Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Saturday, April 5, 2014

Let's play 2 in Davenport!

Round Rock 7, Oklahoma City 4

W- Scott Baker (1-0)
L- Nick Tropeano (0-1)

OKC home runs: Carlos Perez (1, solo in 3rd), Jon Singleton (1, 2-run in 8th)

A bases-clearing triple turned the tide of this game overwhelmingly in favor of Round Rock.

Carlos Perez opened the scoring with a solo shot in the 3rd, his 1st of the year. Jon Singleton added a 2-run homer in the 8th, and Ronald Torreyes hit an RBI double in the top of the 9th. But, the damage had already been done.

Nick Tropeano went 3.1 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits (solo homer), walked 4, and struck out 4. He allowed a solo homer to Kensuke Tanaka in the bottom of the 3rd, then had runners on 1st and 2nd later in the inning, but nothing came of that. The wheels fell off for him in the 4th when 2 walks and a single resulted in a bases-clearing triple that knocked him out of the game. Jose Cisnero cleaned up the mess by getting the final 2 outs of the inning, then striking out 2 in a scoreless 5th. He walked 1, but otherwise had another solid relief outing. Collin McHugh came on for the final 3 innings, and he allowed 3 runs on 2 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2.

David Martinez will team up with Bobby Doran to take on Colby Lewis in the series finale. First pitch will be at 1:05.

Corpus Christi 7, Tulsa 4

W- Luis Cruz (1-0)
L- Jonathan Gray (0-1)
S- Andrew Robinson (1)

CC home runs: Preston Tucker (1, solo in 2nd), Rene Garcia (1, 2-run in 7th)

The Hooks emerged from their opening series with a winning record as they topped the 3rd overall pick in this most recent draft.

Delino DeShields got plunked on a 2-2 count to begin the game. He would go on to steal 2nd, advanced to 3rd when Gray threw the ball away attempting to pick him off, and scored the first run of the night on a sac fly from Andrew Aplin. Preston Tucker went 2-3 and led off the 2nd with a homer, his 1st of the season.

After DeShields got hit by Gray again in the 3rd, he advanced to 3rd on a Nolan Fontana ground-rule double. Both of them scored on an Aplin 2-run single. In the 7th, M.P. Cokinos hit a 1-out single and scored on a Rene Garcia homer, his 1st. Soon after that, DeShields was back at it again. He singled, stole 2nd (again), and on the ensuing error, advanced to 3rd. He'd score the Hooks' final run of the night on a Fontana single.

In addition to Tucker, he (still referring to DeShields), Fontana, Cokinos, and Garcia all had 2 hits. For the 2nd straight night, DeShields had a 2-steal game. He got caught once, but that's the occupational hazard. Garcia even stole a base!

Luis Cruz had an impressive final couple of weeks to close out 2013 with Corpus; he drew a tough assignment facing Gray, but was more than up to the task. In my slightly biased opinion, he probably outpitched Gray last night. Cruz went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. Ross Seaton was just one out away from the tandem complete game; he went 3.2 innings and allowed 2 runs (both on a Ryan Casteel HR) on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Seaton couldn't quite finish it out as a 9th-inning single loaded the bases and signaled the end of his night. Andrew Robinson was tasked with preserving the lead and he did just that, striking out Taylor Featherston to end the game.

In the 2nd leg of their season-opening roadtrip, the Hooks will be in Springfield for 3 against the Cardinals. Tom Shirley and Matt Heidenreich will take on Sam Gaviglio at 4:10.

Lake Elsinore 8, Lancaster 7

W- Cody Hebner (1-0)
L- Chris Devenski (0-1)
S- Trevor Gott (1)

Lancaster home runs: None.

Wowza. Josh Hader absolutely quieted the Storm. He went 4 innings and allowed a run (on a wild pitch), 4 hits, hit a batter, and struck out 10. His final 7 outs were all via K: he struck out the side in the 3rd and 4 in the 4th. However, Hader also uncorked 4 wild pitches. 3 of those came in the 4th and resulted in a Lake Elsinore run.

Unfortunately, that effort would go to waste as Dan Minor and Chris Devenski couldn't back Hader up. Minor gave up 3 runs on 3 hits in the 5th. Devenski, the piggybacker, went 3 innings and allowed 4 runs (all in the 8th) on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Jamaine Cotton allowed a hit and walked 2 in a scoreless 9th; he got out of a bases-loaded, 2-out situation.

The JetHawks blew a 5-0 lead, which they had built in the first third of the game. Tony Kemp kicked off the scoring in the 1st by drawing a walk, advancing to 3rd on a couple of groundouts, and scored on a wild pitch. Jake Rodriguez hit a 2-run single in the 2nd, and Dan Gulbransen ripped a 2-run double in the 3rd. Gulbransen hit 2 doubles in the game and finished 3-5. Jordan Scott hit an RBI groundout in the 5th and an RBI single in the bottom of the 9th, but he was the final out of the game, as he got caught trying to stretch that single into a double.

Danry Vasquez went 3-5 with 4 runs scored. Carlos Correa and Rio Ruiz both went 2-5. Lancaster would rue its missed opportunities; they left the bases loaded in the 2nd and 3rd, and runners on the corners in the 7th.

Mark Appel will make his season debut in the series finale. He'll team up with Mike Hauschild to take on Ruben Mejia. First pitch is at 2:00 Pacific. Interesting pairing; Hauschild's Dayton Flyers eliminated Appel's Stanford Cardinal in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament a little over a week ago.

Game 1: Quad Cities 2, Kane County 1

W- Jandel Gustave (1-0)
L- Zack Godley (0-1)

Quad Cities home runs: None.

In the first game of this twinbill, the River Bandits stole victory from the jaws of defeat in walk-off fashion.

Jack Mayfield led off the bottom of the 2nd with a double, advanced to 3rd on a passed ball, and scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Chase McDonald, who was at the plate at the time, eventually drew a walk, then was lifted for Chan-Jong Moon. Moon advanced to 2nd as Brian Holberton walked, then they both advanced on a wild pitch with Tyler White at bat. White then delivered the winner by poking a ball through the left side of the infield. Mayfield, White, Tanner Mathis, and Catfish Elkins had the 4 QC hits.

Kent Emanuel went 4 innings and allowed an unearned run on 2 hits and struck out 2. Jandel Gustave pitched 3 near-perfect innings to get the victory; he was just one hit batter away from being perfect.

What would game 2 hold in store?

Game 2: Kane County 5, Quad Cities 4 in 10 innings

W- Justin Amlung (1-0)
L- Chris Cotton (0-1)

Quad Cities home runs: None.

Quad Cities had to settle for a split as Jacob Rogers' go-ahead single in the top of the 10th held up. Jacob Hannemann, who scored on the play, struck out to begin the inning, but reached anyway on a Conrad Gregor error.

This game had the same formula as the first; the River Bandits trailed for a significant portion of the game, but were able to tie it late thanks to a big rally. They had the bases loaded in the 3rd, but only got a James Ramsay sac fly for their trouble. Down 4-1 in the 6th, they finally got even with the Cougars with 3 in the bottom of the 6th.

Jon Kemmer led off with a single, then Catfish Elkins followed suit. A Tanner Mathis groundout allowed the two of them to advance, then after a Jobduan Morales strikeout, Chan-Jong Moon walked to load the bases. A balk advanced everyone, then Ramsay walked to re-load the bases. Jack Mayfield hit the game-tying 2-run single, but was the final out of the inning as he failed in his attempt to stretch out his hit. With the chance for another walk-off win, the bases were loaded again in the 8th, but Kemmer flew out to end the inning. Morales hit a 2-out double in the 9th but was stranded, and Conrad Gregor singled in the 10th but was forced out to end the game.

Kemmer, Mathis, Morales, Elkins, and Moon all had 2 hits. The starting 9 drew 9 walks, 3 of which were drawn by Gregor.

Michael Feliz made his Midwest League debut and was greeted rather rudely, as Hannemann took him deep to begin the game and Daniel Canela followed suit to begin the 2nd inning. Those 2 solo shots were the only runs he allowed in 3 innings. He allowed one other hit, walked 1, and struck out 4. Evan Grills pitched the next 3 innings and gave up 2 unearned runs on 4 hits and fanned 2. Andrew Walter struck out 1 over 2 perfect innings, and Chris Cotton got saddled with the loss, as he allowed the go-ahead run to score. The run was unearned, he allowed 2 hits, and struck out 3 over 2 innings.

In the series finale, Adrian Houser and Gonzalo Sanudo will take on Juan Carlos Paniagua at 1:15.

Three Stars

3.

René Garcia, C, Corpus Christi
2-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, SB (1)

2.

Kent Emanuel, LHP, and Jandel Gustave, RHP, Quad Cities

Emanuel: 4 IP, 2 H, unearned run, 2 K

Gustave: W (1-0), 3 IP

1.

@jhader17 was lights out in winning game #1 against the Snappers! pic.twitter.com/G1Hc4G54do
— RGuill (@QCBanditPhotog) September 8, 2013

Josh Hader, LHP, Lancaster
4 IP, 4 H, ER, 10 K

Many, many apologies to: Luis Cruz, Delino DeShields, Dan Gulbransen, Nolan Fontana, Andrew Aplin, Jose Cisnero, Andrew Walter

Happy Birthday - 3/21

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Andrew Aplin (23)
Drafted in the fifth round in 2012 out of Arizona State, Aplin spent his second professional season with the JetHawks, hitting .278/.376/.424 with 32 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs, 107 RBI and 24 stolen bases. He was in the top five in the Astros system in runs scored, doubles, triples, RBI, stolen bases and walks. He was listed as the #19 prospect in the Astros system in the recent Baseball America Prospect Handbook.

C Rene Garcia (24)
Garcia was drafted in the 35th round in 2008 out of high school in his native Puerto Rico. Garcia started the season at Corpus Christi and hit .304/.348/.419 in his first 73 games of the season before being promoted to Oklahoma City on August 1st. In 18 games for the RedHawks, he hit .246/.279/.277.

RHP Bobby Doran (25)
Drafted in the fourth round in 2010 out of Texas Tech, Doran started the season with Corpus Christi and made a couple of spot starts for the RedHawks before his promotion to Oklahoma City on August 3rd. In 31 appearances for the season (21 starts), Doran went 11-2 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.222 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

1B Prentice Almont "Pidge" Browne (died June 3, 1997 at 68)
Browne played in 65 games for the Colt 45's in 1962, a rookie at 33. According to Baseball-Reference:

Pidge Browne was a long time minor league star who at the age of 33 finally got a shot at the major leagues with the expansion Houston Colt .45's in 1962 ... He was the Texas League home run champion in 1955 when he hit 33 home runs for Shreveport. He later became a fan favorite playing for the Houston minor league team in the late 1950s. 

He hit .210/.298/.320 with four doubles, two triples and a home run for Houston that season and never played in the major leagues again.

OF Tommy Davis (75)
Davis came to Houston in a trade with the Seattle Pilots in August of 1969 and played for Houston for parts of the 1969 and 1970 seasons, hitting .271/.308/.377 over 81 games. Davis spent parts of 18 seasons in the major leagues, playing 1999 games for 10 teams and earning All-Star nods and National League batting titles in 1962 and 1963.

Astros Minor League Roster Moves

Oklahoma City
RHP Bobby Doran assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City
C Rene Garcia assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City

Corpus Christi
LHP David Rollins assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi
C Ryan McCurdy assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi

Lancaster
RHP Kyle Smith obtained in trade with Kansas City and assigned to Lancaster
[UPDATED] C Luis Alvarez assigned from Quad Cities to Lancaster

Quad Cities
LHP Josh Hader obtained in trade with Baltimore and assigned to Quad Cities

Astros Minor League Recaps

Thursday's Games

New Orleans over Oklahoma City 11-0
Starter Jake Buchanan allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out eight in seven innings. Two of Buchanan's runs came across in the eighth when Jose Valdez came in and things got a bit out of control with six runs scoring in the inning, giving New Orleans a 9-0 lead. The two additional runs scored off Valdez and Rhiner Cruz in the ninth were just salt in the wound. Oklahoma City was held to three hits in the shutout, all singles.

Corpus Christi over Frisco 5-2
R.J. Alaniz (6.1IP 6H 2R 2BB 4SO) got the start and the win. Andrew Robinson (1.1IP 2H 1SO) inherited a one out, bases loaded jam in the seventh and got a strikeout and ground out to end the threat. Jorge de Leon cruised to his fourth save with a perfect one and a third innings. The Hooks scored one in the third, three in the sixth on a two RBI double from Michael Burgess (2x4) and a Raoul Torrez RBI single, and added on a final run in the seventh on a Kike Hernandez solo homer. Rene Garcia went three-for-four with a double, a triple, an RBI and a run scored.

Inland Empire over Lancaster 7-1
The Lancaster crew showed signs of wear and tear on day number 22 of 26 straight games without a day off. Only three of the seven runs charged to Tommy Shirley (6IP 9H 4R/2ER 6SO HR) and Cameron Lamb (1.1IP 2H 3R/1ER) were earned runs, thanks to three errors in the game. T.J. Geith allowed one of Lamb's runs to score, but no more in his one and a third innings. Despite getting 10 hits in the game, the 'Hawks only managed one run on a Telvin Nash second inning home run as they went one-for-nine with RISP. Matt Duffy was four-for-four and Tyler Heineman went two-for-four.

Bowling Green over Quad Cities 4-3 in 12 innings
Vincent Velasquez got the start and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over five innings before giving way to Mitch Lambson (3IP 1H 1BB 4SO). Juan Minaya (4H 1R 1BB 4SO) pitched the final four and was charged with the loss in extras. The River Bandits scored one in the first and didn't get on the board again until the eighth inning when back-to-back doubles from Jesse Wierzbicki (2x6 R) and Rio Ruiz (2x5 BB) plated two. Jordan Scott was two-for-five and scored a run, and Carlos Correa was one-for-four with two walks and scored a run.

Tri-City over Mahoning Valley 4-1 in 8 innings (Game 1)
Starter Adrian Houser was charged with one unearned run on one hit and two walks over five and a third innings. He struck out four. Charles Basford pitched two-thirds innings and allowed that Houser run to score, giving him a blown save. Richard Rodriguez put up two perfect innings and was rewarded with the win as Tri-City broke the 1-1 tie in a big way, scoring three runs in the top of the eighth. Tony Kemp drove in two of those three with an RBI double and then scored the third on a wild pitch. Ryan Dineen drove in Ronnie Mitchell in the fifth with an RBI single.

Tri-City over Mahoning Valley 1-0 in 7 innings (Game 2)
Tanner Bushue got the start and the win, pitching six scoreless and allowing only two hits while striking out five. Andrew Walter followed with a perfect seventh for the save. The 'Cats only managed three hits, but made them count as James Ramsay (2x3) drove in D'Andre Toney with a single in the sixth inning.

Greeneville over Princeton 4-1
Frederick Tiburcio (6IP 2H 1R/0ER 3BB 5SO) and Jordan Mills (3IP 1BB 3SO) combined to limit Princeton to two hits at home. Greeneville scored two in the first on a Brian Holbertson RBI double and an Ariel Ovando RBI single. The Astros put up another pair in the ninth, helped in large part by two errors and a wild pitch.

GCL Tigers over GCL Astros 7-5
Agapito Barrios got the start and the loss allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over two and a third innings and was followed by Zach Dando (1.2IP 0H 2R/1ER 3BB) and Jorge Perez (1IP 3H 3R). Joe Musgrove was the only Astros pitcher who didn't allow a run. He pitched three innings and gave up two hits and a walk while striking out four. The Astros only managed six hits. However, two of them were home runs from Alex Gonzalez and Luis Reynoso (2RBI) and one was an RBI triple from Jacob Nottingham. Tyler White was one-for-three with a walk, RBI and a run.

DSL Astros at DSL Dodgers postponed

Player of the Day: Catcher Rene Garcia doesn't get as much attention as Carlos Perez, Max Stassi, Tyler Heineman and others, but he is quietly going about having a very good season at the plate, hitting .296/.348/.421 in 57 games. His career caught stealing is 36%, but he has eclipsed that with a 46% mark so far this season.

Pitcher of the Day: Tanner Bushue's two-hit performance from Thursday earns him the WTHB nod. In five appearances, he is 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA and a miniscule 0.706 WHIP.

Appy Astros - Catcher Development - Throwing Out More Runners

The other day I saw this tweet:

#qctimes @QCRiverBandits Roberto Pena throws out 3 LumberKings attempting to steal. He's denied 30 of 53. In '02 here, Joe Mauer 46-of-107
— Steve Batterson (@sbatt79) July 3, 2013

That is an impressive stat and puts him in impressive company.  It got me thinking about how well Roberto Pena has been throwing out runners this season and it made me curious about how much growth this showed. The growth with Pena was significant and I wondered if it was just him or were other catchers in the Astros organization showing similar growth. So I went back and looked across the system at each catcher who had caught in at least 20 games this season and compared their 2012 stolen base percentage (SB%) to their 2013 SB%. Click here to find out what I learned.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Thursday's Games

Oklahoma City at Memphis - Postponed

Corpus Christi over Springfield 3-2
Starter Ross Seaton put up a solid five-inning start allowing two runs on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts and was rewarded with the win. Jake Buchanan channeled his 2011 self by inducing ground ball outs galore, including two double plays in his three innings of work. And Jason Stoffel did precisely what he did for most of 2012 and converted the save. Offensive stars were Domingo Santana who went 2-for-4 with a double; Rene Garcia with a tremendous 3-for-3 outing with two doubles and two runs scored; and George Springer was the difference maker with a two-run home run.

Lancaster over High Desert 10-9
Ah, the Cali League where anything can happen and usually does. The third inning was a tough one for the 'Hawks as Mike Foltynewicz allowed five runs on a grand slam and an inside-the-park home run and Andrew Aplin crashed into the wall, appearing to be hurt. Well, Aplin shook it off and so will Folty who seemed to have been a little overamped in his opening day start. The second half of the tandem, Alex Gillingham, didn't fare much better as he allowed three runs in his one and two-thirds innings. Carlos Quevedo and Travis Ballew provided scoreless relief out of the bullpen with Ballew getting his first save of the season.

Tyler Heineman showed why he was the New York-Penn League batting champion last season as he went 3-for-5 with a double. There were two hits each from Delino DeShields (2B, 3B), Nolan Fontana (2-run HR), Zach Johnson (2B), and Matt Duffy (2-run HR). Drew Muren only had one hit, but it was a triple. As a matter of fact, everyone reached the hit column except for Preston Tucker, but Tucker had three RBI, one on a bases loaded ground out, but the first two on a sac fly which plated two. Bo Porter's aggressiveness on the bases has apparently been embraced by Lancaster Manager Rodney Linares.

Quad Cities over Kane County 7-2
Vincent Velasquez and Joe Bircher gave Jeff Luhnow exactly what he wanted in a starting pitching tandem. Velasquez pitched five effectively, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts while Bircher allowed only two hits with four strikeouts over his four innings of work. Two Puerto Ricans were the stars of this one. Carlos Correa went 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI and Roberto Pena was 2-for-5 with two RBI and scored two runs. Teoscar Hernandez and Jordan Scott each swiped a bag and Ariel Ovando contributed an outfield assist.

Pitchers of the Day
It's a tie. Joe Bircher did precisely what was asked of him as the second half of the Quad Cities tandem, pitching a strong four innings. Jake Buchanan was also a second half guy who did well, but it was seeing him get back to his mastery of ground ball outs and inducing double plays that made me a happy camper.

Player of the Day
This one is easy. Nolan Fontana reached base all five times with a single, a two-run home run, two walks and a hit by pitch. He also stole a base. I know that Fontana won't keep a 1.000 OBP all season, but at this rate, he may beat his very impressive .464 mark from last season. A hat tip to Rene Garcia for his outstanding night at the plate as well.

Happy Birthday - 3/21

Happy Birthday to ~

OF Andrew Aplin (22)
Drafted in the fifth round in 2012 out of Arizona State, Aplin quickly made his mark in his first professional season as he hit .348/.441/.537 with nine doubles, five triples and four home runs in 44 games at Tri-City before getting promoted directly to the High A Lancaster JetHawks team to end the season. In 24 games for Lancaster, he hit .260/.287/.423 with four doubles, two triples and three home runs.

C Rene Garcia (23)
Garcia was drafted in the 35th round in 2008 out of high school in his native Puerto Rico. Garcia started the season at Lancaster. In 60 games for the JetHawks, he hit .279/.308/.340 with 13 doubles before getting promoted to Corpus Christi. Garcia only played in nine games at Corpus (hitting .333/.379/.370) before an injury derailed his season.

RHP Bobby Doran (24)
Drafted in the fourth round in 2010 out of Texas Tech, Doran was one of the true success stories of 2012. He went from a 1-3 record with a 9.04 ERA and a 2.010 WHIP in 2011 to a 14-6 record with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.284 WHIP in 2012 as he split his season between Lancaster and Corpus Christi.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

1B Prentice Almont "Pidge" Browne (died June 3, 1997 at 68)
Browne played in 65 games for the Colt 45's in 1962, a rookie at 33. According to Baseball-Reference:

Pidge Browne was a long time minor league star who at the age of 33 finally got a shot at the major leagues with the expansion Houston Colt .45's in 1962 ... He was the Texas League home run champion in 1955 when he hit 33 home runs for Shreveport. He later became a fan favorite playing for the Houston minor league team in the late 1950s. 

He hit .210/.298/.320 with four doubles, two triples and a home run for Houston that season and never played in the major leagues again.

OF Tommy Davis (74)
Davis came to Houston in a trade with the Seattle Pilots in August of 1969 and played for Houston for parts of the 1969 and 1970 seasons, hitting .271/.308/.377 over 81 games. Davis spent parts of 18 seasons in the major leagues, playing 1999 games for 10 teams and earning All-Star nods and National League batting titles in 1962 and 1963.

Astros Minor League Depth - Catcher

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

Carlos Perez and Roberto Pena

Lancaster - August 2012

Photo by Jayne Hansen

The embedded chart shows catchers in the organization ranked from high to low in terms of OBP. I have noted their current age and the last level at which they played.

One thing strikes me immediately when looking at this list -- youth. Except for Ben Heath and Chris Wallace who are each 24 years old, the rest of these players range from 20 to 22.

Tyler Heineman leads the list in his first year with the organization. The 2012 eighth round draft pick also leads this list in batting average and OPS. He was the New York-Penn League batting champion for 2012 as well. But Heineman isn't just a good hitter. He's also a great defensive catcher and had one of the top caught stealing percentages in the Astros minor league system at 41%. M. P. Cokinos would certainly have gotten much more attention for his offensive output had he not been playing alongside Heineman.

Another catcher who has everyone excited since he came into the system as a part of the 10-player Houston-Toronto trade in July is Carlos Perez. Much like Heineman, he looks to be the complete package offensively and defensively and boasted a 47% caught stealing rate at Lancaster (34% overall).

Also relatively new to the organization is Jobduan Morales who came to the Astros organization in the Justin Ruggiano trade with Miami. Morales' bat was valuable enough that he frequently appeared as a DH when he wasn't used behind the dish. That was true of his winter season in Puerto Rico as well.

Max Stassi just came in to the Astros organization this week as a part of the Jed Lowrie/Fernando Rodriguez trade with Oakland. He ranks in the middle of the pack with his on-base skills. It is his power potential that sets him apart from the rest of the group as he hit 18 doubles and 15 home runs on the way to a .468 slugging percentage. In 2012, he had a 24% caught stealing rate.

There are a couple players on this list whose playing time was very limited and many might question their inclusion. Luis Alvarez didn't see a great deal of playing time during the season, but put up some very good numbers. He followed up with an outstanding winter season with the Liga Paralela in Venezuela. That is enough to keep me interested in Alvarez. Pedro Coa was one of the few offensive bright spots on the DSL team in 2012. That, coupled with a 60% caught stealing rate, has me looking forward to seeing what he will do in 2013.

Heath and Rene Garcia were both having good years when injuries shortened their seasons. Roberto Pena was promoted to Lancaster largely due to injuries putting a strain on the catching staff throughout the system. Pena is widely regarded as a premium defensive catcher, but he struggled offensively after the promotion. I think the 20-year old will start to catch up with the more advanced pitching in the coming season if he is given regular playing time.

Chris Wallace had an uneven season offensively, but overall hit extremely well in the second half of the season. What he needs to focus on most, though, are base runners. He only managed a 12% caught stealing rate in 2012.

Ernesto Genoves' offensive output fell off from the prior season, but reports (from Appy Astros) are that he became much more solid defensively. I'm still intrigued by Genoves' potential, but he is going to have to show me that he is capable of getting to the next level developmentally in the coming season.

Tuesday: Lefty Starters
Wednesday: Lefty Relievers

Roster Moves

Corpus Christi
RHP Henry Villar was placed on the 7-day DL.
RHP Erick Abreu was activated from the 7-day DL.
According to Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller Times, C Rene Garcia will be assigned to the GCL for a rehab assignment and IF Brandon Wikoff is being shut down for the remainder of the season due to a wrist injury.

Lexington
OF/C Mike Kvasnicka was placed on the 7-day DL.
OF Emilio King was assigned from Tri-City to Lexington.

Greeneville
RHP Brad Propst was assigned from Tri-City to Greeneville.

Roster Moves

Houston/Oklahoma City
1B/3B Brett Wallace was recalled to Houston (yay!).
IF Brian Bixler was optioned to Oklahoma City.

Corpus Christi
IF/OF Bobby Borchering was assigned to Corpus Christi.
LF Marc Krauss was assigned to Corpus Christi.
C Rene Garcia was officially placed on the DL.

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.

Roster Moves - Updated

Houston
SS Marwin Gonzalez was activated from the DL.
SS Jed Lowrie was placed on the 15-day DL.
C Carlos Corporan was put on the 40-man roster and assigned from Oklahoma City to Houston.
C Jason Castro was placed on the 15-day DL.
RHP Kyle Weiland was placed on the 60-day DL.

Oklahoma City
C Jair (Jay) Fernandez was assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.
RHP Jonnathan Aristil was placed on the temporary inactive list.
2B Jimmy Paredes was activated from the temporary inactive list.

Corpus Christi
C Rene Garcia was assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.
RHP Jarred Cosart was activated from the DL.
SS Jonathan Villar was placed on the 7-day DL.
SS Ben Orloff was assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.

Lancaster
RHP Bobby Doran was assigned from Corpus Christi to Lancaster.
SS Chan Moon was assigned from Lexington to Lancaster.
UNCONFIRMED report that C Roberto Pena is being assigned from Lexington to Lancaster.

Lexington
Jay Austin was activated from the DL.
UPDATED TO ADD: C Luis Alvarez was assigned from Greeneville to Lexington.

Greeneville
2B Josh Magee was released.
LHP Zach Hardoin was released.
One I missed - RHP Jose Perdomo was released a couple of weeks ago.

Roster Moves - 7/14

Oklahoma City
According to Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller times, C Jay Fernandez has been assigned from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.

Corpus Christi
Also according to Greg Rajan, C Rene Garcia has been assigned from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.
SS Jonathan Villar will be placed on the DL after breaking his hand, but that move hasn't been made official yet.
[UPDATED TO ADD] An UNCONFIRMED report has SS Ben Orloff going from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.

Lancaster
An UNCONFIRMED rumor has SS Chan Moon going to Lancaster from Lexington.

With the injury to Villar, last night's injury to Jed Lowrie in the San Francisco game and possible time off needed for Jason Castro, who has been experiencing pain in his surgically repaired knee, look for more roster moves to come. I will update when information becomes available.

Minor League Schedule and Results

SUNDAY'S GAMES

Springfield at Corpus Christi at 1:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Trevor Rosenthal (3-4, 2.81) and LHP Brett Oberholtzer (2-2, 5.36)
Available on MiLB.tv

Lexington at Hickory at 4:00 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Nick Tropeano (2-3, 2.73) and RHP Santo Perez (2-3, 6.16)

Lancaster at Lake Elsinore at 4:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Bobby Doran (4-3, 3.62) and RHP Matthew Andriese (3-3, 3.97)

Oklahoma City at Albuquerque at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Paul Clemens (5-3, 5.84) and LHP Michael Antonini (1-2, 5.31)
Available on MiLB.tv

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

Hickory over Lexington 11-2
Jonas Dufek (4IP) and Euris Quezada (3IP) both got roughed up in this one, allowing ten earned runs between them. Even the normally reliable Dayan Diaz gave up a run in the final inning. Matt Duffy hit a solo home run. Delino DeShields, Justin Gominsky and Chan Moon each had two hits. DeShields had his third caught stealing in as many games. Ultimately, this one is best forgotten so let's do that and move on.

Albuquerque over Oklahoma City 7-4
Wes Musick (L, 0-1) hit a wall during his second AAA start, giving up six runs (five earned) on 11 hits over 5.2 innings. Adalberto Flores allowed the final run in his 1.1 innings and Jose Valdez pitched a perfect final frame. It was a quiet night for the Redhawks hitters with Fernando Martinez and J.B. Shuck getting the only extra base hits, each hitting a double. Shuck was three-for-three with a walk for the night.

Lancaster over Inland Empire 5-4 in 10 innings
David Martinez gave up four runs on eight hits over six innings pitched, but only two of the runs were earned thanks to an Alex Todd fielding error. Brian Streilein pitched three innings in relief allowing only one single and keeping the game tied. Pat Urckfitz and Jose Trinidad shared duties in the tenth with Trinidad getting the win as Rene Garcia hit a two-out single that scored Telvin Nash in the 10th for the win. There were several good nights at the plate with Telvin Nash hitting his 13th home run, George Springer hitting a two run triple, Jonathan Meyer and Ben Orloff having two-hit nights and Rene Garcia having three hits, including the game winning RBI.

GAME OF THE DAY
Corpus Christi over Springfield 6-5

What went right: According to Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller Times, this was the Hooks first win this season when trailing after six or seven innings, but there's a first time for everything.

Jose Cisnero seemed to have turned things around a bit in this start after struggling in his last few as he gave up two runs on five hits in five innings. Unfortunately, Alex Sogard had a tough night giving up three runs (two earned) in one inning and getting charged with a blown save. Fortunately, Josh Zeid pitched two terrific innings in which he gave up only one hit and Kevin Chapman got the win after pitching a perfect ninth. Brandon Barnes hit a solo home run in his finale with the Hooks before earning his promotion to Oklahoma City. Also hitting home runs were Jon Singleton (the two run variety) and Jonathan Villar (the walk off variety). Jake Goebbert was three-for-four on the night and Chris Wallace was three-for-three in his first game since being activated.

Jose Cisnero - 5IP 5H 2R 0BB 5SO HR
Alex Sogard - 1IP 3H 3R/2ER 0BB 2SO
Josh Zeid - 2IP 1H 0R 0BB 1SO
Kevin Chapman (W, 3-2) - 1IP 0H 0R 0BB

Jonathan Villar - 2x5 HR RBI SO 2R SB
Jon Singleton - 2x4 HR 2RBI R
Brandon Barnes - 1x4 HR RBI R
Jake Goebbert - 3x4 2R
Chris Wallace - 3x3  2B

What went wrong: Austin Wates was 0-5 (but with no strikeouts).

PITCHER OF THE DAY
Brian Streilein is my guy for holding Inland Empire to one hit over three innings of relief and giving Lancaster the opportunity to win the game.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Rene Garcia gets the nod for a two-out extra-inning game-winning RBI single, his third hit of the night.

Minor League Schedule and Results

TUESDAY'S GAMES

Charleston at Lexington at 6:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Caleb Cotham (1-0, 2.08) and Nick Tropeano (1-0, 0.47)
Available on MiLB.tv

Midland at Corpus Christi at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP Sonny Gray (1-1, 3.50) and RHP Jose Cisnero (1-1, 2.45)
Available on MiLB.tv

Albuquerque at Oklahoma City at 7:05 CST
Probable Pitchers: RHP John Ely (1-1, 6.19) and RHP Jordan Lyles (3-0, 2.89)
Available on MiLB.tv

Rancho Cucamonga at Lancaster at 9:00 CST
Probable Pitchers:  TBD

MONDAY'S RESULTS

Albuquerque over Oklahoma City 3-2
Dallas Keuchel (L, 3-1) just didn't look as sharp as usual in this one and ended up with his first loss, but he did still put up a quality start (even though his ERA skyrocketed all the way up to 1.67).  Jimmy Paredes was 3x4 with a double and Brett Wallace hit a solo home run, but the OKC hitters just weren't able to string together much of anything.

Corpus Christi over Midland 9-3
Erick Abreu pitched well in his first start of the season, a spot start.  Henry Villar pitched four somewhat rocky innings in relief and Kevin Chapman pitched a solid final inning.  Austin Wates, Jake Goebbert, Jonathan Singleton, Jordan Kreke and Andrew Simunic all had two hit nights, and both of Singleton's hits were doubles.  Brandon Barnes only had one hit, but it happened to be a three-run home run.  The home run plus a sac fly netted him four RBI's on the night.  This line-up is really starting to put up some gaudy offensive numbers.

GAME OF THE DAY
Lancaster over Rancho Cucamonga 8-4

What went right:  Just enough pitching plus two doubles, three triples and a home run ended Lancaster's four game skid.  Grimmett struggled early and late, but in between he pitched very well, and Brian Streilein worked around some trouble as he worked 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.  A Telvin Nash home run, an RBI single by Rene Garcia (one of four hits for him), and a three-RBI bases clearing triple by Jio Mier in the second gave Lancaster a lead that they never gave back.  And Adam Bailey rewarded my confidence in him (see Monday's T.J. Steele post) by going 3x4 with an outfield assist.

Zachary Grimmett (W, 1-1) - 5.1IP 7H 4R 2BB 7SO
Brian Streilein - 2.2IP 1H 1BB 3SO
Kirk Clark - 1IP 1H (still has a 0.00 ERA)

Jio Mier - 1x5 3B 3RBI SO
Telvin Nash - 1x2 HR RBI 3BB SO R
Erik Castro - 1x4 3B BB 2R
Jonathan Meyer - 2x4 3B RBI SO R SB
Adam Bailey - 3x4 RBI R
Rene Garcia - 4x4 2B RBI 2R

What went wrong: George Springer went 0x5 with five strikeouts.

PITCHER OF THE DAY
Brian Streilein got Grimmett out of one jam and got himself out of another to keep Lancaster's lead intact.  Lancaster needed this win and Streilein made sure that they got it.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Rene Garcia has been in a funk at the plate. Let's hope that going 4x4 with a double and an RBI will help get that turned around.

For more information (and different perspectives), you should check out Astros County and The Crawfish Boxes for their minor league recaps.

Happy Birthday - 3/21

C Rene Garcia (22)
Garcia was drafted in the 35th round in 2008 out of high school in his native Puerto Rico.  In 86 games for Lancaster in 2011, he hit .242/.288/.303 and had a 30% caught stealing percentage (37% for his minor league career).  During the winter, he played in 21 games for the Puerto Rican league.  Getting some home cooking must have agreed with him as he hit .333/.409/.487 in the winter.

RHP Bobby Doran (23)
Drafted in the 4th round in 2010 out of Texas Tech, Doran did not fare well in the launching pad at Lancaster in 2011.  Even though his home run rate was up, it was his elevated walk rate that really hurt him.  I'm not going to post his 2011 stats since it's his birthday.  A new season is beginning and Doran gets a fresh start to show us why he was a 4th round pick.

Photo by Bryan Green

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

1B Prentice Almont "Pidge" Browne (died June 3, 1997 at 68)
Browne played in 65 games for the Colt 45's in 1962, a rookie at 33.  According to Baseball-Reference:

Pidge Browne was a long time minor league star who at the age of 33 finally got a shot at the major leagues with the expansion Houston Colt .45's in 1962 ... He was the Texas League home run champion in 1955 when he hit 33 home runs for Shreveport. He later became a fan favorite playing for the Houston minor league team in the late 1950s. 

He hit .210/.298/.320 with four doubles, two triples and a home run for Houston that season and never played in the major leagues again.

OF Tommy Davis (73)
Davis came to Houston in a trade with the Seattle Pilots in August of 1969 and played for Houston for parts of the 1969 and 1970 seasons, hitting .271/.308/.377 over 81 games.  Davis spent parts of 18 seasons in the major leagues, playing 1999 games for 10 teams and earning All-Star nods and National League batting titles in 1962 and 1963.