Releases Hit Home

With spring training on the horizon, I am always excited to see the season start.  However, one of the things that comes at this time of the year is the last few releases.  In the last round of releases, there were four former G-Stros who were released.  The players whose time in the Astros organization ended were:

Kellen Kiilsgaard - The 30th round pick for 2010 played for Greeneville after having a .159 average in Tri Cities.  He appeared in 8 games for the G-Stros.

Colton Pitkin - A lefty who was a 41st round draft pick in 2007.  He spent 2007 and 2008 in Greeneville. 

Frederico Hernandez - One of the most exciting catchers to play in Greeneville, made his stateside debut in 2008.  He was viewed as a top catching prospect making it to AA in 2010. However, he struggled in 2011 and hit under .200 in both AA and high A.  Of the bunch, I feel he is the most likely to catch on with another organization.

Hector Rodriguez - Hector was a utility guy in 2010 for Greeneville.  That season, he got consistent playing time due to injuries and hit .303 for the year.  In 2011, he bounced between Tri Cities, Lexington and Lancaster where he hit a combined .163 in just 35 games. 

Releases are a part of minor league ball.  However, as a fan, you get to know some of these kids and when their name makes the Baseball America transactions page, it hits home.  Hector's release was expected but it was still hard to read about.  Hector and my son became friends in 2010. Despite a significant language barrier, they both enjoyed spending time together.  Because Hector was so kind to my child, he became a favorite of mine too. 

Best of luck to Hector and the rest of these men.

2010 Greeneville Astros Progress Reports

This wraps up the progress reports of former G-Stros for this off season.  It's only been a year but lets look at the progress made by the 2010 G-Stros.  Thirty nine players spent time in Greeneville playing in 2010.  Twenty six of those players were playing affiliated ball in 2011 for 66%.

Let's look at how high they climbed.  They are listed by the highest level they appeared in and the percentage by each level is out of the full roster.


AA (1 - 3%)


Chris Wallace started the year in Low A Lexington but was double promoted to AA Corpus Christi to finish out the year.  With him turning 23 years of age in April and him having solid success in Lexington, it was not surprising the Astros challenged him by putting him on a fast track.  Wallace hit .244 in 36 games in AA.  he also found out that base runners were better there.  He only threw out 10% of attempted stolen bases.  Wallace spent part of the fall in instructionals.


High A (2 - 5%)


Bryce Lane  spent most of the season in Lexington but did appear in Lancaster for five games during the year.  He was hit less during his stint in Lancaster and hit .222 in 67 games in Lexington. He will be 22 when spring training begins.

Hector Rodriguez bounced around three levels this year.  He started in Lancaster, then was sent to Tri Cities and finished the year in Lexington.  He never got much consistent playing time in those stops appearing in only 35 games through the year.  He combined to hit just .163 on the season. He will be 22 when spring training rolls around.


Low A (13- 33%)


Ruben Alaniz had an inconsistent year in Lexington.  He had a rough April, sporting a 8.78 ERA after the first month of the season. However in June, he sported a solid 2.28 ERA.  Overall, he finished with a 4.44 ERA in 27 games (21 starts).  He fanned 96 batters in 115 2/3 innings pitched.  He gave up 11 home runs, with only four in the second half of the season.  He earned an invite to instructionals.  Alaniz will be 20 when he reports to spring training. 


Garrett Bullock  see 2009 write up.

Jeiler Castillo  see 2008 write up.

Delino Deshields Jr. only appeared in 16 games in 2010 for Greeneville.  However, he was impressive in those games as just a 17 year old.  This year, as he continued to make the transition to becoming a second baseman, he struggled in the first half of the year hitting just .197 before the All Star break.  DeShields had a great July (.320) and finished the second half of the season with a respectable .242 average.  His power dropped in the second half but his on base percentage climbed.  All promising signs for a young man who won't turn 20 until next August. He got a bit of extra work in this fall in instructionals.


Mike Foltynewicz appeared to run out of gas as the long Sally League season of bus trips ground to an end.  After keeping his ERA in the upper three and low four range for May, June & July; it jumped to the seven and eight range for August and September.  He was on the instructional league roster. He is still seen as a top prospect and will just be 20 when next season begins.


Gabriel Garcia pitched out of the pen in 31 games for the Legends.  Garcia struck out 68 batters in 69 1/3 innings pitched.  His ERA was 3.76 on the season.  He is pitching in his home country for Winter Ball and through his first 11 appearances in the Dominican League, he is sporting a 2.84 ERA.  He will still be 22 when next season rolls around.

Emilio King had a break out year in Lexington.  In Greeneville, he showed good defense with a great arm but very little with the bat.  In 2011, he hit .293 and 34 of his 106 hits went for extra bases.  He also had 14 outfield assist on the year.  King will be 22 at the start of spring training.


Ryan McCurdy appeared in just one game for Lexington.  He spent most of his season in TriCities.  There he hit .324 which is an impressive jump from the .148 combined between Greeneville & TriCities in 2010.  He will turn 24 in December.


Jhonny Medrano hit .203 in 60 games for the Legends this season.  He is a minor league free agent and will likely not be playing affiliated ball next season. Injuries limited his potential. 


Telvin Nash got his 2011 season of to a bang with an impressive April where he hit .310 with an OPS of .997 but then broke the hamate bone in his hand and missed all of May and almost but three games of June.  In the second half, Nash was okay but not as spectacular as his April.  He finished the year with a .269 average and a .858 OPS in Lexington. It is expected that recovery from a hamate fracture can take some time to recover hand strength so we have to take that into account.  Nash has very good power.  Of his 72 hits this season in Lexington, 30 of them were for extra bases.  Here is a video of his power stroke.  He will need to cut down on the strike outs as he continues to climb up the ladder.  He also was learning a new position this year, playing 37 games at 1st base.  He got some extra work in at instructionals. Nash will turn 21 just before spring training begins.


Marcus Nidiffer was released by the Astros and subsequently signed by the Angels organization.  They moved him back to catcher and he hit .230 for Cedar Rapids this year.  He threw out 29% of potential base stealers. He will be 25 when spring training opens.


Roberto Pena was impressive behind the plate in Lexington this season. He threw out 39% of the potential base burglars.  He wasn't as impressive at the plate, hitting just .217 but showed improvement over his numbers in Greeneville last year.  He is seen as a solid catching prospect by the Astros as evidenced by them sending him for a brief stint in the Arizona Fall League. He was also in instructionals. Pena won't turn 20 until June of next year.

Brian Streinlein appeared in 40 games for the Legends and amassed a 3.99 ERA. Streinlein will be 24 when spring training begins.


Tri Cities (6 - 15%)


Ryan Cole finished 22 of the 26 games he appeared in for the ValleyCats. He was credited with 10 saves.  He will be 24 when pitchers report to spring training.


Jermaine Cotton started 2011 in Greeneville in the bullpen. However, he was moved into the starting rotation and was solid there.  He was promoted to Tri Cities and finished the year with a 3.68 ERA in five starts for the ValleyCats.  He earned an invitation to fall instructional league.  He will be 21 when next season begins.

Euris Quezada is a big righty who when he has his control is fun to watch. for the ValleyCats this year, sometime he had it, some times he didn't.  He was shut down after just one start in August.  He finished the year with a 6.95 ERA with 24 Ks and 24 BB in 33 2/3 IP. He will turn 23 next April.

Travis Smink appeared in 23 games for the ValleyCats this season.  He amassed a 4.37 ERA in 45 1/3 IP.  He will turn 25 shortly after the 2012 season begins.


Rafael Valenzuela continues to show he can hit.  After being injured for much of the first half of the season, he reported to Tri Cities and hit .316 in 31 games for the ValleyCats.  The non drafted free agent will be 24 when spring training begins.


Bubby Williams see 2009 write up.


Greeneville (2 - 5%)


Richardo Batista the lefty returned to Greeneville for the 2011 season and showed improvement.  He finished the season strong with a 3.57 ERA for the month of August.  During that month, opponents hit just .192 off of him. During August he also struck out 20 batters in 22 1/2 innings but he also walked 18.  He was invited to instructionals.  He will still be 20 when next season begins. 

Rodney Quintero returned to Greeneville for the 2011 season.  He struck out 32 batters in 28 2/3 IP out of the pen.  Even though the numbers aren't great, he was invited to fall instructional league.  He will turn 22 before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.


Injury/DL (2- 5%)

Vincent Velasquez and Jonathon Merritt both spent their year rehabbing from injuries.  Velasquez was on the instructional league roster.


I expect the number of active players to drop pretty heavily next year with the large number of guys already in the 24 to 25 range in this group.

Wet Trip To Lexington & the End of the Season

Took a road trip with the family to Lexington to try to catch the last two games of the season.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate.  I got to spend about 4 hours at Whitaker Bank Ballpark but didn't get to see any baseball.  However, their grounds crew pulled the tarp impressively. 

Sunday night was rained out and they planned a double header to start at 11:00 on Monday.  Monday, we were able to chat with a few players while waiting out the rain delay. For guys who are away from home, sometimes a familiar face can make them smile.  Several of the former G'ville players recognized us and chatted.  We chatted about the weather and how their seasons had gone. We talked about home.  One of the players heading to instructs said he was going to get 12 days at home before he had to report.  He was trilled with the idea of time at home. 

However, as a family, we had decided that 2:30 would be our departure time for G-ville.  Sure enough, 1st pitch of the double header was shortly after 2:30 PM.  We were already on the road and were able to listen to a few of the innings via radio. 

When I got home, I hated we had to leave.  The box score showed a good showing by former G-Stros in the double header sweep.  In game 1, Hector Rodriquez went 1-2 with an RBI, Emilio King went 1 for 3 with an RBI and Jorge De Leon got his 16th save. In game 2, former G-Stros accounted for all three RBI (King, Nash & Sosa), the win (Alaniz), a hold (Gouvea) and the save (Streinlein).

Thanks to Ryan (@eFIVE Tweets) for all his help during the trip.  It is great that you can travel to an unfamiliar place and have some one who makes sure you have a great time regardless of the weather.

Hopefully next season we can make a visit for an actual game.

The End of the Season
Baseball America today put the end of the season well:

The final day of a minor league season feels a whole lot like the last day of the year at a college.
Bags are packed, some parents are milling around to help load up cars. Goodbyes are given along with promises to keep in touch.
And the reality is that some of the players heading home may never be back. For six months, a baseball team is a large family. They travel together, eat together and spend hours wiling away the dead time before games or during rain delays. Then at the end of the season, everyone heads to their respective homes. Some will be back together again next year. But others will be traded, or sign elsewhere as minor league free agents, or get released.
It makes for one of the stranger days of the season. Players who have been grinding their way through a 140-game season and more than six months away from friends and family understandably are excited about the idea of heading home.
By an hour after the game, the bags are packed and the clubhouse is beginning to look like a ghost town. Players are used to traveling light, so with a couple of duffel bags and bat bags loaded up, most of them are ready to hit the road.

The Legends had last place locked up, to them the games were meaningless.  However, they impacted the standings and the league office said they must be played.  Sometimes those of us who follow minor league baseball forget these players are humans with families and friends they miss.  There is nothing worse that expecting to be home by a certain time and getting delayed.  It doesn't matter if that delay is via travel conditions, weather, demanding bosses or the league office saying you have to play a game.

The Legends were supposed to have a 12:00 start time on Sunday.  Those driving home could have been on the road by 4:00.  Several of those flying had 5:30 fights.    Due to having to play both halves of the double header, their plans changed. By the time they played both games, it was after 6:30. Some were frustrated by the events.  Yet, several of the players still took time out to talk to fans.  My son left with a few extra souvenirs.  He also got to spend time with some guys who put their frustrations aside to make an 11 year olds day.  So today we give a special thank you to Hector Rodriguez, Domingo Santana, Ben Heath, and Jhonny Medrano for going above and beyond on a cold wet day when their thoughts were on home.