Some Actual Thoughts on Yesterday's Roster Cuts

I received the confirmation of yesterday's cuts five minutes before I had to be out the door so a simple post was all I had time to do.  Let's look at these cuts a little more closely.

THE INJURED

LHP David Duncan - Duncan hadn't pitched since 2010 and had been rehabbing from surgery, I believe.  I really don't know much about Duncan except that he was incredibly large (6'9" 230#) and was drafted in the 5th round in 2008.

RHP Brandt Walker - Walker also hadn't pitched since 2010 and was rehabbing from surgery.  He was drafted in the 8th round in 2009 out of Stanford.  He was also incredibly funny on twitter and had fantastic eyebrows ... seriously, click on the link for the picture.  I'll wait ... See? Really great eyebrows.

THE LANCASTER EFFECT

OF Jonathan Gaston - Gaston was one of the victims of the Lancaster effect.  The 2008 7th round draft pick could never recreate his fantastic numbers with Lancaster in 2009 (.598 SLG%), and there are a number of talented outfielders waiting in the wings.

RHP Robert Donovan - Donovan was drafted in the 23rd round in 2009 and was another victim of the Lancaster effect.  I would have liked to see what he could do in a more normal pitching environment, but he did have a fairly high walk rate and that might have been his downfall.

THE 2007-WAS-THE-WORST-ASTROS-DRAFT-CLASS-EVER EFFECT

RHP Kyle Greenwalt - A 20th round pick in the totally snake-bit 2007 draft, Greenwalt just never got over that hump.  His minor league career ERA was 5.15 and his WHIP was 1.484.  His 2011 numbers at Corpus weren't that good.  Read AppyAstros excellent post on that 2007 draft class for more.

OF Devon Torrence - My first impression was "Who?"  And then Steve over at Appy Astros came to the rescue.  Torrence, a two sport player, was another member of the ill-fated 2007 draft.  He last played for the Astros in 2008 and, as Steve explained to me, his signing bonus was prorated in case he decided to play football in order to limit the liability to the team.  He did go on to play football, and in all likelihood, this cut was simply a procedural cut.  Steve also provided me with this interesting 2009 article from Jonathan Mayo regarding two-sport athletes and the draft.  UPDATED TO ADD:  According to Mike at Farmstros (see the comment below), Torrence was, indeed, back playing in the Astros organization so this was more than a procedural cut.

THERE MUST BE MORE TO THIS STORY

RHP Matison Smith - Smith was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2010 and had very good numbers (2.12 ERA and 1.279 WHIP over 2 seasons, and 11.9 SO/9 in 2011).  This one surprised me the most of all of the cuts.

LHP Adam Champion - A 2010 24th round draft pick, Champion had a nice season at Lexington with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.295 WHIP over 45.2 innings pitched.  His strikeout rate wasn't very sexy at 6.1 SO/9, but I still found this one a tiny bit surprising.

THE OTHERS

RHP Justin Gill - Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2011, Gill only pitched 21.2 innings in 20 appearances for the GCL Astros in 2011.  He had decent numbers (3.32 ERA & 1.246 WHIP), but that's really all I know about him.

C Jacob Meskin - Another non-drafted free agent signing in 2011, Meskin didn't have a very good start to things in 2011 (as in 2 hits and 2 walks over 30 AB's).

Happy Birthday - 1/1

LHP Dallas Keuchel (24)
Drafted by Houston in the 7th round in 2009 out of the University of Arkansas, this Oklahoma native split the 2011 season between Corpus Christi (9-7 in 20 starts with an ERA of 3.17, WHIP of 1.120) and Oklahoma City (1-1 in 7 starts with an ERA of 7.50, WHIP of 1.777).  In the Arizona Fall League, Keuchel was 3-2 in 7 appearances (6 starts) with an ERA of 5.08 and a WHIP of 1.306.  Most impressive was his ratio of 1BB:22SO.  In the regular season, he had 5.00 SO/9 which increased to 6.99 SO/9 in the Arizona Fall League.

Since the Arizona Fall League finished, Dallas has been spending his off-season in Tulsa.  I asked him a little about his 2011 season and his time in the Arizona Fall League.  Here is what he had to say.

On what he took away from his experience in the Arizona Fall League:

“In my time in Arizona, I had a blast. My personal goal I set for myself there was to just attack every hitter and see what they can do with it. As I got the first couple starts under my belt I began to redirect my thought process and aimed more at not walking anyone. It’s tough to do but I was close and am now more confident than ever in my ability to command the zone no matter who is hitting. Overall I think the command and location of all 5 of my pitches got a whole lot better and I couldn’t be happier. My time with the Rafters was more than I could’ve ever asked for.  All the guys were awesome and it was cool to see other pitchers mindsets for attacking hitters and what their thought process was going into each game. Not to mention there was some pretty damn good talent there. It’s nice to compete against the best minor league players because more than 75% of them will probably make the big leagues sometime.”

On how the fall league experience differed from his time at Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City:

“The Arizona experience was different in the way of confidence.  My confidence was at an all time high in Corpus where I just went out relaxed and threw the ball like I knew I could.  In OKC it was a little different.  I started out slow and was immediately frustrated that I wasn’t making pitches like I was earlier in the year. I feel though I started getting back into my comfort zone the last couple starts and I think it showed in the box scores.  I wasn’t just playing the game; I was pressing in OKC and that’s not who I am. When I got out to Arizona it was just straight forward mindset and let the good times roll. I knew I was there because they wanted to see what I could do against the best prospects in minor league baseball.  I didn’t think of it that way though; I thought of it more as a chance to better myself and get myself to where I was back in the middle of the season and to work on some things that I wouldn’t necessarily be doing in the offseason.”

And on his goals for the New Year:

“As for my New Year’s goals, it’s simple....come out to spring training and compete to the best of my ability and win a spot somewhere, whether it's OKC or Houston.  Everything will fall into place sooner or later and I want to be ready when that time comes.”

RHP Justin Gill (23)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2011, Gill spent 2011 with the GCL Astros.  In 20 appearances in relief, he compiled a 3.32 ERA and a 1.246 WHIP, with 7.59 SO/9.

RHP Johan Arias (20)
Since being signed by the Astros as a NDFA out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, Arias has spent two seasons pitching for the DSL Astros.  In 17 games in relief, he had a 7.98 ERA and a 1.739 WHIP.  His ERA with bases empty was 0.00.

One former Astro with a birthday today

IF Joe Pittman (58)
Played in 67 games for Houston in 1981 and 1982 with a .276 BA