Houston Astros Minor League Recap: 4/9/14

There's an Aplin For That - MiLB.com has two apps available for free in Google Play (and, presumably, the App Store.) The first is called First Pitch, and it's basically a mobile version of MiLB.com. The second is called Inside The Park, and it's got some pretty sweet features, though I haven't poked around all of them quite yet. With Inside The Park, you can earn points by going to minor league games, tweeting, using Facebook, Instagram, and more. You can vote for between-inning contests like mascot races, sign up to participate in on-field contests, and use your points to get discounts inside and outside of the park. Pretty cool.

Fringe Festival - In yesterday's "Fringe Five," Carson Cistulli identifies five fringe prospects of note, including two Astros farmhands, Josh Hader and Aaron West. He links to TCB twice in the article, so I'll counter by quoting Mr. Cistulli here:

Making a start for High-A Lancaster, the 20-year-old Hader recorded a 10:0 strikeout-to-walk ratio against just 17 batters over 4.0 innings on Saturday. No footage exists of the game, nor does there appear to be much discussion of his repertoire from that game, in particular.

My promise to you, Carson: I will catch a Josh Hader start in the near future and I vow to capture some footage and to discuss his repertoire. Hader himself was on the mound for Lancaster last night as the back half of the piggyback. More on that later.

Send My Soul to Jagielo City - I saw Eric Jagielo a few times while he was at Notre Dame - mostly in the 2013 Dodgertown Classic - and every time, I walked away impressed by his raw power. Personally, I liked his bat more than Kris Bryant's, but that's neither here nor there. I don't make it a habit of spending a lot of time talking about Yankees prospects, but Jagielo did just homer in his third-straight game after beginning the season hitless through his first three at-bats, which bears mentioning.

What Happened Was...

Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA) - The Pacific Coast League gets crazy sometimes, so it's always helpful when you can pile together wins on long road trips. The beginning of this season certainly qualifies for the RedHawks, who headed into yesterday's game having won 4 of their first 6 games. Collin McHugh took the mound in game three of the series against the New Orleans Zephyrs (MIA), and got off to a rocky start. He walked the second batter of the game - former Houston Astro Brian Bogusevic - but Max Stassi was able to erase him on a caught stealing. McHugh would walk another batter in the inning, but escaped without any damage. Stassi put Oklahoma City up 1-0 with a solo home run (his second in as many games) in the following inning, but the bottom of the fourth saw McHugh surrender two runs to fall behind 2-1. It would stay that way until the top of the ninth, when it was Stassi once again to get things started, drawing a one-out walk before being replaced by pinch-runner Domingo Santana. Two more walks - to Erik Castro and Jonathan Meyer - set up a go-ahead two-run single by Ronny Torreyes (who's slashing .357/.357/.464 on the young season). A flawless ninth inning by Jason Stoffel would seal the deal, with Oklahoma City winning, 3-2. The RedHawks will look for the sweep today against New Orleans; if they complete it, they'll head into their home opener at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with a 6-2 record.

Oklahoma City: 5-2, 1st - Pacific Coast League American Northern

• CF Austin Wates - 1/5, 2 K
• SS Gregorio Petit - 2/4, 2B, 2 K
• RF George Springer - 0/3, 1 BB, 2 K
• 1B Jon Singleton - 0/4, 2 K
• C Max Stassi - 1/3, HR, R, RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Nick Tropeano - 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 38/23 Pit/Str, 3/4 GO/FO

Corpus Christi Hooks (AA) - Day Off

Corpus Christi: 5-1, 1st - Texas League South

Lancaster Jethawks (A+) - The bad news: San Jose Giants (SFG) 3-4-5 hitters Elliott Blair, Mac Williamson, and Mitch Delfino combined for six hits against the Jethawks pitching staff. The good news: The rest of San Jose's lineup combined for one hit against the Jethawks pitching staff. Tandem starters Chris Devenski and Josh Hader also combined to strike out eight Giants batters in nine innings, without walking any. They each gave up a two-run home run to Delfino, who also had a double off of Hader. But Delfino was matched - and even bested - by Tony Kemp, who hit the first grand slam of his life in the sixth inning, followed by a solo shot by Teoscar Hernandez. All told, Kemp had 6 RBI in the game from the leadoff spot to pace the Jethawks to a 9-4 win.

Lancaster: 5-2, t-1st - California League South

• 2B Tony Kemp - 3/4, HR (GS), 2 R, 6 RBI, SB
• CF Teoscar Hernandez - 2/4, 3B, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, K
• SS Carlos Correa - 0/5, K (they didn't trade him yet!?)
• LF Dan Gulbransen - 1/3, R, BB, 2 K
• 3B Carlos Perdomo - 2/4, 3B, R, BB, K
• RHP Chris Devenski - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 3/4 GO/FO
• LHP Josh Hader - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, WP, 3/2 GO/FO

Quad Cities River Bandits (A) - River Bandits pitchers Jandel Gustave, Zach Morton, and Kent Emanuel combined to strike out 11 Lansing Lugnuts (TOR) and walk none. Of course, that would be much more impressive if they hadn't also allowed 11 hits. By the time Gustave took the mound at Cooley Law School Stadium, he had a two-run lead, but the Lugnuts offense struck back for two runs of their own in the bottom of that frame... and the next one... and another run in the third inning. In the top of the fifth inning, Tyler White singled home two runs to bring the River Bandits to within one run, but a Lugnuts run in the bottom of the frame would give them more insurance than they'd need as they beat the River Bandits, 6-4.

Quad Cities: 2-4, 8th - Midwest League Western

• CF James Ramsay - 1/5, 3 K
• RF Brett Phillips - 1/4, R, BB, 2 K
• SS Jack Mayfield - 2/4, 2 R, BB, K
• 3B Tyler White - 2/4, 2 2B, 4 RBI, K
• 1B Chase McDonald - 1/3, 2 BB, K
• RHP Jandel Gustave - 2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HBP, WP, 3/1 GO/FO
• RHP Zach Morton - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, BK, 0/0 GO/FO
• LHP Kent Emanuel - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K