Minor League Recap: August 28th, 2013

Luis Reynoso is a player who I hyped heavily in the year when his numbers were looking a lot better than they are now, but I'm still a backer of the 18 year old possible shortstop of the future. He still possesses the fluid athleticism and projectability that excited me so much when he was signed. His batting average has dipped all the way to .231 after his hot start, but his strikeout and walk rates remain solid, and he has put together three multi-hit games in his last four contests. Reynoso remains raw and is likely ticketed for Greeneville next year, but with some more muscle on his frame and a year of experience stateside under his belt, he could be ready for a mini-breakout campaign at that level in 2014. If Carlos Correa does end up moving to third base down the line, Reynoso is a guy that the Astros will be counting on, as he's one of the more talented potential shortstops in the system.

Hallock and Heidenreich Pummeled in Frisco Shootout

Watching Kyle Hallock pitch live, there was a lot about him that I liked. His pitches have very consistent shape, and he shows very good command. Despite that, he's been unable to find any success as he's climbed the ladder. With just an average curveball and a fastball that tops out at 90 MPH, he's likely destined to be little more than an organizational guy down the line. On Wednesday things went as roughly for him as ever, as he lasted just one inning, allowing two homers and five earned runs. The Hooks actually held the lead most of the game despite his dreadful start on the back of homers from Erik Castro, Enrique Hernandez and Domingo Santana. Leonardo Heras continued to perform well, going 0 for 2 with two walks and no strikeouts. Called upon to close out the game and making his first appearance in Corpus in months, Matt Heidenreich took the loss after allowing five earned runs in two innings.

Tri-City Gets 1-Hit, Scribner Turns in Solid Relief Outing

Troy Scribner has been a top performer in the low minors after being picked up as an undrafted free agent out of Sacred Heart, but has hit adversity for the first time for Tri-City. After a couple rocky outings, Scribner came out of the pen on Wednesday and fired two perfect innings, striking out three, to lower his ERA to 3.14 at the level. Despite that fact that he and Kyle Westwood combined to allow just four hits, no walks and one unearned run, Tri-City fell to Brooklyn on the back of John Gant's 1-hitter, in which he faced the minimum 27 batters and walked just one. Kyle Westwood struck out just one in his six innings, but racked up 12 groundouts. His ERA now sits at 0.96.

Kemp Walks Four Times, Correa and Ruiz Each Reach Twice

One of the more polished hitters in the 2013 draft class, Astros fifth round pick Tony Kemp needed little time in the NYPL before making the jump to full-season A ball. The 5'6" left handed hitter has more than held his own in the Midwest League, hitting .265 and walking more than he strikes out. His OBP sits north of .400, and since arriving in Quad Cities he is 4 for 4 on stolen base attempts. Hitting behind him in Wednesday's contest, Carlos Correa and Rio Ruiz each notched a single and a walk, and Danry Vasquez remained hot by lacing a triple.

Cokinos Perfect at the Plate, DeShields Swipes Two as JetHawks Win

M.P. Cokinos went to a long slump for awhile which brought his batting average, which once hovered around .350, down to the .300 range. Lately though, Michael Paul has been back to his old tricks and Wednesday night that came to a head. Cokinos put together his second straight three hit game, mixing in a double and walking in his fourth plate appearance. Cokinos is now riding an 8 game hitting streak, including four three-hit performances and one two-hit game. His strikeout rate still sits well below 10%, and though he's very old for the Cal League, he's an intriguing player to monitor. Also in the win, Delino DeShields went four plate appearances without a strikeout, singled, and swiped his 48th and 49th bags of the season.

Notable Lines

GCL Astros (Rk.)

Luis Reynoso- 2 for 4, 3B

Jacob Nottingham- 1 for 4, 2 K

Brandon Culbreth- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Greeneville Astros (Rk.)

Brett Phillips- 1 for 3, 2 K

Brian Holberton- 0 for 3, BB, K

Chase McDonald- 0 for 4, 2 K

Chris Munnelly- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Tri-City ValleyCats (SS)

James Ramsay- 0 for 3

Tyler White- 0 for 3

Conrad Gregor- 0 for 3, 2 K

Chan Moon- 1 for 2, CS

Kyle Westwood- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K (12 groundouts)

Troy Scribner- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Quad Cities River Bandits (A)

Tony Kemp- 0 for 1, 4 BB, 1 K

Carlos Correa- 1 for 3, BB, K

Danry Vasquez- 1 for 4, 3B, 2 K

Rio Ruiz- 1 for 3, BB

Andrew Walter- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Lancaster JetHawks (A+)

Delino DeShields- 1 for 4, 2 SB

Nolan Fontana- 0 for 2, BB

MP Cokinos- 3 for 3, 2B, BB

Tyler Heineman- 0 for 4

Joe Sclafani- 1 for 3

Travis Ballew- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Corpus Christi Hooks (AA)

Leonardo Heras- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB

Enrique Hernandez- 1 for 4, HR, K

Domingo Santana- 1 for 4, HR, 2 K

Preston Tucker- 0 for 4

Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA)

Japhet Amador- 1 for 4, K

Jimmy Paredes- 1 for 3, BB

Marc Krauss- 1 for 3, BB, K

Asher Wojciechowski- 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K