Astros Minor League Pitchers and Players of the Week

It's time to look back at Week 22+ and acknowledge some winning performances for the period commencing Sunday, August 24th and continuing through the end of regular season play on Monday, September 1st. The Player and Pitchers for the Month of August (plus a day) will come out tomorrow (I hope!).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Many, many players ended their regular seasons on a high note. All of these players had noteworthy performances. My nominees (in no particular order) ~

3B/1B Randy Cesar (GCL/Greeneville)

.381/.409/.810 in 5 games
5R 3-2B 2HR 5RBI 1BB 1SO

3B J.D. Davis (Quad Cities)

.290/.371/.774 in 9 games
5R 5HR 13RBI 4BB 9SO 2SB 0CS

OF Domingo Santana (Oklahoma City)

.348/.528/.565 in 8 games
6R 2-2B HR 11RBI 10BB 11SO 0SB 1CS

1B A.J. Reed (Quad Cities)

.389/.389/.667 in 9 games
8R 4-2B 2HR 8RBI 0BB 9SO

OF Jorge Martinez (GCL/Tri-City)
.280/.321/.720 in 8 games
6R 2-2B 3HR 6RBI 2BB 6SO 2SB 0CS

2B Austin Elkins (Lancaster)
.350/.552/.450 in 6 games
6R 2-2B 2RBI 6BB 7SO

2B Tony Kemp (Corpus Christi)
.400/.500/.500 in 8 games
7R 3-2B 5RBI 5BB 4SO 3SB 0CS

OF Preston Tucker (Oklahoma City)
.407/.500/.444 in 8 games
4R 2B 4RBI 6BB 4SO

OF Ryan Bottger (Quad Cities)
.379/.457/.448 in 9 games
5R 2-2B 3RBI 4BB 5K 2SB 0CS

1B/3B Matt Duffy (Oklahoma City)

.375/.429/.531 in 8 games

6R 3-2B 3B 3RBI 3BB 5SO

OF/2B Marc Wik (Quad Cities)

.320/.500/.480 in 8 games

10R 4-2B 2RBI 9BB 10SO 4SB 1CS

OF James Ramsay (Lancaster)

.320/.433/.560 in 7 games

5R 2B 3B HR RBI 3BB 7SO 1SB 1CS

Even though many of those performances were excellent, there were two that stood out for me. And since I'm tired and don't feel like making any more decisions in my life right now, I'm going to award co-winners for this week. So with no further ado, the winners are ...

1B/3B Tyler White (Lancaster)

.310/.462/.759 in 8 games
8R 4-2B 3HR 9RBI 6BB 5SO

OF Brandon Meredith (Corpus Christi)
.323/.400/.677 in 8 games
8R 2-2B 3HR* 12 RBI 4BB 5SO 2SB 0CS
*Including an 8th inning Grand Slam for the go-ahead runs in the final game of the season

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: 1B/3B TYLER WHITE AND OF BRANDON MEREDITH

Tyler White - June 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Brandon Meredith - August 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

The starting crew definitely didn't run out of gas to end the season. Honorable mentions go to some strikeout artists: Oklahoma City's Rudy Owens (9SO in 7.2IP); Corpus Christi's Mark Appel (14SO in 12.2IP) and Mike Hauschild (8SO in 4IP); Lancaster's Kyle Westwood (8SO in 6.1IP); Quad Cities' Kevin Comer (10SO in 6IP), Adrian Houser (8SO in 6IP), Blaine Sims (12SO in 12IP), and Chris Lee (9SO in 7.2IP); Greeneville's Harold Arauz (9SO in 8.2IP) and Brock Dykxhoorn (10K in 5IP and Appy League Pitcher of the Week); and Justin Ferrell in the GCL (7 SO in 4IP).

But, to me, there was one clear winner ~

RHP Jordan Jankowski (Corpus Christi)
0.90 ERA/0.600 WHIP .114 BA
10IP (2 games/2 starts) 4H 1R 2BB 14SO

Jordan Jankowski - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP JORDAN JANKOWSKI

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Honorable mentions this week go to Oklahoma City's Jorge de Leon and Ross Seaton; and Tri-City's Bryan Radziewski and Aaron Vaughn. However, I just can't seem to narrow down my runners-up so let's just go with it (in no particular order) ~

LHP Ambiorix de Leon (Greeneville)
0.00 ERA/0.375 WHIP
2.2IP (2 games) 1H 0BB 4SO

LHP Kyle Gehrs (GCL)
0.00 ERA/0.429 WHIP
4.2IP (2 games) 0H 2BB 4SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

RHP Eric Peterson (Greeneville) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.500 WHIP
2.1IP (2 games) 0H 1BB 1SO

RHP Tyson Perez (Corpus Christi) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.750 WHIP
4IP (4 games) 1H 2BB (one intentional) 3SO
1 inherited runner/0 scored

RHP Derick Velazquez (Tri-City) - Win & Save
0.00 ERA/0.800 WHIP
5IP (3 games) 4H 0BB 4SO
1 inherited runner/0 scored

LHP David Rollins (Corpus Christi)
0.00 ERA/0.682 WHIP
7.1IP (4 games) 3H 2BB 5SO
2 inherited runners/1 scored

RHP Tyler Brunnemann (Lancaster)
0.00 ERA/0.818 WHIP
3.2IP (3 games) 1H 2BB 6SO
3 inherited runners/2 scored

RHP Samil de los Santos (Greeneville)
0.00 ERA/0.818 WHIP
3.2IP (2 games) 1H 2BB 8SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

RHP Keegan Yuhl (Quad Cities) - 2 Saves
0.00 ERA/0.900 WHIP
3.1IP (3 games) 1H 2BB 6SO
1 inherited runner/0 scored

My winner gets the nod because, despite missing almost the whole season, he came through in the clutch at the end. After making one start for Greeneville in June, he missed almost two months before making three rehab appearances with the GCL (in which he allowed only two hits, no walks, no runs and collected a save). After finally making it back to Greeneville, he gets called into a game with the based loaded for his first game back. Easy, breezy ... a quick strikeout and he saved Jorge Perez' bacon. That, to me, is what a good relief pitcher does best so with no further ado I give you ....

RHP Gerardo Juarez (GCL/Greeneville) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.000 WHIP
2IP (2 games) 0H 0BB 1SO
4 inherited runners/0 scored

Gerardo Juarez - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP GERARDO JUAREZ

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week

It's time to look back at Week 21 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, August 17th and continuing through Saturday, August 23rd. The final Player and Pitchers of the Week post will come out next Wednesday and will include the final nine days of the regular season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

There were far too many great performances to chose from this week. All of these players really deserve a look. My nominees (in no particular order) ~

1B Conrad Gregor (Corpus Christi)

.500/.550/.889 in 5 games
4R 2B 2HR 3RBI 2BB 2SO

IF Joe Sclafani (Oklahoma City)

.480/.519/.600 in 6 games
6R 3-2B 2RBI 2BB 1SO 1SB 0CS

3B/DH Randy Cesar (GCL)

.455/.500/.500 in 6 games
2R 2B 2RBI 1BB 7SO 0SB 1CS

IF Jack Mayfield (Lancaster)

.435/.480/.609 in 6 games
5R 4-2B 4RBI 2BB 3SO

3B Wander Franco (DSL)
.412/.500/.647 in 5 games
4R 2B HR 5RBI 4BB 0SO

OF Ydarqui Marte (Greeneville)
.391/.481/.609 in 6 games
5R 2-2B HR 3RBI 4BB 1SO

1B/DH Bryan Muniz (Greeneville)
.381/.500/.571 in 6 games
2R 2B HR 3RBI 5BB 6SO

OF Jon Kemmer (Lancaster)
.350/.381/.900 in 5 games
5R 3B 3HR 8RBI 1BB 2SO

C Max Stassi (Oklahoma City)
.333/.400/.833 in 5 games
5R 3HR 5RBI 2BB 5K

My runner up and winner not only excelled but did so playing in all seven games for the week. First my runner up ~

OF Brett Phillips (Lancaster)
.393/.438/.607 in 7 games
6R 6-2B 3RBI 2BB 4SO 3SB 1CS

Phillips SIX doubles for the week is definitely an overachievement and my winner barely beat him out. The deciding factor was his THREE outfield assists for the week. That was just enough to put him over the top.

OF James Ramsay (Quad Cities)
.400/.429/.680 in 7 games
3R 2-2B 3B HR 6RBI 2BB 6SO 3SB 1CS
3 Outfield Assists

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: OF JAMES RAMSAY

James Ramsay - June 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

First up, my honorable mentions go to some strikeout artists: Corpus Christi's Jordan Jankowski (9SO in 5IP); Lancaster's Vincent Velasquez (8SO in 5IP) and Kent Emanuel (7SO in 4IP); Quad Cities' Troy Scribner (8SO in 4IP); Greeneville's Harold Arauz (6SO in 3.2IP); and Edgardo Sandoval in the DSL (5 SO in 5IP).

My runner up continued his dominance of the New York-Penn League last week ~

RHP Joe Musgrove (Tri-City) - Win
0.00 ERA/0.429 WHIP .130 BA
7IP (1 game/1 start) 3H 0BB 5SO

My winner pitched twice last week and dominated both times.

RHP Agapito Barrios (Greeneville)
0.90 ERA/0.200 WHIP .033 BA
10IP (2 games/1 start) 1H 1R 1BB 9SO

Agapito Barrios - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP AGAPITO BARRIOS

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

My honorable mentions this week go to excellent performances from Tri-City's Chris Munnelly; Ambiorix de Leon (GCL/Greeneville); Greeneville's Zach Davis; and the DSL's Diogenes Almengo and Dariel Aquino.

Three performances stood out from the rest for me though ~

RHP Lachlan Madden (DSL) - Win, Save
0.00 ERA/0.923 WHIP/.200 BA
4.1IP (2 games) 3H 1BB 5SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

RHP Juan Minaya (Corpus Christi)
0.00 ERA/0.500 WHIP/.077 BA
4IP (2 games) 1H 1BB 4SO
1 inherited runner/0 scored

I'm not the only one who noticed how well my winner was doing last week. He has now been promoted to Quad Cities!

RHP Raul Rivera (Tri-City)
0.00 ERA/0.392 WHIP/.071 BA
5.1IP (2 games) 1H 1BB 3SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

Raul Rivera - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP RAUL RIVERA

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week

It's time to look back at Week 20 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, August 10th and continuing through Saturday, August 16th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

This week, I'm going to acknowledge four nominees (in no particular order) in addition to this week's winner ~

OF Jon Kemmer (Lancaster)

.385/.385/.654 in 6 games
4R 4-2B HR 3RBI 0BB 4SO

OF Brauly Mejia (GCL)

.333/.462/.571 in 6 games
4R 2-2B HR 5RBI 3BB 4SO 3SB 0CS

1B/DH Telvin Nash (Corpus Christi)

.286/.400/.619 in 6 games
3R 2B 2HR 6RBI 3BB 6SO

2B Jonathan Matute (DSL)

.333/.333/.593 in 6 games
3R 4-2B HR 2RBI 0BB 4SO 1SB 1CS

My winner has only played in 15 games thus far in the Astros system, but he is already having an impact on a streaking Corpus Christi Hooks team with his 13 RBI in those 15 games, nine of which came last week.

3B Colin Moran (Corpus Christi)

.409/.440/.591 in 6 games
3R 2B HR 9RBI 2BB 4SO 0SB 1CS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 3B COLIN MORAN

Colin Moran - August 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

First up, my honorable mentions go to Oklahoma City's Rudy Owens; Lancaster's Vincent Velasquez (with 11 strikeouts in six innings!); Tri-City's Luis Ordosgoitti; and the DSL's Carlos Hiraldo, Albert Abreu, Salvador Montano and Edgardo Sandoval.

Four pitchers stood out from the pack, though, for what they were able to do in two appearances each over the week. My nominees, in no particular order, are ~

LHP Brian Holmes (Lancaster) - Win
0.82 ERA/0.818 WHIP .200 BA
11IP (2 games/1 start) 8H 1R 1BB 8SO

RHP Erasmos Pinales (DSL)
0.00 ERA/0.500 WHIP .081 BA
10IP (2 games/2 starts) 3H 1R/0ER 2BB 7SO

RHP Elieser Hernandez (Greeneville) - Win
0.00 ERA/0.875 WHIP .125 BA
8IP (2 games/1 start) 4H 3BB 9SO

Our winner not only dominated last week, but he has been very dominant all season. In 13 games (11 starts), he is 6-1 with a 2.91 ERA and a 0.969 WHIP. (And lest I get chastised by a certain Tri-City fan for leaving this out, I feel compelled to insert a "Vamos Gatos!" at this time).

RHP Joe Musgrove (Tri-City) - Win
0.00 ERA/0.316 WHIP .077 BA
12.2IP (2 games/2 starts) 3H 1BB 9SO

Joe Musgrove - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP JOE MUSGROVE

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

As always, the relief corps had some excellent outings. Honorable mentions go to Corpus Christi's Jordan Jankowski (8 strikeouts in 3 IP!); Quad Cities' Keegan Yuhl; Tri-City's Bryan Radziewski; Greeneville's Aaron Greenwood, Agapito Barrios and Juan Delis; the GCL's Daniel Mengden (perfect in two outings); and Diogenes Almengo and Gabriel Valdez in the DSL.

My nominees this week, in no particular order, are ~

LHP Chris Cotton (Quad Cities) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.529 WHIP/.150 BA
5.2IP (3 games) 3H 0BB 8SO
2 inherited runners/2 scored

RHP Jose Ramos (DSL) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.273 WHIP/.083 BA
3.2IP (2 games) 1H 0BB 4SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

RHP Tyson Perez (Corpus Christi) - 2 Saves
0.00 ERA/0.375 WHIP/.111 BA
2.2IP (3 games) 1H 0BB 6SO
1 inherited runner/0 scored

My winner has had an outstanding start to his professional career with a 1-1 record and three saves in 14 outings. He has a 2.20 ERA and a 0.857 WHIP, and has allowed only two walks while striking out 18 in 16.1 innings. In his three outings last week, he was nothing short of perfect. Vamos Gatos again!

RHP Derick Velazquez (Tri-City) - Win
0.00 ERA/.0.000 WHIP/.000 BA
4IP (3 games) 0H 0BB 5SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

Derick Velazquez - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP DERICK VELAZQUEZ

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week

It's time to look back at Week 19 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, August 3rd and continuing through Saturday, August 9th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

I'm going to keep it short this week. Honorable mentions go to Oklahoma City's Ronald Torreyes (.538/.571/.654) and Preston Tucker (.346/.393/.846); Corpus Christi's Brandon Meredith (.313/.476/.875) and Delino DeShields (.333/.464/.524); Lancaster's Brett Phillips (.458/.519/.708); Quad Cities' Chase McDonald (.333/.364/.857); the GCL's Brauly Mejia (.310/.440/.650); and Edgar Lorenzo (.444/.524/.611) in the DSL.

Tucker and Torreyes were tied for the most runs scored during the week, with eight. In the extra-base hit sweepstakes, it was Tucker with four doubles, Mejia with three triples and four players were tied with three home runs for the week, including Tucker, Meredith, McDonald and our winner. Tucker also led the way with 10 RBI for the week. DSL Catcher Ihan Bernal drew seven walks last week.

My winner had strong numbers across the board in average, OBP and slugging. He also struck out just a little bit less and walked just a little bit more than a couple of those listed above, edging those players out by a razor-thin margin.

OF Terrell Joyce (Tri-City)

.381/.458/.905 in 6 games
6R 2B 3HR 9RBI 3BB 7SO

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: OF TERRELL JOYCE

Terrell Joyce - August 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

There were several performances that are in need of honorable mention, including Corpus Christi's Chris Devenski; Lancaster's Kent Emanuel and Zach Morton; Tri-City's Joe Musgrove; Greeneville's Agapito Barrios; and Erasmo Pinales and Edgardo Sandoval in the DSL.

But one pitcher stood out for me with his complete dominance in his start last week.

RHP Michael Feliz (Quad Cities) - Win
0.00 ERA/0.375 WHIP .111 BA
8IP (1 games) 3H 0BB 9SO

Michael Feliz - June 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP MICHAEL FELIZ

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

As always, the relief corps had some excellent outings. Honorable mentions go to Corpus Christi's Mitch Lambson; Lancaster's Gonzalo Sanudo; Quad Cities' Frederick Tiburcio; Tri-City's Bryan Radziewski and Vince Wheeland; Samil de Los Santos in the GCL; and Gabriel Valdez, Luis Ramirez and Juan Cuevas in the DSL.

I had four runners-up this week who pitched to perfection. Corpus Christi's Tyson Perez, Tri-City's Ryan Thompson and Greeneville's Eric Peterson each pitched two perfect innings over two appearances, and Lancaster's Daniel Minor pitched his two perfect innings in one game.

My winner outdid those four by getting one extra out.

RHP Jorge de Leon (Oklahoma City)
0.00 ERA/.0.000 WHIP/.000 BA
2.1IP (2 games) 0H 0BB 2SO

Jorge de Leon - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP JORGE DE LEON

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week 18

It's time to look back at Week 18 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, July 27th and continuing through Saturday, August 2nd.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

A special shout out goes to Domingo Santana for his excellent week which led to him being recalled to Houston on Sunday. Also of note is the TRIPLE TRIPLE game from Marc Wik. In Thursday's game, Wik hit three triples in one game for Quad Cities. Nicely done, sir! Quad Cities' J.D. Davis also had a terrific week.

All of my nominees played in at least six games for the week. They are, in no particular order, as follows:

IF Joe Sclafani (Oklahoma City)

.500/.577/.545 in 6 games
6R 2B 5RBI 3BB 4SO 2SB 1CS

OF Alexander Melendez (GCL*)

.500/.583/.650 in 6 games
7R 2B 3B 2RBI 3BB 4SO 4SB 0CS
*Melendez was just promoted to Quad Cities

IF Jack Mayfield (Lancaster)

.476/.593/.810 in 6 games
6R 2-2B 3B HR 5RBI 5BB 3SO 1SB 1CS

OF/SS/3B Marcos Almonte (DSL)

.458/.536/.583 in 6 games
6R 3-2B 2RBI 2BB 3SO 2SB 2CS

C Orlando Marquez (DSL)

.435/.500/.696 in 6 games
3R 4-2B 3B 9RBI 2BB 5SO 3SB 0CS

1B Jake Bowey (DSL)

.368/.520/.684 in 6 games
4R 2HR 7RBI 6BB 6SO 1SB 0CS

3B Tyler White (Lancaster)

.346/.452/.731 in 7 games
7R 4-2B 2HR 4RBI 5BB 7SO

1B Chase McDonald (Quad Cities)

.407/.448/.741 in 7 games
6R 3-2B 2HR 5RBI 2BB 11SO

Our winner has had a power surge of late. He homered in five straight games (starting in the prior week) and has homered in six of his last eight games. As his good friend Lance McCullers would say, "Weird."

OF Brett Phillips (Quad Cities)

.259/.333/.889 in 7 games
6R 2-2B 5HR 9RBI 3BB 5SO
1 Outfield Assist
(And I totally had this part of the post written before the news came out this morning that Brett was being promoted to Lancaster!)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: OF BRETT PHILLIPS

Brett Phillips - June 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

There are three pitchers this time around that pitched in two games for the week with excellent results so the rest of these pitchers will have to settle for honorable mentions: Lancaster's Kyle Westwood, Matt Heidenreich and Brian Holmes; Corpus Christi's Mark Appel; Tri-City's Austin Chrismon and Randall Fant; Yhoan Acosta of the GCL; and the DSL's Carlos Hiraldo, Albert Abreu and Erasmo Pinales.

The two runners-up are:

LHP Kent Emanuel (Lancaster) - 1 win & 1 save
2.45 ERA/1.000 WHIP .214 BA
11IP (2 games/1 start) 2BB 9SO

RHP Edison Frias (Quad Cities) - 1 win
1.64 ERA/0.909 WHIP .238 BA
11IP (2 games/1 start) 0BB 14SO

My winner has had a very good season, his first with the Dominican Summer League Astros. In 12 games (8 starts), he is 5-2 with a 2.17 ERA and a 1.228 WHIP. And for the week he was even better!

LHP Salvador Montana (DSL)

0.00 ERA/0.900 WHIP .176 BA
10IP (2 games/2 starts) 3BB 10SO

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: LHP SALVADOR MONTANO

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

I have quite a number of honorable mentions this week, including Corpus Christi's Mitch Lambson and Tyson Perez; Lancaster's Jamaine Cotton; Greeneville's Zach Davis; the GCL's John Gatlin and Alejandro Solarte; and the DSL's Jose Ramos and Joel Belboder. In particular, I want to point out that Greeneville Astros RHP Eric Peterson was perfect in his two innings of work over two outings.

This time I went with a couple of long relievers who absolutely dominated for the week. First my runner-up (and my Relief Pitcher of the Month for July):

RHP Angel Heredia (Greeneville) - 1 save
0.00 ERA/.0.667 WHIP/.190 BA
6IP (2 games) 4H 0BB 8SO

My winner hasn't had the best of seasons thus far which makes his two appearances stand out even moreso.

RHP Antonio Almonte (DSL) - 2 wins
0.00 ERA/0.536 WHIP/.129 BA
9.0IP (2 games) 4H 1BB 11SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP ANTONIO ALMONTE

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week 17

It's time to look back at Week 17 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, July 20th and continuing through Saturday, July 26th. Since I am supposedly on vacation, this is going to be extremely short this week ... no list of nominees, no runners-up, just winners!

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TRI-CITY SS MOTT HYDE

Hyde, the 2014 26th round draft pick out of the Georgia Institute of Technology hit .417/.483/.667 for the week with four doubles, one triple, six RBI and eight runs scored. He walked three times and struck out seven.

STARTING/TANDEM PITCHER OF THE WEEK: GREENEVILLE RHP AGAPITO BARRIOS

Barrios, a 20-year old Panamanian in his fourth season with the Astros system, pitched in two games last week for a total of nine innings and collected one win with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.778 WHIP. He allowed six hits and walked one batter while striking out eight.

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: TRI-CITY LHP BRYAN RADZIEWSKI

Radziewski was the ninth round pick in 2014 out of the University of Miami. He pitched in two games out of the bullpen last week for a total of four innings. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out nine for a 0.00 ERA and a 0.500 WHIP. He held batters to a 0.71 batting average.

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week 16

It's time to look back at Week 16 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, July 13th and continuing through Saturday, July 19th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Yet again, there were a number of excellent performances for the week: Corpus Christi's Andrew Aplin and Telvin Nash; Lancaster's Conrad Gregor, Rio Ruiz and Danry Vasquez; Quad Cities' Brett Phillips; Tri-City's Bobby Boyd; Greeneville's Jacob Nottingham and Ydarqui Marte; the GCL's Hector Roa; and Frankeny Fernandez and Andy Pineda in the DSL.

But there were two clear standouts for the week. First off, our runner-up has eight home runs this season, three of those coming in the last week!

1B Chase McDonald (Quad Cities)

.409/.480/.864 in 6 games
5R 2B 3HR 6RBI 2BB 1SO

Our winner has not only had a good week, he is also having a very solid season in the DSL where he has played at a variety of positions, hitting .331/.446/.446 over his first 38 games. He is a 19-year old switch-hitter from Panama.

LF/DH/2B/SS Rodrigo Ayarza (DSL)

.444/.583/.778 in 5 games
6R 3-2B HR 5RBI 6BB 1SO 2SH 3SB 0CS
1 Outfield Assist

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Rodrigo Ayarza

Photo Not Available

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

I try to limit my nominees to those who have pitched a minimum of either five innings or two outings, but that shouldn't discount excellent shorter outings from Greeneville's Joshua James and Tri-City's Brandon McNitt. Those who fit my parameters and who were considered for their work from last week included Oklahoma City's Mike Foltynewicz; Corpus Christi's Kyle Smith and Luis Cruz; Lancaster's Josh Hader and Kent Emanuel; Tri-City's Troy Scribner; the GCL's Elieser Hernandez; and Carlos Pizzolata in the DSL. A special shoutout goes to Chris Devenski who had two great outings last week, including Saturday's game in which he took a no-hitter into the 7th inning.

There is virtually no information available on my runner-up, an 18-year old righty in the DSL, but what we do know is that he has had a very respectable start to his career. In 9 starts, he is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.154 WHIP.

RHP Albert Abreu (DSL) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/0.500 WHIP
6.0IP (1 game) 1H 2BB 5SO

My winner went just a little bit deeper into his game on Saturday and was just a little bit more dominant. For the season, he is 6-2 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.175 WHIP in 17 games (12 starts).

RHP Michael Feliz (Quad Cities) - 1 win

0.00 ERA/0.857 WHIP
7IP (1 game) 3H 3BB 8SO

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP MICHAEL FELIZ

Michael Feliz - June 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

I honestly wish I'd never started this category. The list of honorable mentions is downright ridiculous: Oklahoma City's Jason Stoffel; Corpus Christi's Mitch Lambson, Richard Rodriguez and Tyson Perez; Lancaster's Daniel Minor; Quad Cities' Albert Minnis and Aaron Vaughn; Tri-City's Jordan Mills, Bryan Radziewski and Raul Rivera; Greeneville's Krishawn Holley; Samil de los Santos and Alejandro Solarte in the GCL; and Luis Arias, Gabriel Valdez and Josue Uribe in the DSL.

After weeding through all of last week's performances, I still have FIVE nominees! Deciding among these is exceedingly difficult. They are, in no particular order, as follows:

RHP Eric Peterson (Greeneville) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/.0.818 WHIP/.091 BA
3.2IP (2 games) 1H 2BB 6SO

RHP Angel Heredia (Greeneville) - 1 win & 1 save
0.00 ERA/0.600 WHIP/.100 BA
3.1IP (2 games) 1H 1BB 4SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

RHP Justin Ferrell (GCL)
0.00 ERA/0.375 WHIP/.111 BA
2.2IP (1 game) 1H 0BB 2SO
3 inherited runners/0 scored

LHP Kevin Chapman - 1 win & 1 save
0.00 ERA/0.375 WHIP/.111 BA
2.2IP (2 games) 1H 0BB 6SO
2 inherited runners/0 scored

All of those were worthy candidates, but I ended up going with perfection.

RHP Juan Delis (GCL) - 1 win & 1 save
0.00 ERA/0.000 WHIP/.000 BA
2.0IP (2 games) 0H 0BB 2SO

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP JUAN DELIS

Juan Delis

Photo Courtesy of Bryan Green

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week 15

ASTROS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER AND PITCHERS OF THE WEEK: WEEK 15

It's time to look back at Week 15 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, July 6th and continuing through Saturday, July 12th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

There were a ridiculous number of standouts this week: Oklahoma City's Preston Tucker; Corpus Christi's Tony Kemp and Ruben Sosa; Lancaster's Chan-Jong Moon, Jack Mayfield, Conrad Gregor, Dan Gulbransen, Danry Vasquez and Rio Ruiz; Quad Cities' Brett Phillips and Ronnie Mitchell; Tri-City's Bobby Boyd, Derek Fisher, J.D. Davis and Ryan Bottger; Greeneville's Jason Martin and Juan Santana; and Marcos Almonte, Frankeny Fernandez, Rodrigo Ayarza and Joan Mauricio. Phew!!! That's quite a list.

But when it came right down to it, there was one clear winner. (And in further proof that life sometimes just isn't fair, Reed's 9-game hitting streak came to an end last night in a 5-inning rain shortened game.)

1B A.J. Reed (Tri-City)

.538/.567/.923 in 7 games
5R 4-2B 2HR 11RBI 3BB 3SO SF 1SB 0CS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 1B A.J. Reed

A.J. Reed

MiLB Team Photo

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

I try to limit my nominees to those who have pitched a minimum of either five innings or two outings, but that shouldn't discount excellent four-inning outings from Greeneville's Joshua James and Carlos Pizzolata in the DSL. The final list included Corpus Christi's Jordan Jankowski; Greeneville's Robert Kahana; and Edwin Villarroel in the DSL.

For the short season to date, my winner has a 2.84 ERA and a 1.053 WHIP in his four appearances (three starts). He has walked seven batters while striking out 23 in 19 innings.

RHP Jose Montero (Greeneville) - 1 win

0.00 ERA/0.889 WHIP
9IP (2 games) 5H 3BB 11SO

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP JOSE MONTERO

Jose Montero - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

This is always hard because it seems like there are always a kajillion performances to choose from. This week was no different. My nominees were Oklahoma City's Richard Rodriguez; Quad Cities' Chris Cotton and Tyler Brunnemann; Tri-City's Jordan Mills; Greeneville's Jorge Perez, Zach Davis and Keegan Yuhl; J.D. Osborne and Juan Delis in the GCL; and Josue Uribe, Carlos Sanabria, Joel Belboder and Thomas Lopez in the DSL. And that doesn't even include the one-inning outings!

I could have gone a number of different directions with this, but our winner gave the River Bandits not one, but two, excellent long relief outings.

LHP Albert Minnis (Quad Cities)
0.00 ERA/0.818 WHIP
7.1IP (2 games) 3H 1R/0ER 3BB 5SO

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: LHP ALBERT MINNIS

Albert Minnis - June 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week 14

ASTROS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER AND PITCHERS OF THE WEEK: WEEK 14

It's time to look back at Week 14 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, June 29th and continuing through Saturday, July 5th. Again, I'm traveling so I'm going to try to keep this short and to the point which, unfortunately, means that several deserving performances will go unrecognized.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

I found nine players this week that went above and beyond the rest. First, I have seven honorable mentions: Oklahoma City's Robbie Grossman and Austin Wates; Corpus Christi's Jonathan Meyer; Tri-City's Bobby Boyd; and Wander Franco, Connor McDonald and Jose Benjamin in the DSL.

But when it came right down to it, two players really stood out for me. First, our runner-up:

IF Juan Santana (Greeneville)
.455/.480/.727 in 5 games
8R 3-2B HR 3RBI 2BB 0SO SAC SF 2SB 0CS

My winner just BARELY inched out Santana for me by having a couple more RBI and fewer (as in zero) errors, but it was really, really close. This 14th round draft pick is making himself right at home in Tri-City.

2B Nick Tanielu (Tri-City)
.455/.455/.818 in 5 games
7R 3-2B 3B HR 7RBI 0BB 0SO

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 2B NICK TANIELU

Nick Tanielu

MiLB Team Photo

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

There were quite a number of dominant outings this week. First, the honorable mentions go to Corpus Christi's Kyle Smith; Quad Cities Adrian Houser and Michael Feliz; Greeneville's Jose Montero; the GCL's Randall Fant; and the DSL's Salvador Montano.

The runner-up really did a terrific job and pitched twice during the week, once as a starter and once out of the bullpen, five innings in each appearance. And he's a lefty ... be still my heart!

LHP Starlyng Sanchez (DSL Astros) - 1 win
0.90 ERA/0.800 WHIP
10IP (2 games) 8H 1R 0BB 13SO .216 BA
3 inherited runners/1 scored

But my winner was so dominant that he got a promotion the next day!

RHP Chris Devenski (Lancaster) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/0.286 WHIP
7IP (1 game) 2H 0BB 8SO .083 BA

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP CHRIS DEVENSKI

Chris Devenski - May 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

I got tough this week because the shut-down relief performances are getting out of control! That means I'm only handing out honorable mentions (and the win) to the crème de la crème of relievers for the week - Oklahoma City's Jorge de Leon; Corpus Christi's Alex Sogard (who was traded yesterday) and Mitch Lambson; and Quad Cities' Tyler Brunnemann.

This isn't the first rodeo for my winner (literally and figuratively since he's been known to ride in a rodeo or two in his time). He won just a couple of weeks back and has been really lights out incredible since his promotion to Corpus Christi -- 2-0 with 4 saves, a 0.46 ERA and a 1.169 WHIP.

RHP Tyson Perez (Corpus Christi) - 2 saves
0.00 ERA/0.800 WHIP
5.0IP (3 games) 2H 2BB 3SO .143 BA
3 inherited runners/0 scored

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP TYSON PEREZ

Tyson Perez - March 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week 13

ASTROS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER AND PITCHERS OF THE WEEK: WEEK 13

It's time to look back at Week 13 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, June 22nd and continuing through Saturday, June 28th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

There were so many great performances this week that I tried to limit my parameters to a minimum of 20 at-bats. Even then, I have several honorable mentions to hand out: Greeneville OF Ydarqui Marte, recently promoted GCL SS/OF Osvaldo Duarte, DSL Astros 3B/SS Wilson Amador, Oklahoma City 1B/OF Marc Krauss, Lancaster IF Chan-Jong Moon, and Tri-City 1B J.D. Davis. In addition, although they both fell just short of my 20 AB minimum, GCL IF Kristian Trompiz and DSL Astros Connor MacDonald also had terrific weeks.

But when it came right down to it, two players really stood out for me. First, our runner-up:

OF Domingo Santana (Oklahoma City)
.455/.478/.864 in 6 games
10H 4R 3-2B 2HR 4RBI 1BB 7SO

My winner has hit safely in 17 straight games and in 25 of 28 games since his promotion to Lancaster. He is not only my player of the week, he will certainly be in the mix for my player of the month!

1B Conrad Gregor (Lancaster)
.429/.515/.679 in 7 games
12H 8R 4-2B HR 5RBI 4BB 5SO SB

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 1B CONRAD GREGOR

Conrad Gregor

Photo Courtesy of Bryan Green

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

I'm only going to hand out a few honorable mentions this week. Starters who really shone for the week included DSL LHP Yhoan Acosta, Corpus Christi LHP Tommy Shirley, DSL RHP Abdiel Saldana and Greeneville RHP Devonte German. And there were quite a number of shorter appearances that were outstanding as well!

My winner was a no-brainer for me. The 19-year old righty from Venezuela has only allowed one hit and one walk in his first two appearances in the U.S. His second appearance from this past week was perfect.

RHP Elieser Hernandez (GCL Astros) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/0.000 WHIP
5IP (1 game) 0H 0BB 4SO

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP ELIESER HERNANDEZ

No photo available

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

There were a ton of shutdown relief performances from last week. Honorable mentions go to Quad Cities right-handers Frederick Tiburcio and Tyler Brunnemann; Lancaster righties Juan Minaya and Daniel Minor; DSL right-handers Edgardo Sandoval and Gerald Benzant; GCL RHP Justin Ferrell; Greeneville RHP Aaron Greenwood; Oklahoma City RHP Jorge de Leon; and Tri-City righties Ryan Thompson and Brandon McNitt.

Two performances stood out for me this week. First of all, our runner-up has already managed to get one win and four saves in his first six appearances of the season, and he has not allowed a run.

RHP Chris Munnelly (Tri-City) - 1 win; 2 saves
0.00 ERA/1.200 WHIP
3.1IP (3 games) 3H 1BB 5SO

My winner has also not allowed a run so far this season in four appearances. And his two appearances last week, in back-to-back games, were both perfect!

LHP Jordan Mills (Tri-City)
0.00 ERA/0.000 WHIP
2.0IP (2 games) 0H 0BB 2SO

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: LHP Jordan Mills

Jordan Mills - August 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week 12

It's time to look back at Week 12 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, June 15th and continuing through Saturday, June 21st.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Since I'm traveling this week, I'm not going to give you my normal huge list of honorable mentions, but I would like to point out a few really excellent performances for the week.

I had three runners-up this week. Here they are in no particular order:

L.J. Hoes (Oklahoma City)
.458/.519/.500 in 6 games
11H 9R 2B 5RBI 2BB 2SO 3SB 1CS

Gregorio Petit (Oklahoma City)
.429/.467/.750 in 7 games
12H 5R 2B 3B 2HR 9RBI 2BB 3SO

Andy Pineda (DSL Astros Orange)
.409/.567/.500 in 6 games
9H 9R 3B 2RBI 6BB 3SO 4SB 1CS
(Note that Andy won't be 18 until November)

My winner had one pretty ridiculous game and a pretty darn good week as well.

Kiké Hernandez (Oklahoma City)
.516/.583/.871 in 7 games
16H 10R 3-2B 3B 2HR 6RBI 5BB 3SO

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: UT ENRIQUE HERNANDEZ

Kiké Hernandez - May 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

There were a ton of honorable mentions for the week with great starts (or tandem finishes) from David Martinez, Elieser Hernandez, Edwin Villarroel, David Rollins, Evan Grills, Moreno Polanco, Edison Frias, Rudy Owens, Luis Cruz, Jandel Gustave, Harold Arauz, Starlyng Sanchez and Adrian Houser. Phew! That's a lot of great pitching!!!

I was torn on my winner, but when it came right down to it, I decided on the following runner-up and winner:

RHP Nick Tropeano (Oklahoma City) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/0.429 WHIP
7IP (1 game) 2H 1BB 6SO
Held batters to a .091 batting average

Our winner got two starts for the week and excelled in both of them.

RHP Troy Scribner (Tri-City) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/.0.444 WHIP
9IP (2 games) 3H 1BB 12SO
Held batters to a .097 batting average

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP TROY SCRIBNER

Troy Scribner - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Since my time is at a premium, I'm only going to post a winner this week. But part of the reason for that is that narrowing down the runners-up is just too tough! Honorable mentions go to the excellent work from Jose Rosario, Jordan Jankowski, Keegan Yuhl, Joel Belboder, Jason Stoffel, Samil de los Santos, Kevin Chapman, Krishawn Holley, Ramon Rodriguez, Bryan Radziewski, Jordan Mills and a number of other pitchers with shorter appearances as well.

But this week, I'm going with a pitcher who is making the most of his opportunity after his recent promotion to Corpus Christi. In seven relief appearances since his promotion, he is 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA, a 1.200 WHIP and one save. For the week, though, his numbers are even better.

RHP Tyson Perez (Corpus Christi) - 1 save
0.00 ERA/0.250 WHIP
4.0IP (2 games) 0H 1BB 3SO

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP TYSON PEREZ

Tyson Perez - May 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week 11

It's time to look back at Week 11 and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, June 8th and continuing through Saturday, June 14th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

First my honorable mentions for the week, and there are a lot of them! Those go to Oklahoma City's L.J. Hoes (.476/.560/.571), Gregorio Petit (.440/.440/.640) and Preston Tucker (.364/.391/.818); Quad Cities' Jon Kemmer (.471/.538/.550); Lancaster's Danry Vasquez (.476/.500/.619), Carlos Correa (.381/.500/.524) and Conrad Gregor (.360/.429/.640); DSL Blue's Joan Mauricio (.368/.480/.632), Oliver Toribio (.353/.508/.471) and Juan Fuente (.500/.588/.571); and DSL Orange's Frankeny Fernandez (.421/.517.526), Vicente Sanchez (.400/.500/.700), Rodrigo Ayarza (.350/.480/.500) and Luis Vasquez (.409/.458/.500.

There was really no contest, though, for my winner. Hitting six home runs in a week, three in one game, is pretty special by anyone's standards!

3B Matt Duffy (Oklahoma City)
.370/.452/.1074
10H 6R 2B 6HR 10RBI 2BB 3SO 2HBP

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 3B MATT DUFFY

Matt Duffy - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

My honorable mentions this week include Oklahoma City's Nick Tropeano and Bobby Doran; and Lancaster's Kent Emanuel and Josh Hader. But there were two performances that stood out for me. First the runner-up:

RHP Kyle Smith
0.00 ERA/1.200 WHIP
5IP 4H 2BB 9SO
Held batters to a .222 batting average

Our winner had no opening day jitters. He allowed only two hits and walked no batters to set the right tone for the Tri-City opener.

RHP Austin Chrismon (Tri-City) - Win
1.80 ERA/.0.400 WHIP
5IP 2H 1R 0BB 4SO
Held batters to a .125 batting average

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP AUSTIN CHRISMON

Austin Chrismon - August 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

There has been some really excellent relief pitching of late throughout the system. So this week, I'm going to highlight four runners-up in addition to my winner.

RHP Jorge de Leon (Oklahoma City) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/1.059 WHIP
5.2IP (3 games) 2H 4BB 3SO
Held batters to a .118 batting average
2 inherited runners/0 scored

LHP Kevin Chapman (Oklahoma City) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/0.643 WHIP
4.2IP (3 games) 1H 2BB 5SO
Held batters to a .071 batting average
2 inherited runners/0 scored

LHP Patrick Urckfitz (Corpus Christi)
0.00 ERA/0.600 WHIP
3.1IP (3 games) 2H 0BB 2SO
Held batters to a .200 batting average
2 inherited runners/1 scored

RHP Josue Uribe (DSL Astros Blue)
0.00 ERA/0.900 WHIP
3.1IP (2 games) 1H 2BB SO
Held batters to a .091 batting average
5 inherited runners/1 scored

Our winner has not only had a good week, he has had a very good season thus far. In 8 appearances (12IP), he has yet to allow an earned run. He has walked only two batters while striking out 17.

RHP Frederick Tiburcio (Quad Cities) - 1 save
0.00 ERA/0.500 WHIP
2IP (2 games) 0H 1BB 3SO
Held batters hitless for the week
3 inherited runners/1 scored

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP FREDERICK TIBURCIO

Frederick Tiburcio - August 2012

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week Ten

It's time to look back at Week Ten and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, June 1st and continuing through Saturday, June 7th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

First my honorable mentions for the week! Those go to Oklahoma City's Kike Hernandez (.308/.308/.538); Corpus Christi's Nolan Fontana (.263/.481/.421); Quad Cities' Brett Phillips (.316/.350/.474); and Lancaster's Rio Ruiz (.333/.448/.500), Teoscar Hernandez (.323/.417/.645) and Tony Kemp .286/.444/.500). Also of particular note, Australian 1B Connor MacDonald has been thriving in June for the DSL Astros Blue team, hitting .318/.464/.500.

Looking at the numbers put up by Ruiz, Teo Hernandez and Kemp, and then adding in our two runners-up and our winner, it should be really easy to see why the Lancaster team won seven straight games to start the month. Here are my two runners-up:

1B Conrad Gregor (Lancaster)
.440/.516/.760
11R 2-2B 2HR 5BB 1SO 8RBI SF

SS Carlos Correa (Lancaster)
.381/.629/.667
11R 2-2B 2-3B 4RBI 13BB 4SO 6SB 1CS

Many might argue that Correa should be my winner with his eye-popping numbers, but one thing sets this next player apart ... hitting for the cycle gets you a leg up in the competition every time.

DH/OF Dan Gulbransen (Lancaster)
.474/.565/.842
5R 2-2B 3B HR 9RBI 3BB 4SO
Hit for the cycle on 6/5/14.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DH/OF DAN GULBRANSEN

Dan Gulbransen's Grand Slam from 5/26/14

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

I literally have nine different guys that I could have picked for this and most have something that sets them apart from the others so this is probably the most subjective of my picks so far this season. I can't even decide on a runner-up so I'm going with eight honorable mentions and one winner. Honorable mentions go to Oklahoma City's Nick Tropeano and David Martinez; Corpus Christi's Kyle Smith and Tommy Shirley; Lancaster's Kyle Westwood; Quad Cities' Edison Frias; and the DSL Blue team's Joselo Pinales and Erasmo Pinales.

Our winner started the season in the bullpen and has stepped up extremely ably to fill in for those on the DL. On Friday, he pitched deep into a game for the first time this season with excellent results. For the season he has a 3.21 ERA and a 1.071 WHIP; in his four starts, he has a 2.33 ERA and a 0.983 WHIP.

RHP Jordan Jankowski (Corpus Christi) - Win
0.00 ERA/.0.545 WHIP
7.1IP 3H 1BB 7SO

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP JORDAN JANKOWSKI

Jordan Jankowski - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

This category was a little more clear cut for me, but still several honorable mentions: Oklahoma City's Josh Zeid and Kevin Chapman; Corpus Christi's Alex Sogard and Richard Rodriguez; Lancaster's Jamaine Cotton, Daniel Minor and Juan Minaya; Quad Cities' Chris Cotton; and DSL Astros Blue team's Abdiel Saldana. I also want to send a special shoutout to Tyson Perez who is transitioning from Lancaster to Corpus Christi very nicely.

My runner-up is another Aussie playing for the DSL Blue team:

RHP Lachlan Madden (DSL Blue) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.429 WHIP
2.1IP (2 games) 1H 1BB 3SO
3 inherited runners/0 scored

My winner has shone all season long (and really should be at Oklahoma City, but nobody listens to me). For the season, he is 1-1 with a 1.57 ERA and a 1.174 WHIP in 18 appearances.

LHP Patrick Urckfitz (Corpus Christi) - Save
0.00 ERA/0.375 WHIP
2.2IP (2 games) 1H 0BB 3SO CS
3 inherited runners/0 scored

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: LHP PATRICK URCKFITZ

Patrick Urckfitz- April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Minor League Player and Pitchers of the Week: Week Nine

It's time to look back at Week Nine and acknowledge some winning performances for the week commencing Sunday, May 25th and continuing through Saturday, May 31st. I'll be revealing my Players and Pitchers of the Month later today (I hope).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Yet again this week, narrowing down the list was a difficult prospect. Honorable mentions go to Oklahoma City's Jon Singleton, Ronny Torreyes and Matt Duffy; Corpus Christi's Preston Tucker; Lancaster's Carlos Correa, Rio Ruiz, Roberto Pena and Danry Vasquez; and Quad Cities' Jon Kemmer and Tyler White. In particular, I would like to single out Lancaster OF Dan Gulbransen for giving me a fun ride with his Memorial Day grand slam!

This week's runner up sneaked up on me. I knew he was having a good week, but I had no idea how good.

UT Ruben Sosa (Lancaster)
.450/.455/.850
5R 3-2B 2-3B HR 5RBI BB 6SO SB
(Sosa's HR was only the second of his career, with the first having been an inside-the-parker.)

Our winner got a leg up when he crushed home runs in four straight games over the week, the final one being a grand slam!

OF Ronnie Mitchell (Quad Cities)
.391/.423/.957
5R 2B 4HR 12RBI 2BB 7SO 2SB SF

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: OF RONNIE MITCHELL

Ronnie Mitchell - July 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Honorable mentions this week go to Oklahoma City's Rudy Owens and Paul Clemens; Corpus Christi's Tommy Shirley and Brady Rodgers; Lancaster's Kyle Westwood; and Quad Cities' Jandel Gustave. Also, I'm going to assume that Tyson Perez is probably slated as a starter in Corpus Christi (or long relief/spot starter) due to the injuries at that level; his first 3-inning outing was very impressive. Finally, Albert Abreu was the first pitching star for the Astros DSL Blue team in their season opener.

I had to go with two runners-up this week because there were some dominant performances in the minors this week. Both of the runners-up went deep into their games and both kept batters guessing.

RHP Mike Foltynewicz (Oklahoma City)
1.18 ERA/0.783 WHIP
7.2IP (1 game) 6H 1R 0BB 10SO

LHP Josh Hader (Lancaster) - Win
1.18 ERA/0.652 WHIP
7.2IP (1 game)  4H 1R 1BB 9SO CS PO

Our winner showed a little rust earlier in the season, but is now getting into a nice groove culminating in his five no-hit innings on Thursday.

RHP Michael Feliz (Quad Cities)
0.00 ERA/.0.167 WHIP
5IP 0H 1BB 8SO

STARTING (TANDEM) PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP MICHAEL FELIZ

Michael Feliz - July 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

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RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Lots of honorable mentions in this category as well: Corpus Christi's Alex Sogard and Patrick Urckfitz; Lancaster's Daniel Minor, J.D. Osborne and Richard Rodriguez; Quad Cities Patrick Christensen, Chris Cotton and Frederick Tiburcio; and DSL Astros Blue team pitcher Salvador Montano.

My runner-up is making a splash in his rehab appearances at Oklahoma City.

RHP Alex White (Oklahoma City) - 1 win
0.00 ERA/0.500 WHIP
4IP (3 games) 2H 0BB 3SO

My winner got off to a slow start the last two seasons, but that is NOT the case this year. He has a 0.98 ERA and a 1.157 WHIP in 17 appearances. He has collected four wins and two saves in relief.

RHP Andrew Robinson (Corpus Christi)
0.00 ERA/0.250 WHIP
4IP (2 games) 0H 1BB 3SO

RELIEF PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP ANDREW ROBINSON

Andrew Robinson - April 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen