A look at what the trades of the last few seasons have netted us:
Roy Oswalt, Pedro Feliz and Brandon Lyon turned into SS Jonathan Villar, 1B Brett Wallace, RHP Asher Wojciechowski, LHP David Rollins, RHP Joe Musgrove, C Carlos Perez, RHP Kevin Comer and LHP Theron Geith. Ok, so this is a series of trades that put together netted us 8 prospects. First, Roy Oswalt was traded to the Phillies for J.A. Happ, Villar, and outfielder Anthony Gose. The Astros then immediately flipped Gose to the Blue Jays for Wallace. Fast forward to last year and Happ gets packaged with Lyon and Carpenter (acquired for Pedro Feliz in 2010) to Toronto for Wojo, Rollins, Musgrove, Perez, Comer, Ben Francisco and Francisco Cordero. And then Francisco gets sent to Tampa Bay for Geith. So if you're keeping score, Houston got 5 of their current top 20 prospects (Villar-12, Wojo-15, Comer-17, Musgrove-19 and Perez-20), Brett Wallace who's currently hitting .315 for the RedHawks, David Rollins who has a respectable 3.96 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning for Lancaster, and Geith who's 5-0 with a 2.35 ERA in 17 games for the JetHawks. Not a bad haul.
Lance Berkman and Fernando Rodriguez turned into UT Jimmy Paredes, RHP Kyle Weiland, 1B/OF Chris Carter, RHP Brad Peacock and C Max Stassi. This was another series of trades on top of trades. Berkman was moved to the Yankees for Mark Melancon and Paredes. After a year as the Astros closer, Melancon was traded to the Red Sox for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland. Lowrie was then packaged with Fernando Rodriguez to the A's for Peacock, Carter and Stassi. Paredes and Carter are currently every day players for the Astros, Peacock was in the Opening Day Starting Rotation, Weiland was in the Opening Day Rotation a year ago before getting hurt and Stassi is currently ranked #16 among Astros prospects while hitting .286 with 9 doubles in 19 games for the Hooks.
Hunter Pence turned into 1B Jonathan Singleton, RHP Jarred Cosart, RHP Josh Zeid and RF Domingo Santana.
As Cosart (#4 Prospect) and Singleton (#1 Prospect) get closer to contributing to the Astros this trade looks better and better, but the afterthoughts in this deal have been producing as well. Zeid is 3-0 in 21 games for Oklahoma City, has 27 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings and is holding opposing hitters to a .189 average. And then Santana, just 20 years old, is an intriguing blend of speed and power who homered 23 times and drove in 97 runs for the JetHawks last year. In 2013 he has 9 homers including a 3-homer game and 6 steals for the Hooks. He's currently ranked 13th among Astros prospects.
Michael Bourn turned into RHP Paul Clemens and LHP Brett Oberholtzer. Juan Abreu and Jordan Schafer didn't pan out, but Paul Clemens has become a mainstay in the Astros pen this year, and Oberholtzer made his Major League debut against the Indians in April.
Chris Johnson turned into 3B Bobby Borchering and 1B/OF Marc Krauss. Borchering hasn't played a game yet in 2013, but Krauss has has posted a .402 on base percentage in his first full year of AAA with 8 homers and 31 runs batted in.
Carlos Lee turned into 3B Matt Dominguez and RHP John Ely. Lee went to the Marlins for Dominguez and lefty pitcher Rob Rasmussen and then Rasmussen was sent to L.A. for Ely. Ely unfortunately went down with an arm injury after just one appearance this year (4 scoreless innings and a save), but Dominguez has solidified himself as one of baseball's best defensive third basemen and he's shown some power to boot.
Jeff Keppinger turned into RHP Henry Sosa and RHP Jason Stoffel. Sosa's still pitching in Korea, but Stoffel has been lights out in 2013 allowing just 7 hits in 16 1/3 innings since his promotion to AAA. His combined ERA between Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City is 1.52.
Wilton Lopez turned into RHP Alex White and RHP Alex Gillingham. Both Alex's are out with injuries as White made the team, but was hurt in the final scrimmage before Opening Day and Gillingham appeared in just 3 games for Lancaster before going down himself.
Wandy Rodriguez turned into CF Robbie Grossman, LHP Rudy Owens and LHP Colton Cain. Grossman got his first AAA action this year, and logged 28 games for the Astros following injuries to Justin Maxwell and J.D. Martinez. He only hit .198 for Houston, but he showed an ability to draw walks (16). The 18th ranked prospect in the Astros organization has been rock solid for the RedHawks hitting .299 with a .432 on base percentage. Owens, like Ely, was the victim to an early season arm injury and logged only 4 appearances for the RedHawks this year in which he posted a 3.71 ERA before getting shut down for the year. Cain has struggled a bit this year going 2-5 with a 5.85 ERA for Quad Cities, but he's 2-2 with a 1.96 ERA in his last 6 appearances.
Jason Bourgeois and Humberto Quintero turned into Kevin Chapman. Chapman posted a 2.64 ERA in 49 appearances for the Hooks in 2012, but he's struggled a bit with his control in 2013 walking 18 hitters in 22 innings. He has a 4.09 ERA, but opposing hitters are batting just .203 against him.
Showing posts with label Brad Peacock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brad Peacock. Show all posts
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
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.
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.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Down on the Farm - 5/19/13
AAA - Oklahoma City 9 Sacramento 3
Brad Peacock allowed just 1 earned run in 5 innings of work earning his first win as a member of the RedHawks (25-17) despite once again being plagued by a high pitch count. Peacock needed 96 pitches to get through hits 5 innings and finished the night with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Fernando Martinez and Jason Jaramillo each had a pair of runs batted in and Che-Hsuan Lin added 2 singles, 2 runs and a steal. Austin Wates singled to extend his hitting streak to 6 games.
AA - Corpus Christi 5 Midland 3
David Martinez improved to 7-0 on the year as the Hooks (25-18) defeated the RockHounds 5-3. Martinez pitched 5 solid innings, Josh Fields continued his rehab by throwing his 7th straight scoreless inning, and Mike Foltynewicz got the final 9 outs to earn his second save. Erik Castro went 3 for 3 with a homer and 2 runs batted in, and Rene Garcia added a pair of rbis of his own to lead the offense. George Springer went hitless, but stole 4 bases.
Advanced A - Rancho Cucamonga 11 Lancaster 7
Matt Duffy's 2-out throwing error led to 4 unearned runs in the 9th as the JetHawks (24-19) lost to the Quakes 11-7. Lancaster wasted 4 homers - one apiece from Telvin Nash (6), Duffy (7), Tyler Heineman (1) and Delino DeShields (1) - in the loss. DeShields (2/5), Joe Sclafani (2/3), Duffy (3/5), Heineman (2/3) and Chris Epps (2/3) all had multi-hit games in a losing effort. Brady Rodgers started the game and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits in 5 innings of work.
Low A - Beloit 3 Quad Cities 2
Lance McCullers' tough luck continues as he once again wound up the losing pitcher despite allowing just 1 earned run in 4 innings of work in the River Bandits (23-19) 3-2 loss. McCullers is now 0-4 on the year with an ERA of 1.72. Carlos Correa had 2 more hits and a stolen base as he extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He's batting .410 (16/39) during that stretch. Jesse Wierzbicki and Austin Elkins each had 2 hits in the loss.
Brad Peacock allowed just 1 earned run in 5 innings of work earning his first win as a member of the RedHawks (25-17) despite once again being plagued by a high pitch count. Peacock needed 96 pitches to get through hits 5 innings and finished the night with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Fernando Martinez and Jason Jaramillo each had a pair of runs batted in and Che-Hsuan Lin added 2 singles, 2 runs and a steal. Austin Wates singled to extend his hitting streak to 6 games.
AA - Corpus Christi 5 Midland 3
David Martinez improved to 7-0 on the year as the Hooks (25-18) defeated the RockHounds 5-3. Martinez pitched 5 solid innings, Josh Fields continued his rehab by throwing his 7th straight scoreless inning, and Mike Foltynewicz got the final 9 outs to earn his second save. Erik Castro went 3 for 3 with a homer and 2 runs batted in, and Rene Garcia added a pair of rbis of his own to lead the offense. George Springer went hitless, but stole 4 bases.
Advanced A - Rancho Cucamonga 11 Lancaster 7
Matt Duffy's 2-out throwing error led to 4 unearned runs in the 9th as the JetHawks (24-19) lost to the Quakes 11-7. Lancaster wasted 4 homers - one apiece from Telvin Nash (6), Duffy (7), Tyler Heineman (1) and Delino DeShields (1) - in the loss. DeShields (2/5), Joe Sclafani (2/3), Duffy (3/5), Heineman (2/3) and Chris Epps (2/3) all had multi-hit games in a losing effort. Brady Rodgers started the game and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits in 5 innings of work.
Low A - Beloit 3 Quad Cities 2
Lance McCullers' tough luck continues as he once again wound up the losing pitcher despite allowing just 1 earned run in 4 innings of work in the River Bandits (23-19) 3-2 loss. McCullers is now 0-4 on the year with an ERA of 1.72. Carlos Correa had 2 more hits and a stolen base as he extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He's batting .410 (16/39) during that stretch. Jesse Wierzbicki and Austin Elkins each had 2 hits in the loss.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Humber Era Continues!
In case you missed it, Philip Humber cleared waivers and is headed for Oklahoma City. The player once drafted one pick after Justin Verlander back in 2004 was designated for assignment after falling to 0-8 with a 9.59 ERA in his first 9 appearances of 2013. Humber allowed 57 hits and 15 walks in just 35 2/3 innings and was letting opposing hitters bat .354 against him. I suppose it's no real surprise with numbers like that that he cleared waivers, but he accepted his assignment and gets a chance to work through his issues in AAA.
I'm actually on board with this move. As bad as Humber was, he did start the season strong (2.89 ERA through 3 starts), and even turned in one good relief appearance before his final meltdown against Texas. He's obviously got the potential to do well, and with none of Houston's starters really locking up spots in the rotation, why not keep him around to see if he can figure it out?
And let's face it. The RedHawks have a pair of starters done for the year (Rudy Owens and John Ely), while Paul Clemens, Jose Cisnero, Jordan Lyles and Dallas Keuchel are already in Houston, so the additional depth won't hurt. Humber will join his former rotation mate Brad Peacock on the RedHawks as 40% of Houston's Opening Day rotation is now in the minors. So far the demotion has worked well for Peacock as he's struck out 14 and only walked 1 in 11 innings of work. Hopefully things work out for Humber too.
I'm actually on board with this move. As bad as Humber was, he did start the season strong (2.89 ERA through 3 starts), and even turned in one good relief appearance before his final meltdown against Texas. He's obviously got the potential to do well, and with none of Houston's starters really locking up spots in the rotation, why not keep him around to see if he can figure it out?
And let's face it. The RedHawks have a pair of starters done for the year (Rudy Owens and John Ely), while Paul Clemens, Jose Cisnero, Jordan Lyles and Dallas Keuchel are already in Houston, so the additional depth won't hurt. Humber will join his former rotation mate Brad Peacock on the RedHawks as 40% of Houston's Opening Day rotation is now in the minors. So far the demotion has worked well for Peacock as he's struck out 14 and only walked 1 in 11 innings of work. Hopefully things work out for Humber too.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Down on the Farm - 5/13/13
AAA - Salt Lake 3 Oklahoma City 2
Brad Peacock fanned 9 hitters in 5 innings of work, and Jonathan Villar missed the cycle by a home run, but the RedHawks (22-15) fell to the Bees, 3-2. Brett Wallace was 2 for 5 and drove in both RedHawk runs to lead the offense, but it wasn't enough to back Peacock who lost despite only allowing 2 runs. Peacock, making his second start since his demotion, needed 99 pitches to get through 5 innings.
AA - Corpus Christi 13 San Antonio 3
Michael Burgess entered yesterday's game hitting .174 with 8 runs batted in in 29 games. When the dust finally cleared, he'd doubled his rbi total on the year going 3 for 5 with a double and a pair of home runs, and 8 more runs batted in as Corpus Christi (22-15) routed the Missions 13-3. George Springer added home run number 13 on the year, and Jonathan Meyer was 4 for 5 with 4 runs scored an a home run of his home to lead the 15-hit attack for the Hooks. On the mound, Jake Buchanan (3-0) threw 4 scoreless innings in relief allowing just 1 hit and lowering his ERA on the year to 1.04 in 43 1/3 innings. He's walked just 2 hitters this season.
Advanced A - Lancaster 6 Stockton 3
The JetHawks (23-15) rode a 6 run 4th to a 6-3 win over the Ports behind the bat of Brandon Meredith and the pitching of Blair Walters. Meredith hit his first home run of the season and drove in a pair, and Walters didn't allow an earned run in 4 innings of work to lead the way for Lancaster. Delino DeShields Jr. went 2 for 4, but was caught stealing for the 7th time this year when he was picked off of first base by Deyvi Jimenez. DeShields is just 5 for 12 stealing bases this year after stealing 101 bases in 135 games last year. Travis Ballew earned his 6th save of the season by getting the final four outs.
Low A - Quad Cities 8 Peoria 0
Big innings were the theme yesterday as the River Bandits (21-15) scored 8 times in the 4th en route to an 8-0 win over the Chiefs. Jordan Jankowski (2-0, 2.87) threw 5 shutout innings and was followed by another solid rehab appearance from Josh Fields who threw 2 scoreless innings of his own. Rio Ruiz went 3 for 4 with a double, and Carlos Correa went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .238, while Austin Elkins and Jobduan Morales each drove in a pair of runs to lead the offense.
Brad Peacock fanned 9 hitters in 5 innings of work, and Jonathan Villar missed the cycle by a home run, but the RedHawks (22-15) fell to the Bees, 3-2. Brett Wallace was 2 for 5 and drove in both RedHawk runs to lead the offense, but it wasn't enough to back Peacock who lost despite only allowing 2 runs. Peacock, making his second start since his demotion, needed 99 pitches to get through 5 innings.
AA - Corpus Christi 13 San Antonio 3
Michael Burgess entered yesterday's game hitting .174 with 8 runs batted in in 29 games. When the dust finally cleared, he'd doubled his rbi total on the year going 3 for 5 with a double and a pair of home runs, and 8 more runs batted in as Corpus Christi (22-15) routed the Missions 13-3. George Springer added home run number 13 on the year, and Jonathan Meyer was 4 for 5 with 4 runs scored an a home run of his home to lead the 15-hit attack for the Hooks. On the mound, Jake Buchanan (3-0) threw 4 scoreless innings in relief allowing just 1 hit and lowering his ERA on the year to 1.04 in 43 1/3 innings. He's walked just 2 hitters this season.
Advanced A - Lancaster 6 Stockton 3
The JetHawks (23-15) rode a 6 run 4th to a 6-3 win over the Ports behind the bat of Brandon Meredith and the pitching of Blair Walters. Meredith hit his first home run of the season and drove in a pair, and Walters didn't allow an earned run in 4 innings of work to lead the way for Lancaster. Delino DeShields Jr. went 2 for 4, but was caught stealing for the 7th time this year when he was picked off of first base by Deyvi Jimenez. DeShields is just 5 for 12 stealing bases this year after stealing 101 bases in 135 games last year. Travis Ballew earned his 6th save of the season by getting the final four outs.
Low A - Quad Cities 8 Peoria 0
Big innings were the theme yesterday as the River Bandits (21-15) scored 8 times in the 4th en route to an 8-0 win over the Chiefs. Jordan Jankowski (2-0, 2.87) threw 5 shutout innings and was followed by another solid rehab appearance from Josh Fields who threw 2 scoreless innings of his own. Rio Ruiz went 3 for 4 with a double, and Carlos Correa went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .238, while Austin Elkins and Jobduan Morales each drove in a pair of runs to lead the offense.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Down on the Farm - 5/8/13 and 5/9/13
Wednesday
AAA - Oklahoma City 7 Tacoma 6 (10 innings)
Jonathan Villar's 2-out grand slam capped a 6-run 9th for the RedHawks and sent the game into extra innings where Brandon Laird scored on an error in the 10th to give Oklahoma City (20-12) an improbable 7-6 win. Brad Peacock made his RedHawks debut and made it through 6 innings allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, fanning 5 while not walking a batter. He threw 104 pitches. Marc Krauss reached base 4 times to lead the offense, but Brett Wallace had his hitting streak snapped going 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts. Jason Stoffel earned the win in relief.
Advanced A - Lake Elsinore 7 Lancaster 4 (Game 1)
MP Cokinos hit a pair of doubles, but didn't get much help as the Storm beat up the JetHawks (18-14) by a score of 7-2. Andrew Aplin and Preston Tucker drove in runs, but Luis Cruz allowed 5 runs in just 4 1/3 innings as the Storm never trailed in winning Game 1 of their doubleheader.
Advanced A - Lake Elsinore 4 Lancaster 2 (Game 2)
The Storm completed their doubleheader sweep of the JetHawks (18-15) with a 4-2 win in the nightcap. The JetHawks overcame an early 2-0 deficit behind rbis from Preston Tucker and Matt Duffy, but Lake Elsinore came right back against Thomas Shirley (0-3). Tucker had 2 of Lancaster's 5 hits to lead the offense and Kenny Long threw another scoreless inning out of the pen.
Low A - Quad Cities 4 Cedar Rapids 2
The River Bandits (19-11) got another stellar pitching performance from Brian Holmes, who fanned 8 in 4 2/3 shutout innings, and rode it to a 4-2 win over the Kernels. Teoscar Hernandez hit his second home run of the season and Brian Blasik had 3 of the Bandits' 5 hits en route to the win. John Neely pitched the 9th for his 6th save of the season.
Thursday
AAA - Oklahoma City 3 Tacoma 1
Asher Wojciechowski continued his dominant run through the minors in 2013 tossing 6 shutout innings in his second AAA start to lead the RedHawks (21-12) to a 3-1 win over the Rainiers. Rhiner Cruz followed Wojo with 2 scoreless innings of his own as he continues to pitch well since his demotion and Jose Valdez pitched the 9th for his 8th save. Brett Wallace went 2 for 3 with a double and a run batted in to lead the offense and Jonathan Villar added a pair of hits and stole two more bases giving him 12 on the year.
AA - Frisco 6 Corpus Christi 4
Jake Buchanan tossed 5 scoreless innings to lower his ERA on the season to 1.14, but the bullpen couldn't keep the RoughRiders at bay and the Hooks (19-14) fell 6-4. In 9 appearances spanning 39 1/3 innings this year, opposing hitters are batting just .165 against Buchanan and he's only walked two hitters. The Hooks managed just 5 hits in the game including Erik Castro's 2nd home run of the season.
Advanced A - Lancaster 10 Lake Elsinore 4
The JetHawks (19-15) bounced back after getting swept in Wednesday's doubleheader defeating the Storm 10-4. Andrew Aplin had 3 hits, Telvin Nash and Chris Epps both homered, and MP Cokinos added a pair of rbis to lead the offensive barrage. Theron Geith (3-0) earned the win in relief as he lowered his ERA on the year to 1.69.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Another Series Slips Away - Changes on the Horizon
The Astros overcame an early 4-0 deficit, but fell short in the end, losing to the Yankees 5-4. As the Astros now prepare for Detroit, they'll do it with some new, albeit familiar faces, as Jordan Lyles and Dallas Keuchel are back up, and Brad Peacock and Rhiner Cruz are bound for Oklahoma City (no real surprises there). Some more thoughts on the loss:
1) Jason Castro is really getting things going at the plate. With two more doubles last night, he now has 10, and if you take away that 0/11 in the Rangers series, he's hitting .325 (25/77) on the year. He's really taken to the 3-hole too which is only going to help the guy hitting ahead of him (Jose Altuve). Speaking of Altuve, he's just a machine. The Pocket Jesus is hitting .336 now and has 38 hits to go along with a team high 14 runs batted in.
2) Over his last 4 games, Carlos Pena is 7 for 14 with 3 of his team high 16 walks. Could he be starting to get things going? His average is still a pedestrian .234, but that's a heck of a lot better than the .180 range he was living in last week. I'd still like to see more power from him though. Two homers in 28 games just isn't going to cut it.
3) Brandon Barnes continues to do little things that are going to keep him in the lineup. He beat out a double play ball to drive in a run, got a bunt down, and even started a failed 9th inning rally with a leadoff single off of Mariano Rivera. This kid is making it really hard on Bo Porter which is every manager's dream.
4) Speaking of the failed 9th inning rally, how many games are we going to endure just ZERO luck at all. Barnes gets a big jump, Dominguez hits into a line drive double play. We're going to lose enough games just on talent, we don't need any help from the baseball Gods.
5) Erik Bedard endured another subpar start lasting just 4 innings and allowing 4 runs on 6 hits to go along with 4 walks. He also gave up a home run to Ben Francisco (former Astro) who with the home run is now hitting .133 on the year. It's getting harder to defend the guy, so hopefully he figures it out soon. With 4 long relievers on the Astros roster right now (Keuchel, Clemens, Cisnero, Blackley) and Josh Fields on the mend, Bedard has to be next in line to get sent down or let go. I really want the guy to succeed and he's shown glimpses of what he can do, it's just got to be more consistent and more efficient. That said, time is running out for him to prove himself.
6) Big time pitching from Hector Ambriz last night who pitched his way out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the 8th without allowing a run to keep Houston in the game. That very easily could have turned into a big inning, and it was nice to see one of our relievers pitch their way out of trouble and getting some big strikeouts when they needed to.
7) Wesley Wright has really turned into a nice find. A Rule 5 Draft Pick back in 2008, it was touch and go for a while, but he's followed a solid 2012 and a good start to 2013. After last night's outing, Wright has now put together 7 straight scoreless outings spanning 9 innings.
1) Jason Castro is really getting things going at the plate. With two more doubles last night, he now has 10, and if you take away that 0/11 in the Rangers series, he's hitting .325 (25/77) on the year. He's really taken to the 3-hole too which is only going to help the guy hitting ahead of him (Jose Altuve). Speaking of Altuve, he's just a machine. The Pocket Jesus is hitting .336 now and has 38 hits to go along with a team high 14 runs batted in.
2) Over his last 4 games, Carlos Pena is 7 for 14 with 3 of his team high 16 walks. Could he be starting to get things going? His average is still a pedestrian .234, but that's a heck of a lot better than the .180 range he was living in last week. I'd still like to see more power from him though. Two homers in 28 games just isn't going to cut it.
3) Brandon Barnes continues to do little things that are going to keep him in the lineup. He beat out a double play ball to drive in a run, got a bunt down, and even started a failed 9th inning rally with a leadoff single off of Mariano Rivera. This kid is making it really hard on Bo Porter which is every manager's dream.
4) Speaking of the failed 9th inning rally, how many games are we going to endure just ZERO luck at all. Barnes gets a big jump, Dominguez hits into a line drive double play. We're going to lose enough games just on talent, we don't need any help from the baseball Gods.
5) Erik Bedard endured another subpar start lasting just 4 innings and allowing 4 runs on 6 hits to go along with 4 walks. He also gave up a home run to Ben Francisco (former Astro) who with the home run is now hitting .133 on the year. It's getting harder to defend the guy, so hopefully he figures it out soon. With 4 long relievers on the Astros roster right now (Keuchel, Clemens, Cisnero, Blackley) and Josh Fields on the mend, Bedard has to be next in line to get sent down or let go. I really want the guy to succeed and he's shown glimpses of what he can do, it's just got to be more consistent and more efficient. That said, time is running out for him to prove himself.
6) Big time pitching from Hector Ambriz last night who pitched his way out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the 8th without allowing a run to keep Houston in the game. That very easily could have turned into a big inning, and it was nice to see one of our relievers pitch their way out of trouble and getting some big strikeouts when they needed to.
7) Wesley Wright has really turned into a nice find. A Rule 5 Draft Pick back in 2008, it was touch and go for a while, but he's followed a solid 2012 and a good start to 2013. After last night's outing, Wright has now put together 7 straight scoreless outings spanning 9 innings.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Humber Falls to 0-6 in Loss
Missed opportunities early and a failed rally late resulted in a 7-4 loss for the Astros last night. The loss dropped righty Philip Humber to 0-6 on the year, although it was a much better result for him than his previous 2 starts. Some more notes on last night's game:
1) Houston had 1st and 3rd with one out in the first, bases loaded with two outs in the second, and first and second with none out in the third, and couldn't push a run across. That's just not a recipe for winning baseball. Eventually Hiroki Kuroda got into a groove, and the Yankees offense pushed some runs across, and before you knew it, the game was over. The Astros did rally scoring twice in the 8th and twice more in the 9th, but it's all about capitalizing on opportunities early (see Game 1 in this series) and getting teams on the ropes. We did not do that last night.
2) Philip Humber gave up 9 hits in 6 innings, but 8 of them were singles. He did have four wild pitches though, two of which led to runs. I don't know if he was trying to be like his teammate Rick Ankiel, or if Jason Castro was just having an off night, or if Humber's stuff was just moving all over the place (the 9 hits would suggest otherwise), but that's a lot. Overall, Humber didn't pitch terrible, and this was a big improvement over his previous outings, so I think his spot in the rotation continues to be safe for the time being, despite calls from the armchair GMs for his head.
3) Rex Robbie Grossman reached base 3 more times yesterday drawing a pair of walks and then singling in the 9th. Hopefully he's starting to get more comfortable at the plate even though his average (.138) isn't really reflecting that yet.
4) Trogdor the Bombinator (Chris Carter for those of you who don't regularly follow the blog) blasted a 2-run homer in the 8th inning off of David Roberton to start to bring the Astros back into the game. The homer was Carter's team-best sixth of the year and he remains tied with Jose Altuve for the team lead in rbis with 14. Carter's homer was his only hit of the night, but it was clutch, and he showed that he has big time power to all fields, driving that ball out to right.
5) The Peacock did not fly last night. After a solid start to the evening coming on in relief for Wesley Wright, the wheels came off in this second inning of work. All three hitters he faced in the 8th reached base safely, and all of them came around to score. His ERA on the year is now 9.41, and with the Astros announcing today that they're ready to call up both Jordan Lyles and Dallas Keuchel, you have to think he's on his way to Oklahoma City. I think the kid has a lot of potential, but when things start to go bad for him, they just seem to snowball and he loses all confidence. Hopefully he can get back on track and become the guy we hoped he'd be when we traded for him.
6) I have no idea who the two guys are that are going down for Keuchel and Lyles. I think it's pretty easy to say that Peacock is one, but the second one? Veras is safe. Wright is safe. And I don't know how you could justify sending down Cisnero or Clemens, both who have been very good. Travis Blackley just keeps improving so I think he's in the clear. So all that leaves are Hector Ambriz and Rhiner Cruz. And Ambriz leads the team in holds with 3. So to me that means it's going to be Rhiner. But if that's the case, who gets sent down when Josh Fields finally comes back? Keuchel again? Lyles? Bedard? It'll be interesting see where we go with this.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Carlos Corporan Channels His Inner Mickey Mantle in Astros Rout
Wow, that was fun last night. Isn't winning fun? Amazing how quickly you can forget about the Boston series and that ugly stretch of games. The fact that it was in our first ever AL game in Yankee Stadium wasn't bad either. Some thoughts on last night's big win:
1) Brandon Barnes is doing everything he can to show he deserves more playing time. After last night's 3-hit game, Barnes is now hitting a Ted Williams-esque .405 with a Barry Bonds-esque .488 on base percentage. He's playing good defense, he's stealing bases, he's getting extra base hits... Look, I'm a big fan of Fernando Martinez and Rick Ankiel, but Barnes is outplaying both of those guys right now, and until he cools off, don't you have to play him? We'll see what Bo does tonight with the righty Kuroda on the hill, but I'd start him.
2) Who was that guy disguised as Carlos Corporan last night? Mickey Mantle? Corp was 4 for 5 missing the cycle by just a triple and racked up 4 rbis... It was ridiculous. He did so much baserunning that he cramped up his 4th time around the bases and was thrown out by like 30 feet at third base. I'm not going to lie, I thought he'd pulled a Gabe Kapler and ended his season. The way this season is going, it would not have surprised me in the least that a guy like Corporan would have the game of his life, and then irreparably hurt himself. Just glad he's ok. Now we just have to get him to duplicate that on a semi-regular basis.
3) Every starter on the Astros roster should watch film of Lucas Harrell's start last night. Harrell threw strikes, threw groundball outs, and shut down an admittedly depleted Yankees lineup for 6 1/3 innings giving more rest to what's been a very taxed bullpen. Yeah, he gave up 8 hits, but they were all singles and he induced double play groundballs when he needed to. Harrell now has three wins on the season, matching Bud Norris for the team lead. Houston's 3 other starters have combined for one win between the three of them, and that came from Brad Peacock who's been demoted to the bullpen.
4) Speaking of Peacock being out of the rotation, that means a spot has opened up. With Cisnero throwing Sunday and Blackley pitching in relief yesterday, I have to think Paul Clemens is going to be tabbed as that guy. Other than being susceptible to the longball (5 in 16 2/3 innings), Clemens has been solid posting a WHIP of just 1.02, limiting walks (only 3), and holding opposing hitters to just a .226 average.
5) Chris Carter returned to the lineup after a day off and had 2 hits raising his average back up to .226. He also only struck out one time which is an improvement. Hopefully the day off did him some good, because we could really use that power bat of his in the lineup.
6) Robbie Grossman doesn't seem to be getting a lot of breaks early in his career. I feel like he's hitting balls hard, but either right at people, or dying on the track. He did reach base a couple times yesterday which was nice to see, especially after he endured that 0 for 17 in the Boston series. He's going to need a few more hits to drop in there though if he's going to keep a roster spot once Maxwell returns from the DL.
7) Carlos Pena is back up over .200 after single and tripling in 5 trips yesterday. 2013 hasn't exactly been memorable for the lefty slugger, but his 2-out rbi single in the first did open the scoring and set up Corporan's 2-run double. Without that hit, who knows how the game plays out? He's still only got 2 homers and 7 rbis, but he's now had back-to-back multi-hit games which is a step in the right direction.
8) Word on the street is that Josh Fields is getting closer to making a rehab start. Rhiner Cruz did record a 1-2-3 inning last night, but I still think he's going to draw the short straw unless Peacock or Cisnero implode during the next week.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Astros Drop Third Straight in Fenway
The Peacock did not fly yesterday and Houston dropped a third straight to the Sox at Fenway. A promising start quickly went up in smoke as a 2-0 lead became a 5-2 deficit that the Astros just never recovered from. Some more thoughts on the loss:
1) Brad Peacock once again struggled to hit his spots, watching his pitch count spiral out of control and failing to get through the 4th inning. When the dust cleared, Boston had drawn 5 walks off of Peacock, 4 of them in the second inning, and the kid's ERA had jumped to 8.44. Peacock has made it through 5 innings just once this year, and it's largely due to his inability to put hitters away early in the count. You can't keep running counts full on every hitter and expecting to pitch deep into games. It's starting to raise questions as to whether or not Peacock projects to be a rotation guy, or someone destined to pitch out of the bullpen. I still think it's too early to make that call, but if he goes another 4-5 starts and things don't start to get better, I think you have to consider making a change.
2) Jose Veras was sharp once again extending his scoreless streak to 5 innings following his blown save against the Angels. He's actually lowered his ERA down to a respectable 4.66 and he's taken a leadership role out in the bullpen which is good to see. Now we just have to figure out how to get him some leads to protect.
3) Houston hitters drew 7 walks, but struck out 12 times and were just 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. That makes them 1 for 24 with runners in scoring position over the past two games. Hard to win a lot of games that way. While it's impressive that we've been scoring runs without the benefit of hits (bases loaded walk, rbi groundout, sac fly), the Astros have to do better with runners in scoring position. But that shouldn't come as a surprise seeing as it's been our achilles heel for a couple years now. Not sure what the answer is other than that someone needs to step up.
4) Chris Carter struck out 4 times yesterday, including once with the tying run on first in the 7th inning. Carter now has 43 strikeouts in 24 games, but this marked the first time that he'd fanned four times in a game this year. In case you're keeping track, Carter is now on pace to strike out 290 times. And yes, that'd be a record. I realize he's tied for the team lead in rbis and he's second on the team with 12 runs scored, but can you really keep hitting him in the 3-4-5-6 spots in the order when he's hitting .216 and striking out in practically 50% of his ABs? Would it be so bad to trot out OBP machine Brandon Barnes, Fernando Martinez and Robbie Grossman as our starting outfield for a while?
5) Wesley Wright was bailed out by a line drive double play, but he now hasn't been scored on in 5 straight outings spanning 6 2/3 innings. His ERA has dropped down to 3.00 and he hasn't allowed a home run in 12 innings this season.
6) Two more hits for Marwin Gonzalez last night (two of our FIVE hits) as our 8 hitter raised his average on the year to .321. Marwin, who continues to play stellar defense, clubbed his fourth double, stole third for the second time in the series, and scored a run, continues to do almost every right (minus that bunt he didn't get down last weekend). Not sure what he has to do to hit somewhere higher in the order, but at least he's hitting.
7) As bad as things seemed at times yesterday, Houston had Chris Carter at the plate with the tying run on first in the 7th, and Rick Ankiel at the plate with the bases loaded representing the tying run again in the 8th. So even though we're losing, we're right in these games, which is all you really want. Baseball's one of those games where you just need to be competitive and eventually the law of averages will even out and we'll start winning some. Hey, it's better than losing every game 10-0.
1) Brad Peacock once again struggled to hit his spots, watching his pitch count spiral out of control and failing to get through the 4th inning. When the dust cleared, Boston had drawn 5 walks off of Peacock, 4 of them in the second inning, and the kid's ERA had jumped to 8.44. Peacock has made it through 5 innings just once this year, and it's largely due to his inability to put hitters away early in the count. You can't keep running counts full on every hitter and expecting to pitch deep into games. It's starting to raise questions as to whether or not Peacock projects to be a rotation guy, or someone destined to pitch out of the bullpen. I still think it's too early to make that call, but if he goes another 4-5 starts and things don't start to get better, I think you have to consider making a change.
2) Jose Veras was sharp once again extending his scoreless streak to 5 innings following his blown save against the Angels. He's actually lowered his ERA down to a respectable 4.66 and he's taken a leadership role out in the bullpen which is good to see. Now we just have to figure out how to get him some leads to protect.
3) Houston hitters drew 7 walks, but struck out 12 times and were just 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. That makes them 1 for 24 with runners in scoring position over the past two games. Hard to win a lot of games that way. While it's impressive that we've been scoring runs without the benefit of hits (bases loaded walk, rbi groundout, sac fly), the Astros have to do better with runners in scoring position. But that shouldn't come as a surprise seeing as it's been our achilles heel for a couple years now. Not sure what the answer is other than that someone needs to step up.
4) Chris Carter struck out 4 times yesterday, including once with the tying run on first in the 7th inning. Carter now has 43 strikeouts in 24 games, but this marked the first time that he'd fanned four times in a game this year. In case you're keeping track, Carter is now on pace to strike out 290 times. And yes, that'd be a record. I realize he's tied for the team lead in rbis and he's second on the team with 12 runs scored, but can you really keep hitting him in the 3-4-5-6 spots in the order when he's hitting .216 and striking out in practically 50% of his ABs? Would it be so bad to trot out OBP machine Brandon Barnes, Fernando Martinez and Robbie Grossman as our starting outfield for a while?
5) Wesley Wright was bailed out by a line drive double play, but he now hasn't been scored on in 5 straight outings spanning 6 2/3 innings. His ERA has dropped down to 3.00 and he hasn't allowed a home run in 12 innings this season.
6) Two more hits for Marwin Gonzalez last night (two of our FIVE hits) as our 8 hitter raised his average on the year to .321. Marwin, who continues to play stellar defense, clubbed his fourth double, stole third for the second time in the series, and scored a run, continues to do almost every right (minus that bunt he didn't get down last weekend). Not sure what he has to do to hit somewhere higher in the order, but at least he's hitting.
7) As bad as things seemed at times yesterday, Houston had Chris Carter at the plate with the tying run on first in the 7th, and Rick Ankiel at the plate with the bases loaded representing the tying run again in the 8th. So even though we're losing, we're right in these games, which is all you really want. Baseball's one of those games where you just need to be competitive and eventually the law of averages will even out and we'll start winning some. Hey, it's better than losing every game 10-0.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Cisnero Debut a Success, but That's About It
The losses are starting to pile up again, but the truth is, there's not a lot of shame in getting shut down by King Felix. It would've been nicer to see Peacock go a little deeper into the game, but short outings are apparently all the rage right now. At least we got a great outing from Jose Cisnero in his debut. Some more thoughts on last night's game:
1) Brad Peacock had his worst outing of the season allowing 3 homers in 4 1/3 innings skyrocketing his ERA up to 7.50. After striking out 7 his last time out, Peacock managed just 1 strikeout last night, and once again just threw too many pitches. Unfortunately, no one else is pitching any better right now, so it's hard to justify making any sort of move.
2) Jose Cisnero was terrific last night in relief logging 3 2/3 scoreless innings in his Major League debut. He becomes the latest in a long line of long relievers that have appeared on the Astros roster this year: Edgar Gonzalez, Travis Blackley, Dallas Keuchel, Paul Clemens, Brett Oberholtzer, and now Cisnero. If nothing else, Cisnero has earned the right to stick around a bit. The kid has pretty good stuff, so many he can help out sooner than expected. I just wish we could have a game where our best player wasn't one of our long relievers.
3) All or Nothing Ankiel crushed another homer last night raising his average up to .237. Ankiel is now 9 for 38 with 24 strikeouts. He has two singles, two doubles and five home runs for a team high 11 runs batted in. When he puts the ball in play, he's batting .643. Simply ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is that he still hasn't drawn a walk in 2013.
4) Jose Veras tossed a scoreless inning in relief last night, but once again allowed a hit so he's now gone 8 straight outings without retiring the side in order. On the plus side, he has gone 3 straight appearances without allowing a run after blowing that save against Albert Pujols and the Angels.
5) Jason Castro had his 3rd multi-hit performance in the last 4 games with a pair of doubles and a walk raising his average up to .242. Unfortunately, the walk was just his 2nd of the year which is way down from his walk rate a year ago. He's not the only one this applies to on this roster, but Astro hitters need to work more counts, and draw more walks. Cutting down on the strikeouts would be nice too. Yes, I'm talking about you, Chris Carter. Carter picked up a hat trick last night giving him 31 strikeouts in 70 at bats this season. No good.
6) Jose Altuve went 1 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 8 games and he's now hitting .377 on the year. The only other Astro hitting over .300 right now is reserve outfielder Brandon Barnes (.333 - 8/24).
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Week 3 in Review
Rough week for the Astros as three times they saw their starters knocked out in the first inning and they finished the week 1-5, dropping them to 5-13 on the season. On the bright side, they didn't get shutout:
Weekly Results
4/15 L Athletics 11-2
4/16 L Athletics 4-3
4/17 L Athletics 7-5
4/19 W Indians 3-2
4/20 L Indians 19-6
4/21 L Indians 5-4
Overall Record: 5-13
Team Batting Average: .250
Runs For: 74
Runs Against: 108
Home Runs: 20
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 173/47
Stolen Bases: 7
Caught Stealing: 3
Team ERA: 5.40
Team WHIP: 1.58
Starters ERA: 5.73
Bullpen ERA: 5.04
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 100/73
Times Shutout: 3
Shutouts: 1
Team Leaders (Hitting):
Average: Jose Altuve .370 (27/73)
Runs: Carlos Pena 12
Hits: Jose Altuve 27
Doubles: Carlos Pena 5
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 4
Runs Batted In: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 10
Walks: Carlos Pena 9
Stolen Bases: Justin Maxwell/Jose Altuve 2
Team Leaders (Pitching):
Games: Rhiner Cruz/Wesley Wright/Hector Ambriz 10
Innings: Lucas Harrell 21 2/3
Wins: Bud Norris 2
Saves: Erik Bedard/Jose Veras 1
Holds: Hector Ambriz 2
Strikeouts: Lucas Harrell/Brad Peacock 15
Quality Starts: Philip Humber 2
ERA: Bud Norris 4.74
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.47
On the Farm:
Oklahoma City (AAA) - 10-7
Corpus Christi (AA) - 9-7
Lancaster (AdvA) - 11-6
Quad Cities (LoA) - 10-5
Minor League Leaders:
Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 17
Hits: Jake Elmore (AAA) - 23
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 17
Home Runs: Preston Tucker (AdvA) - 5
RBIs: Marc Krauss (AAA) / Zachary Johnson (AdvA) - 18
Stolen Bases: Austin Wates - 9
Wins: 9 tied with 2
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 5
Strikeouts: Luis Cruz (AdvA) - 22
Weekly Results
4/15 L Athletics 11-2
4/16 L Athletics 4-3
4/17 L Athletics 7-5
4/19 W Indians 3-2
4/20 L Indians 19-6
4/21 L Indians 5-4
Overall Record: 5-13
Team Batting Average: .250
Runs For: 74
Runs Against: 108
Home Runs: 20
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 173/47
Stolen Bases: 7
Caught Stealing: 3
Team ERA: 5.40
Team WHIP: 1.58
Starters ERA: 5.73
Bullpen ERA: 5.04
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 100/73
Times Shutout: 3
Shutouts: 1
Team Leaders (Hitting):
Average: Jose Altuve .370 (27/73)
Runs: Carlos Pena 12
Hits: Jose Altuve 27
Doubles: Carlos Pena 5
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 4
Runs Batted In: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 10
Walks: Carlos Pena 9
Stolen Bases: Justin Maxwell/Jose Altuve 2
Team Leaders (Pitching):
Games: Rhiner Cruz/Wesley Wright/Hector Ambriz 10
Innings: Lucas Harrell 21 2/3
Wins: Bud Norris 2
Saves: Erik Bedard/Jose Veras 1
Holds: Hector Ambriz 2
Strikeouts: Lucas Harrell/Brad Peacock 15
Quality Starts: Philip Humber 2
ERA: Bud Norris 4.74
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.47
On the Farm:
Oklahoma City (AAA) - 10-7
Corpus Christi (AA) - 9-7
Lancaster (AdvA) - 11-6
Quad Cities (LoA) - 10-5
Minor League Leaders:
Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 17
Hits: Jake Elmore (AAA) - 23
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 17
Home Runs: Preston Tucker (AdvA) - 5
RBIs: Marc Krauss (AAA) / Zachary Johnson (AdvA) - 18
Stolen Bases: Austin Wates - 9
Wins: 9 tied with 2
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 5
Strikeouts: Luis Cruz (AdvA) - 22
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Astros Swept By A's Again
Another sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics. At least we were in a couple of the games this time around. Heck, if J.D. Martinez doesn't strike out with the bases loaded and one out in the second game, or Rick Ankiel's rocket line drive down the first base line doesn't miraculously find the first baseman's mitt, we probably come away with a win. We knew the 'Stros weren't going to be great this year, all you can really ask is for them to be competitive. Some more thoughts on the past two games:
1) I love Brad Peacock's stuff. I'd love it more if he'd pitch deeper into games, but he's showing more and more every outing. I know he's failed to get out of the fifth in two of three starts, but his 7 strikeouts were a team-high this year. I look forward to seeing him develop over the course of the season.
2) Nice to finally see Carlos Pena start hitting the long ball. Two home runs in two days after none in the first 13 games of the season. And now he's back to where he should be, with more home runs than bunt singles. I would like to see a few more rbis from him though as he only has 6 through 15 games, but I could say that about almost anyone on the team. Like I said the other day, it's not like anyone other than Jose Altuve is a really tough out right now.
3) What's up with our starters not getting out of the first inning? Twice in the same series? I read that this was like only the third time since 1900 that pitchers on the same team had allowed at least six runs in a start while pitching less than an inning in the same series. Awesome! Of course one of the guys involved in the most recent time prior to this one was a former Astro. Hooray Jim Clancy! Anyhow, if there's a silver lining to the poor starting pitching it's that our long relief was terrific. In this series we got 5 1/3 scoreless innings from Paul Clemens, 3 scoreless innings from Dallas Keuchel, 2 1/3 scoreless innings from Wesley Wright, and 2 2/3 innings of one run ball from Xavier Cedeno. Now we just need to figure out how to translate those performances into games when we NEED them!
4) Nice to see the Astros FINALLY start stealing some bases. After just 1 steal (and 3 caught stealings) in the first 14 games, the Astros stole three bases on Wednesday afternoon (Brandon Barnes, Marwin Gonzalez and Jose Altuve). I really think this is a MUST for this team. If you're not going to hit for a high average, you have to be proficient on the basepaths. Get 'em over, get 'em in. Hopefully we'll see more of that moving forward. And yes, its helps if you have guys on base to start with.
5) Brett Wallace is headed back to Oklahoma City to get some more playing time and figure out what's going on with his swing. As a result Brandon Laird got the call, but it wasn't thanks to John Ely going on the 60 Day DL like I'd initially thought. Instead, Xavier Cedeno and his 11.37 ERA was designated for assignment which means he's off the 40-man roster. I'll be the first to admit, I'm somewhat surprised that that was the route that took. But then again, you can't average 3 baserunners an inning, and pitch at the Major League Level. Plus, we do still have to lefties in the pen with Keuchel and Wright. And another one starting a rehab assignment in Oklahoma City in Travis Blackley. So maybe having that lefty specialist isn't all that valuable. You could probably also argue that having a closer on this team isn't very valuable, but that's another story. Anyhow, Brandon Laird, who was hitting .353 for the RedHawks with 5 doubles, 2 homers and a team high 14 runs batted in is going to get his shot. Now 25 years old, Laird was 9 for 35 over 17 games for the Astros late last year with a homer, a double and 4 runs batted in. He was absolutely smoking the ball this spring though, and has continued to play well in AAA. He certainly deserves the opportunity. But now with Wallace gone, it will be interesting to see who goes down if/when Fernando Martinez finishes his rehab. My money is on J.D. Martinez (.227 1 HR), especially with Laird (a righty) replacing Wallace (a lefty). We'll see though. I've been wrong many times before.
6) The A's have now swept us twice this month. The good news for Astros fans? We get THIRTEEN MORE SHOTS AT THEM! We're bound to win at least ONE, right?
7) Jose Veras pitched a scoreless inning on Wednesday, but he still has yet to put together a 1-2-3 inning this season now allowing baserunners in each of his first six outings.
8) Next up, the Cleveland Indians and a return to Houston for Brett Myers and Brad Mills. It'd be a homecoming for Michael Bourn as well, but he's on 15-Day DL right now. Cleveland was 5-8 heading into today, so let's see if we can snap this skid and get Win number FIVE!
1) I love Brad Peacock's stuff. I'd love it more if he'd pitch deeper into games, but he's showing more and more every outing. I know he's failed to get out of the fifth in two of three starts, but his 7 strikeouts were a team-high this year. I look forward to seeing him develop over the course of the season.
2) Nice to finally see Carlos Pena start hitting the long ball. Two home runs in two days after none in the first 13 games of the season. And now he's back to where he should be, with more home runs than bunt singles. I would like to see a few more rbis from him though as he only has 6 through 15 games, but I could say that about almost anyone on the team. Like I said the other day, it's not like anyone other than Jose Altuve is a really tough out right now.
3) What's up with our starters not getting out of the first inning? Twice in the same series? I read that this was like only the third time since 1900 that pitchers on the same team had allowed at least six runs in a start while pitching less than an inning in the same series. Awesome! Of course one of the guys involved in the most recent time prior to this one was a former Astro. Hooray Jim Clancy! Anyhow, if there's a silver lining to the poor starting pitching it's that our long relief was terrific. In this series we got 5 1/3 scoreless innings from Paul Clemens, 3 scoreless innings from Dallas Keuchel, 2 1/3 scoreless innings from Wesley Wright, and 2 2/3 innings of one run ball from Xavier Cedeno. Now we just need to figure out how to translate those performances into games when we NEED them!
4) Nice to see the Astros FINALLY start stealing some bases. After just 1 steal (and 3 caught stealings) in the first 14 games, the Astros stole three bases on Wednesday afternoon (Brandon Barnes, Marwin Gonzalez and Jose Altuve). I really think this is a MUST for this team. If you're not going to hit for a high average, you have to be proficient on the basepaths. Get 'em over, get 'em in. Hopefully we'll see more of that moving forward. And yes, its helps if you have guys on base to start with.
5) Brett Wallace is headed back to Oklahoma City to get some more playing time and figure out what's going on with his swing. As a result Brandon Laird got the call, but it wasn't thanks to John Ely going on the 60 Day DL like I'd initially thought. Instead, Xavier Cedeno and his 11.37 ERA was designated for assignment which means he's off the 40-man roster. I'll be the first to admit, I'm somewhat surprised that that was the route that took. But then again, you can't average 3 baserunners an inning, and pitch at the Major League Level. Plus, we do still have to lefties in the pen with Keuchel and Wright. And another one starting a rehab assignment in Oklahoma City in Travis Blackley. So maybe having that lefty specialist isn't all that valuable. You could probably also argue that having a closer on this team isn't very valuable, but that's another story. Anyhow, Brandon Laird, who was hitting .353 for the RedHawks with 5 doubles, 2 homers and a team high 14 runs batted in is going to get his shot. Now 25 years old, Laird was 9 for 35 over 17 games for the Astros late last year with a homer, a double and 4 runs batted in. He was absolutely smoking the ball this spring though, and has continued to play well in AAA. He certainly deserves the opportunity. But now with Wallace gone, it will be interesting to see who goes down if/when Fernando Martinez finishes his rehab. My money is on J.D. Martinez (.227 1 HR), especially with Laird (a righty) replacing Wallace (a lefty). We'll see though. I've been wrong many times before.
6) The A's have now swept us twice this month. The good news for Astros fans? We get THIRTEEN MORE SHOTS AT THEM! We're bound to win at least ONE, right?
7) Jose Veras pitched a scoreless inning on Wednesday, but he still has yet to put together a 1-2-3 inning this season now allowing baserunners in each of his first six outings.
8) Next up, the Cleveland Indians and a return to Houston for Brett Myers and Brad Mills. It'd be a homecoming for Michael Bourn as well, but he's on 15-Day DL right now. Cleveland was 5-8 heading into today, so let's see if we can snap this skid and get Win number FIVE!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Offense Erupts Again as Astros Win 2nd Straight
1) Chris Carter, aka Trogdor the Bombinator, is finally locked in. Carter crushed his third home run of the series last night, and is 9 for his last 18 effectively rebounding from his 1 for 19 start. I'd still like to see the big man draw some more walks (he has 1 through the first 9 games), but I'm not going to complain when he's just hitting absolute moonshots.
2) J.D. Martinez is going to create some interesting discussions when Fernando Martinez gets healthy again. J.D. has been swinging a hot bat lately driving in 5 runs over the last two games, homering, stealing a base, playing decent defense... Honestly he's playing well enough that he should keep his roster spot. So what do you do when F-Mart, who was on track to make the team out of spring training before his injury comes back? Send him to AAA? Send J.D. to AAA? Send someone else to AAA? Now I don't think Fernando is going to be back TOMORROW or anything that drastic, but he's going to be back at some point. I think the player that makes the most sense to send down right now is Wallace. Carter can play first and DH basically alternating with Carlos Pena and then F-Mart can fill in one of the corner outfield spots against righties. But it's possible that different players could heat up or cool down in the coming weeks and that could always change the whole complexion of the discussion. Needless to say, it's a good problem to have.
3) Marwin Gonzalez's home run last night gave him homers in back-to-back games and matched his home run total for ALL of 2012. The second year infielder and former Rule 5 Draft Pick is 8 for 18 on the season with a double, a pair of homers, a perfect-game wrecking single off of Yu Darvish and a team-high 4 walks. It's clear he's got the hot bat right now, and hopefully Bo Porter rides him until he cools off. I love the left side of our infield with Marwin in the game too. Between him and Sweet Matty D over on the hot corner, not much gets through and that's a huge boost to our starting pitching.
4) I really like what Brad Peacock brings to the table, but he's got to become more efficient with his pitches. Peacock faced just one hitter in the 6th inning and finished his night having thrown 95 pitches. Granted, this was only the fourth start of his Major League career, and you have to figure he'll get better as he gains experience, but he's not really going to blossom until he can go deeper into games.
5) Dallas Keuchel has been something of a pleasant surprise working out of the Astros bullpen so far this season. In 5 innings of work, he's allowed just one run, and he tossed two scoreless innings last night preserving a 5-3 lead to earn the Astros first hold of the season. Keuchel got off to a fast start last year too though allowing just 3 runs in his first 20 innings of work before going 0-7 in his next 9 starts with an ERA of 7.33. Hopefully he doesn't fall into a similar rut this year, because having an effective long reliever could really save the bullpen some work.
6) Rick Ankiel now has two hits on the season, and both of them are home runs. Because of that, despite his .111 average and the fact that he's struck out in 14 of his 18 plate appearances, he's actually second on the team with 5 runs batted in right now.
7) Every Astro in the starting lineup last night got at least one hit, the first time this season that that feat was accomplished. I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise though considering they were hitting around .200 before Tuesday night's game. After their last two wins though? .263.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
We Scored!
Another loss for the Astros as a missed opportunity on a potential double play ball turned what could've been a scoreless inning into a 7-run 5th. The 8 run deficit was too much to overcome, but at least the Astros managed to score this time. Some observations from Game 4:
1) Houston middle infielders are pulling their weight, but that's about it. Jose Altuve and the shortstop platoon of Marwin Gonzalez and Ronny Cedeno are a combined 13 for 29 (.448) while all other Astros are 12 for 100 (.120).
2) Astro hitters struck out 13 more times last night giving them 56 through 4 games (an average of 14 per night). Brett Wallace notched his third hat trick of the season giving him a team high 11 strikeouts through the first four games. He wasn't even the worst offender last night though as Rick Ankiel managed to strike out in all four of his appearances. After slugging a pinch hit three-run homer in his first at-bat as an Astro, Ankiel is 0 for 10 with 9 strikeouts. If you play fantasy baseball, you may want to consider starting whatever pitcher is throwing against the Astros. Even Bartolo Colon.
3) Chris Carter and Jason Castro finally notched their first hits of the season. Houston now has only three players still looking for their first hit of 2013: Carlos Corporan (0/3), Brandon Barnes (0/1) and J.D. Martinez (0/3).
4) Brad Peacock has good stuff, but he needs to be more efficient. Peacock threw 89 pitches in 4 1/3 innings of work causing the bullpen to be forced into action early once again. And considering Houston's bullpen has an ERA of 7.53 (and that's including 3 1/3 scoreless innings from Erik Bedard), that's not a good thing. On a brighter note, the Astros starting 5 have a collective ERA of 2.16 through 4 games.
5) Having to get extra outs will kill a bad team. Marwin Gonzalez's misplay of a groundball in the 5th led to 7 runs, 3 of them unearned. If Houston gets out of that inning without yielding a run, maybe it's a different ballgame. You can come back from 1-0 down. 8-0? Not so much.
6) Brandon Laird went 3 for 5 with a home run and 4 runs batted in during a AAA double header yesterday. Keep an eye on his production in Oklahoma City, especially if Brett Wallace continues to struggle.
1) Houston middle infielders are pulling their weight, but that's about it. Jose Altuve and the shortstop platoon of Marwin Gonzalez and Ronny Cedeno are a combined 13 for 29 (.448) while all other Astros are 12 for 100 (.120).
2) Astro hitters struck out 13 more times last night giving them 56 through 4 games (an average of 14 per night). Brett Wallace notched his third hat trick of the season giving him a team high 11 strikeouts through the first four games. He wasn't even the worst offender last night though as Rick Ankiel managed to strike out in all four of his appearances. After slugging a pinch hit three-run homer in his first at-bat as an Astro, Ankiel is 0 for 10 with 9 strikeouts. If you play fantasy baseball, you may want to consider starting whatever pitcher is throwing against the Astros. Even Bartolo Colon.
3) Chris Carter and Jason Castro finally notched their first hits of the season. Houston now has only three players still looking for their first hit of 2013: Carlos Corporan (0/3), Brandon Barnes (0/1) and J.D. Martinez (0/3).
4) Brad Peacock has good stuff, but he needs to be more efficient. Peacock threw 89 pitches in 4 1/3 innings of work causing the bullpen to be forced into action early once again. And considering Houston's bullpen has an ERA of 7.53 (and that's including 3 1/3 scoreless innings from Erik Bedard), that's not a good thing. On a brighter note, the Astros starting 5 have a collective ERA of 2.16 through 4 games.
5) Having to get extra outs will kill a bad team. Marwin Gonzalez's misplay of a groundball in the 5th led to 7 runs, 3 of them unearned. If Houston gets out of that inning without yielding a run, maybe it's a different ballgame. You can come back from 1-0 down. 8-0? Not so much.
6) Brandon Laird went 3 for 5 with a home run and 4 runs batted in during a AAA double header yesterday. Keep an eye on his production in Oklahoma City, especially if Brett Wallace continues to struggle.
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