Well, It's that time of year when the minor league teams' seasons start ending, which is always a good time to take stock in who is on the farm and how they've developed over the course of the year. The first team to finish their season this year is the Dominican Summer League Astros. Let's see who they had and how they did:



First off, at 27-40, the DSLstros were losers like the big league and most of the other Houston farm teams. So, there's that. But, while I think it would be a good thing for organizational culture to field winning teams at every level, I don't put too much stock in W/L records in the minor leagues, since developing players is more important to the decision makers than winning games.
Here's a rundown of the players of note:
Teoscar Hernandez- The 19 year old OF was the best offensive player on the team in his 1st pro season, registering an 847 OPS with 7 3B, 7 HR, and 16 SB. Judging strictly from those #'s and his age, I would say he has average power, plus speed, and the ability to greatly improve. He doesn't appear to be a total lightweight and I'd expect to see him in the GCL next year.

Mario Gonzalez, 1B- the 19 yr old took a big step forward in his 3rd DSL season, with an 841 OPS. With only 3 HR, his power has a ways to go before he registers as a bigtime prospect.

Juan Santana, SS- the 17 yr old had a great 1st year, and put himself on the map batting .273 and walking more than he struck out. As an extremely young middle infielder with what appears to be a capable bat, he's one to watch.

Franny Polanco, C- 19 years old, showed good improvement at the plate in his 2nd yr.

Reymen Guduan, SP- The lanky 19 yr old lefty had a great year, posting a 2.19 ERA in 13 starts.

Kelvin Santana, RP- While a little old for the DSL at 21, it's hard to ignore his 20 innings without an earned run, and his 31 K's in that short amount of work.

Edgar Ferreira, P- the 18 year old lefty was highly touted after getting a rather large bonus, but was disappointing this year, with an 11.57 ERA and 23:18 BB:K ratio.

Also of note is that Jose Montero, another big money international signee, did not pitch for the DSLstros this year.

3B Darwin Rivera played well enough early on to recieve a stateside promotion.

Going into next season, I would expect to see most of the players listed above (except Ferreira) in the GCL. New big money international signees who should see their 1st pro action in the DSL would be IF Arturo Michelena, IF Luis Reynoso, and SP Harold Arauz.

It's almost impossible to tell in the moment what kind of prospects there are in the DSL. The players are so very young and the league gets so little attention. But it's certainly fun to see a few of these young guys do well and speculate on how they develop and possibly end up in the big leagues.