Astros Prospect Report: Games of August 15, 2015

Fresno Grizzlies 6, New Orleans Zephyrs 3

With a win last night, Fresno has now tied Oklahoma City for the best record in the PCL, which is pretty cool (and since I haven’t unfollowed OKC's broadcaster yet, Twitter is telling me all about it). Fresno never relinquished its first-inning lead and always scored immediately after New Orleans came close. They were buoyed by solo shots from Jon Villar and Robbie Grossman, and although Hauschild wasn't on top of his game (three walks versus four strikeouts) the bullpen was lights-out. Villar, in particular, hasn't been discussed much since his demotion (since we're a bit busier talking about his major-league counterpart). Although it's a small sample size (just 88 at-bats versus 148) Villar has hit much better against lefties, as his OPS is .155 points higher against lefties. Barring a Correa/MarGo injury (knock on wood), Villar doesn't look like he has a job at the ML level anytime soon. I'm still surprised we didn't trade him to a team like the Padres at the deadline.
Although Luis Cruz did well in this game, he hasn't shown that he deserved to be on the 40-man this offseason over players like DDJ. His ERA is 4.54, his BB/9 is 4.3, his K/9 is 6.9…he does still have a chance to be a good LOOGY with a 2.81 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9, but why is he still being treated as a possible starter?

Corpus Christi Hooks 7, NW Arkansas Naturals 2

Kyle Westwood was straight-up dominant in this game. After giving up a run in the first, he gave up none over the rest of his eight innings, struck out seven, walked only one, and induced eight groundouts versus four flyouts. Jon Kemmer hit a triple down the right-field line, A.J. Reed drove in three runs, and the Hooks increased their lead over the rest of the Texas League (75-44!). This start for Westwood was a welcome change from his last games: Outside of a 1.2 outing in which he allowed two runs, the rest of his past ten starts have been games in which he's allowed at least three runs (although one was a complete game). The strikeouts in this past game were really a welcome surprise: Although he does have a miniscule 1.75 BB/9, he also has a pretty bad 4.67 K/9. His ERA is buoyed by a .330 BABIP, so some regression seems to be in store.

Lancaster Jethawks 3, San Jose Giants 1

A rare pitcher's duel in the Cal League was made possible by Keegan Yuhl going a career-high seven scoreless innings and allowing just three hits. Jordan Mills finished the game off when Andrew Walter allowed San Jose's only run, and James Ramsay's two RBIs accounted for the difference. A 35th-round draftee last year, Yuhl had been a late-innings reliever for most of his time in the high minors until he suddenly transitioned to a starter and has allowed four runs in 27.2 innings over his five starts for a 1.30 ERA. If you remove the three runs allowed in his very first start, his ERA (in Lancaster!) would be 1.03 over 61.2 innings (instead, it's 1.41 over 64.0).

Lake County Captains 5, Quad Cities River Bandits 0

Tri-City ValleyCats: SUSPENDED (Rain)
Pulaski Yankees 8, Greeneville Astros 1

GCL Astros 5, GCL Pirates 3

DSL Astros Blue 8, DSL Royals 0

DSL Astros Orange 3, DSL Rangers1 2