Appy Astros Alumni Of The Month - July 2013

The short season is in full swing and both Greeneville and Tri Cities lead their divisions. The rest of the farm isn't doing to shabbily either with both Corpus Christi and Lancaster leading their divisions in the second half of the season.

Here is your monthly look at how former Greeneville Astros are doing in the Major Leagues, the Astros' farm system and in other minor league affiliates.

Tri-City ValleyCats (short season A ball)

Hitter
Chan Moon was bumped back down to short season ball after spending most of last season in Low A and even getting a taste of High A.  The fact that he is in Tri Cities shows you the depth at SS in the organization.  In July, he hit .299/.365/.358 with seven stolen bases.  

Pitcher
Michael Feliz has been dominate in the NY/Penn League.  In 20 1/3 innings in July, he fanned 23 batters and offered free passes to just three.  His season ERA is 1.49 with 42 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings pitched.  

Quad Cities River Bandits (Low A)

Hitter
Carlos Correa hit .295/.378/.474 for the month of July.  He added two HR and eight doubles.  His season average of .314 shows he is ready for the next challenge.

Honorable mention to Rio Ruiz.  He hit .279 for July with 10 extra base hits (six doubles, one triple and three HR).  He has rebounded from a rough start to raise his season average to .251.

Pitcher
Vincent Velasquez made four starts in July and finished with an impressive 2.35 ERA.  He fanned 21 batters in 23 innings pitched while maintaining a WHIP of 0.783.

Sharing the honor this month is Jordan Jankowski who made two starts and four relief appearances for a combined 19 1/3 innings pitched.  During July, his ERA was 1.86 and he allowed just 13 hits and one walk for a 0.656 WHIP.

Lancaster JetHawks

Hitter
Delino DeShields was hot for July hitting .349/..407/.500 with 19 stolen bases.  He took 10 walks and only struck out 16 times in 106 at bats.

Pitcher
Mike Hauschild has only spent a part of the month in Lancaster be he has been solid in his first three outings.  In 14 innings pitched (two starts and one relief appearance) he struck out 12 batters and only issued two walks.  His Lancaster ERA was 3.86.

Corpus Christi Hooks

Hitter
Rene Garcia gets the nod before he heads off to AAA.  For July, he hit .327/.358/.423.  During his time in Corpus Christi he has thrown out 51% of would be base stealers. 

Jonathan Meyer gets honorable mention for his solid month. He hit .315/.411/.446.  After hitting .165 in April, his season average is up to .274.

Pitcher
Who else but David Martinez.   In 5 starts for July (36 1/3 IP) he had a 1.98 ERA with two complete games.

Ruben Alaniz gets honorable mention for his solid month.  In four starts, he posted a 2.59 ERA in 24 1/3 innings.

Oklahoma City RedHawks

Hitter
Ruben Sosa earns this spot despite being the only position player on the roster who played in Greeneville.  He appeared in 19 games in July and hit an impressive .368 with three triples.

Pitcher
Jorge De Leon gets the nod by virtue of three strong relief appearances after his call up from Corpus Christi.  He has not allowed a run in the four innings he has thrown so far.

Outside The Astros Org.

Hitter
Albert Cartwright had a very solid month for Reading (Phillies AA).  He hit .306/.328 /.417 bringing his season average up to .268.

Pitcher
Victor Garate made five starts for Saltillo of the Mexican League (AAA).  His ERA for July was 1.74.  He fanned 33 batters in his 31 innings of work.

MLB

Hitter
J.D. Martinez gets the honor by hitting .288 in 17 games this month.  Honorable mention goes to Brandon Barnes for hitting for the cycle this month.

Pitcher
Fernando Abad continues his solid work this season.  In July, he amassed a 1.86 ERA in 10 games (9 2/3 IP) out of the Nationals bullpen.  Home runs have always been Abad's Achilles heel, but this year, through 24 1/3 innings, he has not surrendered a long ball.  

Former G-Stros in Minor's Mini Camp

The top talent in the system has been invited to report to camp early for a minicamp. Brian McTaggart posted the list of invitees yesterday. Here are those who were invited along with the year(s) they appeared in Greeneville:
 Ruben Alaniz (2010)
Michael Foltynewicz (2010)
David Martinez (2009)  
Lance McCullers Jr. (2012)
Vincent Velasquez (2010)  
Roberto Pena (2010)  
Carlos Correa (2012)  
Chase Davidson (2011)
Jonathan Meyer (2009)
Jiovanni Mier (2009)  
Rio Ruiz (2012)

In addition to those players a few other players will be participating some since they reported early to camp. Two of those are former G-Stros Telvin Nash (2010) and Ruben Sosa (2011 & 12)

What To Watch For In 2012 - Former G-Stros Secondbaseman

In our continuing series of what we will be looking for from former Greeneville Astros. Moving around the diamond to second, let's see what we will be watching for as full season ball begins. The year(s) they played in Greeneville and their age on opening day will be in parenthesis.

Second Base
Jose Altuve (2008,09 - 21) What a year for Jose!  Jumping from high A to MLB.  Getting almost 900 AB in minors, majors and winter ball?  Can he build off the buzz of a great 2011 season and put up solid MLB numbers in 2012? Will the lack of rest this winter hurt him this season?  

Albert Cartwright (2007, 08 - 23) - Missed all of 2011 season with a torn Achilles tendon. He is a part of the Phillies' farm system. How will he do after missing all of 2011?

Delino DeShields (2010 - 19) - Showed solid progress with the transition to second.  Yes he made a bunch of errors but many were before the all star break. Will he progress on to Lancaster to start the season?  With the defense improving, will the bat follow?  Will stolen bases improve?

Josh Magee (2011 - 20 - Rookie) - Hit .376 in August to boost his season average to .283.   This was aided by his record breaking 12 at bat hitting streak. Can he continue to improve his approach at the plate as the pitchers he faces improve? Can show improvement defensively this year?

Ben Orloff (2009 - 24 - Low A) - Orloff played 80 games at SS for Lexington last year and just 15 at 2B.  He hit a solid .284 but is old for the level.  Will he head to Lancaster or be released this year?

Ruben Sosa (2011 - 21 - Low A) - I am putting him in this group because he played more games at 2nd base (20) than he did in the outfield (16) for Greeneville in 2011.   Will he make a Lexington out of Spring Training?  Will he be in the OF or at 2nd this year?

Projected placement for those still in the Astros organization:

MLB
Altuve
 

Oklahoma City - AAA

Corpus Christi - AA

Lancaster - High A
DeSheilds
Orloff

Lexington - Low A
Magee

Extended Spring Training
Sosa

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. 

Only in Rookie Ball

Looking at the box scores only gives you so much insight into what happens in a rookie ball game. Digging deeper into the play by play summary gives you a little more info. But you never get as much info as you get when you are at the park watching the game.

Case in point. Last night, Greeneville defeated Kingsport 6-3. Here is a play by play account in the Kingsport half of the second inning.

Jonathan Clark singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Darwin Rivera. Jonathan Clark out at 2nd, pitcher Jamaine Cotton to second baseman Ruben Sosa.

I wasn't at the game but here is why an eye witness told me happened.

1. Clark laid down a beauty of a bunt, Rivera bare hands it and tries to make a throw, but Sosa covering first can't corral to throw. Scored as a hit.

2. Clark starts walking back toward home plate. Time has not been called.

3. Cotton (pitcher) throws ball to Sosa who is still at 1st.

4. Sosa goes down the line and tags the runner out while he is walking back toward the plate.

My witness learned later that Sosa told Clark, the bunt was called foul. Clark took his word for it and was returning to the plate when tagged out. My question is what was the first base coach doing. In rookie ball, the first base coach is often a bench player, and I am sure he would have been just as confused about Clark's actions as the fans in the stands were.

I am surprised Sosa wasn't buzzed later in the game. In his three at bats following the incident, he walked and flied out to center twice. Yep, you guessed it, Clark is the Kingsport center fielder.

First Look At 2011 G-Stros

Last night, thanks to the rain out of my son's games, we got to go check out the G-Stros first practice of the season. While you can't tell a great deal about the team from the drills and BP, it is nice to see the guys you have been hearing about live.

One of my favorite things is getting to see and hear the reactions of the players to Pioneer Park. I got to talk to Garen Wright a little and his tweat pretty much summed up his take on the park.

First Observation: Like new manager Omar Lopez. Very hands on in his instruction. While working on pick off moves, a player was struggling to get the timing down. He took the player's spot, took a throw from the 2nd baseman and ran the runner down with a swipe tag to the jersey. Players loved seeing the manager get involved that way. During infield drills, saw him with several players over to the side giving more instruction.

Second Observation: Ariel Ovando looks like a ball player. I had to leave before he took BP. All of his movements in the field look effortless. Didn't look out of place as a 17 year old hanging around a bunch of older guys.

Other Observations:

Chan Moon looks smooth at SS. He also appears to be very gregarious.

Chase Davidson hit several line drives to RF during the few rounds of BP we got to see. Hit one HR over the right center field wall. He will be working at 1B this season. He took all drills there and looked fine. I understand he hasn't played there since HS.

Darwin Rivera looks very good at third base. Smooth footwork and strong arm.

Luis Alvarez looks to be back from his knee injury. Moved well running down the line to 1st on drills with all his gear on.

Ruben Sosa is short. Listed at 5'7". My son's observation, "Maybe we have another Altuve". He doesn't have the strong lower half Altuve has.

Garen Wright looks very athletic. Will be interesting to see how he develops.

It was exciting to see action on the field at Pioneer Park. I am looking forward to my first chance to see them live on Friday night.