Happy Birthday - 5/29

Wishing a Very Happy Birthday to ...

OF Leo Heras (25)
Heras was born on May 29, 1990 in Tiajuana, Baja California, Mexico, and was signed as a Free Agent out of the Mexican League in August 2013. He is currently playing for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks team.

Leo Heras - May 2015

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RHP Harold Arauz (20)
Arauz was born on May 29, 1995 in Chiriqui, Panama and signed with the Astros in July 2011. In Arauz' third season in 2014, he played the bulk of the season for the Gulf Coast League Astros team before being promoted to the Rookie League Greeneville Astros in mid-August.

RHP Juan Delis (21)
Delis was born on May 29, 1994 in Corregimiento de Bella Vista, Panama and signed with the Astros in October 2010. Delis started the 2014 season playing for the Gulf Coast League Astros and was promoted to Greeneville in early August.

Happy Birthday - 5/29

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Leo Heras (24)
Heras was in his seventh season with the Mexican League when his contract was purchased by the Astros in August of 2013. In his first 35 games at Corpus Christi this season, he is hitting .218/.350/.319.

OF Terrell Joyce (22)
Drafted by Houston in the 12th round in 2012 out of Florida College, Joyce played in 72 games with Quad Cities in 2013, hitting .186/.284/.283. I am assuming that he is currently in Extended Spring Training.

RHP Juan Delis (20)
Delis was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Panama and has now pitched for the DSL Astros for the last three seasons. In 13 appearances (18.2 innings) in 2013, Delis was -3 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP.

RHP Harold Arauz (19)
Arauz signed as a NDFA out of Panama in July 2011 and excelled in his second season for the DSL team in 2013. In sixteen games (12 starts), he was 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.894 WHIP.

Two former Astros celebrate the day as well ~

LHP Trever Miller (41)

Originally drafted by Detroit in the first round in 1991, Miller first came to Houston in this trade:

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

He pitched on the major league level for Houston in 1998 and 1999 before being traded to Philadelphia in March of 2000. Miller came back to Houston for two additional seasons in 2006 and 2007. In 230 games for the Astros, he was 7-5 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.435 WHIP. He holds the record for the most appearances in a season (76) without getting a decision in 2007.

3B Charlie Hayes (49)

A fourth round pick by the Giants in 1983, Hayes played in only 31 games for Houston at the end of his major league career in 2001. He played for seven teams over 14 seasons. His best season was in 1993 for Colorado when he hit .305/.355/.522 with 45 doubles, two triples and 25 home runs.

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!

Happy Birthday - 5/29

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Terrell Joyce (21)
Drafted by Houston in the 12th round in 2012 out of Florida College, Joyce spent his first season at Greeneville with solid results. So far this season, he has played in 40 games with Quad Cities, hitting .203/.306/.328 with seven doubles and three home runs.

RHP Cameron Lamb (24)
Originally signed out of Australia by the Giants in 2007, Lamb came to the Astros organization in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in December 2012. In 10 appearances for Quad Cities, he has a 6.00 ERA and a 1.933 WHIP. Of particular note, he has been predominantly an extreme groundball pitcher in the past with good results, but his GO/AO ratio is 0.76 this season.

RHP Juan Delis (19)
Delis was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Panama and played in his second season for the DSL Astros in 2012. In 17 appearances, he was 1-0 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.389 WHIP.

RHP Harold Arauz (18)
Arauz signed as a NDFA out of Panama in July 2011 and played his first season for the DSL team in 2012. In eight games (five starts), he was 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

LHP Trever Miller (40)

Originally drafted by Detroit in the first round in 1991, Miller first came to Houston in this trade:

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

He pitched on the major league level for Houston in 1998 and 1999 before being traded to Philadelphia in March of 2000. Miller came back to Houston for two additional seasons in 2006 and 2007. In 230 games for the Astros, he was 7-5 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.435 WHIP. He holds the record for the most appearances in a season (76) without getting a decision in 2007.

3B Charlie Hayes (48)

A fourth round pick by the Giants in 1983, Hayes played in only 31 games for Houston at the end of his major league career in 2001. He played for seven teams over 14 seasons. His best season was in 1993 for Colorado when he hit .305/.355/.522 with 45 doubles, two triples and 25 home runs.

Minor League Schedule and Results

TUESDAY'S GAMES

DSL Astros at DSL Cardinals at 9:30 a.m. CST

Lexington at Lakewood at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Luis Cruz (5-1, 2.84) and LHP Ethan Stewart (0-6, 4.21)

Iowa at Oklahoma City at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Frankie de la Cruz (1-1, 2.78) and LHP Wes Musick (1-1, 4.08)
Available on MiLB.tv

San Jose at Lancaster at 9:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: LHP Ryan Bradley (3-3, 3.41) and RHP David Martinez (1-3, 6.02)

Corpus Christi - Off Day

MONDAY'S RESULTS


DSL Mariners over DSL Astros 13-5
The Astros used five pitchers (which is fairly standard as these young players get acclimated) with widely mixed results. Juan Delis (one run over three innings) and Frangy Colon (no hits, three strikeouts over one inning) had good outings; Juan Hernandez (four runs over two innings) and Yonquelys Martinez (two runs over two innings) had not-so-good outings; and Rayderson Chevalier had a spectacularly bad outing, giving up six runs on five hits and a walk without recording an out. Frederick Serrano hit a two run double. Yoel Silfa and Luis Reynosa had multi-hit games.

Springfield over Corpus Christi 12-8
Starter Ross Seaton got jumped on in the first inning with five singles and a walk to surrender four runs early, then settled down for the next few innings until he was pulled in the fifth after giving up a home run and three singles for two additional runs. Kevin Chapman got the final out in the fifth to keep Corpus in the game. And they were still in the game until the bullpen imploded, allowing six more runs over the final three innings as Henry Villar (BS, 1) gave up two, Erick Abreu (L, 5-2) gave up three and John Zeid gave up the final run. The main reason they were still in the game until late was because of Jonathan Villar's grand slam in the fourth inning, one of three hits Villar had for the night. Jose Martinez had RBIs on a sac fly and a bases loaded hit by pitch.

Rancho Cucamonga over Lancaster 11-4
This was an uncharacteristically bad start for Ruben Alaniz (L, 5-2) as he gave up seven runs in the first inning alone and Lancaster never came close to coming back from that early deficit. Alaniz only made it through 4.2 innings and gave way to Pat Urckfitz after surrendering his second home run of the night. Urckfitz got touched for two runs over 2.1 innings. Brian Streilein and Brad Dydalewicz were perfect in the last two frames. George Springer hit his 11th home run of the season. Ben Orloff and Kike Hernandez had multi-hit games.

GAME OF THE DAY
Oklahoma City over Iowa 6-5

Brian Bass did not fare as well in his second start, giving up five runs (four earned) on nine hits and four walks over 5.1 innings, but he kept the team in the game. Adalberto Flores, Mickey Storey (W, 3-2) and Juan Abreu (S, 3) took it the rest of the way pitching scoreless relief. Mike Hessman hit two more home runs (making it five in the last 2 games), including one in the seventh that ultimately proved to be the winning run. Jimmy Paredes hit his fifth long ball of the season, and Angel Sanchez was three-for-four with two RBIs.

PITCHER OF THE DAY
It wasn't exactly an auspicious day for pitching. I'm going to go with the 18-year old Juan Delis who pitched three innings, giving up one run on one hit and two walks with three strikeouts in his season debut at the DSL.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Mike Hessman may deserve it for hitting five bombs in two days, but I'm going to go with Jonathan Villar for going three-for-five with a grand slam.

Happy Birthday - 5/29

RHP Juan Delis (18)
Delis was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Panama and played for the DSL Astros in 2011. In 15 appearances (one start), he was 1-0 with a 4.44 ERA and a 1.890 WHIP.

RHP Harold Arauz (17)
Arauz signed as a NDFA out of Panama in July 2011 and hasn't played an official game for the Astros yet. According to Baseball America:

Arauz, 16, has a projectable 6-foot-4 frame and was the MVP of the Dominican Prospect League all-star game in May, when he struck out five of the six hitters he faced.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

LHP Trever Miller (39)

Originally drafted by Detroit in the first round in 1991, Miller first came to Houston in this trade:

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

He pitched on the major league level for Houston in 1998 and 1999 before being traded to Philadelphia in March of 2000. Miller came back to Houston for two additional seasons in 2006 and 2007. In 230 games for the Astros, he was 7-5 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.435 WHIP. He holds the record for the most appearances in a season (76) without getting a decision in 2007.

3B Charlie Hayes (37)

A fourth round pick by the Giants in 1983, Hayes played in only 31 games for Houston at the end of his major league career in 2001. He played for seven teams over 14 seasons. His best season was in 1993 for Colorado when he hit .305/.355/.522 with 45 doubles, two triples and 25 home runs.