Since I'm taking this over for a bit while Subber10 is off, I thought I'd mix things up today and experiment with the format to speed things up and entertain myself a bit. Today, I'll cover which teams won and lost, then touch on each of the day's best prospect performers. I'll also lowlight the goats of the day.
I may change the format up again sometime this week or go back to Subber's style.
Won:
- Corpus Christi, 2-1
- Greeneville, 5-4
Lost:
- Round Rock, 3-8
- Lancaster, 1-7
- Lexington, 1-6
- Tri-City, 6-7
- GCL Astros, 6-7
Best Performances
- Collin DeLome (AAA), 1-for-3, HR. DeLome has been picking things up of late, with a two-homer game Friday, and another homer today. He could still be a useful bench outfielder, although he's probably too far down the depth chart to see time on the big league roster.
- Koby Clemens (AA), 2-for-4, HR, 2 K. Koby needed a good game, and that's exactly what he got. The high strikeout rate continues to concern me, but at least the power is still there.
- Henry Villar (AA), 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K. The lack of strikeouts is unusual given the results, but you can't argue with six one-run innings. I don't know whether this conversion to starter is something intended to be permanent, or whether the Astros are just trying to give him a better chance to polish his secondary pitches.
- Fernando Abad (AA), 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. The Fernando Abad we know and love is back. Look at that strikeout to walk rate. Just look at it. Five out of seven batters punched out, and no walks! If nothing else, Abad should certainly have an MLB future as a solid middle reliever.
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Andrew Simunic (A+), 1-for-3, 2 BB, K. Simunic has been tearing the cover off the ball ever since he was promoted to Lancaster. California League mirage, or real deal? Only time will tell, but you have to love the patience.
- Dallas Keuchel (A+), 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. The results weren't as pretty as some of his games, but for a Lancaster start, this is a nice line. Note particularly the complete lack of walks. Can he be promoted to Corpus Christi yet? Please?
- Robert Donovan (A), 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K. Donovan's strikeout rate has been rising, and this is his second good start in a row. Let's hope he can keep it going.
- Enrique Hernandez (A-), 3-for-5.
- Michael Kvasnicka (A-), 2-for-5, HR, K. This is more like it. Kvasnicka has been very disappointing so far at Tri-City. His plate discipline has been good, but the power hasn't been what we expected, and he's suffered from a low BABIP.
- Jonathan Merritt (Rk), 2-for-5, 2 2B, BB. Merritt has been a solid but unspectacular performer at Greeneville, but he's old for his level.
- Marcus Ndiffer (Rk), 3-for-6, HR, K. Love his performance so far, but I'd be a lot more excited if he was doing it with fewer strikeouts and at an age-appropriate level.
- Jose Fernandez (GCL), 2-for-4, 2 K. Our youngest prospect in the states continues to hit for average. Somebody let him know that it's okay to walk every now and then.
- Ronald Sanchez (GCL), 2-for-3, 2B, BB, K.
Goats of the Day
- Shane Loux (AAA), 6 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR. If it's guys like Loux holding back prospects like Doug Arguello and Dallas Keuchel, I don't even know what to say. It's mind-boggling.
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Shane Wolf (A+), 2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K. It's hard to blame Lancaster too much when you don't get any strikeouts.
- Zachary Grimmett (A), 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 0 K. Grimmett has been a solid relief pitcher this year, but this wasn't one of his good outings.