Houston Astros MiLB Players Of The Month: June
The another month of the minor league season in the books, Let’s take a look at the best performances in the Astros system in June.
*Just a note, these are my picks for the month*
AAA: Fresno Grizzlies
HITTER: Preston Tucker, OF
- June Stats: 25 G, .361 BA/.398 OBP/.680 SLG, 16 R, 7 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 7 BB/17 SO
Tucker started slow after rejoining Fresno but caught fire in June. He capped off his month with a 3 HR, 8 RBI performance on the last day of June. Nice to see him heating up as he could be a guy who can come back up and help the Astros. Overall he is hitting .308 in 37 games at AAA.
PITCHER: Brady Rodgers, RHP
- June Stats: 5-0, 1.35 ERA, 33.1 IP, 22 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 32 SO, .186 BAA
Back to back months with Rodgers winning pitcher of the month for Fresno. He had a great May and was even better in June. Overall now he is 8-3 with 2.77 ERA and 14 BB/82 K in 87.2 innings. He was nearly unhittable in June with hitter only batting .186 against him. Rodgers is making a push to be in Houston.
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks
HITTER: Teoscar Hernandez, OF
- June Stats: 24 G, .333 BA/.419 OBP/.480 SLG, 21 R, 6 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 10 BB/17 SO, 13 SB (AA)
Teoscar put together his best month of the season and it was enough to warrant a promotion to AAA. He left AA hitting .305 with 19 2B, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 29 SB in 69 games. He has been of the best stories in the Astros minors this season and it continued in AAA. In his AAA debut on June 30th, he went 4-for-6 with 3B, HR, 3 RBI for Fresno.
PITCHER: Francis Martes, RHP
- June Stats: 3-0, 1.48 ERA, 30.1 IP, 22 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 8 BB, 30 SO, .208 BAA
One of the Astros top prospects, Martes, got off to a rough start but has been very good since the calendar turned to May. He had a 9.00 ERA in April, 3.44 in May, and now the 1.48 ERA in June. He is still just 20 years old and has showed why Baseball America ranked him as one of the best prospects in all of baseball.
A+: Lancaster Jethawks
HITTER: Bryan Muniz, 1B
- June Stats: 22 G, .337 BA/.392 OBP/.494 SLG, 16 R, 6 2B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 1 SB
Muniz has really heated up after a slow April hitting just .107. In May he hit .345 and followed that up with a .337 BA in June. He isn’t a huge power guy but hits for average and doesn’t strike out much. Overall on the season he is hitting .291 with a .358 on base percentage.
PITCHER: Rogelio Armenteros, RHP
- June Stats: 2-0, 1.48 ERA, 24.1 IP, 18 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 12 BB, 30 SO, .207 BAA
Armenteros has had a breakout season so far. Between Quad Cities and Lancaster he has a 2.50 ERA with 26 BB/81 K in 68.1 innings. In June he did a great job limiting the hits and striking out hitters. It was definitely he best month of the season and he is making a push to be considered a legit pitching prospect.
A: Quad Cities River Bandits
HITTER: Myles Straw, OF
- June Stats: 24 G, .326 BA/.420 OBP/.477 SLG, 12 R, 5 2B, 4 3B, 6 RBI, 14 BB/21 SO, 6 SB
Straw has only been with Quad Cities for 33 games but has made an impact for sure. Hitting lead-off the majority of the time Straw did a great job hitting for average (.326) and getting on base (.420). He is a good athlete and still just 21 years old. He stole 6 bases but most importantly had 9 extra base hits.
PITCHER: Jose Hernandez, RHP
- June Stats: 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 27.0 IP, 23 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 30 K, .230 BAA
Hernandez has been very good for the River Bandits this season and was even better in June. Overall he has a 3.41 ERA with 13 BB/62 K in 63.1 innings. He is only 21 years old and could be a guy ready for a promotion if he keeps up this level of production.
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**Photo Credit: Tammy Tucker*
