Astros Minor League Recap: June 17, 2013

Ain't it nice that the short season leagues are underway? At least one is. And they were really good.

The rest of the rosters were announced yesterday.

Bad Pitching Turns to Lin in 12-2 Loss

The pitching was that bad that the RedHawks had to turn to Che-Hsuan Lin just to finish the game. Yeah, the outfielder. He has a very strong arm, but wow. He was actually the best pitcher on the night. Brett Oberholtzer couldn't make it past the first inning and just recorded one out with four walks. Alex Sogard was called to try and bridge everything together and he also had a very rough night. But, on the good side. Jonathan Singleton has three hits in AAA. And, all three of those hits have been doubles.

• Brett Oberholtzer-1/3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 SO, 1/1 GO/AO, 33/11 P/S
• Alex Sogard-2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 3/0 GO/AO, 46/27 P/S
• Rhiner Cruz-2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
• Jason Stoffel-2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
• Kevin Chapman-1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
• Che-Hsuan Lin-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
• Jake Elmore 2B-2-4
• Jonathan Singleton DH-1-4, 2B, SO
• Marc Krauss RF-2-4, 2B

The Terrifying Tandem Struggles in 8-6 Loss

Bobby Doran and Nick Tropeano have been one of the most successful pairs in the tandem pitching system this season. But, they weren't very strong last night. Between the two, they allowed seven runs over seven innings combined. Just a rough night. On the bright side, Jiovanni Mier continues to improve. His average has climbed in each month along with his OBP. The SLG is down this month, but he hit his first home run of the month so that could start to climb. His last ten games aren't pretty, but the month of June isn't bad at all. I'll say it again. Don't give up on him yet.

• Bobby Doran-3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2/3 GO/AO, 64/38 P/S
• Nick Tropeano-4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 5/0 GO/AO, 70/44 P/S
• Andrew Robinson-2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 4/1 GO/AO, 25/17 P/S
• Jiovanni Mier SS-2-5, HR, SO, E
• Rene Garcia DH-2-5, 2B, 2 SO
• George Springer CF-2-4, 2B, BB, 2 SO
• Domingo Santana RF-0-5, 3 SO
• Jonathan Meyer 3B-1-3, 2B, BB, SO, E
• Zach Johnson 1B-2-4, 2B, 2 SO

Lancaster JetHawks: All-Star Break

Quad Cities River Bandits: All-Star Break

Tri-City ValleyCats Win Season Opener 9-3

I don't want to get excited over small samples, but the Cats put together a very exciting opener. There was offense, there was some good pitching. Five different hitters picked up multi-hit games and Jon Kemmer actually had a perfect night at the plate. This team is very likely to be exciting to follow.

I do want to discuss Kevin Comer. He was the back end of the tandem staff last night and was dominant. His stat line really stands out. Here's a brief report on what he was throwing. He was around 90 all night with his fastball, but the highlight was his curve. He was locating it very well and looked very good.

• Evan Grills-4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 7/2 GO/AO
• Edison Frias-1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2/0 GO/AO
• Kevin Comer-4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 4/0 GO/AO
• Anthony Kemp 2B-3-4, 2B, SB
• Conrad Gregor 1B-2-3, BB
• Ernesto Genoves C-1-5, 2B, 2 SO
• Dan Gulbransen DH-2-5, 2 SO
• Jon Kemmer LF-4-4, HR, BB
• Ryan Dineen 3B-2-4, 2B, BB

DSL Astros Drop Close 1-0 Game

• Harold Arauz-5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 4/2 GO/AO
• Javier Lozano-3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO, 3/1 GO/AO-Wish he wasn't already 20
• Gerardo Juarez-3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 So
• Victor Mesa-1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR
• Arturo Michelena 2B-2-4, CS