Down on the Farm - 6/8/13

AA - Corpus Christi 5 San Antonio 1

Jake Buchanan continued his stranglehold on Texas League hitters with 4 more innings without allowing an earned run to lower his ERA to 0.80 in Corpus Christi's 5-1 win over the Missions. Domingo Santana and Rene Garcia each homered for the Hooks (38-23), but Justin Maxwell's struggles continue as he went 0 for 3 with a sacrifice fly and a strikeout. In four games with the Hooks, Maxwell is 0 for 13. Carlos Quevedo tossed 5 shutout innings to improve his record on the year to 2-4. Jonathan Meyer doubled to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

Advanced A - San Jose 7 Lancaster 0

The JetHawks (35-27) were held to just 5 hits as they were beaten up by the Giants once again by a score of 7-0. Andrew Aplin was one of the lone bright spots on offense going 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Jonas Dufek added 2 scoreless innings of relief while starter Aaron West (2-3, 5.62) was saddled with the loss.

Low A - Peoria 1 Quad Cities 0

Gerardo Sanchez's wild pitch in the 9th inning scored the winning run from third base as the Chiefs defeated the River Bandits (32-27) by a score of 1-0. Mike Hauschild started the game for Quad Cities and tossed 5 shutout innings to lower his ERA on the year to 2.84. Colton Cain followed that up with 3 scoreless innings of his own before giving way to Sanchez in the 9th. Carlos Correa had one of Quad Cities' 5 hits in the game dropping his average to .288.

DSL - DSL Astros 6 DSL Dodgers 3

Hector Roa hit a grand slam and drove in 5 runs as the Astros (4-3) defeated the Dodgers 6-3 in a game shortened to 8 innings by rain. Randy Cesar reached base 4 times (2 singles, walk, hit by pitch), and Arturo Michelena scored twice to lead the offense while Junior Garcia pitched 4 shutout innings in relief to earn the win. Angel Heredia recorded the final out of the game to earn the save.

Down on the Farm - 6/4/13

AAA - Albuquerque 10 Oklahoma City 2

3 RedHawks errors led to 4 unearned runs and Philip Humber lost for the 9th time this year as the Isotopes hammered the RedHawks (32-25) 10-2. Jake Elmore went 2 for 5 and Brett Wallace went 3 for 4, but the RedHawks left 12 men on base in the game. Humber allowed just 2 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work, but hit two more batters giving him 6 hit batsmen in 12 innings since he was sent down. Kevin Chapman struck out the side while working a scoreless inning.

AA - Corpus Christi 9 Midland 5

Jake Buchanan improved to 7-0 on the year, but the bigger story was that he actually got scored on... TWICE. While just one of the runs was earned, Buchanan's ERA skyrocketed to... 0.85. The Hooks (36-21) got big offensive efforts from Ben Orloff (4/5), Jose Martinez (3/5, 3 RBI) and Domingo Santana (2/5, 2 RBI) in the win. Martinez is 10 for 14 for the Hooks since he was activated from the DL. Justin Maxwell started as the DH in his first rehab appearance since his injury. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout, but stole a base and scored a run.

Advanced A - Stockton 4 Lancaster 2

For the second day in a row, the Ports handed the JetHawks (35-23) a 4-2 loss. Andrew Aplin and Chris Epps each had 2 hits, but all six RedHawks hits were singles and they never really got much going offensively. Aaron West allowed 3 runs in 5 innings to fall to 2-2 on the year. Michael Dimock added 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Dimock did allow a hit which was the first he'd surrendered since his promotion to Lancaster. Opposing hitters are batting just .048 against him in the California League.

Dominican Summer League - DSL Astros 2 DSL Red Sox 0

Edwin Villarroel tossed 5 shutout innings, and Joselo Pinales and Harold Arauz combined for 4 shutout innings of relief as the DSL Astros 4-hit the DSL Red Sox 2-0. Arturo Michelena drove in a run on a groundout in the first and Hector Roa tripled and scored on a Jesus Bermejo single in the 7th, but that was more than enough for the Astros as they won their second straight.

Down on the Farm - 6/2/13

AAA - Albuquerque 4 Oklahoma City 2

Brandon Laird hit a 2-run homer in the first inning, but that was all the offense the RedHawks (31-24) could muster in a 4-2 defeat. Jonathan Villar had a pair of singles and a steal, and Brett Wallace and Fernando Martinez each had doubles, but Oklahoma City was just 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position in the game. Ross Seaton started and took the loss allowing all 4 Isotopes runs in 5 2/3 innings. Jason Stoffel continued his ridiculous run with 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief. His AAA ERA is now 1.53 and opposing hitters are batting just .119 against him in 13 appearances since his promotion.

AA - Corpus Christi 5 Arkansas 3 (8 innings, Game 1)

Jose Martinez returned from the DL and went 3 for 4 and Domingo Santana tripled, homered and scored three times as the Hooks (34-21) won game one of their doubleheader 5-3. Martinez hit a one out double in the 8th, Santana scored him with a triple and then crossed the plate himself on a sacrifice fly off the bat of George Springer. Mike Foltynewicz started the game on the mound and allowed just 1 run in 4 1/3 innings while fanning 5. Pat Urckfitz earned the win in relief with 2 scoreless innings to improve to 3-2 on the year.

Corpus Christi 13 Arkansas 9 (Game 2)

David Martinez was spotted a 10-0 lead after half an inning, but failed to improve to 9-0 on the year as he failed to get through 3 innings. Jose Martinez went 4 for 5, George Springer homered and drove in 5 runs and Domingo Santana hit his second home run of the day as the Hooks swept the doubleheader and improved to 35-21 on the year.  Martinez, Springer and Ben Orloff all scored 3 times for the Hooks   and Matt Heidenreich (3-3, 6.75) earned the win with 4 innings of solid relief.

Advanced A - Lancaster 16 Visalia 1

Chris Epps and MP Cokinos combined to go 6 for 9 with 3 doubles, 2 homers and 11 runs batted in as the JetHawks (35-21) crushed the Rawhide 16-1. Joe Sclafani went 2 for 2 with 3 walks, Brandon Meredith homered and Preston Tucker extended his hitting streak to 17 games while all 3 players scored 3 runs in the game. David Rollins improved to 5-3 on the year with 5 shutout innings and Tyson Perez earned the save by allowing just 1 run in his 4 innings of relief. Delino DeShields stole two bases to give him 14 on the year.

Low A - Quad Cities 3 Beloit 2

Lance McCullers Jr threw 5 shutout innings and earned his second win of the season while lowering his ERA on the year to 1.70 as the River Bandits hung on for a 3-2 win over the Snappers. Teoscar Hernandez and Jordan Scott each had 2 hits to lead the offense while Jonathan Singleton again showed his human side going 0 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout. Cameron Lamb got the final 2 outs for his 3rd save of the season.

5 Under the Radar Prospects, Volume 2

Joe Sclafani - Lancaster JetHawks - 2B/SS

Sclafani hasn't slowed down at all for the JetHawks and has had multi-hit games in each of his last 5 starts. Last year's 14th round pick out of Dartmouth has 40 walks and just 18 strikeouts on the year, and since his promotion he's hitting .393 with a Barry Bonds-esque .523 on base percentage. He's added a pair of home runs and 11 steals on the year and he's scored 39 runs in 41 games. Originally called up to Lancaster to fill in at second for the injured Delino DeShields Jr., he's now starting at short in place of the injured Nolan Fontana. With the way he's been hitting it will be interesting to see what happens when Fontana returns. If you want to nitpick, Sclafani has made 9 errors this season, but other than that, there's not a lot of bad things you can say about the way he's been playing.

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
QC	MID	.241	19	58	13	14	3	0	0	9	17	17	7	3	2	.430	.293	.723
LAN	CAL	.393	22	84	26	33	6	0	2	17	45	23	11	8	0	.523	.536	1.059
Minors		.331	41	142	39	47	9	0	2	26	62	40	18	11	2	.484	.437	.921

Preston Tucker - Lancaster JetHawks - RF/LF

Who's leading all Astros minor leaguers in rbis? Not George Springer. Not Marc Krauss. Not Domingo Santana. It's the JetHawks left-handed slugger Preston Tucker, a 7th round pick out of Florida in 2012. Tucker's not going to be under the radar much longer as he's in the midst of a 17 game hitting streak raising his average up to .318. He's driven in 57 runs on the year and leads the JetHawks with 11 homers, 50 runs, 69 hits and he's only struck out 36 times in 217 ABs. A first baseman in college, Tucker's recorded 4 outfield assists this year splitting time between right and left field with just one error.

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
LAN	CAL	.318	55	217	50	69	14	1	11	57	118	25	36	2	0	.387	.544	.931
Minors		.318	55	217	50	69	14	1	11	57	118	25	36	2	0	.387	.544	.931

Chris Epps - Lancaster JetHawks - OF

A 45th Round Pick in 2011, Epps hit just .203 (13/63) in his first 19 games this season, but has been absolutely on fire lately hitting .433 (26/60) in the 15 games since then. While his skillset doesn't appear to be conducive to the Major Leagues - he doesn't hit for enough power to be a corner outfielder and scouts say he doesn't have the range to play centerfield in the Majors - he's been doing just about everything right with the bat lately. In just 123 at bats, Epps has 14 doubles, 3 triples, and 5 homers and is averaging almost an rbi a game. He does strike out a little too much (41 times in 123 at bats), but it's hard to argue with his production. In an outfield with Andrew Aplin and Tucker, and being a 45th round pick, Epps tends to get overlooked, but we'll give him some props here.

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
LAN	CAL	.317	34	123	25	39	14	3	5	33	74	18	41	5	3	.399	.602	1.000
Minors		.317	34	123	25	39	14	3	5	33	74	18	41	5	3	.399	.602	1.00

Jordan Scott - Quad Cities River Bandits - OF

Scott has quietly been having a very good season for the River Bandits. Drafted in the 14th round back in 2010, but still just 21 years old, Scott is hitting .285 with 13 steals and has more walks (33) than strikeouts (32). Scott has been playing particularly well lately going 12 for 24 in his last 10 games with 9 walks, good for an on base percentage of .636. After hitting .217 in April, he batted .319 in May. He's second on the team in runs, triples and steals behind leadoff hitter Teoscar Hernandez and he leads the team in walks and on base percentage.

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
QC	MID	.285	51	137	30	39	5	2	0	13	48	33	32	13	4	.421	.350	.771
Minors		.285	51	137	30	39	5	2	0	13	48	33	32	13	4	.421	.350	.771

Michael Dimock - Lancaster JetHawks - RHP

A 37th Round Pick out of Wake Forest in 2012, Dimock started the year by going 5-0 in 10 relief appearances for Quad Cities. Since his promotion to Lancaster, all he's done is throw 5 1/3 innings without allowing a hit. On the year, the former collegiate closer is holding batters to a .121 average and his WHIP is a ridiculous 0.59 in 14 games.

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
QC	MID	5	0	3.09	10	0	0	0	0	11.2	7	4	4	1	2	15	0.40	.163
LAN	CAL	0	0	1.69	4	0	0	0	0	5.1	0	1	1	0	1	2	0.27	.000
Minors		5	0	2.65	14	0	0	0	0	17.0	7	5	5	1	3	17	0.35	.121