Happy Birthday - 2/5

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Raul Rivera (22)
Drafted in the 37th round in 2009 out of high school in Puerto Rico, Rivera only pitched in 1.2 innings in 2010 and did not play in 2011 at all. In 2012, however, he pitched 36 innings in 12 games (six starts) with a 2-1 record, a 2.00 ERA and a 1.111 WHIP for the GCL Astros.

RHP Zachary Grimmett (23)
Drafted in the 28th round out of high school in Oklahoma in 2008, Grimmett repeated at Lancaster in 2012. The predominately flyball pitcher had an 8.21 ERA and a 1.776 WHIP in 23 games (10 starts).

RHP Mark Hamburger (26)
Originally signed as an amateur free agent by Minnesota in 2007, Hamburger came to Houston as a waiver claim from San Diego in 2012. In 17 appearances at Oklahoma City in 2012, he was 1-1 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.571 WHIP.

LHP Colton Cain (22)
An eighth round draft pick by the Pirates in 2009, Cain came to Houston in the July 2012 Wandy Rodriguez trade. In seven starts for Lancaster, he was 2-2 with a 5.55 ERA and a 1.654 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Norm Miller (67)
Drafted by Houston from the Angels in the 1964 first-year draft, Norm Miller didn't exactly put up Hall of Fame numbers in his nine seasons (1965-1973) for Houston with a .240/.322/.355 batting line, but the converted second baseman (some guy named Joe Morgan had that job) does have some interesting stories to tell about his life in baseball.  His 2009 book To All My Fans From Norm Who? is more of a collection of anecdotes than a real memoir, but for any Astros fan, those anecdotes constitute a nice glimpse of the early days of the Astros organization.

OF Lee Thomas (77)
Thomas came to Houston in a February 1968 trade and played in 90 games for the Astros toward the end of his career, hitting .194/.249/.229. His best season was his All-Star year in 1962 when he played for the Angels. Thomas was the GM of the Phillies from 1988 to 1997 and was followed by some guy named Ed Wade.

Also, Happy Birthday to the naming inspiration for my blog, former Astros Scouting Director Bobby Heck.

Another Trade And A Waiver Claim

Jeff Luhnow has been a very busy boy. Remind me not to take any more naps until August 1st. After yesterday's 10-player Mega Trade, we will have four more new Astros to get to know, three from a trade and another player from a waiver claim.

Closer Brett Myers was traded to the Chicago White Sox for LHP Blair Walters, RHP Matt Heidenreich and a PTBNL.

Walters was listed by Baseball America as the 26th top prospect in the White Sox system going in to 2012. He is said to have a low 90's fastball with natural sink and a combo cutter/slider with late bite that baffles hitters. He was the Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year in 2011. He excelled in 13 starts for A-level team Kannapolis in the Sally League, but hasn't done as well since his promotion to the Hi-A Winston-Salem team. He will be assigned to Hi-A Lancaster.

Heidenreich started the season with the Hi-A Winston-Salem team where he did very nicely in 15 starts and was named to the Carolina League All-Star team. He was recently promoted to Birmingham in the Southern League and had one very good start, one pretty good start and one extremely forgettable start. He was ranked by Baseball America as the 27th top prospect in the White Sox system before the 2011 season, but fell off the 2012 list. He will report to Corpus Christi.

RHP Mark Hamburger was claimed off waivers from San Diego and will report to AAA Oklahoma City. Hamburger has struggled to be effective this season, but he was 7-4 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.181 WHIP at AAA last season when he was in the Rangers organization.