Astros Minor League Recap: Games of June 21, 2014

Before the recap officially beings, a moment of silence for Carlos Correa's ankle. 



There we go. Correa suffered what reporters called a "serious leg injury" after sliding into third base. As of around 12:45 a.m., some people were hearing broken ankle, some people were hearing broken fibula, while others refrained from speculating because nothing official was out yet.

Cannot confirm during broadcast but I was told Correa’s ankle is not broken. Hopefully more good news to come. #JetHawks #Astros

— Jason Schwartz (@jasondschwartz) June 22, 2014

I'd probably trust Schwartz the most on this, because he's a team guy and always at the ballpark. Let's hope Correa's injury isn't too serious; he has been playing well to the point of an imminent call-up to AA Corpus Christi, and it would be a shame to lose him for an extended amount of time just before a promotion. 

AAA: Tacoma Rainiers (SEA) 4, Oklahoma City 3

OKC lost this one in extras but not without a few solid performances; first, I'll pour one out to Old Friend Humberto Quintero, who homered for the opposing Rainiers. Kike Hernandez continued a scorching run at the plate with two more hits to raise his average to .330. Brett Oberholtzer had a nice start (why wouldn't he have been called up to pitch in Tampa today?), Jose Veras threw a perfect inning and Andrew Robinson struck out five hitters in 2.2 innings of work.

Austin Wates: 1-4
Kike Hernandez: 2-4
Marc Krauss: 0-5
Preston Tucker: 0-4, 2 K
Domingo Santana: 0-4
Matt Duffy: 1-4, 3B

Brett Oberholtzer: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Andrew Robinson: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 5 K

AA: Frisco Roughriders 3, Corpus Christi Hooks 0

The Hooks' offense came up short in this one, but the pitching performance was a bright spot. Mike Hauschild continues to defy the expectations of a 33rd round draft pick as he delivered seven innings of three-run ball behind five strikeouts and one walk. His BB:K rate is currently a little better than 7:1. Seriously, if you look at the track record of 33rd round picks in pro ball, I doubt you find many guys who've even had success at AA. From an organizational perspective, Hasuchild has hit expectations, and anything else is house money. That's not to discredit anything else he could do in the future; good luck to Mike!

Delino DeShields: 1-4
Tyler Heineman: 2-4

Mike Hauschild: 7 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Tyson Perez: 1 IP, 2 K

A+: Lake Elsinore (SD) 7, Lancaster 5

To add insult to injury, the Jethawks lost last night. Conrad Gregor hit his fifth home run, Correa hit a triple before his injury, and Teoscar Hernandez added three hits. Chris Devenski pitched six innings of four-run ball in a losing effort. Okay, I'm just getting depressed writing about this Jethawks game because of Correa. I'll stop.

Tony Kemp: 1-4, SB (27)
Teoscar Hernandez: 3-5, SB (22)
Carlos Correa: 1-3
Rio Ruiz: 0-5, 3 K
Conrad Gregor: 2-4, 3B, HR
Tanner Mathis: 2-4

A: Peoria Chiefs (STL) 9, Quad Cities 2

This was not a good game for the River Bandits, let's get that out of the way. James Ramsay hit a triple and Brett Phillips added a hit, keeping his average at a cool .304. On the pitching side, Kevin Comer took the brunt of the Chiefs' scoring, allowing six earned runs. Adrian Houser had a nice relief outing of four scoreless innings. 

James Ramsay: 1-4. 3B
Brett Phillips: 1-3 
Brian Holberton: 0-4
Austin Elkins: 0-2

Kevin Comer: 2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Chris Cotton: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Adrian Houser: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Short-Season High A: Tri-City 11, Lowell Spinners (BOS) 0

The Valley Cats finally put together a complete offensive performance, one that we've been waiting to see with all the advanced bats on this team. A.J. Reed had a first monster game, reaching base five times on three hits and two walks. Jose Solano and catcher Jaimie Ritchie also added three hits apiece. J.D. Davis had a hit and his...sixth error of the season. Maybe he's not a solution to third base depth in the system? Troy Scribner, an undrafted FA last summer, threw five shutout innings and has nine scoreless with Tri-City.

A.J. Reed: 3-4, 2 BB
J.D. Davis: 1-5, BB
Jose Solano: 3-4, 2 2B
Jaimie Ritchie: 3-3, 2 2B

Troy Scribner: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Short-Season Low-A: Greeneville Astros 6, Elizabethton Twins 5

Ydarqui Marte, who is certainly a top candidate for best minor league name in the Astros system, fueled the baby Astros on Saturday with three hits. Catcher Jacob Nottingham added a hit, and he's off to a solid start at his next level of pro ball after GCL-ing it up last season. 

Jason Martin: 0-4, BB
Juan Santana: 1-4
Jacob Nottingham: 1-4, 2 R
Luis Reynoso: 2-3
Ydarqui Marte: 3-4

Gerardo Juarez: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

GCL: Astros 6, Braves 3

2014 draftee Dexture McCall is one of the few of this year's drafted players on the GCL roster and the St. Petersburg CC first baseman has had a nice two games to start his pro career. McCall picked up two hits yesterday and his third RBI. Jake Bowey, one of the young Aussies in the system, also collected two hits including a double. 

Dexture McCall: 2-4, RBI
Kristian Trompiz: 1-4
Jake Bowey: 2-4, 2B

Elieser Hernandez: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

DSL: Astros Blue 4, Dodgers 2 
Astros Orange 3, Angels 2

Even if DSL stats don't matter in the slightest, it's nice to see production in the on-base category for Franco and Mauricio. Dominican players have a reputation of being free swingers ("You don't walk off the island", they say), but if the Astros are hammering home a patient philosophy to their DSL players it sure looks like it's paying off early; Franco's OBP is .430, and Mauricio's is .342.

Wander Franco: 1-2, 2 BB
Connor MacDonald: 0-3, BB, 2 RBI
Joan Mauricio: 0-2, 2 BB