ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS
Another flurry of late season moves, including the 9/1 roster expansion for the major league club:
Brady Rodgers - May 2015
9-2: Astros selected the contract of Fresno RHP Brady Rodgers (3rd round 2012 pick, PCL Pitcher of the Year and all-around good guy)
9-2: Astros recalled Fresno IF Tyler White
9-2: Astros recalled Fresno RHP Jandel Gustave
9-2: Astros recalled Fresno RHP James Hoyt
9-2: LHP Framber Valdez assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster
9-2: RHP Abdiel Saldana assigned from Tri-City to Quad Cities
9-2: RHP Tyson Perez (Fresno) sent to Tri-City on rehab assignment
9-1: IF Chan Jong Moon (Fresno) activated from the DL
9-1: RHP Josh James placed on the Lancaster 7-day DL
8-31: RHP Tyson Perez (Fresno) sent to GCL on rehab assignment
8-30: RHP Brad Peacock optioned from Houston to Fresno
8-30: RHP Tyler Britton assigned from Quad Cities to Tri-City
8-29: RHP Mike Hauschild (Fresno) activated from the DL
STANDINGS/PLAYOFF PICTURE
Two teams in the playoffs, six teams out of contention and one team wonders what might have been.
AAA Fresno 3rd 70-70 .500 9.0GB L4
ELIMINATED
Fresno lost three of four to the first place team (Tacoma/Mariners) this week and was officially eliminated from playoff contention. They have three games remaining in the season on the road in Sacramento.
AA Corpus Christi 1st 82-55 .599 0.0GB L2 (Overall)
2nd half: 3rd 35-32 .522 7.5GB L2
(CLINCHED PLAYOFF BERTH by winning first half)
The Hooks have three games left against San Antonio on the road before hosting South Division Playoff Games 1 and 2 against Midland (A's) starting Wednesday, September 7th. Games 3, 4 and 5 (if all are necessary) will be played in Midland from Friday, September 9th through Sunday, September 11th. The North Division matchup hasn't been decided yet as the two Arkansas teams are currently tied in the second half and are battling each other for the next three games to determine who will play first half winner Springfield.
A+ Lancaster 3rd 75-62 .547 5.0GB W1 (Overall)
2nd half: 1st 40-25 .597 0.0GB W1
(CLINCHED PLAYOFF BERTH)
The JetHawks clinched a playoff berth last night and now have a magic number of 1 to win the second half which would assure home-field advantage for the 3-game South Division playoff mini-series which will start on Wednesday vs. Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers). If the JetHawks win the second half, Game 1 will be in Rancho Cucamonga and Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will be at home at The Hangar. High Desert, as first half winner, will then host the winner of the mini-series starting Saturday. Bakersfield (Mariners), Visalia (Diamondbacks) and San Jose (Giants) will be fighting for the North Division title. Lancaster has three games remaining against Inland Empire (47-90).
A- Quad Cities 7th 60-76 .431 23.5GB L1 (Overall)
2nd half: 7th 29-38 .433 16.0GB L1
ELIMINATED
The River Bandits final three games of the season are on the road against Burlington (66-71).
SSA Tri-City 3rd 37-36 .507 9.0GB W2
ELIMINATED
The ValleyCats were eliminated this week and have three games remaining in their season. They will host Staten Island (41-31) for their home finale today before hitting the road to face Connecticut (39-34) for their last two games.
Rk+ Greeneville 3rd 33-34 .493 5.5GB W3
ELIMINATED/SEASON OVER
One wonders what might have been. The Greeneville Astros needed to win all five of the final five games with Elizabethton to advance to the playoffs. An egregiously bad call on Sunday changed that game from a W to an L for the Appy Astros. Greeneville went on to win the next three and the final game was cancelled due to wet grounds. It would have been fun to see this very young, very exciting team force a deciding game on the final day of the season. Well, that's baseball.
ELIMINATED/SEASON OVER
ELIMINATED/SEASON OVER
FRk DSL Orange 4th 31-37 .456 16.0GB W2
ELIMINATED/SEASON OVER
***
AUGUST PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
This was a very difficult proposition this month. Not only were there a ton of great performances to choose from, there was so much movement from promotions that it was hard to keep track of it all! With that said, let's celebrate the success of these players ...
FRESNO
Starting Pitcher of the Month
RHP Cesar Valdez - 5G/5ST 34.0IP 3-0 1.85 ERA/1.147 WHIP 2BB/35SO
Relief Pitcher of the Month
RHP Jandel Gustave - 9G 10.1IP 1-1/2SV 2.70 ERA/0.900 WHIP 6BB/8SO .088BA
Position Player of the Month (Tie)
IF Danny Worth - 25G .337/.411/.543 10-2B 3HR 10RBI 1SB:1CS
OF Jon Kemmer - 31G .280/.338/.568 10-2B 1-3B 8HR 25RBI 4SB:4CS
Honorable mention goes to OF Alejandro Garcia who hit .400/.442/.450 in his first 12 games with Fresno.
Jandel Gustave - June 2016
CORPUS CHRISTI
Starting Pitcher of the Month
RHP Francis Martes - 5G/5ST 33.1IP 3-1 2.16 ERA/0.840 WHIP 5BB/37SO .190BA
Honorable mention goes to RHP Cy Sneed (2.27 ERA/0.947 WHIP in 31.2IP) and RHP Trent Thornton (2.25 ERA/1.050 WHIP in 40.0IP).
Honorable mention also goes to LHP Evan Grills who split August between Corpus Christi and Fresno. He had a 2.61 ERA and a 0.823 WHIP in his three starts (20.2IP) with Corpus prior to his 8/21 promotion to Fresno.
Relief Pitcher of the Month
RHP Ryan Thompson - 8G 14.2IP 2-0/2SV 1.84 ERA/1.091 WHIP 4BB/7SO .226BA
Position Player of the Month
OF Ramon Laureano - 24 G .318/.414/.529 4-2B 1-3B 4HR 9RBI 6SB:2CS 14BB/20SO
Honorable mention goes to 3B J.D. Davis (.284/.336/.529 with 8-2B/1-3B/5HR/18RBI in 27G), C Garrett Stubbs (.304/.375/.571 in 15 games) and IF Antonio Nunez (.320/.417/.340 in 16 games).
Ramon Laureano - June 2016
LANCASTER
Starting Pitcher of the Month
RHP Jose Hernandez - 4G/4ST 25.2IP 3-1 3.51 ERA/1.325 WHIP 5BB/24SO
Relief Pitcher of the Month
RHP Andrew Thome - 7G 13.1IP 0-0/2SV 1.35 ERA/0.975 WHIP 3BB/9SO .217BA
Position Player of the Month
C/IF Trent Woodward - 23G .313/.440/.463 6-2B 2HR 15RBI 19BB/20SO
Honorable mention goes to OF Drew Ferguson who hit .446/.492/.804 in 14 games with Lancaster prior to his 8/20 promotion to Corpus Christi.
Honorable mention also goes to a pair of players who split their Augusts between Quad Cities and Lancaster and had fantastic combined numbers at those two venues: OF Kyle Tucker (.311/.393/.563 in 26 games) and OF Myles Straw (.385/.454/.481 in 24 games).
Andrew Thome - May 2016
QUAD CITIES
Starting Pitcher of the Month
RHP Albert Abreu - 3G/1ST 13.0IP 0-0/1SV 0.69 ERA/1.154 WHIP 6BB/14SO .205BA
(Promoted to Lancaster 8/21)
Relief Pitcher of the Month
LHP Zac Person - 6G 14.1IP 0-0 1.26 ERA/1.047 WHIP 7BB/16SO .160BA
Honorable mention goes to LHP Sebastian Kessay who split his August between Tri-City and Quad Cities and managed a 1.35 ERA and a 1.049 WHIP in his first three appearances with Quad Cities following his promotion.
Position Player of the Month
1B Dex McCall - 25G .295/.352/.411 6-2B 1-3B 1HR 17RBI
Honorable mention goes to 3B Bobby Wernes (.315/.403/.389 in 15 games).
Dex McCall - May 2016
TRI-CITY
Pitcher of the Month (Tie)
LHP Ryan Hartman - 6G/2ST 20.1IP 2-0 1.77 ERA/0.689 WHIP 3BB/20SO .155BA
RHP Abdiel Saldana - 6G/2ST 20.1IP 0-1/1SV 1.33 ERA/0.846 WHIP 2BB/24SO .200 BA
Honorable mention goes to RHP Carlos Sanabria who split his August between Greeneville and Tri-City, putting up a 2.10 ERA and a 0.896 combined between the two venues.
Position Player of the Month
OF Ronnie Dawson - 29G .294/.368/.422 5-2B 1-3B 2HR 16RBI 3SB:1CS
Ryan Hartman - July 2016
GREENEVILLE
Pitcher of the Month
RHP Cristian Javier - 6G/3ST 21.2IP 1-1 2.08 ERA/1.015 WHIP 10BB/22SO .162BA
Honorable Mention goes to RHP Lupe Chavez who split August between the GCL and Greeneville and put up a 0.66 ERA and 0.950 WHIP in 13.2 innings between the two venues.
Position Player of the Month
IF Stijn Van Der Meer - 19G .301/.386/.370 3-2B 1-3B 8RBI 3SB:1CS
Honorable mention goes to OF Luis Payano (.283/.344/.491 in 17 games) and OF Chaz Pal (.283/.344/.491 in 11 games).
Cristian Javier - August 2016
GULF COAST LEAGUE
Pitcher of the Month
RHP Enoli Paredes - 5G/1ST 13.0IP 0-0/1SV 1.38 ERA/0.923 WHIP 4BB/21SO .174BA
Position Player of the Month
OF Jose Benjamin - 18G .311/.344/.475 6-2B 2-3B 9RBI 6SB:4CS
Honorable mention goes to OF Andy Pineda who hit .316/.350/.395 in 11 games in August prior to his promotion to Tri-City.
DSL ORANGE
Pitchers of the Month (Tie)
LHP Maikel Sepulveda - 4G/4ST 20.1IP 1-0 1.77 ERA/1.131 WHIP 6BB/16SO .221BA
RHP Yohan Ramirez - 4G/4ST 16.1IP 1-1 1.69 ERA/1.063 WHIP 6BB/9SO .180BA
Position Player of the Month
DH/1B Yordan Alvarez - 16G .341/.474/.500 2-2B 1-3B 1HR 4RBI
DSL BLUE
Pitcher of the Month
LHP Yeremi Ceballos - 7G 13.2IP 1-0 1.32 ERA/0.878 WHIP 5BB/12SO
Position Player of the Month
SS Anibal Sierra - 19G .317/.463/.556 5-2B 2-3B 2HR 11HR 1SB:3CS 13BB/15SO
