Happy Birthday - 8/28

Happy Birthday to ~

3B Matt Dominguez (25)
A first round pick by the Marlins in 2007, Dominguez came to Houston along with LHP Rob Rasmussen in the July 2012 trade for Carlos Lee. In 130 games with Houston this season, Dominguez is hitting .223/.262/.344 with 17 doubles, 14 home runs and 51 RBI.

2014 Grapefruit League Recap, Game 14

St. Louis Cardinals 6, Houston Astros 4

2014 Grapefruit League record: 7-7

W- Michael Wacha (2-0)
L- Jarred Cosart (1-1)
S- Kevin Siegrist (1)

The Astros rallied late with 4 runs after stretch time, but they were unable to find the tying runs as they left the bases loaded to end the game.

Starting Pitcher: Jarred Cosart

The Cards dinged him for 3 in the 2nd on a bases-loaded walk, a force out with the bases still loaded, and a single. They also smoked a pair of RBI doubles off of him in the 4th. He did strike out the side in the 1st.


Final line: L (1-1), 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Bullpen

Rhiner Cruz came on for one batter, and he got the out.

Raúl Valdés was great in his inning (last out of the 4th, first 2 outs of the 5th) of work, allowing a hit and striking out 2, although he did allow the run that he and Cruz inherited from Cosart to score.

Mike Foltynewicz got the final out of the 5th, then pitched 2 full innings. The Cardinals got a run off of him in the 7th, but Folty had a solid outing otherwise, striking out 2 in his 2.1 frames.

Jorge De Leon threw a 1-2-3 8th, and Josh Fields struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th.

Offense

All 4 Astros runs came in the 7th, courtesy of a 2-run triple from Jon Singleton...



...a Matt Dominguez RBI infield single...




...and Adron Chambers scored on an error after Tyler Heineman singled.

After the Astros went down to their final out, Dominguez doubled, Heineman was plunked, and Delino DeShields walked to load the bases. Sadly, César Izturis took strike 3 to end the game. Matt Dominguez and Jose Altuve had 2-hit days on offense.

Three Stars

3.

Raúl Valdés. LHP
IP, H, 2 K

2.

Jonathan Singleton, 1B

1-4, 2-R 3B in 7th

1.

Matt Dominguez, 3B
2-4, 2B, RBI single in 7th

Next Up

Lucas Harrell will make start #4 of the spring as the Astros travel to Lakeland to take on the Tigers. They'll have another look at Max Scherzer, who will oppose Harrell on the mound for Detroit. First pitch is at 1:05 Eastern.

Happy Birthday - 8/28

Happy Birthday to ~

3B Matt Dominguez (24)
A first round pick by the Marlins in 2007, Dominguez came to Houston along with LHP Rob Rasmussen in the July 2012 trade for Carlos Lee. In 125 games with Houston this season, Dominguez is hitting .240/.278/.415 with 20 doubles, 19 home runs and 66 RBI.

Oklahoma City Redhawks Season Recap

So far we have looked at the DSL Astros season, the GCL Astros season, the Greeneville Astros season and the Lexington Legends season. Now let's take a look at the AAA Oklahoma City affiliate. Here's a quick look at how the 2011 and 2012 teams compare.


2011 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 68-75/.476
2012 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 78-65/.545

2011 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 619 - 717 = (98)
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 764 - 758 = 6

2011 Team ERA & WHIP: 4.63 & 1.516
2012 Team ERA & WHIP: 4.91 & 1.508

2011 Team Batting Line: .260/.341/.381
2012 Team Batting Line: .282/.349/.434

It's hard to truly judge a AAA affiliate because those teams are generally a mix of lifetime minor leaguers who may get an occasional MLB callup to fill a hole, struggling major leaguers who have been sent down to work on things and a few true prospects. With that said, it's difficult to read too much into the results and season comparisons at this level.

So which players had standout seasons in Oklahoma City?

There were several position players whose 2012 seasons resulted in a call-up to the Astros, such as OF Brandon Barnes (.321/.381/.514 39-2B 1-3B 12HR between Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City), 3B Matt Dominguez (.298/.347/.398), IF Scott Moore (.318/.410/.555 26-2B 1-3B 10HR), OF Fernando Martinez (.314/.367/.507 23-2B 2-3B 13HR) and C Carlos Corporan (.286/.349/.447 15-2B 6HR).

But probably the most noteworthy of those getting call-ups was OF Jimmy Paredes. In 124 games, the 23-year old hit .318/.348/.477 with 28 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs and 37 stolen bases (tied for second in the league). He was third in the league in hits with 161 and fifth in runs scored with 92.

Of the position players left behind, the best seasons belonged to SS Angel Sanchez (.320/.390/.407 13-2B 1-3B 5HR), OF Brad Snyder (.304/.375/.550 23-2B 3-3B 20HR) and the ever dependable albeit not flashy OF J.B. Shuck (.298/.374/.352 with 11-2B 3-3B). Sanchez ranked in the top 20 in the league in batting average and on-base percentage. Snyder was seventh in slugging, eighth in OPS and was tied for 11th in home runs.

The 34-year old journeyman IF Mike Hessman deserves his own paragraph. Although he only hit .231 with a .301 OBP, he was 13th in the league with a .515 slugging percentage, first in home runs with 35 (and third in strikeouts with 136), and was tied for 11th in the league in RBI.

Several relief pitchers shuttled back and forth from Oklahoma City to Houston and back again, such as Fernando Abad (now starting), Xavier Cedeno and Enerio del Rosario. But it was RHP Mickey Storey that opened some eyes with his performance at Oklahoma City and merited an August 3rd call-up. In 38 appearances, including two spot starts, Storey was 7-4 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.169 WHIP. Another standout was RHP Jose Valdez who ranked third in the league in saves with 21. His season numbers do not impress at first glance, but if you throw out his June numbers when he was nursing an injury that would eventually land him on the DL, his ERA drops to 2.84 with a 1.237 WHIP for the remainder of the season.

LHP Dallas Keuchel (6-4 in 16 starts, 3.90 ERA, 1.213 WHIP) had a good season with OKC before his call-up and RHP Edgar Gonzalez (1-0 in 2 starts, 0.69 ERA, 0.615 WHIP) barely saw the inside of the clubhouse at OKC before his call-up.

Of the pitchers left behind, three in particular made that crucial step from AA to AAA during the season and showed good progress in their development. LHP Brett Oberholtzer (10-10 in 38 starts, 4.37 ERA, 1.356 WHIP combined) actually got stronger as the season progressed and ended the season at Oklahoma City with a 2.02 ERA and a 1.121 WHIP over his final five starts. RHP Jarred Cosart only made six appearances (five starts) with Oklahoma City, but had a very impressive 2.60 ERA and 1.410 WHIP. His combined numbers for the season were 6-7 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.395 WHIP. RHP Jose Cisnero was 4-1 at Oklahoma City and ended the season with a 3.70 ERA and 1.409 WHIP (combined), and a 4.54 ERA and 1.764 WHIP at Oklahoma City -- not the most impressive of numbers but a decent first step.

I will continue with my look at the final three teams' seasons when they finish post-season play. I hope I have to wait a good long while!

Roster Moves

Houston/Oklahoma City
3B Matt Dominguez was recalled from Oklahoma City to Houston.
LHP Dallas Keuchel was optioned from Houston to Oklahoma City.

Happy Birthday - 8/28

3B Matt Dominguez (23)
A first round pick by the Marlins in 2007, Dominguez came to Houston along with LHP Rob Rasmussen in a July 2012 trade for 1B/LF Carlos Lee. After four games with the Astros, Dominguez went to Oklahoma City where he has done quite nicely. In 43 games, he is hitting .289/.341/.368.

Minor League Recaps

Tuesday's Games

DSL Mariners over the DSL Astros 7-5
Sometimes reading the DSL boxscore makes my head hurt. This is one of those times. I was going to rag on the Astros for allowing three unearned runs until I saw that the Mariners allowed four unearned runs. Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about this game is that the DSL Astros held the lead until the sixth, that they had eight hits and that they at least had the opportunity to win.

GCL Astros over GCL Cardinals 5-0 in 7 innings (Game 1)
Enderson Franco pitched a 7-inning complete game shutout for his second win of the season. Wallace Gonzalez' two RBI single and Rio Ruiz' two RBI double accounted for the majority of the scoring. Brett Phillips and Carlos Correa both had two hits and both scored twice.

GCL Astros over GCL Cardinals 3-2 in 7 innings (Game 2)
Michael Feliz is now 5-0 for the season as he pitched five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Erick Gonzalez converted his eighth save of the season. Carlos Correa got another two hits in the second game, one of which happened to be a rather convincing home run according to eyewitness reports. Add a Darwin Rivera RBI double and a Teoscar Hernandez RBI single and the Astros had all the runs they needed.

Burlington over Greeneville 4-3 in 10 innings
Starter Daniel Minor allowed three runs on nine hits in six innings, but it was Michael Hauschild who got the loss as he gave up the winning run in the 10th inning after 3.2 scoreless innings. The Astros banged out 12 hits with Mike Martinez getting three of them, including a double. Jose Monzon, Jean Batista and Marc Wik had two each.

Tri-City over Connecticut 7-3
Brady Rodgers gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits and zero walks with five strikeouts in seven innings to earn his fourth win of the season and to end a shocking two-game losing streak (hey, for this team, a one game losing streak is shocking). Jeremiah Meiners added on two hitless, scoreless innings of his own. The game was tied until the bottom of the sixth when Tri-City had a big inning as they brought 10 batters to the plate and scored five, keeping the line moving with five straight singles and a subsequent single and double for good measure. Joe Sclafani (3x5 RBI SB), Jesse Wierzbicki (2x4 2B RBI 2R SB), Jobduan Morales (2x4 RBI R) and Preston Tucker (2x4 2RBI) all had good days at the plate.

Lexington over Augusta 4-3
Jonas Dufek gave up one run in the first and then held the line there until the eighth when he ran into a little trouble, thanks in part to a Justin Gominsky fielding error. In the end he allowed two earned runs on eight hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Mitch Lambson finished off the eighth and pitched the ninth to earn the win. Zach Johnson was two-for-four for the night and collected his league leading 80th RBI of the season. Brandon Meredith was two-for-four with a double and an RBI and is hitting .353/.477/.765 over his last 10 games. In other news, Delino DeShields did not steal a base and Mike Kvasnicka did not hit a home run.

Lake Elsinore over Lancaster 3-1
Nick Tropeano (L, 2-2) had a decent start, allowing only three runs (*two one earned) on *seven six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over five innings, but that turned out to be two runs too many as Lancaster only scraped together one run on four hits. The "Jorge de Leon as a starter" experiment may have run its course as de Leon pitched two effective innings out of the bullpen on Tuesday. Chia Jen-Lo was activated from his rehab stint with the GCL and pitched a perfect final frame. An RBI single from George Springer driving in Chan Moon was the offensive highlight. (*Nick Tropeano told me that the boxscore was wrong and since he hasn't lied to me yet, I'm changing it to what he says!)

Corpus Christi over San Antonio 4-1
It was a terrific first outing for Asher Wojciechowski (who I will frequently be referring to as Wojo as per his twitter handle) as he held the Missions to one run on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts in seven innings pitched. Kevin Chapman and Jason Stoffel (17th save) took it the rest of the way. The Hooks scored four runs on only three singles and a double with the aid of walks and wild pitches in a small ball kind of night.

Oklahoma City over Iowa 15-9
After getting blown out the previous night, Oklahoma City came back with a vengeance on Tuesday. Armando Gallaraga was pulled after a three inning start leading to conjecture that he will replace Wandy Rodriguez in the Astros starting rotation. Aneury Rodriguez then pitched a very tough six run (four earned) inning. Sergio Perez gave up two additional runs in his two innings of work but was rewarded with a win as the Redhawks blew things wide open in the later innings. Mark Hamburger and Jose Valdez each provided a scoreless inning and Adalberto Flores pitched the ninth and gave up one run (seven fewer than his outing from the previous night). Matt Dominguez was the star of the night with six RBI (sac fly, three run homer, two run double), but Brad Snyder and Jimmy Paredes also offered up solo shots. Brett Wallace was two-for-three with a walk and four RBI. Wallace is hitting .444/.556/.583 in his last 10 games.

Player of the Day: Matt Dominguez six RBI qualify him for the honor. Small sample size, but Dominguez is hitting .333/.370/.524 in his 11 games with OKC. Everyone needs to pray very hard that Dominguez keeps hitting because we really need his defense at third base in Houston.

Pitcher of the Day: Asher Wojciechowski had such a great first start that I'm actually willing to spell his name out twice in one post!

Roster Moves - 7/9

Oklahoma City
RHP David Carpenter was optioned from Houston to OKC to make room for Wilton Lopez coming off the DL.
3B Matt Dominguez was optioned from Houston to OKC.

Corpus Christi
OF Justin Maxwell was assigned from Oklahoma City to Corpus Christi to continue his rehab assignment.

DSL Astros
SS Hector Roa was assigned to the DSL.

Roster Moves - 7/4

As I'm sure you already know, 1B Carlos Lee was dealt to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday for 3B Matt Dominguez and LHP Rob Rasmussen. Zachary Levine has the story here.

Matt Dominguez will report to the big club at least until the All-Star break. Rasmussen will report to the Corpus Christi Hooks team.