the Kansas City Royals.

In 90 regular season games for Houston in 2004, he hit .258/.368/.559 with 17 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs and 58 RBI. In post-season play for Houston, he hit .435 in 12 games with eight home runs and 14 RBI.

There are many awards and superlatives associated with Beltran's career, but I won't be listing them because of the way he left Houston (thanks to his agent Scott Boras).  But I will leave you with the one enduring image etched in my mind that I always think of when I think of Carlos Beltran - a sign in the stands during the 2005 World Series reading "How's the view from your couch Beltran?"