Astros Minor League Player Releases

I just got word that three more players were given their unconditional release by the Astros this morning:

RHP Charles Basford, 23, came to the Astros in the June 2013 Fernando Martinez trade with the Yankees.

IF Ryan Dineen, 23, was drafted by Houston in the 25th round in 2012 out of Eastern Illinois University.

LHP Kenny Long, 25, was drafted in the 22nd round in 2012 out of Illinois State University. Kenny was instrumental in helping the JetHawks win the California League Championship in 2012 as he shone out of the 'pen for that Lancaster team. He also provided us with many laughs as he was frequently featured in my Tweet of the Day.

I didn't really have an opportunity to get to know Dineen and, unfortunately, I never even met Basford, but I can assure you that Kenny Long will definitely be missed.

I'm running late, but you can click on the player's name to see their stats.

Happy Birthday - 3/2

Happy Birthday to ~

CF James Ramsay (22)
Drafted by Houston in the seventh round, Ramsay was recently named as the Astros best defensive player out of the 2013 draft. In 69 games for Tri-City, the lefty hit .258/.346/.357 overall, but hit .281/.387/.375 against his fellow southpaws.

3B Ryan Dineen (23)
Drafted in the 25th round in 2012 out of Eastern Illinois University, Dineen started the season with Quad Cities, but ended up back in Tri-City in June as he lacked consistency at the plate. For the season, he hit .218/.333/.252, but those numbers are somewhat misleading as he had a bit of a feast or famine kind of season.

One former Astro also celebrates today ~

RHP David Stefan "Bud" Norris (29)
A sixth round pick by the Astros in 2006, Norris pitched in 119 games for Houston from 2009 until his trade to Baltimore in July 2013 (for L.J. Hoes, Josh Hader and a compensation pick). He was 34-46 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.404 WHIP in those appearances. Albert Pujols has only managed a .194 batting average against Norris.

The Man, The Myth, The Moustache

There is currently a friendly competition at Quad Cities as several of the players are working on the facial hair component of their games. I can only surmise that this was inspired by the legendary caterpillar of Michael Dimock.

Ryan Dineen's offering is coming along quite nicely.

As is Jesse Wierzbicki's (but he's not exactly helped out by the light blonde hair).

Daniel Minor impressed me with this Fu Manchu that he assures me is only two weeks in the making.

He is followed in the pecking order by Catfish Elkins. I might rank Elkins higher, but with a nickname like Catfish, he needs to have more impressive whiskers (but he's working on it).

Lance McCullers is working on his as well and should benefit from his darker hair color (he and Elkins posed for this quick shot on my phone).

After that, the quality drops off considerably. Thankfully, Carlos Correa is better at fielding his position than he is at growing moustaches.

And finally I bring you the Rio Ruiz moustache, a work in progress. After I took this photo, he asked to see it, and then he ran off excitedly into the dugout, "You can see it! You can see it!" Ummm, yeah, well, kinda ...

Carry on gentlemen. I wholeheartedly approve. The quality 'stache and baseball go hand-in-hand. And baseball is nothing without tradition.

Roster Moves

OKLAHOMA CITY
2B Raoul Torrez assigned from Lancaster to Oklahoma City

LANCASTER
C Tyler Heineman activated from the DL
RHP Tyson Perez placed on the Temporary Inactive List

QUAD CITIES
DH Chase Davidson assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training
LHP Colton Cain assigned from Quad Cities to Extended Spring Training
3B Ryan Dineen assigned from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities (just sent to EST 4 days prior)
C Miles Hamblin assigned from Extended Spring Training to Quad Cities

Also, Grant Hogue tweeted today that he was moving on. Hogue is a terrific individual that was well loved by teammates and fans alike. I met him on a couple of occasions and could see why. Those who are privileged to have Grant in their midst next will definitely be the richer for it.

Roster Moves

I missed one from Sunday. 3B Ryan Dineen was assigned from Quad Cities back to Extended Spring Training.

Also, as I'm sure you're aware by now, RHP Jose Cisnero was called up from Oklahoma City to Houston and did a terrific job in his major league debut with three and two-thirds scoreless innings. In a corresponding move, LHP Brett Oberholtzer was returned to Oklahoma City after his one major league appearance.

Many on twitter expressed surprise that Oberholtzer was optioned back to Oklahoma City so quickly. It was not a surprising move to me at all. Because of the Astros pitching woes, they needed warm bodies to help out at the major league level and Oberholtzer was the freshest arm in OKC. I don't think the promotion was intended to be more than a stopgap measure at this time and I don't think Keuchel's move back to Oklahoma City was a demotion either. I think we will see both of them back in Houston sooner than later.

The front office is simply re-arranging the deck chairs as Astros pitching has been gouged by a Titanic-sized iceberg and is sinking rapidly. Luhnow rolled the dice on a lot of low risk, high reward types over the winter to shore up the pitching staff until some of the younger players in the system were ready. Right now, it's looking like he crapped out, but the season is still young. If one or two players like Cisnero, Oberholtzer or Keuchel can help patch the hole in the ship while the rest of the team bails water, the good ship Astros should be able to limp along through the season until she can be restored to her former glory.

Astros Minor League Recaps

Tuesday's Games

Clinton over Quad Cities 6-3 in 7 innings (Game 1)
Lance McCullers would probably just as soon forget this start as he allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk while striking out one in two and a third innings of work. A Joe Sclafani error came back to hurt McCullers, but so did a bases-loaded hit batter. Mitch Lambson came on to put out the fire with one out in the third and pitched three and two-thirds scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk with three strikeouts and Cameron Lamb finished it off with a scoreless frame, but the damage was already done by that point. Quad Cities only had one hit (a Chase Davidson double in the first) through the first six innings and didn't manage to get on the board until that frame. That the River Bandits managed to score at all was pretty impressive considering they only had two hits in the game, the second being a Terrell Joyce RBI double in the seventh. They were, however, helped out by their nine walks (Sclafani with three of them) which allowed runs to score on a Jesse Wierzbicki sac fly and a Carlos Correa ground out. Davidson got his first stolen base of the season and Joyce was credited with an outfield assist.

Quad Cities over Clinton 3-2 in 7 innings (Game 2)
Daniel Minor got the start and gave up two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in four innings pitched before giving way to Michael Dimock who shut the door beautifully with three perfect frames in which he struck out four. The Bandits did all their scoring in the fifth inning on an RBI single from the just promoted Austin Elkins and a two-run double from Ryan Dineen. Quad Cities was held to five hits -- two of them belonged to Jesse Wierzbicki.

High Desert over Lancaster 6-5 in 11 innings
Aaron West cruised through his first four innings very effectively before giving up two solo jacks in the fifth inning. Luis Cruz then turned a 5-2 lead into a 5-5 tie in his three innings of work. Cruz was followed by a phenomenal performance from Travis Ballew who proceeded to collect six straight swinging strikeouts in the ninth and 10th innings. The 'Hawks were unable to convert a bases loaded situation in the top of the 11th, and Tommy Shirley's one pitch exited stage right for a walk-off. Preston Tucker was 3-for-5 with a home run, and Drew Muren was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI single. Andrew Aplin, Zach Johnson and Matt Duffy also doubled in the game.

Tulsa over Corpus Christi 9-3
A double, triple, single, wild pitch and throwing error was all it took to put the Hooks in a 3-0 hole in the first inning as R.J. Alaniz ultimately allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits while striking out three in five innings. But that line looked great compared to the five runs allowed by Matt Heidenreich on three home runs in only one and a third innings. Lefties Pat Urckfitz and Alex Sogard took it the rest of the way with scoreless outings. Corpus finally hit the run column in the seventh inning courtesy of a two-run home run from Rene Garcia, his first of the season. George Springer followed with a solo home run in the eighth. Austin Wates was 2-for-5 with a triple.

Round Rock over Oklahoma City 8-6
If Brett Oberholtzer could just erase the third inning, he would have had a terrific outing, as he allowed only one hit and one walk in the other four innings he pitched. Unfortunately, he allowed four hits and a walk and all five of those runners scored on a Jurickson Profar three-run home run and a Joey Butler two-run shot. No tandem pitching for OKC last night, though, as five relievers took their turns. Kevin Chapman was charged with three runs (one earned) as Josh Zeid allowed two inherited runners to score. Eric Berger saw his first action as an Astro, facing three batters and walking one. The RedHawks took an early lead scoring four in the second, but the lead was shortlived. Two additional runs scored on a Marc Krauss double in the eighth (the only extra base hit) that brought OKC within striking distance. Jake Elmore was running wild on the bases, stealing two and getting caught once. Che-Hsuan Lin and Jimmy Paredes each stole a base as well.

Player of the Day: Ryan Dineen's two-run RBI for Quad Cities was the ultimate game winner.

Pitchers of the Day: It's another tie as two relievers deserve acknowledgment. Travis Ballew simply dominated the High Desert crew with his six strike outs swinging and gave them the chance to win, a chance which was unfortunately not cashed in. And Michael Dimock's three perfect frames for Quad Cities preserved their tenuous 3-2 lead.

Happy Birthday - 3/2

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP David Stefan "Bud" Norris (28)
A sixth round pick by the Astros in 2006, Norris was 7-13 in 29 starts in 2012 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.372 WHIP. My birthday wish for Bud is that he transfers his Cardinal-whipping abilities to the Angels in the new season.

SS Ryan Dineen (22)
Drafted in the 25th round in 2012 out of Eastern Illinois University, Dineen played his first professional season with the Tri-City team. In 66 games, he hit .217/.314/.287.

Minor League Results

Saturday's' Results

GCL Nationals 6 GCL Astros 8

The Astros committed 4 errors Saturday but still found a way to win.  Darwin Rivera ( 3 for 4) and Jose Solano (1 for 4) both hit homeruns in the game.  Rio Ruiz went 1 for 3 with 2 walks.  Edison Frias (3-0) picked up the win after coming on in the 4th for 4 innings, allowing a run on 4 hits and striking out 1.

Greeneville Astros Bristol White Sox

-postponed

Tri-City ValleyCats 11 Jamestown Jammers 1

The ValleyCats benefitted from an offensive explosion on Saturday.  3 Tri-City players had multi-hit performances.  Ryan Dineen went 1 for 1 at the plate and drew 4 walks.  Jesse Wierzbicki hit 3 for 5 with 2 RBI.  Tri-City pitching was on fire too, allowing just 4 hits Saturday.  Aaron West got the win and gave up the only run in the 4th inning.  West also struck out 4 in 6 innings.

Lancaster JetHawks 3 Modesto Nuts 11  

Lancaster was outscored on Saturday, plain and simple.  Jorge De Leon (2-8) picked up the loss after allowing 6 runs on 9 hits through, walking 2 and striking out 3 through 5 innings on the bump.  George Springer had a nice night at the plate.  Springer went 2 for 3 and drew a walk. Domingo Santana hit 2 for 4 with a pair of RBIs and a homer. 

Hagerstown Suns 9 Lexington Legends 4

The Legends started a rally in the 7th, but it proved to be too little too late.  Juri Perez, who was in his debut, allowed 5 runs on 6 hits over 4 innings.  Perez also K'd 6 batters.  Every Legends pitcher gave up at least a run in this game.  Nolan Fontana went 3 for 4 at the dish.  Mike Kvasnicka and Chan Moon both went 2 for 4 with a couple of RBIs each.

Frisco RoughRiders 11 Corpus Christi Hooks 7

The game was back and forth for the first few innings on Saturday at Whataburger Field.  Chris Wallace went 2 for 3 at the plate with double and a walk.  Rob Rasmussen was charged with his first loss after giving up 6 runs on 8 hits through the first 3 innings.  It was a tough outing all around for Corpus Christi pitchers.  Josh Zeid, who came on for the final two frames, gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and struck out a pair. 

New Orleans Zephyrs 8 Oklahoma City RedHawks 0

Oklahoma City got shut out at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Saturday.  The opposition only scored in 2 innings, but without any RedHawks offense, it was too much.  Armando Galarraga moved to 2-2 after picking up the loss.  Galarraga allowed 5 runs in the 2nd inning and struck out 3.  Jonnathan Aristil came on for the final two frames and only allowed a hit and struck out 2. Matt Dominguez went 2 for 3 at the plate with a walk and a double.

Player of the Day: Ryan Dineen gets the honor today for going 1 for 1 at the plate and drawing 4 walks.  Good eye, Dineen.

Pitcher of the Day: Aaron West gets the nod for throwing 6 strong innings on Saturday.  He gave up a run on 3 hits, but who cares when your team scores 11 in route to their 5th win a row?