Now that the season is over, players find out if they are in a teams plans or not. Sometimes that means a door is opened for a new opportunity with a new team and sometimes it means a career may be over. Here is the list of transactions that have occurred since this season ended that involve former G-Stros. For those who have been declared a free agent, I have listed the last team they were affiliated with.
I am also including any players still on active rosters (MILB & MLB) so that you can see what results those teams have produced.
2004
Jimmy Barthmaier - declared a free agent by the Nationals.
Juan Gutierrez - re-signed by the Royals to a minor league deal.
Jordan Parraz - re-signed a minor league deal with the Braves.
Wladimir Sutil - declared a free agent by the Dbacks.
J.R. Towles - declared a free agent by the Twins. (Update signed to minor league contract with Cardinals)
Felipe Paulino (Royals-DL) and Troy Patton (Orioles) are the last two on Major League rosters.
2005
Koby Clemens - released by Blue Jays before end of season.
Victor Garate - released by Brewers before end of the season.
Ralph Henriquez - released by Mariners before end of season. (Signed to minor league contract with Rockies)
That leaves only Brandon Barnes left in affiliated ball from the 2005 G-Stros.
2006
Amadeo Zazueta (Blue Jays) and Tom Vessella (Giants) were on minor league rosters at the end of the season and have not been declared free agents or released yet. Both Barnes & Henriquez were also on this team.
2007
Fernando Abad - removed from the Astros 40 man roster, cleared waivers and is a free agent. (Update - signed to a minor league deal with the Nationals)
Arcenio Leon - removed from Astros 40 man roster and was claimed by the Brewers.
In addition to those two, the only player left on an active roster is Albert Cartwright (Phillies - minors).
2008
The following players have been released by the Astros organization:
Brad Dydalewicz
Nathan Pettus
Jose Trinidad
Jay Austin (before season ended)
Kody Hinze (before season ended)
In addition to those, Jorge De Leon was removed from the 40 man roster, cleared waivers and is a free agent.
Henry Villar was declared a free agent by the Astros.
There are still seven players in the Astros system from that team (Altuve, Lyles, Urckfitz, Grimmett, L. Cruz, Seaton, R. Garcia). Also Cartwright was on this roster too.
2009
Gabriel Garcia was released by the Astros. There are still 12 players from this roster active in the Astros organization.
2010
The following players have been released by the Astros organization.
Ricardo Batista
Emilio King
Rodney Quintero
There are still 14 players from this roster active in the Astros organization.
2011
The following players have been released by the Astros organization
Juan Mojica
Brad Propst
Garen Wright
Joshua Magee (released during the season and is now on the Alabama football roster as a walk on).
(Batista & Quintero were also on this roster)
There are 22 players from this roster active in the Astros organization.
2012
James Howick was released by the Astros organization. Propst was also on this roster. There are 39 players from this roster active in the Astros organization.
Showing posts with label Howick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Howick. Show all posts
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Season Recap: Infielders
Lets go around the diamond and look at how the infielders did in 2012 for the G-Stros.
I will start with the 2012 MVP Brian Blasik. The Non Drafted Free Agent out of the University of Dayton had a very impressive 2012. He appeared in 48 games at second and also put in five appearances at third and one in left field. At second, he showed a sure glove. He made just four errors in 212 chances for a fielding percentage of .981.
At the plate, Blasik stayed among the league leaders in average for the season and finished with a solid .318 average. Had he not suffered an injured hand in August, he might have appeared in just about every game. Still he batted in 55 of the G-Stros 68 games. He only hit one home run but had 18 extra base hits out of the 69 hits collected. He also started taking more walks as the season progressed. He is a very aggressive hitter as well. With Blasik's solid glove, solid bat, versatility in the field and his age; I would not be surprised to see him at high A next year. Definitely a great sign by the Astros' scouting department.
Jean Batista was another solid performer in 2012 for the G-Stros. In the field, he played 26 games at first, 11 at second and 10 at short. He was new to first base when the season began and made some early errors but acclimated to the position well. He made three errors at first in 226 chances (.987 fielding %). In the middle infield, he struggled more defensively. He made two errors at second in 54 chances (.964 fielding %) and made five errors at short in 71 chances (.930 fielding %). I would have like to have seen him at third some. However, he did play four games there after his promotion to TriCities with less than stellar results.
Batista is a hitter. Twenty seven of his 69 hits in Greeneville went for extra bases (19 doubles, two triples and six HR). He left Greeneville with a .321/.345/.531 slash line in 51 games. Batista hit well in TriCities in a small sample size as well.
Batista lost a year of development due to age related issues surrounding his signing. These are chronicled in the documentary Pelotero. Batista appears to be working hard to make up for lost time and will likely be in full season ball next year. I expect you will continue to see him playing multiple positions as a means of finding ways to get his bat in the line up.
Carlos Correa came to Greeneville late in the season and let it be known he was worthy of the first overall draft pick. He was solid in the field making some tough plays in the hole look easy. He did make one error in the 43 chances he has at short (.977 fielding %). He was equally impressive at the plate where he hit .371/.450/600 over 11 games. His baseball IQ impressed several of the folks I talked to about him. Barring an injury, I expect to see him in Quad Cities next season.
Rio Ruiz also got a late call up. In nine games at third, he made just one error in 20 chances (.950 fielding %). He received an AB in 15 games. he showed descent pop with five of his 11 hits going for extra bases. Yet, overall, his numbers dropped after his promotion. As always, caution should be used in making projections from short season numbers. I think we will get a good look at Ruiz next spring in Quad Cities.
Michael Martinez played 42 games at first. He played a solid first base, making just two errors. The 22 year old from Florida International batted in 48 games. He hit a solid .277 for the season. He finished strong with a .292 average for August with a equally strong .391 OBP. His power dropped as the year went on but his strike outs did too. He fanned just eight times in August (72 AB) after striking out 18 times in July (62 AB). He walked 11 times in August after walking 11 times in June & July combined. Solid production from the 36th round draft choice.
Angel Ibanez showed improvement over the season. He played 53 games at third and added in four appearances at first and a cameo in left for one game. At third, he made 11 errors in 118 chances (.907 fielding %). There is no game log for errors so I can't verify this but my memory is that most of those were in the first part of the season. At the plate, Ibanez didn't show much pop but he did handle the bat fairly well. He hit .264 over 60 games.
Jimmy Howick made his pro debut in Lexington this year after missing all of 2011 after being drafted in the 21st round. After starting the season in Lexington, he was brought down to Greeneville where he played a great deal of short to start the season. He played 39 games at short, and five games at second this season. He made seven errors at short in 149 chances for a .953 fielding percentage. At the plate, he got off to a descent start with a .278 average in 10 games in June but fell off from there. He finished with a .121 August in 11 games that brought his season average down to .201.
Jose Fernandez also moved down from Lexington to Greeneville during the season. He played in eight games at short, two games at second and one game at first. The sample sizes are really too small to know what to make of Fernandez at the plate but he appeared to struggle making contact. He won't turn 20 until next May, so he is still very young.
On a side note,Josh Magee, who was released early in the season has walked on at Alabama and is listed on their roster as a wide receiver. He is #88 and has not made a catch yet.
I will start with the 2012 MVP Brian Blasik. The Non Drafted Free Agent out of the University of Dayton had a very impressive 2012. He appeared in 48 games at second and also put in five appearances at third and one in left field. At second, he showed a sure glove. He made just four errors in 212 chances for a fielding percentage of .981.
At the plate, Blasik stayed among the league leaders in average for the season and finished with a solid .318 average. Had he not suffered an injured hand in August, he might have appeared in just about every game. Still he batted in 55 of the G-Stros 68 games. He only hit one home run but had 18 extra base hits out of the 69 hits collected. He also started taking more walks as the season progressed. He is a very aggressive hitter as well. With Blasik's solid glove, solid bat, versatility in the field and his age; I would not be surprised to see him at high A next year. Definitely a great sign by the Astros' scouting department.
Jean Batista was another solid performer in 2012 for the G-Stros. In the field, he played 26 games at first, 11 at second and 10 at short. He was new to first base when the season began and made some early errors but acclimated to the position well. He made three errors at first in 226 chances (.987 fielding %). In the middle infield, he struggled more defensively. He made two errors at second in 54 chances (.964 fielding %) and made five errors at short in 71 chances (.930 fielding %). I would have like to have seen him at third some. However, he did play four games there after his promotion to TriCities with less than stellar results.
Batista is a hitter. Twenty seven of his 69 hits in Greeneville went for extra bases (19 doubles, two triples and six HR). He left Greeneville with a .321/.345/.531 slash line in 51 games. Batista hit well in TriCities in a small sample size as well.
Batista lost a year of development due to age related issues surrounding his signing. These are chronicled in the documentary Pelotero. Batista appears to be working hard to make up for lost time and will likely be in full season ball next year. I expect you will continue to see him playing multiple positions as a means of finding ways to get his bat in the line up.
Carlos Correa came to Greeneville late in the season and let it be known he was worthy of the first overall draft pick. He was solid in the field making some tough plays in the hole look easy. He did make one error in the 43 chances he has at short (.977 fielding %). He was equally impressive at the plate where he hit .371/.450/600 over 11 games. His baseball IQ impressed several of the folks I talked to about him. Barring an injury, I expect to see him in Quad Cities next season.
Rio Ruiz also got a late call up. In nine games at third, he made just one error in 20 chances (.950 fielding %). He received an AB in 15 games. he showed descent pop with five of his 11 hits going for extra bases. Yet, overall, his numbers dropped after his promotion. As always, caution should be used in making projections from short season numbers. I think we will get a good look at Ruiz next spring in Quad Cities.
Michael Martinez played 42 games at first. He played a solid first base, making just two errors. The 22 year old from Florida International batted in 48 games. He hit a solid .277 for the season. He finished strong with a .292 average for August with a equally strong .391 OBP. His power dropped as the year went on but his strike outs did too. He fanned just eight times in August (72 AB) after striking out 18 times in July (62 AB). He walked 11 times in August after walking 11 times in June & July combined. Solid production from the 36th round draft choice.
Angel Ibanez showed improvement over the season. He played 53 games at third and added in four appearances at first and a cameo in left for one game. At third, he made 11 errors in 118 chances (.907 fielding %). There is no game log for errors so I can't verify this but my memory is that most of those were in the first part of the season. At the plate, Ibanez didn't show much pop but he did handle the bat fairly well. He hit .264 over 60 games.
Jimmy Howick made his pro debut in Lexington this year after missing all of 2011 after being drafted in the 21st round. After starting the season in Lexington, he was brought down to Greeneville where he played a great deal of short to start the season. He played 39 games at short, and five games at second this season. He made seven errors at short in 149 chances for a .953 fielding percentage. At the plate, he got off to a descent start with a .278 average in 10 games in June but fell off from there. He finished with a .121 August in 11 games that brought his season average down to .201.
Jose Fernandez also moved down from Lexington to Greeneville during the season. He played in eight games at short, two games at second and one game at first. The sample sizes are really too small to know what to make of Fernandez at the plate but he appeared to struggle making contact. He won't turn 20 until next May, so he is still very young.
On a side note,Josh Magee, who was released early in the season has walked on at Alabama and is listed on their roster as a wide receiver. He is #88 and has not made a catch yet.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Eyewitness Report 8/27/12: G-Stros 2, Bluefield 5
Let's take a look at the next to last game of the season for the G-Stros. Here are my first hand observations.
On The Mound:
Francis Ramirez got the start and wasn't sharp but he battled well. He twice stranded runners at third to end innings. He hit two batters and walked two more. He threw 75 pitches with 48 of those coming in the first two innings.
Michael Dimock pitched one inning in relief. He was inconsistent as he had two three pitch strike outs and a four pitch walk. The run he allowed was on base due to a triple down the line.
Joe Musgrove came in and pitched the next inning. His 1,2,3 6th inning was aided by great defense by D'Andre Toney in center and Angel Ibanez at third. He came out to pitch in the seventh and got roughed up. He gave up a ground rule double that would have been a triple had the ball not rolled under the padding of the gate in RF. That was followed by a triple. During the next at bat, he unleashed a wild pitch that resulted in a play at the plate. Genoves' throw was low and Musgrove attempted to tag the runners hand while still standing up. He thought he tagged him, the ump disagreed and called the runner safe. Musgrove said something as he walked by the ump and he was tossed.
Tanner Bushue came in to pitch with a 2-1 count on the batter. The batter ended up walking but that walk was charged to Musgrove since the count was in the batters favor when Bushue entered. He then proceeded to pitch 2 2/3 innings of 1 hit ball with five strike outs.
I know folks are frustrated at the lack of development in Bushue since he was drafted in the 2nd round in 2009. However, what he has shown in August gives me hope that something has clicked. He appeared in seven games this month (15 2/3 IP) and gave up just nine hits, five walks and one earned run; while striking out 23 batters. Had he gone to college, he would have been draft eligible this year. That makes me cautiously optimistic.
At The Plate
The G-Stros managed to get 11 base runners despite only getting four hits. They took five walks, had one hit batsman and reached on one error.
Brian Blasik had two of the teams four hits. He also stole a base and scored a run.
Ariel Ovando didn't get a hit but took two walks. One was a four pitch walk from a new pitcher. The other was a full count walk.
Jose Monzon hit a solid double for the best hit of the night. However, he earned my ire earlier in the game for getting picked of first by going back to the bag standing. Get your uniform dirty son!
In The Field
There was a bit of fruit basket turnover in the field after Mark Wik hit the wall chasing down the first triple of the game. When he left, Blasik moved from 2nd to LF and Jimmy Howick came in to play second.
Toney did an excellent job of tracking down a ball in deep left center.
Ibanez made a great play behind the bag at third and gunned the runner at first.
Ernesto Genoves threw out two base runners and did a nice job of dealing with a bunch of balls in the dirt.
Jimmy Howick did the little things well at second. A ground ball was hit to first that Martinez pulled up on to quickly. It would have been an error but Howick was moving on the play and Dimock was covering for the rare 4-1 ground out.
Overall Observations
It wasn't the best game I had seen them play. The team appeared to lack some energy at times. This is to be somewhat expected after being eliminated from the playoffs the night before. It was nice to see them battle back late in the game for some runs and even have the tying run at the plate in the 8th. One more game to go.
On The Mound:
Francis Ramirez got the start and wasn't sharp but he battled well. He twice stranded runners at third to end innings. He hit two batters and walked two more. He threw 75 pitches with 48 of those coming in the first two innings.
Michael Dimock pitched one inning in relief. He was inconsistent as he had two three pitch strike outs and a four pitch walk. The run he allowed was on base due to a triple down the line.
Joe Musgrove came in and pitched the next inning. His 1,2,3 6th inning was aided by great defense by D'Andre Toney in center and Angel Ibanez at third. He came out to pitch in the seventh and got roughed up. He gave up a ground rule double that would have been a triple had the ball not rolled under the padding of the gate in RF. That was followed by a triple. During the next at bat, he unleashed a wild pitch that resulted in a play at the plate. Genoves' throw was low and Musgrove attempted to tag the runners hand while still standing up. He thought he tagged him, the ump disagreed and called the runner safe. Musgrove said something as he walked by the ump and he was tossed.
Tanner Bushue came in to pitch with a 2-1 count on the batter. The batter ended up walking but that walk was charged to Musgrove since the count was in the batters favor when Bushue entered. He then proceeded to pitch 2 2/3 innings of 1 hit ball with five strike outs.
I know folks are frustrated at the lack of development in Bushue since he was drafted in the 2nd round in 2009. However, what he has shown in August gives me hope that something has clicked. He appeared in seven games this month (15 2/3 IP) and gave up just nine hits, five walks and one earned run; while striking out 23 batters. Had he gone to college, he would have been draft eligible this year. That makes me cautiously optimistic.
At The Plate
The G-Stros managed to get 11 base runners despite only getting four hits. They took five walks, had one hit batsman and reached on one error.
Brian Blasik had two of the teams four hits. He also stole a base and scored a run.
Ariel Ovando didn't get a hit but took two walks. One was a four pitch walk from a new pitcher. The other was a full count walk.
Jose Monzon hit a solid double for the best hit of the night. However, he earned my ire earlier in the game for getting picked of first by going back to the bag standing. Get your uniform dirty son!
In The Field
There was a bit of fruit basket turnover in the field after Mark Wik hit the wall chasing down the first triple of the game. When he left, Blasik moved from 2nd to LF and Jimmy Howick came in to play second.
Toney did an excellent job of tracking down a ball in deep left center.
Ibanez made a great play behind the bag at third and gunned the runner at first.
Ernesto Genoves threw out two base runners and did a nice job of dealing with a bunch of balls in the dirt.
Jimmy Howick did the little things well at second. A ground ball was hit to first that Martinez pulled up on to quickly. It would have been an error but Howick was moving on the play and Dimock was covering for the rare 4-1 ground out.
Overall Observations
It wasn't the best game I had seen them play. The team appeared to lack some energy at times. This is to be somewhat expected after being eliminated from the playoffs the night before. It was nice to see them battle back late in the game for some runs and even have the tying run at the plate in the 8th. One more game to go.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Defense, Defense, Defense
Last night, Brian Blasik made his first error of the season. In fact he made two. They were the first errors made by any G-Stros second baseman this season. My eyes had told me it was a solid defense and we needed an upgrade from last years defense that featured a team record 30 errors by one third baseman.
Let's look at how much of a defensive upgrade 2012 is from 2011.
Quite a drop from almost two errors a game to less than one. That stat makes the pitching staff happy. Note that the only area currently higher is shortstop. That number is skewed by Jean Batista's four errors in four games played at shortstop. Jimmy Howick has made five errors in 24 games.
Before you get too down on Batista, he has made only one error at first in 15 games and none at second in seven games. First base is a new position for him. Last year he played a few games at third but he hasn't ventured over there this year. I would like to see him there and wouldn't be surprised eventually to see him play some outfield. I am beginning to wonder if Batista might wind up being a super utility kind of player in the mold of Omar Infante. Good bat but not defensively great at any position.
One other indication of the growth is in one repeating player. Ariel Ovando committed seven errors last season and a .904 fielding percentage. This season he has made just one error and has a .967 fielding percentage.
Let's look at how much of a defensive upgrade 2012 is from 2011.
Quite a drop from almost two errors a game to less than one. That stat makes the pitching staff happy. Note that the only area currently higher is shortstop. That number is skewed by Jean Batista's four errors in four games played at shortstop. Jimmy Howick has made five errors in 24 games.
Before you get too down on Batista, he has made only one error at first in 15 games and none at second in seven games. First base is a new position for him. Last year he played a few games at third but he hasn't ventured over there this year. I would like to see him there and wouldn't be surprised eventually to see him play some outfield. I am beginning to wonder if Batista might wind up being a super utility kind of player in the mold of Omar Infante. Good bat but not defensively great at any position.
One other indication of the growth is in one repeating player. Ariel Ovando committed seven errors last season and a .904 fielding percentage. This season he has made just one error and has a .967 fielding percentage.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Eye Witness Report: July 13 Greeneville 3 Elizabethton 2
The game on Friday the 13th was unique. The game lasted 2 hours and 52 minutes and there was a 2 hour and 51 minute rain delay in the middle of the 4th inning. The post game fireworks were moved to mid game fireworks, to kill time while the field was being readied for play to resume. It was neat to watch the players who were warming up, stop and watch the fireworks. Just a reminder of how they are still kids in many ways. On to the game action:
On the mound:
Francis Ramirez had a solid start going when the rains came. I was able to talk to another teams scout during the rain delay and I asked him what Ramirez was throwing. He said " 90-93 fastball and is locating it well. Curve ball doesn't have much bite though."
Strikeouts were plentiful as G-Stro pitchers struck out a total of 15 E-Twins while walking five. The E-Twin batters lead the league with 4.6 walks again so it was a pretty average game for them. However, they average only 7.6 Ks per game so Greeneville pitchers did a nice job.
Two guys from the pen really impressed me Friday night. Jordan Jankowski came in with bases loaded and two outs in the fifth and fanned Travis Harrison who has only 13 strike outs in 85 at bats this season and is hitting .341 on the season. He also had a 1,2,3 sixth. He allowed a run in the seventh before being pulled from the game.
Euris Quezada got the win with three innings of work. He allowed just one base runner on a walk and struck out five batters. Remember - the team batting average for Elizabethton is .297. This is the best offense in the league.
At the plate:
Greeneville did just enough to win this one at the plate. They also had the strike out bug; fanning 14 times. Only Angel Ibanez didn't strike out but he found other unique ways to make outs. He was picked off of first twice and was called out for batter interference in the 10th. One of the pick offs was with runners at 1st and 3rd and one out in the inning. I bet I know what he will be working on.
D'Andre Toney was effective in the lead off spot getting on base three times, with a hit and two walks. He laid down a sac bunt as well that lead to James Howick scoring after the catcher threw the ball into left trying get the runner at third.
Brian Blasik came through with a big hit again after starting the night 0-4 with three strike outs, he roped a double near the line in left that scored Toney with the game winning run in the 10th.
In the field:
James Howick had the play of the game at shortstop. In the seventh inning, with score tied at two and runners at first and third, he made a diving stop on a hard hit grounder and started a 6-4-3 double play.
Summary
Big win for Greeneville. They took two out of three for the best team in the league despite being out scored in the series 18-11. They cut the lead of the E-twins down to 1 1/2 games as a result of the extra inning win.
Combined with the Sunday sweep of a double header with the Bristol Sox, the G-Stros are only 1 game back of the E-Twins for the division lead and are three games up on the Johnson City Cardinals for the wild card spot.
On the mound:
Francis Ramirez had a solid start going when the rains came. I was able to talk to another teams scout during the rain delay and I asked him what Ramirez was throwing. He said " 90-93 fastball and is locating it well. Curve ball doesn't have much bite though."
Strikeouts were plentiful as G-Stro pitchers struck out a total of 15 E-Twins while walking five. The E-Twin batters lead the league with 4.6 walks again so it was a pretty average game for them. However, they average only 7.6 Ks per game so Greeneville pitchers did a nice job.
Two guys from the pen really impressed me Friday night. Jordan Jankowski came in with bases loaded and two outs in the fifth and fanned Travis Harrison who has only 13 strike outs in 85 at bats this season and is hitting .341 on the season. He also had a 1,2,3 sixth. He allowed a run in the seventh before being pulled from the game.
Euris Quezada got the win with three innings of work. He allowed just one base runner on a walk and struck out five batters. Remember - the team batting average for Elizabethton is .297. This is the best offense in the league.
At the plate:
Greeneville did just enough to win this one at the plate. They also had the strike out bug; fanning 14 times. Only Angel Ibanez didn't strike out but he found other unique ways to make outs. He was picked off of first twice and was called out for batter interference in the 10th. One of the pick offs was with runners at 1st and 3rd and one out in the inning. I bet I know what he will be working on.
D'Andre Toney was effective in the lead off spot getting on base three times, with a hit and two walks. He laid down a sac bunt as well that lead to James Howick scoring after the catcher threw the ball into left trying get the runner at third.
Brian Blasik came through with a big hit again after starting the night 0-4 with three strike outs, he roped a double near the line in left that scored Toney with the game winning run in the 10th.
In the field:
James Howick had the play of the game at shortstop. In the seventh inning, with score tied at two and runners at first and third, he made a diving stop on a hard hit grounder and started a 6-4-3 double play.
Summary
Big win for Greeneville. They took two out of three for the best team in the league despite being out scored in the series 18-11. They cut the lead of the E-twins down to 1 1/2 games as a result of the extra inning win.
Combined with the Sunday sweep of a double header with the Bristol Sox, the G-Stros are only 1 game back of the E-Twins for the division lead and are three games up on the Johnson City Cardinals for the wild card spot.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Eyewitness Report: 6/21/12 Gville 10, Johnson City 3
Tonight, my son & I took in the game at Johnson City. The game was never really in doubt for Greeneville as they put up five runs in the first and forced Greeneville starter Francis Ramirez to return to the bull pen to throw to stay loose. The G-Stros sent nine men to the plate in the first. They tacked on single runs in the second, third & fourth innings before putting up a zero on the board. They added two more in the seventh to wrap up the scoring.
In The Field
Defensively, the Astros played error free ball. They bobbled a few balls on the infield but were able to stay with them and still get outs. Most of the bounces went their way tonight. One example of the gracious bounces of the ball tonight is found in the ninth. MILB described the play this way:
The Astros also benefited from a botched run down and a bad throw to start a double play that pulled the SS off second and allowed both runners to be safe. So Johnson City helped.
On The Mound
Pitching wise, Francis Ramirez had a solid start. My unofficial pitch count for him was 85 pitches in five innings. The only really hard hit ball off of him was the double hit by Schaffer. Everything else were dinks and dunks. The bullpen came in and threw strikes. Zachary Hardoin gave up a lead off HR Schaffer but settled down nicely after that. In his two innings, he threw 27 pitches; with 17 of those counting as strkes. The next pitcher, Christian Garcia was all around the plate as well, maybe too much as three singles loaded the bases. However he worked his way out of the game. Garcia came in as a substitution was made at catcher. I was reminded that it is early in the season as there were several visits between Christian Moronta and Garcia to confer about being on the same page. Michael Dimock closed it out with a solid ninth.
At The Plate
At the plate the G-Stros were hitting hard line drives all over the field.
Jean Batista went five for six. All of his hits were singles but four of the five were hard hit balls.
Ariel Ovando is crushing the ball. He went 4 for 5 with two doubles and a triple.He hit the ball to all fields. He hit a hard line drive down the right field line for a double, a ball off the left field wall for a double and a ball to deep center for a triple. His strike out late in the game was due to some very hard swings at balls low in the zone. I think he was going for the home run to complete the cycle. That concerns me a little but I am enjoying seeing the power. Last year, he had 15 extra base hits in 44 games. This year, he already has four in the first three games.
James Howick went 4 for 5 with a double. He hit a few balls hard but also had some that found holes. Every good hitter has the ability to find the holes.
The Astros won the opening series over the Cardinals and now head to Kingport for the weekend. Kingsport is young but talent rich due to the fact they have no Gulf Coast League team this season. It will be interesting to see how that series goes.
In The Field
Defensively, the Astros played error free ball. They bobbled a few balls on the infield but were able to stay with them and still get outs. Most of the bounces went their way tonight. One example of the gracious bounces of the ball tonight is found in the ninth. MILB described the play this way:
Dutch Deol flies into a force out, right fielder Ariel Ovando to shortstop James Howick. Gerwuins Velazco out at 2nd. Dutch Deol to 1st.Here is what really happened. Deol hit a high pop in the grass in shallow right field. Ovando is coming in and Blasik is going out. Second baseman Brian Blasik appears to have a bead on the ball but hears Ovando calling him off. Ovando is right behind Blasik and appears he has decided to give way the the second baseman. Both gave up at the same time and the ball dropped off of Ovando's glove. The runner at first had frozen on the fly and had no chance to get to second on the play. So that accounts for the unusual 9-6 put out on the fielders choice.
The Astros also benefited from a botched run down and a bad throw to start a double play that pulled the SS off second and allowed both runners to be safe. So Johnson City helped.
On The Mound
Pitching wise, Francis Ramirez had a solid start. My unofficial pitch count for him was 85 pitches in five innings. The only really hard hit ball off of him was the double hit by Schaffer. Everything else were dinks and dunks. The bullpen came in and threw strikes. Zachary Hardoin gave up a lead off HR Schaffer but settled down nicely after that. In his two innings, he threw 27 pitches; with 17 of those counting as strkes. The next pitcher, Christian Garcia was all around the plate as well, maybe too much as three singles loaded the bases. However he worked his way out of the game. Garcia came in as a substitution was made at catcher. I was reminded that it is early in the season as there were several visits between Christian Moronta and Garcia to confer about being on the same page. Michael Dimock closed it out with a solid ninth.
At The Plate
At the plate the G-Stros were hitting hard line drives all over the field.
Jean Batista went five for six. All of his hits were singles but four of the five were hard hit balls.
Ariel Ovando is crushing the ball. He went 4 for 5 with two doubles and a triple.He hit the ball to all fields. He hit a hard line drive down the right field line for a double, a ball off the left field wall for a double and a ball to deep center for a triple. His strike out late in the game was due to some very hard swings at balls low in the zone. I think he was going for the home run to complete the cycle. That concerns me a little but I am enjoying seeing the power. Last year, he had 15 extra base hits in 44 games. This year, he already has four in the first three games.
James Howick went 4 for 5 with a double. He hit a few balls hard but also had some that found holes. Every good hitter has the ability to find the holes.
The Astros won the opening series over the Cardinals and now head to Kingport for the weekend. Kingsport is young but talent rich due to the fact they have no Gulf Coast League team this season. It will be interesting to see how that series goes.
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