Happy Birthday - 8/26

1B/3B Brett Wallace (26)
Received in a quick flip after the Oswalt trade in 2010 (for Anthony Gose), Wallace was first drafted by St. Louis as its first Round pick in 2008. In a total of 86 games at AAA Oklahoma City this season, he hit .300/.379/.506 with 16 doubles and 16 home runs. At the major league level this season, Brett is hitting .277/.354/.482 with five doubles and six home runs in 33 games.

LHP Xavier Cedeno (26)
Cedeno was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 31st round of the 2004 draft and picked up by the Astros as a free agent in 2010. A native of Puerto Rico, Cedeno has split his time between Oklahoma City and Houston this season. In 22 appearances out of the bullpen for the Redhawks, he is 2-0 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.301 ERA. In Houston, Cedeno has a 4.71 ERA and a 1.571 WHIP in 28 appearances.

OF Justin "GoGo" Gominsky (23)
Drafted in the 11th Round in 2011 out of the University of Minnesota, Justin has spent the majority of the 2012 season at Lexington where he is hitting .238/.316/.299 in 88 games. He was an All-Star in 2011 for the Tri-City team.

SS Jimmy Howick (22)
Jimmy was drafted in the 21st Round of the 2011 draft out of Jacksonville University in FL. An injury kept him from playing in 2011. In 2012, he has split his time between Lexington and Greeneville, where he is currently playing and hitting .207/.270/.276.

SS Jiovanni Mier (22)
A first Round draft pick from 2009, Mier once again struggled with injuries this season that kept him on the DL for three months. He is now back at Lancaster and is showing continuing signs of the improvement at the plate that he had demonstrated before the injury. In 39 games with Lancaster, he is hitting .291/.392/.426.

1B/OF Edwin Gomez (21)
Originally a fourth round pick out of Puerto Rico by Detroit in 2009, Gomez was picked up by Houston in July 2012 after he was released by the Tigers organization. In 31 games for the GCL Astros, he is hitting .260/.304/.385.

DSL Manager Luis Martinez (47)
An Oakland farmhand in the 1980's, Luis Martinez has now managed the DSL Astros for three seasons. In 206 games, he is 75-130.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

3B Morgan Ensberg (37)
A ninth round pick by the Astros in 1998, Ensberg got his toes wet with the Astros in four games in 2000 and then played in 669 more games from 2002 to 2007, hitting .266/.367/.475. In his All-Star year of 2005, he hit .283/.388/.557 with 30 doubles, three triples, 36 home runs and 101 RBI, and won a Silver Slugger as well.

RHP Geoff Geary (36)
Originally drafted by the Phillies in the 15th round in 1998, Geary came to Houston (along with Michael Bourn and Mike Costanzo) in the November 2007 trade that sent Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to the Phillies. In 71 games for Houston in 2008 and 2009, Geary was 3-6 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.345 WHIP.

Roster Moves - 6/15

Oklahoma City
LHP Fernando Abad was recalled to Houston to replace RHP Wilton Lopez who went on the DL.

Lexington
C Luis Alvarez was assigned from Greeneville to Lexington.
SS Jose Fernandez was assigned from GCL to Lexington.

Greeneville
Jimmy Howick was assigned from Lexington to Greeneville.

Happy Birthday - 8/26

August 26th turns out to be the most popular birthday in the Astros organization.

Brett Wallace (25)
Received in a quick flip after the Oswalt trade in 2010 (for Anthony Gose), the sturdy lefty-hitting 1B was first drafted by St. Louis as its 1st Round pick in 2008. Brick Wall, er, Brett Wallace has been banished to OKC to find his power stroke by using those tree-trunk legs of his more. I'd better not say anything else right now about how Brett's development has been handled by the powers-that-be because this is a family blog.

Xavier Cedeno (25)
LHP Cedeno was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 31st round of the 2004 draft and picked up by the Astros as a free agent in 2010. A native of Puerto Rico, Cedeno has split his time between Corpus and Oklahoma City. Earlier in the season he was used primarily as a starter in Corpus with a 3.95 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. At OKC, he has been used primarily out of the bullpen and has not been as effective, posting a 7.80 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.

Justin Gominsky (22)
Drafted in the 11th Round in 2011 out of the University of Minnesota, Justin started off strong for TCV with a .283 BA in June but has since tapered off. The right-handed hitting OF from Birchwood, MN has posted a .237 average over 58 games with 8-2B and 12SB for the season.

Jimmy Howick (21)
Jimmy was drafted in the 21st Round of the 2011 draft as a SS out of Jacksonville University in FL. After signing, he reported to Kissimmee and was never heard from again. Seriously, I assume that he went to extended spring training, but I haven't heard anything about him since he signed.

Jiovanni Mier (21)
This 1st Round draft pick from 2009 has struggled to duplicate a strong rookie season in which he posted a .286/.380/.484/.864 line. Jiovanni has split his time this season between Lexington earlier in the season and now Lancaster. He has also been slowed by injury issues in the second half of the season, but showed some promise earlier as he was named a Sally League mid-season All Star.

Former Astros Birthdays Today:

3B Morgan Ensberg (36)
With the Astros from 2002 to 2007 (plus a cup of joe in 2000)

RHP Geoff Geary (35)
With the Astros from 2008 to 2009