TCB Astros March Madness 2014: Aaron West vs Nicholas Tropeano

Round 2 of the TCB Astros Fan Favorite March Madness Tournament is underway. From now until the end of Spring Training 64 players will spend the next several weeks facing off in a head to head public vote to determine who advances to the next round and who will eventually be crowned the communities favorite Astros player. For more details check out the tournament introductory post.

The rules are simple, determine which player you want to advance to the next round and then vote. Vote subjectively, objectively, using your trusty magic eight ball or any other set of criteria. It's totally up to you how you want to vote! Votes for this round will last exactly 24 hours.

In this match-up

1 - Aaron West

Ignore that 5.22 ERA; not even our favorite sleeper prospect could fully combat the effects of Lancaster and the rest of the California League. But soon West will have his chance in a more neutral environment, and if his 9.28 K/9, 1.41 BB/9 and 2.56 FIP from 2013 are any indication, he shouldn't have a great deal of trouble adjusting to the next level. The front office, clearly high on him, will likely challenge West to take his three pitch mix to Corpus Christi sooner rather than later, and he could see time in the Majors in 2015 if all goes well. -Ashitaka

vs

8 - Nicholas Tropeano

What a difference one year makes. Last season, NiTro was the talk of the minors, putting together an impressive performance at Lexington and Lancaster in the low minors. Things came back to earth for Tropeano at Corpus Christi, as he posted a 4.11 ERA in 133 innings. But, his peripherals nearly matched his time at Lancaster exactly, meaning he wasn't measurably worse than he was in 2012. To make it much further, though, NiTro will need to prove himself in the high minors, making his stuff play a little better and become that middle-rotation starter on his ceiling. -David