Astros Prospect Report: Games of June 26, 2015

Pauliyes - Yesterday, I wrote about David Paulino, who was the starter in the combined one-hit shutout of the Staten Island Yankees. If his name doesn't sound familiar to you, that's okay. You're not the only one.

Prior to that outing, it had been almost two years since he had pitched professionally - and the start was his first for the Astros organization. Part of the return on the Jose Veras trade with the Tigers, Paulino missed 2014 recovering from Tommy John Surgery.

Tri-City pitching coach Chris "Not That Chris Holt" Holt had this to say about the outing:

"He was locating his fastball and locating his changeup, getting the changeup to the floor for an out pitch on a couple occasions. He was able to stay on the attack and as he picked up steam and was throwing a lot harder, there was just no chance. His stuff is tremendous. He looks like he's toying with guys at times. He hits 92, 93 miles per hour on the fastball, and then he can reach back and get up to 98."

The late early returns are so far so good; it's like Jeff Luhnow went and hid an easter egg during the 2013 season, and here we are, ready to open it (I have no idea how easter eggs work, you guys. Do you open them? Are they real eggs? Do you hide them? #helpajewout)

Speaking of Which... - The second-overall pick of the 2015 MLB Draft, the Astros' Alex Bregman, already collected his first professional base hit. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself:

I'm Just Gonna Leave This Here -

This is how @_JM55 sleeps on buses!! pic.twitter.com/pxK8ClKYEk

— Jacob Nottingham (@JayNott) June 25, 2015

I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS YOU GUYS I AM JUST REPORTING WHAT HAPPENED

Raising Cain - Matt Cain's start against Fresno - where he once pitched as a minor leaguer, and where the locals generally cheer on the Giants - got the Fresno Bee all abuzz. Aside from a nice article on the matchup, there's a nice photo gallery of the game, as well. It's mostly Cain, of course, but there are a few shots of Max Stassi, as well as a great shot of Brady Rodgers by Silvia Flores.

What Happened Was...

Fresno Grizzlies (AAA) - Grizzlies 4, Reno Aces (ARI) 1

The bad news: Entering this game, the Grizzlies were 0-for-28 on the season when entering the ninth inning trailing. More bad news: With the promotion of Jon Singleton, offense was hard to come by in this one against Jhoulys Chacin. But Mike Hauschild was solid, keeping the Grizzlies in striking distance. Still, entering the ninth inning, the Aces were up 1-0, with things looking grim. But the Fresno offense got to work. After a Tony Kemp flyout, Jonathan Villar doubled to center. He was brought home on an Alex Presley triple. Presley scored on a Matt Duffy single, giving Fresno the 2-1 lead. But Fresno wasn't done, as they ended up chasing home four in the inning. A perfect ninth by Tyson Perez secured the victory for the Grizzlies.

Fresno: 44-30 (1st - Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern)

• 2B Tony Kemp - 0/5, 2 K
• 3B Jonathan Villar - 2/4, 2B, R, K
• RF Alex Presley - 1/3, 3B, R, RBI
• 1B Matt Duffy - 1/4, R, RBI, 2 K
• DH L.J. Hoes - 0/2, R, 2 BB
• LF Robbie Grossman - 2/4, 2 RBI
• C Tyler Heineman - 1/3, BB
• CF Andrew Aplin - 0/4, K
• SS Nolan Fontana - 0/3, BB
• RHP Mike Hauschild - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• LHP Kevin Chapman - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Tyson Perez - 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Corpus Christi Hooks (AA) - Hooks 8, Frisco RoughRiders (TEX) 10

Brett Phillips continued to struggle since his callup to Corpus Christi. In this travesty of an offensive performance, he managed just a single hit in five trips to the plate, and it wasn't even a home run, as he fell a base short. He walked twice, as well, which I guess is fine if you don't like to run, and he stole just one base in the game. He's now hitting a paltry .167 in the Texas League with just a single stolen base for his entire Double-A career. The Hooks offense came on strong overall in this one, plating eight runs to help overcome a rough combined outing by Kyle Westwood and Ruben Alaniz. Entering the ninth, however, they had a respectable 8-6 lead. Alaniz quickly got the first out in the top of the ninth before giving up two consecutive singles and being pulled for Travis Ballew. Ballew walked the first batter he saw, J.T. Wise, before striking out Trever Adams swinging. With two outs and the bases loaded, Drew Robinson tripled to center, coming around to score on a Chan Moon throwing error. The four runs gave the RoughRiders the 10-8 lead, which they'd hang on to to snap what had been a 10-game losing streak to Corpus Christi. Adding insult to injury, the save was picked up by none other than former Houston Astro David Martinez.

Corpus Christi: 2-2 (2nd - Texas League South, 1.0 GB)
*first half winners

• SS Jiovanni Mier - 0/2, 2 R, 2 BB
• CF Brett Phillips - 1/3, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB
• 3B Colin Moran - 1/3, R, 2 BB, 2 K
• DH Tyler White - 1/5, R, RBI, K
• 1B Conrad Gregor - 0/5, R, RBI, 2 K
• RF Jon Kemmer - 1/3, RBI, K, HBP
• C Roberto Pena - 0/4, E
• LF Danry Vasquez - 1/3, RBI, K, HBP, PO
• 2B Chan Moon - 1/3, 2B, R, BB, K, 2 E
• RHP Kyle Westwood - 4.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Ruben Alaniz - 3.2 IP, 5 R, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, HBP
• RHP Travis Ballew - 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Lancaster Jethawks (A+) - Jethawks 8, Bakersfield Blaze (SEA) 1

Austin Chrismon was good, but Daniel Mengden was better. After Chrismon went five innings, allowing a single run on six hits, a walk, and three strikeouts, Mengden took over. Mengden threw four no-hit innings, retiring eleven of the final twelve batters to he pick up his first career save. They had a little help along the way, with the Jethawks offense scoring in each of the first five innings, including two runs in the first inning and three in the fifth. Drawing a season-high twelve walks certainly didn't hurt things.

Lancaster: 2-0 (t-1st - California League South)

• SS Mott Hyde - 1/3, RBI, 2 BB, K, SF, PO
• LF Marc Wik - 0/6, 4 K, SB, E
• 2B Jack Mayfield - 1/5, 2B, R, Kf
• 1B A.J. Reed - 2/4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K
• 3B J.D. Davis - 1/3, R, 2 BB, K
• CF James Ramsay - 0/2, R, 3 BB
• C Alfredo Gonzalez - 1/5, R, RBI
• DH Chase McDonald - 2/4, R, BB
• RF Ronnie Mitchell - 2/2, 2B, R, 3 RBI, 3 BB
• RHP Austin Chrismon - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• RHP Daniel Mengden - 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, WP

Quad Cities River Bandits (A) - River Bandits 4, Cedar Rapids Kernels (MIN) 3

River Bandits starter Joshua James didn't have his sharpest stuff, striking out three through five innings and walking two, but after allowing two runs in the first inning, he settled down. The Kernels wouldn't score again until the seventh. That 3-1 lead wouldn't stand, as the River Bandits got to work. A night after a late loss to the Kernels, Quad Cities returned the favor by tying the game in the eighth inning on a two-run Bobby Boyd single and moving ahead for good in the tenth with a sac fly by Kristian Trompiz. That 4-3 lead would prove to be enough, with Angel Heredia pitching a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts to close the game out, earning his second save of the season.

Quad Cities: 1-1 (t-3rd - Midwest League Western, 1.0 GB)
* first half winners

• 1B Jamie Ritchie - 1/3, RBI, 2 BB
• DH Alex Bregman - 1/5, K
• C Jacob Nottingham - 1/5, 2 K
• 3B Nick Tanielu - 2/5, R
• LF Jason Martin - 3/5, R
• RF Ramon Laureano - 2/5, 3B, R, K
• SS Kristian Trompiz - 1/4, RBI, SF
• CF Bobby Boyd - 2/5, 3B, R, 2 RBI, 2 K
• 2B Alex Hernandez - 0/4, 2 K, E
• RHP Joshua James - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
• LHP Michael Freeman - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• RHP Eric Peterson - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Angel Heredia - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HBP

Tri-City ValleyCats (A-) - ValleyCats 4, Staten Island Yankees (NYY) 7

After starter Dean Deetz allowed two runs in the top of the second inning, the ValleyCats offense roared to life, plating four runs in the bottom of the frame, largely on the strength of a bases-clearing double by Cesar Carrasco. That's the good news. The bad news? That was all the Tri-City offense would be able to put up in this game. The Staten Island Yankees, on the other hand, weren't done, scoring runs in the third, fourth, seventh, and eighth innings. All told, Tri-City plated seven runs on fifteen hits and four walks.

Tri-City: 4-4 (2nd - New York-Penn League Stedler, 3.0 GB)

• CF Johnny Sewald - 1/4
• LF Pat Porter - 0/3, BB
• DH Anthony Hermelyn - 0/4, K
• C Trent Woodward - 1/4, 2B, R, K, PB
• 2B Kolbey Carpenter - 0/3, R, K, HBP
• 1B Bryan Muniz - 1/4, R
• 3B Cesar Carrasco - 1/4, 2B, R, 3 RBI, K, E
• RF Hector Roa - 1/4
• SS Keach Ballard - 1/4, RBI, K
• RHP Dean Deetz - 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HBP, WP
• RHP Joselo Pinales - 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• RHP Agapito Barrios - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Yeyfry Del Rosario - 1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• LHP Zach Davis - 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Greeneville Astros (Rk) - Astros 0, Danville Braves (ATL) 4

Salavador Montano pitched a gem, striking out five over as many innings and allowing no runs on two hits and three walks. He was matched by Brandon Culbreth, who pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, two walks, and a hit. Alejandro Solarte, on the other hand, didn't have quite the same luck. The 6'4" Venezuelan lefty got into trouble early, and left the game by allowing four runs (one earned) on six hits over 1.2 innings.

Greeneville: 2-2 (t-1st - Appalachian League West)

• SS Osvaldo Duarte - 1/4, K, SB
• CF Myles Straw - 1/4, 2 K, SB
• C Kevin Martir - 0/2, BB
• DH Justin Garcia - 0/2, BB, PO
• RF Brauly Mejia - 0/2, BB
• LF Aaron Mizell - 1/2, BB
• 3B Randy Cesar - 0/3, K
• 1B Connor Goedert - 2/3, 2B, BB
• 2B Ford Stainback - 0/2, SH, E
• LHP Salvador Montano - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, WP
• RHP Brandon Culbreth - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• LHP Alejandro Solarte - 1.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K