Astros Farm Report: 7/10

Catching you up on the latest Astros MiLB news ...

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

Carlos Hiraldo - August 2016

Photo by Jayne Hansen

7/9: RHP Edgardo Sandoval (22)
7/10: C Rubén Castro (22)
7/12: LHP Tony Sipp (35)
7/15: LHP Carlos Hiraldo (22)
7/15: OF Carlos Díaz (19)

TWEET OF THE WEEK

A Day in the MiLBee Life pic.twitter.com/J6lbstOmJr

— Jayne Hansen (@JayneWTHB) July 9, 2018

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

According to the transaction info posted on the Astros website, 28 of the 40 draft picks for 2018 signed (all of the top 13 and 28 of the top 31).

7/7: OF Kyle Tucker's contract selected by Houston
7/7: OF Jake Marisnick optioned to Fresno from Houston
7/6: RHP Tommy DeJuneas assigned to Quad Cities
7/6: RHP James Hoyt (Fresno) traded to Cleveland for RHP Tommy DeJuneas
7/6: OF Jon Kemmer (Fresno) traded to Minnesota for cash considerations
7/6: OF Yordan Alvarez assigned to Fresno from Corpus Christi
7/6: RHP David Paulino (Fresno) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
7/6: 3B Abraham Toro assigned to Corpus Christi from Buies Creek
7/6: C Juan Paulino (27th round pick) assigned to the GCL
7/4: RHP J.B. Bukauskas (Quad Cities) sent from the GCL to Tri-City on a rehab assignment (on the DL since 4/26)
7/4: C Cesar Salazar (7th round pick) assigned to Tri-City
7/4: RHP R.J. Freure (6th round pick) assigned to Tri-City
7/4: RHP Brett Daniels (17th round pick) assigned to Tri-City (signed 6/29)
7/4: OF Andres Monzon signed (16 year old out of Venezuela)
7/3: 1B A.J. Reed optioned to Fresno from Houston
7/3: C Tim Federowicz's contract selected by Houston
7/2: C Jamie Ritchie assigned to Fresno from Corpus Christi
7/2: C Eduardo de Oleo activated from the Corpus Christi DL
7/2: RHP Yohan Ramirez assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
7/2: C Jose Carrillo (Tri-City) released
7/2: OF Omar Diaz signed (16 year old out of the Dominican Republic)
7/2: OF Jairo Jose signed (16 year old out of the Dominican Republic)
7/2: RHP Carlos Calderon signed (16 year old out of the Dominican Republic)
7/2: SS Ayendy Ortiz signed (16 year old out of the Dominican Republic)
7/2: SS Yohander Martinez signed (16 year old out of Venezuela)
7/2: OF Tomas Ramirez signed (16 year old out of the Dominican Republic)
7/2: RHP Reimy Beltre signed (17 year old out of the Dominican Republic)
7/2: C Miguel Palma signed (16 year old out of Venezuela)
7/2: RHP Johangel Ramirez signed (16 year old out of Venezuela)
7/2: RHP Danny Subero signed (16 year old out of Venezuela)
7/2: SS Cristian Gonzalez signed (16 year old out of the Dominican Republic)
7/2: RHP Daniel Pacheco signed (16 year old out of Venezuela)
7/2: OF Frank Perez signed (16 year old out of Cuba)
7/2: OF Jesus Liranzo signed (16 year old out of the Dominican Republic)

Although the transaction has not been posted on MiLB.com yet, the Astros have picked up OF Granden Goetzman. Goetzman was drafted by the Rays in the second round in 2011 out of Palmetto H.S. (FL) and remained in the Rays organization until becoming a minor league free agent after the 2017 season. He signed with the Cardinals organization in March of this year and was released late last month. He is a career .245/.289/.368 hitter in 505 games in the minors. Oh, and he may not be official yet, but he looked pretty official to me over the weekend ...

Granden Goetzman - July 2018

Photo by Jayne Hansen

ASTROS MILB DISABLED LIST

7/3: OF Carmen Benedetti (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
6/19: OF Drew Ferguson (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL (hand)
6/1: LHP Yeremi Ceballos (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
6/1: RHP Carlos Quintero (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
5/29: RHP Matt Ramsey (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
5/26: RHP David Paulino (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL (retroactive to the 25th)
5/4: RHP Francis Martes (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
5/3+/-: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez had TJ surgery per Instagram post
4/5: RHP Ryan Thompson assigned to Fresno (starting the season on the 7-day DL); according to Instagram Ryan has had surgery, but I don't know whether or not it was TJ
4/5: RHP Matt Ruppenthal assigned to Quad Cities (starting the season on the 7-day DL; according to Instagram, Ruppenthal had elbow surgery to transpose the ulnar nerve in early April and started to throw mid-June)
4/5: RHP Ángel Heredia (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
4/5: RHP Nick Hernandez (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL (Tommy John)
No date: RHP Alex House (Tri-City) appears to be on the DL per his Instagram account but working his way back (end of June)

ASTROS MILB RESTRICTED LIST

6/22: RHP Yoanys Quiala placed on the restricted list (80 game suspension for performance-enhancing substance); Quiala won't be eligible to play again until approximately mid-April of 2019.

MISSING IN ACTION

Now that all of the short season teams have started playing, I've gone through my records and the following players all show as "active" on MiLB, but they haven't played yet this season. If anyone has any info on the following players, please let me know.

RHP Hunter Martin
LHP Javier Navas
RHP Kyle Serrano - made his first appearance of the season for the GCL team 7/6

I will be keeping track of all the releases, retirements, trades and signings for the 2018 season here.

ASTROS MILB STANDINGS
Up and down arrows represent increase/decrease in win percentage over the prior week.

FRESNO (Pacific Coast League)

🠋1st 52-37 .584 -.-GB W1

CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League)

🠉1st 57-30 .655 -.-GB W5 (overall)
1st 14-4 .778 -.-GB W5 (second half)
1st 43-26 .623 -.-GB W5 (first half division winner)

The Hooks have made the playoffs as the first half winners of the Texas League South Division.

BUIES CREEK (Carolina League)

🠋2nd 50-38 .568 4.0GB L1 (overall)
2nd 13-6 .684 0.5GB L1 (second half)
2nd 37-32 .536 3.5GB L1 (first half)

QUAD CITIES (Midwest League)

🠉2nd 49-39 .557 0.5GB W2 (overall)
5th 9-9 .500 3.5GB W2 (second half)
1st 40-30 .571 -.-GB W6 (first half division winner)

The River Bandits have made the playoffs as the first half winners of the Midwest League Western Division.

TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League)
🠉1st 14-10 .583 -.-GB W5

GCL ASTROS (Gulf Coast League)
🠉4th 8-11 .421 4.5GB W2

DSL ASTROS (Dominican Summer League Northwest)
🠉7th 12-20 .375 11.0GB L2

NEWS AND LINKS

The social media post for the new draft picks has been updated to denote those players who have officially signed.

The PCL All-Star roster includes C Garrett Stubbs, 3B J.D. Davis, 1B A.J. Reed, OF Kyle Tucker and Pitching Coach Dyar Miller. The game takes place tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio.

In conjunction with the tweet above, here's the story of the Corpus Christi bee delay.

ICYMI, RHP Forrest Whitley is headed to the DL. I talked with him briefly on Saturday in Corpus; he wasn't terribly concerned about the injury and is eager to get back to business.

LHP Patrick Sandoval has been on a nice run and has carried that with him in his promotion to Buies Creek.

Steve Batterson of the Quad-City Times catches up with first rounder Seth Beer.

Batterson also talked with Quad Cities skipper Mickey Storey about the quite considerable turnover of the team roster and the challenges that presents.

Not much info on the Astros July 2nd international signings which is not terribly surprising since the Astros are restricted on the amount of signing bonuses again this season. None of these signings are considered top international prospects.

And in case you missed any of these, here are my recent interviews:

RHP Corbin Martin (Corpus Christi) - coming soon
3B Abraham Toro (Corpus Christi) - coming soon
RHP Trent Thornton (Fresno)
OF Chas McCormick (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
OF J.J. Matijevic (Buies Creek)
RHP Brandon Bielak (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
LHP Brett Adcock (Buies Creek)
SS Alex De Goti (Corpus Christi)
1B Taylor Jones (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)
RHP Brock Dykxhoorn (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Friday, August 12, and Saturday, August 13, 2016

Let's play two in Peoria and the Dominican!

Fresno

The Grizzlies split the first two games of their series with Iowa, winning 8-4 om Friday and dropping Saturday's game by a score of 9-5.

In game 3 of this series, Mike Hauschild will take on Drew Rucinski. First pitch is at 5:05 Pacific.

Friday: W 8-4 vs. Iowa

Andrew Aplin had a fine night at the plate and César Valdez turned in 6 solid innings to record his 11th win of the season.

Andrew Aplin: 3-3, 2 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, R
D.J. Fisher: 2-R HR (2, 18 season)
Chan-Jong Moon: 2-3, solo HR (1, 2 season)
Max Stassi: 2-3, 2 R

César Valdez: W (11-1), 6 IP, 9 H, ER, 6 K
Reymin Guduan: IP, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Aaron West: IP, H, 2 K
Albert Minnis: IP, 2 H (2-R HR allowed), 2 ER, BB, K

Saturday: L 9-5 vs. Iowa

The Grizzlies got burned by a 5-run 4th inning from the Cubs. They got to within two runs, but Iowa got a 2-run homer to put the game out of reach.

Jon Kemmer: 2-4, 3B, 2-R HR (14), 4 RBI
Jon Singleton: solo HR (18)
Nolan Fontana: 2-4, 2B, R

Edison Frias: L (1-2, 5-3 season), 3.2 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, K
Chris Cotton: 3 IP, 3 H (2-R HR allowed), 2 ER, K
Brendan McCurry: 1.1 IP, H, 3 K
Jordan Jankowski: IP, K

Corpus Christi

The Hooks have a rubber game coming up tonight with Arkansas at 6:05.

Friday: W 2-1 vs. Arkansas

Corpus managed to walk off with the victory despite being no-hit for 8 innings. Bobby Boyd broke up the no-hitter with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, and Nick Tanielu followed with an RBI single to tie the game. Boyd scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

Bobby Boyd: 1-4, scored winning run on wild pitch
Nick Tanielu: 1-4, game-tying RBI single

Trent Thornton: 7 IP, 7 H, ER, 6 K
Ryan Thompson: W (3-1, 5-2 season), 2 IP, H, K

Saturday: L 5-4 vs. Arkansas (10 innings)

The Travs got one over on the Hooks by scoring 2 in the 8th to tie and force extra innings, and then in the first extra frame, they went ahead and hung on for the win. Francis Martes had another good start, but the bullpen couldn't hold on to the lead.

Tony Nuñez: 2-4, 2 RBI, R
Yulieski Gurriel: 0-4, RBI

Francis Martes: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K

Lancaster

The JetHawks split the first two games of their series with San Jose. They lost 10-6 on Friday and absolutely erupted in a 16-2 win on Saturday.

Elieser Hernandez will start game 3 of this series. He'll face Austin Fleet at 5:05 Pacific.

Friday: L 10-6 vs. San Jose

The JetHawks tried to fight back from a 7-0 deficit, but it was too much for them to overcome. The Giants scored 3 in the top of the 9th to put this game away.

Bryan Muñiz: 2-5, 2B, 2-R HR (10), 3 RBI
Christian Correa: solo HR (1, 2 season)
Aaron Mizell: 2-3, solo HR (6, 8 season)
Drew Ferguson: 2-5, 2B, 2 R

Jose Luis Hernandez: 5 IP, 11 H (solo, 2-R HRs allowed), 7 R (5 ER), 3 K
Alex Winkelman: 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K
Kevin McCanna: 2 IP, 3 H (3-R HR allowed), 3 ER, BB, 4 K

Saturday: W 16-2 vs. San Jose

After San Jose scored 2 in the 1st, Lancaster closed this game on a 16-0 run.

Trent Woodward was the only player in the lineup without a hit, but he did score 2 runs. Johnny Sewald didn't score, but he finished 2-6 with a double and an RBI. Everyone drove in a run.

Brock Dykxhoorn: W (8-4), 6.2 IP, 4 H (2 solo HRs allowed), 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Ralph Garza Jr.: 2.1 IP, BB, K

Quad Cities

The River Bandits got rained out on Friday in Peoria, so they played a doubleheader on Saturday.

Franklin Perez will start the series finale. First pitch is at 5:00.

Saturday Game 1: L 4-3 @ Peoria

The Banditos scored 3 in the top of the 6th to tie the game..... only to see the Chiefs walk off with the victory.

Pat Porter: 2-2, 3B, 2 RBI
Arturo Michelena: 1-3, RBI, R

Framber Valdez: 6.2 IP, 9 H (2-R HR allowed), 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 6 K

Saturday Game 2: W 8-3 vs. Peoria

A couple of 2016 draftees launched bombs for the Banditos to give them the split in the twinbill. Spencer Johnson now has 33 home runs this year between college and the pros, and on the mound, Hector Perez got his first win in the Midwest League.

Stephen Wrenn: 3-4, 2 2B, 2-R HR (2, 11 season), 3 RBI
Spencer Johnson: 2-3, 2-R HR (1, 9 season), 2 R
Pat Porter: 2-3, RBI, R

Hector Perez: W (1-0, 3-0 season), 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
David Schmidt: 1.2 IP, H, BB, K

Tri-City

The ValleyCats dropped the first game of their series with Vermont by a score of 6-3 on Friday. They got rained out on Saturday, so the ValleyCats and Lake Monsters will wrap up their series with a doubleheader today starting at 5:05 Eastern.

Friday: L 6-3 @ Vermont

Brauly Mejia: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI
Tyler Wolfe: 2-3, RBI

Tyler Britton: 3 IP, 2 H, 6 K
Salvador Montaño: 2 IP, H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
Kevin Hill: L (1-3), 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 K

Greeneville

It's been a tough start to the weekend for the Appy Astros; they lost 7-6 on Friday to Johnson City, which gave the Cardinals the sweep, and then on Saturday in Kingsport, the bullpen faltered late and they walked off with a 4-3 loss.

Ben Smith will start game 2 of Greeneville's 4-game series with the K-Mets. He'll face Chris Viall at 4:00 Eastern.

Friday: L 7-6 vs. Johnson City

A late rally fell just short.

Carlos Machado: 2-4, 3 RBI, R
Luis Payano: 2-4, RBI
Connor MacDonald: 2-R HR (5)

Forrest Whitley: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 unearned runs, 3 K
Nathan Thompson: L (2-1), 2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, BB, K
Devin Raftery: 3 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, K
Lucas Williams: 1.1 IP, 2 H, K

Saturday: L 4-3 @ Kingsport

Frankeny Fernandez: 2-3, RBI, R
Carlos Machado: 2-4
Reiny Beltre: 1-4, RBI

Ricardo Castro: 4 IP, 5 H
Carlos Hiraldo: IP, K
Jorge Alcala: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER (1 inherited runner charged to him), 2 BB, 4 K
Devon Carr: 0.1 IP, 2 H, BB, K

GCL Astros

The Kissimmee Stros lost 6-2 to the Cardinals on Friday.

Juan Piñeda drove in both GCL Astros runs; he grounded into a force out in the 3rd and ripped an RBI double in the 8th. Edgar Lorenzo scored both of those runs.

Lupe Chavez was the 3rd pitcher to appear for the Kissimmee Stros, and he struck out 3 in 2 perfect innings.

DSL Astros

The Blue team got rained out on Friday. They ended up splitting a doubleheader with the Phillies 1, losing game 1 7-2 and winning the second game by a score of 4-1.

Meanwhile, the Orange team lost two games to the Red Sox 2; they were bested 8-3 on Friday and smacked 11-2 on Saturday.

Astros Farm Report and Interview with Brady Rodgers

A short farm report today, including a chance to hear from Astros/Grizzlies RHP Brady Rodgers ...

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

6-12: IF Nicolas Miranda (20)
6-13: LHP Evan Grills (24)
6-13: RHP Leovanny Rodriguez (20)
6-16: LHP Matt Bower (22)
6-17: LHP Yhoan Acosta (21)

Evan Grills

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Since I've been traveling, I haven't checked the roster transactions in a few days. Here are a few that you (and I) may have missed and a couple that were posted a few days after the fact.

6-11: OF Hector Roa assigned to Quad Cities from extended Spring Training
6-11: OF Kyle Tucker placed on the Quad Cities 7-day DL retroactive to 6-10
6-10: C Trent Woodward transferred from Corpus Christi to Lancaster
6-10: C Jamie Ritchie placed on the Lancaster 7-day DL retroactive to 6-8
6-9: C Gabriel Bracamonte (officially) activated on the Lancaster roster
6-8: LHP Austin Nicely assigned to Quad Cities from extended Spring Training
6-8: RHP Luidin Toribio assigned from the DSL Astros to the GCL Astros
6-8: RHP Yonatan Quintin assigned from the DSL Astros to the GCL Astros
6-7: LHP Zac Person placed on the Quad Cities 7-day DL retroactive to 6-3
6-7: RHP Kyle Smith activated from the Corpus Christi DL
6-3: OF Nestor Tejada assigned from the GCL Astros to the DSL Astros
6-3: RHP Angel Heredia placed on the Corpus Christi 7-day DL
6-1: LHP Alex Winkelman placed on the Lancaster 7-day DL

FORMER ASTROS FARMHAND UPDATE

News came out this week that a couple of former Astros who were playing in Independent ball found new homes back in affiliated baseball. RHP Josh Zeid signed with the Mets and is currently assigned to the AA Binghamton Mets. And RHP Travis Ballew's contract was purchased by the Marlins.

CHECKING IN WITH BRADY RODGERS

This was the final interview I conducted in my recent trip to the left coast. Admittedly, I was tired and not at my best. I even forgot to ask Brady one of the questions that was actually on my written list. I was going to ask him about his scheduled start later today as he faces off against Tim Lincecum! How did I forget that? Anyway, there will be more interviews to come from the trip, and I'll certainly be checking in on Brady Rodgers as he faces off against The Freak and wishing him the best.

The Trailblazers, Part 2: Astros OF Brett Phillips Talks About His Venezuelan Adventure

Yesterday, I gave you a brief introduction to The Trailblazers, a group of eight American players (and three coaches) who were tasked with expanding the Astros footprint in Venezuela in a meaningful way by participating in the Venezuelan Liga Paralela for the winter season. One of those players was OF Brett Phillips.

@astros @zingerbats @FranklinSports @NB_Baseball check out @Brett_Phillips8 representing in Venezuela #winterball pic.twitter.com/rs2Aay3B9f
— Loren Pincus (@Pincus25) October 22, 2013

Phillips was a late addition to the mix of those who went to Venezuela. He joined a group of players who were already in place and playing for the Tiburones: RHP Jamaine Cotton, RHP Michael Dimock, RHP Joe Musgrove, LHP Blair Walters, OF Marc Wik, C Ricky Gingras and 3B Ryan Dineen. I talked to Brett by phone at length about his experiences in Venezuela and it all started with the journey down.

The Trailblazers catching a little sun

Before the trip to South America, Brett had never been outside the United States, except for a quick cruise to Mexico, and his Spanish skills were more or less non-existent. His adventure started as he tried to change planes in Panama. After some confusion, he found himself in an interminably long line for his rapidly approaching flight and then was told he wasn’t in the system. He was thinking, “I’m going to be stuck here and this is not a good way to start things.”

He was quickly rescued by a Venezuelan he met in line who spoke perfect English and recognized the Astros logo on Brett’s bag. Before he knew it, he was whisked to the front of the line, given his boarding pass and had his bag fees waived. When word spread that Brett was an American going to play for the Tiburones in Venezuela, “Everyone is looking at me, taking pictures with me and I’m just so overwhelmed. I’m just a minor league baseball player! I’m seriously in awe. Baseball is their life over there. Baseball is everything to them.” He ended up buying his new friend some coffee and was soon on his way, but his eyes had been opened up to the culture of baseball in Latin America.

Upon his late arrival into Caracas, the first thing Brett noticed was the extremely heavy traffic. What he experienced that night was a common sight. Night or day, the traffic was awful. What would normally be a 30-minute commute in the United States could easily take three or four hours. Motorcycles flew between the cars and a tank of gas cost less than a dollar.

Brett made it to the dorm in San Joaquin at around 2:00 in the morning and was ushered into an open room that looked like a military barracks. “There’s like 30 bunk beds, so [about] 60 players were sleeping in there. It’s just open and everyone’s sleeping together. There’s no privacy, no bedrooms.”

After a standard 5:00 a.m. wake-up call, a bleary-eyed Phillips boarded a bus to head to the field. “Picture a school bus, but no yellow. It’s pimped out. It’s got a big old sound system and a TV in the front of the bus playing Spanish music videos. It’s like 6:00 in the morning and they’re blaring this Spanish music and it’s got this bass. It’s just blaring music and I’m dead from the night before.” He wasn’t having any of it at the time, but he had to get used to it because the music played continuously everywhere the bus went.

Brett described the field as pretty nice, but for one factor … the turf. “It had turf, but the turf wasn’t what our turf is. The turf had no rubber down. Usually the Astroturf has rubber down in the grass. It was basically just like carpet. So if you were going to dive, you’re going to burn your arms, so you had to go feet first if you’re going to dive for a ball.” But that wasn’t even the bad part. “When the sun was at its highest point, that turf got so hot that it would literally burn your feet. Your legs would be on fire. I don’t know how to explain it. It was so hot it made you more tired so quickly.”

But no matter the challenges, Phillips learned a lot by playing ball in the Liga Paralela. “The competition was good. For me, I’ve struggled [a little] with offspeed pitches like curveball, slider, changeup. And what they say is, ‘If you can’t hit a fastball, you go play in the Dominican because everyone there is going to throw 95-100. If you can’t hit an offspeed pitch, they said [to] go play in Venezuela for winter ball because they’re going to drop an offspeed pitch almost every pitch. You see more offspeed in an at-bat than you see fastballs.’ That’s what I was told when I went down to Venezuela. That was good for me, seeing the offspeed.”

It must have worked because Brett wasted no time in drawing attention to himself from the big league Venezuelan club. “I batted leadoff and third there and from the beginning played centerfield. [I] started hitting well and it took about a week or two to get noticed more by the big league team. They started watching me and I ended up being able to go up [to the big league club] for a few games to hit BP and to watch the game in the dugout. Before I had to leave [for a family emergency], I think I was so close to getting called up. That’s what they were talking to me about.” [Note: In my interview with Jeff Luhnow from November, he indicated that there definitely was interest in Phillips for the big league club.]

I asked Brett about some of the Latin players who played alongside him on the Tiburones team and he responded, “The Venezuelan players were all so nice to me. A couple of them actually took me to the mall to hang out. Good guys. All around good guys. They treated me like they treated each other over there. I wasn’t singled out. I think they kind of clung to me once they saw the laugh. They all thought that was the funniest thing ever. They’d never seen anything like that. Every time we’d be in the dorm, they’d try to get me to laugh. It was fun. [Note: Brett is known to have a laugh akin to the sound a dying donkey might make.] I didn’t single myself out to the Americans. I didn’t stay away from the Venezuelans. I went in there open-minded about everything and my experience there was good. I don’t have any complaints about that at all.”

We talked a little bit more about the challenges of living in Venezuela. “First of all, the power will shut off whenever it wants in this town. The whole town, the power will go out for five to six hours. One day we had it out for nine hours. It will shut off in the dorm and then the dorm gets really hot and the WIFI’s off.” The players could live with no electricity and no hot water in the showers, but intermittent WIFI was probably the worst issue that they had to deal with on a daily basis because WIFI represented a lifeline to their homes and families. That was something that Pitching Coach Don Alexander apparently understood. As Brett put it, “Donnie, the Pitching coach, he was in charge of everything down there. He had stressed to the Tiburones that the WIFI had to be on for us no matter what it took. We just needed it. He took care of us. He did everything for us. If we needed something, he took care of it. He’s a good guy.”

The accommodations may sound a little rugged, but after staying in a nice hotel for a few days at one point, Brett couldn’t wait to go back to the dorm. “Me and [Jamaine] Cotton decided we wanted to move back because we could have stayed at the nice hotel, but [we] were getting the experience part of it and we wanted to move back with the Venezuelan guys so we could learn better Spanish.” Plus, as Brett explains it, there was nowhere to go out around the hotel and back at the dorm, “We could go out with the Venezuelan guys, talk with them, mess around, hang out, so we decided to move back.”

Aside from traffic, Astro turf, blaring music and rustic living conditions, there were a couple of real issues to overcome. The two biggest issues to be faced were probably food and crime. With the emphasis on good nutrition for athletes, the lack of much in the way of fruits and vegetables on a regular basis will likely need to be addressed. The food was plentiful, but was generally the same thing day in and day out. “Breakfast was a piece of bread and an egg and a piece of ham. That was basically every breakfast. Lunch was either chicken and rice or beef and rice and then dinner would be the opposite.” Several of the players struggled with stomach problems at one time or another and Brett ended up losing significant weight.

The other issue has to do with the incidence of crime in a relatively poor country such as Venezuela. Brett talked to me about this as well. “There’s going to be crime. You have to go over there and respect how they live. You have to put yourself in safe situations because anything could happen there that could happen here. You just have to respect the way they live and not put yourself in a situation where you’re going to get hurt. You just have to be smart.”

When I interviewed Luhnow, he told me that the safety of the players is the team's top priority and their goal is to provide that safety while still ensuring a rich cultural experience. Brett thinks the front office will likely change a few things before sending American players there again next year, mainly adjusting the food situation and tightening security, but he noted, “All in all, I think a few things will change but not much. Because going over there, wanting to play baseball … that’s your main focus. [You’re going] to get an experience that you’re never probably going to have [again] so you’re going over there knowing you’ll live how they live.” The experience of living in the dorm with the Latin players was an important part of the experience for Brett and that is one thing that he wouldn't change.

Venezuela can be difficult and it’s not for everyone, but Brett seems to have approached the experience from the right frame of mind. “Luhnow sent Americans to the Dominican and [on] this Venezuela trip, first of all to interact and get that aspect of the game and second of all, [to show] us what those Latin guys go through when they come over to the United States. The living conditions might be a little different, but they’re coming over here blind. They’re coming over here not knowing any English and it just makes me appreciate more where these guys are coming from and how they’re going about their business, how they are when they’re over here and it makes me appreciate them more. And definitely going over there, it opens your eyes. The living conditions – they are what they are.”

When asked about his experience in Venezuela, he says without hesitation, “I would do it again.” And he has some advice for those who may be charged with blazing the trail just a little bit further next winter, “You’re going over there for one thing … to play baseball.” He goes on to say, “It’s not going to be glamorous. You’re going to go over there and suck it up and you’re going to play baseball and you’re going to be open-minded about the experience.”

Tomorrow, I check in by email with three of the other players who participated in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Astros Minor League Playoff Picture - August 30th Update

Note on Regular Season Games
The DSL and GCL are both finished for the year. Greeneville has one more regular season game. Oklahoma City, Corpus Christi, Lancaster and Quad Cities all play four more regular season games with their final game on Monday. Tri-City plays six more regular season games with their final game on Wednesday.

Oklahoma City - In Playoffs (Won Division)
Oklahoma City clinched the division title on Tuesday night and popped the bubbly. They are also the fourth Astros minor league affiliate to make the playoffs and will host the American Northern Division winner at home on Wednesday, September 4th and Thursday, September 5th to start a best of five series. Omaha and Memphis are currently tied for the lead in that division, two games in front of the Iowa Cubs. The RedHawks will be hosting Memphis for a four-game series starting on Friday.

Corpus Christi - In Playoffs (Won first half; tied for lead in second half)
The Hooks are in the playoffs by virtue of winning the first half of the season. The schedule for the first four games has already been set with the first two against San Antonio at home on Wednesday, September 4th and Thursday, September 5th and the next two at San Antonio on that Friday and Saturday. The Hooks host the Missions for the final three games of the season starting Saturday. With the Hooks win and the Missions loss on Thursday, the Hooks went back into a tie with San Antonio for first place in the second half, and are still very much in the hunt for a second half title to go with their first half title. The Hooks lead the Missions by three and a half games for the season.

Lancaster - In Playoffs (Won first half and second half)
The JetHawks are also in the playoffs by virtue of winning the first half and have clinched the second half title as well. The schedule for the first four games has been set with Lancaster playing at home on Saturday, September 7th and Sunday, September 8th (and will be attended by yours truly) and on the road the following Monday and Tuesday. What is still to be determined is the JetHawks opponent. They will play the winner of a mini-series between the #2 and #3 seeds.

Quad Cities - In Playoffs
Quad Cities became the third Astros minor league affiliate to clinch a playoff spot with Sunday's win over Burlington. The first playoff game is scheduled for September 4th at Modern Woodmen Park against Cedar Rapids. The best of three series will then move to Cedar Rapids starting Thursday.

Tri-City
The ValleyCats did not help their cause on Thursday as they dropped a double-header while Lowell won their game. The 'Cats magic number remains at 5 with 6 games left to play. They are currently in first place, one and a half games ahead of second place Lowell. The 'Cats play two on the road against Lowell over the weekend.

Greeneville - In Playoffs
With only one game left in their season, the Greeneville Astros backed in to a playoff berth last night on a loss from Elizabethton. They are the fifth Astros affiliate to make the playoffs, and it is the first time Greeneville has been in the playoffs since 2004. With the Astros losing and Kingsport winning on Thursday, Kingsport won the Division title with the Astros one and a half games back. Greeneville will play one more regular season game tonight and then will face the Kingsport Mets in a best of three series starting Saturday at home. The final two (if necessary) games will be played on the road.

GCL Astros - Eliminated
The GCL club has been eliminated from playoff contention. They are 27-32 with one game left. They are the only Astros affiliate that will end the 2013 season with a losing record.

DSL Astros - Eliminated
The DSL team was also eliminated from contention. They ended their season on Saturday with another win to cap off a four-game win streak and a 39-31 record for the season.

Piggybacking Pitchers

Twitter was, well, all a-twitter with the news today that Jeff Luhnow is going to institute a piggyback/tandem pitching protocol for his minor leaguers to start the season. I could have told you that two months ago. As a matter of fact, I did! If you're interested in reading how this will work, here it is as explained by Jeff Luhnow himself!