Tweet of the Day

That's a #walkoff shaving cream application. @j_sclafani's hit in the 11th gives 1st place Fresno (27-20) a BIG win. pic.twitter.com/kwXK6bgpU5

— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) May 28, 2015

Happy Birthday - 4/22

Wishing a Very Happy Birthday to ~

IF Joe Sclafani (25)
Sclafani was born on April 22, 1990 in Brooklyn, New York and was drafted by the Astros in the 14th round in 2012 out of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Sclafani is currently playing for the AAA Fresno Grizzlies.

Joe Sclafani - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RHP Bryan Abreu (18)
Abreu was born on April 22, 1997 in Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic and was signed by the Astros in November 2013. Abreu spent his first season in 2014 pitching for the Dominican Summer League Astros Orange team.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Let's play 2 in Lancaster!

Fresno 9, Salt Lake 8 in 11 innings

W- Kevin Chapman (1-1)
L- Ryan Mattheus (0-2)

Fresno home runs: None.

The Grizzlies staked Jake Buchanan to a 7-0 lead after the first inning, and everything was academic from there, right? Nope. That lead was dented when the Bees scored 3 in the top of the 7th and vanished in the 9th as they put up 5 to tie the game after the Grizz stopped the bleeding for a moment with a run in the 8th. Ugh. However, as the old adage goes... a win is a win is a win.

Matt Duffy got things started with an RBI single. After Preston Tucker lined out for the 2nd out of the 1st inning, the Grizzlies got three RBI singles in a row from Matt Dominguez, Max Stassi, and Ronald Torreyes. Stassi scored, and Torreyes advanced to third on an error that allowed Andrew Aplin to reach. Aplin proceeded to steal 2nd, his 2nd stolen base of the season. And then, Joe Sclafani clubbed a 2-run triple. Duffy, who finished with a career-high 5 hits, added another RBI single in the 8th. He then doubled to lead off the bottom of the 11th, and then Nolan Fontana was summoned to pinch-run. Preston Tucker was given a pass to 1st base, which brought up Matt Dominguez. Craziness ensued, as Dominguez laid down a sacrifice bunt that was fielded by Salt Lake 3B Kyle Kubitza and thrown away, allowing Fontana to come home with the winning run. Dominguez, L.J. Hoes (3B, 2 R), and Sclafani (2-R 3B, R) had 2 hits apiece; Ronald Torreyes went 3-5.

Jake Buchanan pitched 7 innings and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. Jordan Jankowski struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 8th. James Hoyt came on to finish it off... but the Bees had other plans. He failed to retire any of the 5 batters he faced in the 9th, allowing 5 runs (3 inherited runners charged to him) on 4 hits and walking 1. Kevin Chapman didn't help matters by allowing the Bees to empty the bases off of him, which in turn put 3 runs on James Hoyt's account, but he made amends for that by shackling them in extra innings. Chapman wound up throwing 3 scoreless (well, there is that matter of allowing 3 inherited runners to scored), allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 6.

The Grizzlies will look for the sweep as Dan Straily squares off against our old friend Nick Tropeano. First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific.

Corpus Christi was off

The Hooks are preparing for their first game at Whataburger Field as they welcome Springfield for 3 games. In the opener, Mark Appel will take on Mike Mayers at 7:05.

Game 1: Lancaster 5, Stockton 1

W- Edison Frias (2-0)
L- Dylan Covey (1-1)
S- Tyler Brunnemann (1)

Lancaster home runs: None.

The JetHawks got on the board in the series thanks to an outstanding start from Edison Frias, who allowed just 1 hit, walked 2, and struck out 5 over 5 shutout innings. Adrian Houser came on for his season debut in the 6th and had a tough go of it, but then again, it was the first time he came out this year. An error and a wild pitch didn't exactly help his cause, and he faced not one, but two separate bases-loaded situations. He allowed a run on a force out play, a single, and walked 2. Tyler Brunnemann was called on to get the JetHawks out of this jam, and he did so by inducing an inning-ending double play. That's clutch. He worked around a 1-out walk to finish off the first game of the twinbill, striking out 1.

J,D. Davis had a big game 1 as he went 3-3 with a double and 2 RBI singles. The first RBI single was the first run of the game, and he added another one in the 5th. Chase McDonald hit an RBI double in the 4th. The other 2 JetHawks runs were scored by Danry Vásquez in the 1st on a double play, and A.J. Reed in the 4th on another double play.

What would game 2 hold in store for Lancaster?

Game 2: Stockton 7, Lancaster 3

W- Jonathan Joseph (1-0)
L- Brian Holmes (0-1)
S- Brendan McCurry (2)

Lancaster home runs: None.

The JetHawks had to settle for the split, and they dropped the series.

They had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th, but all they could muster up was a sac fly from Davis. James Ramsay hit a sac fly in the 3rd, and McDonald hit an RBI single in the 6th. Jose Fernandez went 2-3 with a run scored, and Jobduan Morales finished 3-3 with a run scored.

Brian Holmes went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. In his season debut, Ambiorix De Leon pitched a scoreless 6th, but the wheels fell off for him in the 7th as he allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and walked 2 while striking out 1. Chris Cotton cleaned up the mess as he retired all 3 batters he faced after coming on, striking out 2.

The JetHawks hit the road for the first time this season. First stop, High Desert for 4. Zach Morton will face Luis Parra in game 1 at 6:35 Pacific.

Quad Cities 2, Beloit 2 through 4.5 innings

This game was suspended due to a problem with the lighting. They'll finish this one up tomorrow, and then a 7-inning game will follow. Joe Musgrove will take on Jordan Schwartz in that game. The 2 Quad Cities runs came courtesy of a double hit by Ryan Bottger in the 4th that tied this game.

Three Stars: Position Players

3.

Joe Sclafani, UTIL, Fresno

2-6, 3B, 2 RBI, R

2. 

His MiLB.com profile picture.

J.D. Davis, 3B, Lancaster

Doubleheader: 4-6, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, SB (1)

1. 

Matt Duffy, 3B/1B, Fresno

5-6, 2B, 2 RBI, R

*The 5 hits are a career-high.

Three Stars: Pitchers

3.

Kevin Chapman, LHP, Fresno

W (1-1), 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 6 K

*There's a small penalty for allowing inherited runners to score.

2. 

Tyler Brunnemann, RHP, Lancaster

Save (1) in game 1 of doubleheader; 1.2 IP, BB, K

1. 

Edison Frias, RHP, Lancaster

W (2-0) in game 1; 5 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K

Honorable Mentions

- Chase McDonald continues his fine start to the season.
- The Fresno offense has been on a torrid start to their year.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Field trip games!

Oklahoma City was off

The RedHawks will begin their annual Big 12 Tournament roadtrip in Nashville tonight. Nick Tropeano (1-3, 2.94) will face off against Ariel Peña (2-2, 4.66) at 7:05.

Corpus Christi 7, San Antonio 6 in 13 innings

W- Travis Ballew (2-0)
L- Luis de la Cruz (0-4)
S- Pat Urckfitz (2)

CC home runs: Joe Sclafani (1, solo in 7th)

The Hooks' 2 wins in this series have come in extra innings. They had to work for this one though... they had the Missions down to their final out twice, only to see them tie the game with a solo homer each time. And, they needed to withstand 4 Missions home runs. Telvin Nash went 0-5, but he provided the go-ahead sac fly in the top of the 13th. This was Nash's first RBI that came off something other than a home run.

Offensively, the Hooks capitalized on 3 Missions miscues, scoring 4 runs as a result. Joe Sclafani had himself an afternoon at the plate as he went 3-6 with a 2-run single in the 2nd (an error preceded this), a solo homer in the 7th that tied the game at 4 at that point, and 2 runs scored. In the 12th, he took off for 3rd on a wild pitch and ended up scoring the go-ahead run as Austin Hedges' throw was errant. That run put Corpus up 6-5. Andrew Aplin was 3-6 with a double in the 10th inning. He wound up scoring on Preston Tucker's double which put Corpus up 5-4. Matt Duffy opened up the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st. Tucker went 2-5. M.P. Cokinos was the only player in the starting 9+1 to not strike out, and Leo Heras, who was activated from the DL along with Colton Cain, went 1-2 with a walk in his first action.

Colton Cain got the start and allowed a run on 2 hits and walked 1 in 3 innings. Jordan Jankowski probably isn't too thrilled that he gave up 3 runs on 2 home runs, but outside of that, he allowed one other hit, walked 2, and struck out 4 in 4.2 innings of work.

Jorge De Leon pitched 2.1 innings. He got the first 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th, but... Rymer Liriano, who was the 3rd man due up in the inning, had other ideas. He sent the first pitch he saw from De Leon out of there to tie the game at 5. That was Liriano's 2nd homer of the game; he took Jankowski deep in the 6th to give San Antonio a 4-3 lead. De Leon allowed 2 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Travis Ballew tossed a 1-2-3 11th, and had 2 outs and a 1-2 count on Jake Lemmerman in the 12th. Lemmerman decided that this game needed to go on a little longer and re-tied it with a solo homer. That was the only blemish on Ballew's line; he struck out 2. Pat Urckfitz decided that enough was enough and slammed the door. He worked around a walk and wild pitch to finally finish this one, striking out 2 in a scoreless 13th.

The Hooks will look for the series win as they send out Kyle Smith (0-2, 10.38; 4-2, 4.46 season). He'll be taking on Odrisamer Despaigne, a Cuban defector who is making his season debut. First pitch is at 7:05.

Bakersfield 10, Lancaster 0

W- Wandy Peralta (4-3)
L- Brian Holmes (0-1)

Lancaster home runs: None.

Ugh.

The only 2 JetHawks hits in this game belonged to Tony Kemp and Bobby Borchering. Rio Ruiz went 0-2 with 2 walks.

Brian Holmes went 4.1 innings and allowed 6 runs (1 inherited runner charged to him) on 7 hits (2-run homer), walked 1, and struck out 3. Richard Rodriguez was the first man out and pitched 1.2 innings, allowing a run on 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 1. Tyson Perez allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and walked 1 in 2 innings, and finally, Juan Minaya worked around a hit to throw a scoreless 9th.

Kyle Westwood will face James Allen in the series finale. First pitch is at 6:30 Pacific.

Wisconsin 5, Quad Cities 1

W- Barrett Astin (4-2)
L- Evan Grills (1-1)
S- Rodolfo Fernandez (1)

QC home runs: None.

The Timber Rattlers took control of this game and took the series thanks to a 4-run 4th that broke a 1-1 tie.

Brett Phillips went 2-4; he doubled to lead off the game, advanced to 3rd on a Chan-Jong Moon sac bunt, and scored QC's only run of the evening on Jack Mayfield's groundout. Moon went 2-3 with a steal (13).

Evan Grills pitched 7 innings and allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2, and Chris Cotton struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 8th.

The River Bandits will now begin the 2nd leg of their roadtrip as they head to suburban Chicago to begin a 4-game set with Kane County. Coming off his best start of the season, Adrian Houser (1-1, 4.67) will get the start in the opener. He'll take on Duane Underwood (0-0, 2.91) at 6:30.

Three Stars

3.

Brett Phillips, CF, Quad Cities

2-4, 2B, R

2.

Pat Urckfitz, LHP, Corpus Christi

Save (1), IP, BB, 2 K

1.

Joe Sclafani, 2B, Corpus Christi

3-6, solo HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 R

Happy Birthday - 4/22

Happy Birthday to ~

IF Joe Sclafani (24)
Drafted by Houston out of Dartmouth in the 14th round in 2012, Sclafani played his first 19 games in 2013 at Quad Cities before being promoted to Lancaster for the rest of the year, hitting a combined .302/.396/.474. Sclafani has become quite the utility player and has already played at second, third, short and a couple of innings in right field in his first six games of 2014, one in Oklahoma City and the rest in Corpus Christi.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

LHP Carlos Hernandez (34)
The Venezuelan lefty was signed by the Astros in 1997 and pitched in 35 games for Houston in 2001, 2002 and 2004. In his first three starts in the major leagues, he was 1-0 with a 1.02 ERA and a 1.019 WHIP and was considered one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. Then a jammed pitching shoulder diving back in to second base derailed his budding career. Though he continued to pitch after that injury for both the Houston and Tampa Bay organizations, he continued to suffer injuries that kept him from ever making a real comeback. He last pitched for Mexico City in the Mexican League in 2013.

Joe Sclafani's Excellent Adventure Down Under

Astros Utility Infielder and 2012 14th round draft pick Joe Sclafani got the opportunity of a lifetime over the winter, playing for the Adelaide Bite in the Australian Baseball League. I caught up with Joe via email last week to ask him about the experience.

Joe Sclafani - June 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

JH: Can you tell me about the overall experience ... the fans, the facilities, the travel, the competition? Does baseball get a decent following?

JS: The overall experience was fantastic. It was pretty special being able to experience a different culture while working to improve my game. The challenge in Australia is that baseball has to compete with cricket, which is extremely popular on that side of the world. However, baseball's popularity has been growing along with the number of kids signing up to play little league, so the fans were actually really enthusiastic, providing a great atmosphere to play in. Some facilities were nicer than others, but I was pleasantly surprised in the long run. The travel was interesting...we only played 4 days a week due to most Aussies having to work their full time jobs as well, and no team was close enough to drive, so we flew everywhere. I enjoyed that part of it. There are a lot of good players from Australia with professional experience who combined with quality import players led to a high level of competition that would probably surprise some people.

JH: Since you were there over Christmas, did you have family come visit? Did it seem weird to be celebrating Christmas in the middle of summer?

JS: It was incredibly weird not being around for Christmas or New Years with 23 years of tradition being broken...Plus Christmas is treated more like a 4th of July type holiday there. There aren't very many decorations, if at all, and the only discernible difference between Christmas and another summer day is that people wear Santa or elf hats when they're out. That being said, my family made it a point to come on vacation and see me. We had a wonderful time doing the standard touristy things you could expect in Australia. It was fantastic.

JH: What were you working on and what do you feel like you accomplished Down Under?

JS: Overall, I'm happy with what I was able to achieve over there. My stats might not reflect my total body of work, but I was pleased with the results. I played mostly shortstop, but continued to get work at 2nd and 3rd base and even took fly balls whenever I got the chance. From an offensive standpoint, I tried to work on my short game (bunting, stealing bases, etc.) and just continue to improve my approach and get on base as often as possible.

JH: What was your reaction when Tyler Massey ROBBED you of a home run by literally going through a wall?

JS: It's definitely not a feeling I'm generally accustomed to, but Tyler and I had gotten the chance to meet a few times and we played against each other in the Cal League (he played for Modesto). He's a phenomenal player and a really great guy, so it was just a testament to the type of high energy, relentless player that he is (not to mention his blatant disregard for his well-being by running through that wall). It was deflating for sure, but all I could do was tip my hat.

JH: What did you do in your down time?

JS: We had a good amount of down time there, so we tried to experience as much as we could. We lived right on the beach, so we spent a good amount of time soaking up the sun in the 'winter'. We tried to experience as much Australian culture as we could by going to a wildlife reserve, the Adelaide zoo, etc.. We also wanted to go see one of the Ashes test matches (huge prestigious cricket matches between Australia and England), but unfortunately always had a game when they played.

JH: What one memory will you take with you from the experience?

JS: Being blessed enough to have my family come out and experience some of the wonderful things Australia has to offer.

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

Thank you for your time, Joe, and best of luck in the rapidly approaching season.
 

Astros Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

Tuscon over Oklahoma City 8-6
Bobby Doran put up a solid start (6IP 3H 2R 2BB 4SO), but Jason Stoffel was victimized in the seventh to the tune of three runs on three hits. Pat Urckfitz faced two batters in the eighth and struck both of them out. Hector Ambriz, tasked with getting the final out with a 6-5 lead in the frame, instead allowed a three-run home run to Cody Decker. Sigh. Trevor Crowe doubled in two of the four Oklahoma City runs in the second inning, and Ruben Sosa (3x4 2B 2RBI 2R) singled in one run in the second and doubled in another in the fourth. Every RedHawks starter reached the hit column with George Springer, Brandon Laird, Jimmy Paredes and Rene Garcia having multi-hit games in addition to Sosa.

Northwest Arkansas over Corpus Christi 1-0
Nick Tropeano pitched a great game and came out of it with a complete game loss. He gave up six hits and two walks, struck out six and allowed the only run of the game on a solo home run. On the other side of the diamond, Northwest Arkansas used five pitchers and allowed only two Hooks hits, two Kike Hernandez singles. Sorry, Nick, sometimes life just isn't fair.

Lancaster over Inland Empire 6-5
Aaron West got the start and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits over the first four and was followed by two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief from Blair Walters. A two-run homer issued by Jordan Jankowski in the eighth inning earned him a blown save, but the 'Hawks came back and Travis Ballew was awarded a "W" in the ninth. The JetHawks did not reach the run column until the sixth inning when two of the four runs came across on a Nolan Fontana home run. They put up one more in the eighth and Joe Sclafani hit a walk-off single in the ninth scoring Brandon Meredith. Sclafani was four-for-five for the night with a triple, RBI, stolen base and two runs scored. Carlos Perdomo and Tyler Heineman each had multi-hit games as well.

Clinton over Quad Cities 9-7
Josh Hader's second start did not go quite as well as his first. After allowing back-to-back doubles to start the game, Hader issued four free passes, hit a batter and was charged with a wild pitch while only recording two outs. Daniel Minor came in to get a quick ground out to end the threat, but ultimately allowed two runs over his three and a third innings. Patrick Christensen allowed one unearned run in his two innings and Zach Morton was pegged with the loss as he gave up the final two runs in his two. Rio Ruiz (2x4 2B HR BB) got the first River Bandit run in the second on a solo homer. Four more scored in the third with help from a Terrell Joyce RBI double and three Clinton errors in the frame. Carlos Correa (3x4 BB 2RBI R) singled in the final two Bandits runs in the fourth. Tony Kemp went two-for-three with two walks and scored a run; and Bobby Borchering was two-for-four with a double and run scored.

Connecticut over Tri-City 4-2
Kyle Westwood pitched the first three and allowed one run on a hit and a walk while striking out four. Tanner Bushue followed and gave up three runs (two earned) in his two innings before giving way to scoreless outings from Tyler Brunnemann and J.D. Osborne. Mike Martinez (2x3 BB R) scored on a ground out in the second, and Tyler White singled in James Ramsay (1x4 R SB) in the third. Tri-City was limited to eight hits in the game, all singles.

Johnson City over Greeneville 9-4
Starter Enderson Franco had a no-hitter going through four innings, but ultimately allowed seven runs on seven hits and struck out six over six innings. Krishawn Holley allowed the next two runs in his inning before Gonzalo Sanudo came in to pitch a perfect ninth. Alfredo Gonzalez (2x3 HR BB 2RBI 2R) got his second home run in the last week and second of his career to start the scoring in the third. Marc Wik scored on a wild pitch in the sixth. And the final two runs scored on RBI singles from Gonzales and Tanner Mathis (2x4 BB RBI) in the ninth. Brian Holberton was two-for-four with a double. Angel Ibanez and Ariel Ovando doubled in the game as well.

GCL Yankees2 over GCL Astros 4-0
Francis Ramirez (5IP 3H 1BB 3SO) and Zach Dando (3IP 4H 2SO) pitched eight shutout innings before the wheels came off for Juan Santos inn the bottom of the ninth. Single, walk, intentional walk, grand slam, ouch. The Yankees2 team was dealing too. Jean Batista's single to lead off the second was the only Astros hit in the game.

DSL Astros over DSL Dodgers 12-0
This was a nice team effort from pitchers Gerardo Juarez (3IP 3H 1BB 5SO), Juan Hernandez (3IP 2H 1BB 2SO), Yhoan Acosta (2IP 1H 2SO) and Geronimo Franzua (1IP 1BB 1SO) as they combined in the shutout. Randy Cesar (3x4 2B HR BB RBI 3R) started the Astros offensive onslaught with a solo homer in the second and Jarico Reynoso (2x5 3RBI) ended the scoring with a two-RBI triple in the ninth. Jesus Bermejo went two-for-five with two RBI and two runs scored. Luis Payano, Brauly Mejia and Jean Carlos Cortrorreal each had multi-hit games as well.

Players of the Day: Joe Sclafani's four-for-five night was impressive enough, but now that Sclafani finally has enough at-bats to qualify as a league leader, you can see that his season as a whole has been pretty impressive. He ranks third in average in the California League, second in OBP and 11th in slugging. Randy Cesar, who lacked a triple to hit for the cycle, and scored thrice for the DSL shares the honors.

Pitchers of the Day: I've got to send some love to the Dominican Republic as the four pitchers combined in a six-hit shutout. A tip of the cap to righties Gerardo Juarez and Juan Hernandez, and lefties Yhoan Acosta and Geronimo Franzua on a great game.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Tuesday's Games

Omaha over Oklahoma City 4-3 in 11 innings (Game 1)
This was a continuation of an earlier suspended game so technically Ross Seaton (3H 1R 1BB) is shown as pitching the first two-thirds of an inning, but in actuality, the game started with two outs in the bottom of the first and that is where Asher Wojciechowski came in. In seven and a third innings, Wojo gave up only one run on seven hits, walking two and striking out two. Unfortunately, Josh Zeid was charged with a blown save as he allowed the third run across in the bottom of the ninth to tie it, and Alex Sogard got the loss with a run allowed in the 11th. The RedHawks collected three runs in the fifth on a Jimmy Paredes home run. Brandon Laird was two-for-five with two doubles. As an interesting side note, since this was a continuation of a suspended game, the starters include four players currently in Houston (Brett Wallace, Jonathan Villar, Jake Elmore and Marc Krauss) and one who was traded (Fernando Martinez).

Omaha over Oklahoma City 3-2 in 7 innings (Game 2)
Bobby Doran pitched very well in his spot start in Oklahoma City as he allowed one run on five hits and a walk while striking out two in five and a third innings. Eric Berger pitched a clean inning, handing it off to Rhiner Cruz to get the final two outs. Cruz only managed to retire one batter before giving up two runs and was charged with a blown save and the loss. The RedHawks scored one in the second on a Jose Martinez sac fly and one in the fifth on a Marwin Gonzalez RBI single. Robbie Grossman was two-for-four with a double, and Brandon Laird was two-for-two and scored a run.

San Antonio over Corpus 11-3
The good news is that Carlos Quevedo only allowed two hits and no runs in his inning of work. The bad news is that R.J. Alaniz, T.J. Geith, Sergio Escalona and Pat Urckfitz combined to allow 18 hits and 11 runs (10 earned) in the other eight. Further bad news ... the Hooks were held to four hits. More good news ... they somehow parlayed those four hits into three runs, despite none of them being extra base hits, as they were helped out by two San Antonio errors, a wild pitch and a hit batter.

Lancaster over San Jose 7-4
Six of Luis Cruz' seven innings pitched were terrific. Unfortunately, he allowed four runs on four hits in the second inning of the game. Cruz only allowed six singles in the game and struck out six, but was somewhat hampered by three errors in the field behind him. In all the JetHawks committed four errors in the game. Jonas Dufek pitched one inning and allowed no hits and two walks and came away with the win. Kenny Long, in his return to The Caster, pitched a perfect ninth for the save. The 'Hawks scored two in the first, one in the third on Andrew Aplin's (2x4 BB) second RBI single of the game and one in the sixth on a Chris Epps double. They entered the bottom of the eighth tied at four apiece. In the eighth, Joe Sclafani (2x3 2B 2R) scored from first on a Brandon Meredith (2x3 BB) double, Meredith scored on a Chris Epps (2x4 2B) single, and Epps scored on a Nolan Fontana (2x5 R) double. Delino DeShields was two-for-five with two doubles and scored two runs. [UPDATED TO ADD: The JetHawks are the first Astros MiLB affiliate to get to 60 wins this season. They did not get to 60 wins until August 10th last season in a win that also happened to be over San Jose. They did not get to 60 wins for the entire season from 2009 through 2011.]

Hudson Valley over Tri-City 4-3
Michael Feliz (5IP 5H 2R 2BB 3SO) gave up two runs and took the road loss. He was followed by Andrew Thurman (3H 2R 1BB 6SO) who allowed another pair of runs in his two and a third innings. Patrick Christensen inherited two runners from Thurman and erased them quickly with a double play in the eighth. The ValleyCats didn't get on the scoreboard until Conrad Gregor (2x5) hit an RBI single in the eighth driving in former Vanderbilt teammate Tony Kemp (2x5 2B). They scored two more runs in the ninth on a James Ramsay (2x2) RBI single, but ultimately fell just short. Michael Martinez was one-for-four with a double.

Greeneville over Johnson City 5-4
The Astros made it 11 in a row. Jordan Mills pitched the first five, allowing one run on four hits while striking out five. He was followed by three innings from Austin Chrismon who allowed three runs on only two hits (with one of those hits being a two-run triple). Chrismon walked one and struck out three. Gonzalo Sanudo pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to earn his sixth save. The Greeneville team scored three in the third, one on a Brett Phillips double with two additional runs coming across on an error. A Juan Santana (1x3 BB SB) RBI single in the fourth and an Ariel Ovando RBI double in the fifth accounted for the final two Greeneville runs. Tanner Mathis was two-for-three with a walk.

GCL Blue Jays over GCL Astros 6-1
Agapito Barrios had a solid start (5IP 2H 1R 2BB 4SO), but then the bullpen in the guise of Reymin Guduan, Jorge Perez and Zach Dando combined to allow five runs on six hits over the next three innings. The Astros were held to five hits and didn't get a run across until a ninth inning RBI single from Mesac Laguna (2x4) driving in Jacob Nottingham.

DSL Astros over DSL Mariners 6-2
Rayderson Chevalier (5IP 3H 2R/1ER 2SO HR) allowed two runs in the second and then combined with teammate Joselo Pinales (4IP 2H 4SO) to keep the Mariners off the board the rest of the way. It was Pinales' first professional win. Offensively, the win was a true team effort as all but one of the Astros starters collected a hit and five contributed in the RBI column. Luis Payano (2x4 2B RBI R), Arturo Michelena (2x5 2B RBI R), Randy Cesar (1x5 2B 2RBI), and Brian Pena (2x4 2B BB 2R) had particularly good games. Jean Estrella and Victor Tavarez drove in runs as well. Estrella and Jarico Reynoso each stole a bag.

Player of the Day: When I got home from the Astros game last night, I tuned into the Lancaster game just in time to hear Joe Sclafani single with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Maybe it was just Jason Schwartz' call of the next play as Sclafani motored around from first to score on the next play, a double from Brandon Meredith, but it was an exciting, close play that was pivotal in the game. It gave Lancaster the lead, and ultimately the win, against the Northern Division leading San Jose team. Those are the kind of plays that gave the JetHawks the nickname "Heart Attack Hawks" last season, and the kind of plays that propelled them to the Championship. Joe Sclafani gets today's WTHB nod just for reminding me of how thrilling last season was and for giving me a possible glimpse into how the rest of this season may unfold.

Pitcher of the Day: Jose Pinales not only got his first professional win, the 18-year old also lowered his ERA and WHIP even further to 0.55/0.796.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Saturday's Games

Elizabethton Twins 1, Greeneville Astros 2
For the second day in a row Greeneville scored both runs in one inning and then took advantage of solid pitching to secure the win—their third in a row. Starter Enderson Franco (2-2) recorded the win after allowing just three hits and an unearned run through six innings on the hill while walking one and striking out four. Gonzalo Sanudo came on to close out the ninth and retired the side, striking out one to notch his second save. Ariel Ovando (1X3 R SO) crossed the plate for Greeneville's first score in the third on a Jack Mayfield (2X4 R RBI) RBI single. Later in the inning Brett Phillips (1X4 3B RBI SO) hit a triple to bring Mayfield home. 

GCL Yankees2 7, GCL Astros 8

The Astros battled back several times in this game and hung on to score the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. After the first two batters in the ninth were retired for the Astros, Ydarqui Marte (3X5 2R 2B RBI 2 SO) singled and then stole second. Yoel Silfa (2X5 RBI SO), who was at the plate during Marte's steal, followed with a single of his own, bringing Marte around for the walk-off win. Alex Gonzalez (3X5 2B RBI 2SO) also had a three-hit game while Yonathan Mejia (2X5 2R RBI SO) and Jacob Nottingham (2X5 R SO) added two hit performances. The GCL Astros sent five pitchers to the mound Saturday and all but the last, Kevin Ferguson, allowed at least a run. Ferguson (0-1) would also take the win after facing five batters, allowing two hits, walking one and striking two out.   

DSL Rays 0, DSL Astros 3
The DSL Astros came back in a big way after losing the last three in a row, shutting out their opponents yesterday while allowing just three hits. Harold Arauz (1-0) started and picked up the win, pitching six innings, giving up a pair of hits and striking out four. Starting with the last batter of the second inning, Arauz retired the last 15 he faced in order (If you are paying attention, that is two more than he should have faced in that time. Two of his strikeouts ended with the pitch getting away from the catcher, so in both the third and fifth innings there were four outs). Junior Garcia entered in the seventh and collected his first save after completing the game, allowing only a hit and striking out three. Jean Estrella went two-for-three at the plate with a run scored.

Tri-City Valley Cats 5, Batavia Muckdogs 4
The Valley Cats allowed a pair of two-run innings in the eighth and ninth but tallied the win nonetheless. Chris Cotton (1-1) was on the mound for the first five frames and earned his first win after retiring every batter he faced, striking out five. Patrick Christensen got the save (2) after working the ninth inning. Ronnie Mitchell went two-for-three at the dish with two runs scored, a double, a walk and two RBI on his eighth inning blast. Four other Tri-city players recorded multi-hit games, although no one besides Mitchell had any XBHs. Here's a look at the box:

Dayton Dragons 4, Quad Cities River Bandits 3
Despite seven shutout innings by starter Jordan Jankowski, the River Bandits lost after allowing a four-run eighth inning. Jankowski allowed four hits and struck out six in his time on the hill. Quad Cities got on the board Saturday in the seventh when Luis Alvarez (1X4 R  HR 2RBI 2SO) hit a two-out homer, scoring Rio Ruiz (0X4 R SO). Dan Gulbransen collected three hits in the game, going three-for-four with a double and an RBI.   

Modesto Nuts 6, Lancaster JetHawks 10
Lancaster scored ten runs for the second night in a row and tallied another win. In the first inning Lancaster batted around the order and scored five runs on five singles, a double and a walk. Five JetHawks had two hit games and four of them also had two RBI in addition. Brady Rogers (8-5) tossed the first five innings, gave up five runs on eight hits (HR), walked one, struck out six, and escaped with the win. Michael Dimock allowed another run in the ninth on a triple and a double while striking out three amongst the hits. Here's a peek at Lancaster's offense on Saturday:

Frisco RoughRiders 4, Corpus Christi Hooks 3 (11)
This was the Hooks' third extra-inning game of their last four and it was close throughout. Corpus blanked Frisco until the eighth inning before falling in the 11th. David Martinez threw the first seven and a third, giving up a pair of runs over six hits and three walks while striking out two. Jorge De Leon (0-3) toed the rubber for the last two innings and took the loss, allowing a run in the final frame on one hit and a walk and K-ing one. Jonathan Meyer (2X5 R HR RBI SO) brought the scores all square in the eighth inning when he hit his 12th homer of the season. Domingo Santana was swinging his bat, finishing three-for-five with an RBI and strikeout in the game. Rene Garcia was in multiples as well, batting two-for-five with a strikeout of his own.

New Orleans Zephyrs 4, Oklahoma City RedHawks 2
Oklahoma City had seven hits, but couldn't string any together on Saturday and fell to their opponents at home. Their first run in the fifth came after Jimmy Paredes (2X3 R BB) reached on a single and then advanced on a stolen base and throwing error before crossing the plate on a Jose Martinez (0X3 RBI SO) ground out. The second RedHawks run came by way of a Brandon Laird (1X4 R HR RBI) solo shot in the ninth inning. Asher Wojciechowski started and pitched six innings, allowing a run on five hits, walking a pair and striking out three. Hector Ambriz (0-1) clocked in for the next two innings and left with the loss. Ambriz gave up another two runs (1ER) on three hits (HR) and struck out two. Wojo was the only RedHawks pitcher to not allow a homer in the game.

Player of the Day: Instead of splitting hairs, I'm going with the diplomatic route today and awarding the honors to Joe Sclafani, Matt Duffy, Chris Epps and Brandon Meredith of Lancaster. They all put out on Saturday and all deserve a big pat on the back.

Pitcher of the Day: There are split honors here today too. Why? Because Harold Arauz retired fifteen in a row yesterday and that is definitely worthy of a nod. Also, Chris Cotton came along and retired all fifteen he faced, like dominoes. So he gets a nod too. That's how it works here at WTHB.

An Interview with SS Joe Sclafani

Joe Sclafani has been a pleasant surprise this season for the Lancaster team. After starting the season with 19 games at Quad Cities, Joe was called upon to help fill in for some injuries on the JetHawks. He made the most of the opportunity and, although he has slowed down a bit as of late, he is hitting .331/.457/.496 in 38 games for the team. I'm going to round up his 197 at-bats to 200 and tell you that he leads all Astros minor leaguers in OBP for those with 200 at-bats +/- with a .449 combined mark for his time at Quad Cities and Lancaster.

Sclafani is sneaky good. Hitting Coach Darryl Robinson admits that when Sclafani first came to Lancaster, he had trouble placing him from Spring Training, but now he's a fan, "Great kid. He fits right in. He came in. He works hard. He's a gamer, my kind of player. Just like the rest of these guys."

I asked Robinson about Sclafani's power potential which seems to be emerging as of late, "I think he's going to develop more [power]. He's got a great bat path. He's going to get stronger. He's going to understand his swing a little bit more. He's going to swing the bat a lot better. He's doing well right now, but there's more in there."

Joe Sclafani - June 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

I got the chance to talk with Joe recently about his season so far and a few other topics. Here is what he had to say (edited for brevity and clarity) ~

On making the most of the opportunity at Lancaster: "I just worked really hard to put myself in a good position. In Quad Cities, when you were there, I wasn't playing a lot. Other guys were playing well. I worked hard during early work and stuff so when I got the opportunity to come up here and actually play a little bit more on a consistent basis, I think that hard work wound up paying off. It's always nice when you get an opportunity and I was fortunate to really take advantage of it. [I've] tailed off a little bit, but that's OK. I know my role here and my role's get on base, be ready whenever I need to. I step in for guys when they're nicked up so I'm embracing it and, hopefully, I will continue to do well."

As a switch hitter, he's been better from the left side of the plate this year. Is that normal?: "I think last year my average was actually better from the right in Tri-City. It's just tough sometimes because you don't get consistent at-bats from one side or the other. The case here, so far, is that I've been getting a lot of at-bats from the left side so I feel more comfortable there, but from the right side, honestly, I'm still seeing it OK. I think over time, it will even itself out."

Is he comfortable playing second base as well as short?: "We worked really hard there. I haven't played a lot of second in my life up until Spring Training, but we worked really hard on it, and it's a work in progress still. There are plenty of things I really need to work on, but I definitely feel more comfortable now."

What has he been working on this season?: "My goal has always, as a guy who hits at the top of the order, I need to get on base a lot. That's why I'm not over aggressive at the plate. I just like to get on base. I have a little bit of power here. Who knows where it's come from, but it just means I'm seeing the ball well. I'm hitting it hard and starting to drive it a bit better so hopefully I can continue to get better at that."

How has he adjusted to full season ball?: "It was a little bit of an adjustment at first, but the way I've looked at it is [to] just kind of break it up. First half is a short season, second half is a short season so I'm already done with one of them and I was fortunate enough, I did pretty well. I've enjoyed it."

What Astros pitcher would he least like to face?: "Honestly, I'd probably say Vince Velasquez. He's got electric stuff. When he's locating that fastball, he's tough to hit. I've seen him just make people look silly, but there are a lot of guys that I could say ... [David] Rollins from the left side if I had to bat right-handed. [Luis] Cruz, he likes to come in all the time; when he's spotted up, he's really tough to hit."

Who on the team makes him laugh?: "[Chris] Epps makes me laugh the most. [Brandon] Meredith is always joking around. [Matt] Duffy is kind of a sleeper in that area. He makes me laugh all the time."

What would he do if he couldn't play baseball?: "I'd be in the real world working behind a desk every day. I was in the interviewing process just in case I didn't get drafted. A lot of my friends work on Wall Street. That's probably where I would have wound up had I not done this. Going to Dartmouth, one of the biggest benefits is the networking. You meet a ton of people ... and before you know it, you get an interview [through your contacts]. So I'd probably be in some big city doing something; somebody would be foolish enough to let me handle their money. [What was his major?] Government, but I [took a lot of] econ courses."

How did a Florida guy end up at Dartmouth?: "My parents spent a lot of money on letting me go to showcases and tournaments. I was fortunate enough, I went to something called Headfirst which is one of those big showcases, but for guys who got a certain score on a SAT or were really interested in going to those schools. All the Ivies were there, a ton of really good D2, D3 schools, liberal arts schools in the northeast were there. I had a few good days and I was fortunate enough to have a lot of options in the Ivy League. [I] went to Dartmouth, fell in love with it the second I stepped on campus and it was the best decision I ever made because it was the best four years of my life."

Something that most people don't know about him: "I have a twin sister and she goes to Grad school at Dartmouth right now."

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

Sclafani is definitely a smart guy. Do I say that because he went to Dartmouth? Well, maybe a little. Do I say that because he understands his role and has a plan to make the most of his talent? Yeah, kind of. Do I say that because he's a fantastic conversationalist, inquisitive and engaging? Partially. Do I say that because he has Plan B already figured out in case baseball doesn't work out for him? To a certain extent. But it was the final thing that he said to me that convinced me that Joe is a very, very smart man, "We have the best job in the world so I can't complain." Sclafani has all the options in the world, but he's smart enough to appreciate what he's doing right now and to embrace it for all its worth. He will never have to look back and say, "What If?" That's pretty smart.

Funky Foto Friday

I've been playing with the BeFunky photo effect site again. Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

Brady Rodgers

Brian Holmes

Carlos Quevedo

David Martinez

Joe Sclafani

Jonathan Meyer

Luis Cruz

T.J. Geith

Chris Devenski

David Rollins

George Springer

Kiké Hernandez

Astros Minor League Recaps

Sunday's Games

Omaha over Oklahoma City 7-0
Jarred Cosart (5IP 2H 4R/3ER 4BB 5SO) got the start and the loss. He wasn't exactly helped by Josh Zeid who allowed three of Cosart's runs to score and then added on three unearned runs of his own in the sixth. Kevin Chapman and C.J. Fick shut the barn door, but not in time to save any of the livestock. And frankly, it wouldn't have mattered much anyway as the 'Hawks only managed to put up five singles in the game.

San Antonio over Corpus Christi 7-4
Starter Bobby Doran (4IP 3R 1BB 4SO) only gave up five hits, but three of those were doubles with men on base. Sergio Escalona led off the fifth with back-to-back triples and rounded out the inning with an RBI single and a two-run home run on his way to being charged with the loss. Nick Tropeano pitched three scoreless, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out five. The Hooks scored early as a Domingo Santana walk was followed by back-to-back long balls from Erik Castro and Jonathan Meyer in the second. George Springer's solo home run in the fifth accounted for the final Hooks run. Jose Martinez was two-for-four and is hitting .455/.500/.485 in his seven games since joining the Hooks squad.

San Jose over Lancaster 5-3
Lancaster has now dropped seven straight, going 0-7 on the road trip. What makes it worse is that Lancaster had won 11 of 12 in the games immediately preceding the road trip and were a decent 14-10 on the road prior to the trip. Granted San Jose has the best record in the California League and Stockton is tied for second in the North Division with a now identical record to that of Lancaster, but Lancaster will need to learn how to win against the best teams on the road if they want to repeat as California League Champions. Let's hope that they can put the trip behind them, lick their wounds and start a new win streak tonight.

Chris Devenski (5IP 6H 3R 2BB 5SO) got the start and gave up one run in the second and two in the fourth on a two-run home run. Brady Rodgers (4H 2R 1BB 4SO) pitched three frames and was charged with the loss. Lancaster came back to tie it up twice, in the third and the seventh, but a final comeback wasn't in the offing. Matt Duffy scored in the third on an Andrew Aplin sac fly, and a Joe Sclafani (2x4) single drove in two in the seventh. The 'Hawks were held to five hits, all singles.

Peoria over Quad Cities 9-1
In his second appearance since being promoted from Extended Spring Training, Juan Minaya (L, 0-1) went four innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits while striking out three. Jordan Jankowski (2H 1R 1BB 1SO) and Richard Rodriguez (6H 4R 2BB 1SO 1HR) each threw two frames. The River Bandits were the third Astros farm team held to five hits on Sunday, but at least two of them were doubles, including an Ariel Ovando RBI double in the fifth. Rio Ruiz also doubled.

Player of the Day: Joe Sclafani continues to impress since his promotion to Lancaster. After yesterday's two-for-four outing, he is now hitting .374/.500/.495 in 27 games with the JetHawks, and .424/.568/.576 in his last 10.

Pitcher of the Day: Nick Tropeano almost wins this by default as his scoreless outing was one of the only ones in the system yesterday, but his five strikeouts to one walk clinches it for him. He has done a nice job limiting walks in his last couple of appearances.

Roster Moves

LANCASTER
SS/2B Joe Sclafani was assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster. I'm assuming that this is to help cover for Delino DeShields while he's on the DL, but Joe has been doing quite nicely as of late, hitting .303/.465/.364 in his last 10 games.

Happy Birthday - 4/22

Happy Birthday to ~

LHP Eric Berger (27)
Originally drafted by Cleveland in the eighth round in 2008 out of the University of Arizona, Berger came to the Houston system just last week in a trade with the Tribe for C Chris Wallace. In 135 appearances (78 starts) in six seasons prior to coming to the Astros, he had a 3.91 ERA and a 1.399 WHIP. He is currently playing for the Oklahoma City RedHawks.

SS/2B Joe Sclafani (23)
Drafted by Houston out of Dartmouth in the 14th round in 2012, Sclafani played his first professional season with Tri-City, hitting .271/.355/.338 with 16 stolen bases in 70 games, playing all games at short. So far this season with Quad Cities, he has played primarily second base and, although his batting average has yet to heat up, he has managed to put up a .350 OBP in his first 10 games.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

LHP Carlos Hernandez (33)
The Venezuelan lefty was signed by the Astros in 1997 and pitched in 35 games for Houston in 2001, 2002 and 2004. In his first three starts in the major leagues, he was 1-0 with a 1.02 ERA and a 1.019 WHIP and was considered one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. Then a jammed pitching shoulder diving back in to second base derailed his budding career. Though he continued to pitch after that injury for both the Houston and Tampa Bay organizations, he continued to suffer injuries that kept him from ever making a real comeback. Since sitting out all of 2011, he has pitched for Mexico City in the Mexican League where he is in his second season.

Astros Minor League Depth - Shortstop

Over the next few weeks as we approach Spring Training, I'll be looking at the Astros minor league depth, position by position. Today, we look at the shortstops in the organization who had the best seasons in 2012.

The embedded chart shows shortstops in the organization ranked from high to low in terms of OBP. I have noted their current age, the last level at which they played and, if they spent significant time at multiple positions, that information is included as well. I am including Jake Elmore's minor league numbers since he is new to the system so that you can see how his 2012 minor league numbers compare.

Nolan Fontana leapfrogged rookie league and short season A ball in his first season and went directly to playing for the full season Lexington club where he led the organization in OBP thanks to 65 walks in only 49 games. He will ultimately have to show more aggressiveness at the plate, but it was a solid first season by any measure. Jake Elmore and Ben Orloff also showed very patient approaches at the plate. Both players drew walks more often than they struck out in 2012.

Carlos Correa had an uneven season thanks to a slow start with the GCL team. However, once he got to Greeneville, he turned on the afterburners and hit .371/.450/.600 in his final 11 games and exhibited stellar defensive capabilities. Another young player to watch is Luis Reynoso. Reynoso was one of the few bright spots offensively on the DSL team in 2012. He just turned 18 in September as did Correa.

Jonathan Villar was having a good season offensively and appeared to be catching up to AA pitching when his fist came out on the losing side after an unfortunate encounter with a door. The tools are there, but he still has a ways to go, both offensively and defensively. But one thing he has a very good feel for is the stolen base. He swiped 39 bags in 86 games and was caught only eight times. Another player exhibiting some wheels was Joe Sclafani. In his first season in the organization he stole 16 bases in 70 games and was caught three times.

Jiovanni Mier was having a great comeback season when injury put a large dent in his season. He came back strong after the injury, though, and continued his progress with a very successful Arizona Fall League season. Alex Todd was one of the players to fill in for Mier; he put up good numbers at Lancaster after starting the season in Lexington. [UPDATE: After posting this, I found out that Alex Todd retired from baseball during the off-season.]

Monday: First Base
Tuesday: Second Base
Coming Thursday: Third Base

Tri-City ValleyCats Season Recap

So far we have looked at the seasons for the DSL Astros, the GCL Astros, the Greeneville Astros, the Lexington Legends, the Oklahoma City Redhawks, and the Corpus Christi Hooks. Now let's take a look at the Short-Season A Tri-City ValleyCats. Here's a quick look at how the 2011 and 2012 teams compare.


2011 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 33-42/.440
2012 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 51-25/.671

2011 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 345 - 343 = 2
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 414 - 251 = 163

2011 Team ERA & WHIP: 3.78 & 1.393
2012 Team ERA & WHIP: 2.75 & 1.170

2011 Team Batting Line: .247/.335/.349
2012 Team Batting Line: .271/.355/.391

Tri-City fell just one game short of winning the 2012 New York-Penn League Championship.

The 2012 Tri-City team improved over the 2011 team in every single area and they shone in the New-York Penn League as they led the league in batting average (a tie for first), on-base percentage, slugging, home runs and stolen bases. They ranked second in the league in runs scored, hits, RBI, walks, team ERA and saves, and were in fourth place in WHIP and strikeouts. It was also very telling that as a team, the batters ranked 13th out of 14 in strikeouts and the pitchers ranked 12th out of 14 teams in issuing walks. In other words, the batters didn't swing at bad pitches, and the pitchers threw strikes. You can't ask for much more than that.

There were several outstanding season performances from position players on the team. Let's just look at a few.

It is easy to see why 1B Jesse Wierzbicki was named team MVP as he was among the league leaders in runs (4th), RBI (tied for 5th), stolen bases (7th), hits (8th), OBP (9th), batting average (12th) and slugging (12th). He also led the Tri-City team in runs, hits and RBI, and the 23-year old finished the season with a .297/.376/.422 batting line.

21-year old C Tyler Heineman earned the New York-Penn League batting title with his league-leading .358 batting average. His on-base percentage (.452) ranked second in the league and his slugging percentage (.430) was ninth. He was also terrific behind the dish with a 41% caught stealing rate. He hit .304 in post-season play.

Since CF Andrew Aplin was promoted to Lancaster for the final 22 games of the season, he doesn't qualify as a league leader in the NYPL, but his .348/.441/.537 batting line would have him ranked at second in batting average, third in on-base percentage and first in slugging percentage if he did qualify. Despite being gone from the league for almost a month, he was still tied for third in the league in triples and was tied for fourth in the league in stolen bases. The 21-year old finished the season with a combined batting line of .313/.386/.493 with 13 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs and 24 stolen bases.

RF Preston Tucker is another player who does not qualify as a league leader in batting stats due to the number of games played, but he would rank highly as well with a .321/.390/.509 batting line. The 22-year old was, however, tied for fifth in home runs and seventh in RBI despite limited playing time.

2B Austin "Catfish" Elkins ranked fifth in the league in runs scored and eighth in stolen bases, and the 21-year old was in the top 20 in the league in hits, home runs and on-base percentage as well. He finished the season with a .272/.360/.398 batting line, 13 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 18 stolen bases. In the post-season, he hit .435 with a home run and four RBI.

SS Joe Sclafani was tied for eighth in the league in walks (first on the Tri-City team) and ninth in stolen bases  (fourth on the team) and was in the top 20 in the league in runs, hits and RBI. He is 22. Sclafani hit .273, stole a base and drove in six runs in the post-season.

Also of note were LF Dan Gulbransen who tied for 10th in RBI and 11th in home runs in the league and IF/OF Neiko Johnson who tied for 10th in stolen bases. Gulbransen hit .273 with a home run and three RBI in the post-season while Johnson hit .333.

As far as pitchers go, there are several that have me very excited about the future.

RHP Aaron West was seventh in ERA (2.04) and WHIP (0.957) out of all pitchers qualifying as league leaders and was tied for 11th in the league in strikeouts. He walked only nine batters in 61+ innings and ended the season with a fantastic 6.56 SO/BB ratio. In the post-season he had a 2.45 ERA and a 0.909 WHIP. He is 22.

LHP Brian Holmes flirted with no-hitters all season and came incredibly close to a perfect game as well. He ranked sixth in the New York-Penn League in strikeouts and was 11th in ERA (2.56) and eighth in WHIP (0.960). Holmes tied for third in the league with seven wins. He won't turn 22 until January.

RHP Brady Rodgers turns 22 today. He was tied with teammate Brian Holmes for third in wins in the league and was in the top 15 in ERA (2.89) and WHIP (1.139). Rodgers was also stingy with the walks as he gave up only 11 free passes in 62+ innings.

RHP Lance Day lacked the requisite number of innings to qualify as a league leader, but the 22-year old was 6-1 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.139 WHIP in 11 games (8 starts).

LHP Kenny Long pitched so well with Tri-City (1.88 ERA and 0.628 WHIP in 17 appearances) that he merited a promotion to Lancaster where he put up a 1.12 ERA and a 0.625 WHIP in 12 appearances and got the final out to clinch the California League Championship. He is 23.

Other pitchers of note include 22-year old RHP Juri Perez. Perez did not pitch enough innings to qualify as a league leader, but his very stingy 1.81 ERA in nine appearances (8 starts) would certainly rank highly. He had a 2.16 ERA and a 0.840 WHIP in two post-season appearances. 24-year old RHP Blake Ford was tied for first in the league with 14 saves. 21-year old RHP Travis Ballew was 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA and a 1.026 WHIP in 23 appearances with 10.2 SO/9. 24-year old LHP Jeremiah Meiners was 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP in 20 appearances. RHP Vincent Velasquez, at 20 years of age, was one of the team leaders in strikeouts with a 10.1 SO/9 rate.

Frankly, it's hard to single out the top pitching performers on your team when only two on the staff have ERA's higher than 3.35! This pitching staff wasn't just good, it was also very deep in talent.

I will look at the final team, the Lancaster JetHawks, later this week.

Minor League Recaps

Monday's Games

DSL Astros over DSL Athletics 4-0
Samil de los Santos sparkled in this one as he allowed only one hit and two walks over five innings of work with eight strikeouts. Geronimo Franzua, Jesus Castillo and Angel Heredia (W, 1-1) combined to provide hitless relief (although Franzua did allow three walks in his 0.1 inning and had to be bailed out by Castillo). CF Jarico Reynoso's name keeps popping up on these recaps as he is starting to really excel at the plate. In Monday's game, he was three-for-five, and he is hitting .353/.371/.382 over his last 10 games.

GCL Astros at GCL Marlins - Postponed

Johnson City over Greeneville 8-2 in 7 innings (Game 1)
Adrian Houser got roughed up more than a little as he surrendered all eight of the Johnson City runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. Mike Hauschild and Andrew Walter combined for scoreless relief but Greeneville wasn't able to scratch anything across after the third inning. A Michael Martinez walk followed by doubles from D'Andre Toney and Angel Ibanez accounted for Greeneville's two runs. Ricky Gingras had the only other Astros hit as they were held to three.

Johnson City over Greeneville 5-2 in 7 innings (Game 2)
Lance McCullers gave up one hit and four walks with four strikeouts in four innings in his Appy League debut. Joe Musgrove also had his debut and gave up one run on four hits in 1.2 innings of work. Euris Quezada was charged with a blown save and a loss. Quezada, Scott Zuloaga and Michael Dimock combined to allow four runs in the final inning to seal Greeneville's fate. The Astros only managed four hits including a double from Jean Batista and an RBI double from Angel Ibanez.

Tri-City over Mahoning Valley 5-1
Brilliant pitching from Tri-City. Again. Brady Rodgers went to 5-2 on the season as he allowed only one run on five hits with eight strikeouts over six innings as was followed with a masterful three-inning performance in which Jeremiah Meiners gave up only one hit and no walks with four strikeouts. Joe Sclafani had a big day, going two-for-three with an RBI, walk, run scored and two stolen bases. Preston Tucker hit his second home run of the season and got a second RBI on a sac fly. Jobduan Morales tripled and scored. The ValleyCats were in thief mode as they stole a total of five bases, including one each from Catfish Elkins (as Austin prefers to be called apparently), Andrew Aplin and Ryan Dineen.

Lexington over Hagerstown 3-1
Mike Foltynewicz got his lucky 13th win as he allowed only two hits with seven strikeouts in his six innings of work. Murilo Gouvea pitched two scoreless innings of work before giving way to Dayan Diaz who gave up the lone Hagerstown run on his way to his 17th save. I didn't watch the game, but it was apparently a wild one as Hagerstown's pitching coach was ejected in the second and their batting coach was ejected in the eighth inning; and Lexington manager Ivan de Jesus was ejected in between, in the seventh. Lexington only managed four hits but took advantage of wild pitching from the Suns (two wild pitches, a balk and two hit batters) and Delino DeShields' speed as he scored Lexington's first run on a ground out after walking, stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. It was DeShields 81st steal of the season. Matt Duffy, alas, was one of the hit batters and has now been plunked 34 times this season, four times in the last two games. Ouch.

Lancaster - Off Day

Midland over Corpus Christi 8-4
This game was pretty much over in the first inning as starter Matt Heidenreich allowed five runs on six hits without recording an out. Jake Buchanan, newly back with the Corpus team, came out of the 'pen and allowed two runs on five hits in his four innings of work. Adalberto Flores allowed the final run in his 2.2 innings and Alex Sogard pitched an uneventful 1.1 innings. Drew Locke was three-for-five with a double and an RBI.

Salt Lake over Oklahoma City 4-3 in 10 innings
Ross Seaton did a very good job in his second start for the Redhawks allowing one run on three hits in 5.1 innings. Mark Hamburger allowed two runs and Hector Ambriz gave up the winning run in the 10th. In between Juan Valdez pitched a perfect 1.1 innings. Oklahoma City did all of their scoring with two outs in the fifth inning on a Brandon Barnes single, a Jimmy Paredes RBI double and a Fernando Martinez two-run jack.

Player of the Day: I'm going with Tri-City SS Joe Sclafani for a very effective day at the plate and on the basepaths.

Pitchers of the Day: Mike Foltynewicz gets the nod with lucky win #13. His girlfriend did not call him a stud muffin this time which I find to be a gross oversight. Folty, you are my Pitcher of the Day and my Stud Muffin of the Day. Honorable mention has to go to Samil de los Santos, Lance McCullers, Brady Rodgers, Jeremiah Meiners and Ross Seaton for their good outings.