Astros Prospect Report: Cruz's gem leads Fresno; Vasquez, Martes carry Corpus Christi

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 3-0 win over Albuquerque (COL)

-> Tyler Heineman: 2-for-2, 2B, R
-> Jon Singleton: 2-for-3, 2B, R
-> Joe Sclafani: 2-for-3, RBI
-> Nolan Fontana: 1-for-2, 2B, RBI, R
-> Tony Kemp: 1-for-3
-> Alex Presley: 0-for-3, RBI

SP Luis Cruz: 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 K (win)
RP Travis Ballew: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K (hold)
RP Jordan Jankowski: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K (save)

It's been a while since Cruz looked like he was worth one of the precious 40-man roster spots that he occupied. He started getting knocked around in the rotation, and worked out of the pen fore a while, essentially all of August and a chunk of July. But this was a gem. He has a 4.30 ERA, 4.07 BB/9 and 7.20 K/9 in 115 innings of work for Fresno.

Nice to see a few multi-hit games recently for Singleton, but overall, he's definitely struggled this year. He's hitting .258/.362/.503 with 25 doubles and 20 homers in 98 games. It's not a bad year, by any means, but he's done nothing to show he's ready to be that First Baseman of the Future, nothing to separate himself from what he was last year.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 5-0 win over Frisco (TEX)

-> Danry Vasquez: 4-for-5, RBI, R
-> Teoscar Hernandez: 2-for-3, 2 BB
-> Alfredo Gonzalez: 2-for-3, BB
-> Jiovanni Mier: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R
-> A.J. Reed: 1-for-5, RBI
-> Jack Mayfield: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB
-> Chan Moon: 0-for-4, RBI, R
-> Conrad Gregor: 0-for-4, R
-> Leonardo Heras: 0-for-4, RBI

SP Francis Martes: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 9 K (win)
RP Aaron West: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K
RP Tyler Brunnemann: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Martes, just dominating in AA at 19 years old. Four outs on the ground, nine on strikes, none on the fly. Here we go gang, all together now.... #THANKYOUMIAMI

The AFL-bound West has had a really nice little come back from his injuries this year. They continue to go conservative with his innings, as he's averaged just under three innings per game. He owns a 2.77 ERA, 1.17 BB/9 and 7.26 K/9 in 84.1 innings of work. His K/BB ratio is an excellent 6.18.

Vasquez continues his surge with his best game of the season. He's hitting .358 over his last 22 games, with 12 multi-hit games during that run. He's struck out just 16 times during his streak, too, so that might bode well for a level of sustainability.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 5-4 win over Bakersfield (SEA)

-> Mott Hyde: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI
-> J.D. Davis: 2-for-5, 2B
-> Sean McMullen: 1-for-4, BB, 2B, R, 2 RBI
-> Derek Fisher: 1-for-4, BB, RBI
-> James Ramsay: 1-for-5, 2B, R
-> Ronnie Mitchell: 1-for-5, RBI, R
-> Chase McDonald: 0-for-2, R, 3 BB
-> Jamie Ritchie: 0-for-3, 2 BB
-> Alex Bregman: 0-for-4, R

SP Enrique Chavez: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K
RP Christian Powell: 3.0 IP, 2 R (0 ER), 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K (win)
RP Steve Naemark: 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K (hold)
RP Ryan Thompson: 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K (save)

Davis has 17 hits in the last eight games. He's hitting .405 over his last ten games, and he's up to .291/.371/.530 on the season, with 28 doubles and 26 homers in 116 games. Still striking out way too much for me to believe in him, though.

Chavez is another guy who just kind of popped up out of nowhere, like Juan Robles who just debuted effectively with Quad Cities. Chavez started in the DSL, then moved stateside and played in 14 games for the GCL team. He's bypassed short-season ball and even QC entirely, and this is his second appearance for Lancaster. He has a 3.00 ERA in six innings for Lancaster. Interesting note; he and Robles are both from Mexico.

The Brunnemann moved on to AA, so he's been replaced by another 40th-round reliever, Naemark. This is Naemark's fourth level of competition this year; Greeneville, Tri-City, Quad Cities, and now Lancaster. Pretty impressive.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 8-6 loss to Kane County (ARZ)

-> Drew Ferguson: 3-for-5, 2B, R, 2 SB
-> Jason Martin: 2-for-3, BB, 2B, R, 2 RBI
-> Ryan Bottger: 2-for-3, RBI, R
-> Garrett Stubbs: 1-for-2, 2B, RBI
-> Kristian Trompiz: 1-for-3, RBI
-> Ramon Laureano: 1-for-5
-> Bryan Muniz: 0-for-2, RBI, R, 2 BB
-> Jose Fernandez: 0-for-3, BB, SB, R
-> Luis Reynoso: 0-for-4, R

SP Rogelio Armenteros: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 7 K
RP Lachlan Madden: 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K (blown save, loss)
RP Zach Davis: 1.2 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 2 BB, 0 K

In a lineup without a bunch of top prospects, Ferguson has brought some much-needed hitting ability. He's batting .325 in his last ten games, bringing his line with QC up to .299/.349/.383. He's driven in 20 runs in his 39 games with the River Bandits.

This was a bit of a mediocre outing, at least compared to what Armenteros did in his first game with QC. That one was no runs, one walk, and nine whiffs in five innings. They got to him a bit this time, and he didn't help himself. The strike outs were there again, though. He has a 14.4 K/9 in his two games with the club.

Though the end results haven't been spectacular, Martin has been quietly rebounding a bit. He's collected at least one hit in eight of his last ten games, and during that span, he's drawn five walks and struck out just five times.

SS Tri-City ValleyCats: 3-0 loss to Staten Island (NYY)

-> Bobby Wernes: 2-for-4
-> Brooks Marlow: 1-for-4, 2B
-> Dexture McCall: 1-for-4
-> Pat Porter: 0-for-2, BB
-> Aaron Mizell: 0-for-3, BB

SP Harold Arauz: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 4 K (loss)
RP Jose Hernandez: 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K

The talented Arauz has definitely had some bad luck go against him this year; a 12.31 H/9 is definitely not normal. Despite that, his 3.12 BB/9 and 9.00 K/9 look pretty solid. He has a 2.00 ERA over his last two games.

Wernes has at least one hit in 22 of his last 26 games. He's hitting .399/.431/.375. He's walked 25 times and struck out just 24 in 48 games. I wonder if he can handle shortstop at all. If he can handle it decently on occasion, he might have a utility man future ahead of him. He has zero power, but with the kind of polish he's showing at the plate, he might still have a chance.

RK Greeneville Astros: Off Day

Greeneville's first playoff game against Kingsport (NYM) is tonight.

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Dan Straily vs. Rudy Owens
AA: Michael Feliz vs. Victor Payano
A+: Keegan Yuhl vs. Dan Altavilla
A-: Joshua James vs. Ethan Elias
SS: Chris Murphy vs. James Kaprielian
RK: Erasmo Pinales vs. TBD