Appy Astros Alumni of the Month - April 2013

The first month of the season is in the books.  Let's check on the progress of the former G-Stros both in and out of the Houston organization and recognize those who put up good numbers this month.  We will look at a hitter and a pitcher at all levels.

Quad Cities: 

Hitter of the Month: 
Roberto Pena hit .365 in 13 games for the River Bandits.  Of his 19 hits, he had two HR and three doubles.  The 20 year old is starting the season in low A for the third time.  He is doing his best to show he is ready for a new challenge. 

Honorable Mention: Jesse Wierzbicki, who hit .261 for the month but had eight extra base hits and is tied for fourth in the league with 20 RBI. 

Pitcher of the Month: 
Vincent Velasquez finished the month on a rough note last night giving up four earned runs in 2 2/3 IP, yet that only raised his ERA for the month to 2.45.  He has struck out 31 batters in 25 2/3 IP.  His 31 Ks tie him for the league lead.

Honorable Mention: Lance McCullers Jr., who in five appearances amassed a 1.93 ERA with 19 K in 18 2/3 IP.

Lancaster: 

Hitter of the Month:
The options for hitter here are slim as there are just three former G-Stros position players on the Lancaster roster.  Delino DeShields gets the nod this month despite a bit of a slump towards the end of the month.  In April, he hit .250 with three doubles and three triples.  He made just two errors in 63 chances at second base during the month. 

Honorable Mention: Telvin Nash joined the team late in the month after rehabbing an injury in extended spring training.  In the seven games since he joined the team, Nash is hitting .346 with a double and two home runs.  He has taken four walks against six strikeouts.  If he can put those numbers up over a whole month, he will be a shoo in for Alumni of the month.

Pitcher of the Month: 
Likewise, there are only three options to choose from for Appy Astros Alumni of the Month among the pitchers in Lancaster.  Luis Cruz is the choice based on his three starts in the tandem pitching rotation.  In his three starts, he has a 0.61 ERA with 19 strike outs in 14 2/3 IP.  He has not fared as well coming in as the second half of the tandem but overall he finishes April with a 3.47 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings pitched.  He is tied for 8th among league leaders in strikeouts. 

Honorable Mention: Michael Foltynewicz got off to a rough start but has rebounded with several strong outings later in the month. 

Corpus Christi:

Hitter of the Month
This was one of the toughest calls of the month.  Ben Orloff gets the nod with a .322 average in 20 games this month. He struck out just four times in 59 at bats.  That is one K every 15 at bats!  He also took eight walks on the month.  He has also moved around the diamond this month.  He has played five games each at 1B,  2B, and SS while adding three games at 3B and one game as DH.

Honorable Mention: Rene Garcia made this a tough call.  He has only appeared in 13 games but when he has gotten his chances, he has hit the ball.  He hit .333 with four doubles and a HR to his credit for the month.  He has gunned down 50% of would be base burglars so far this season as well.

Pitcher of the Month
David Martinez has quietly put up solid numbers in his AA debut. In 22 2/3 innings pitched, he has allowed just 15 hits and five walks for a WHIP of 0.88 (3rd best in the Texas League).  He has not given up an earned run in his past 13 2/3 innings pitched. 

Honorable Mention: Carlos Quevedo started the month in Lancaster but was quickly promoted to Corpus Christi.  Since arriving he has appeared in six games with one of those being a start.  In 16 2/3 IP, he has a 1.62 ERA with 14 strikeouts.

Oklahoma City

Hitter of the Month - No former G-Stro qualified for the award this month.  Only two former players have appeared in games for OKC this season.  Ruben Sosa was sent down to EST after just two games and Chris Wallace was traded after limited action. 

Pitcher of the Month 
Jordan Lyles gets the nod here.  He had one rough outing that inflates his numbers but he heads to Houston to join the big league Astros after completing April with a 5.32 ERA.

Minors- Other Affiliations

Hitter of the Month
Albert Cartwright is off to a hot start with Reading (AA-Phillies).  The second baseman is hitting .326 with three doubles, a triple and a HR.  He is tearing up lefties with eight hits and 16 at bats.

Honorable Mention: Chris Wallace was traded to the Indians organization during the month.  He played in eight games for Akron hitting ,.367 before being promoted to Columbus (AAA).  Since arriving back in AAA, he went 5 for 7 in his first game in a Clippers uniform.

Pitcher of the Month
Fernando Abad started off the year with eight straight scoreless outings. Despite giving up a run in his last two outings of the month, he still ended April with a 1.93 ERA.  He is pitching for Syracuse (AAA- Washington). 

Honorable Mention: Tom Vessella appeared in nine games for the Richmond Flying Squirrles (AA- Giants). The lefty finished April with a 1.08 ERA in 16 2/3 innings pitched.

Majors

Hitter of the Month
It is very hard to select anyone but Jose Altuve. Altuve continues to show he belongs in the big leagues.  He hit .330 in April and finished the month with 37 hits which ties him for the league lead.  He also continues to make impressive plays in the field. 

Honorable Mention: Brandon Barnes has come to the plate in 15 games so far this year and has reached base in 14 of those games.

Pitcher of the Month
Jose Cisnero came up from OKC to give the bullpen a fresh arm and he has shown he belongs in the bigs.  The 14th G-Stro to make the show has appeared in three games since his call up allowing just one earned run in 7 2/3 innings pitched out of the Astros' bullpen.  He has allowed just five hits and one walk while striking out five opponents. 

Honorable Mention: Troy Patton has appeared in 11 games out of the Baltimore bullpen. He is holding opponents to a measly .220 batting average.

Overall not a bad showing by the alumni of the Greeneville Astros!  Can't wait to see who shines in May.  

16 former G-Stros on Instructional Roster

Brian McTaggart just released the Astros roster for the fall instructional league. This year, 16 former G-Stros will be spending a few extra weeks in Kissimmee honing their skills.  Here are the former G-Stros based on when they played here:

2008
Zach Grimmett - appeared in 23 games for Lancaster.  Ten of them as a starter and 13 as a reliever. Finished the year with an 8.21 ERA.

2009
Jonathon Meyer - Hit .272 in his second year in Lancaster.

2010
Telvin Nash - Hit .224 with 29 HR and 198 strikeouts in 106 games in Lancaster.

Delino DeShields - Had a break out year.  Started in Lexington and finished the year in Lancaster.  Stole a combined 101 bases on the season.  He raised his slash line from .220/.305/.322 to .287/.389/.428.  Just turned 20 in August.

Roberto Pena - He also started the year in Lexington but moved up to Lancaster to finish the season.  Pena caught 33% of the base stealers (26 out of 78) in Lexington.  His bat showed some improvement but his glove and arm are what have earned him the invite to instructionals.

2012
Three of the players on this list also played in Greeneville in 2011 but we will group them with their most recent cohort.

Ariel Ovando - He showed significant improvement between 2011 (.235/.283/.365) and 2012 (.287/.350/.444).  All the physical tools are present but he is still learning how to get them to do what they need to do.  He turns 19 later this week so we need to have some patience.

Chris Lee - He started the season in the Appy but was sent down to the GCL where he didn't pitch.  So the instructs will give him a chance to get some work in he missed during the season.  He was also on the team in 2011.

Frances Ramirez - He is the other player who was also on the 2011 roster.  He made four starts in '11 verses the 13 he made in 2012.  You can find more of my thoughts on him at my post Season Recap - Starting Pitcher. You can also use that link to get my thoughts on two other 2012 pitchers invited, Michael Feliz & Lance McCullers Jr.

Kevin Comer and Joe Musgrove were acquired during the year and didn't get many chances to pitch which is why they are heading to Florida for the fall.

The other four players are position players who were drafted this year: Carlos Correa, Rio Ruiz, Terrell Joyce, and Angel Ibanez. Of those four, Ibanez is a bit of a surprise due to his low draft slot but he showed a solid bat during the season and 3rd base is a shallow spot in the Astros organization.  
Overall, former Greeneville players made up almost half (16 out of 33) of the players invited.

What To Watch For In 2011 - Former G-Stros Catchers

For those of us who live in short season towns, spring training is just a tease. Our seasons don't begin until the middle of June. So to keep me occupied until then, here are some of the things I am going to be looking for from former Greeneville Astros. The year they played in Greeneville will be in parenthesis along with their age at the start of the season and the highest level they played at last season.

Catcher
Contrary to what the Bleacher Report says, I think this is one of the deepest positions in the farm system. The three players added in the 2010 draft (Heath, Pena, Wallace) should all be challenging at positions on full season squads. This makes this a big spring for several players who have been in the system for a few years.

Frederico Hernandez - (2008 - 23 - AA) - Can he hit at AA? Can he improve his caught stealing percentage?

Rene Garcia - (2008 - 21 - High A) - Can he continue to throw out base stealers at a 41% clip as he moves up a level to High A?

Roberto Pena - (2010 - 18 - Low A) - Lexington or Tri Cities? Can the bat improve? Can he keep up the 44% caught stealing percentage?

Chris Wallace - (2010 - 22 - SS A) - How fast can he progress through the system? Can he keep up the 45% caught stealing percentage?

Bubby Williams - (2009-10, 22 - Low A) - This is one of the guys I was talking about when I said it is an important year to show progress. Can he show more progress this year with the bat?

J. R. Towles - (2004 - 26 - MLB) - Yesterday, I posted a retrospective of his journey. Can he recapture the hitting magic of 2007? Can he stay healthy? Will he be traded?

Placement Predictions

Oklahoma
Towles

Corpus Christi
Hernandez

Lancaster
Garcia

Lexington
Wallace
Pena

Tri Cities
Williams

What are your thoughts?

Baseball America's Top 10 Full of Former Greeneville Astros

Baseball America released their Astros' Top 10 Prospects today. Five out of the six top ranked players were former G-Stros!

Here is the list with the year they played for Greeneville in parenthesis, along with any other accolades BA gave them:

1.	Jordan Lyles, rhp (2008) - best slider, best change, best control
2.	Delino DeShields Jr., of/2b (2010) - fastest base runner, best athlete
3.	Jonathan Villar, ss
4.	Mike Foltynewicz, rhp (2010) - best fastball
5.	Jio Mier, ss (2009)
6.	J.D. Martinez, of (2009) - best hitter for average
7.	Jimmy Paredes, inf
8.	Tanner Bushue, rhp
9.	Austin Wates, of
10.	Ariel Ovando, of

Villar & Paredes joined the Astros organization via trades this year. Buchue was a 2009 draft pick who jumped from the GCL to Lexington, bypassing Greeneville. Wates was a 2010 draftee out of Virginia Tech who started at Tri Cities. Ovando is a young Dominican prospect who was signed this summer for over 2 million dollars. I hope he makes his debut this summer in Greeneville.

Other former G-Stros listed among the best of the organization include:

Telvin Nash - best power
R. J. Alaniz - best curveball
Roberto Pena - best defensive catcher

I have created a google docs spread sheet that combines all the top prospect list I come across. You can access it at this link. Those on the spread sheet highlighted in green & bolded spent some time in Greeneville.

Instructs & AFL Rosters

Zachary Levine at the Houston Chronicle has posted the roster of players who are in Kissimmee at the Instructional League. This three week season allows for some fine tuning and work with some of the younger prospects. This is where the work begins for "Lino" DeShields to become a second baseman.

Players off the 2010 Greeneville Roster attending include:
Ruben Alaniz
Michael Foltynewicz
Euris Quezada
Rodney Quintero
Roberto Pena
Chris Wallace
Delino DeShields
Marcus Nidiffer
Telvin Nash

Breaking down where the other players spent the MAJORITY of their season:

DSL: 3
The fact the 16 year old Ariel Ovando is in Instructs is a strong sign he will be state side for spring training. Here's hoping he winds up in G'ville.

GCL: 11
A couple of teens to watch out of this group, Jose Fernandez who won't turn 18 until next May, and Jordan Scott who put up solid numbers for a 14th round pick out of HS.

Tri Cities: 11
No surprise Ben Heath is on the list since he finished the year at AA. Glad to see Thomas Shirley on the list since he hadn't pitched since mid July.

Lexington: 11
Last years draft darlings, Mier & Meyer, return to recover from the dose of reality they faced this year.

Lancaster: 5
Jay Austin is spending time in instructs prior to heading out to Arizona for fall league.

AFL Roster Moves
Levine also reports there have been some changes to the Arizona Fall League players from the Astros. T. J. Steele has been removed from the roster and replaced with Jay Austin. Also Brandon Barnes has been added to the roster and according to his twitter, it is as a member of the Taxi Squad. That means he can only play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. But at bats against strong competition is a good thing.

Game Report 8/14/10 @ Johnson City

The Astros are on a long road trip right now. Actually, it is more of a commute trip. They are in the middle of a 3 game series with Johnson City & then have a 3 game with Elizabethton. Both of these are within an hours drive of Greeneville so they travel back in forth on game day. They follow the 6 commute games with an off day and then a trip to Danville, which is one of the furtherest points from Greeneville in the the Appy.

Seeing I wouldn't have a chance to see DeShields play for a week after he arrived, I decided to travel to Johnson City last night and see him and the Astros. It was an odd game. This team has had a great deal of change in the last few days and they are still trying to get their feet under them.

On Deshields at bats:

1st at bat was a medium pop up down the third baseline in foul territory handled by the shortstop. Appeared alittle anxious in the box.

2nd at bat was a soft pop up to second base. DeShields stopped running about a 1/3 of the way down the line.

3rd at bat he was greeted by a curve for a strike, a called strike to on the edge and then a swinging strike three. This was the 3rd out in the inning. He was still slowly walking back to the 1st base dugout when the 3rd base coach reached the 1st base line. Some frustration appeared to be showing.

4th at bat he goes deeper in the count but strikes out swinging again.

5th at bat, he had two strikes on him and tried to fight off a pitch that was a bit high. He didn't get a good swing on it and flew out to left center.

Overall assessment: He is now 1 for 9 in the Appy. it doesn't appear that he is used to struggling. How he handles this will tell us a great deal about young Mr. DeShields. Not impressed with his body language after bad at bats.

DeShields in the field. He had several chances on the night. He took very good routes to balls. Johnson City has an odd shaped stadium. It has a berm in right field from the line to center field and right & left join in corner. Center is 430 feet away from the plate. This picture gives you some idea of the odd nature of the outfield there.

He handled routine liners and flies okay. No drama there. He made two nice plays on balls hit hard to the wall. One was over his head in the corner. He played the ball well, hit the cutoff man and had the catcher held on to in, would have had the gut at home. The second was a sharply hit ball to left center. He made a slightly looping approach to be able to field the ball and have the right angle to throw to second. He made a good throw and the tag was applied for an out.

One play I thought he tried to do too much. It was a fly ball where he and the left fielder converged. The left fielder called for it initially but DeShields called him off. He had to lunge for the ball and that momentum carried him toward left field. A runner was tagging from 3rd on the play and made it home easily as the throw was 15 feet up the 3rd base line. I thought it should have been the left fielders ball.

Late in the game, he made two gaffs. One was credited for an error and one was not. Both involved coming in to field balls that were rolling slowly and pulling the glove up too quickly and leaving the ball on the ground. The first came on a pick off play at 2nd that ended up in center. He missed the ball on the first time through but no harm as runners didn't advance. Later in the same inning, he came in on a ground ball, missed it and allowed runners to advance and was charged with an error.

Overall assessment of fielding. He showed some promise as a fielder. I can forgive errors of effort, as long as he is able to learn from them. I am not sure if the lapses late in the game were issues of focus or not but it will be something I watch later. I want to see him make routine plays well as well as the exceptional plays. Especially if they are planning to move him to 2nd base.

As you can tell, I am not gushing about what I saw. But in fairness to him, he is a 17 year old kid who has in the last week, signed a contract in Houston, travelled to Florida for a few games and then plopped in the Appy League with a pile of expectations. I know that comes with being a first round pick but let's give him a little time to get his feet under him before we judge too harshly.

Other observations:

Roberto Pena looked solid behind the plate. Quick release nailed a runner at second. Put the bat on the ball well most of the time.

Saw some nice productive outs from the bottom of the line up in the 4th. With a runner on second and no outs, King & Heradia both hit ground balls to the right side to move the runner around.

Jhonny Medrano had a rough night at 1st. The first error was on a ground ball to his right. He got there but took his eye off the ball and it hopped up his arm. The second as on a pop fly in the grass behind him. He got under it but muffed it. That put runners at 1st and 2nd with no one out. The next play resulted in his third error. A soft liner that he charged and caught but then tried to double the runner off second with a back handed throw. It was wild and resulted in runners advancing.