Beyond The Astros Top 30: Right-Handed Relievers

As the old year fades away and the new season approaches, it's time to start looking at those players of interest who are beyond the Astros Top 30 (or 32 ... see below). These players may not ever make a Top 30 list (or they may), but a combination of projections, actual results, incremental improvements and intangibles keep them in the mix as interesting players to watch. I am not including any players in these posts who have already made their major league debuts since, presumably, anyone reading my blog is already very familiar with those players.

Now that all of the major players (Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline and Baseball America) have weighed in with their Astros Top Prospect Lists, I've integrated all of the rankings into one consensus top prospect ranking that includes 32 Astros players (16 were ranked on all four lists, nine were on three of four and the final seven were on two of four). I highly recommend checking out the included links for all of the great information provided.

[UPDATES TO FINAL 2018 PRE-SEASON RANKINGS SHOWN IN RED.

BA= BASEBALL AMERICA, BP = BASEBALL PROSPECTUS,

FG=FANGRAPHS, MLB = MLB PIPELINE]

Note: Although I included all of the left-handed pitchers in my previous post, I will be dividing the right-handers into relievers and starters due to the sheer number of pitchers I will be covering. Those listed as relievers are either currently being used in relief or appear to be headed in that direction.

RIGHT-HANDED RELIEVERS IN THE TOP 30 (in alphabetical order)

Riley Ferrell - November 2017

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Dean Deetz - MLB #18, FG #21, BA #22
Deetz is new to this list, having only converted full time to the bullpen late in the 2017 season at AAA Fresno (1.56 ERA and 1.212 WHIP in nine appearances), but the move was not unexpected since he will be able to focus on his plus fastball/slider combo and relegate his less than effective changeup to the dustbin. Deetz continued working in relief in the Arizona Fall League to help acclimate him to the role, but an 80-game suspension which came down in January will delay any further development as a reliever until late in the season. Although Deetz's pitches play up in relief, particularly due to a bump in velocity directly resulting from the shorter stints (fastball sits mid 90's and can touch 97 or 98 in relief), his walk rate tends to spike with the higher velo as well as his ability to locate takes a hit. Although it was a small sample size, Deetz did appear to get the walks under control in the AFL as he allowed only four walks to 23 strikeouts in 11 innings of work. Perhaps he found his sweet spot between velocity and command. Unfortunately, we will have to wait and see. Deetz was drafted by the Astros in the 11th round in 2014 out of Northeast Oklahoma A&M and turned 24 in November. He was ranked #18 by MLB Pipeline, #21 by FanGraphs and #22 by Baseball America going into the 2018 season.

Riley Ferrell - FG #17, MLB #20, BA #27
Ferrell was ranked #20 in the Astros system by Baseball America going in to 2016, but fell off the list in 2017 as a May 2016 surgical repair to an aneurysm in his throwing shoulder severely limited his playing time. After making 38 appearances in 2017, all but two with the AA Corpus Christi team, Ferrell hit the rankings again -- #17 by FanGraphs, #20 by MLB Pipeline and #27 by Baseball America. Ferrell uses a mid-90's fastball that touches 98 to set up a plus slider that is virtually unhittable when his command is on. Ferrell compiled a 3.67 ERA and a 1.204 WHIP in 2017, walking 14 and striking out 60 in 54 innings but improved to a 2.45 ERA and 0.775 WHIP from July forward. He ended the season with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.243 WHIP, allowing only a 0.75 batting average in his final nine appearances. His Arizona Fall League season was more of a mixed bag. His critics want to see better control/command from him, but I think he made really good strides in that area in 2017. With a little more consistency, he should be headed to Houston by season's end. Ferrell was drafted in the third round in 2015 out of Texas Christian University and he turned 24 in October.

RIGHT-HANDED RELIEVERS BEYOND THE TOP 30 (in alphabetical order)

Erasmo Pinales - July 2016

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Jesús Balaguer

Signed in April 2017, Balaguer is one of a growing contingent of Cuban players in the Astros system. Reported to have a 95-mph fastball at the time of his signing, I know virtually nothing else about Balaguer except that his results in his first season in the States were enough to pique my interest. He breezed through three games with rookie level Greeneville and five games with short season A Tri-City before he was finally challenged in his 10 appearances at Low A Quad Cities. For the season, he compiled a 2.73 ERA and a 1.061 WHIP, walking 15 and striking out 53(!) in 33 innings. Batters hit .175/.271/.263 against him; he converted four of his five save opportunities; he stranded 13 of 14 inherited runners; and he provided five innings of scoreless relief in three appearances in the postseason. Balaguer will be 25 in August so expect to see the Astros continue to push him through the system quickly.

Key: Balaguer will need to show that he can compete against more and more experienced hitters as he moves up through the system.

Jacob Dorris

Dorris has a fantastic back story and knows that, as a non-drafted free agent, he's playing with "house money" so he may as well enjoy himself. That attitude shows both on and off the field as the unorthodox sidearmer has bucked the odds so far to make it to AAA Fresno in his third pro season in 2017. Dorris started the season with 23 appearances at AA Corpus Christi before an early July promotion to Fresno, compiling a 4-2 record with three saves, a 3.00 ERA, a 1.222 WHIP in a total of 43 outings. He walked 28 while striking out 75 in 72 innings. And his numbers actually improved at the higher level (1.87 ERA, 1.040 WHIP and .185 BA).

Key: Historically, Dorris has struggled against lefty hitters and 2017 was no exception; southpaws hit .300/.398/.470 against him. He will need to figure out how to keep those pesky lefties in check in order to keep his forward momentum going.

Brock Dykxhoorn

Although used as a starter throughout the first four seasons of his pro career, Dykxhoorn was moved to the bullpen at the end of the 2017 season. That may have been a temporary move to facilitate the addition of high profile pitchers Forrest Whitley and Cionel Perez, but a permanent move to relief may turn out to be a good move for Dykxhoorn who has routinely put up better numbers in relief (through the back end of a tandem rotation or otherwise). For the season (all games with AA Corpus Christi), Dykxhoorn had a 5.45 ERA and a 1.579 WHIP in 76 innings as a starter (33 walks to 60 strikeouts) and a 1.93 ERA and a 1.243 WHIP in 23.1 innings of relief (7 walks to 24 strikeouts). That leads me to think that he lacks a consistent third pitch and his stuff may be a better fit for the 'pen. Dykxhoorn, who will be 24 in July, was drafted in the sixth round in 2014 out of Central Arizona College.

Key: If Dykxhoorn goes back to the rotation, he will have to find more consistency because when he gets hit, he has a tendency to get hit hard.

Justin Ferrell

In each of the last two seasons, Ferrell started out in the rotation, but ended up relegated primarily to the bullpen later in the season where his stuff played up. In 31.1 innings as a starter in 2017, he had a 7.18 ERA, a 1.619 WHIP and 12 walks to 25 strikeouts. In 51 innings out of the bullpen, he had a 2.47 ERA, a 1.176 WHIP and 17 walks to 64 strikeouts. 2018 will be the fifth season for the 2014 36th rounder out of Connors State College (OK) and he needs to be challenged to AA. Put him in the Hooks bullpen and give him a chance to sink or swim by the Bay. Ferrell will be 24 next month.

Key: Leave him in the bullpen and challenge him to the higher levels!

Nick Hernandez - FG #28+

Hernandez's second season began with an excellent 24 appearances with High A Buies Creek in which he compiled a 1.59 ERA and a 0.853 WHIP in 34 innings (11 walks to 48 strikeouts). His numbers after his early July promotion to AA Corpus Christi weren't quite as flashy (thanks in part to one particularly brutal outing); in 24.2 innings, Hernandez had a 5.84 ERA and a 1.297 WHIP (15 walks to 22 strikeouts). And although his walk rate and home run rate were elevated (he allowed four home runs in the aforementioned brutal outing) at the higher level, he was still the go-to guy in high leverage situations, stranding inherited bases loaded situations on four separate occasions out of his 11 appearances. Hernandez was drafted in the 8th round in 2016 out of the University of Houston; he turned 23 in December.

Key: Other than keeping those walks in check, I think Nick just needs to keep being Nick! It's worked well so far for him.

Kevin Hill

Hill spent the majority of his season with Low A Quad Cities and High A Buies Creek with a short but successful fill-in stint at AA Corpus Christi thrown in. For the season, he had a 1.95 ERA and a 0.990 WHIP in 64.2 innings (26 appearances), walking 21 and striking out 68. If that wasn't good enough for you, from June 18th forward, he held batters to a .149 batting average with a 0.70 ERA and a 0.780 WHIP. With numbers like that, Hill isn't getting the notice that he deserves! Hill was drafted in the 25th round in 2016 out of the University of South Alabama where he had a reputation for great command and pitch sequencing. He will be 26 in August.

Key: Hill needs to be challenged. He should start the season in AA, but if he is able to come even close to his 2017 results, he should get kicked up to AAA sooner rather than later.

Brendan McCurry

McCurry's 2017 season was more than a bit uneven, starting rough and ending rough but peaking with an excellent July (0.00 ERA and 0.913 WHIP in 11 games, 15.1 innings). Overall, he was 4-2 with six saves, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.410 WHIP, walking 12 and striking out 52 in 44.2 innings (35 appearances) for AAA Fresno. Known for using varying arm angles for deception, McCurry wasn't able to fool quite as many hitters in 2017 as his hit rate per nine innings spiked to an unsustainable 10.3. McCurry was originally drafted by Oakland in the 22nd round in 2014 and came to Houston in the November 2015 Jed Lowrie trade. He turned 26 in January.

Key: Consistency (and missing a few more bats)! McCurry has been incredibly dominant at times, but he hasn't been able to sustain that yet at the AAA level. He's had an excellent Spring Training and I hope to see him carry that over into the regular season.

Erasmo Pinales

I have been a fan of Pinales since I saw him in Tri-City in 2016. He can throw so many different pitches at widely varying speeds, can crank up the velo when needed, generates a lot of ground ball outs and swing-and-miss, and is almost as effective against lefties as right-handers. His 3.69 ERA (21 games with Low A Quad Cities and 12 games with High A Buies Creek) is inflated by a couple of bad outings. He only allowed multiple runs in five of his 33 appearances. He had a 1.131 WHIP and allowed a .198 batting average in 61 innings, walking 26 and striking out 63. He can give you multiple innings, close (six saves in 2017) and should be able to make a spot start since he was used as a starter prior to 2017. I really like his versatility. Pinales was signed in May of 2013 and will be going in to his sixth season, having turned 23 in November.

Keys: Now that Pinales has been moved to the bullpen, he should be able to move more quickly (and needs to). He was able to lower his walk rate in the second half of the season last year; I would like to see him maintain that.

Andrew Thome

Thome started the 2017 season with four appearances in High A Buies Creek and then spent the remainder of the season shuttling back and forth between AA Corpus Christi (28 games) and AAA Fresno (8 games). Thome performed well with Corpus Christi, going 4-4 with seven saves, a 2.85 ERA and a 1.195 WHIP (13BB:33SO in 41IP) and less well at Fresno, thanks in large part to one dreadful outing (in an overall dreadful 22-1 loss) in which he allowed five earned runs in one inning of work. Thome isn't a flamethrower, but has good sink on his fastball and induces a ton of ground balls. Thome was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2015 and turned 25 in January.

Keys: Hit the ground running to show that he can compete against AAA hitters. His hit rate in Fresno last season, although a limited sample size, was far too high. As a NDFA, he almost needs to outperform draft picks; missing more bats is vital.

Ryan Thompson

Thompson had a very similar season to Thome's, shuttling back and forth between AA Corpus Christi (31 games) and AAA Fresno (6 games) with similar results. Thompson was 2-3 with six saves, a 2.59 ERA, a 1.186 WHIP and 11 walks to 59 strikeouts in 59 innings at the lower level. And like Thome, one disastrous outing at the higher level (seven runs in one inning) really blew up his numbers. Also like Thome, Thompson needs to miss a few more bats. But one thing that really sets Thompson apart is his ability to strand inherited runners. He kept 26 of his 31 inherited runners from scoring. Thompson also gets his share of groundball outs, but his side arm delivery generates a nice amount of swing-and-miss through its deception. Thompson was drafted by the Astros in the 23rd round in 2014 out of Campbell University (NC) and will be 26 in June.

Keys: Miss more bats, improve his splits against lefties and prove he can compete in AAA. He was Mr. Consistent at AA; he needs to replicate that at AAA.

Others to Watch (in alphabetical order):

José Betances
Although Betances didn't make a good first impression in 2017 (eight walks and one strikeout in 2.2 innings), the sample size is just too tiny to make too much out of it, especially considering the young Dominican just turned 18 in October. When signed for around $280,000 last July, Oz Ocampo of the Astros described Betances as having a low to mid-90's swing-and-miss fastball and a hard slider, both of which project as plus pitches.

Robert Corniel
At first blush, Corniel's 2017 numbers may not seem very impressive (4.15 ERA and 1.471 WHIP in 18 bullpen appearances, 34.2 innings), but considering that he made all but three of those appearances in Low A Quad Cities after spending 2016 in the Dominican Summer League, that he had a 1.35 ERA and 0.975 WHIP (.146 BA) in his final eight games, and that he converted two saves in his four postseason appearances while allowing zero runs, he suddenly becomes more interesting. Corniel, who will be 23 in June, was originally signed in July 2012 and missed the 2014 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Luís de Paula
Signed in November 2016, de Paula got off to a good start in his first pro season in the Dominican Summer League, collecting four saves with a 1.38 ERA and 1.038 WHIP in 19 appearances (26 innings). However, he struggled at times with walks and he was 21 in November which means that he'll need to be moved more aggressively.

Brendan Feldmann
Feldmann, a non-drafted free agent out of Lindenwood University in Missouri, was kept in the rookie level Gulf Coast League despite allowing his only earned run of the season in his first of 12 appearances. He only pitched 16.2 innings, but that may very well have been by design to limit his workload as he pitched 121 innings, including four complete games, in his final year with Linwood. In any event, his 2-1 record with two saves, a 0.54 ERA, a 0.600 WHIP (one walk to 21 strikeouts) and the fact that he stranded 10 of 13 inherited runners is enough for me to say, "Watch this space!," regardless of where he pitches in 2018 and in what role. Feldmann will be 24 in April.

Ángel Heredia
It is not an exaggeration to say that 2018 is a make or break year for Heredia as it will be his seventh season in the Astros organization. Heredia was out from late May of 2016 to mid-August 2017 and, although I don't recall ever hearing that he had Tommy John surgery, the timeline would fit. He only appeared in seven rehab appearances at the end of the season between the Gulf Coast League and Tri-City. A small-sized pitcher, Heredia has shown some promise in the past, but he will have to hit the ground running this season to maintain his roster spot in AA Corpus Christi. He will be 26 in July.

Hunter Martin

Martin, drafted in the 20th round in 2017 out of the University of Nashville, did make three starts in his 12 appearances so a relief role is still a maybe, but he did fare somewhat better in relief. His 3.86 ERA and 1.439 WHIP are somewhat inflated by one bad outing, the final of his season. When signed, he was said to have a high 80's to low 90's fastball, a changeup that projects as above average and the ability to spot the ball to both sides of the plate. Martin was a short season A Tri-City All-Star in his first season and I'll be interested to see what he does in his sophomore season. Martin turned 23 in December.

Colin McKee

McKee has one of the lower hit rates and one of the higher walk rates in the system. If he can rein in the walks, he could be interesting to watch. Drafted in the 18th round in 2016 out of Mercyhurst College (PA), McKee has a good pitcher's build and features a low 90's fastball and a plus slider. In 41 innings (17 appearances) in 2017 for short season A Tri-City, he had a 3.51 ERA and a 1.268 WHIP, walking 33 and striking out 53. Batters hit .137/.303/.194 against him; I will be keeping my eye on that middle number in 2018. McKee will be 24 in June.

Matt Ramsey

Ramsey was signed by the Astros as a minor league free agent in December 2017 (after spending time in the Rays, Marlins and Brewers organizations). He spent most of his 2017 season with the AA Biloxi team as a 27-year old (he turned 28 in September), going 3-3 with 27 saves, a 3.65 ERA and a 1.353 WHIP, walking 18 and striking out 58 in 44.1 innings. It's hard for me to get too excited about someone his age who has only pitched in five games at AAA and who has been less than stellar in Astros Spring Training games, but since he was ranked highly in the Marlins organization going into 2015 before getting derailed by back issues, I will give him the benefit of a doubt.

Carlos Sierra

Sierra had a successful season in 2017, compiling a 3-2 record with two saves, a 2.83 ERA and a 1.099 WHIP in 29 appearances between Low A Quad Cities (4 games) and High A Buies Creek (25 games). He walked 24 while striking out 60 in 57.1 innings of work and held batters to a .186/.273/.290 line. HOWEVER, he allowed 17 of 24 inherited runners to score. Sierra may have had a great season, but he needs to get better at putting out fires. The Cuban-born right-hander will be 24 in October.

Peter Solomon - FG #28+

Solomon may get an audition as a starter in the Astros organization, but since he primarily pitched in relief for Notre Dame in his final season before getting drafted in the fourth round, I'm including him with the relief corps. And since he only pitched one inning in his first pro season, there's no way to really know. Solomon is said to have a low to mid-90's fastball, a fringy slider and a curveball that flashes plus. However, there are a whole lot of buts in the scouting reports. He's had shoulder issues, control problems, needs to add bulk to his projectible frame and struggled in a starting role with Notre Dame. I will be keeping an eye on him, but it appears that he has a few hurdles to overcome when he gets down to work in 2018. He will be 22 in August.

Previous Posts:

Shortstops
Second Base
First Base

Third Base
Center Field
Right Field

Left Field
Catchers

Utility Players

Lefty Pitchers

Astros Minor League Depth - Lefty Relief Pitchers, Part 2

In our ongoing look at the Astros minor league depth, earlier this week we covered those lefty relievers who finished the season at Advanced A or above. Today, we'll find out more about those lefty relievers who finished their seasons at Low A or on one of the short season teams. One exception to this is Reymin Guduan who made a spot appearance with Oklahoma City to end the season, but spent all but one of his regular season games with the Gulf Coast Astros team. The players are sorted low to high by WHIP.

Although three DSL players top this list, we're going to start at the other end of the spectrum ... with the Quad Cities team. Mitch Lambson, drafted by Houston in the 19th round in 2011, has been largely consistent in his three professional seasons. A couple of tough outings in May and June inflated his numbers somewhat. Lambson got stronger as the season progressed, culminating in a 0.82 ERA and 0.773 WHIP in his final 10 games. In four post-season games, he posted a 0.00 ERA and a 0.632 WHIP, striking out nine and walking one in six and a third innings. Lambson was often used in long relief, particularly later in the season. He has historically had better splits against right-handed hitters than against lefties and this year was no exception as southpaws hit .310 off Lambson.

Mitch Lambson - April 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Drafted by Houston in the 36th round in 2013, J.D. Osborne started the season with Greeneville (8 games) before being promoted first to Tri-City (12 games) and then on to Quad Cities for his final appearance of the regular season. He went on to make three post-season appearances with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.090 WHIP. A groundball pitcher, Osborne held opposing hitters to a .213 average (.212 vs. righties and .217 vs. lefties) and struck out 13.2 of them per nine innings. However, he also walked 5.3 batters per nine. He collected eight saves for the season.

Albert Minnis had a very nice first professional season after being drafted by the Astros in the 25th round in 2013. He spent his entire season in Tri-City before being shut down early. Minnis has the most extreme groundball numbers of this group with a 4.17 ground out/air out ratio. Because he was shut down early, it is a small sample size, but his splits against righties and lefties are virtually the same.

Albert Minnis - July 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Kevin Ferguson, a non-drafted free agent out of Northwestern University, had a much better time of it in his first nine games with the Gulf Coast League (0.82 ERA and 0.818 WHIP) than he did in his final six with Greeneville (12.54 ERA and a 2.143 WHIP). Lefties only hit .179 off of him. Sebastian Kessay missed a good chunk of the short season due to what I presume was an injury and worked exclusively out of the Greeneville bullpen after he returned to the line-up. He will likely get back in a starting rotation in the coming season since he struggled in a relief role. The 22nd round 2013 draft pick had a very hard time against lefties in 2013 as they hit a whopping .462 against him.

As noted above, Reymin Guduan pitched all but his final game with the GCL. The Dominican lefty has played four professional seasons and will turn 22 next week. He is reported to crank it up to 100 on occasion, but is also reported to have some control issues. Lefties only hit .185 against him. He struck out 12.5 batters per nine innings in 2013, but also walked 5.1 per nine.

Three youngsters from the Dominican Summer League lead this list in terms of WHIP and batting average allowed. One, Yhoan Acosta from the Dominican Republic, only pitched 5.1 innings so it's hard to get too excited about him yet, but Panamanian Cristhopher Santamaria and Dominican-born Junior Garcia definitely bear watching. Santamaria doesn't turn 18 until June. Garcia held lefties to a .115 batting average while Santamaria's lefty/righty split was more even.

And this brings me to Blaine Sims, picked up from Atlanta in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft in December. Sims just turned 25 and hasn't progressed beyond Advanced A, but don't pay any attention to that because he's a knuckleballer in training and all rules go out the window.

Astros Minor League Depth - Lefty Relievers, Part 1

[4/13/14 UPDATE: Eric Berger, Kenny Long and Blair Walters are no longer in the organization.]

In an ongoing series on the Astros minor league depth, this week we're going to take a look at the lefty relief corps. Today, we'll cover those lefty relievers who finished their seasons at Advanced A or higher. Their 2013 stats are ranked low to high in terms of WHIP.

Eric Berger had one of the more consistent seasons of this group culminating in an excellent August in which he had a 1.59 ERA and a 0.838 WHIP. Hitters managed only a .122 batting average off of him. He went on to have an excellent winter campaign in Venezuela in which he accumulated a 4-4 record, 3.04 ERA and a 1.278 WHIP in 10 starts. Berger has shown relatively even splits between left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters so I'm not seeing him as a lefty specialist. Berger is a six-year minor leaguer who came into the Astros system in an early April 2013 trade with Cleveland for C Chris Wallace and pitched at AAA Oklahoma City.

Pat Urckfitz, signed by Houston as a non-drafted free agent in 2008, has also toiled six seasons in the minor leagues. He spent the bulk of his season with AA Corpus Christi before getting the call to Oklahoma City in August. Urckfitz has the highest groundball rate of this group, but that is a somewhat newer development as he has been working to re-invent himself over the last couple of years. Another thing that has changed for him is his ability to retire lefties; they only hit .181 against him (.463 OPS) in 2013.

T.J. Geith was the PTBNL in the Ben Francisco trade with Tampa Bay. His first 31 appearances of the season for Advanced A Lancaster (2.86 ERA and 1.318 WHIP) went much better than his final 13 appearances in Corpus Christi (7.84 ERA and 1.694 WHIP). Geith had fairly even lefty/righty splits in 2013.

Theron "T.J." Geith - May 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Kenny Long, a 22nd round 2012 draft pick, had a tough season when it came to pitching at AA. After six games with Lancaster, Long was promoted to Corpus Christi in May. After 22 games in which he put up a 9.00 ERA and a 2.524 WHIP, Long returned to Lancaster for the remainder of the season. In a total of 23 games for Lancaster, he had a 2.89 ERA and a 1.014 WHIP. He walked four batters and struck out 27. Long definite profiles more as a lefty specialist, but he did not have quite the success in 2013 that he did in 2012. In 2012, lefties only hit .023 against him. In 2013, they hit .284 against him (.158 in Lancaster).

Kenny Long - May 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

The Astros 2010 26th round pick, Alex Sogard, had an inconsistent season. In his first 10 games in Corpus Christi, he allowed only one earned run before he was promoted to Oklahoma City. He started out extremely well at the level but started struggling in mid-June and ended up back in Corpus Christi for his final six games of the season. While pitching with the RedHawks for 22 games, he allowed zero earned runs in 14 games, one earned run in three games and three+ runs in five games, which blew up his ERA to 9.39 at AAA. In his two stints for Corpus Christi, he had a 2.88 ERA and a 1.440 WHIP. Lefties only hit .214 against him, but Sogard actually did better against righties in 2011 and 2012. I've never really been able to get a handle on Sogard, but the front office thinks enough of him that they've sent him to the Arizona Fall League for the last two years.

Blair Walters, acquired from the White Sox in the July 2012 Brett Myers trade actually had a much better time of it as a starter than a reliever, but he was not used as a starter beyond mid-June except for a spot start at Oklahoma City to end the regular season. In six starts (five at Lancaster and one at Oklahoma City), he had a 3.51 ERA and a 1.364 WHIP. On the other hand, he did do well out of the 'pen in July (4.15 ERA and a 1.154 WHIP in 8 games) before things blew up on him in August (20.45 ERA and 39.09 WHIP in 8 games). Lefties hit .277 off of him.

Blair Walters - May 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Later this week, we'll look at those lefty relievers who finished their seasons at Low A or on one of the short season teams.

Astros Minor League Depth - Right-Handed Relief Pitchers, Part 2

[4/13/14 UPDATE: Justin Hess, Zach Dando, Charles Basford, Erick Gonzalez and Ryan Connolly are no longer in the organization.]

In my ongoing series on the Astros minor league depth, this week we're looking at right-handed relief pitchers. Earlier this week, I covered those relievers who finished the season at Advanced A or higher. Today, we'll address those who finished the season at Low A Quad Cities or on one of the short season teams. Each player's 2013 stats follow. I am sorting the players by WHIP, low to high.

First off, I should note that I did trim this very long list just a tiny bit by excluding any reliever who hadn't pitched at least 10 innings or appeared in at least 10 games. Of that group, the one who will probably be the most interesting to watch is Devonte German, the 2013 11th round draft pick. It is also likely that he will be working in a rotation in the 2014 season, but the 19-year old Nevadan is still very, very raw. In addition, Brazilian righty Murilo Gouvea and 2011 third round pick Jack Armstrong did not pitch in 2013 due to injuries. Armstrong has yet to pitch in a professional game and I do not know his status.

Because the list is so lengthy, I won't be commenting on every pitcher, but I will try to hit the high points.



Topping this list is Gonzalo Sanudo, but Sanudo is unlikely to stay on this list for long as he will reportedly be moved to the rotation in the new season. Obtained in a spring 2013 trade with the Twins for Astros 2010 supplemental first rounder Mike Kvasnicka, Sanudo was completely dominant at first Greeneville and then Tri-City. After his mid-August promotion to Tri-City, Sanudo collected eight saves in his nine regular season appearances while putting up a 0.00 ERA and a 0.308 WHIP. For the season, he held hitters to a .149 average and only walked four batters in 38+ innings while striking out 51. His 19 season saves were second only to Travis Ballew. He also factored heavily into the post season as Tri-City won the New York-Penn League Championship. The recent Prospect Handbook from Baseball America has him at #26 in the Astros system.

Gonzalo Sanundo - August 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

There were several other pitchers, in addition to Sanudo, who received late season promotions to Tri-City. Tyler Brunnemann, the 40th round draft pick in 2013, was promoted from Greeneville in early August and put up a 0.90 ERA and a 0.500 WHIP in his final nine regular season appearances. Chris Munnelly, a 2013 non-drafted free agent, only got to Tri-City at the end of August, but was impressive in stops at three clubs, holding batters to a .162 batting average and striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings. Zach Dando was another August call-up who fared well at Tri-City. He did not allow a run in his five appearances (10 innings) after the promotion.

Chris Munnelly - August 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

These openings at Tri-City were due in large part to pitchers from that club getting promoted to Quad Cities. The first to be promoted to Quad Cities was Patrick Christensen, the Astros 2013 27th round pick. Christensen had a 12.67 strikeout to walk rate, barely behind system leader Gonzalo Sanudo who had a 12.75 SO/BB ratio. After Christensen's early August promotion to Quad Cities, he managed a 1.29 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP in his nine appearances to end the season.

Next up to take the trip to Quad Cities was Zach Morton, a 32nd rounder from 2013. Morton did make four starts at Tri-City, but only one in his final eight games at Quad Cities so I'm making a judgement call by including him on this list. Morton is an extreme groundball pitcher who didn't allow a single home run in 51+ innings pitched. Morton had a 1.45 ERA and a 1.125 WHIP after the promotion to Quad Cities.

Andrew Walter, a non-drafted free agent signed by the Astros in 2011, didn't get the nod until mid-August. In six games at Quad Cities, he had three saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 0.632 WHIP. For the season, he walked only five batters while striking out 36 in 38 innings and held hitters to a .169 batting average. The final addition to Tri-City was 2010 39th round pick Krishawn Holley who pitched in five games for the ValleyCats at the end of the season.

Andrew Walter - July 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

2010 15th round draft pick Jamaine Cotton spent his entire season at Quad Cities and was coming on strong at the end of the season. He had a 0.72 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP in his final 10 games of the regular season. He also had a very successful winter pitching in the Liga Paralela in Venezuela.

Austin Chrismon, the Astros 26th round pick in 2013, had a very solid first professional season at Greeneville. Raul Rivera, drafted in the 37th round in 2009, had a 2.14 ERA and a 0.905 WHIP in 12 games at Greeneville. In 21 innings in the Appy League, he walked one and struck out 21.

Two of the Dominican pitchers who appeared with the Dominican Summer League team in 2013 had very nice seasons. Joselo Pinales, who just turned 19 in November, is likely being groomed to be a starter. He had one start and several long relief appearances. Angel Heredia is 21, but 2013 was only his second year pitching. He was originally a shortstop in the Pirates organization.

Astros Minor League Depth - Right-Handed Relief Pitchers, Part 1

[4/13/14 UPDATE: Gera Sanchez is no longer in the organization.]

In my ongoing series on the Astros minor league depth, this week we'll be looking at right-handed relief pitchers. First up are those relievers who finished the season at Advanced A or higher. I've made a couple of judgement calls by including Jordan Jankowski and Tyson Perez as bullpen pitchers even though they both started the season as a part of a tandem rotation because: a) they both had better results in relief, and b) they both ended up pitching exclusively out of the bullpen later in the season. I am also not including Cameron Lamb and Carlos Quevedo as they are free agents who were not re-signed by the Astros. Each player's 2013 stats follow. I am sorting the players by WHIP, low to high.




Jordan Jankowski, the Astros 34th round pick in 2012, spent the majority of his season with Quad Cities until an August promotion sent him to Lancaster for his final 11 appearances of the regular season. Of this group, Jankowski has the highest strikeout to walk rate of 4.90 SO/BB. However, as a reliever, it's even better. Out of the bullpen, he struck out 60 while walking only nine in 51 innings in that role. That translates to a whopping 6.67 SO/BB rate. As a reliever, Jankowski was 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA, a 0.961 WHIP and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings with batters hitting only .219 against him.

Jordan Jankowski - September 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

In terms of WHIP for this group, Jankowski is followed by Michael Dimock, another pitcher who started the season in Quad Cities and finished it in Lancaster. However, the 2012 37th rounder only spent 10 games at Quad Cities before his promotion. In those 10 games, he was 5-0 with a 3.09 ERA and a 0.771 WHIP. As is often the case with relief pitchers, a rough July inflated his stats, but he ended the season strongly with a 1.23 ERA and a 0.886 WHIP in eight games in August.

The next two on the list, 12th round 2010 pick Andrew Robinson and ninth round 2011 pick Jonas Dufek, actually profile very similarly. They can both crank up to the mid-90's on their fastballs on a regular basis and use that pitch as a complement to plus offspeed offerings.

Robinson spent his entire season at Corpus Christi until he was called up to Oklahoma City to contribute a couple of scoreless innings in the post-season. As I have written before, Robinson's stats are a little deceptive. Corpus Christi had a very successful tandem rotation at the beginning of the 2013 season, leading to very sporadic work for the bullpen. Once Robinson shook off the rust, he was extremely effective, putting up a 1.69 ERA and a 0.991 WHIP in the final three months of the season.

Dufek started the season with Lancaster, but thrived in Corpus Christi after his late July call-up. Away from the rarefied air of Lancaster, Dufek was 7-0 with an 0.47 ERA and a 0.776 WHIP in his final 14 appearances. He only walked one batter in those final 19+ innings while striking out 20. In the Arizona Fall League, Dufek had a 2.89 ERA and a 1.071 WHIP in seven games.

Jonas Dufek - June 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Jason Stoffel, obtained from San Francisco in the 2011 Jeff Keppinger trade, only pitched in seven games for Corpus Christi before heading north to Oklahoma City. Of this group, Stoffel allowed the lowest batting average and the lowest home run rate (which should be expected, given that he has a fairly high groundball out rate). Stoffel didn't have quite the excellent results in 2013 as he did in 2012. One of the reasons for that is that his dominance against lefties in 2012 (.127 batting average) seemed to evaporate in 2013 (.330 batting average).

Travis Ballew, the 2012 23rd round draft pick, leads this list in a couple of categories. He has the highest strikeout rate of the group (13.2 SO/9) and he also led the entire Astros organization with his 21 saves. He is also the youngest of the group; he will be 23 in May. Ballew spent his entire season with Lancaster. Ballew had one particularly bad outing in July that goes to show how volatile stats for a reliever can be. Back out that one outing and his ERA drops from 4.42 to 3.41 and his WHIP goes from 1.396 to 1.310.

Travis Ballew - May 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

A non-drafted free agent out of New Mexico who signed with the Astros in 2012, Gera Sanchez pitched all but his final six appearances for Quad Cities. In those six games for Lancaster, he had a 1.69 ERA and a 1.219 WHIP. For the season, he had a strikeout rate of 10.4 per nine innings. Similarly to Stoffel, Sanchez had a very tough time against lefties in 2013. They hit .357 against him.

17th round 2011 draft pick Tyson Perez didn't have the best overall season in 2013, but he was much more successful out of the bullpen. He had a 4.29 ERA and a 1.302 WHIP as a reliever, plus his SO/BB ratio improved dramatically.

Later this week, we'll look at the right-handed relievers who ended their seasons at Low A or on one of the short season teams.

Astros Minor League Depth - Relief LHP

As Spring Training approaches, I've been looking at the Astros minor league depth, position by position. Today, we look at the left-handed relief pitchers in the organization who had the best seasons in 2012.

The embedded chart shows the pitchers ranged from low to high in terms of WHIP. I have noted their current age and the last level at which they played. I am not including Xavier Cedeno as he spent a significant portion of 2012 at the major league level.

I know that Kenny Long's stats are based on a small sample size, but holding opposing batters to a 0.99 batting average while leading the system in strikeout rate (15.3 SO/9) over 29 appearances was wow-worthy nonetheless. After being drafted in the 22nd round in 2012, Long made 17 appearances at short-season Tri-City before skipping Lexington altogether and landing at Hi-A Lancaster for his final 12 appearances of the season.

Mitch Lambson has intrigued me for a while and I like him even better after his 2012 season in which he showed me that he can be just as effective against right-handed batters as he is against lefties. Jeremiah Meiners has also been someone I find interesting. It is note-worthy, however, that he's only made it as far as short-season A in his third season in the organization. I was hoping to have seen him challenged at a higher level in 2012.

Theron Geith came to the Houston organization (after the minor league season was over) as the PTBNL in the Ben Francisco trade to Tampa. He spent his second season in professional ball with Hi-A Port Charlotte in the Florida State League. He more than held his own vs. right-handed batters with a 0.975 WHIP and .227 batting average against righties.

Thomas Shirley, the 2010 9th round draft pick, put up good numbers after sitting out most of 2011 due to injury. If he can stay healthy again in 2013, he should start moving up through the system.

Javier Saucedo spent his second season in the organization repeating in the Dominican Summer League. He frequently pitched in long relief and had one spot start toward the end of the 2012 season. I wouldn't be surprised to see him stretched out to get additional starts in 2013. I assume that he will make the transition to the Gulf Coast League this season. If he can cut down on his walks, he could be an interesting prospect to watch in the coming year.

Pat Urckfitz has pitched parts of four seasons at Lancaster. He struggled to be effective at the higher levels for portions of the 2011 season and ended up spending the entire 2012 season back at Lancaster. He will need to prove that he can consistently succeed at the higher levels. 2013 could be make or break for him. Another pitcher I will be watching closely in 2013 is Evan Grills. Grills struggled during the second half of his season at Lexington, but at only 20, it is far too early to give up on him.

Kevin Chapman got into a groove in the 2012 season as he thrived in the 8th inning set up role. Chapman teamed up with closer Jason Stoffel to provide a very effective one-two punch out of the bullpen for Corpus Christi.

Alex Sogard's numbers don't look very impressive at first glance, but they are skewed by a rough month after his promotion to Corpus Christi. In 24 appearances from June forward, he had a 2.63 ERA and a 1.195 WHIP. That the Astros front office thought enough of him to send him to play in the Arizona Fall League after last season should tell you something as well.

Tuesday: Lefty Starters
Coming Thursday: Catchers

Astros Minor League Depth - RH Relievers Pt. 2

As Spring Training approaches, I've been looking at the Astros minor league depth, position by position. Because of the sheer number of pitchers in the organization, I needed to break them down into groups. Today, we look at the right-handed relief pitchers who had the best seasons pitching at either A level or in the rookie league for the organization.

The embedded chart shows the pitchers ranged from low to high in terms of WHIP. I have noted their current age and the last level at which they played. I limited inclusion on the list to those who pitched a minimum of 25 innings.

As I noted before, Chia-Jen Lo will likely start the season at AA and move up quickly if he continues to show that his comeback from TJ surgery is complete. In addition, Carlos Quevedo, who started the season at Lexington, and Andrew Robinson, who dominated most of the season after a mostly dreadful April, are both good candidates for promotion.

Cameron Lamb is new to the organization after being selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft from the Giants organization. He has the lowest strikeout rate of the group, but one of the highest groundball out rates.

Mike Hauschild has Lamb beat, though, in terms of his groundball rate with an incredible 5.20 GO/AO ratio to go with a very impressive 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Jordan Jankowski's 14.8 strikeouts per nine is the best among right-handed relievers in the Astros minor league system. Hauschild, Jankowski, Travis Ballew, Michael Dimock and Erick Gonzalez (community college) were all drafted in 2012 out of college and were expected to do well at the lower levels. They will now need to prove that they can do so at the higher levels.

Murilo Gouvea was a workhouse for Lexington, making 50 appearances out of the bullpen. Gouvea also played for Team Brazil in the WBC Qualifiers in November and was instrumental in Brazil's upset of the host Panamanian team.

I had to draw the line somewhere on this list, but there are a few other pitchers I will be keeping my eye on in 2013. John Neely had a somewhat uneven season, but finished very strongly. Another pitcher who intrigues me is Christian Garcia due to reports that his fastball sits in the low 90's and tops out in the mid-90's. He was frequently used in longer relief outings with mixed results. Both Neely and Garcia were lower round draft picks in 2012 and will need to set themselves apart in Spring Training. Jamaine Cotton was outstanding early in his season at Tri-City, but faltered down the stretch.

The most noteworthy candidate to follow, though, will be Jack Armstrong, the Astros 2011 third round pick, as he comes back from TJ surgery.

The fact of life in the minor leagues is that a right-handed relief pitcher, particularly at the lower levels, is at the bottom of the food chain. They have the toughest time of all in establishing themselves and are given the slimmest chance to re-establish themselves if they struggle. Each and every one of them will have to continue to prove themselves time after time after time, level after level after level. This post really just reflects a moment in time as we look at the relief corps because predicting the road ahead for any of these pitchers would be difficult at best.

Monday: Starting RHP for Full Season Clubs
Tuesday: Starting RHP for Short Season Clubs
Wednesday: RH Relievers at AA and AAA

Astros Minor League Depth - RH Relievers Pt. 1

As Spring Training approaches, I've been looking at the Astros minor league depth, position by position. Because of the sheer number of pitchers in the organization, I really needed to break them down into groups. Today, we're doing something a little different because I was a bit shocked when I realized this and I wanted to share.

The embedded chart shows ALL of the right-handed relief pitchers in the organization who finished their seasons at AA or AAA who remain in the Astros organization. ALL OF THEM PLUS TWO. Chuckie Fick (who apparently now goes by C.J.) and Jose Valdez actually ended their seasons in Houston, but neither is on the 40-man roster currently so I'm including them on this list.  Hector Ambriz was also used in relief at AAA in 2012, but remains on the 40-man roster after finishing his season in Houston so I'm not including him.

Where did everyone go, you ask? Arcenio Leon and Brian Sanches were lost to free agency and five others who pitched in relief at those levels in 2012 are unsigned free agents - Erick Abreu, Henry Villar, Adalberto Flores, Sergio Perez and Enerio Del Rosario.

I suppose that bodes well for Carlos Quevedo and Andrew Robinson from Lancaster. And Chia-Jen Lo will probably start the season at AA with the intent of moving him quickly, but it's still pretty slim on available, experienced arms.

Which brings me back to something I noted earlier this week about how crowded AA and AAA are likely to get in the way of starting pitchers. I really think that we will see some of our starters converted to the bullpen.  I can see David Martinez and Jose Cisnero converted to relievers (although I know of no plans to do so) and the possibility of Jarred Cosart as a closer has been bandied about for the last couple of years. And you'll note that I included Jake Buchanan as a relief pitcher as he was used out of the bullpen in the latter part of the season, despite being used exclusively in a starting role previously.

With that said, who exactly are the few, the proud, the brave? Jason Stoffel had a terrific season and led the Astros organization in saves with 27, and he managed to maintain a sub-1.00 WHIP over his 55 appearances. Jose Valdez numbers are inflated by the struggles he encountered mid-season before being placed on the DL. He was second in saves in 2012. [Note on Valdez: Mike at Farmstros astutely observed that Valdez is no longer shown as a non-roster invitee and has an option in his contract that may land him in Japan. If that happens, the depth of experienced relievers at AA and AAA dwindles even further.]

Josh Zeid has good stuff, but in my opinion he lacks confidence. He had a Jekyll and Hyde season and it was often difficult to know which Zeid would be showing up. His last few regular season appearances in August and September were excellent, though. Zeid is another pitcher who I think will benefit from working with Roger Clemens on his mental approach.

Mark Hamburger started the season with the Rangers, then was claimed off waivers by the Padres and then finally claimed by Houston. He struggled with the Rangers and Padres, but pitched closer to his 2011 AAA form in his 17 appearances at Oklahoma City.

Monday: Starting RHP for Full Season Clubs
Tuesday: Starting RHP for Short Season Clubs
Coming Thursday: RH Relievers - A and below