Astros Prospect Report: JetHawks firebomb Mavericks; pitching solid throughout system

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 4-1 loss to Oklahoma City (LAD)

-> Domingo Santana: 2-for-3, BB, R
-> Carlos Correa: 1-for-3, 3B
-> Jon Singleton: 1-for-4, 2B
-> L.J. Hoes: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Matt Dominguez: 1-for-4
-> Alex Presley: 0-for-3, BB
-> Joe Sclafani: 1-for-1 (pinch-runner)

SP Alex White: 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K (loss)
RP Murilo Gouvea: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RP Mitch Lambson: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Correa was removed from a game in Corpus for a "breather"...and was then promoted to AAA. Today he was removed from the game for a "breather"...coincidence? Who knows. It's fun to think about it.

Singleton went through a pretty good cold spell after tearing it up, with one really nice game dotted in the middle of it. Notably, he struck out nine times in the seven games leading up to his last two games, during which he's 3-for-4 with no strike outs. We'll see if this starts him on another run.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 4-2 win over Arkansas (LAA)

-> Chan Moon: 3-for-5, 2B, R
-> Leonardo Heras: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R
-> Jiovanni Mier: 1-for-2
-> Conrad Gregor: 1-for-3, BB, R
-> Tyler White: 1-for-3, BB
-> Danry Vasquez: 1-for-4, R
-> Roberto Pena: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Andrew Aplin: 0-for-4, BB, 2 RBI
-> Brandon Meredith: 0-for-4, BB
-> Brett Booth: 1-for-1, BB (defensive replacement)

SP Mike Hauschild: 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 1 K (win)
RP Josh Hader: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K (save)

Pena started at catcher, but after Mier came out and Booth came in to catch, they moved Moon from second to short, and then Pena from catcher to second. You know, catcher to second base. Just a little thing that brought a tiny smile to my face.

A bigger smile is coming from Heras. The man is on fire, batting .361 in his last ten games. He's raised his line on the season to .294/.358/.397. He has 10 extra-base hits, and is a perfect nine-for-nine in steal attempts. It's good timing, too; with Phillips perhaps not far off with Fisher having been promoted to Lancaster, there will be an outfield crunch in Corpus and someone will lose. Heras is making a strong case that it shouldn't be him.

The walks and strike outs could have been better for Hauschild, but the 12-2 GB out to FB out ratio helps you feel a lot better about that. He continues to look like a guy that could end up as a really servicable back-end worm burner.

Hader had only thrown 11 pitches on Friday night before rain finished the game, so it's not too odd to see him come right back a couple of days later, and it was just for three innings. Three good innings, obviously. At 3.08, his BB/9 has really looked a lot better than I might have expected it would against AA hitters, and he hasn't sacrificed the strike out game too much to do it, either (8.05).

I don't know if Moon is a real prospect or not, but I do know that he's a 24-year-old shortstop and is hitting .314/.368/.457 in AA so far.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 21-6 win over High Desert (TEX)

-> Chase McDonald: 3-for-5, BB, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI
-> J.D. Davis: 3-for-5, BB, 2B, R, 4 RBI
-> James Ramsay: 3-for-6, 2B, HR, RBI, 3 R
-> Jack Mayfield: 2-for-3, HR, RBI, 3 BB, 4 R
-> Jose Fernandez: 2-for-4, 2 BB, 3 R
-> A.J. Reed: 2-for-5, BB, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
-> Alfredo Gonzalez: 2-for-6, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
-> Derek Fisher: 1-for-6, BB, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R

SP Edison Frias: 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K
RP Zach Morton: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K
RP Joe Musgrove: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K (win)

I was a little sad when Lancaster broke out for 16 runs on the night before I get to cover them. Thankyouverymuch, boys. Oddly enough, go figure, the only guy in the lineup to not do anything was Brett Phillips, who went 0-for-5 with three punch outs while everyone else was bombing High Desert like the Taliban was hiding out there.

After getting off to a nice, hot start in April, the month of May was less impressive for Davis; he hit .260/.336/.404 with a notably-increased strike out rate, which would be mediocre for a bat-first prospect anywhere, much less Lancaster. But he ended the month by going 7-for-21 (.333) in his last four games (though with eight strike outs), so hopefully he's made some adjustments and can start off June well at the dish.

Similarly, McDonald also fell off after a hot start, but his resurgence appears to be underway, as he's hit .308 in his last ten games with four long balls, giving him nine on the season.

Flipping the script, after an ice-cold start in April, Reed broke out, slashing .327/.417/.664 with ten long balls in just 28 games during May. He has 13 dingers on the year, and has walked 34 times in 48 games. Strike outs remain an issue, but he did strike out less during May, so there appears to be upward movement there.

Oh yeah, and then that Musgrove guy. Just another five punchouts with no walks. Goodness. He hasn't walked anyone since April 22, and that was the only guy he's walked all season. 59 strike outs and one walk in 49.2 innings! 10.69 K/9 and 0.18 BB/9 guys. Zero. Point. One. Eight.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 3-1 loss to Burlington (LAA)

-> Jason Martin: 2-for-4
-> Ramon Laureano: 1-for-3, solo HR
-> Kristian Trompiz: 1-for-3, 2B
-> Jamie Ritchie: 1-for-3, BB
-> Ryan Bottger: 1-for-3
-> Mott Hyde: 1-for-4

SP Brandon McNitt: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 K (loss)
RP Aaron Greenwood: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
RP Angel Heredia: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Back-to-back two-hit games for Martin, who's now up to .298/.352/.394 with five extra-base hits in 26 games. He's struck out just 15 times during that stint, an impressive level of contact ability for his age.

With Fisher gone, Martin slides into CF. Up first to try to fill the hole is Laureano, our 16th-round pick in last year's draft. As a JuCo guy, he's still fairly young (turning 21 in mid-July), so we'll see. A dinger in his third game is a good starting point.

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: TBD vs. TBD
AA: Off Day
A+: TBD vs. Connor Sadzeck
A-: Akeem Bostick vs. Keynan Middleton