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

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