Astros Minor League Recap

I've written so much about JD Martinez, that I don't know what else to write.  I feel like a broken record every time I mention how awesome his bat is, especially this month.  Despite that, I will continue to give credit where credit is due, and that lies with his bat.

Thanks to another home run last night that could only described as a laser shot, JD has seven homers this month!  Prior to this month, he had only hit six in over twice the plate appearances.  I'm sure you remember he had struggled with that hamstring injury that sent him to the DL for awhile and also caused him to have a slow return.  But, he was still chosen to participate in the All-Star game and once he returned from that, he's been a new hitter.

The knock on JD over the past year is that he is limited to left fied or first base because of his foot speed, but his bat doesn't carry enough power to play those spots.  To make things worse, he has tendonitis in both of his knees that prevent him from consistently getting into the in-field crouch, so he has to play in left no matter how much slower he may get.  However, many (including me) have been ok with a lack of power since his OBP is as high as it is and that's a lot more valuable than SLG%.  I also haven't worried about his knees long term since tendonitis is completely manageable, even in extreme cases, if they are dealt with properly.  The key word is properly.  Many athletes don't take the precautions necessary or make the consistent effort to do the little things in favor of thinking they can just fight through the pain. 

But, his recent power surge shows that he has made some adjustments to his swing and can not only hit for average, but power!  He'll never be huge home run total guy, but twenty homers is no longer doubtable.  It looks like he could hit for Hunter Pence type home run totals while batting around .300 and posting above average walk totals.  Sounds like a middle of the order hitter to me!

Oklahoma City lost 13-2

• Nelson Figueroa-5 IP, 12 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 8/5 GO/AO
• JB Shuck LF-2-5
• Anderson Hernandez 2B-4-5
• Robinson Cancel 1B-1-3, 2B, BB
• Tommy Manzella SS-2-3, BB, SO

Corpus Christi won 7-5

• Ross Seaton-3 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO, 4/1 GO/AO
• Arcenio Leon-2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3/1 GO/AO
• Chris Hicks-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO
• Danny Meszaros-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
• Jason Stoffel-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO
• Jimmy Paredes 3B-4-4, 2B, 2 CS, PO
• JD Martinez LF-1-4, HR, SO
• Jimmy Van Ostrand 1B-3-4, 2B, 2 HR

Lancaster lost 10-3

• Zach Grimmett-5 2/3 IP, 10 H, 7 R< 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2 HR, 3/5 GO/AO
• Austin Wates CF-1-3, 2B, 2 BB
• Adam Bailey RF-0-2, 3 BB
• David Flores 1B-2-4, HR, SO
• Jose Carlos Thompson 2B-2-4
• Andrew Simunic LF-2-4, 2B, SO

Lexington won 7-5

• Luis Cruz-4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO, 1 HR, 5/2 GO/AO
• Jason Chowning-2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO
• Jorge De Leon-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3/0 GO/AO
• Jay Austin CF-1-2, 2 BB, SB
• Telvin Nash LF-1-3, HR, BB, SO
• Ben Heath DH-2-4
• Emilio King RF-2-4, 2 2B, SO
• Roberto Pena C-1-3, HR

Tri-City won 9-5

• Euris Quezada-1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 SO, 5/0 GO/AO
• Dayan Diaz-3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 2/0 GO/AO
• Travis Smink-2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5/1 GO/AO
• Ebert Rosario-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
• John Hinson 2B-1-4, 2B
• Justin Gominsky CF-2-5, 2B
• Brandon Meredith LF-0-1, 2 BB, CS
• Matt Duffy 3B-2-4, 2B
• Neiko Johnson SS-2-4, SB

Greeneville won 6-3

• Jamaine Cotton-5 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 9/3 GO/AO
• Jeremy Meiners-3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
• Zachary Dando-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1/2 GO/AO
• Jordan Scott LF-3-4, 2 SB, CS
• Chase Davidson DH-2-4, HR, SO
• Ernesto Genoves C-2-4, HR

GCL Astros: Off

DSL Astros lost 4-3

• Abriox De Leon-6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 6/7 GO/AO
• Johan Arias-2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
• Teoscar Hernandez DH-2-4, 2B, HR, BB, SO-This guy is hitting very well!
• Andru Sierra CF-1-1, 2 BB
• Pedro Coa C-2-3

Clearwater Threshers

• Jarred Cosart-7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 8/8 GO/AO
• Sebastian Valle C-1-3, 2B
• Jonathan Singleton 1B-0-3, BB, 2 SO, SB

Gwinnett Braves

• Arodys Vizcaino-1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO
• Tyler Pastornicky SS-2-4, SO, CS