Astros Prospects: The Forgotten Few Redux (Volumes 1-3)

Here's a brief recap of what players were featured in Volumes 1-3 (if this is a new series to you, I recommend clicking the links and reading back through those):

Volume 1 - April 22, 2015

1. Leo Heras, OF, Corpus Christi Hooks
2. Jamie Ritchie, C/1B/DH, Quad Cities River Bandits
3. Daniel Mengden, SP, Quad Cities RiverBandits

Volume 2 - May 6, 2015

That quote is quick refresher on how Ritchie started the season. Since then his BABIP has dropped down to .345 and his slash is a much more believable .275/.448/.374. The ISO has dropped down to .099, but Ritchie is continuing to show mastery of the strike zone with a 23.0% walk rate and a 17.2% K rate. He's played 7 games at DH, 18 games at catcher, and 21 games at 1B. He's being severely overshadowed by the unreal season that Jacob Nottingham is having at Quad Cities. There's still a lot to like here, but Ritchie may just be a younger version of Tyler White (he will be discussed further down)

Mott Hyde, SS, Lancaster JetHawks

Mott was awarded for his stint at Quad Cities with a promotion to Lancaster a little over a week ago. While at Quad Cities, Mott hit .292/.385/.410. all while playing a premium defensive position. His K rate and walk rate were also decent at 17.8% and 12.7%, respectively. He's only been up at Lancaster for a short bit, but is off to a decent start. Time will tell whether this 26th round pick from a year ago can continue to climb the ladder at the short stop position. He's hasn't shown homer power, but he has 41 extra base hits in 127 minor league games.

Chris Devenski, RHP, Corpus Christi Hooks

Devenski has yet to give up a run in 19.1 innings pitched. He's also created some buzz carrying a no hitter into the 7th inning before being pulled for pitch count purposes. He's only allowed a .160 BABIP so far this season, and we know that will come up. We also know Chris won't finish the season with a 0.00 ERA, but I like what I've seen from Devenski.

Chris continues to destroy AA competition. His ERA is 1.18 in 61.0 innings pitched. FIP and SIERA don't like that ERA. They clock in at 2.90 and 3.77. His BABIP is low at .242. His 16.6% infield fly ball ratio supports that being low, but the 18.9% line drive rate does not. Devenski is 24 and people have been clamoring for a promotion to AAA, but I can't help but wonder if he's being used as a trade chip at the moment. If you leave him in AA a little longer, you can keep those numbers closer to where they currently are, and it looks more favorable in a trade. That's all speculation on my part, obviously.

Brock Dykxhoorn, Right Handed Pitcher, Quad Cities River Bandits

Brock is a behemoth. He's 6-8, but he does not rely on pumping gas to get folks out. Brock has put up an ERA of 1.45 in 18.2 IP. He's struck out 17 and walked 7 during this time. Brock is fairly young at a shade blow 21 years old.

The former jhockey player has continued to pitcher admirably in the Midwest League. His ERA/FIP/SIERA is 3.53/3.20/3.25. He's sported a 9.35 K/9 with a 3.00 BB/9. Here's a quote from MLB.com from when he was drafted a year ago.

Dykxhoorn throws his fastball around 90 mph and uses his big frame to create a good downhill angle. His slider has made strides this spring, giving him a third average offering to go with his fastball and changeup. Dykxhoorn pitches with more control than command and has to be careful to keep the ball down in the zone, as his fastball flattens out when he leaves it up. Despite his size, he already repeats his delivery well and has the potential to develop into a Major League starter.

Dxkxhoorn is still a decent prospect since he is so young and pitching so well. It will be interesting to see if he is able to add any velocity with his giant 6-8 frame.

Sean McMullen, LF/DH, Quad Cities River Bandits

McMullen made the Forgotten Few because he had mashed over a 10 day period.

Over the last 10 days, McMullen has been red hot slashing .419/.438/.806. 7 of his 13 hits over this period have gone for extra bases. His overall stat line this season is not in great territory yet, but if he continues this pace it will get there very soon.

That hot streak ended pretty quickly and his triple slash is still nothing to write home about: .255/.321/.438. His K rate  (22.8%) and BB rate (9.5%) is also somewhat pedestrian when it comes to the Astros. He also plays the most loaded position in the system and appears to only be able to play the corner outfield. His .189 ISO is nothing to poo poo, but at the moment, he's organizational depth.

Brian Holmes, LHP, Corpus Christi Hooks

He had a somewhat rocky start to the 2015 season. In Lancaster in the month of April his ERA/FIP/SIERA was 4.70/2.68/2.72. The FIP and SIERA indicated he had pitched better than his ERA, but that's still not dominant territory. In the month of May (which includes 3 starts in Lancaster and 1 start in Corpus Christi), he has an ERA/FIP/SIERA of 0.45/1.05/1.20. That is domination.

Holmes has continued to pitch well at the AA level. He has now mad 5 starts in Corpus Christi and has a ERA/FIP/SIERA of 3.47/2.77/3.79. His ground ball rate is a decent 46.0%. His K and BB rate has worsened at this level, but it is only 5 starts. Holmes remains an intriguing lefty that worked his way steadily up through the system, sniffing domination at every level he's faced.

Tyler White, 3B, Corpus Christi Hooks

Tyler is currently making a mockery of the Texas League in regards to plate discipline. In 23 games at AA, he has walked 23 times and only struck out 13 times. His slash at AA in those games is a healthy .342/.505/.447.

Tyler has never been a "young" prospect by any means, but he just flat out produces. He has not fallen off at all from the above quote. His BABIP has normalized since that hot early start at Corpus, but his line is still a respectable .278/.409/.384. It goes without saying that we would like to see more power from Tyler, but that plate discipline is crazy good: 15.6% K rate with a 17.2% BB rate. An OBP over .400 is good at any level you are at. His current ISO is .106 in the Texas League which is lower than his minor league career ISO of .167. If he can show an uptick in power, this guy conitinues to intrigue me with his strike zone awareness.