Stranded At the Drive-In - After the Greeneville Astros swept the Johnson City Cardinals (STL-Rk) a few weeks ago, the Cardinals players were in for a big surprise when their bus driver quit... before taking them home. Dayn Perry has a great write-up on the situation, which offers a glimpse into the often-less-than-glamorous minor league lifestyle.
Look Who's Back... or not - Byron Buxton really hasn't wasted much time... since coming off the Disabled List, he's slashed .367/.472/.633, including home runs in two consecutive games. The problem? In the second of those two consecutive games (Friday), he was hit by a pitch on his injured wrist, and hasn't seen action since. His performance was enough to earn him Offensive Player of the Week honors for the Florida State League, though, so there's that.
When In Rome... - The Winter Meetings are being held in sunny, beautiful San Diego, California, this year. The baseball world will descend on Southern California, and the Agenda has been released. The marquee event for most people is the Rule 5 Draft, which will take place on December 11.
Just Another Mascot Manic Monday - It's time for Mascot Mania over at MiLB.com. Rusty, Ruby, KaBoom!, Rascal, South Paw, and Gizmo are all waiting for your vote.
Better Than BlueHawks, At Least - Over at the main SB Nation, Seth and Rodger are doing yeoman's work as they dig deep into minor league sports to find the best mascot. Even better: They start with the Pacific Coast League. The RedHawks didn't fare well in their completely-infallible, 100%-objective system, scoring just a combined 19 out of 174 points. The New Orleans Zephyrs win this one going away, though the guys don't mention that the team was initially named after a train, while the team was still in Denver.
Movin' On Up - A few moves to discuss:
RHP Richard Rodriguez promoted from Corpus Christi to Oklahoma City.
RHP Aaron West (Corpus Christi) activated from Disabled List.
1B Conrad Gregor promoted from Lancaster to Corpus Christi.
RHP Gonzalo Sanudo (Lancaster) activated from Disabled List.
LHP Chris Lee (Quad Cities) activated from Disabled List.
3B Connor Goedert demoted from Greeneville to GCL.
3B Adam Nelubowich (Tri-City) retired.
RHP Aaron Vaughn demoted from Quad Cities to Tri-City.
What Happened Was...
Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA) - Round Rock Express (TEX) 11, Oklahoma City RedHawks 9.
Michael Foltynewicz got off to a rough start, giving up four hits before the RedHawks offense even made an appearance, followed by another run in the second. The Oklahoma City offense did show up, though, evening things up with a run in the first and their own four-run inning in the second. Folty got through the third, before things unraveled in the fourth, with the Round Rock Express (TEX) throwing a three-spot on the board. With Foltynewicz out of the game after the fourth, the RedHawks kept swinging. Two runs in the bottom of the eighth tied the game, 9-9. But two runs off of Jorge De Leon in the top of the ninth proved to be too much for them to overcome.
Oklahoma City: 52-52, 3rd - Pacific Coast League American North (3.0 GB)
- CF Austin Wates - 3/5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
- SS Jonathan Villar - 2/5, R, RBI, 2 K
- 1B Marc Krauss - 3/5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
- 3B Gregorio Petit - 0/4, K
- 3B Matt Duffy - 1/1
- LF Preston Tucker - 1/5, 2B, RBI
- RF Domingo Santana - 0/2, 3 BB, 2 K
- DH Joe Sclafani - 0/4, R, BB, K
- C Max Stassi - 1/5, R, K, E
- 2B Jiovanni Mier - 2/3, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB
- RHP Michael Foltynewicz - 4.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, IBB, 3 K, WP, 97/62 Pit/Str, 4/3 GO/FO
- RHP Richard Rodriguez - 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 33/22 Pit/Str, 3/2 GO/FO
- RHP Jorge De Leon - 1.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 22/16 Pit/Str, 0/1 GO/FO
- LHP Kevin Chapman - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 4/2 Pit/Str, 1/0 GO/FO
Corpus Christi Hooks (AA) - San Antonio Missions (SDP) 8, Corpus Christi Hooks 3.
Conrad Gregor wasted no time getting his first Double-A hit, a line drive single in the fifth inning:
Thanks to Irish Pete for the GIF
Jordan Jankowski, on the other hand, didn't get off to such a glowing start. After a perfect first inning, he gave up four runs in the bottom of the second inning. It didn't end there, either, as he rattled off three runs over the next two innings. A Telvin Nash home run was a rare highlight for the Hooks offense... speaking of Nash, in the month of July, he's hitting .327/.431/.776. Over the course of the entire season, he has a .897 OPS with runners on base. Meanwhile, Tony Kemp's 1-for-4 night dropped his batting average to .307. I don't know how he lives with himself.
Corpus Christi: 16-15, 3rd - Texas League South (3.5 GB)
- 2B Tony Kemp - 1/4, R, BB, K, SB
- LF Ruben Sosa - 1/4, 2B, R, 2 K
- CF Delino DeShields - 0/4, RBI
- RF Andrew Aplin - 2/4, RBI, K
- 3B Jonathan Meyer - 0/4, E
- 1B Conrad Gregor - 2/4, K
- DH Telvin Nash - 1/3, HR, R, RBI, BB, K
- C Tyler Heineman - 1/4, 2B, 2 K
- SS Carlos Perdomo - 0/4
- RHP Jordan Jankowski - 5.0 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 103/67 Pit/Str, 6/5 GO/FO
- RHP Travis Ballew - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 57/34 Pit/Str, 8/0 GO/FO
Lancaster Jethawks (A+) - Lancaster Jethawks 7, Modesto Nuts (COL) 6 (12 innings).
I present this without comment:
When the Modesto Nuts put a run on the board in the top of the twelfth inning, things looked bleak for the hometown nine. But if the Jethawks are anything, they're resilient. After Danry Vasquez led off the bottom of the inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, Jack Mayfield went down looking. Another wild pitch put Vasquez on third, where he watched Jobduan Morales go down swinging. Then, with two outs and the tying run on third base, all eyes were on the unlikeliest of heroes: Shortstop Chan Moon, filling in for the injured Carlos Correa. And Moon delivered, with a liner to left, scoring Vasquez. That's when Teoscar Hernandez put a double into center field, scoring Chan and winning in extra innings, walk-off style.
Still, no one got a Nuts cap, and that's the truth.
Lancaster: 15-16, 3rd - California League South (4.0 GB)
- SS Chan Moon - 2/5, 2 RBI, BB, SB
- CF Teoscar Hernandez - 2/6, 2B, RBI, SB
- 3B Rio Ruiz - 1/5, HR, R, 3 RBI, K
- 1B Tyler White - 0/4, BB, K
- RF Jon Kemmer - 0/5, K
- C Roberto Pena - 0/4, HBP, PB
- LF Danry Vasquez - 2/4, 2 R, K
- 2B Jack Mayfield - 1/5, 2B, 2 K
- DH Jobduan Morales - 1/5, R, 2 K
- LHP Brian Holmes - 6.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 WP, 9/2 GO/FO
- RHP Juan Minaya - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0/3 GO/FO
- RHP Jamaine Cotton - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/6 GO/FO
- RHP Daniel Minor - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0/0 GO/FO
Quad Cities River Bandits (A) - Quad Cities River Bandits 5, Lake County Captains (CLE) 2 (10 innings).
Chase McDonald hit a three-run shot in the bottom of the tenth to win it in extra innings. McDonald, the 12th-round selection in the 2013 draft, was a guy I was very big on after the draft. I may have, at one point, compared him to Lyle Overbay. Earlier this year, I warned you not to sleep on him. You probably should've ignored my advice and gotten the sleep, but McDonald is starting to heat up, with four of his nine home runs this season coming in the last seven games (literally, he has hit a home run in every other game since July 14). In the month of July, he's hitting .317/.388/.550. Still a small sample, but it's good to see him starting to produce. Here's hoping it's the beginning of a trend, and not an anomaly.
Quad Cities: 15-15, 6th - Midwest League Western
- CF James Ramsay - 1/5, 2 K
- RF Brett Phillips - 1/4, K
- 3B J.D. Davis - 2/4, R, BB, 2 K
- DH Ronnie Mitchell - 0/3, 2 R, 2 BB, IBB, K, SB
- 1B Chase McDonald - 1/5, HR, R, 3 RBI, K
- LF Jose Fernandez - 1/2, 3B, R, RBI, 2 BB, K, E
- 2B Marc Wik - 2/3, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 SB, CS
- C Brett Booth - 0/4, 2 K, PB
- SS Thomas Lindauer - 0/4, 2 K
- RHP Adrian Houser - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, HBP, 7/5 GO/FO
- RHP Frederick Tiburcio - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2/0 GO/FO
- RHP Andrew Walter - 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1/3 GO/FO
Tri-City ValleyCats (A-) - Tri-City ValleyCats 4, State College Spikes (STL) 1.
You may have missed it with all the Brady Aiken hoopla, but thanks to Dan Duquette, the Astros did actually draft and sign a player in the first round in 2014, and that player - outfielder Derek Fisher - has absolutely destroyed New York-Penn League pitching. After going 2-for-3 yesterday, Fisher is hitting .380/.500/.480 over his first 50 ABs in Tri-City. He also added a stolen base, his eighth of the season. Meanwhile, Jamie Ritchie (the 20th-best draft-eligible college hitter this year, per my personal metrics), also had a multi-hit game, raising his season average to .472.
Tri-City: 25-12, 1st - New York-Penn League Stedler
- CF Bobby Boyd - 1/4, R, RBI, BB, SB
- RF Ryan Bottger - 0/3, K
- LF Derek Fisher - 2/3, R, RBI, BB, K, SB
- DH A.J. Reed - 0/3, BB, 2 K
- 3B Nick Tanielu - 1/4, R, RBI, K
- C Jamie Ritchie - 2/4, 2B, RBI, K
- 1B Ariel Ovando - 0/4, K
- SS Mott Hyde - 1/2, 2B, R, 2 BB, K
- 2B Juan Santana - 0/4, 2 K
- RHP Joe Musgrove - 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 8/2 GO/FO
- LHP Bryan Radziewski - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1/0 GO/FO
- LHP Jordan Mills - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GO/FO
Greeneville Astros (Rk) - Danville Braves (ATL) 4, Greeneville Astros 0.
The Astros had as many hits (4) as the Braves had runs. Half of those Greeneville hits came off the bat of Jason Martin, who extended his hitting streak to sixteen games. Another belonged to Ydarqui Marte, whose batting average dropped to .347 with the 1-for-3 effort.
Greeneville: 14-16, 4th - Appalachian League West (4.5 GB)
- CF Jason Martin - 2/4, SB
- 2B Antonio Nunez - 0/3, K
- LF Sean McMullen - 0/4
- DH Trent Woodward - 0/4
- 1B Yonathan Mejia - 0/4
- C Jacob Nottingham - 1/4, K, E
- 3B Cesar Carrasco - 0/2, BB
- RF Ydarqui Marte - 1/3
- SS Jeffry Santos - 0/3
- RHP Joshua James - 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 3/6 GO/FO
- RHP Jose Montero - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1/4 GO/FO
GCL Astros (Rk) - GCL Astros 8, GCL Blue Jays (TOR) 3.
Mickey Storey sighting! Also, why does Christhopher Santamaria always seem to pitch when I have the recap? His name is impossible to write correctly!
GCL Astros: 14-13, 2nd - Gulf Coast League Northwest (2.5 GB)
- CF Alexander Melendez - 1/4, 2B, R, RBI, BB, E
- DH Ruben Castro - 2/5, 2 RBI, K
- 3B Randy Cesar - 0/5, K
- 1B Hector Roa - 0/5, 2 K
- LF Brauly Mejia - 1/2, 2 R, 2 BB, SB, CS
- C Brian Pena - 2/4, R, RBI, E
- SS Jean Estrella - 1/3, 2 R, BB
- 2B Arturo Michelena - 0/1, RBI, BB, E
- RF Luis Payano - 1/4, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K
- LHP Cristhopher Santamaria - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 3/3 GO/FO
- RHP John Gatlin - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GO/FO
- RHP Joselo Pinales - 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 4/3 GO/FO
DSL Astros Blue (FRk) - DSL Royals 4, DSL Astros Blue 2.
DSL Astros Blue: 19-24, 5th - Dominican Summer League Boca Chica Northwest (7.0 GB)
- CF Andy Pineda - 0/4, K, HBP, SB, CS
- 2B Jonathan Matute - 1/4, R, SB
- LF Rodrigo Ayarza - 0/3, R, BB, SB
- 1B Jake Bowey - 0/2, 2 BB, K
- 3B Wander Franco - 0/4, 2 K, E
- SS Joan Mauricio - 1/3, RBI, BB, 2 K
- C Oliver Toribio - 1/3, RBI, BB, PB
- DH Angel De Leon - 0/4, 2 K
- RF Juan Fuentes - 0/3, BB, 2 K
- RHP Moreno Polanco - 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, HBP, 6/0 GO/FO
- RHP Jose Rosario - 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0, K, WP, HBP, 3/6 GO/FO
DSL Astros Orange (FRk) - DSL Astros Orange 7, DSL Mets2 3.
Everyone gets an HBP!
DSL Astros Orange: 16-27, t-8th - Dominican Summer League Boca Chica North (20.0 GB)
- SS Wilson Amador - 0/3, 2 R, BB, HBP, K, 2 SB
- 2B Marcos Almonte - 1/4, 3B, R, RBI, BB
- DH Frankeny Fernandez - 1/3, 2 R, HBP, 2 SB
- LF Luis Vasquez - 0/4, RBI, 3 K
- C Ihan Bernal - 0/1, R, BB, K, PB
- C Orlando Marquez - 0/2, R, K
- RF Bryan De La Cruz - 0/2, BB, HBP
- 1B Cristopher Luciano - 1/2, RBI, BB, HBP, K, SB
- CF Edgar Lorenzo - 0/4, 2 K
- 3B Anardo Peralta - 0/3, HBP, 2 K
- RHP Gerald Benzant - 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, WP, 6/0 GO/FO
- RHP Ramon Rodriguez - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 2/0 GO/FO
- RHP Juan Hernandez - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 4/2 GO/FO