Happy Birthday - 2/28

Happy Birthday to ~

C Luis Alvarez (24)
Alvarez is currently a free agent, but has been with the Astros since he first played for the Venezuelan Summer League Astros in 2007. Alvarez went where he was needed in 2013, making stops in Tri-City, Quad Cities, Lancaster and Corpus Christi. In 41 combined games, he hit .282/.340/.511 and switched between Catcher and DH. He had a 39% caught stealing rate in 2013, 37% for his minor league career.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

RHP Ricky Stone (39)
Originally drafted in the fourth round by the Dodgers in 1994, Stone came to Houston as a free agent in November 2000. In 165 appearances for Houston from 2001 to 2004, he was 10-8 with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.401 WHIP over 187 innings. Stone was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008 and his wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2011.  This follow-up from December 30, 2011 found them both to be cancer free.

Astros Minor League Roster Moves

Oklahoma City
3B Raoul Torrez assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City
2B Ruben Sosa placed on the 7-day DL

Corpus Christi
C Luis Alvarez assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi
OF Leo Heras assigned to Corpus Christi

Greeneville
RHP Jose Montero assigned from the GCL to Greeneville

GCL
RHP Euris Quezada sent to GCL on a rehab assignement
RHP Robert Corniel assigned from the DSL to the GCL

Astros Minor League Recaps

Friday's Games

Greeneville Astros 1, Pulaski Mariners 14
Greeneville gave up three four-run innings, 17 hits and committed 3 errors in their loss on Friday—their fourth loss in a row (the Astros still have a one-and-a-half game lead in their division). Five of the runs scored against them in the game were unearned. Jandel Gustave (2-3) worked the first three innings and picked up his third loss of the season. Gustave was charged with five runs (1ER), eight hits (HR) and struck out four. Raul Rivera, the fourth and final Greeneville pitcher of the game, allowed just a hit in his two and a third on the mound, striking out three. Rivera recorded an unearned run though on that hit, when a runner, who was on because of a throwing error, scored. Mark Wik (2X4 RBI BB) singled to drive in the Astros only run in the fifth, scoring Thomas Lindauer from second. Lindauer (2X3 R 2-2B BB) hit a double in the previous at bat and had two doubles on the day. Lindauer and Wik were two of only four Greeneville players with hits in the game and the only two with more than one.

GCL Astros 0, GCL Pirates 7

The Astros managed just three hits and were shut out on Friday. Starter Agapito Barrios took the loss, working just two and a third innings. In that time Barrios (3-5) allowed four runs on five hits (HR), walked three and struck out one. The Astros used five pitchers in the game and none lasted longer than two and a third. Justin Hess (1K) and Javier Lozano, who split the final two frames, didn't allow any hits. Although, Lozano did walk three in the final inning.

DSL Rays 4, DSL Astros 3

The DSL Astros were leading into the eighth inning when they allowed three runs. Unable to score outside of the third inning Friday, the Astros went on to lose for the first time in their last five games. The Astros one and two hitters, Luis Payano and Kristian Trompiz, both collected two hits in the game. Payano went two-for-four and scored a run. Trompiz knocked in two of his team's three runs with a triple in the third and also hit a double in the game, finishing at two-for-four as well. Starlyng Sanchez started on the mound and worked five innings, allowing just a hit, a walk and striking out six. Beginning with the last batter of the first frame, Sanchez retired nine in order before walking one in the fourth. He then retired the final four he faced in order.  Yonquelys Martinez (1-3), who pitched the final two innings, took the blown save (1) and the loss. Martinez entered the eighth with two runners aboard and gave up a homer to the first batter he faced. That was the only hit and run Martinez recorded in his outing.

Tri-City Valley Cats 4, Staten Island Yankees 1

The Valley Cats waited until the eighth inning to begin scoring, but seeing as how they only allowed the Yankees to score a single run in the fifth, that was fine for the win on Friday. Conrad Gregor (1X3 RBI SO) began the scoring in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to bring Jon Kemmer home (0X1 R BB). Tyler White (0X2 R 2BB) was still on base at that point, having drawn a walk earlier in the inning. The next batter, Michael Martinez (1X3 R HR 2RBI BB), then hit a home run to left field to put Tri-City ahead, 3-1. In the ninth, Chan Moon (1X3 R 3B BB SO)hit a triple and then promptly scored on a balk. The only Valley Cat with more than one hit in the game was Ernesto Genoves, who finished two-for-four at the plate with a double. Michael Feliz pitched the first five and two-thirds, giving up a run, three hits (HR), two walks and striking out seven. The win went to Richard Rodriguez (4-0), who followed Feliz, pitching into the eighth and allowing two hits while striking out a pair. J.D. Osbourne picked up his second save with the Valley Cats after taking the mound for the final two innings. Osbourne tallied a hit and three Ks.       

Quad Cities River Bandits 1, Clinton LumberKings 6

Quad Cities blanked their opponents in every inning except for the sixth when they allowed six runs, resulting in their fourth loss in a row, Friday. Chris Devenski started on the hill and through the first five allowed just a hit and a couple walks while striking out two. In the sixth inning however, Devenski (2-3) would be charged with five runs after giving up three doubles, a single and sac' bunt-hit while recording just an out, earning the loss. No River Bandit recorded multiple hits or extra-base hits in the game. The lone run came in the second inning when Rio Ruiz (1X4 RBI 2SO) singled, the third batter to do so in succession in the inning, bringing home Danny Vasquez (1X3 R BB).

High Desert Mavericks 11, Lancaster JetHawks 14

The JetHawks dropped eight runs on High Desert in the eighth inning and then rode Travis's Ballew's 20th save, second best in the California League, to the win. Besides the eight runs in eighth inning, Lancaster also had a five-run third inning. Four players had multi-hit performances and Andrew Aplin topped them all, going three-for-four, with two runs scored, two triples and four RBI. Luis Alvarez hit just one-for four in the game, but picked up four RBI of his own after hitting a grand slam in the eighth inning. Dan Gulbransen hit a three-RBI double in the third inning, finishing at two-for-five with a run scored. Kyle Smith had the start for the JetHawks and threw five and two-thirds, allowing five runs on seven hits, walking a trio and K-ing six along the way. Michael Dimock (4-0) came on to face the last batter of the seventh and stayed until the ninth, facing the minimum of four and striking out one before collecting the win. Here's a peak at the rest of the offense (it wouldn't all fit in here):  

Corpus Christi Hooks 8, Arkansas Travelers 2 (11)

Corpus Christi saw Arkansas tie this game in the ninth to force extras. In the 11th the Hooks scored six runs and Andrew Robinson shut Arkansas down for the win. Robinson (5-2) entered to pitch at the start of the 10th frame and faced seven batters through the final two innings, striking out two while allowing just a hit. David Rollins pitched the first six innings, recording a run, six hits, two walks and eight Ks. In the 11th Matt Duffy (2X4 2R 2HR 3RBI SO) hit his second homer of the night, scoring Domingo Santana to put Corpus Christi ahead. Four batters later and two outs into the inning, Max Stassi (2X5 R HR 4RBI SO) hit a grand slam to virtually seal the win. Domingo Santana (2X5 2R 2B HR RBI SO) also hit a home run in the game, in the fifth inning, breaking a scoring stalemate between the teams until that point. Drew Muren had a pair of hits in the game too, going two-for-four with a run scored, a double and a strikeout.

Albuquerque Isotopes 2, Oklahoma City RedHawks 3

The RedHawks came back to tie the game in the sixth and then scored what would be the winning run in the eighth on Friday. Eric Berger and Jorge Deleon combined to retire the final eight batters of the game and secure the win for the RedHawks. Berger (5-3) entered an out into the seventh and went on retire all five he faced, striking out two while picking up the win. Jorge De Leon earned his second save as a RedHawk, forcing all three he faced in the ninth into groundouts. David Martinez started and worked five and two-thirds, tallying two runs (1 ER) on a pair of hits, walking four and striking out six. Oklahoma City had just three hits in the game and George Springer (1X2 R HR RBI 2BB SO) used his only hit to get them on the board in the third frame, hitting home run number 34 (Corpus Christi and OKC combined) of the season. In the sixth, Jonathan Singleton (1X3 2B RBI BB) doubled, bringing Brandon Laird around to score after he drew a walk. Laird would (1X3 R RBI BB) single in the eighth, scoring Trevor Crowe (0X3 R SO), who was on board with a lead off walk, putting his team ahead.

Player of the Day: Friday was another one of those days where the Astros farm shone brightly and there were several outstanding performances. First off, Max Stassi and Luis Alvarez get the honors for going Grand Salami yesterday. Mat Duffy gets a nod for hitting two homers in his game as well. Andrew Aplin could have got a nod too just for hitting two triples, but along with that he recorded 4 RBI, pushing him past the 100 mark to 102 RBI on the year.

Pitcher of the Day: The DSL Astros may have not won on Friday but Starlyng Sanchez's performance was far from losing. Sanchez simply dominated for five innings, striking out six with only two base runners in that time.

Bonus Tweet of the Day

Tri-City ValleyCats ‏@ValleyCats
If you didn't know already, @ValleyCats SS @cjmoon91 is really good at Gangnam style http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gwCVctg4ps … #MascotMania



Great job from Brendon Phillips and the rest of the Tri-City team on this one!!! Ernesto Genoves and Luis Alvarez are Moon's back-up dancers. Also, look for brief cameos from Matt Appel and Chris Chenes.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Sunday's Games

All-Star Futures Game - U.S. over World 4-2
George Springer was the only one of three Astros players in the game to get a hit as he went one-for-three with a single and also reached on a hit by pitch. He saw no action in right field other than to watch a Arismendy Alcantara home run soar high overhead. Delino DeShields was 0-for-2 with a strikeout, but made all the defensive plays he should have before being replaced by Kolten Wong. Carlos Correa entered the game late and immediately had a ball hit to him with George Springer beating out his throw to first for the single. Correa was on deck as the game ended and didn't get an at bat.

New Orleans over Oklahoma City 7-6
Wade LeBlanc allowed three runs on nine hits while striking out five over the first six innings and was followed by Brad Peacock (0.1IP 3H 1R 1BB), Jason Stoffel (1.2IP 2H 2SO) and Josh Zeid (1IP 3H 3R 2BB 2SO). Oklahoma City got on the board with solo home runs in the first and second from Robbie Grossman and Jon Singleton, and added two more in the fourth. The two RBI triple from Ruben Sosa in the eighth gave them a 6-4 lead, but Zeid had a rare rough outing in the ninth and was charged with the blown save and the loss, his first of each for the season. Carlos Perez was two-for-four and scored a run.

Midland over Corpus Christi 5-0
Nick Tropeano got the start and allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings with two of those runs coming from solo homers. He walked two batters and struck out six. Tropeano was followed by three innings from Carlos Quevedo (2H 1R 1BB 3SO). Quevedo allowed an additional run to score via the long ball. The Hooks were held to six hits in the shutout, three of those being doubles from Kike Hernandez (2x4), Rene Garcia and Max Stassi (2x4).

Modesto over Lancaster 12-3
Mike Hauschild got a rude welcome in his first start since his promotion to High A Lancaster, allowing four of his five runs via two long balls in his three and two-thirds innings. Cameron Lamb came in to get the final out of the fourth inning and was followed by Kyle Hallock who got hammered to the tune of six runs on eight hits over two innings. Blair Walters took it the rest of the way and gave up the final run over his three innings. Lancaster managed three runs despite only having six hits as runs scored in the first on a Tyler Heineman sac fly and a Matt Duffy single, and in the fourth on a Duffy sac fly.

Quad Cities over Dayton 9-2
In his third start, Mark Appel increased his load to four innings and allowed only two hits and a walk while striking out three. Daniel Minor pitched the next three and a third and gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and was followed by one and two-thirds from Mitch Lambson (1H 2SO). Bobby Borchering (3x4 2-2B R) drove in three for the Bandits, and the recently promoted Luis Alvarez went three-for-four with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Austin Elkins (2x5), Jesse Wierzbicki (2x4 BB RBI), Roberto Pena (2x5 R) and Dan Gulbransen (2x3 2B BB 2R) all had multi-hit games as well.

Tri-City over Batavia 7-0
Zach Morton had a tremendous start for Tri-City, six no-hit innings with one walk and three strikeouts, and was rewarded with his first win of the season. He was followed by Randall Fant who scattered three hits over the final three innings while striking out four. The 'Cats picked up the only run they would need in the first as Tony Kemp (2x5 3R) scored on a wild pitch, but they added on four more in the fourth on a Ernesto Genoves solo home run and RBI singles from Chan Moon (2x3 RBI) and Mike Martinez (2x4 BB 2RBI). A Conrad Gregor RBI single in the sixth and an Adam Nelubowich sac fly in the seventh accounted for the final two runs. James Ramsay was two-for-three and scored a run.

Greeneville over Elizabethton 5-3
Chris Lee had another nice start and this time was rewarded with his first win of the season. Lee allowed only one run (a solo homer) on three hits over five and a third innings; he didn't walk a batter and struck out eight. He was followed by Christian Garcia (0.2IP 3H 2R), Jordan Mills (2IP 2H 4SO) and Tyler Brunnemann (1IP 1H 1SO). One of the Astros runs came across in the first on a Darwin Rivera double and two more in the second on RBI singles from Jack Mayfield (3x4 2B RBI 2R) and Brett Phillips (2x3 BB 2RBI SB). Phillips drove in another run in the fourth and Juan Santana drove in an insurance run in the eighth.

Players of the Day: It's a tie! Luis Alvarez and Bobby Borchering both deserve the honors for their great games on Sunday.

Pitcher of the Day: Zach Morton, six no-hit innings is one heckuva way to get your first professional win. Congratulations.

Roster Moves

[UPDATED TO ADD]
Houston/Oklahoma City
RHP Jarred Cosart called up to Houston (MLB debut scheduled for Friday)
OF Jimmy Paredes re-assigned to Oklahoma City

Corpus Christi
RHP Chia-Jen Lo assigned from Quad Cities to Corpus Christi

Lancaster
RHP Mike Hauschild assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster
LHP Kyle Hallock assigned from Corpus Christi to Lancaster
RHP Tyson Perez placed on the 7-day DL (retroactive to 7/9)

Quad Cities
RHP Mark Appel assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities
3B Bobby Borchering assigned from Greeneville to Quad Cities
OF Teoscar Hernandez placed on the 7-day DL retroactive to 7/08
RHP Chris Devenski assigned from Lancaster to Quad Cities
C Luis Alvarez assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities

Happy Birthday - 2/28

Happy Birthday to ~

C Luis Alvarez (23)
A NDFA from Venezuela, Alvarez first played in the VSL in 2007. Alvarez split the 2012 season between Lexington and Greeneville, hitting a combined .271/.338/.500 in 23 games with a 50% caught stealing rate. In the Liga Paralela (the Venezuelan minor leagues) this winter, he batted a robust .340/.398/.474 in 28 games. He went on to be a rock star in the playoffs leading his team to the Liga Paralela crown as he went 6-for-7 with two home runs and five RBI.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

RHP Ricky Stone (38)
Originally drafted in the fourth round by the Dodgers in 1994, Stone came to Houston as a free agent in November 2000. In 165 appearances for Houston from 2001 to 2004, he was 10-8 with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.401 WHIP over 187 innings. Stone was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008 and his wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2011.  This follow-up from December 30, 2011 found them both to be cancer free. I haven't seen a follow-up since the December 2011 article.

Astros Minor League Depth - Catcher

As Spring Training approaches, I've been looking at the Astros minor league depth, position by position.  Today, we look at the catchers in the organization who had the best seasons in 2012.

Carlos Perez and Roberto Pena

Lancaster - August 2012

Photo by Jayne Hansen

The embedded chart shows catchers in the organization ranked from high to low in terms of OBP. I have noted their current age and the last level at which they played.

One thing strikes me immediately when looking at this list -- youth. Except for Ben Heath and Chris Wallace who are each 24 years old, the rest of these players range from 20 to 22.

Tyler Heineman leads the list in his first year with the organization. The 2012 eighth round draft pick also leads this list in batting average and OPS. He was the New York-Penn League batting champion for 2012 as well. But Heineman isn't just a good hitter. He's also a great defensive catcher and had one of the top caught stealing percentages in the Astros minor league system at 41%. M. P. Cokinos would certainly have gotten much more attention for his offensive output had he not been playing alongside Heineman.

Another catcher who has everyone excited since he came into the system as a part of the 10-player Houston-Toronto trade in July is Carlos Perez. Much like Heineman, he looks to be the complete package offensively and defensively and boasted a 47% caught stealing rate at Lancaster (34% overall).

Also relatively new to the organization is Jobduan Morales who came to the Astros organization in the Justin Ruggiano trade with Miami. Morales' bat was valuable enough that he frequently appeared as a DH when he wasn't used behind the dish. That was true of his winter season in Puerto Rico as well.

Max Stassi just came in to the Astros organization this week as a part of the Jed Lowrie/Fernando Rodriguez trade with Oakland. He ranks in the middle of the pack with his on-base skills. It is his power potential that sets him apart from the rest of the group as he hit 18 doubles and 15 home runs on the way to a .468 slugging percentage. In 2012, he had a 24% caught stealing rate.

There are a couple players on this list whose playing time was very limited and many might question their inclusion. Luis Alvarez didn't see a great deal of playing time during the season, but put up some very good numbers. He followed up with an outstanding winter season with the Liga Paralela in Venezuela. That is enough to keep me interested in Alvarez. Pedro Coa was one of the few offensive bright spots on the DSL team in 2012. That, coupled with a 60% caught stealing rate, has me looking forward to seeing what he will do in 2013.

Heath and Rene Garcia were both having good years when injuries shortened their seasons. Roberto Pena was promoted to Lancaster largely due to injuries putting a strain on the catching staff throughout the system. Pena is widely regarded as a premium defensive catcher, but he struggled offensively after the promotion. I think the 20-year old will start to catch up with the more advanced pitching in the coming season if he is given regular playing time.

Chris Wallace had an uneven season offensively, but overall hit extremely well in the second half of the season. What he needs to focus on most, though, are base runners. He only managed a 12% caught stealing rate in 2012.

Ernesto Genoves' offensive output fell off from the prior season, but reports (from Appy Astros) are that he became much more solid defensively. I'm still intrigued by Genoves' potential, but he is going to have to show me that he is capable of getting to the next level developmentally in the coming season.

Tuesday: Lefty Starters
Wednesday: Lefty Relievers

Astros Winter League Cumulative Stats - Position Players

The regular seasons are over for all of the winter season leagues except for the Australian Baseball League so let's take a look at how your Astros did. On Monday, we looked at the pitchers. Today, let's look at the position players. There were several outstanding performances.

OF George Springer (Arizona Fall League)
Springer had a particularly good fall campaign. In 21 games, he hit .286/.412/.600 with four doubles, three triples, four home runs and five stolen bases. His OPS was fourth in the league and his SLG was third in the league. He was the only Astros winter league player with an OPS over 1.000.

SS Jio Mier (Arizona Fall League)
Jio Mier was designated as a taxi squad player (only intended to play twice a week), but ended up working his way into regular playing time later in the season and played some third base as well as shortstop. In 17 games, he hit .297/.333/.422 with eight doubles. This was particularly good to see since Jio missed a large chunk of the season due to injury. Also, it's harder to discount Jio's good stats at Lancaster this season when he was able to repeat good numbers against some of the best players in the minor leagues.

2B Jose Altuve (Venezuelan Winter League)
BREAKING NEWS!!! Jose Altuve can hit. What else is new? .336/.406/.441 with 10 doubles, a triple, a home run and eight stolen bases in 35 games sounds about right.

2B Enrique "Kiké" Hernandez (Puerto Rican Winter League)
I was very pleased to see Kiké build on his 2012 comeback season. In 39 games in the regular LBPRC season, he hit .320/.379/.469 with 12 doubles, two triples, two home runs and four stolen bases. He was sixth in the league in BA, 13th in OBP, eighth in SLG and fifth in OPS. Watch out Altuve, Kiké is catching up to you (and he's just as big a hit with the fans!). Although he primarily played second base, he also played several games at third.

OF Brandon Barnes (Venezuelan Winter League)
And speaking of fan favorites, Brandon Barnes quickly wowed the LVBP fans with his style of play. Brandon only played in 28 games and was back in the States in time to spend Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter, but the Caracas crowd had already adopted him as one of their own. He hit .292/.353/.491 with three doubles, three triples and four home runs.

Others of Note
2B Jose Martinez hit a healthy .287/.358/.401 with seven doubles and four home runs in 46 games and ranked in the top 20 in BA and OBP in the LVBP. C Carlos Corporan hit .293/.377/.466 with four doubles and two home runs in 23 games in the Puerto Rican Winter League regular season. C Carlos Perez hit a more than respectable .324/.398/.500 with 13 doubles and two home runs in 32 games in the Liga Paralela. And last, but certainly not least, C Luis Alavarez not only hit a robust .340/.398/.474 in 28 games in the Liga Paralela, he also went 6-for-7 with two home runs, five RBI and three runs scored in the playoffs as his Magallanes team won the Liga Paralela crown.

Here are the full regular season stats for all Astros position players participating in winter league play.

Who's Hot - Lexington Legends

Let's take a look at each of the full season teams and see who's been hot lately. First up, the Lexington Legends.

2B Delino DeShields
DeShields is now hitting .298/.402/.430 for the season and .368/.455/.500 over his last 10 games. Here's how he ranks in the South Atlantic League and in the Houston farm system in several categories.

• 75 Stolen Bases - 1st in SAL/1st in Houston system
• 86 Runs Scored - 1st in SAL/2nd in Houston system
• 119 Hits - 3rd in SAL/4th in Houston system
• 65 Walks - Tied for 3rd in SAL/2nd in Houston system (98 strikeouts)

1B Zach Johnson
Johnson is hitting .249/.345/.421 for the season and .273/.419/.515 with ten RBI in his last ten games. Here's how he ranks.

• 86 RBI - 1st in SAL/1st in Houston system
• 30 Doubles - Tied for 1st in SAL/2nd in Houston system
• 57 Walks - 6th in SAL/3rd in Houston system (only 70 strikeouts)

C/OF Mike Kvasnicka
After a very slow start, Kvasnicka is now hitting .233/.275/.415 for the season and .324/.375/.595 in his last 10 games. His 15 home runs have him tied for fourth place in the Sally League and tied for seventh place in the Houston organization.

OF Brandon Meredith
Meredith also had a somewhat slow start, but is now hitting .273/.373/.489 with 14 doubles, three triples and ten home runs for the season (64 games) and .417/.488/.722 with five doubles and two home runs over the last ten games.

C Luis Alvarez
In 13 games with Lexington, Alvarez is .306/.340/.488 with a double, a triple and two home runs.

SS Nolan Fontana
Fontana hasn't been hitting particularly well over his last ten games, but he continues to draw walks at a high rate. In 20 games for Lexington, he already has 30 walks. His OBP is .516.

LHP Mitch Lambson
Lambson is 3-1 with a 1.19 ERA and a 0.725 WHIP for the season, and he has a 1.74 ERA and 0.870 WHIP since his promotion to Lexington. Most impressively, Lambson has allowed only five walks to 36 strikeouts.

LHP Tommy Shirley
Shirley is 3-2 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.178 WHIP for the season and has a 3.00 ERA and 1.238 WHIP since his promotion to Lexington.

There are two players who didn't make my "hot" list because they are never very hot or very cold. They are the most consistent players on the team.

3B Matt Duffy
Duffy is hitting .297/.387/.465 for the season with 28 doubles, one triple and 12 home runs. He is tied for fifth in doubles and is tied for fourth in hits and total bases in the Sally League (and ranks in the top five in the Houston system in those categories as well). He has continued to do what he did in his first season as he hits consistently on the road and at home, against lefties and righties, month after month.

RHP Mike Foltynewicz
Folty has had a couple of rough outings in July, but he is still tied for the league lead in wins with 11 and is in fifth place in the league with a 3.05 ERA.

Next Up: Lancaster

Roster Moves - 7/5

Houston/Oklahoma City
LHP Dallas Keuchel was optioned from Houston to Oklahoma City.
Enerio del Rosario was assigned from Oklahoma City to Houston.
Wilton Lopez was assigned to Oklahoma City for a rehab assignment.

Lexington
Nolan Fontana was assigned to Lexington.

Greeneville
C Luis Alvarez was assigned from Lexington to Greeneville.

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

[Note: If you're reading this from RSS, you may have missed the standings I put on the front page. As of this morning, seven of eight Astros minor league affiliates are at .500 or better. Corpus Christi is now tied for first place in the overall standings while lagging by only one game behind the Missions in the second half race.]

Sunday's Games

Asheville	Lexington	12:35 CST MiLB.tv	Winkler, Daniel (8-5, 4.75)
Greeneville	Kingsport	4:00 CST	Ramirez, Francis (1-0, 5.14)	Morris, Akeel (0-2, 10.29)
Tri-City	Lowell	4:05 CST	West, Aaron (1-0, 0.00)	Velette, Raynel (1-1, 4.35)
NW Arkansas	Corpus Christi	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Marimon, Sugar Ray (0-0, 1.50)	Cosart, Jarred (4-4, 3.65)
Memphis	Oklahoma City	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Lyons, Tyler (0-2, 7.47)	Galarraga, Armando (1-1, 2.16)
Lancaster	Modesto	8:05 CST	Tropeano, Nick (0-0, -.--)

Saturday's Results

DSL Astros over DSL Indians 3-2
Juan Hernandez gave up two runs in his five inning start, but Javier Saucedo got the win in relief as the Astros scored late. Randy Cesar (3x4), Jarico Reynoso (2x3, 3B), and Frederick Serrano (2x4, 2B) all had good days at the plate. The winning run came in courtesy of an Arturo Michelina walk-off single.

GCL Astros over GCL Nationals 3-2
Michael Feliz (W, 2-0) didn't get the start but did the heavy lifting, pitching six innings and allowing two runs. Erick Gonzalez got his third save of the season. Franny Polanco was three-for-three with two RBIs; Wallace Gonzalez was two-for-three with a double and a triple; and Darwin Rivera hit a solo home run.

Tri-City over Connecticut 14-5
Tri-City has now won eight in a row and they completely dominated Connecticut, leading from the first inning on and putting up three four-run innings. And I'm sure that starting pitcher Vincent Velasquez couldn't have been happier. Velasquez earned his second win, as he allowed one run on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts over six innings. Relievers Brad Propst and Jamaine Cotton each allowed two runs. Big nights at the plate for Austin Elkins (3x4, 2R), Dan Gulbransen (3x3, 2B, HR, 5RBI, 2BB, 2R), Jesse Wierzbicki (2x4, BB, 2R); Joe Sclafini (2x4, 2RBI); and Jobduan Morales with a grand slam.

Asheville over Lexington 13-8
A seven-run seventh inning by Asheville was the nail in Lexington's coffin. Mike Foltynewicz (L, 9-2) had a rare subpar outing in his first loss since his first start of the season as he allowed six runs (five earned) over his six innings. Nate Pettus only managed to get one out in the seventh while allowing seven runs. He was quickly bailed out by Mitch Lambson in his first appearance since his promotion to Lexington. Luis Alvarez, a catcher, also pitched an inning and allowed no hits or runs. Matt Duffy was three-for-five with three RBIs; Justin Gominsky had two doubles; Roberto Pena was two-for-five with two runs; Ruben Sosa got two runs in his first appearance for Lexington; and Delino DeShields stole three bases to increase his season total to 57.


Memphis over Oklahoma City 20-6
Apparently, the Redhawks heard about Lexington having a catcher pitch in their game, so they decided to have a left fielder pitch in theirs! After a complete implosion by the OKC pitching staff, left fielder J.B. Shuck came in with one on and no outs, induced a double play and a ground out and got out of the inning unscathed. Which is more than can be said for OKC's other pitchers for the night. Brian Bass was charged with the loss after allowing six runs (one earned) over 4.2 innings. Brandon Barnes, Mike Hessman and J.B. Shuck were all two-for-five, with Barnes and Hessman hitting home runs.

Corpus Christi over Northwest Arkansas 13-7
The Hooks were gifted with lots of hits and lots of walks allowed by the opposing pitchers. As a matter of fact, four of the Hooks runs scored via the bases loaded walk. Really, that happened. Bobby Doran got his second win in as many starts for the Hooks as he put up a quality start. There were too many terrific hitting performances to list them all, but Austin Wates' three hits, and Jose Martinez' five RBIs and home run stood out.

Lancaster over Rancho Cucamonga 8-7
Lancaster struck early and hung on late. It looked as though this might be another one of "those" nights for Lancaster as starter Zach Grimmett (W, 3-5) gave up two in the top of the first, but he settled down nicely and allowed only two more runs over his next five. In the meantime the JetHawks bats went to work and chased out Rancho Cucamonga starter Angel Sanchez after only 2.2 innings as Lancaster scored all eight of their runs in the first three innings. Kirk Clark made it a bit more interesting than I would have liked by allowing three runs in relief to make it a one-run game, but Andrew Robinson nailed it down with his fifth save. Offensively, it was the Grant Hogue show as he went four-for-four with a triple, RBI, walk and scored three runs. Hogue is now hitting .611 for the JetHawks in 13 games. Kike Hernandez (two-for-three with a triple) and Domingo Santana (two-for-four with an RBI) also had good nights.

Game of the Day
Greeneville over Danville 13-4
This was a nice comeback for Greeneville after the 17-inning loss in their previous outing. The Astros led from the second inning on as the bats broke out in a big way. Richard Rodriguez earned his second win of the season. Jose Monzon provided some excitement with a three-run inside the park home run.

What went right: Hitting and lots of it.

What went wrong: 0-fer from Brian Blasik, lowering his batting average all the way down to .372.

Richard Rodriguez (W, 2-0) - 6IP 6H 2R 2BB 9SO
Scott Zuloaga - 2IP 4H 2R 0BB 2SO
Jordan Jankowski - 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1SO

Ernesto Genoves - 3x5 2-2B RBI 2R
Mike Martinez - 2x3 HR 2RBI 2R
Ariel Ovando - 3x5 RBI SO 2R
Angel Ibanez - 2x4 RBI SO 2R
Jose Monzon - 3x4 HR 4RBI R
Jean Batista - 1x5 HR 2RBI R

Players of the Day: There were too many terrific performances to chose from. Let's let Dan Gulbransen's five RBIs, Jose Martinez' five RBIs, Jose Monzon's inside the park home run; Jobduan Morales' grand slam; and Grant Hogue's four-for-four night all share in the glory.

Pitchers of the Day: Vincent Velasquez edges out Richard Rodriguez, but J.B. Shuck and Luis Alvarez should also get honorable mention.

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 - 2/28

C Luis Alvarez (22)
A NDFA from Venezuela, Alvarez first played in the VSL in 2007.  After sitting out 2010, Alvarez hit .271/.353/.376/.729 for the 2011 season at Greeneville with his batting average increasing as the season progressed.  In the Liga Paralela (the Venezuelan minor leagues) this winter, he batted .300/.352/.440/.792 in 17 games.

One former Astro with a birthday today ~

RHP Ricky Stone (37)
Stone appeared in 165 games for Houston from 2001 to 2004, going 10-8 with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.401 WHIP over 187 innings.  Stone was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008 and his wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2011.  This follow-up from December 30, 2011 finds them both to be cancer free.  This will undoubtedly be a particularly happy birthday for Ricky.