Houston Astros MiLB Players Of The Month: May
The second month of the minor league season is in the books. Let’s take a look at the best performances in the Astros system in May.
*Just a note, these are my picks for the month*
AAA: Fresno Grizzlies
HITTER: Derek Fisher, OF
- May Stats: 27 G, .369 BA/.421 OBP/.667 SLG, 18 R, 9 2B, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 6 SB, 182 wRC+
Derek Fisher, the 37th overall pick in 2014, has seen his stock go way up this season. After hitting .292 with 5 HR in April, Fisher turned it up hitting .369 with 8 HR in May. For the season, he is hitting .335 with 13 HR, 35 RBI in 49 games. Strikeouts were a possible issue with him but has just a 12.8 K% over his last 19 games.
PITCHER: Kevin Comer, RHP
- May Stats: 1-1, 1.10 ERA (2.48 FIP), 16.1 IP, 13 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 21 SO, .210 BAA, 23.5 K-BB%
Comer has been around a while, coming over to the Astros system from Toronto in 2012. He bounced around from a starter to reliever for most of his career but over the last two years he has been pitching strictly from the pen. After a good start in Corpus he was promoted to Fresno and has been one of the better relievers with a 0.99 ERA overall.
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks
HITTER: Drew Ferguson, OF
- May Stats: 25 G, .379 BA/.486 OBP/.552 SLG, 14 R, 6 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 15 BB/17 SO, 6 SB, 194 wRC+
Ferguson continues to fly under the radar in the Astros system. He had a great 2016 season and is off to a nice start so far in 2017. He had a solid April but improved in nearly every category in May. He improved his walk rate from 9.1% in April to 14.3% and his strikeout rate from 23.2% to 16.2% in May. Also doesn’t hurt that he hit .379 with a 1.037 OPS.
PITCHER: Rogelio Armenteros, RHP
- May Stats: 1-2, 1.32 ERA, 27.1 IP, 21 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 8 BB, 33 SO, .214 BAA
Armenteros was my pitcher of the month for April and he was just as dominant in May, if not a bit better. On the season he has a 1.35 ERA with 60 K in 46.2 innings and only 31 hits allowed. I don’t think Armenteros will be in Corpus Christi much longer and wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Houston at some point this season.
A+: Buies Creek Astros
HITTER: Jason Martin, OF
- May Stats: 26 G, .309 BA/.382 OBP/.619 SLG, 8 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 5 SB, 169 wRC+ (High-A)
Martin has since been promoted to AA but I feel he deserved the recognition here as he had a very good month of May. He started off the season a bit slow hitting .260 with 1 HR in April but really turned it on in May with 16 XBH in 26 games including 6 HR. He also had an OPS of 1.000.
PITCHER: Hector Perez, RHP
- May Stats: 3-2, 2.96 ERA (2.75 FIP), 24.1 IP, 19 H, 8 ER, 8 BB, 33 SO
Perez has electric stuff and has shown it off this season. He started the season with Quad Cities but was promoted after just 18 innings. With Buies Creek he has a 2.63 ERA and 38 K in jut 27.1, part of a solid may for the right hander. Perez is just 20 years old and is moving his way up the prospect rankings.
A: Quad Cities River Bandits
HITTER: Rodrigo Ayarza, 3B
- May Stats: 23 G, .322 BA/.362 OBP/.529 SLG, 6 2B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 4 BB/11 SO, 3 SB, 151 wRC+
Ayarza is a smaller, switch hitting infielder but has shown some serious pop this season. He has 10 2B, 7 HR this season with the majority of his damage coming in May. He also does a phenomenal job making contact evident by 9.7 K% on the season. He currently has a .889 OPS in 37 games this season.
PITCHER: Enoli Paredes, RHP
- May Stats: 1-2, 1.76 ERA, 30.2 IP, 13 H, 6 ER, 13 BB, 25 K, .127 BAA
Paredes isn’t a big guy but he has dominated on the mound for the River Bandits this season. In May he was nearly unhittable allowing just 13 hits in 30.2 innings. Overall on the season he has a 2.11 ERA with 33 K in 38.1 IP. He is coming off five hitless innings on Wednesday night.
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**Photo Credit: Kiel Maddox/Fresno Grizzlies**
