Houston Astros MiLB Week In Review
The minor league opening weekend has come and gone. Some of the Astros minor league teams performed as expected, while others struggled through the weekend. The Astros have had a talented system for a few years now and this is no different. Check out how the top prospects performed on opening weekend.
AAA: Fresno Grizzlies (1-1) went 1-1 this week. Two games were POSTPONED due to rain.
- AJ Reed, 1B: .250 BA (2-for-8), 4 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB/2 SO
- Colin Moran, 3B: .375 BA (3-for-8), R, 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB/2 SO, SB
- Danny Worth, 2B: .444 BA (4-for-9), 4 R, 3B, HR, 4 RBI
- Jon Singleton, DH: .375 (3-for-8), R, HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB/2 SO
- Nolan Fontana, SS: .286 (2-for-7), 4 R, 2B, RBI, 3 BB/1 SO
- Jon Kemmer, OF: .222 (2-for-9), R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI
- Brad Peacock, RHP: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
- James Hoyt, RHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Although it was only two games, we got to see what Fresno’s offense is capable of. The young talented hitters of Reed, Moran, Singleton will be putting up some gaudy numbers. Nice to see Reed and Moran get off to solid starts in their first couple games in AAA.
There wasn’t much to talk about on the pitching side. Peacock had a nice start striking out 5 in 5 innings. The only guy from the bullpen to throw a scoreless outing was Hoyt, who has continued his dominance.
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (2-2) went 2-2 this week.
- Jack Mayfield, 2B: .625 BA (5-for-8), 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, SB
- Evan Gattis, DH: .417 BA (5-for-12), R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
- Alex Bregman, SS: .333 BA (5-for-15). 3 R, RBI, 2 BB
- Chase McDonald, 1B: .286 (2-for-7), 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI
- Derek Fisher, OF: .214 BA (3-for-14), R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB/2 SO
- Joe Musgrove, RHP: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
- David Paulino, RHP: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
- Francis Martes, RHP: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Cy Sneed, RHP: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
- Keegan Yuhl, RHP: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
- Kyle Smith, RHP: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
The offense let a bit to be desired this week but did show off the longball. Rehabbing DH, Evan Gattis, hit a 3 run HR and should be on his way up to Houston soon. Chase McDonald, who hit 30 HR in 2015, is off to a nice start with 2 HR over the weekend. Really nice to see Bregman start off well. Have to love the average and the zero strikeouts through the first four games.
As you can probably tell, the pitching is what really sets the Hooks roster apart from others. The trio of Musgrove, Paulino, Martes could be the best three in minor league baseball. Musgrove picked up right where he left off last season with five shutout innings and no walks. Paulino making his AA debut pitched great and Martes continued to dominate. Cy Sneed made his Astros organization debut and did not disappoint. Kyle Smith, who missed all of 2015 due to TJS, had a strong outing for the Hooks.
A+: Lancaster Jethawks (0-1) went 0-1 this week. One game was suspended due to rain and two others were postponed.
- Jose Fernandez, 2B: .500 BA (2-for-4), R, SB
- Jason Martin, OF: .500 BA (2-for-4), 2B, RBI
- Dean Deetz, RHP: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
- Akeem Bostick, RHP: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Only one game to go off of right now and it was a loss. The suspended game was going well for Lancaster though. Nice to see Martin have a good start to the season. He is on my breakout list.
Deetz with a great outing to start the season. He is another guy on my potential breakout list and one that I am really excited for this season. Read about the breakout guys here: Potential Breakout Prospects
A: Quad Cities Riverbandits (0-4) went 0-4 this week.
- Osvaldo Duarte, SS: .556 BA (5-for-9), R, 3B
- Anthony Hermelyn, C: .500 BA (4-for-8), 2 R, 2B, RBI, 4 BB/3 SO
- Kyle Tucker, OF: .267 BA (4-for-15), 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB/2 SO
- Brooks Marlow, 2B: .250 BA (2-for-8), 4 BB/1 SO
- Andrew Thome, RHP: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Matt Bower, LHP: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
- Rogelio Armenteros, RHP: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
- Ryan Deemes, RHP: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
- Albert Abreu, RHP: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
QC’s offense didn’t do much this weekend. Duarte could be a guy to watch. He is only 20 years old and playing shortstop in full seaso ball. Hermelyn has gotten off to a nice start offensively. While Tucker only has four hits, its nice to see him driving in runs (3 RBI) and not striking out much (2 SO).
The pitching kept QC in most of the games. Young flamethrower, Abreu, had a very interesting outing. He was basically unhittable striking out 7 of the 8 guys he faced. 4 passed balls led to the 2 runs scoring though. Bower dominated rookie ball and is a big lefty, another guy to watch.
Here is a recap of Quad Cities early struggles: QC dealing with early struggles
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The future is bright and go Astros!
**Photo Credit: Tammy Tucker**
