Astros Prospect Report: Games of April 25, 2016

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 7-4 win over Reno (ARZ)

-> Jon Kemmer: 2-for-4, RBI, R, 2 2B
-> Tony Kemp: 2-for-4, BB, RBI
-> Colin Moran: 2-for-4, BB, R
-> Tyler Heineman: 1-for-2, BB, 2 R
-> Danny Worth: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
-> Jon Singleton: 1-for-4, BB, R
-> Eury Perez: 1-for-5, 3B, R, 2 RBI
-> A.J. Reed: 1-for-5, RBI
-> Andrew Aplin: 0-for-3, BB, R

SP Tommy Shirley: 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 K (win)
RP Cesar Valdez: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K (hold)
RP James Hoyt: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K (save)

Fresno dropped a six-spot in the second, and added a breathing-room run in the eighth, but it was really all Grizzlies for much of the game.

Goodness, James Hoyt ya'll. The ERA is 1.74 and the K/9 is a passible 15.68. He's allowed five base hits in his 10.1 innings on the mound. The 4.36 BB/9 isn't what you want, but four of his five walks all came in one rough outing. Something will give at some point and he'll be in the Majors.

Kemp is off to a much nicer start in Triple-A this season than what he showed with Fresno last year. He's sitting at .333/.449/.368 in 16 games. He's punched out just 10 times during that span, and walked 10 times, so the plate discipline has been here and things look real. Just one XBH though, that will be the concern; just how little power can you get away with having at the MLB level?

Moran has a three-game hitting streak working right now, with two hits and zero strike outs in each of the last two. Slash line is a solid .317/.364/.417 now, though the power (three doubles, one dinger) hasn't shown up yet.

After two-straight scoreless outings to start the season, Shirley got knocked around a bit in this one. The strike outs are a silver lining, though, and his peripherals (2.12 BB/9, 6.88 K/9) aren't too shabby. He had just seven strike outs in his first two games before six in this one, so we'll see if that improvement holds up as the season rolls on.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 8-7 loss to Midland (OAK)

-> Chase McDonald: 2-for-3, BB, R
-> James Ramsay: 2-for-6, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI
-> Jack Mayfield: 1-for-5, BB, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
-> Danry Vasquez: 1-for-5, 2B, SB, R
-> Teoscar Hernandez: 1-for-6, 2B, R, 2 RBI
-> Chan Moon: 0-for-2, BB, R
-> Conrad Gregor: 0-for-2, BB
-> J.D. Davis: 0-for-4, 2 BB
-> Derek Fisher: 0-for-5, BB

SP Cy Sneed: 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K
RP Aaron West: 1.1 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K
RP Michael Freeman: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 K (hold)
RP Brendan McCurry: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K (blown save)
RP Reymin Guduan: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
RP Davis Schmidt: 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K (loss)

Boy oh boy. Corpus plated all seven of their runs in the first two innings...and then got shutout for 12 straight innings after that, losing by a run in the 14th frame. Oof. The Curse flowed down all the way from the Majors this night it seems.

On this week's episode of "Searching for Tyler White," we bring you Jack Mayfield. Mayfield was signed as an un-drafted free agent in 2013, the same year Tyler White was taken in the 33rd round. While he hasn't crushed like White did, he's always shown some ability, and after a solid 107 wRC+ debut in Double-A last season, is now hitting .359/.457/.744 in 12 games so far this year. His BAbip is huge, but of course it is. More importantly, he's whiffed just six times this season, giving him just a 13.0% strike out rate, to go along with a healthy 10.9% walk rate. The power probably isn't real, but he's always flashed some pop, and unlike White, actually has some defensive upside, being a middle infielder.

Sneed's final line ended up not being special, but the peripherals sure were. Both have trended up through his three starts, and he now owns a 9.95 K/9 and 2.13 BB/9 in his first 12.2 innings of work this year. His ERA sits at 1.42 after giving up his first runs of the season in this game.

Equally notable is Guduan's start to the year. The lefty has always had tremendous stuff (southpaws who can hit triple digits don't grow on trees), but along with it have always been big control issues. As in a career 7.39 BB/9 coming into this season. So far, though, he's walked just three in 11 innings this year, and 15 strike outs say he hasn't sacrificed any potential dominance in the search for better control. Small sample still, but a great step. Along with other guys like Riley Ferrell, James Hoyt, and Brendan McCurry who are having early success in relief roles, it looks like the Astros may not need to go trading hot prospects for relievers in the near future.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: Off Night

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: Off Night

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Brad Peacock vs. Braden Shipley
AA: Joe Musgrove vs. Daniel Mengden
A+: TBD vs. Tyler Pike
A-: Jose Hernandez vs. Preston Morrison