Houston Astros MiLB Players Of The Month: June
The third month of the minor league season is in the books. Let’s take a look at the best performances in the Astros system in June.
Previous POTM:
*Just a note, these are my picks for the month*
AAA: Fresno Grizzlies
HITTER: Tyler White, 1B
- June Stats: 26 G, .381 BA/.455 OBP/.733 SLG, 10 2B, 9 HR, 28 RBI, 13 BB/21 SO
White broke on the scene last year when he dominate Spring Training and was great early in the season. He was eventually demoted but has came back strong this year in AAA. After a slow April and May, he was great in June hitting .381 with 9 HR, 28 RBI in 26 games. He has his season average up to .303 with a .875 OPS. Eventually, White will get another chance with Houston and he is pushing for one right now.
PITCHER: David Martinez, RHP
- June Stats: 2-1, 2.27 ERA, 31.2 IP, 29 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 8 BB, 19 SO
The month of June was dominated by the Fresno bats but Martinez pitched well and helped turn Fresno around. This is Martinez’s second stint with the Astros and while he is 29, he provides some depth at the AAA. Overall he has a 4.62 ERA but as indicated above, he has really turned it around.
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks
HITTER: J.D. Davis, 3B
- June Stats: 25 G, .343 BA/.404 OBP/.627 SLG, 14 R, 8 2B, 7 HR, 23 RBI
Davis, a 3rd round pick in 2014, had a very good 2016 campaign in AA but the depth in the Astros system forced him to repeat the level. After a solid April and slow May, he put together a great June hitting .343 with 7 HR, 23 RBI in 25 games. Overall this season he is hitting .296 with 19 HR, 49 RBI.
PITCHER: Brock Dykxhoorn, RHP
- June Stats: 2-1, 2.75 ERA, 19.2 IP, 16 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 13 BB, 19 SO, .219 BAA
Not a great month pitching wise but Dykxhoorn was one of the better starters for the Hooks in June. Dykxhoorn was a 6th round pick in 2014 and is pitching in his age 22 season. He still has a ton of projection left given his size (6’8″) but the overall season hasn’t been very good with a 5.14 ERA though he does have a 4.37 FIP.
A+: Buies Creek Astros
HITTER: Myles Straw, OF
- June Stats: 24 G, .375 BA/.479 OBP/.479 SLG, 4 2B, 3 3B, 9 RBI, 12 SB, 20 BB/11 SO
Straw has had a very good season and it got even better in June. After .291 in April and .297 in May, he upped his BA to .375 in June with an insane OBP of .479. He also had a phenomenal strikeout rate of 9.3% and walk rate of 16.9%. One of his best attributes, speed, showed up in June too as he stole 12 bases in 24 games (81 SB per 162 games). Overall he has a very good 51 BB/45 K ratio in 70 games with 22 stolen bases.
PITCHER: Nick Hernandez, RHP
- June Stats: 0-0, 0.00 ERA (1.77 FIP), 13.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 20 SO
I usually like to go with starters but Hernandez’s performance in June was too good to overlook. It’s his second straight month without allowing a run (7 IP, 0 R in May) continuing his great season. On the season he has a 1.14 ERA allowing just 14 hits (.132 BAA) in 31.2 innings with 9 BB/46 SO. I can’t imagine he will be in Buies Creek much longer. I really wanted to go with Valdez too (see honorable mentions below).
A: Quad Cities River Bandits
HITTER: Yordan Alvarez, 1B
- June Stats: 25 G, .302 BA/.438 OBP/.616 SLG, 3 2B, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 21 BB/29 SO
Alvarez has since been promoted to Buies Creek but his month of June with Quad Cities was too good to ignore. The numbers above are for his month of June between QC and BC. With Quad Cities he hit .345 with 7 HR, 24 RBI in 17 games. He has established himself as a legit prospects and will really start shooting up the rankings. He has shown patience drawing 21 walks in 25 games and some versatility getting reps in left field.
PITCHER: Forrest Whitley, RHP
- June Stats: 1-1, 1.74 ERA (2.38 FIP), 20.2 IP, 18 H, 4 ER, 12 BB, 31 K, .243 BAA
Whitley has had a strong season so far but he really dominated hitters in June bouncing back from a rough May. He showed off his K ability striking out 31 batters in just 20.2 innings. Overall he has 67 K in 46.1 innings. He has a 2.91 ERA with a 2.66 FIP this season. At just 19 years old, Whitley has established himself as one of the best pitching prospects in the Astros system and a sure fire top 100 prospect.
Honorable Mentions:
Tony Kemp (AAA) – 21 G, .370 BA/.410 OBP/.500 SLG, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 5 SB
Colin Moran (AAA) – 26 G, .327 BA/.381 OBP/.663 SLG, 5 2B, 9 HR, 26 RBI
Jon Kemmer (AAA) – 18 G, .370 BA/.528 OBP/.741 SLG, 3 2B, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 14 BB/17 SO
Jason Martin (AA) – 21 G, .360 BA/.382 OBP/.628 SLG, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 2 SB
Framber Valdez (A+) – 2-0, 1.29 ERA, 21.0 IP, 16 H, 3 ER, 9 BB, 27 K
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**Photo Credit: Richard Guill**
