2019 Standings/Playoff Picture

With the minor league regular season ending on Labor Day, one team is in the playoffs, two teams are fighting for a spot and the rest have either been eliminated or are on the brink.

2019 STANDINGS/PLAYOFF PICTURE

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)

1st 81-54 .600 -.-GB L1

Round Rock has taken two of three games against the second place San Antonio Missions (with one game left against that team) to increase their lead to two games with five games remaining in the season. The final four games for Round Rock will be on the road against Omaha (57-77) while the Missions will head to Nashville (62-71) for their final four.

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

4th 65-69 .485 5.5GB W1 (Overall)
4th 32-33 .492 4.0GB W1 (Second Half)

The Hooks have now fallen to fourth place. Their elimination number is down to two with five games left to play. The fat lady is waiting to make her entrance.

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)

3rd 67-66 .504 18.0GB L1 (Overall)
1st 36-28 .563 -.-GB L1 (Second Half)

Since my last update, the Woodpeckers have taken over first place in their division for the second half. Fayetteville's lead over Down East is only a half game, but that doesn't really matter since Down East has already made the playoffs by winning the first half. The important news is that Fayetteville's lead over Myrtle Beach (the Woodpeckers closest competition for a playoff berth) is now at three and a half games and Winston-Salem has been all but eliminated.

Fayetteville has six remaining games, one at Carolina (26-39 in the second half), followed by five games against the Down East Wood Ducks (35-28 in the second half) at home. Myrtle Beach has five remaining games (all on the road), one against Potomac (34-30 in the second half) and four against Wilmington (35-30 in the second half).

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner

1st 77-54 .588 -.-GB L4 (Overall)
5th 34-31 .523 7.0GB L4 (Second Half)

Thankfully, Quad Cities is already in the playoffs by virtue of winning their division in the first half. And we even know that they will be facing the Cedar Rapids Kernels (the first half wild card) for the first series, a best of three division quarterfinal. And we even know the dates for that first series, September 4th at Cedar Rapids and September 5th and 6th (if necessary) at Quad Cities.

The River Bandits lost the first game of their three-game postseason preview at Cedar Rapids last night. They will play two more on the road against that team, followed by three at home vs. Wisconsin.

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
4th 28-41 .406 9.5GB W1

Tri-City has been eliminated from the postseason. They have six games remaining. (This article from the Times Union had some, uh, interesting thoughts from Tri-City Manager Ozney Guillen about the postseason.)

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
4th 25-26 .490 3.5GB W1

According to the schedule, it appears that the GCL is trying to get in one last game this morning before cancelling the remainder of the regular season (presumably due to the forecast in advance of Hurricane Dorian). That will effectively eliminate the Baby 'Stros who are in fourth place with an elimination number of one.

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
🠉 2nd 38-31 .551 2.5GB W2

The DSL team was eliminated from the postseason and has completed their season with a very respectable second place finish.

Astros Farm Report: 8-26

Bringing you the latest news from down on the farm ...

In case you missed these, here are my recent interviews from Corpus Christi
Colin McKee
Enoli Paredes and Cristian Javier

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Here are the latest roster moves. An ongoing list of all of the 2019 season transactions and roster moves can be found here.

8-25: LHP Framber Valdez (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-25: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-25: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to Fayetteville on a rehab assignment
8-25: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-24: OF Ramiro Rodriguez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-24: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Cristian Javier assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-23: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Abdiel Saldana (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-23: OF Marty Costes (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-23: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez (GCL) activated from the 60-day IL
8-22: IF Abraham Toro (Round Rock) called up to Houston
8-22: IF Jack Mayfield optioned to Round Rock
8-22: LHP Reymin Guduan moved from the suspended list to the restricted list
8-22: RHP Tyler Ivey (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-22: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-22: OF Corey Julks assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-22: RHP Brady Rodgers (rehabbing) released
8-21: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-21: OF/SS Myles Straw recalled to Houston
8-21: OF Ronnie Dawson assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-19: IF Jack Mayfield recalled to Houston
8-19: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-19: RHP Joey Gonzalez activated from the Fayetteville IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-19: OF James Nix assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-18: LHP Kit Scheetz (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Justin Ferrell (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-18: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-18: RHP Rogelio Armenteros optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Rogelio Armenteros (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-17: RHP Francis Martes activated from the restricted list and placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Erasmo Pinales (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-17: RHP Abdiel Saldana assigned to Fayetteville from Quad Cities
8-17: RHP Valente Bellozo assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-17: RHP Tanner Duncan (Fayetteville) released
8-16: RHP Garrett Gayle (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-16: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) activated from the IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-16: RHP Ryan Gusto assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-15: RHP Lupe Chavez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-15: C C.J. Stubbs assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: IF AJ Lee assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) released
8-14: RHP Cy Sneed (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-14: RHP Joe Biagini optioned to Round Rock
8-14: OF/SS Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-13: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-13: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-13: OF/SS Myles Straw (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-13: RHP Brett Conine assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-13: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-13: Jose Bolivar signed (no info available)
8-13: 2B/OF Alfredo Angarita (Corpus Christi) released
8-12: OF Raider Uceta (GCL) placed on the 60-day IL
8-12: OF James Nix assigned to Quad Cities from the GCL
8-12: RHP Hunter Martin (Quad Cities) released
8-11: RHP Joey Gonzalez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-11: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-11: RHP Jayson Schroeder (Tri-City) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment (MiLB.com doesn't actually show Schroeder as being on the IL)
8-10: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-10: IF Michael Wielansky (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Akeem Bostick (Round Rock) released
8-9: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-9: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-9: C Cesar Salazar (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP R.J. Freure (Quad Cities) activated from the temporary inactive list (Freure had been representing Team Canada at the Pan Am Games)
8-8: C Garrett Stubbs optioned to Round Rock
8-8: 1B Zach Biermann (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-8: RHP Ryan Gusto (11th round 2019) assigned to the GCL
8-7: RHP Riley Ferrell (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-7: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-6)
8-7: RHP Danny Cody assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-6: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Corpus Christi from Round Rock
8-6: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-6: RHP Ryan Pressly sent to Corpus Christi for a rehab assignment (activated 8-9)
8-6: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to the GCL from Fayetteville
8-5: RHP Humberto Castellanos assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-5: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-5: RHP Luis de Paula assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-5: RHP Alex House (Quad Cities) released - House had been on the IL all season
8-3: OF Jacob Meyers assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-3: RHP Brad Peacock sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment (activated 8-18)
8-3: RHP Ronel Blanco (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-3: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from the GCL
8-3: OF Wilyer Abreu assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
8-2: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF/IF Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-2: RHP Jose Urquidy optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-1)
8-2: RHP Bryan Abreu optioned to Corpus Christi
8-2: RHP Brandon Bailey (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-2: RHP Tanner Duncan assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-2: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) sent to Tri-City on a rehab assignment
8-1: 3B Abraham Toro assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: C Lorenzo Quintana assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: 1B Jake Adams assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jonathan Arauz assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: RHP Forest Whitley assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-1: C Ruben Castro (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-1: 1B/3B David Hensley assigned from Quad Cities to Fayetteville

Players who started the 2019 season on the DL

C Ruben Castro - activated 5-25
RHP Nick Hernandez - activated 5-8
RHP Alex House - released 8-5
OF Alex McKenna - activated 4-29
RHP Hansel Paulino - activated 6-14
RHP Erasmo Pinales - activated 5-20
RHP Abdiel Saldana - activated 7-5
RHP Kyle Serrano - activated 6-26
RHP Jairo Solis

Restricted List
RHP Francis Martes (80-game suspension) - suspension ended 6-26, but only activated 8-17 due to visa issues; immediately placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
1B/OF J.J. Matijevic (50-game suspension) - activated 6-21

2019 STANDINGS/PLAYOFF PICTURE

Up and down arrows denote an increase or decrease in win percentage over the last week.

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)

🠋 1st 79-53 .598 -.-GB L1

Round Rock's division lead has dwindled to one game over the San Antonio Missions with eight games left in the season. The Baby Cakes have officially been eliminated and the four-game set between the two remaining contending teams which starts tonight in Round Rock will give The Express its best chance to increase their lead over the Missions. The final four games for Round Rock will be on the road against Omaha (55-76) while the Missions will head to Nashville (61-69) for their final four.

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

3rd 64-67 .489 5.5GB L2 (Overall)
3rd 31-31 .500 4.0GB L2 (Second Half)

The Hooks have stumbled badly in their playoff chances since my last update with Midland's five-game win streak making Corpus Christi's chances for a playoff berth much more tenuous. I could get into a bunch of details on how things currently stand, but the fact remains that unless the Hooks start winning decisively and the RockHounds start losing a lot of games, this postseason will just be a pipe dream for the Astros affiliate.

The good news is that all of the Hooks eight remaining games are at home. The bad news is that they are against the top two teams in the North Division. Good News/Bad News, Part II: Midland will play all eight of their remaining games on the road; however, all of their games are against the two teams with the worst records in the Texas League. The fat lady isn't singing yet, but she is definitely warming up.

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)

4th 65-65 .500 19.0GB W2 (Overall)
🠉 2nd 34-27 .557 0.5GB W2 (Second Half)

The Woodpeckers, on the other hand, have increased their odds of a playoff berth greatly over the last few days as the first and third place teams in the second half are on four-game and three-game losing streaks respectively. Since last week, the Fayetteville team went from a decent chance of getting into the playoffs as the second place team in the second half (if the first place team wins both halves of the season) to having a legitimate shot at winning the second half out right.

Fayetteville has nine remaining games, four against the last place place team in the division on the road, followed by five games against the first place team (Down East Wood Ducks) at home. Myrtle Beach (2.5 games behind the Woodpeckers) and Winston-Salem (4 games behind) have eight remaining games each.

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner

1st 77-51 .602 -.-GB L1 (Overall)
🠋 4th 34-28 .548 5.0GB L1 (Second Half)

Thankfully, Quad Cities is already in the playoffs by virtue of winning their division in the first half. And we even know that they will be facing the Cedar Rapids Kernels (the first half wild card) for the first series, a best of three division quarterfinal. And we even know the dates for that first series, September 4th at Cedar Rapids and September 5th and 6th (if necessary) at Quad Cities.

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
🠋 4th 27-40 .403 9.5GB W1

Tri-City has been eliminated from the postseason. They have eight games remaining.

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
🠉 4th 24-26 .480 4.5GB L1

The GCL 'Stros have 6 games left to go with an elimination number of 2.

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
🠉 2nd 38-31 .551 2.5GB W2

The DSL team was eliminated from the postseason and has completed their season with a very respectable second place finish.

WATCH THIS SPACE

I plan to use "this space" to feature players who are currently flying below the radar, but who deserve a closer look.

Nick Tanielu - August 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Nick Tanielu (correctly pronounced tan-ee-AY-loo) isn't exactly an unknown quantity in the Astros organization and may not technically be flying below the radar, but he probably deserves more attention than he's currently been getting from the prospect pundits of the world. Primarily a third baseman, Tanielu has also played more than a handful of games at first and second for Round Rock this year while compiling a .299/.359/.519 batting line in 117 games. His 37 doubles (to go with three triples and 17 home runs) are the third most in the Pacific Coast League. Tanielu had appeared on a few top 30 lists prior to an ACL injury causing him to miss most of the 2017 season, but he doesn't currently appear on the MLB Pipeline Top 30 list for the Astros. Personally, I think an argument could be made that he should be. If the Astros don't add him to the 40-man roster this fall, I would expect Tanielu to be claimed in the Rule 5 Draft.  Watch this space ...

FORMER ASTRO UPDATE

Luis Cruz - May 2015

Photo by Jayne Hansen

LHP Luis Cruz was first drafted by the Astros in the 9th round in 2008 out of Puerto Rico. The lefty spent eight seasons in the Astros system before being released in November 2015. After only playing in winter leagues the next couple of seasons, Cruz started play in independent ball in 2017 and has played in the Atlantic League the last two years. In 42 appearances for the Somerset Patriots this season, Cruz has a 3.02 ERA and 1.142 WHIP and 14 walks to 47 strikeouts in 44.2 innings of work.

RANDOM PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Washington - 2012

Photo by Jayne Hansen

2019 Standings/Team Playoff Pictures

Updating the current standings and potential playoff picture for each team as the minor league season winds down ...

2019 STANDINGS/PLAYOFF PICTURE

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)

1st 76-52 .605 -.-GB L3

Round Rock has gone 1-3 since my last update on Monday, but they remain 1.5 games up in the standings as the San Antonio Missions (MIL) have failed to take advantage of the Express losses. Round Rock has 12 remaining games while the Missions have 11 remaining games; they will face each other for four games at Round Rock next week and both will end the season with four games on the road against sub-.500 teams. The Express will host the third place New Orleans Baby Cakes (MIA) starting tonight. The Baby Cakes are still alive, but are currently seven games behind Round Rock with an elimination number of 5.

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

3rd 63-65 .492 4.5GB W1 (Overall)
T2nd 30-29 .508 3.0GB W1 (Second Half)

So, first off, let me apologize for putting out the wrong information in my Monday update. In my defense, the Texas League playoff procedures are pretty convoluted and I read them incorrectly. Here is my corrected understanding of what the Hooks will need to do in order to advance to the playoffs. If the Hooks can't overtake the first place Amarillo team in the second half standings (they are currently three games back and tied with Midland in the second half), they will have to overtake Midland in the overall season standings (the Hooks are currently one game behind the RockHounds for the season). Frisco, in fourth place currently and for the season, has yet to be eliminated, but they do lag Midland in the overall standings by 2.5 games and Amarillo in the second half by six games with a dwindling number of games left. It is more likely that the Hooks path to the postseason will involve Midland.

Midland has 11 games left, three at home against Springfield (58-71), followed by eight on the road against Northwest Arkansas (52-74) and Springfield. Corpus Christi's final 11 games include three in Tulsa (70-58) followed by the final eight at home against Arkansas (72-52) and Tulsa.

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)

4th 62-63 .496 21.0GB L1 (Overall)
2nd 32-26 .552 2.5GB W1 (Second Half)

The Down East Wood Ducks currently lead the second half in the Southern Division by 2.5 games, but since they won the first half, it will be the second place team that advances if Down East holds on to that lead. The Woodpeckers are currently in second place, but their lead over the third place team is dwindling. Fayetteville is a half game ahead of Myrtle Beach and three games ahead of Winston-Salem. Fayetteville has 11 games remaining, the final four of those against the first place Wood Ducks (five if yesterday's rainout is rescheduled) and the remaining seven against the last place team in each division. Myrtle Beach is now heading out on the road for their final 11 games against the first, second and third place clubs in the Northern Division (all .500+ teams). This could get interesting!

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner

1st 75-50 .600 -.-GB L2 (Overall)
T4th 32-27 .542 6.0GB L2 (Second Half)

Thankfully, Quad Cities is already in the playoffs by virtue of winning their division in the first half. And we even know that they will be facing the Cedar Rapids Kernels (the first half wild card) for the first series, a best of three division quarterfinal. And we even know the dates for that first series, September 4th at Cedar Rapids and September 5th and 6th (if necessary) at Quad Cities. The River Bandits have 11 games left to play; three of them will be on the road against the Kernels, a postseason preview of sorts.

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
4th 25-38 .397 9.0GB L4

Barring a miracle, Tri-City will not be able to pull off a repeat of their 2018 League Championship. They have 12 games left to play and their elimination number is 3.

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
4th 23-25 .479 5.0GB W1

The GCL 'Stros remain in fourth place and have 8 games left to go with an elimination number of 4.

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
2nd 38-31 .551 2.5GB W2

The DSL team is on the brink of elimination with their final two games scheduled against the first place Royals1 team.

Look for another postseason update in Monday's Farm Report

Astros Farm Report: 8-19

Bringing you the latest news from down on the farm ...

In case you missed these, here are my recent interviews from Quad Cities
Cesar Salazar
Brett Daniels
Felipe Tejada

And in honor of the blog's anniversary, I looked at eight years of WTHB by the numbers!

Look for another couple of interviews from my trip to Corpus Christi coming out this week.

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

Here are the latest roster moves. An ongoing list of all of the 2019 season transactions and roster moves can be found here.

8-18: LHP Kit Scheetz (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Justin Ferrell (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-18: RHP Cy Sneed recalled to Houston
8-18: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-18: RHP Rogelio Armenteros optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Rogelio Armenteros (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-17: RHP Francis Martes activated from the restricted list and placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-17: RHP Erasmo Pinales (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-17: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-17: RHP Abdiel Saldana assigned to Fayetteville from Quad Cities
8-17: RHP Valente Bellozo assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-17: RHP Tanner Duncan (Fayetteville) released
8-16: RHP Garrett Gayle (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-16: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) activated from the IL and assigned to Quad Cities
8-16: RHP Ryan Gusto assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8-15: RHP Lupe Chavez (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-15: C C.J. Stubbs assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: IF AJ Lee assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-15: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) released
8-14: RHP Cy Sneed (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-14: RHP Joe Biagini optioned to Round Rock
8-14: OF/SS Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-13: LHP Cionel Perez (Round Rock) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-13: LHP Brett Adcock (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-13: OF/SS Myles Straw (Round Rock) recalled to Houston
8-13: RHP Brett Conine assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-13: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-13: Jose Bolivar signed (no info available)
8-13: 2B/OF Alfredo Angarita (Corpus Christi) released
8-12: OF Raider Uceta (GCL) placed on the 60-day IL
8-12: OF James Nix assigned to Quad Cities from the GCL
8-12: RHP Hunter Martin (Quad Cities) released
8-11: RHP Joey Gonzalez (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-11: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-11: RHP Jayson Schroeder (Tri-City) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment (MiLB.com doesn't actually show Schroeder as being on the IL)
8-10: C Orlando Marquez (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-10: IF Michael Wielansky (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Akeem Bostick (Round Rock) released
8-9: RHP Enoli Paredes (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-9: RHP Tommy DeJuneas (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP Jacob Billingsley (Fayetteville) sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment
8-9: C Cesar Salazar (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-9: RHP R.J. Freure (Quad Cities) activated from the temporary inactive list (Freure had been representing Team Canada at the Pan Am Games)
8-8: C Garrett Stubbs optioned to Round Rock
8-8: 1B Zach Biermann (Quad Cities) activated from the IL
8-8: RHP Ryan Gusto (11th round 2019) assigned to the GCL
8-7: RHP Riley Ferrell (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-7: RHP Carson LaRue (Round Rock) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-6)
8-7: RHP Danny Cody assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8-6: RHP Colin McKee assigned to Corpus Christi from Round Rock
8-6: RHP Willy Collado (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL
8-6: RHP Ryan Pressly sent to Corpus Christi for a rehab assignment (activated 8-9)
8-6: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to the GCL from Fayetteville
8-5: RHP Humberto Castellanos assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-5: OF Carlos Machado (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day IL
8-5: RHP Luis de Paula assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-5: RHP Alex House (Quad Cities) released - House had been on the IL all season
8-3: OF Jacob Meyers assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-3: RHP Brad Peacock sent to Round Rock on a rehab assignment (activated 8-18)
8-3: RHP Ronel Blanco (Round Rock) activated from the IL
8-3: LHP Yeremi Ceballos assigned to Fayetteville from the GCL
8-3: OF Wilyer Abreu assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8-2: C Garrett Stubbs recalled to Houston
8-2: RHP Cy Sneed optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF/IF Myles Straw optioned to Round Rock
8-2: RHP Jose Urquidy optioned to Round Rock
8-2: OF Granden Goetzman (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day IL (retroactive to 8-1)
8-2: RHP Bryan Abreu optioned to Corpus Christi
8-2: RHP Brandon Bailey (Corpus Christi) activated from the IL
8-2: RHP Tanner Duncan assigned to Fayetteville from Round Rock
8-2: LHP Parker Mushinski (Fayetteville) sent to Tri-City on a rehab assignment
8-1: 3B Abraham Toro assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: C Lorenzo Quintana assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
8-1: 1B Jake Adams assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jonathan Arauz assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: RHP Forest Whitley assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
8-1: SS Jeremy Pena (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day IL
8-1: C Ruben Castro (Fayetteville) activated from the IL
8-1: 1B/3B David Hensley assigned from Quad Cities to Fayetteville

Players who started the 2019 season on the DL

C Ruben Castro - activated 5-25
RHP Nick Hernandez - activated 5-8
RHP Alex House - released 8-5
OF Alex McKenna - activated 4-29
RHP Hansel Paulino - activated 6-14
RHP Erasmo Pinales - activated 5-20
RHP Abdiel Saldana - activated 7-5
RHP Kyle Serrano - activated 6-26
RHP Jairo Solis

Restricted List
RHP Francis Martes (80-game suspension) - suspension ended 6-26, but only activated 8-17 due to visa issues; immediately placed on the Round Rock 7-day IL
1B/OF J.J. Matijevic (50-game suspension) - activated 6-21

2019 STANDINGS/PLAYOFF PICTURE

Up and down arrows denote an increase or decrease in win percentage over the last week.

AAA ROUND ROCK (Pacific Coast League/American Southern Division)

🠉 1st 75-49 .605 -.-GB L1

Round Rock had a very good week, capitalizing on the San Antonio Missions late season swoon to take the Southern Division lead. The Express are currently ahead of that Milwaukee AAA club by 1.5 games with 16 games left in the season. Four of those games will be against San Antonio at Round Rock. Eight of the remaining games for the Express are against sub-.500 teams. The Iowa Cubs have a comfortable 7-game lead in the Northern Division, but are headed into the week having lost four in a row.

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

3rd 61-64 .488 5.5GB L1 (Overall)
🠉 T2nd 28-28 .500 4.0GB L1 (Second Half)

The playoff picture for the Texas League South Division is getting VERY convoluted right now. Thanks to a great 5-2 week by the Hooks, they are suddenly very much in the mix for a playoff berth. Amarillo is currently the second half leader, but they already qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half; if they remain in first place in the second half, the second place team will advance. Corpus Christi is currently tied with Midland for second place in the second half and since the Hooks are 10-9 against the RockHounds in the second half, the Hooks would be the second half winners if the season ended now. But the season doesn't end now and Frisco trails both Corpus Christi and Midland by only one half game (Frisco has a 7-6 record against the Hooks in the second half and would win a potential tie with them).

The Hooks have 14 games remaining, none of them against their division rivals. They will be playing the two teams who are currently tied for the North Division lead for all of their remaining games, six on the road followed by eight at home. Midland will be playing their remaining 14 games against two sub-.500 teams in the North Division (six at home, followed by eight on the road). Frisco will be playing those same sub-.500 teams for their remaining 15 games (six at home, followed by nine on the road). Stay tuned because the field is wide open at this point.

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)

4th 62-63 .496 21.0GB L1 (Overall)
🠉 2nd 31-25 .554 2.5GB L1 (Second Half)

The Down East Wood Ducks currently lead the second half in the Southern Division by 2.5 games, but since they won the first half, it will be the second place team that advances if Down East holds on to that lead. That is precisely where the Woodpeckers stand as of today. They are two games ahead of Myrtle Beach and 3.5 games ahead of Winston-Salem. Fayetteville has 14 games remaining, seven of those against the first place Wood Ducks and the remaining seven against the last place team in each division. Myrtle Beach will face the Southern Division last place team for three games before heading out on the road for their final 11 against the first, second and third place clubs in the Northern Division (all .500+ teams).

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)
1st half Division Winner

1st 74-47 .612 -.-GB W2 (Overall)
🠋 T3rd 31-24 .564 4.0GB W2 (Second Half)

Thankfully, Quad Cities is already in the playoffs by virtue of winning their division in the first half. And we even know that they will be facing the Cedar Rapids Kernels (the first half wild card) for the first series, a best of three division quarterfinal. And we even know the dates for that first series, September 4th at Cedar Rapids and September 5th and 6th (if necessary) at Quad Cities.

SHORT SEASON A TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League/Stedler Division)
🠋 4th 25-36 .410 8.0GB L2

Barring a miracle, Tri-City will not be able to pull off a repeat of their 2018 League Championship. They have 14 games left to play and their elimination number is 6.

ROOKIE LEVEL GULF COAST LEAGUE (East Division)
🠉 4th 21-23 .477 5.0GB W2

The GCL 'Stros have 12 games left to go with an elimination number of 8.

ROOKIE LEVEL DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE (Northwest Division)
🠉 T2nd 35-30 .538 1.5GB W3

The DSL team has only six games remaining with the final two games against the first place Royals1 team.

WATCH THIS SPACE

I plan to use "this space" to feature players who are currently flying below the radar, but who deserve a closer look.

Jojanse Torres - June 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

I probably would have featured RHP Jojanse Torres (High A Fayetteville) sooner, but for some reason I thought he was already on the MLB Pipeline Top 30 list for the Astros. Torres is an older pitcher (24 on August 4th) signed by the Astros in April of 2018, but he is only in his second season of professional baseball. He started the season in the bullpen with the Quad Cities team, but quickly earned a promotion to Fayetteville in mid-May and has thrown several starts at the higher level. For the season to date, he is 10-0 with one save, a 1.89 ERA and a 1.097 WHIP in 22 games (9 starts). He has walked 40 batters and struck out 102 in 85.2 innings. Prior to the season, he was said to have a fastball in the mid to high 90's (touching 100) and an advanced slider and changeup. He may not be on the MLB Pipeline Top 30 list yet, but if he maintains his current success, look for that to change soon. Watch this space ...

FORMER ASTRO UPDATE

Jay Austin - May 2012

Photo by Bryan Green

And now for a Golden Oldie! OF Jay Austin was drafted by the Astros in the 2nd round in 2008 out of North Atlanta High School. Austin spent five seasons in the Astros system before his release in August 2012. After taking 2013 off, Austin tooled around independent league ball for the next few years before landing in the Mexican League in 2018. This season, he is hitting .326/.382/.484 with 21 doubles, three triples and 12 home runs in 100 games for the Piratas de Campeche. He has 29 stolen bases to 8 caught stealing and has 37 walks to 50 strikeouts. He was also selected to the mid-season All-Star team. Austin turned 29 last week.

RANDOM PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Race Rock Light, Long Island Sound - July 2019

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Astros Farm Report: 8/27

Let's catch up on all the latest happenings in the Astros system...

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ...

Brett Adcock - May 2018

Photo by Jayne Hansen

8/28: LHP Brett Adcock (23)
8/28: RHP Will Harris (34)
8/31: RHP Ronel Blanco (25)

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

8/26: RHP Ernesto Jaquez assigned to Tri-City from the GCL (Jaquez has allowed three earned runs in 53 innings this season between the DSL and the GCL)
8/24: OF Jake Marisnick sent to Fresno on rehab assignment
8/24: 1B Taylor Jones assigned to Corpus Christi from Fresno
8/24: OF Carlos Diaz placed on the restricted list (suspended 56 games for testing positive for a PED)
8/23: LHP Carlos Hiraldo assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8/23: RHP Manny Ramirez assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8/23: RHP Jose Bravo assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8/23: SS/2B Deury Carraso assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8/22: RHP Brock Dykxhoorn assigned to Fresno from Corpus Christi
8/22: C Brian McCann sent to Corpus Christi on rehab assignment
8/22: RHP Chris Devenski sent to Corpus Christi on rehab assignment
8/22: RHP Brendan Feldmann assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
8/21: C Orlando Marquez assigned to Tri-City from Buies Creek
8/21: 1B Colton Shaver assigned to Buies Creek from Quad Cities
8/21: SS Trey Dawson assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8/21: RHP Framber Valdez (Fresno) called up to Houston
8/21: LHP Cionel Perez optioned to Fresno
8/21: OF Kyle Tucker optioned to Fresno

ASTROS MILB DISABLED LIST

8/22: SS Antonio Nunez (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL
8/15: C Ruben Castro (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
8/9: RHP Jairo Solis (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
6/19: OF Drew Ferguson (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL (hand; on rehab assignment)
6/13: RHP Hunter Martin (Tri-City) placed on the 60-day DL
6/1: LHP Yeremi Ceballos (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
6/1: RHP Carlos Quintero (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
5/4: RHP Francis Martes (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL; had TJ surgery 8/15
5/3+/-: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez had TJ surgery per Instagram post
4/5: RHP Ryan Thompson assigned to Fresno (starting the season on the 7-day DL); according to Instagram Ryan has had surgery, but I don't know whether or not it was TJ (later confirmed that it was TJ surgery)
4/5: RHP Matt Ruppenthal assigned to Quad Cities (starting the season on the 7-day DL; according to Instagram, Ruppenthal had elbow surgery to transpose the ulnar nerve in early April and started to throw mid-June; now on a rehab assignment)
4/5: RHP Ángel Heredia (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL (Instagram post in early August showed him as having had surgery)
4/5: RHP Nick Hernandez (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL (Tommy John)

ASTROS MILB RESTRICTED LIST

8/24: OF Carlos Diaz placed on the restricted list (suspended 56 games for testing positive for a PED)
Note that a 56 game suspension in short season ball will effectively wipe out Diaz's 2019 season. I would not be surprised to see the 14th round 2017 pick released by the Astros this offseason.
6/22: RHP Yoanys Quiala placed on the restricted list (80 game suspension for performance-enhancing substance); Quiala won't be eligible to play again until approximately mid-April of 2019.

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

ASTROS MILB STANDINGS
Up and down arrows represent increase/decrease in win percentage since the prior post. No arrow means that the win percentage remains unchanged.

FRESNO (Pacific Coast League) - ADVANCED TO POSTSEASON

🠉1st 77-55 .583 -.-GB W2

The Grizzlies eliminated Reno over the weekend to clinch the PCL Pacific Northern division title. They will face El Paso (San Diego) in the best-of-five PCL Pacific Conference Championship which will start next Wednesday, 9/5. Games 1 and 2 will be in El Paso. Fresno will host Games 3, 4 and 5 (if all are necessary). With eight games left in the regular season, Fresno will get a sneak preview of the Conference finals when they host El Paso for three games starting Tuesday.

The winners of the Pacific Conference Championship series will face the winner of the American Conference starting 9/11 in a best-of-five series. Memphis (Cardinals) will face off vs. TBD, likely the Oklahoma City Dodgers, for the American Conference title starting 9/5 as well.

CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League) - ADVANCED TO POSTSEASON

🠋1st 79-51 .608 -.-GB W2 (overall)
1st 36-25 .590 -.-GB W2 (second half)
1st 43-26 .623 -.-GB W5 (first half division winner)

The Hooks have made the playoffs as the first half winners of the Texas League South Division. They maintain a four-and-a-half game lead over Frisco in the second half with 8 games left to play in the regular season, four of those at Frisco. If Frisco manages to win the second half title, they will be the Hooks opponents for a best-of-five series starting Wednesday, 9/5 in Corpus Christi. If Frisco fails to win the second half (and Corpus Christi clinches both halves of the season), the Hooks will face the San Antonio Missions as the team with the second best record in the South Division in 2018. The Hooks will face the Missions for four of the remaining eight regular season games.

In the North Division, the Arkansas Travelers will face TBD (likely to be the Tulsa Drillers). The Texas League Championship (also a best-of-five) will start 9/11 at the South Division winner.

BUIES CREEK (Carolina League) - ADVANCED TO POSTSEASON

🠉2nd 74-55 .574 4.5GB W1 (overall)
2nd 37-23 .617 1.0GB W1 (second half)
2nd 37-32 .536 3.5GB L1 (first half)

Buies Creek also clinched a playoff berth over the weekend. What remains to be seen is whether the team will enter the playoffs as a wild card or as the second half winner. Trailing the Winston-Salem Dash by only one game in the second half, they will have eight games in which to overtake Winston-Salem for the second half crown in the Southern Division. None of their remaining games are against the Dash.

Under either scenario, the best-of-five playoff games for the Southern Division will start with games one and two played on Buies Creek turf with the remaining three (if all are necessary) being played in Winston-Salem. The Potomac Nationals will face TBD (likely the Lynchburg Hillcats for the Northern Division Title. The two division winners will face off starting 9/11 at the winner of the Southern Division.

QUAD CITIES (Midwest League) - ADVANCED TO PLAYOFFS

🠋2nd 75-58 .564 0.5GB L1 (overall)
3rd 35-28 .556 5.0GB L1 (second half)
1st 40-30 .571 -.-GB W6 (first half division winner)

The River Bandits have made the playoffs as the first half winners of the Midwest League Western Division. They will play Peoria for a best-of-three division quarterfinals series starting 9/5 at Peoria with games 2 and 3 at Quad Cities. The winner of the first half Western Division quarterfinals will face the winner of the second half Western Division quarterfinals (teams TBD) for a best-of-three Division Championship. The same procedures will apply in the Eastern Division. The two Division winners will face off in a best-of-five for the LCS.

Quad Cities has seven games remaining in the regular season, and they will be hosting Peoria for a division quarterfinals preview the final three games of the season.

TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League)
🠉1st 38-29 .567 -.-GB W1

Tri-City is the only Astros minor league team whose postseason fate has yet to be sealed. They are currently four-and-a-half games in front of second place Vermont and five games ahead of third place Lowell (with Connecticut nine games back and on the verge of elimination). With eight games left to play in the regular season, Tri-City will play their last six games against Tri-City (3 games) and Vermont (3 games) on the road.

The postseason format is a best-of-three Semi-Finals and a best-of-three LCS which I will flesh out more in next week's Farm Report.

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

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

NEWS AND LINKS

J.D. Davis earned PCL Player of the Week honors last week (Wonder who it will be this week? See below)

If you haven't been paying attention, the USA Women's team is doing quite nicely in the Women's Baseball World Cup (although I'm not sure anyone can beat the Japanese!).

Jim Bowden ($) gives the Astros farm system a B+ after the trade deadline.

The bad Beer puns continue as Seth makes his way up the MiLB ladder.

Kyle Tucker is kicking butts and taking names. (In his five games since being optioned to AAA, he is hitting .560/.593/1.280/1.873 with six home runs and 13 RBI.

Just love this ode to Extended Spring Training ...

“Extended” Official Video by Jeff Gardner! Must see! @ChrisRose @KMillar15 @IntentionalTalk @milbgrinders @markdero7 @ItsbuccnJoe59 @tonykemp @DimTillard https://t.co/3YsXmz9TiU

— Austin Nicely (@anice1414) August 24, 2018

Quad Cities breaks a minor league record (and they still have a few games to go!)

And in case you missed any of these, here are my interviews from this season:

OF Alex McKenna (Tri-City, since promoted to Quad Cities)
RHP Peter Solomon (Quad Cities, since promoted to Buies Creek)
OF Seth Beer (Quad Cities, since promoted to Buies Creek)
RHP Jairo Solis and C Ruben Castro (Quad Cities)
RHP Corbin Martin (Corpus Christi)
3B Abraham Toro (Corpus Christi)
RHP Trent Thornton (Fresno)
OF Chas McCormick (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
OF J.J. Matijevic (Buies Creek)
RHP Brandon Bielak (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
LHP Brett Adcock (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
SS Alex De Goti (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)
1B Taylor Jones (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)
RHP Brock Dykxhoorn (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)

Astros Farm Report: 8/21

Let's catch up on all the latest happenings in the Astros system...

WISHING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ...

Austin Hansen - July 2018

Photo by Jayne Hansen

8/21: OF Derek Fisher (25)
8/24: RHP Alex House (22)
8/25: RHP Austin Hansen (22)

ROSTER MOVES/TRANSACTIONS

8/21: 2B Jose Altuve (Houston) expected to be activated from the DL
8/21: OF Kyle Tucker optioned to Fresno
8/20: RHP Matt Ruppenthal (Quad Cities) sent on a rehab assignment to Tri-City (expected to be activated from the DL 8/22)
8/19: 2B Jose Altuve (Houston) sent to Fresno on a rehab assignment
8/18: 1B Luis Encarnacion assigned to Tri-City from Corpus Christi
8/18: 3B Randy Cesar activated from the 7-day DL
8/18: RHP Antonio Placencia assigned to the DSL Astros (19-year old Dominican signed 8/17)
8/17: OF Drew Ferguson (Fresno) sent to Tri-City on a rehab assignment
8/17: RHP J.P. France assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8/16: OF Derek Fisher optioned to Fresno
8/16: C Brian McCann (Houston) sent to Fresno on a rehab assignment
8/16: OF Alex McKenna assigned to Quad Cities from Tri-City
8/16: OF Logan Mattix assigned to Tri-City from Quad Cities
8/16: RHP Jose Alberto Rivera assigned to Tri-City from the GCL
8/15: 2B Alfredo Angarita assigned to Quad Cities from Fresno
8/15: RHP Matt Ruppenthal (Quad Cities) sent on a rehab assignment to GCL
8/14: RHP Chris Devenski (Houston) sent to Fresno on a rehab assignment
8/14: RHP Forrest Whitley (Corpus Christi) activated from the DL (had been on DL since 7/11)

ASTROS MILB DISABLED LIST

8/15: C Ruben Castro (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
8/9: RHP Jairo Solis (Quad Cities) placed on the 7-day DL
6/19: OF Drew Ferguson (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL (hand; on rehab assignment)
6/13: RHP Hunter Martin (Tri-City) placed on the 60-day DL
6/1: LHP Yeremi Ceballos (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
6/1: RHP Carlos Quintero (DSL) placed on the 60-day DL
5/4: RHP Francis Martes (Fresno) placed on the 7-day DL; had TJ surgery 8/15
5/3+/-: RHP Gerardo Bojorquez had TJ surgery per Instagram post
4/5: RHP Ryan Thompson assigned to Fresno (starting the season on the 7-day DL); according to Instagram Ryan has had surgery, but I don't know whether or not it was TJ (later confirmed that it was TJ surgery)
4/5: RHP Matt Ruppenthal assigned to Quad Cities (starting the season on the 7-day DL; according to Instagram, Ruppenthal had elbow surgery to transpose the ulnar nerve in early April and started to throw mid-June; now on a rehab assignment)
4/5: RHP Ángel Heredia (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL (Instagram post in early August showed him as having had surgery)
4/5: RHP Nick Hernandez (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL (Tommy John)

ASTROS MILB RESTRICTED LIST

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

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

ASTROS MILB STANDINGS
Up and down arrows represent increase/decrease in win percentage since the prior post. No arrow means that the win percentage remains unchanged.

FRESNO (Pacific Coast League)

🠋1st 72-54 .571 -.-GB L1

The Grizzlies currently lead Reno by seven games in the PCL Pacific Northern division. Fresno has 14 games remaining in the season, none of those against Reno.

CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League)

1st 76-48 .613 -.-GB L2 (overall)
1st 33-22 .600 -.-GB L2 (second half)
1st 43-26 .623 -.-GB W5 (first half division winner)

The Hooks have made the playoffs as the first half winners of the Texas League South Division. They currently have increased their second half lead over Frisco to four and a half games with 14 games left to play in the regular season.

BUIES CREEK (Carolina League)

🠉2nd 70-53 .569 5.0GB L1 (overall)
2nd 33-21 .611 1.5GB L1 (second half)
2nd 37-32 .536 3.5GB L1 (first half)

Buies Creek trails the 1st place Winston-Salem team by one-and-a-half games with 14 games left to play. The Astros will host Winston-Salem for three of those games. Buies Creek is well poised for a playoff berth since the second place team will advance to the playoffs if Winston-Salem, the first half winner, also wins the second half. Considering that the third place team is eight games behind Buies Creek, they should make the playoffs barring a total collapse.

QUAD CITIES (Midwest League)

2nd 72-55 .567 2.0GB W2 (overall)
4th 32-25 .561 3.0GB W2 (second half)
1st 40-30 .571 -.-GB W6 (first half division winner)

The River Bandits have made the playoffs as the first half winners of the Midwest League Western Division. They currently trail Cedar Rapids by three games, Peoria by two games and Beloit by .003 percentage points in the second half with 13 games left to play in the regular season.

TRI-CITY (New York-Penn League)
🠋1st 34-27 .557 -.-GB W1

Tri-City leads Lowell by one-and-a-half games in the New York-Penn League Stedler division with 14 games left to play. The ValleyCats will face Lowell on the road in three of those games.

GCL ASTROS (Gulf Coast League)
🠋2nd 26-26 .500 10.0 L3

The Astros were eliminated from postseason play. They currently have four games remaining in their season.

DSL ASTROS (Dominican Summer League Northwest)
🠋6th 28-38 .424 18.0GB L1

The Astros have been eliminated and have five games remaining.

NEWS AND LINKS

Fresno OF Drew Ferguson revisits his first steps as a pro.

Josh Rojas of the Hooks may not be the fastest baserunner in the Astros system, but he may be the smartest.

J.D. Davis makes his case for getting back to Houston.

A great post on long-time Astros minor league manager Rodney Linares.

And in case you missed any of these, here are my interviews from this season:

OF Alex McKenna (Tri-City, since promoted to Quad Cities)
RHP Peter Solomon (Quad Cities, since promoted to Buies Creek)
OF Seth Beer (Quad Cities, since promoted to Buies Creek)
RHP Jairo Solis and C Ruben Castro (Quad Cities)
RHP Corbin Martin (Corpus Christi)
3B Abraham Toro (Corpus Christi)
RHP Trent Thornton (Fresno)
OF Chas McCormick (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
OF J.J. Matijevic (Buies Creek)
RHP Brandon Bielak (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
LHP Brett Adcock (Buies Creek, since promoted to Corpus Christi)
SS Alex De Goti (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)
1B Taylor Jones (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)
RHP Brock Dykxhoorn (Corpus Christi, since promoted to Fresno)