Triple-A: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (2-4)
The Sugar Land bats were hot this weekend in the dry elevation of Vegas, and it showed as they led the league in homers. Trey Cabbage had his best series of the year, launching five long balls of his own and collecting a team high in RBIs; good enough to be recalled this week back to Houston.. Will Wagner earned our player of the week, hitting over .500 and leading the team in hits and walks. Shay Whitcomb was named Astros upper-level player of the month as well.
Note: Sugar Land led the PCL in HRs this week (14), walks (45) but also Ks (75)
- Bastides: 8-27, 6R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3BB(5K)
- Cabbage: 7-27, 10R, 2 2B, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 5BB(13K)
- Hamilton: 7-24, 5R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4BB(9K)
- Wagner: 11-18, 7R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 6BB(2K), 1 SB
The Space Cowboys pitching staff had some shaky starting pitching this week, but collected multiple solid performances in relief. LIke the offense, the homerun caused problems in the elevation as the staff surrendered 10 and struggled with command walking 23. The Space Cowboys stay on the road and head to Salt Lake this week.
Note: Logan Vanwey earned Astros minor league pitcher of the month for the upper levels
- Gaither: 3G, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0R(0ER), 5K(2BB)
- King: 3G, 4,0 IP, 3 H, 0R(0ER), 5K(0BB)
- McDonald: 3G, 4.0 IP, 1H, 0R(0ER), 4K(0BB)
- Suero: 2G, 2.0 IP, 2H, 0R(0ER), 1K(3BB), 1 SV
Double-A: Corpus Christi Hooks (4-2)
While the offensive numbers remained about the same from the season, the aggressiveness on the base paths helped the Hooks win this week. Jeremy Arocho collected more than ⅓ of the team’s stolen bases himself. We also saw the Double-A debut of Jeron Williams; and while he struggled a bit with contact, he still walked more than he struck out and was able to collect his first home run with his new club.
Note: Corpus led the league with 14 stolen bases this week
- Arocho: 9-18, 3 R, 1 RBI, 4BB(3K), 5 SB
- Correa: 5-17, 3 R, 3 RBI, 3BB(1K), 3 SB
- Williams: 3-17, 5 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4BB(3K), 2 SB
- Wrobleski: 7-18, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2BB(3K), 2 SB
Despite the usual lackluster offense of the Hooks, the pitching staff carried this team to a series win. Aaron Brown turned in the best start of the week going six scoreless and striking out six. DeLabio, Mancini, and Strotman combined for 10.1 scoreless innings in relief in this lower scoring series. The Hooks return to Corpus to take on Frisco and will look to continue the winning behind the rather dominant pitching, but hoping the bats start to figure it out as well.
Note: Hooks pitching allowed just a .191 BAA and a 0.99 WHIP this series
- Brown: 1GS, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0R(0ER), 6K(1BB)
- DeLabio: 3G, 3.0IP, 3 H, 0R(0ER), 1 HB, 7K(1BB)
- Mancini: 1G, 4.0 IP, 4H, 0R(0ER), 2K(1BB)
- Strotman: 2G, 3.1 IP, 2H, 0R(0ER), 3K(0BB)
High-A: Asheville Tourists (2-3)
It was an underwhelming week of offense at the lower levels, but Luis Baez continues his power stroke this season adding another home run to his resume. Last year’s first round pick, Bryce Matthews, returned from the IL and promptly belted two homeruns in his one game back which is a great sight to see. The plate discipline struggled and just baserunners in general as they only scraped out 12 runs in 5 games. Hopefully Matthews adds a needed spark going forward.
Note: Asheville struggled with league lows in runs (12) and hits (26) this week
- Baez: 4-19, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2BB(5K)
- Deming: 5-18, 3 R, 2 2B, 3BB(6K), 1 SB
- Johnson: 5-18, 4 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3BB(7K)
- Matthews: 2-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB(0K)
As the trend continues, pitching outshined the bats this week, but mostly in relief appearances. Swanson collected the Tourists best start this week going six scoreless innings and striking out four with zero free passes. The command was there as they walked a league low, but the bats just could not help out the arms this week. Asheville stays home this week to host Bowling Green and will look to bounce back.
Note: Tourists pitchers walked a league low 11 batters this week
- Cobos: 2G, 5.2 IP, 2H, 0R(0ER), 8K(2BB)
- Guedez: 1G, 4.0 IP, 7H, 3R(3ER), 6K(1BB)
- Swanson: 1GS, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0R(0ER), 4K(0BB)
- True: 1G, 4.0 IP, 4H, 2R(2ER), 7K(0BB)
Low-A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (4-2)
Another team, and another rough week at the plate despite the series win. A league low in hits and homeruns speak the loudest, but not all was lost this series. Oliver Carillo collected six walks and Alejandro Nunez led the way with seven hits and six runs scored. Seven of the nine hitters collected RBIs this week and the team had 22 walks in total. This lineup has produced for most of the season, but they head to a top 5 team ERA staff in Columbia this week.
Note: Like Asheville, the Woodpeckers had a league low 26 hits this series
- Carillo: 4-15, 3 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 6BB(4K)
- Gomez: 5-19, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1BB(3K), 1 SB
- Nunez: 7-22, 6 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB(6K)
- Santander, J: 4-18, 1 R, 3 RBI, 3BB(3K)
Stop me if you have heard this one before, but the pitching staff carried the bats this week and were superb. Ethan Pecko and Jackson Nezuh were nails this week, making 4 appearances (1 start and 1 relief each) for a combined 18 innings of just 2 run ball; two solo shots surrendered by Nezuh. They also combined for 26 strikeouts to just 3 walks in those innings. The swing and miss was there as the staff led the league in Ks and helped the team secure two 1-0 victories. Hopefully the arms stay hot against a middle of the pack offense of Columbia this week.
Note: The staff struck out a league best 63 this week
- Mejia: 1GS, 5.0 IP, 4H, 0R(0ER), 4K(2BB)
- Nezuh: 2G, 1 GS, 10.0 IP, 4H, 2R(2ER), 2HR, 1HB, 11K(1BB)
- Pecko: 2G, 1 GS, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0R(0ER), 15K(2BB)
- Santos: 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0R(0ER), 6K(1BB)
Bonus Note: Zach Dezenzo returned from the IL for a rehab stint in the FCL and went 3-5 with 3 RBIs in his first game back
Question: Is there a player you think is deserving of a promotion soon?
