It's Opening Day ... in July

So, I guess we're actually going to do this thing ... at least at the major league level. I've been on an extended hiatus while the world is burning down around us to concentrate on my own well-being, both mental and physical. Ironically, I was really feeling rested and more ready for this MiLB season than I had in a while. But, alas and alack, it was not meant to be. I certainly plan to continue WTHB and will post from time to time until minor league baseball is back, but in the meantime, I am heavy into a research project for a book I've been wanting to write for a while; the time involved always seemed prohibitive, but suddenly I have all the time in the world.

Let's catch up (or at least refresh our memories a bit) on minor league happenings ...

RULE 5 DRAFT

As a reminder, the Astros lost three players in the Rule 5 draft last December. Here is what I wrote about them at the time. As you probably know, Brandon Bailey was returned to the Astros and his contract was selected for the opening day roster.

RHP Brandon Bailey (Baltimore/RETURNED): Bailey had a very solid season with the AA Corpus Christi Hooks in 2019 (3.30 ERA/1.219 WHIP in 22 games/17 starts). Bailey came to the Astros in the November 2017 trade with Oakland that sent Ramon Laureano to that team. Bailey allowed 41 walks while striking out 103 in 92.2 innings of work. He has solid command and is expected to take on a swing man/middle relief role. In my opinion, Bailey showed enough polish and pitch development in 2019 that he is the most likely of the three taken to stick with his new team.

RHP Yohan Ramirez (Seattle): Ramirez is a real wild card (in more than one meaning of the word wild). Ramirez has an electric arm with a fastball that touches the upper 90's and a plus curveball, but his control is still very much a work in progress. In 106 innings pitched between High A Fayetteville and AA Corpus Christi in 2019 (3.99 ERA/1.302 WHIP), Ramirez allowed 74 walks while striking out 158. There was also the matter of 17 wild pitches and 15 hit batters. He is the ultimate high risk, high reward pick up. It will be difficult for him to stick with a team without showing a lot of progress on control and command, but if he is able to harness his talent, watch out! Ramirez is, in my opinion, the least likely of the three to stick.

SS Jonathan Arauz (Boston): Arauz falls somewhere in between the other two in his ability to stick with a new team (again, in my opinion). Arauz's bat has lagged his solid defense over his career, but he mostly held his own in 2019 between High A Fayetteville and AA Corpus Christi, hitting a combined .249/.319/.388 with 22 doubles, three triples and 11 home runs in 115 games. Arauz will be helped by the expansion of the MLB rosters to 26 and could conceivably earn his keep as a utility infielder, helping him to stick on the roster until his bat catches up to the major league level.

MLB JUNE DRAFT

The Astros signed all four of their draft picks.

Round 2, Pick 72: Alex Santos II, RHP, Mount St. Michael Academy (Bronx, NY) - @alexxmansantos; committed to Maryland
Round 3, Pick 101: Tyler Brown, RHP, Vanderbilt - @TbTy10
Round 4, Pick 131: Zach Daniels, OF, Tennessee - @zach_daniels2
Round 5, Pick 160: Shay Whitcomb, SS, UC San Diego - @shay_whitcomb (Instagram)

In addition, in light of the extremely abbreviated 2020 draft, the Astros signed several undrafted free agents as well.

Jimmy Endersby, RHP, Concordia University Irvine (California) - @jimmyendersby20
Justin Dirden, OF, Southeast Missouri State - @j_dirr
César Gomez, RHP, UT-Arlington - @CDaGoat9
Peter Zimmermann, IF, Missouri - @PeterZim30
Jonathan Sprinkle, RHP, Central Missouri - @JSprinkle47
Kyle Gruller, RHP, Houston Baptist - @Kylegruller17
Cody Orr, OF, Tiffin - @Cody_Orr14
Zack Matthews, RHP, Oklahoma - @zack8matthews
J.C. Correa, IF, Lamar - @Jc_Correa1

Hunter Peck, LHP, Georgia Gwinnett College - @H_Peck11

Many thanks to my partner in crime, Dustin, for keeping up with all this while I've been checked out!

ASTROS ALTERNATE TRAINING SITE

Here is a link to the players who are currently assigned to the Astros alternate training site.

OTHER TRANSACTIONS

Here are the other Astros minor league transactions since the end of the 2019 season.

7/23: RHP Brandon Bailey contract selected
6/5: OF James Nix (Tri-City) released
5/28: LHP Brett Adcock (Round Rock) released
5/28: C Ruben Castro (Round Rock) released
5/28: RHP Justin Ferrell (Corpus Christi) released
5/28: RHP Edgardo Sandoval (Fayetteville) released
5/28: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) released
5/28: RHP Luis de Paula (Quad Cities) released
5/28: RHP Miguel Figueroa (Quad Cities) released
5/28: 2B Austin Dennis (Quad Cities) released
5/28: 2B Trey Dawson (Quad Cities) released
5/28?: RHP Joey Gonzalez (Quad Cities) released
5/28: OF Preston Pavlica (Tri-City) released
5/28: OF E.P. Reese (Tri-City) released
5/28: OF Juan Ramirez (Tri-City) released
5/28: OF Abraham Castillo (GCL) released
5/28: LHP Bryan Martinez (GCL) released
5/28: LHP Daniel Bello (GCL) released
5/28: 3B Junior Marte (DSL) released
5/28: 2B Sebastian Grullon (DSL) released
3/19: 2/17: RHP Jared Hughes released
3/6: RHP Brandon Bailey (Rule 5) returned by the Orioles
2/28: RHP Alimber Santa signed (17-year old from the Dominican Republic)
2/24: RHP Carlos Hiraldo signed (22-year old from the Dominican Republic; not to be confused with lefty Carlos Hiraldo who has already been in the system for several years)
2/17: RHP Jared Hughes signed as a free agent
1/16: RHP Dean Deetz outrighted to Round Rock
1/9: RHP Peyton Battenfield (Tri-City) and OF Cal Stevenson (Fayetteville) traded to the Rays for RHP Austin Pruitt
Notes: Battenfield was drafted by Houston in the 9th round in 2019 out of Oklahoma State University and had an excellent first pro season. Here is my interview with him from July.  Cal Stevenson came to the Astros, along with Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini, as a part of the 7/31/19 trade with the Blue Jays that sent Derek Fisher to Toronto. Here's hoping that his family didn't invest a lot in Astros gear after the trade.
1/9: RHP Dean Deetz designated for assignment
12/12: RHP Brandon Bailey (Corpus Christi) claimed by the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft
12/12: RHP Yohan Ramirez (Corpus Christi) claimed by the Mariners in the Rule 5 Draft
12/12: SS Jonathan Arauz (Corpus Christi) claimed by the Red Sox in the Rule 5 Draft
12/5: CF Jake Marisnick (Houston) traded to the Mets for LHP Blake Taylor and OF Kenedy Corona (assigned to Tri-City) - see below for more
11/20: RHP Cristian Javier (Round Rock) added to the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft
11/20: 1B Taylor Jones (Round Rock) added to the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft
11/20: RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez (Fayetteville) added to the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft
11/20: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) added to the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft
11/4: LHP Kent Emanuel (Round Rock) added to the 40-man roster (Emanuel was due to become a MiLB FA)
11/4: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) elected minor league free agency
11/4: RHP Erasmo Pinales (Corpus Christi) elected minor league free agency
10/16: RHP Chanderson Perez signed (18 year old Dominican)

Further information about the two players who came to the Astros from the Mets in the December Marisnick trade.

LHP Blake Taylor: Taylor was drafted by the Pirates in the second round in 2013 and was traded to the Mets a year later. Tommy John surgery and recovery sidelined him from late 2015 to late 2016. For the next two years, Taylor was a starter who failed to break through, but a move to the bullpen in 2019 suited him and he put together the most successful season of his career to date (2.16 ERA/1.095 WHIP in 40 appearances, converting 10 of 11 save opportunities). He spent approximately half of the season at High A, half at AA (1.85 ERA/0.949 WHIP) and finished the season by facing and retiring one batter at AAA. Taylor built on his 2019 success with seven appearances in the Arizona Fall League (2.00 ERA/0.778 WHIP). Taylor becomes one of only seven lefty pitchers in the Astros system who finished the 2019 season at AA or higher. Baseball America describes him as having a "mid-90's fastball and a high spin rate on his breaking ball." He turned 24 in August.

OF Kenedy Carona: Corona, a 19-year old Venezuelan (20 in March), has only one professional season under his belt at this point, but it was a very successful season in which he progressed from the DSL to the GCL to four games at short season A to end the year. In 63 games, he hit .301/.398/.470 with 14 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 29 RBI. He also snagged 19 bases (five caught stealing) and walked (29 times) almost as much as he struck out (36 times). He can play all the outfield positions and his defensive numbers stack up nicely against most of his outfield competition in the system. Baseball America describes Corona as athletic with "the ability to play the outfield with some polish at a young age."

INTERVIEWS

In case you missed these from February, I interviewed former Astros minor leaguer Daniel Minor and we did a deep dive on how some of Rob Manfred's rule changes played out in the Atlantic League last season. And I really enjoyed talking with long-time Astros scout Jim Stevenson on some of his hits, one memorable miss and some of the ways scouting has changed over the years.

Also, I did a short interview with Enoli Paredes and Cristian Javier back in August in Corpus Christi. From Corpus in August to opening day roster spots!

ONE FINAL NOTE

The baseball community lost a good one yesterday. Johan Maya was with the Astros for 15 years in player development and scouting. He was always happy to help when I reached out to him for information on players in the DSL and he so obviously enjoyed working with those young men. Johan was only 40 years old and left behind a wife, three children and another child on the way. He will be missed by many. Be careful out there. And please wear a mask.

Please support this GoFundMe for the family of Johan Maya, a baseball brother that we lost to #COVID this morning. Johan was a wonderful father and baseball man, dedicated to his family and to this game. Rest In Peace #Mayimbe #MLB https://t.co/c5TE1sodZT

— Oz (@OcampoBaseball) July 24, 2020

Happy Minor League Opening Day!!

Happy Minor League Opening Day!! Here's what you may have missed since the end of last season if you haven't been paying attention ...

TRANSACTIONS

First of all, Dustin has done a great job of keeping everyone up to date with all of the 2018-2019 Offseason Transactions, including all of the offseason trades, releases and other maneuvering. Of particular note is the January 2019 acquisition of three players traded from the Mets for J.D. Davis and Cody Bohanek:

OF Ross Adolph (2018 12th round draft pick out of the University of Toledo) hit .276/.348/.509/.857 in his first professional season at the short season A level. Adolph has been ranked by MLB Pipeline as the #30 prospect in the Astros system and is assigned to full season A Quad Cities to start the season.

2B Luis Santana (19-year old Dominican signed in July 2016) hit .348/.446/.471/.917 in his first season domestically (third season overall) in 2018 for the rookie level Appalachian League. He is currently ranked #21 in the Astros system by MLB Pipeline and is expected to start his season in June with the short season Tri-City team.

C Scott Manea (2014 40th round draft pick out of St. John's HS, Shrewsbury, MA) hit .261/.368/.432/.800 in his first season at the full season A level in 2018 and will start the season with Advanced A Fayetteville.

TOP PROSPECTS

And speaking of MLB Pipeline, here is the pre-season Top 30 Prospect list for the Astros. In addition to the inclusion of Luis Santana and Ross Adolph to the list, there are several other players who weren't on the list at all to end the 2018 season. They are #8 RHP Bryan Abreu (who was added to the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft last fall), #12 RHP Peter Solomon, #13 OF Ronnie Dawson, #26 SS/2B Deury Carrasco and #28 RHP Enoli Paredes. Baseball America also included RHP Manny Ramirez (a 19-year old who ended 2018 with the short season A team) and a fully healthy RHP Brady Rodgers (May 2017 TJ surgery) in their 2019 Prospect Handbook. FanGraphs had a few more prospects on their list published last month, as they included 39 players rather than 30. Baseball Prospectus limited their list to 10 with no huge surprises emerging.

With several players poised to graduate from the list (such as current Astros players RHP Josh James and LHP Framber Valdez as well as others who are awaiting their return to Houston), there will likely be a great deal of movement on the list this season. Now that he has fully recovered from an ACL injury in late 2016 that sidelined his 2017 season, I look for 3B Nick Tanielu to be one of the first additions to the Top 30 list as he tries to build on a spectacular spring. I could also easily name 20 pitchers in the system who are on the cusp of really breaking through in a big way. There is a ton of depth in the system, but I think the pitching depth is really the greatest strength in the system right now.

OFFSEASON AND SPRING TRAINING PERFORMANCES

Here are a few players who performed particularly well in fall and winter leagues ...

Arizona Fall League
3B Abraham Toro: 19 G | .348/.463/.561/1.023 | 12 BB:12 K
OF Ronnie Dawson: 25 G | .291/.417/.468/.885 | 10 SB:3 CS
RHP Forrest Whitley: 8 G | 26 IP | 2.42 ERA | 0.96 WHIP | .189 BA | 7 BB:37 K

Dominican Winter League
RHP Rogelio Armenteros: 5 G | 23 IP | 1.17 ERA | 0.70 WHIP | .154 BA | 4 BB:22 K

Mexican Winter League
RHP Humberto Castellanos: 21 G | 22 IP | 2.86 ERA | 1.18 WHIP | .231 BA | 8 BB:15 K

Puerto Rican Winter League
RHP Colin McKee: 10 G | 10.1 IP | 0.00 ERA | 0.48 WHIP | .121 BA | 1 BB:13 K
(Converted 5 of 6 save opportunities)

Venezuelan Winter League
RHP Akeem Bostick: 8 G | 32 IP | 2.81 ERA | 1.06 WHIP | .205 BA | 10 BB:27 K

And a few Spring Training standouts ...

3B Nick Tanielu: 51 AB | .353/.411/.804/1.215
OF Myles Straw: 45 AB | .378/.417/.511/.928
3B Abraham Toro: 44 AB | .341/.396/.591/.987

RHP J.B. Bukauskas: 16 IP | 1.69 ERA | 1.13 WHIP | 9 BB:21 K
RHP Forrest Whitley: 15 IP | 3.00 ERA | 1.07 WHIP | 5 BB:17 K
RHP Corbin Martin: 16.1 IP | 3.86 ERA | 1.22 WHIP | 6 BB:16 K

ROSTERS

Dustin serves up a little history and context to go with the Opening Day rosters.

Meet the 2019 Round Rock Express

Meet the 2019 Corpus Christi Hooks

Meet the 2019 Fayetteville Woodpeckers

Meet the 2019 Quad Cities River Bandits

COACHING STAFF

Dustin also put together this great post on the minor league coaching staff for each of the Astros minor league teams in 2019. Notably absent from the 2019 staff are Rodney Linares, Josh Bonifay, Chris Holt and Morgan Ensberg. A long-time MiLB Manager in the Astros system, Linares is now the third base coach for the Rays. Bonifay, MiLB Field Coordinator for the Astros in 2018, is now the Director of Player Development for the Phillies. Chris Holt went from MiLB Pitching Coordinator for the Astros in 2018 to fill that same position for the Orioles in 2019. Ensberg managed the Buies Creek Astros to a league championship in 2018; he will now be helming the Rays AA affiliate, the Montgomery Biscuits. Also missing from the 2019 staff is Cesar Cedeno who has been a hitting coach in the Astros system for several years.

2018 FINAL STANDINGS

As a reminder, this is how the various Astros minor league teams finished in 2018 (including postseason results). The AAA team has moved from Fresno to Round Rock in 2019 and the Advanced A team has moved from Buies Creek into their new home in Fayetteville in 2019. They remain in the same leagues; however, the AAA team will be in a new division of the Pacific Coast League now that they are in Round Rock.

AAA FRESNO (Pacific Coast League) - Won the PCL Pacific Northern Division

1st 82-57 .590 -.-GB W1

POSTSEASON
Won the Pacific Conference Championship 3-2 over El Paso
Lost the Pacific Coast League Championship series to Memphis 3-1

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League) - Won both 1st and 2nd halves in South Division

1st 82-56 .594 -.-GB W2 (overall)
1st 39-30 .565 -.-GB W2 (second half)
1st 43-26 .623 -.-GB W5 (first half division winner)

POSTSEASON
Lost the South Division Championship Series to San Antonio 3-2
San Antonio went on to lose to Tulsa in the Texas League Championship Series 3-0

Adv A BUIES CREEK (Carolina League) - Won the 2nd half in the Southern Division

2nd 80-57 .584 3.5GB W2 (overall)
1st 43-25 .632 -.-GB W2 (second half)
2nd 37-32 .536 3.5GB L1 (first half)

POSTSEASON 🏆
Won the Southern Division Championship 3-0 over Winston-Salem
Won the one-game* League Championship Series 1-0 over Potomac 1-0

*Originally to be a five game series until Hurricane Florence crashed the party.

Low A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League) - Won the 1st half in the Western Division

1st 81-59 .579 -.-GB W5 (overall)
2nd 41-29 .586 4.0GB W5 (second half)
1st 40-30 .571 -.-GB W6 (first half division winner)

POSTSEASON
Lost the Western Division Quarterfinal 2-0 to Peoria
(Peoria went on to win the Western Division Championship series 2-0 over Cedar Rapids, but lost to Bowling Green 3-1 in the best-of-five League Championship Series.)

SSA TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League) - Won the Stedler Division
1st 42-33 .560 -.-GB L2

POSTSEASON 🏆
Won the Semi-Final Championship Series 2-0 over Mahoning Valley
Won the New York-Penn League Championship Series 2-0 over Hudson Valley

Rk GCL ASTROS (Gulf Coast League)
2nd 27-28 .491 12.5 L2

Rk DSL ASTROS (Dominican Summer League Northwest)
6th 30-41 .423 21.0GB L3

OPENING DAY SCHEDULE

Round Rock at New Orleans 7:00 CT
Amarillo at Corpus Christi 6:15 CT
Fayetteville at Potomac 6:05 CT
Quad Cities at Burlington 6:00 CT

OTHER POSTS

In case you missed these, I did a series on 20 years of the MLB draft on all 30 systems. A summary plus links to all the individual team posts can be found here. I also looked at the early results of the 2018 draft and the summary of that info can be found here.

And, finally, I combed through the rosters to find former Astros farmhands who are still playing in affiliated baseball. That post is here. I will do my annual post looking at former Astros playing in independent ball later this month.

And with that said, I think the only thing left to say is good luck to all the players out there and ...

PLAY BALL!!!

Astros Minor League Opening Day: 4/5

Everything you wanted to know about Astros MiLB Opening Day, but were afraid to ask!!! The season officially starts on Thursday, April 5th for all of the Astros full season teams.

OPENING DAY ROSTERS

Here's the breakdown of the Astros Full Season Opening Day rosters, including how/when the players were signed, where they were last season (and how they did) and a few notable players who are missing (and, in most cases, presumably on the DL to start the season).

For a bit more of a breakdown. On MiLB Opening Day, I show 233 players in the system who are NOT on the 40-man roster. This is how they break down:

140 international free agents
71 from the June Draft
8 non-drafted free agents
8 acquired in trades
5 minor league free agents
1 Rule 5 draft pick (minor league phase)

The international players are from (there are more than 140 because of trades and MiLB FA):

65 from the Dominican Republic
48 from Venezuela
12 from Cuba
9 from Panama
8 from Mexico
2 from Brazil
1 from Costa Rica

COACHING STAFF

And here is the info on the Astros 2018 minor league coaching staff.

PLAYER PROFILES

I have compiled all of the recent Beyond the Top 30 prospect profile links (over 140 Astros minor league player profiles or mini-profiles!) into one post and have pinned it to the front page for easy reference. As a reminder, I did not include profile write-ups of any players that had already made their MLB debut in those posts.

TOP PROSPECT LISTS

Also, the Consensus Top 32 Astros Prospect List is pinned to the front page. This includes rankings from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline.

ASTROS ON TWITTER/INSTAGRAM

I've updated my twitter list of Astros players. If you have any that I'm missing, let me know! I've also updated my Instagram account to follow as many of the Astros minor leaguers as I could find. Feel free to wade through all of my follows to find some of your favorites (I do have a number of former Astros in there as well.) It's a really good way to get a feel for some of the Latin players who may not be on twitter!

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

And here is the final edition of the 2017-2018 Offseason Transactions post. I plan to keep an ongoing transaction list on signings, releases and trades throughout the season and I will keep that pinned on the front page of the blog as well.

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

And, before I bring you the game info for Opening Day, I have one very important announcement. The one and only Dustin Nguyen will be back this season, bringing you THE BEST minor league recaps in the biz. Honestly, I don't know how he does it day in and day out, but he always adds little interesting tidbits here and there in addition to giving us full-blown recaps every day ... even when the short season teams start up and he has double the workload! Seriously, Dustin is the best and I am beyond happy that he will be back.

Now, without further ado ...

OPENING DAY INFORMATION

All games are on Thursday, April 5th.

FRESNO
The Grizzlies will start their season on the road in Reno at 8:35 central time with RHP Mike Hauschild on the mound for Fresno. The game will be available on MiLB.tv. Their home opener will be next Tuesday the 10th as they host Tacoma. The temperature at game time is forecast to be in the upper 50's.

CORPUS CHRISTI
The Hooks will also start their season with a long road trip to Springdale, Arkansas to face the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Game time will be at 6:25 central with LHP Framber Valdez getting the start for the Hooks. The game will be available on MiLB.tv. The home opener for the Hooks will be one week later (Thursday the 12th) and they will once again face Northwest Arkansas. Game time temperature is forecast to be in the mid to high 50's.

BUIES CREEK
The BC Astros will be traveling to Salem, Virginia to start their season with RHP Jorge Alcala the scheduled starter for the Astros. The game starts at 6:05 central and will be available on MiLB.tv. The BC Astros home opener will be on Thursday, April 12th, and will also be against the Salem Red Sox. Game time temperature is forecast to be in the mid 50's.

QUAD CITIES
The River Bandits will be the only Astros team to start the season at home as they host the Cedar Rapid Kernels. The announced starter will be LHP Patrick Sandoval. The game will start at 6:35 central and will be available on MiLB.tv. The current forecast has game time temperature around 40 degrees.

If you wish to subscribe to MiLB.tv, the information is here. Audio of all games is free by clicking on the link to the game on the team page.

Astros MiLB: Play Ball!

Happy MiLB Opening Day!!! Tonight the Astros minor league counterparts will take the field for the first time in the 2017 season. Dustin has already posted some great info on the Quad Cities River Bandits and the Buies Creek Astros, and his preview of the Fresno Grizzlies and Corpus Christi Hooks will post shortly.

Greeneville Astros - August 2016

Photo by Jayne Hansen

This will be my seventh season covering the Astros minor league teams and, although I've come close to hanging it up a couple of times over the years, I keep plugging away. Why? Sometimes it's a hug from a player who made it to the bigs and wants to thank me for my support. Sometimes it's the excitement of a player who sees his interview posted. Sometimes it's just the smiles and laughter of the players in the pre-game dugout mugging for the camera. Sometimes it's the gratitude I receive from a mom or dad who appreciates my attention to their son, particularly if their son isn't one of those top prospects and is flying under the radar. Sometimes it's my readers, simply thanking me for keeping them abreast of things. Sometimes it's a former player who I watch go on to succeed as a coach or playing for another franchise.

But most of all, it's just getting to know some of these players. Before I started doing this, I was in awe of those star players I would see on the field from my seats in the stand. But then I started getting to know them, Knowing what really good, kind and mostly assuming people they are. They may be stars, but now I just see them as "my guys." They are, by turn, funny, smart, silly, outgoing, serious, quiet, studious, outrageous or even a little crazy. They are just like you and me; they're just really good at what they do.

So I will keep on keeping on for now. Because I know how much I've enjoyed getting to know these players, their WAGs and their families, and I don't want to miss the opportunity to meet the next generation of Astros minor-leaguers as they make their way through the maze of life and this crazy game we all love.

PLAY BALL!!!

Astros Opening Day

It's Astros Opening Day, a day that should be declared an official national holiday and would be if it was up to me. (Maybe I should run for office on that platform!) Alas, I will have to work today, but I'll get to Minute Maid Park as soon as I can, and I will definitely be in my seat for the first pitch with a frosty beverage in hand.

Coming into the season, I find myself looking back more than forward. Looking back to all of the Opening Days over the years when hope springs eternal and a 162-0 record is a theoretical possibility. Looking back nostalgically as I think about my favorite players over the years.

But also looking back to the not-so-good times of 2011 to 2013 when the Astros lost an astonishing 324 games. That was a lot of losing and it wasn't fun. Well, it mostly wasn't fun. For those Astros diehards who went to the games then (like me and my sister), we enjoyed the cheap parking and having the run of the stadium. No long lines for concessions!

One amazing thing that came out of those dark times was the emergence of #AstrosTwitter as a force to be reckoned with. Astros Twitter was funny, neurotic, angry, imaginative, hilarious, smart, profane, impassioned and generally outraged and outrageous. We kept each other sane through laughter and that shared outrage.

But we (mostly) never felt sorry for ourselves. We (mostly) got it. We (mostly) understood the how and why of the re-build. We (mostly) bought into it even when we didn't like some of the individual moves.

And we bided our time. We took the insults heaped upon us by other team's fan bases and delighted when we could beat them, loving the win and throwing their insults back at them (aka James of Astros County doing "The Thing.") We also delighted in throwing back the insults from certain unnamed pundits. It became a badge of honor to be blocked on twitter by a few of the more miserable twits.

After the 2012 season, I started writing a post called, "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold." Like many other projects I've started, it went by the wayside due to lack of time or energy. But something tells me this is the year. Not necessarily that the Astros will win the World Series this year (although that would be awfully sweet), but that this is the year that the Astros will become a perennial postseason contender. This is the year that opposing fan bases will no longer be able to point and laugh without making themselves look like complete morons. This is the year that will start a new era in Astros baseball.

And I won't mind (too much) the bandwagon fans who weren't there in the bad years. I'll stand in the concession lines with them and compete with them for parking spaces. And I will be happy to see full houses in games that matter.

It's Astros Opening Day. And hope springs eternal. And 162-0 is possible, at least in theory.

Happy Opening Day ... Kind Of

Yes, it's Opening Day for the Astros and I will be at Minute Maid Park as always. But in my world, Opening Day is actually on Thursday as the Grizzlies, Hooks, JetHawks and River Bandits take the field. I have been working on Season Previews for those teams which I will be rolling out starting later today.

For my thoughts on the Astros season, you can read this piece I contributed last month to Cardinal Blogger Daniel Shoptaw's fine site. He reaches out to bloggers from every team annually to gather their thoughts on the upcoming season. He always gets some interesting takes from the blogging community so dive right in!

With that said .... PLAY BALL!!!!

Astros Minor League Roster Moves

I had hoped to get the Quad Cities Season Preview up today, but it turns out that I actually do need more than four hours of sleep a night, so I'll try to have that up on Saturday. In the meantime, the tandems for Quad Cities were announced by Steve Batterson of the Quad Cities Times. They are anticipated to be:

Andrew Thurman and Chris Lee
Kent Emanuel and Jandel Gustave
Adrian Houser and Gonzalo Sanudo
Michael Feliz and Evan Grills

As anticipated, there were a few last minute changes to the Opening Day Rosters for the four teams. They were as follows:

OKLAHOMA CITY
LHP Patrick Urckfitz - Placed on the temporary inactive list
C Ryan McCurdy - Placed on the temporary inactive list
1B Erik Castro - Placed on the temporary inactive list
LHP Raul Valdes - Cleared waivers and is listed as a reserve on the roster
UT Andy Simunic - Sent to Extended Spring Training

CORPUS CHRISTI
OF Chris Epps - Placed on the 7-day DL
LHP T.J. Geith - Placed on the 7-day DL

LANCASTER
*RHP Michael Dimock - On the preliminary roster, but not the opening day roster
*RHP Tyson Perez - On the preliminary roster, but not the opening day roster

QUAD CITIES
*LHP Albert Minnis - On the preliminary roster, but not the opening day roster
*C Brett Booth - On the preliminary roster, but not the opening day roster

*No transaction showing on MiLB.com yet

I updated my Opening Day Roster post with this information and you can find it here.

Final Astros MiLB Opening Day Rosters

Here are the final Astros minor league opening day rosters. A few players have been placed on the temporary inactive list or the 7-day DL. There were also a handful for whom I haven't seen a transaction listing; they may be on a temporary inactive list or they may get sent back to Extended Spring Training.

OKLAHOMA CITY

PITCHERS
Jake Buchanan
Jose Cisnero
Paul Clemens
Bobby Doran
Darin Downs*
Mike Foltynewicz
Chia-Jen Lo
David Martinez
Collin McHugh
Rudy Owens*
Jason Stoffel
Nick Tropeano
Pat Urckfitz*- temporary inactive list
Raul Valdes - listed as a reserve
Josh Zeid

CATCHERS
Ryan McCurdy - temporary inactive list
Carlos Perez
Max Stassi

INFIELDERS
Japhet Amador
Erik Castro* - temporary inactive list
Jonathan Meyer
Gregorio Petit
Jon Singleton*
Ruben Sosa#
Ronald Torreyes

OUTFIELDERS
Adron Chambers
Domingo Santana
George Springer
Austin Wates

CORPUS CHRISTI

PITCHERS
Travis Ballew
Colton Cain*
Luis Cruz*
Jorge de Leon
T.J. Geith* - 7-day DL
Matt Heidenreich
Jordan Jankowski
Andrew Robinson
Brady Rodgers
David Rollins*
Ross Seaton
Tommy Shirley*
Alex Sogard*
Aaron West

CATCHERS
Rene Garcia
Tyler Heineman

INFIELDERS
M.P. Cokinos
Matt Duffy
Nolan Fontana*
Enrique Hernandez
Jio Mier
Joe Sclafani#

OUTFIELDERS
Andrew Aplin*
Delino DeShields
Chris Epps* - 7-day DL
Leo Heras*
Preston Tucker*

LANCASTER

PITCHERS
Mark Appel
Jamaine Cotton
Chris Devenski
Michael Dimock - not on opening day roster
Josh Hader*
Mike Hauschild
Mitch Lambson*
Lance McCullers
Juan Minaya
Daniel Minor
J.D. Osborne*
Tyson Perez - not on opening day roster
Kyle Smith
Vincent Velasquez
Kyle Westwood

CATCHERS
Roberto Pena
Jake Rodriguez

INFIELDERS
Carlos Correa
Tony Kemp*
Brandon Meredith (converting to first base)
Carlos Perdomo
Rio Ruiz*

OUTFIELDERS
Justin Gominsky
Dan Gulbransen*
Teoscar Hernandez
Jordan Scott*
Danry Vasquez*

QUAD CITIES

PITCHERS
Tyler Brunnemann
Patrick Christensen
Chris Cotton*
Kent Emanuel*
Michael Feliz
Evan Grills*
Jandel Gustave
Adrian Houser
Chris Lee*
Albert Minnis* - not on opening day roster
Zach Morton
Gonzalo Sanudo
Andrew Thurman
Andrew Walter

CATCHERS
Brett Booth - not on opening day roster
Brian Holberton*
Jobduan Morales#

INFIELDERS
Austin Elkins#
Conrad Gregor*
Jack Mayfield
Chase McDonald
Chan Moon*
Tyler White

OUTFIELDERS
Jon Kemmer*
Tanner Mathis*
Brett Phillips*
James Ramsay

*Left-handed
#Switch-hitter

Just a few of those missing who are presumed to either be on the DL, in Extended Spring Training or released:

Brian Holmes (definitely rehabbing)
R.J. Alaniz (DL?)
Jonas Dufek (DL?)
Rhiner Cruz (EST per Evan Drellich)
Andy Simunic (EST)
Telvin Nash
Bobby Borchering
Jordan Mills
Kevin Comer
Joe Musgrove
Chris Munnelly
Austin Chrismon
Austin Nicely
Devonte German
Edison Frias
Raul Rivera
Troy Scribner
Reymin Guduan
Luis Ordosgoitti

The WTHB Crew Weighs In On Astros Opening Day

In honor of the REAL MLB Opening Day, I asked the WTHB team to answer five questions about the new season from both a major league and minor league perspective. (Minor league games start on Thursday, by the way!) Here are their answers:

First up, Nance:

What is your prediction for the Astros record for 2014?

63-99

With the addition of the second DSL team, the Astros will now have nine minor league clubs. How many playoff berths do you predict? How many championships?

4/2

What two players are you most excited to see make their major league debuts?

Correa, Springer

Who do you think will be the Astros All-Star representative? Astros MVP? Astros Rookie of the Year?

If All-Star is just a token representative because there has to be a player from every team, then Dexter Fowler. If the representative from the Astros gets there based on true All-Star performance, then I’m going to say Jarred Cosart if he performs to his potential. MVP will be Matty D because of the value of his glove behind the groundball pitchers. ROY will be George Springer.

What are you looking forward to most this season at either the major league or minor league level?

Seeing young guys experience success at major league level and show steady improvement to fulfill potential.

Next up, Buca weighs in:

What is your prediction for the Astros record for 2014?

75-87

With the addition of the second DSL team, the Astros will now have nine minor league clubs. How many playoff berths do you predict? How many championships?

Five berths and three championships.

What two players are you most excited to see make their major league debuts?

I am excited to see Wojo and Folty take the hill across from some major league lumber.

Who do you think will be the Astros All-Star representative? Astros MVP? Astros Rookie of the Year?

For the All-Star I am hoping Altuve or Castro. Barring any new fan favorites or a serious injury it would have to be one of them. I say "hope" considering they are (as of now) Houston's three and four hitters. When that part of your lineup is in ALL-Star consideration, everybody is happy. MVP goes to Cosart if he is consistent. Rookie of the Year? I can honestly say I have no clue. I like surprises and time will certainly tell.

What are you looking forward to most this season at either the major league or minor league level?

There are two things that come immediately to mind: First, I am psyched beyond belief to start watching the Hooks again. If you have ever wondered where my bias lay, it is with that team in Corpus. Second, that the Community Partners signage at MMP was relocated and now we can all enjoy one of the best views in MLB again.

I couldn't resist putting DeAnna on the spot as well:

What is your prediction for the Astros record for 2014?

68-94

With the addition of the second DSL team, the Astros will now have nine minor league clubs. How many playoff berths do you predict? How many championships?

I am incapable of keeping up with all the minors, that's why I have YOU to tell me what to think!

What two players are you most excited to see make their major league debuts?

Springer (of course) & Folty

Who do you think will be the Astros All-Star representative? Astros MVP? Astros Rookie of the Year?

Allstar: Altuve
MVP: MattyD but I have a feeling Marwin will surprise us all.

What are you looking forward to most this season at either the major league or minor league level?

I'm looking forward to all the glorious potential!

Dustin gives us his take:

What is your prediction for the Astros record for 2014?

I'll go with 69-93, which would give the Astros the #5 pick in the 2015 Draft

With the addition of the second DSL team, the Astros will now have nine minor league clubs. How many playoff berths do you predict? How many championships?

6 berths, 2 championships (I got Quad Cities repeating)

What two players are you most excited to see make their major league debuts?

Mike Foltynewicz and George Springer

Who do you think will be the Astros All-Star representative? Astros MVP? Astros Rookie of the Year?

My pick for MVP would have to be Jarred Cosart. Although I don't think he'll have an encore of his 1.95 ERA in 2013, an ERA in the 3-3.30 range would be awesome. I also believe that his peripheral stats will be vastly improved as he ends up throwing 185 innings this year.

George Springer will be the team's ROY. He'll be 3rd in homers to Chris Carter and Jason Castro despite playing about 2/3rds of a 162-game schedule.

What are you looking forward to most this season at either the major league or minor league level?

Robbie Grossman and Jarred Cosart carrying the torch for their hometown. On the minor league side of things, continued dominance.

Also, one prediction from me: Jonathan Villar will steal 60 bases this season.

And finally my thoughts:

What is your prediction for the Astros record for 2014?

I'm going with 71-91 and back to .500 (or better) next season.

With the addition of the second DSL team, the Astros will now have nine minor league clubs. How many playoff berths do you predict? How many championships?

I may be overly optimistic, but I think six of the nine clubs will make it to the playoffs (including one of the DSL teams) and four of them will bring home the hardware.

What two players are you most excited to see make their major league debuts?

I have to go with Folty and Springer at this point, but I would also love for Carlos Correa to fulfill his goal of getting a September call-up this season.

Who do you think will be the Astros All-Star representative? Astros MVP? Astros Rookie of the Year?

I am going to say Jarred Cosart will be the Astros All-Star representative. I actually like that he has a chip on his shoulder. It makes him work that much harder to be the best he can be, and with his natural abilities, his best is pretty darn good.

I've been going back and forth on the MVP question. I'm going to think outside the box and pick Dexter Fowler. After the ridiculous public flailing he got from Denver Post writer Mark Kiszla for not having enough "grit," I will be rooting extra hard for him to have a career season and serve as a sparkplug for the team.

George Springer is kind of a no-brainer. Even when Springer struggles, he is a very special player.

What are you looking forward to most this season at either the major league or minor league level?

At the major league level, I'm looking forward to every rookie debut. I'm incredibly excited about what's coming to MMP.

At the minor league level, I'm most looking forward to the first time I board a plane on my way to a minor league venue. The anticipation is almost (but not quite) better than the reality.

And that's the case with where the Astros are right now in their rebuilding efforts. The anticipation is wonderful, but when the reality finally gets to Houston, it's going to be amazing.

OPENING DAY!!!!

You just thought that Sunday's game between the Astros and Rangers was Opening Day, or maybe you thought the full slate of games on Monday represented Opening Day. But for me, Opening Day is today as all four of the Astros full season minor league affiliates take the field. The full schedule can be found here and can be filtered by league, major league affiliation, etc.

I will do my best to get recaps to you every morning of the previous night's action. The very funny, talented and insightful Buca Morris has agreed to help me with recaps again this year in a belated and futile attempt to help me retain what little remains of my sanity. If you aren't already following Buca on twitter, you can find him at @BucaMorris.

I plan to travel to six of the Astros minor league affiliates this season with the first stop being Quad Cities in late April. At each stop, I hope to gather interviews, photos, video and more insight into who these players really are. I would be honored and delighted to have all of you come along with me on the ride.

And with that said ...

PLAY BALL!!!!!!!!

Opening Day Predictions

It's only a few hours until first pitch and I can procrastinate no longer if I wish to write something in honor of opening day. I don't generally make predictions about the big league record, and really, trying to predict this season in this league/division, with this team, with this manager, and with this general manager will likely prove to be an exercise in futility. So, let me predict a few other things.

• I predict that I will spend the entire season trying to remember the name of any members of the A's roster other than Nate Freiman and Erik Sogard (our Alex's brother).
• I predict that I will at some point during the season have to be restrained by friends from getting into a physical altercation with another team's fans, in order of likelihood Red Sox, Rangers and Yankees (just kidding, kind of).
• I predict that the CSN Houston deal will not get done this season, resulting in an explosion of subscriptions to MLB.tv and proxy server services, and more bad will between the fans and Jim Crane.
• I predict that Jim Crane and George Postolos will say something that will rile up the fans, the Astros blogosphere, and the twitterverse. Actually, I would be comfortable offering a money-back guarantee on this one.
• I predict that Nolan Ryan will be forced out of the Rangers organization as anything but a figurehead and his response will be to throw out the first pitch to Jon Daniels and then get him in a headlock.
• I predict that Bud (don't call me Chuck) Norris will not be traded this season and that he will transfer his Cardinal killer ways to the Angels. A trade in the off-season? That's another thing.
• I predict that we will see Jonathan Singleton in Houston permanently by the trade deadline as Carlos Pena exits stage left.
• I predict that Brett Wallace will be given every opportunity to become the team's DH. It will be his to lose.
• I predict that Paul Clemens will be headed to the bullpen by the end of the year and will get called up to Houston in that capacity in September.
• I predict that Jordan Lyles will be back when Phil Humber is either traded or released. I predict the same for Dallas Keuchel as it pertains to Erik Bedard.
• I predict that Jarred Cosart, Brett Oberholtzer, George Springer, Domingo Santana and Jose Martinez will all make their major league debuts, most as September call-ups. I predict that Jonathan Villar will not make the cut until next year.
• I predict that Nick Tropeano will be in Oklahoma City before the end of the year and Mike Foltynewicz will be in Corpus by June.
• I predict that Jimmy Paredes will be traded.
• I predict that both @AstrosCounty and @HouCounterplot will be heavily medicated or institutionalized by the end of the season in response to the stupid things that national sports writers have to say about the Astros.
• I predict that attendance will continue to plummet, culminating in the Twins game on Tuesday, September 3rd, on which date the players, staff and vendors will outnumber the paying customers.
• I predict that Bo Porter will stare down Peter Gammons, causing Gammons to spontaneously combust.
• I predict that the Astros will surprise a lot of people, including Astros fans with their aggressiveness and hard-nosed style of play. I don't believe that they will lose 100 again this year or be in last place in the standings, but that's as far as I'm willing to go.
• I predict that a minimum of four minor league teams will make the play-offs and that a minimum of two will bring home championships.
• I predict that the fans who are loyal to the Astros will be rewarded, much as we were rewarded in yesterday's exhibition game, by more and more glimpses of the future. Seeing Mike Foltynewicz absolutely dealing, Domingo Santana crushing the ball, Delino DeShields motoring around the bases, George Springer making dazzling plays in the outfield, Jon Singleton showing great plate discipline and drawing walks, and Carlos Correa scalding line drives through the holes -- seeing more and more of all that as this year progresses and into next year will certainly be my reward.
• And, finally, I predict that, after the season is said and done, The Integrity of the Game™ will not have been damaged by anything that the Astros have done or not done, and Houston will be one year closer to being a perennial winner.