Astros Prospect Report: May 15th, 2015

Singleton, Duffy Go Yard on Gray in 8-3 Win

Fresno was able to put up five against former first round pick Jonathan Gray in the third inning which leg to the blowout. Jonathan Singleton tacked up his 12 home run of the season in the inning. Singleton has been on a tear lately and the evidence is that it was his 7th homer in his past ten games. More encouraging is that in that same span, he has eight walks and seven strikeouts in 43 plate appearances.

On the pitching side, Brady Rodgers out-dueled Gray in every way. It's been a tough transition for Rodgers but he has lowered his ERA with every start. Last night was arguably his best of the season.

• Brady Rodgers-7 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 9/4 GO/AO, 84/66 P/S, 62 Game Score
• Kevin Chapman-1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
• Tyson Perez-1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO
• Carlos Correa SS-2-5, 2B
• L.J. Hoes LF-3-4, 2B, BB, SB
• Domingo Santana RF-3-4, 2B, BB
• Jon Singleton 1B-1-5, HR
• Matt Domingues 3B-0-5, 3 SO
• Matt Duffy DH-1-3, HR, SO

Appel Struggle But Hooks Win 7-6

We aren't talking about Lancaster type struggles, but the ERA is climbing and the walk rate is getting worse. He had more walks than strikeouts and innings last night which is a depressing sign.

What's there to say?

• Mark Appel-4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO, 2/2 GO/AO, 81/43 P/S, 29 Game Score
• Mitch Lambson-3 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 3/1 GO/AO, 47/30 P/S
• Travis Ballew-1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
• Jandel Gustave-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
• Tony Kemp 2B-3-5, SO, SB
• Telvin Nash DH-2-4, BB, SO
• Jon Kemmer RF-1-4, HR, 2 SO
• Leo Heras LF-2-4, 2B, BB, SB

Reed Continues to High-A Adjustment Despite Loss

Lancaster lost but a few prospects had a good day at the plate. A.J. Reed started slow his season but has been making a significant turn around. His batting average stands at .270 but is trending upwards with a .359 BA over the last ten games. That's just one part of the offensive profile. The batting average isn't a standout stat but the fact that he has a .382 OBP is. His 16% walk rate so far is very encouraging and will help balance out the 25% strikeout rate. It's still a small sample but early indications aren't bad at all.

Joe Musgrove is continuing to impress with is ability to miss bats and throw strikes. In two appearances in the Cal League and he doesn't have a walk to his name at the level and has 13 strikeouts in just nine innings. He did surrender some runs for this time (unlike his High-A debut) and gave up a lot of hits but did a good job of dealing with runners on base and limiting damage.

• Joe Musgrove-5 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 7 GO/AO, 90/61 P/S, 40 Game Score
• Zach Morton-3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 4/1 GO/AO, 52/37 P/S
• Brett Phillips CF-1-3, BB, CS, PO, OF Assist
• Dany Vasquez LF-2-4, 2B, CS
• A.J. Reed 1B-2-3, 2B, BB, SO
• Jack Mayfield SS-2-4, SO
• Ronnie Mitchell RF-1-4, 2B, SO
• Jose Fernandez 2B-0-4, 3 SO
• Brian Holberton DH-0-2, 2 BB, SO

Mott Hyde Leads QC to 10-3 Win

Mott Hyde hits the ball. He makes a lot of contact. A 2-5 night is difficult on most nights. A 3-5 night is even hard. A 4-5 nigh is quite rare. That's what he did. He's made a name for himself this year so far with his ability to hit. He doesn't hit for a lot of power, just doubles. But he can hit.

Something pretty interesting in the pitching lineup to take notice of was that Kevin Comer pitched a reliever spot. And not as a tandem reliever. Brandon McNitt was the starter, his second appearance of the season and did quit well but only made it four innings. Comer came in to bridge to the tandem starter Akeem Bostick. Comer hasn't been great but he hasn't been bad either. A 9 K/9 and a 2.76 BB/9 aren't reasons to be demoted. He's given up a good bit of hits at 9 H/9 but exactly a reason to demote either given the sample size. So something to watch.

Bostick pitched well as well. The former Rangers prospect now has nine innings and has surrendered just two hits and no walks. Downside is just two strikeouts as well.

• Brandon McNitt-4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER ,2 BB, 8 SO, 4/0 GO/AO, 46 Game Score
• Kevin Comer-1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
• Akeem Bostick-4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 8/3 GO/AO
• Mott Hyde 2B-4-5, 2B, SO
• Alex Hernandez DH-0-3, 2 BB, SO
• Ryan Bottger RF-1-2, 3 BB
• Bryan Muniz 1B-1-2, 2B, 3 BB
• Thomas Lindauer SS-1-3, 2B, BB, SO