Houston Astros MiLB Players Of The Month: July
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 July.
*Just a note, these are my picks for the month*
AAA: Fresno Grizzlies
HITTER: Teoscar Hernandez, OF
- July Stats: 27 G, .316 BA/.367 OBP/.510 SLG, 15 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 9 BB/14 SO, 3 SB
Teoscar has had a great season so far. After hitting well in Corpus he got his promotion to AAA and has done even better with Fresno. This season was big for him with Rasmus/Gomez being free agents and he has capitalized. Overall he is hitting .313 with 25 2B, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 32 SB in 97 games.
PITCHER: Joe Musgrove, RHP
- July Stats: 2-0, 1.89 ERA, 19.0 IP, 17 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 22 SO, .236 BAA
Musgrove dominated Corpus on his way to Fresno. He has been up and down in AAA but really turned it on in the month of July. Overall on the season he has 10 BB/87 K in 85.1 innings. Musgrove was also called up on August 1st (Musgrove called up) and had a great debut.
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks
HITTER: Danry Vasquez, OF
- July Stats: 23 G, .296 BA/.352 OBP/.481 SLG, 10 R, 7 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 6 BB/7 SO, SB
Vasquez came over in the Veras trade a few years ago. Many were excited for him as it appeared his hit tool could carry him and he could develop power. While the power hasn’t developed he has started to hit more. He does a good job putting the bat on the ball and hopefully his numbers from July will continue.
PITCHER: Edison Frias, RHP
- July Stats: 1-1, 2.25 ERA, 24.0 IP, 24 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 6 BB, 17 SO, .258 BAA (AA)
Frias has since been promoted to AAA but was easily the best starter for Corpus in the month of July. He is 25 years old but does have a career ERA of 3.77. Frias is definitely one to watch at AAA. If he can have some good starts he could be a guy to help Houston down the line.
A+: Lancaster Jethawks
HITTER: Drew Ferguson, OF
- July Stats: 22 G, .348 BA/.484 OBP/.636 SLG, 17 R, 5 2B, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 8 SB
Definitely the toughest choice of the month. The debate came down to Sewald and Ferguson and I ultimately went with the guy with the higher OPS and more RBI. Ferguson has had a good season and his MiLB career line is now: .291, 36 2B, 13 HR, 75 RBI, 37 SB in 137 games. Sewald will be mentioned below.
PITCHER: Akeem Bostick, RHP
- July Stats: 2-0, 2.25 ERA, 28.0 IP, 22 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 15 BB, 25 SO, .218 BAA
Bostick struggled early this season and ended up going on the DL for a bit but he has came back with a vengeance. A full month with a 2.25 ERA in the California League is impressive. The walks are up a bit but I think he will get that settled as he has shown good command in the past. He now has a 3.16 ERA in 42.2 innings for Lancaster.
A: Quad Cities River Bandits
HITTER: Myles Straw, OF
- July Stats: 26 G, .423 BA/.478 OBP/.510 SLG, 18 R, 7 2B, 3B, 6 RBI, 11 BB/18 SO, 5 SB
I like to spread the love around on the player of the month but there was no question that it should be Straw two months in a row. After a great June, Straw got even better in July. He compiled 44 hits in his 26 games. On the season he is now hitting .360 with 12 2B, 14 SB in 59 games.
PITCHER: Franklin Perez, RHP
- July Stats: 1-1, 2.37 ERA, 19.0 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 7 BB, 22 K, .185 BAA
The 18 year old right hander has been fantastic this season. In July he was nearly unhittable (12 hits in 19 IP) while maintaining an above average strikeout rate. With a strong finish to the season Perez may work his way into top 100 prospect territory.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Ramon Laureano, OF (A+/AA) – .424 BA/.515 OBP/.788 SLG, 10 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 6 SB
A.J. Reed, 1B (AAA) – .400 BA/.462 OBP/.714 SLG, 2 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI (10 games)
Johnny Sewald, OF (A+) – .364 BA/.449 OBP/.625 SLG, 8 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 11 SB
Dexture McCall, 1B (A) – .292 BA/.409 OBP/.444 SLG, 2 2B, 3 HR, 16 RBI
James Hoyt, RHP (AAA) – 0.84 ERA, 9 SV, 10.2 IP, 8 H, 2 BB/15 K
Albert Abreu, RHP (A) – 1.74 ERA, 20.2 IP, 13 H, 7 BB, 13 K, .178 BAA
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**Photo Credit: Richard Guill**
