Astros Prospect Report: Fresno, Quad Cities' offenses explode; Lancaster wins rare pitching duel

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 17-6 win over Albuquerque (COL)

-> Jon Singleton: 4-for-6, 2 HR, 2 R, 10 RBI
-> Domingo Santana: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 RBI
-> Matt Dominguez: 2-for-6, RBI
-> L.J. Hoes: 1-for-2, 3 BB, 3 RBI, 5 R
-> Joe Sclafani: 1-for-3, 3 BB, 4 R
-> Carlos Correa: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 BB, 3 R
-> Matt Duffy: 1-for-5, BB
-> Max Stassi: 0-for-4, BB, R

SP Asher Wojciechowski: 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 K (win)
RP Jonas Dufek: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K
RP Tommy Shirley: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RP Tyson Perez: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

So, how much does Singleton have to do to find his way back on the MLB roster? That's the question that will be being asked for a while if this continues. He's on a five-game hitting streak, and he's hit seven bombs in his last ten games. Perhaps best of all, he's struck out just one time in his last four games. Another writer pointed out in the TCB email chain that four of Singleton's nine dingers have been to the opposite field, an encouraging sign given his pull-happy tendencies (check out the heat map on MLBFarm). So...has he done enough for you? Do you want to see more? Keep in mind that this is in Albuquerque, one of the Big Three offensive parks in the minors (Lancaster and High Desert being the others).

This makes a nine-game hitting streak for Santana as he tries to prove he belongs. This was a great night for him especially considering his pitch-recognition issues; three walks and no strike outs. Just three strike outs in his last five games, in fact. It's a start, hopefully.

Hoes has seen his average drop almost a hundred points over his last ten games, though his season line still looks strong at .315/.408/.483. The walks are a somewhat-uncharacteristic bonus, but certainly welcome. I'd say he's pretty well down the depth chart at this point, though.

Sclafani is on a six-game hitting streak. Big League Joe is hitting .270/.395/.349 with Fresno so far, and has as many walks as strike outs (12).

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: Off Day

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 2-0 win over Visalia (ARZ)

-> Danry Vasquez: 3-for-5, SB
-> Jose Fernandez: 1-for-3, BB, SB, R
-> James Ramsay: 1-for-3, BB, R
-> Jack Mayfield: 1-for-3, BB
-> A.J. Reed: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Chase McDonald: 0-for-3, BB
-> Brian Holberton: 0-for-3, BB
-> Brett Phillips: 0-for-4, BB

SP Edison Frias: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K (win)
RP Brian Holmes: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 7 K (save)

Sparkling night for the pitching, which we don't always get to say much out in the California League.

Frias walked both of those guys in the second inning, and other than that, heck of a night for him. He lowered his ERA almost a full run down to 4.08, and is looking strong with a 2.51 BB/9 and 8.79 K/9 in 28.2 innings pitched this season. He's allowed two or fewer runs in five of his seven games now.

Holmes was even better, albeit in one less inning. My goodness does he have a streak going; he hasn't allowed an earned run since the sixth inning of the game back on April 20. He's up to 19 straight innings without allowing one, and his ERA is down to 2.37 as a result. The 2.37 BB/9 and 13.35 K/9 (you read that right) in 30.1 innings look pretty nice, too. In three games this month, he has a zero ERA, 1.2 BB/9 and 14.4 K/9. Wow. Easy Pitcher of the Month candidate if this keeps up.

Vasquez is on a nice little run, with ten hits in a five-game hitting streak going. He's slashing .284/.320/.414 on the season as a result, with 11 XBH, and he's 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts as well.

Reed's hitting streak is up to seven games after tonight. He's hit .342 over his last ten games, and on the season his line is .265/.380/.556, a huge improvement over where he started. Strike outs remain a concern with him; he's whiffed 35 times in 32 games now.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 15-8 win over Beloit (OAK)

-> Jacob Nottingham: 3-for-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
-> Jason Martin: 3-for-5, 2 3B, 3 R
-> Nick Tanielu: 3-for-5, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI
-> Bobby Boyd: 2-for-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
-> Ryan Bottger: 2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
-> Derek Fisher: 2-for-5, RBI, 3 R
-> Kristian Trompiz: 2-for-5, 2 R
-> Mott Hyde: 1-for-3, BB, R, 3 RBI

SP Kevin Comer: 0.2 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 4 H, 1 BB, 0 K
RP Jose Montero: 2.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K
RP Reymin Guduan: 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K (win)
RP Keegan Yuhl: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
RP Ryan Thompson: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

QC was actually down 7-0 after the top of the second inning ended. That didn't last long. Only DH Sean McMullen failed to record a hit for the River Bandits. They had 18 hits in total, of which eight were extra-base knocks.

Nottingham is on a six-game hitting streak and has his season line up to .291/.358/.570 now. Three of his six homers have come in his last ten games. That SLG is sure encouraging, considering he's only in full-season ball for the first time, is slightly younger than Correa, and already appears to be tapping into that raw power. He's struck out just four times in his last ten games, too, so it's not like he's selling out and going wild to try to run into more balls. I'm liking this guy more and more as the season moves on.

Fisher is on a 12-game hitting streak, during which he's batting .370/.453/.587. In fact...my goodness, he's played in 25 games and has gone hitless in just two of them. Just two. He's up to .340/.421/.596 on the season, drawing walks, 13 XBH...I mean, wow. Can't imagine he'll stay in QC much longer if the Astros believe this is legit.

Martin has 11 games under his belt now, and is hitting a solid .289/.372/.447 so far. He has four XBH already, and he's walked five times and struck out just that many, too, so we're seeing some good patience at the dish in the early going from him. It bears repeating that he's just 19 all season (early September birthday).

The sample size is starting to get a little bigger on Keegan Yuhl, and he's looking impressive. 0.93 ERA, 3.26 BB/9 and 8.85 K/9 so far in 19.1 innings of work. He's got some BAbip working in his favor, of course, but his FIP is still comfortably under 3.00.

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Luis Cruz vs. Leuris Gomez
AA: Vincent Velasquez vs. Andrew Faulkner
A+: Michael Feliz vs. John Omahen
A-: Chris Lee vs. TBD