Down on the Farm - 5/27/13

AAA - Oklahoma City 4 Iowa 3

Ross Seaton won his second straight decision and was backed by a solid effort from the bullpen as the RedHawks (28-23) defeated the Cubs 4-3. Alex Sogard pitched 1 2/3 no-hit innings, and Rhiner Cruz and Jose Valdez each followed with a shutout innings of their own as Valdez earned his 10th save of the year. Cody Clark and Andrew Simunic each went 2 for 4 with a run scored to lead the offense while Jake Elmore and Brett Wallace each drove in runs. Fernando Martinez's recent struggles continued as he went 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts and grounded into a double play. He's now hitting .212 on the year for the RedHawks.

AA - Corpus Christi 14 Arkansas 4

George Springer hit a pair of home runs, giving him 15 on the year, and drove in 5 as the Hooks (30-20) overcame an early 4-0 deficit and steamrolled the Travelers 14-4. Michael Burgess added a pair of home runs of his own and Domingo Santana had four hits including a home run missing the cycle by only a triple as the Hooks banged out 16 hits in the rout. Nick Tropeano finally earned his first win of the season with 5 innings of work while Bobby Doran earned his first save with 4 scoreless innings of relief.

Advanced A - Lancaster 6 Rancho Cucamonga 4

Aaron West allowed just 1 hit in 5 shutout innings and Delino DeShields Jr. went 4 for 4 with a walk as the JetHawks (30-20) defeated the Quakes 6-4. Raoul Torrez added 3 hits and Joe Sclafani doubled in a pair of runs to lead the offense. Travis Ballew allowed a solo home run to O'Koyea Dickson in the 9th, but picked up the final 4 outs, 3 by strikeout, to earn his 9th save. Ballew has now fanned 35 hitters in 20 1/3 innings for the JetHawks this season.

Low A - Quad Cities 11 Clinton 4

Carlos Correa singled twice, doubled and drove in 4 runs and Jobduan Morales and Austin Elkins each had 3 hits of their own as the River Bandits (27-23) upended the LumberKings 11-4. Miles Hamblin homered and drove in 2, while Terrell Joyce and Morales each drove in a pair as well. Vincent Velasquez earned the win with 5 innings of work to improve to 4-2 despite an uncharacteristic 0 strikeouts.

Down on the Farm - 5/24/13

AAA - Iowa 5 Oklahoma City 4

Brad Peacock struck out 8 in 5 2/3 innings, but allowed 5 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks as the RedHawks (27-20) fell to the Cubs 5-4. Jonathan Villar and Brandon Laird each had solo home runs and Marc Krauss reached base three times (single, 2 walks) to supply to RedHawks offense. Josh Zeid and Alex Sogard combined to throw 2 1/3 scoreless innings out of the pen. Sogard has yet to allow a run since his promotion to AAA spanning 5 innings. He's allowed just 1 hit, but has issued 5 walks. His ERA on the year between AA and AAA is now 0.51.

AA - Corpus Christi 2 Northwest Arkansas 0

Mike Foltynewicz pitched 5 no-hit innings, and David Martinez only allowed a lead off single in the 6th as the Hooks (28-19) completely neutralized the Naturals, winning 2-0 on a combined 1-hitter. Folty now owns a 0.86 ERA in 21 AA innings and the Texas League is batting just .145 against him. Martinez, meanwhile, is no slouch either improving to 8-0 and lowering his ERA on the year to 1.84. Martinez needs just one win to tie his career high set in 2012 with Lancaster. The Hooks got their offense from Rene Garcia (2/4 with a double and an rbi) and Jonathan Meyer (1/4 with an rbi). George Springer drew a pair of walks in 4 trips and Max Stassi extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his 6th double of the season.

Advanced A - Lancaster 12 Inland Empire 4

The JetHawks (27-20) jumped out to an 8-1 lead through three innings and cruised to a 12-4 win over the 66ers. Andrew Aplin led the offense by going 3 for 4 with a home run and 4 runs batted in. He leads all Astros minor leaguers with 42 rbis this season. Tyler Heineman, Brandon Meredith and Joe Sclafani all had 3 hits in the game and Preston Tucker added his 7th home run of the year. Chris Devenski started and improved to 4-2 on the year despite his 6.99 ERA and Brady Rodgers earned his first save of the season with 4 scoreless innings of relief in which he allowed 2 hits and fanned 3.

Low A - Quad Cities 4 Wisconsin 3

Pinch-runner Teoscar Hernandez scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the bottom of the 8th as the River Bandits (24-22) edged out the Timber Rattlers, 4-3. Carlos Correa was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis, a triple, a stolen base and a run to lead the Bandits offense. Rio Ruiz added an rbi. Lance McCullers turned in another solid outing allowing just 2 earned runs in 5 innings of work, but despite his 1.94 ERA, he remains winless in 11 appearances including 7 starts. Daniel Minor pitched 4 scoreless innings in relief of McCullers to earn the win. He allowed just 2 singles and fanned 5 while not walking a batter.

5 Under the Radar Prospects

Andrew Aplin - Lancaster JetHawks - CF

When you hear Astros centerfielder of the future, you're generally talking about George Springer, but the left-handed Aplin is another name to keep an eye on. A 5th round draft pick last year, Aplin led the New York-Penn League in OPS (.978) and slugging percentage, and ranked second in batting average, third in on-base percentage and tied for fourth in steals. He's very disciplined at the plate sporting close to a 2:1 walk to strikeout ratio, and he actually has more runs batted in this season than Springer does. 

Year	Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
2012	TRI	NYP	.348	44	164	38	57	9	5	4	25	88	24	22	20	7	.441	.537	.978
2012	LAN	CAL	.260	24	104	19	27	4	2	3	13	44	4	16	4	3	.287	.423	.710
2012	Minors		.313	68	268	57	84	13	7	7	38	132	28	38	24	10	.386	.493	.879
2013	LAN	CAL	.256	40	160	30	41	11	4	3	33	69	27	14	5	2	.362	.431	.793
2013	Minors		.256	40	160	30	41	11	4	3	33	69	27	14	5	2	.362	.431	.793

Joe Sclafani - Lancaster JetHawks - 2B/SS

A 14th round pick out of Dartmouth a year ago (Brad Ausmus would be proud), Sclafani has shown an ability to get on base this season sporting a .421 on base percentage. Called up to Lancaster when Delino DeShields Jr. was injured, he's hit safely in 7 of his 8 starts since his arrival and he's held onto a roster spot with the JetHawks. He doesn't have much power or tremendous speed, but he makes contact at the plate and he's versatile in the field.

Year	Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
2012	TRI	NYP	.271	70	266	39	72	9	3	1	36	90	33	40	16	3	.355	.338	.693
2012	Minors		.271	70	266	39	72	9	3	1	36	90	33	40	16	3	.355	.338	.693
2013	QC	MID	.241	19	58	13	14	3	0	0	9	17	17	7	3	2	.430	.293	.723
2013	LAN	CAL	.323	8	31	8	10	2	0	0	5	12	4	4	0	0	.400	.387	.787
2013	Minors		.270	27	89	21	24	5	0	0	14	29	21	11	3	2	.421	.326	.747

MP Cokinos - Lancaster JetHawks - C

A 31st round pick a year ago, Cokinos has done nothing but hit since his arrival. Despite getting drafted 23 rounds after teammate Tyler Heineman, Cokinos has put up better number in virtually every offensive category this year. Heineman's still got him on defense, but if Cokinos keeps hitting like this, the Astros won't be able to ignore that.

Year	Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
2012	TRI	NYP	.320	36	125	18	40	4	1	3	18	55	9	14	1	1	.370	.440	.810
2012	Minors		.320	36	125	18	40	4	1	3	18	55	9	14	1	1	.370	.440	.810
2013	LAN	CAL	.360	24	89	18	32	8	0	3	18	49	9	6	0	1	.433	.551	.983
2013	Minors		.360	24	89	18	32	8	0	3	18	49	9	6	0	1	.433	.551	.983

Jake Buchanan - Corpus Christi Hooks - RHP

Buchanan doesn't have great stuff, but he's always had good command and this year he finally seems to have put it all together. With just 3 walks in 48 1/3 innings, Buchanan has been getting groundballs and avoiding big innings to the tune of a 0.93 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.64. He's working on a streak of 24 1/3 scoreless innings right now, so you've got to figure it's only a matter of time before Buchanan joins the staff in Oklahoma City.

Year	Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
2010	TRI	NYP	4	5	4.28	14	14	0	0	0	61.0	69	32	29	3	11	42	1.78	.286
2010	Minors		4	5	4.28	14	14	0	0	0	61.0	69	32	29	3	11	42	1.78	.286
2011	LAN	CAL	5	10	3.91	25	25	1	1	0	158.2	157	92	69	10	35	102	2.31	.256
2011	CC	TEX	0	0	1.29	1	1	0	0	0	7.0	6	1	1	0	1	2	2.60	.231
2011	Minors		5	10	3.80	26	26	1	1	0	165.2	163	93	70	10	36	104	2.32	.255
2012	CC	TEX	5	9	4.96	27	19	0	0	0	134.1	171	85	74	11	33	83	2.05	.310
2012	OKC	PCL	0	1	10.13	3	1	0	0	0	8.0	17	10	9	1	5	5	1.29	.459
2012	Minors		5	10	5.25	30	20	0	0	0	142.1	188	95	83	12	38	88	2.00	.320
2013	CC	TEX	4	0	0.93	11	7	0	0	0	48.1	28	5	5	2	3	28	1.84	.172
2013	Minors		4	0	0.93	11	7	0	0	0	48.1	28	5	5	2	3	28	1.84	.172

Alex Sogard - Oklahoma City RedHawks - LHP

A teammate of Buchanan's at N.C. State, Sogard has been tough to score on this year allowing just 1 earned run in 12 appearances. A lefty arm drafted in the 26th round in 2010, Sogard has both started and closed in the Astros farm system, and his role as a closer for the Hooks this year earned him a promotion to Oklahoma City. Continue to watch him in AAA because if he continues to pitch effectively, he could find his way to Houston.

Year	Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
2010	TRI	NYP	1	2	3.51	22	3	0	0	0	41.0	40	20	16	4	12	36	1.30	.263
2010	Minors		1	2	3.51	22	3	0	0	0	41.0	40	20	16	4	12	36	1.30	.263
2011	LEX	SAL	3	4	4.14	31	10	0	0	4	104.1	112	54	48	12	25	112	1.65	.272
2011	Minors		3	4	4.14	31	10	0	0	4	104.1	112	54	48	12	25	112	1.65	.272
2012	LAN	CAL	0	2	2.81	6	0	0	0	0	16.0	12	7	5	0	8	17	1.91	.197
2012	CC	TEX	3	1	3.86	33	0	0	0	0	53.2	60	28	23	3	25	35	2.58	.291
2012	Minors		3	3	3.62	39	0	0	0	0	69.2	72	35	28	3	33	52	2.40	.270
2013	CC	TEX	0	0	0.71	10	0	0	0	3	12.2	12	3	1	1	4	12	2.83	.261
2013	OKC	PCL	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	0	2.1	0	0	0	0	2	2	1.00	.000
2013	Minors		0	0	0.60	12	0	0	0	3	15.0	12	3	1	1	6	14	2.38	.231