Astros Farm Report: 4/15

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

TRANSACTIONS/ROSTER MOVES
(I will start up an ongoing transaction post shortly that will focus on comings and goings in the organization throughout the season.)

4-14: RHP Justin Ferrell (Corpus Christi) placed on the 7-day DL
4-14: RHP Brett Daniels assigned to Corpus Christi from Quad Cities
4-14: RHP Jojanse Torres assigned to Quad Cities
4-13: RHP Joey Gonzalez assigned to Fayetteville
4-13: 2B Alfredo Angarita (Fayetteville) placed on the 7-day DL
4-12: LHP Reymin Guduan recalled to Houston from Round Rock
4-12: RHP Brendan Feldmann assigned to Corpus Christi from Fayetteville
4-11: LHP Framber Valdez optioned to Round Rock from Houston
4-11: OF Drew Ferguson (Round Rock) placed on 7-day DL
4-11: RHP Tanner Duncan assigned to Round Rock from Corpus Christi
4-11: RHP Jose Bravo assigned to Corpus Christi
4-11: C Oscar Campos (Quad Cities) placed on 7-day DL
4-11: OF/2B Austin Dennis assigned to Quad Cities
4-8: RHP Hunter Martin assigned to Fayetteville
4-7: RHP Brendan Feldmann assigned to Fayetteville from Corpus Christi
4-7: RHP Edgardo Sandoval voluntarily retired (he pitched on Saturday and then retired on Sunday; I'm not sure what's going on with that!)
4-7: RHP Tanner Duncan assigned to Corpus Christi
4-6: RHP Brendan Feldmann assigned to Corpus Christi

Players who started the 2019 season on the DL
C Ruben Castro
RHP Nick Hernandez
RHP Alex House
OF Alex McKenna
RHP Hansel Paulino
RHP Erasmo Pinales
RHP Abdiel Saldana
RHP Kyle Serrano
RHP Jairo Solis

Restricted List
RHP Francis Martes (80-game suspension)

2019 STANDINGS

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)

🠉 T1st 7-4 .636 -.-GB W1

AA CORPUS CHRISTI (Texas League/South Division)

🠋 4th 4-7 .364 4.5GB W1

ADV A FAYETTEVILLE (Carolina League/Southern Division)

🠉 T1st 7-4 .636 -.-GB W2

LOW A QUAD CITIES (Midwest League/Western Division)

🠉 3rd 6-4 .600 0.5GB L1

WATCH THIS SPACE

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

Scott Schreiber - July 2018

Photo by Jayne Hansen

1B/OF Scott Schreiber
After a disappointing 26th round draft result in 2017 (Rays), Schreiber opted to head back to the University of Nebraska for his senior year and emerged as Baseball America's #8 college senior prospect in the 2018 draft. He was drafted by the Astros in the ninth round in 2018 and signed for a bargain $10,000 bonus. Schreiber was hampered by injuries in his early college career, but appears to have put those issues in the past. After a somewhat slow start to his professional career in 2018, Schreiber has hit the ground running in his first 10 games of the new season, hitting .353/.463/.529/.993 for Quad Cities. In addition to plus raw power, he displays good plate discipline (7 BB:7 K).

FORMER ASTRO UPDATE

R.J. Alaniz - August 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Ruben "R.J." Alaniz signed with the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in August 2009. His high school career was interrupted by injuries and a swine flu outbreak at his school near McAllen, but the hard-throwing righty still impressed enough people that he was given a generous signing bonus and entered the Astros top 30 prospect list in 2011. Unfortunately, Alaniz was never really able to put it all together in his time with the Astros and after missing significant time due to injuries in 2014 and 2015, he became a minor league free agent and was picked up by the Tigers organization. Two years in the Tigers system and another year in the Rays system in 2018 that was punctuated by injuries found Alaniz a minor league free agent once again. The Mariners saw something in the 27-year old MiLB veteran as they not only signed Alaniz, but they added him to their 40-man roster last November. On April 12, 2019, he made his major league debut ... a mere 9 years and 8 months following his signing. It was not a good debut, but you've got to root for a guy that sticks it out that long trying to achieve a dream. Alaniz is the 50th player I have interviewed to make his MLB debut.

RANDOM PHOTO OF THE WEEK

In honor of the Game of Thrones premiere last night, I'm including a photo from a Mediterranean cruise that included Malta, one of many filming locations for GOT over the years.

Valletta, Malta alleyway - 2005

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Happy Birthday - 6/14

Wishing a Happy Birthday to ...

RHP R.J. Alaniz (24)
Alaniz was born June 14, 1991 in McAllen, Texas, and signed with Houston as a non-drafted free agent in August 2009. He was just recently activated from the restricted list and was assigned to the AA Corpus Christi Hooks team.

C Brian Pena (21)
Pena was born June 4, 1994 in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and was signed by Houston in March 2012. He played the 2014 season with the Gulf Coast League Astros and is likely awaiting assignment to a short season club.

Happy Birthdday - 6/14

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP R.J. Alaniz (23)
Alaniz orginally signed with the Astros as a non-drafted free agent out of McAllen, Texas in 2009. In his second season with the Hooks, he only made two appearances in April, pitching five and two thirds innings, before being placed on the DL.

C Brian Pena (20)
A non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic, Pena hit .252/.353/.311 in 31 games for the DSL Astros in 2013. He has not yet played in a game this season.

1B Jesus Guzman (30)
Obtained from San Diego in a December 2013 trade, Guzman was first signed by the Mariners out of Venezuela in 2000. Through his first 46 games for the Astros, he is hitting .200/.288/.286.

Two former Astros mark the day as well ~

RHP Pete Munro (39)
A sixth round pick by the Red Sox in 1993, Munro came to Houston as a free agent in November of 2001. He pitched in 80 games (35 starts) from 2002 through 2004 for the Astros with a 12-16 record, a 4.49 ERA and a 1.481 WHIP.

OF John Weekly (died November 24, 1974 at 37)
Drafted in the Rule 5 draft in 1961 from the Giants, Weekly was with the Colt .45s for three seasons from 1962 to 1964, hitting .207/.293/.364 in 53 games.

Astros Minor League Roster Moves/Transactions

Oklahoma City/Houston
LHP Wade LeBlanc recalled to Houston
OF Marc Krauss optioned from Houston to OKC

Corpus Christi
RHP R.J. Alaniz activated from the DL
OF Domingo Santana placed on the 7-day DL

Tri-City
RHP Edison Frias assigned from Greeneville to Tri-City

Greeneville
RHP Luis Ordosgoitti assigned from GCL to Greeneville
2B Jose Solano assigned from GCL to Greeneville (this is the same guy who got my Player of the Day honor the other day for going five-for-five with four doubles, a home run, five RBI and four runs scored for the GCL)

GCL
OF Hector Roa assigned from DSL to GCL

In addition, it was announced yesterday that the Astros signed two players from the Mexican League, 1B Japhet Amador and OF Leonardo Heras. Amador, a 26-year old, 6'4" 315 pound right-handed hitter, will report to Oklahoma City. Amador is hitting .368/.419/.693 in 104 games in the Mexican League this year, .330/.401/.584 over seven seasons. Amador has hit 22 doubles and 36 home runs this season. Heras is a 23-year old lefty hitting outfielder who has also played in the Mexican League for seven seasons, hitting .318/.381/.481 over that time frame. He has 19 doubles, nine triples and 11 home runs in 91 games this season. He will report to Corpus Christi.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Sunday's Games

Oklahoma City over Albuquerque 5-4
Asher Wojciechowski tossed seven and a third innings to get his eighth AAA win (10th of the season). He allowed three runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out eight. Pat Urckfitz and Jason Stoffel finished off the eighth inning without incident. Jorge de Leon allowed one run in the ninth on his way to converting his third save. OKC didn't score after the fourth and Albuquerque didn't start scoring until the sixth. The first two RedHawks runs came in the second on a two-RBI single from Che-Hsuan Lin. George Springer then led off the fourth with his 16th home run for OKC (35th of the season). Jimmy Paredes also scored in the fourth on a ground out after first driving in a run with a triple.

Corpus Christi over Arkansas 3-1 in 10 innings
Mike Foltynewicz and company pitched a beauty. Folty allowed one run on two hits and struck out four in six innings. R.J. Alaniz (3IP 1H 2BB 1SO) and Jonas Dufek (1IP 1H 1SO) combined with Folty to keep it to only four hits allowed. Arkansas scored their sole run in the first, but the Hooks didn't match that run until the sixth when Kiké Hernandez hit a home run to start the inning. Fast forward to the top of the 10th inning ... with two outs and the bases loaded, Erik Castro (3x5 2RBI) drove in two with a single, setting things up for Dufek to convert his second save since his promotion to AA.

Lancaster over High Desert 9-3
Colton Cain got the start and the win. He gave up three runs in six and a third innings on five hits and three walks, striking out two. The bullpen (in the form of Jordan Jankowski, Kenny Long and Travis Ballew) did a terrific job, allowing only one baserunner the rest of the way (on a Ballew walk). Lancaster took advantage of a couple of throwing errors and a Tyler Heineman triple in the second to score a pair, and scored another two on a Nolan Fontana triple in the fifth. Up 4-3 going in to the bottom of the seventh, the 'Hawks put up a four-spot, again scoring one on an error, one on a Carlos Perdomo sac fly and two on a bases-loaded M.P. Cokinos single. The final run came in the eighth on a Heineman inside-the-park home run, his second (!) of the season. Joe Sclafani was two-for-three with a walk and scored twice.

Quad Cities over Burlington 3-2
Brian Holmes threw the first five and a third for QC and allowed one unearned run on seven hits and three walks while striking out six. Holmes has only allowed one earned run in three appearances since coming back from rehab. Zach Morton then stranded the two runners he inherited and pitched two and two thirds scoreless innings. Juan Minaya gave up the second Burlington run in the ninth and was charged with a blown save, but also got the win as Quad Cities came back in the bottom of the frame to win on a Rio Ruiz walk-off home run. Jobduan Morales also homered in the fourth. Carlos Correa tripled in the game and drove in a run on a ground out.

Staten Island over Tri-City 3-2 in 11 innings
Kevin Comer (3.2IP 3H 2BB 5SO) and Evan Grills (4IP 7H 2R/1ER 1SO) had solid outings and were following by scoreless relief from Richard Rodriguez and Gonzalo Sanudo. Tyler Brunnemann came on in the 11th inning and allowed a one-out walk-off home run and was charged with the loss. Tri-City didn't score until the top of the ninth when a Mike Martinez two-run homer tied things up. The ValleyCats were held to five hits in the game.

Elizabethton over Greeneville 5-2 in 8 innings (called early due to rain)
Edison Frias pitched a strong six innings, allowing only one run on five hits and two walks while striking out four, but Kevin Ferguson got hit hard in the seventh and gave up four runs. Sebastian Kessay pitched to one batter in the eighth before the game was called for rain. Greeneville scored one in the fifth on an Angel Ibanez bases-loaded walk and one in the seventh on a Chase McDonald RBI single. Tanner Mathis was two-for-three with a walk and scored both runs. The GStros were also held to five hits.

Player of the Game: I've got to give Tyler Heineman some extra love today for his second inside-the-park home run of the season to go with his RBI triple. (Did I mention that he's a catcher?) Heineman is en fuego in August, hitting .410/.520/.872 so far this month. Honorable mention goes to Rio Ruiz for his walk-off home run, the first walk-off homer of the season for Quad Cities, and to Erik Castro for making that long bus ride back from Arkansas a whole lot more fun.

Pitchers of the Game: I'm splitting the prize among the Corpus Christi staff today for the four-hitter from Mike Foltynewicz, R.J. Alaniz and Jonas Dufek. Honorable mention goes to the excellent (and drama-free) relief from the Lancaster relief trio of Jankowski, Long and Ballew.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Thursday's Games

Oklahoma City over New Orleans 2-1
Brad Peacock (6IP 3H 1R 1BB 7SO) pitched a beauty of a start for his fourth RedHawks win, with a solo home run the only blemish on his night, and he received three frames of perfect relief from Hector Ambriz, Jose Valdez and Josh Zeid. OKC got just enough offense with one run scoring in the third on a George Springer (2x4 RBI SB) single driving in Robbie Grossman (2x3 BB R SB) and the second and final run coming in as Che-Hsuan Lin singled, took third on an error and scored on a wild pitch.

Springfield over Corpus Christi 2-1
R.J. Alaniz (2H 3BB 4SO) pitched seven shutout innings, only to see his lead evaporate as Pat Urckfitz and Jorge de Leon gave up home runs in the eighth and ninth respectively. The Hooks only managed one run in the fourth as Rene Garcia (2x4 2B RBI) singled in Drew Muren. Erik Castro had the only other extra base hit, a double.

Lancaster over Inland Empire 10-5
Starter Luis Cruz (6H 1R 1BB 5SO) cruised through five and two-thirds innings before allowing his only run of the game. The bullpen, in the form of Cameron Lamb and T.J. Geith, scuffled a bit in the eighth, allowing three runs across in the frame before Travis Ballew came in to put out the fire. Ballew gave up one run of his own in the ninth. The 'Hawks scored early, powered in large part by a three-run home run from Telvin Nash (3x5 BB 4RBI 2R) in the first and played add-on through the game, culminating in a three runs scored with two outs in the ninth as the 'Hawks took advantage of a throwing error and two wild pitches from Inland Empire pitcher Michael Johnson. Delino DeShields was three-for-five and scored two runs. DeShields has been en fuego, hitting .480 over his last six games and stealing seven bases. In addition, he turned an unassisted double play in the ninth inning last night. Similarly, Nolan Fontana appears to be back on top of his game. He went two-for-three with a double, three walks, an RBI and scored two runs. Andrew Aplin and M.P. Cokinos were both one-for-five with a walk, two RBI and a run scored, and Aplin stole a base as well. Chris Epps was two-for-four with a double and a walk.

Kane County over Quad Cities 7-4
Starter Juan Minaya (3IP 4H 3R 4BB 2SO) took the loss, but neither Mitch Lambson (3IP 3H 2R 0BB 2SO) nor Jamaine Cotton (2IP 4H 2R 0BB 2SO HR) had very effective outings either. The Bandits put up one in the second on a Jobduan Morales bases loaded walk and one more in the second as Jesse Wierzbicki (3x4 RBI R SB) singled in Teoscar Hernandez (2x5 2B 2RBI R). The final two runs came in the ninth on a Hernandez two-run double.

Lowell over Tri-City 4-2
I can't give you much of an eyewitness account of this one as travel delays kept me from getting to the game until the bottom of the fifth. Starter Kevin Comer (3.1 6H 3R 2BB 5SO) was long gone by the time I got there, replaced by Charles Basford (1.2IP 2H). I did, however, get to see Evan Grills pitch two and two-thirds innings (3H 1R). The lefty worked quickly and got one ground ball out after another with great defense behind him. Richard Rodriquez pitched a perfect final one and a third. The 'Cats weren't able to string together enough hits to overcome. James Ramsay was two-for-four with a run; Chan Moon was two-for-three with a stolen base; and Ernesto Genoves was one-for-three with an RBI sac fly. I hope to bring Mark Appel and the 'Cats better luck in tonight's game.

Greeneville over Bristol 2-1
Sebastian Kessay (1H 2SO) pitched the first inning for the Astros and was followed by five terrific innings from lefty Christopher Lee (2H 0R 0BB 7SO). Krishawn Holley allowed the only run (unearned) in the seventh. Tyler Brunneman (1IP 1H) and J.D. Osbourne (1IP 2SO) rounded things out. The Astros made the most of only four hits, scoring in the fourth on a Bobby Borchering home run and in the seventh on an RBI single from Darwin Rivera scoring Tanner Mathis. Jack Mayfield was one-for-three with a double and a walk.

GCL Astros over GCL Yankees 3-1 in 9 innings (Completion of 7/3 suspended game)
Joe Bircher got his second rehab start (pitching on 7/3 before the game was suspended), allowing one unearned run on one hit while striking out three in two and a third innings. Ambiorix de Leon (5.2IP 2H 1BB 6SO) picked up when the game resumed and earned his first win of the season. Erick Gonzalez pitched the ninth to earn his second save. The Astros got on board in the first with an RBI double from Tyler White, added one in the third on a Jean Batista (2x4 R) RBI single in his first rehab appearance, and scored the final run in the sixth on a Yonathan Mejia (2x3) RBI single. Jason Martin was one-for-three with a double, walk and run scored.

GCL Astros over GCL Yankees 5-1 in 7 innings
Another strong starting performance as Agapito Barrios went five innings and allowed one run on three hits while striking out eight before giving way to two perfect innings from Troy Scribner who K'd five of the six batters he faced. The Astros scored two in the first on Yonathan Mejia (2x4 2B 2RBI) and Tyler White RBI singles. Mejia drove in another run on a double in the fourth with the other two runs in that frame coming across courtesy of a fielding error and a balk. Jacob Nottingham was one-for-three with a double and a walk.

DSL Mariners at DSL Astros - Suspended after three innings
The game was suspended with the Astros up 4-0.

Player of the Day: Nolan Fontana appears to be back to being Nolan Fontana (which is a very good thing). In addition to an excellent night at the plate on Thursday, he is hitting .333/.490/.487 with six doubles, 10 RBI and 11 walks in his last 10 games.

Pitchers of the Day: I'm going to do something different today because there were so many outstanding pitching outings so I'm going to recognize several pitchers today ~

Brad Peacock - 6IP 3H 1R 1BB 7SO HR (Peacock is 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.113 WHIP in 9 outings for OKC)
R.J. Alaniz - 7IP 2H 0R 3BB 4SO
Luis Cruz - 5.2IP 6H 1R 1BB 5SO (Cruz is 4-1 with a 1.78 ERA and a 0.992 WHIP over his last 9 appearances at Lancaster)
Chris Lee - 5IP 2H 0R 0BB 7SO
Agapito Barrios - 5IP 3H 1R 0BB 8SO
Troy Scribner - 2IP 0H 0R 0BB 5SO
Ambiorix de Leon - 5.2IP 2H 0R 1BB 6SO

These pitchers combined for 36 and a third innings with a 0.74 ERA and a 0.661 WHIP. That was an impressive night of pitching!!!

Astros Minor League Recaps

Wednesday's Games

Oklahoma City - Off Day

Corpus Christi over Springfield 13-1
R.J. Alaniz got his first "post-piggyback" win, pitching six scoreless innings and allowing only five hits and two walks. Kenny Long allowed the sole Springfield run in his two innings of work, and Carlos Quevedo pitched the final frame, allowing only one hit. Every Hooks starter got at least one hit as the team banged out 17 of them in this lopsided victory. Jonathan Meyer (HR 2RBI BB), Zach Johnson, Michael Burgess (2B HR), Jio Mier and Drew Muren had two hits a piece, but it was Max Stassi who went crazy in this one, going four-for-five with a double, two home runs (including a grand slam) and EIGHT RBI. Preston Tucker was one-for-five in his AA debut.

Lancaster over Bakersfield 11-7
Tommy Shirley got the start and pitched four scoreless, allowing only one hit and two walks while striking out five. Cameron Lamb was touched for two runs in the fifth without recording an out before being bailed out with a perfect frame from T.J. Geith. Aaron West gave up five runs, including a three-run home run in the ninth, an inning in which he was unable to record an out. Michael Dimock replaced West in the ninth to end the threat. Lancaster held a thin margin until they broke things open with a five-run eighth, powered in large part by a two-RBI double from Joe Sclafani and a two-RBI single from Tyler Heineman. In addition to the big single from Heineman, he also hit two home runs in the game and drove in a total of five runs. Andrew Aplin was two-for-four with a walk and scored a run; Telvin Nash was two-for-three with a double, a solo home run and three runs scored; and Chris Epps was two-for-four with a home run and two RBI. Epps replaced Tucker in right field and M.P. Cokinos was pressed into service to play left field in the game as Brandon Meredith is still on the DL.

Peoria over Quad Cities 3-1
All good things must come to an end and such is the case with the Quad Cities' six-game win streak. Only one of the three runs allowed by Jordan Jankowski (5IP 3H 2R/1ER 5SO) and Mike Hauschild (2IP 3H 1R/0ER 1BB 3SO) was earned as two of the three Quad Cities' errors took their toll. Gera Sanchez pitched a perfect eighth. The lone River Bandit's run came in the sixth as Jordan Scott scored on a Teoscar Hernandez ground out. The team only managed six singles in the game; no player had more than one.

Tri-City over Lowell 9-4
Randall Fant allowed one run on five hits over four innings and Zach Morton allowed three in his one and a third innings. Although Richard Rodriguez allowed one of Morton's runs to score, he settled in for two and two-thirds scoreless with three strikeouts. Chia-Jen Lo pitched the ninth and has not allowed a run in five outings thus far this season. The two-run home run from Dan Gulbransen (2x4 2B) in the third, the two RBI double from Ronnie Mitchell (2x4) in the fifth, and the three-run bomb from James Ramsay (2x4 BB 3R) in the eighth accounted for most of the offense.

Greeneville over Kingsport 5-3
Christopher Lee gave up all three Kingsport runs in his four and two-thirds innings before giving way to scoreless outings from Krishawn Holley, Tyler Brunneman and Gonzalo Sanudo. Greeneville got on the board in the third on Jack Mayfield's first home run of the season and then tied it up in the bottom of the eighth. An Ariel Ovando two-run walk-off home run in the ninth kept the game from extras. Alfredo Gonzalez went two-for-three with a stolen base, and Juan Santana was one-for-four with an RBI double.

GCL Astros over GCL Yankees 5-4 in 10 innings
Joe Bircher got his first rehab start and allowed two runs on four hits in one and two-thirds innings and was followed by Ambiorix de Leon who allowed another the remaining two runs in his four and a third innings. Raul Rivera and Jose Montero each pitched two scoreless innings and Montero earned his first win of the season. The Astros were behind the entire game until a three-run inning in the eighth tied things up. Javaris Reynolds (1x5 2RBI) drove in the winning run in the 10th with an RBI single. Jason Martin was two-for-five with an RBI; Tyler White was two-for-five with a double; Yonathan Mejia was two-for-five and scored two runs; and Jacob Nottingham was two-for-four with a double, walk, stolen base and two runs scored.

DSL Dodgers over DSL Astros 9-2
Starter Junior Garcia only lasted two and two-thirds innings in which he allowed five runs on six hits. Juan Hernandez (2H 3BB 5SO) fared better in his five and a third innings, but let two more runs across (one earned). The final two runs (both unearned) came in the ninth off Robert Corniel. The lone Astros runs scored in the sixth on a passed ball and a Brauly Mejia (2x3 2B) sac fly. Jean Estrella went three-for-four and scored a run.

Player of the Day: Is there any doubt? Max Stassi was in beast mode last night. A single, a grand slam, a two-run double and a two-run home run ... four hits and eight RBI in the first five innings. Honorable mention goes to Tyler Heineman for his two homer, five RBI night.

Pitcher of the Day: It was R.J. Alaniz' first chance to get stretched out and he did it in style with six scoreless innings.

Happy Birthday - 6/14

RHP R.J. Alaniz (22)
Alaniz orginally signed with the Astros as a non-drafted free agent out of McAllen, Texas in 2009, and is currently in his fourth season with the organization. In 15 games (10 starts) at Corpus Christi thus far this season, he is 2-6 with a 6.22 ERA and a 1.727 WHIP.

RHP Alan Abreu (23)
I knew virtually nothing about Abreu other than he was playing college baseball in Florida as an outfielder when he was signed by the Astros in September 2011 as a NDFA to pitch. I found this terrific article explaining how it all came about. If this works out, it will be an amazing story. In his first season with the 2012 GCL Astros, he was 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.600 WHIP in 14 appearances out of the bullpen.

C Brian Pena (19)
A non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic, Pena is in his second season with the DSL Astros. After hitting .183/.294/.197 in 28 games in 2012, he is hitting .375/.444/.375 thus far in 4 games in 2013.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Pete Munro (38)
A sixth round pick by the Red Sox in 1993, Munro came to Houston as a free agent in November of 2001. He pitched in 80 games (35 starts) from 2002 through 2004 for the Astros with a 12-16 record, a 4.49 ERA and a 1.481 WHIP.

OF John Weekly (died November 24, 1974 at 37)
Drafted in the Rule 5 draft in 1961 from the Giants, Weekly was with the Colt .45s for three seasons from 1962 to 1964, hitting .207/.293/.364 in 53 games.

Lancaster JetHawks Season Recap

This will be the final season recap. We have already looked at the seasons for the DSL Astros, the GCL Astros, the Greeneville Astros, the Lexington Legends, the Oklahoma City Redhawks, the Corpus Christi Hooks, and the Tri-City ValleyCats. Now a look at the California League Champion Lancaster JetHawks. Here's a quick look at how the 2011 and 2012 teams compare.

2011 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 55-85/.393
2012 Wins-Losses/Win Percentage: 74-66/.529

2011 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 749 - 929 = (180)
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential: 843 - 786 = 57

2011 Team ERA & WHIP: 5.96 & 1.569
2012 Team ERA & WHIP: 5.00 & 1.458

2011 Team Batting Line: .280/.352/.420
2012 Team Batting Line: .283/.353/.448

Out of ten teams in the league, the offense ranked highly (second place) in team batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and RBI, was in third place in home runs and was in the top half in stolen bases, triples and walks. However, they also struck out more than any other team in the league.

The pitching didn't rank as highly as the offense with the team ERA at ninth out of ten, but the team WHIP was fifth. They ranked dead last in strikeouts, but only two teams issued fewer free passes than the JetHawks staff. They were third in saves in the league.

This was a fun team to follow this year. They started out losing their first four games and 12 out of their first 17, but they never said die. They just kept coming back. They got hot (really hot) at the right time to earn a wild card playoff spot which they parlayed into the California League Championship crown.

In a park known as a hitter's park, there were certainly many great offensive performances, but the triumverate of George Springer, Domingo Santana and Erik Castro were particularly good and ranked highly in the league in numerous categories. Unfortunately, one of the categories that they ranked highly in was strikeouts as these three plus teammate Telvin Nash constituted four of the top ten strikeout artists in the league. But let's not dwell on the bad. Let's look at the good!

OF George Springer ranked sixth in the league in batting average and fifth in the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage before his promotion to Corpus Christi in August. And despite having been gone from the league for almost a month, he still ranked second in runs scored, third in triples, eighth in stolen bases, tenth in home runs and in the top 20 in hits, RBI and walks. He hit .316/.398/.557 in 106 games for Lancaster. He finished the season with a total of 21 doubles, 10 triples, 24 home runs, 87 RBI and 32 stolen bases.

RF Domingo Santana was in the top ten in the league in on-base percentage, slugging, runs scored, home runs and RBI, and in the top 20 in batting average, hits, doubles and walks. He hit .302/.385/.536 with 26 doubles, six triples, 23 home runs and 97 RBI. In the post-season, he hit .273 with six RBI.

1B Erik Castro was second in the league with 108 RBI (which tied him for first in the organization with Lexington's Zach Johnson), third in home runs and walks, tenth in slugging percentage and runs scored, and in the top 20 in on-base percentage, hits and doubles. He ended the season with a .285/.382/.511 batting line, 27 doubles, one triple and 27 home runs. He hit .306 in the post-season with five doubles and eight RBI.

2B Delino DeShields only spent 24 games with Lancaster after hitting .298/.401/.439 for Lexington. He ended the season hitting .287/.389/.428 with 24 doubles, eight triples, 12 home runs, 113 runs scored and 101 stolen bases. He hit .318 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI and four stolen bases in the post-season and was named team MVP for the California League Finals.

Despite spending roughly a month in Corpus Christi after his promotion, the 21-year old 2B Kike Hernandez  still ranked in the top 10 in the league in triples and in the top 20 in the league in doubles. He hit .275/.318/.418 for Lancaster and ended the season with 27 doubles, seven triples and six home runs.

There were other performances of note as well. LF/DH Telvin Nash ranked second in the league in home runs with 29 and in the top 20 in slugging percentage and RBI. 3B Jonathan Meyer was in the top 20 in hits during the regular season and was an absolute beast in the post-season, hitting .343 with three doubles, two home runs, ten RBI and a stolen base. OF Chris Epps shone in limited playing time (46 games) with Lancaster and put up a .589 slugging percentage. He was another post-season star as he hit .353 with three doubles, one triple, one home run, four RBI and a stolen base. OF Grant Hogue couldn't stay off the DL, but in 43 games he stole 27 bases (just one fewer than George Springer had in 106 games for Lancaster) and hit .361/.421/.458. And 1B Rafy Valenzuela was one of those players who picked the right time to get hot. He finished the season with a respectable .284/.349/.429, but hit a jaw-dropping .429/.432/.771 in his last 10 games. He went on to hit .412 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI in the post-season. Another contributor to the JetHawks was OF Drew Muren. Muren spent 48 games with Lexington, 33 games with Corpus Christi and 21 games in Lancaster hitting a combined .291/.341/.409.

There were notable season performances from the pitching staff as well.

In particular, RHP David Martinez had a solid season finishing 11th in the league among qualifying pitchers with a 4.38 ERA and eighth in the league with a 1.335 WHIP in 27 games (26 starts). But it was the way that he finished the season that should open some eyes. In his last 10 appearances, he was 7-1 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.293 WHIP. He went on to a 2-0 record in the post-season with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.250 WHIP.

RHP Bobby Doran started out the season pitching extremely well at Lancaster meriting a promotion to Corpus Christi. Doran finished the season with a combined 14-6 record, 4.00 ERA and a 1.284 WHIP. Similarly, RHP Nick Tropeano excelled at Lexington, leading to his promotion to Lancaster. Tropeano put up a very good 6-3 record with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.316 WHIP at Lancaster with an overall record of 12-7, 3.02 ERA, 1.241 WHIP and an organization-leading 166 strikeouts. The combination of Bobby Doran early in the season and Nick Tropeano late in the season allowed the JetHawks to stay in the wild card race. Tropeano put up a 3.00 ERA and a 1.250 WHIP in two post-season appearances.

RHP Tyson Perez (5.03 ERA and 1.508 WHIP) tied Martinez for team lead in wins with nine in his second year in the Astros organization after pitching in the Greeneville rookie league in 2011. In the post-season, Perez was 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.154 WHIP.

RHP R.J. Alaniz (5.07 ERA and 1.390 WHIP) was one of the more productive members of the staff with a 6-2 record before being shut down for the season due to shoulder issues in July.

Out of the bullpen, RHP Andrew Robinson struggled early in the season, but from May through August he was one of Lancaster's most dependable pitchers as he put up a 2.77 ERA and a 1.173 WHIP in 37 appearances.

RHP Carlos Quevedo was a much needed middle relief addition when he came from Lexington in July. In 15 appearances for Lancaster, he put up a 2.04 ERA and a 1.064 WHIP and finished the season with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.085 WHIP.

RHP Chia-Jen Lo had a 1.42 ERA and a 0.985 WHIP in 11 appearances for Lancaster. LHP Pat Urckfitz was a fixture out of the bullpen, making 45 appearances with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.357 WHIP. Urckfitz, Robinson and RHP Jorge de Leon combined for a 0.00 ERA in their post-season appearances.

And last, but certainly not least, was the late addition of LHP Kenny Long who put up a 1.13 ERA and a 0.625 WHIP in 12 appearances for Lancaster and who, incidentally, recorded the final out to give Lancaster the California League Championship.

This was a team that had a lot of solid pieces from top to bottom. They worked well together and I witnessed first-hand how tight-knit and supportive of each other they were. If only one team could win an LCS this year, I'm glad it was them. Cheers on a storybook season with a fairytale ending! I can't wait to read the next chapter.

An Interview with Lancaster RHP R.J. Alaniz

One thing I have learned in the past year is that it takes more than talent to turn a prospect into a major leaguer. Consistency is also a key, but one thing may be even more important than consistency, particularly when you look at pitching prospects, and that one thing is confidence.

R.J. Alaniz is a very confident young man. He shows confidence through his style of pitching and exudes confidence in his ability to move through the Astros system quickly. When I interviewed him recently, I was impressed by his grasp of what he needed to do as a starting pitcher and how completely he had embraced that role, particularly considering he only recently turned 21.

Before I met R.J., I talked with Pitching Coach Don Alexander who described him thusly, “He’s got the make-up. He’s got the competitiveness. His stuff is very lively. He’s got plus command of his fastball, changes speed real well. His breaking stuff has sharpened up a lot. He’s got the physical skills, but he’s [also] got those intangibles that we like. He’s got all the tools that he needs to be pretty successful.”

And first round draft pick George Springer cited Alaniz as one of the pitchers in the Astros system that he would least like to face, “For someone like him who throws as hard as he does and for the ball to move that much, that’s why he’s so effective. Then on top of it, he can control his other pitches.”

R.J. is currently on the DL for the Hi-A Lancaster team, his second such stint of the season. After a heavy load in the first half in which he frequently pitched deep into games, he suffered some shoulder fatigue and was shut down. However, I was told that he is expected to pitch again prior to the end of the season.

On to the interview ~

On his pitch repertoire: “[My] velocity right now, it’s been anywhere between 90, 93, 94 but I’ve gotten up to 97. That was last year. This year it’s been down a little bit because of arm issues, but I throw a fastball, split change, a slider and a sinker. That’s pretty much my four pitches.”

On what sets him apart: “I throw strikes. I think of myself not as a wild pitcher, more as a control pitcher. I get outs quick. I don’t strike out a lot of people even though I do throw hard. I try to get an out within three pitches. ‘Here you go, hit it.’ You keep the ball down, get a ground ball, that’s pretty much all you need, go deep in a game.”

On what he’s accomplished this year: “Hitting more of the inside corners, throwing more inside to hitters. That’s what you’ve got to do in his league because if not, you’re going to get hit. You get the ball up in the air here, it’s gone. This league pretty much shows you how to pitch and makes you learn how to pitch. You’ve got to keep the ball low and throw inside and it really makes you a complete pitcher. That’s the most progress I’ve made here, just throwing 6, 7, 8 innings or 9 if I can. That’s pretty much the main thing, throwing the ball inside.”

On what he’s working on: “I still need to work on some mechanical issues. I still need to get more consistent. I’ll have two or three good games and then go out there and have a bad game. I need to get more consistent. This year’s been a little bit tough on me because of my arm. [I need to] come back healthy next year. That’s the main thing. Just stay consistent with my stuff and my mechanics.”

On being on the DL: “I threw like 90 innings first half, pretty much led the minor leagues in innings. That’s good. I felt good because I was going deep – 7, 8 innings every time I pitched so that felt great, but then I had the arm issue. It’s terrible now. I want to pitch but I can’t.”

On which Astros pitcher’s pitch he would like to steal: “I’d have to go with [Andrew] Robinson’s curveball – big curveball and a hard curveball. If I had that pitch in my weapons, I’d be pretty good. Throwing that curveball – it’s like coming down from the sky. Pretty huge and hard so it’s pretty much unhittable if you throw it right.”

On what he’d do if he couldn’t play baseball: “I’d be a border patrol. Hopefully I’ll make it [in baseball] and I’m sure I will. I’m positive of myself but if something goes wrong or whatever, that’s my back-up plan.”

On something people may not know about him: “People [may see] I’ve got a lot of tattoos, and they may think I’m mean but I’m a nice guy. I don’t get into trouble. I’m pretty much a nice guy to be around. I get along with everybody – Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Americans.” [Note: Alaniz grew up along the border in Texas and speaks English and Spanish fluently.]

On the changes in the Astros farm system: “They’re making a lot of moves since Luhnow came in. We’ve gotten I don’t know how many pitchers. I’m guessing it’s good. For me it’s good, for older guys I don’t think it’s good. But for me, since I’m young, I’m still good. I think there’s going to be a lot of improvements in the next two to three years with the Astros. I think he’s doing a good job. I talked to Luhnow in Spring Training once. He’s a pretty cool guy. Not many General Managers come in and talk to you. He came down here and started talking Spanish to the Latin guys. Wow!”

R.J. left me with these words, “Hopefully I’ll get healthy and I’ll be in the big leagues in two years.” Now that’s confidence. And he has the talent to back it up.

Roster Moves

Oklahoma City
RHP Enerio del Rosario was assigned from Houston to Oklahoma City to make room for new signing RHP Chuckie Fick.

Corpus Christi
According to Greg Rajan, C Ryan McCurdy is being assigned from Lexington to Corpus Christi. Expect to see Rene Garcia placed on the DL after an apparent knee injury during Friday's game.

Lancaster
RHP R.J. Alaniz was placed on the 7-day DL (yes, he was just recently activated from the DL).
CF Grant Hogue was placed on the 7-day DL.
1B Rafy Valenzuela was activated from the temporary inactive list.
RHP Jason Chowning was released.
OF Telvin Nash was placed on the 7-day DL.
According to Greg Rajan, OF Drew Muren is being assigned from Corpus Christi to Lancaster.

GCL
RHP Krishawn Holley was assigned to the GCL.

DSL
RHP Francisco Baso was assigned to the DSL.