Happy Birthday - 11/1

Happy Birthday to ~

3B Jonathan Meyer (24)
Drafted as a third round supplemental pick in 2009 out of high school in California, Meyer split his 2014 season between the Oklahoma City team and the Corpus Christi team, hitting a combined .215/.274/.280 with 13 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 51 RBI over 120 games.

RHP Frederick Tiburcio (24)
A non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic, Tiburcio pitched all but one of his games for Quad Cities (with a spot appearance in Oklahoma City). In 28 bullpen appearances, he was 4-3 with a 2.91 ERA, a 1.154 WHIP and seven saves.

RHP Anthony Bass (27)
Originally drafted by the Padres in the fifth round in 2008, Bass came to Houston in a trade for Astros Rule 5 pick Patrick Schuster. In 21 bullpen appearances for the Astros, he was 1-1 with a 6.33 ERA, 1.444 WHIP and two saves. In the minors, he was 0-2 with a 2.66 ERA, a 1.131 WHIP and one save in 17 appearances.

Three former Astros mark the day as well ~

RHP Rhiner Cruz (28)
Initially signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2003, Cruz was drafted from the Mets in the December 2011 Rule 5 draft. In 72 appearances for the Astros in 2012 and 2013, Cruz was 1-3 with a 5.31 ERA and a 1.703 WHIP. He most recently played for Rakuten in the Japan Pacific League.

RHP Russ Kemmerer (83)
Kemmerer came to Houston in a trade with the White Sox in June 1962. In a total of 53 appearances for the Colt .45's in 1962 and 1963, he was 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.366 WHIP.

OF Howie Goss (died July 31, 1996 at 61)

Goss came to Houston from the Pirates in April 1963 and played in 133 games for the 1963 Colt .45's with a .209/.264/.328.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Thursday, May 8, 2014

Oklahoma City 8, Memphis 3

W- David Martinez (4-2)
L- Scott McGregor (0-5)

OKC home runs: Jon Singleton (11, 2-run in 4th)

After getting their winning streak in late morning/early afternoon games snapped, the RedHawks came back to batter the Redbirds, jumping out to a 7-2 lead after the 4th inning.

Everyone in the lineup had a hit except for Robbie Grossman, who walked, scored a run, and stole a base (3) despite going 0-4. The steal (and eventually, the run) occurred in the 1st inning; he ended up on 3rd because the throw from Memphis catcher Ed Easley was errant. Grossman would score the first RedHawks run on a wild pitch from Scott McGregor, which also doubled as a walk to Kiké Hernandez. In the 2nd, OKC got a pair of RBI singles from Erik Castro and Jon Singleton, and Domingo Santana cracked a 2-run double. Singleton, who finished 3-5 with a couple of runs scored, added a 2-run blast (11) in the 4th. His 11 home runs are 2nd in the Minors to Arlington's Joey Gallo, who has 12 in Class A Advanced. Andy Simunic drove in the final RedHawks run of the evening on an RBI single in the 7th. Hernandez hit a double and scored twice.

David Martinez went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2. Rhiner Cruz allowed a hit and fanned 1 over 2 scoreless. Kevin Chapman allowed a single to Stephen Piscotty to lead off the 8th, but struck out Scott Moore and induced an inning-ending double play from Joey Butler. Jason Stoffel walked Pete Kozma to begin the 9th, but promptly erased him from the bases by getting Easley to GIDP, and Luis Mateo grounded out to Singleton to end it.

In the series finale, Bobby Doran (0-2, 6.83) will take on Boone Whiting (0-4, 5.06) at 7:05.

Frisco 5, Corpus Christi 3

W- Keone Kela (1-0)
L- Luis Cruz (3-3)
S- Phil Klein (1)

Corpus was done in by a 4-run bottom of the 3rd after they left the bases loaded in the top of the inning.

Luis Cruz pitched 4 innings and gave up 4 runs on 7 hits (3-run homer), walked 1, and struck out 3. Jordan Jankowski tagged in for 3 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 1, and fanned 3. Andrew Robinson worked around a single and a walk to throw a scoreless 8th, striking out 1.

M.P. Cokinos finished 2-3 and put the Hooks on the board with an RBI single in the 4th. Matt Duffy was 1-5 with an RBI double in the 5th and a sac fly in the 9th. Nolan Fontana and Andrew Aplin joined Cokinos in the 2-hit club. Both of them drew a walk; Aplin scored a run.

Kyle Smith (0-1, 10.80 with Corpus, 4-1, 3.86 season) will take on Alec Asher (2-3, 4.41) in game 2 of this series. First pitch is at 7:05.

Lancaster 3, Lake Elsinore 2

W- Dan Minor (3-1)
L- Cody Hebner (2-1)
S- Tyson Perez (1)

Lancaster home runs: None.

After dropping the opener, the JetHawks took the next 3 games and emerged with the lead in the California League South at the end of the 1st quarter of the season. My night was made when Astros Director of Pro Scouting Kevin Goldstein, who was making a guest appearance in the 6th and 7th innings, plugged Hello Panda cookies. If I'm not mistaken, it's a season-long promotion. Oh great, I feel like getting some. Try the strawberry ones, they're marvelous.

Um... sorry for the sidebar. As for the game, in the words of Morgan Ensberg, Tony Kemp is a Really Good Player. He had a perfect night at the plate, going 4-4 with a double to begin the game, an RBI single in the 7th, and scored 2 of the 3 JetHawks runs. Kemp's .448 on-base percentage leads the California League and is the 5th-best mark in Class A Advanced.

Teoscar Hernandez is now on a 7-game hitting streak, and he's posted multiple hits in 4 of his last 5 contests, not 4 straight as I originally tweeted last night. He went 3-4 with an RBI double in the 3rd. Carlos Correa kicked things off with an RBI single in the 1st and added a steal (6).

Mike Hauschild had a solid outing, as he allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in 5 innings. He also recorded 8 groundball outs, which is something he's rather adept at doing. Dan Minor, ever since that nightmare outing in which he gave up 5 runs (4 earned) while only getting 1 out on April 18, has now thrown 8.1 scoreless innings over 6 appearances. He got the victory as he allowed a hit, walked 2, and struck out 2 over 2 scoreless. Tyson Perez finished the final 2 innings and gave up a hit, walked 1, and fanned 4.

The JetHawks will be spending the weekend in beautiful Adelanto, where they'll take on High Desert in a 3-game set. Vince Velasquez (4-0, 2.88) will take on Scott DeCecco (1-2, 6.12) at 7:05 Pacific. Velasquez will face the Mavericks for the 3rd time this season; conversely, this is the 3rd time that the JetHawks will see DeCecco on the mound.

Quad Cities 6, Beloit 5

W- Zach Morton (2-1)
L- Stuart Pudenz (0-3)
S- Andrew Walter (3)

QC home runs: None.

The River Bandits rallied from a couple of 3-run deficits (down 3-0 after 4 innings and 5-2 after 7.5) and finally completed the comeback with 4 in the bottom of the 8th.

Michael Feliz, who was activated from the DL prior to this game, started off with 2 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 1, and striking out 2. Pat Christensen went 2 innings and allowed 3 runs (all in the 4th) on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Gonzalo Sañudo was next up; he went 2.2 innings and allowed a run (inherited runner charged to him) on 2 hits, walked 2 (!!!!!!, but 1 was intentional), and struck out 2. Zach Morton pitched 1.1 innings and allowed a run (his own; he allowed 1 of the 2 he inherited from Sañudo to score in the 7th) on 3 hits and struck out 1. Andrew Walter finished it off, striking out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th.

Brett Phillips tripled to lead off the 5th for QC and scored on a groundout by Chan-Jong Moon. Conrad Gregor began the 6th with a double and would come home on Ronnie Mitchell's single.

The first 3 batters in the bottom of the 8th reached: Jack Mayfield singled, Gregor walked, and Tyler White drove in Mayfield with a single. They both advanced on a sac bunt from Mitchell, and then Brian Holberton hit a sac fly to score Gregor. Jobduan Morales tied the game at 5 with an RBI double, and Phillips gave the Banditos the lead with an RBI double of his own. White finished 2-4; it's his 3rd consecutive multi-hit game. Phillips and Mayfield also had 2 hits each. Moon had a stolen base (9).

The middle game of this series features TBA (?-?, ?.??) for the River Bandits going up against Chris Lamb (0-0, 2.25). First pitch is at 7:00.

Three Stars: Position Players

3.

Photo courtesy of Bryan Green

Teoscar Hernandez, CF, Lancaster
3-4, 2B, RBI

2.

Jon Singleton, 1B, Oklahoma City
3-5, 2-R HR (11), 3 RBI, 2 R

1.

#169991367 / gettyimages.com

Tony Kemp, 2B, Lancaster
4-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R

Honorable Mentions: Brett Phillips, M.P. Cokinos, Tyler White


Three Stars: Pitchers

3.

Michael Feliz, RHP, Quad Cities

2 IP, H, BB, 2 K; first outing since coming off DL

2. OKC's bullpen slams it shut.

#167141434 / gettyimages.com

Rhiner Cruz, RHP
2 IP, H, K

#479763279 / gettyimages.com

Kevin Chapman, LHP

IP, H, K

Jason Stoffel, RHP

IP, BB

1. Lancaster relievers preserve lead.

Dan Minor, RHP

W (2-1), 2 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K

Tyson Perez, RHP

Save (1), 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K

Astros Minor League Recaps

Results for Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Let's play 2 in Davenport! Never mind.

Oklahoma City 2, Round Rock 0

W- Rhiner Cruz (1-0)
L- Justin Germano (1-3)
S- Josh Zeid (3)

OKC home runs: Gregorio Petit (2, 2-run in 1st)

This game lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes. This was the shortest OKC game since the 2012 season finale: September 3, 2012. The RedHawks topped Round Rock 1-0 that day in 2 hours, 2 minutes.

Well, there you have it. All the offense in this game came off the bat of Gregorio Petit in the 1st inning. That blast would also be the only OKC hit until the 6th, when Ronald Torreyes singled. Max Stassi had the other RedHawks hit, a single in the 7th.

The pitching staff combined on a 4-hitter. Mike Foltynewicz pitched 4 innings and allowed 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3. Rhiner Cruz threw 2 scoreless and allowed 2 hits while striking out 3. Chia-Jen Lo struck out 2 over 2 perfect frames, and Josh Zeid finished it with a 1-2-3 9th.

Jake Buchanan will face Ryan Feierabend in game 3 of this series. First pitch is at 7:05. The tandem system in OKC is now in a holding pattern, per Brian McTaggart.

Luhnow said OKC going with six-man rotation now that Seaton and Harrell out. Will go back to tandem starters later.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 29, 2014

OKC rotation: Owens, Foltynewicz, Buchanan, Tropeano, Martinez and Doran.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 29, 2014

Midland 9, Corpus Christi 8

W- Jesus Castillo (1-0)
L- Jorge De Leon (1-2)

CC home runs: Chris Epps (2, 3-run in 2nd)

The Hooks coughed up a 7-1 lead and wound up walking off with the loss after the RockHounds put up 4 in the bottom of the 9th.

7 of the 8 Corpus runs came in the 2nd inning. Tyler Heineman began the assault with a bases-clearing double. Chris Epps then clubbed a 3-run homer (2), and Matt Duffy added an RBI double. Andrew Aplin went 2-5 with an RBI single in the 9th, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Matt Duffy and M.P. Cokinos both finished 2-4, and everyone in the lineup scored a run except for Joe Sclafani, who was 0-2 with 3 walks.

Matt Heidenreich allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on a force out and a sac fly, a hit, walked 6, and struck out 2 in 4.2 innings of work. Jordan Jankowski went 1.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Travis Ballew was the only Hooks pitcher with a scoreless outing, as he allowed 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1 over 2 innings. Jorge De Leon blew it.

Game 2 will feature Tommy Shirley as he faces Drew Granier at 11:00 A.M. Is the tandem system also on hold in Corpus?

Lancaster 5, High Desert 3

W- Lance McCullers (1-1)
L- Scott DeCecco (1-2)
S- Jamaine Cotton (3)

Lancaster home runs: Brandon Meredith (5, solo in 8th)

Before the game, a players-only meeting was held. According to Eric Smith, although no one discussed what was said behind closed doors, it seems that the purpose was to let some frustration go. The venting looked like it had a positive effect, as the JetHawks snapped a 3-game losing streak. Lance McCullers rendered the High Desert offense useless, and now they're in a 3-way tie with the Mavericks and Lake Elsinore at the top of the Cal League South division.

The JetHawks struck out 17 batters, which tied a team record set back in 1997, when they were a Mariners affiliate. McCullers tossed 5 shutout innings and allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out a career-high 10. Kyle Smith allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits (solo homer) and struck out 7 in 3.2 innings. Jamaine Cotton got D.J. Peterson to fly out for the final out of the game.

The Lancaster offense finally cracked Scott DeCecco, who had really shackled them in his first 2 appearances. Brandon Meredith went 3-4; he singled to lead off the bottom of the 4th and scored the first run of the night on Dan Gulbransen's double. Gulbransen would score on a Carlos Perdomo sac fly, and Ruben Sosa added an RBI single to wrap up the scoring in the 4th. Perdomo, who went 2-3, scored on a force out that was hit by Jake Rodriguez in the 6th, and Meredith hit a solo shot (5) in the 8th. Rodriguez finished 2-4 with a run scored and was credited with an RBI on his force out in the 6th.

Josh Hader and Chris Devenski will face Dylan Unsworth in game 3 of this series. First pitch is at 6:30 Pacific.

Quad Cities and Clinton was rained out, again

Due to wet grounds. They'll play two doubleheaders; 2 games tonight and 2 games on Thursday. Kent Emanuel (game 1) and Jandel Gustave (game 2) will be the pitchers for tonight. Emanuel will face Eddie Campbell and Gustave is taking on Tommy Burns. First pitch of game 1 will be at 6:00.


Three Stars: Position Players

3. ALL THE OFFENSE

Gregorio Petit, SS, Oklahoma City
1-3, 2-R HR (2) in 1st

2. They only had 1 hit apiece, but they sure made 'em count.

Chris Epps, OF, Corpus Christi

As the DH: 3-R HR (2) in the 2nd

4 of Epps' 7 hits have gone for extra bases. He's sporting an .848 OPS despite only hitting .206 through his first 10 games with the Hooks.

Tyler Heineman, C, Corpus Christi
1-3, 3-R 2B in 2nd, R

1.

Brandon Meredith, OF/1B, Lancaster
3-4, solo HR (5), 2 R

Three Stars: Pitchers

Hmm.... shutout, or team record?

2.

Lance McCullers

W (1-1), 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 10 K

Kyle Smith

3.2 IP, 6 H (solo HR), 3 R (1 earned), 7 K

Jamaine Cotton

Save (3); Recorded final out of the game

Cotton only needed to get one out, but his role was just as big as McCullers' and Smith's. Also, if a team's pitchers all performed well, then it would make sense to include all of them, right?

1. OKC shutout wins.

Mike Foltynewicz

4 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 K

Rhiner Cruz

W (1-0), 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K

Chia-Jen Lo

2 IP, 2 K

Josh Zeid
Save (3), IP

Happy Birthday - 11/1

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Rhiner Cruz (27)
Initially signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2003, Cruz was drafted from the Mets in the December 2011 Rule 5 draft. Cruz split his 2013 season between Oklahoma City and Houston. In 37 appearances for the RedHawks, he had an ERA of 4.75 and a WHIP of 1.584. Those appearances were bookended by 20 appearances in Houston where he had a 3.38 ERA and a 1.688 WHIP.

3B Jonathan Meyer (23)
Drafted as a third round supplemental pick in 2009 out of high school in California, Meyer spent his 2013 season with the AA Corpus Christi team, hitting .260/.318/.403 with 24 doubles, 15 home runs and 68 RBI. He is currently playing with the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League.

RHP Frederick Tiburcio (23)
A non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic, Tiburcio is in his fifth season in the organization. He spent his 2013 season in Greeneville with good results. In 12 games (11 starts), he was 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA and a 1.096 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Russ Kemmerer (82)
Kemmerer came to Houston in a trade with the White Sox in June 1962. In a total of 53 appearances for the Colt .45's in 1962 and 1963, he was 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.366 WHIP.

OF Howie Goss (died July 31, 1996 at 61)

Goss came to Houston from the Pirates in April 1963 and played in 133 games for the 1963 Colt .45's with a .209/.264/.328.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Thursday's Games

Oklahoma City over Sacramento 7-2
Because of the tornadoes in the Dallas area on Wednesday night, the RedHawks ended up taking a bus to Dallas early Thursday morning to catch a flight, only to encounter more delays. Several team members barely made it to Sacramento before game time.

Andy Simunic ‏@AndySimunic
24 hrs later....we finally made it to California....that was some kind of travel day #canwedoitagain

CJ Fick ‏@chuckiefick
@AndySimunic we are in California too. Except, you're in Sacramento, and we are still in LA.

Andy Simunic ‏@AndySimunic
Minor detail

All of which makes their win Thursday night even more impressive. Brett Oberholtzer (4.1IP 4H 4BB 4SO) gave up the only two runs of the game before handing things off to the bullpen. Four relievers combined (Alex Sogard, Josh Zeid, Rhiner Cruz and Eric Berger) to allow only one hit the rest of the way. And that was a good thing because OKC trailed most of the way and the bullpen gave them the chance to get on top with a four-run seventh in which Andy Simunic (3x5 2R) hit a three-run double before scoring on a passed ball and error. Brett Wallace (2x5) added on a pair in the ninth with a two-run double. Jonathan Villar (2x4 2B BB R) and Austin Wates (2x4 R) also had good nights at the plate.

San Antonio over Corpus Christi 6-2

Starter R.J. Alaniz allowed two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five in his four and two-thirds innings. Matt Heidenreich finished off the frame. Josh Fields pitched a perfect sixth with one strikeout in his rehab appearance. Jorge de Leon allowed four runs, including a three-run homer, in his three innings of work. The Hooks offense struck early with an RBI single from Erik Castro in the first and late with a Rene Garcia (3x4) home run in the eighth. But in between, they were unable to capitalize on two Jio Mier doubles and a Jonathan Meyer double.

Visalia over Lancaster 6-5

David Rollins got the start, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five in three innings and was followed by two scoreless innings from T.J. Geith. The 'Hawks took the lead in the seventh, but Tyson Perez (3IP 3H 2R 1BB 1SO) surrendered two runs in the eighth to give the lead back to Visalia and was charged with the loss. Matt Duffy drove in two in the fourth and one in the seventh as he went three-for-five. Tyler Heineman (2x5) and Preston Tucker (1x4 BB) drove in the other two. Joe Sclafani went two-for-four with a double, walk and two runs scored. Sclafani is hitting .346/.433/.423 in his eight games with Lancaster. Andrew Aplin was two-for-three with two walks and a stolen base.

Quad Cities over Wisconsin 3-1
Colton Cain put up a solid four and a third innings, allowing the only Wisconsin run on five hits and two walks. Cain's tandem partner, Mike Hauschild came in with one out and one on in the fifth and gave up a single before inducing a double play ball. In three and two-thirds innings he allowed four hits while striking out three. John Neely pitched the ninth for his seventh save of the season. The River Bandits put up a trio of runs in the fifth by playing a little small ball. Austin Elkins scored on a throwing error, Carlos Correa drove in a run on a ground out and Miles Hamblin contributed an RBI single. There were no extra base hits in the game and Ariel Ovando had the only multi-hit game, hitting two singles.

Player of the Day: Despite all the travel delays and lack of sleep, Andy Simunic came through in the clutch with a two-out bases-clearing double for OKC in a very nice three-for-five night.

Pitchers of the Day: The OKC bullpen gets some love today for keeping the RedHawks in the game. Congratulations in particular go to Alex Sogard for a great AAA debut and Josh Zeid for his third win of the season in relief.

Roster Moves

HOUSTON
The moves of RHP Jordan Lyles and LHP Dallas Keuchel from AAA to Houston were finalized today. RHP Brad Peacock and RHP Rhiner Cruz were optioned to AAA in the corresponding move.

OKLAHOMA CITY
RHP Lance Day assigned from OKC to Extended Spring Training

Although I've seen nothing official, Asher Wojciechowski's mother tweeted yesterday that the RHP had been  promoted from Corpus Christi to OKC. Mom and Dad Wojo were on their way to Corpus Christi to see their son and did a U-turn to head to OKC instead. (Confirmed this afternoon.)

CORPUS CHRISTI
RHP Mike Foltynewicz tweeted this morning (and it was confirmed this afternoon) that he was being assigend from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.

GREENEVILLE
OF Jose Monzon traded to Colorado as the player to be named later in the Wilton Lopez trade

Happy Birthday - 11/1

RHP Rhiner Cruz (26)
Initially signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2003, Cruz was drafted from the Mets in the December 2011 Rule 5 draft. In 52 appearances for the Astros in 2012, Cruz had an ERA of 6.05 and a WHIP of 1.709. But that's not the whole story. Like much of the Astros bullpen, Cruz was effective early in the season and late in the season. In between? Not so much. In April, May and August through October, his ERA was 3.13 and his WHIP was 1.473. In June and July? 12.46 ERA and 2.250 WHIP.

3B Jonathan Meyer (22)
Drafted as a third round supplemental pick in 2009 out of high school in California, Meyer spent his second season with Lancaster in 2012, hitting .272/.315/.375 with 24 doubles, two triples and eight home runs. Like  many of his Lancaster teammates, his hot bat helped he JetHawks get to the playoffs as he hit .350/.409/.600 with four doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI in his final 10 regular season games. He carried that into the playoffs, hitting .343 with three doubles, two home runs, a stolen base and 10 RBI.

RHP Frederick Tiburcio (22)
A non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic, Tiburcio is in his fourth season in the organiztion. He spent 2011 with the GCL Astros and 2012 with the Greeneville Astros with remarkably similar results.

2011 - 12 games (10 starts), 3-5 record, 4.47 ERA, 1.399 WHIP, 54-1/3 IP
2012 - 12 games (11 starts), 3-5 record, 4.47 ERA, 1.354 WHIP, 58-1/3 IP

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

RHP Russ Kemmerer (81)
Kemmerer came to Houston in a trade with the White Sox in June 1962. In a total of 53 appearances for the Colt .45's in 1962 and 1963, he was 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.366 WHIP.

OF Howie Goss (died July 31, 1996 at 61)
Goss came to Houston from the Pirates in April 1963 and played in 133 games for the 1963 Colt .45's with a .209/.264/.328.

Roster Moves - 5/5

OKC
RHP Jarred Cosart assigned from CC to OKC made official.
RHP Rhiner Cruz assigned from HOU to OKC for rehab purposes

CC
LHP Wes Musick assigned from LAN to CC

It was also announced that RHP Aneury Rodriguez will be called up to Houston to make a start in place of the injured Kyle Weiland on Tuesday.

Roster Moves - 5/2

HOU
RHP Rhiner Cruz is being placed on the 15-day DL with an ankle sprain.
RHP Enerio del Rosario is being assigned from OKC to Houston.

I will post as soon as I receive confirmation about further roster moves in Lexington (as to who will be taking the place of Bushue, Hallock and King on the roster), but since I have to work my real job today, it may not be very timely.

Roster Moves - 12/8

RHP Rhiner Cruz and SS Marwin Gonzalez were placed on the Astros 40-Man Roster.  The roster now stands at 40.

The Astros picked RHP Rhiner Cruz in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft.  Here are his stats from the MiLB page.  One initial observation - weird splits on GO/AO.

In the AAA phase of the Rule 5 draft, the Astros picked RHP Marco Duarte.  Here are his stats from MiLB.  And, apparently, according to MLB Trade rumors (with a h/t to Bryan Trostel), the Astros promptly traded him to the Red Sox for their pick from the Cubs roster SS Marwin Gonzalez.  Here are HIS stats.

The Astros did not lose any players to the draft.  Here is the full list of players drafted in both the major league phase and the minor league phases, along with some analysis by Baseball America.