Astros Prospect Report: Games of May 16, 2016

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 4-1 loss to Nashville (OAK)

-> Jon Singleton: 1-for-3, BB
-> Matt Duffy: 1-for-4, solo HR
-> Danny Worth: 1-for-4

SP Mike Hauschild: 5.1 IP, 3 R (0 ER), 4 H, 3 BB, 6 K (loss)
RP Kevin Chapman: 0.2 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K
RP Josh Fields: 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K
RP Juan Minaya: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K

With Kemp promoted and Moran out of the lineup, it's little wonder the offense got slapped around so much.

If you're wondering about how much blame Hauschild should really get, I'd say not much. The first five innings were shutout work...then the sixth inning happened. Walk, double, strike out, and walk. That loaded the bases with one out and Chapman came in. He got the second out on strikes...and then Kemmer's fielding error allowed all three of those unearned Hauschild runs to score. Ouch.

So then, the first five innings are what you look at. No runs, three hits, one walk, five strike outs, and eight ground outs. Really nice. Hauschild pulled his ERA under 4.00 with this outing, and really, he's been mostly good; half of the earned runs he's allowed all year came in one disasterous outing at Reno. Outside of that one game? 1.98 ERA in 41 innings.

Offense is looking like a problem system-wide, outside of Corpus I guess. It's bad in the lower levels, but the Moran-less and Kemp-less lineup tonight was awful. Danny Worth and Eury Perez are the only two guys in the lineup who are hitting better than .209 after this game.

Speaking of Worth, six-game hitting streak now, and 11-straight of reaching via hit or walk. In 30 games this year, Worth has failed to collect at least one hit in just four of them. At some point, you figure he has to get a look if things continue to go south at the MLB level, right?

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 8-0 win over San Antonio (SDP)

-> Alex Bregman: 3-for-4, BB, HR, 2 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI
-> Conrad Gregor: 3-for-4
-> Chan Jong Moon: 2-for-4, R
-> Derek Fisher: 2-for-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, R
-> Danry Vasquez: 1-for-1
-> Alfredo Gonzalez: 1-for-4
-> J.D. Davis: 1-for-5, 2B, RBI
-> James Ramsay: 0-for-2, 3 BB, 3 R
-> Teoscar Hernandez: 0-for-3, RBI

SP Brian Holmes: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K (win)
RP Michael Freeman: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K
RP Chris Cotton: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

To get the bad news out of the way first; Mott Hyde was seriously injured in this game. He dove head-first to catch a popup (and both caught it and held on for the out) but collided with Danry Vasquez, running in from the outfield. Hyde's head smashed into Vasquez's leg. Fortunately he regained conciousness and was able to get into the ambulence under his own power, but he was taken to the hospital and you have to expect at least a significant concussion. We'll see how it all shakes out in the next couple of days. Thoughts for Hyde tonight though. Both men left the game, Vasquez with a brace on his leg.

The good news is obvious; Alex Bregman is a monster. A walk and two doubles just wasn't good enough for him, so he launched a bomb in top of the ninth inning. That's eight long balls in 24 games. For reference, Carlos Correa hit seven in 29 games for Corpus last year when he went nuts to open the season. Bregman is up to 14 walks against nine strike outs, too. He actually might have more homers than strike outs at some point if this keeps up.

The solid outing from Holmes deserves mention. It was, well, his seventh solid outing in...seven outings. He's allowed no more than three earned runs in any game he's pitched this year, and has a 3.69 ERA, 2.3 BB/9 and 10.5 K/9 to show for it. The three walks tonight were uncharacteristic, too; he had just five in six games entering this one.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 19-0 win over Lake Elsinore (SDP)

-> Nick Tanielu: 4-for-4, BB, 2B, SB, 2 RBI, 3 R
-> Kristian Trompiz: 4-for-4, BB, 2B, RBI, 2 R
-> Jamie Ritchie: 4-for-5, BB, GRAND SLAM, 3 R, 6 RBI
-> Ramon Laureano: 3-for-5, BB, 2 SB, 4 R
-> Alejandro Garcia: 3-for-6, R
-> Bryan Muniz: 2-for-5, BB, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
-> Drew Ferguson: 2-for-6, R, 2 2B, 5 RBI
-> Luis Reynoso: 1-for-5, RBI, 2 R
-> Richard Gonzalez: 0-for-4, BB, RBI, R

SP Rogelio Armenteros: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 K (win)
RP Ryan Thompson: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K
RP Eric Peterson: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K

See, what did I tell you? Look how bad the offense is down in the lower levels...

*cough* Have I mentioned how little power Kyle Tucker has been showing? *cough cough*

So, okay showing here. 19 runs in the first four innings usually works. 23 hits, six walks, just four strike outs for the JetHawks.

Tanielu is just scalding hot. Hotter than Bregman or anyone else in the system. He's now 27-for-59 (.458) during the month of May. And April was no slouch show at .301. He's now hitting .366 on the season with an OPS over .900. His profile has always been a little Altuve-ish (well, pre-2016 Altuve); good average, not a ton of walks, not a ton of strike outs, a little pop, some steals...he's similar, overall. Of course, Altuve is a freak. Tanielu will have to prove it at each level. He hasn't disproved it yet, though.

Laureano is another interesting, under-appreciated infielder. The average isn't special and he strikes out, but the walk rate was big last year and has been downright-titanic this season. Some doubles power, too. Fontana walks a little more (of course, he walks more than everyone) and might be a hair better hitter, but Laureano can really run (14-for-16 SB this year and now 36-for-41 career). 14 walks in his last nine games, and just seven strike outs. I mean, there's a little something here. I want to see what he does in Double-A, whenever he makes it there.

Eighth homer of Ritchie's career and it's a slammer. He hasn't been hitting much this year, though this single game will bring the average up to .260. The walks have been there, though; 20 in 28 games. He only needs to hit a little bit.

Armenteros is waiving the red "breakout" flag at this point. If he keeps this up, he'll become a pretty good prospect. Four games each with Quad Cities and Lancaster now; combining the eight, he owns a 2.39 ERA, 2.6 BB/9 and 9.8 K/9. Five outs on the ground against one in the air. Considering he'd walked 11 batters in his last four games, the zero walks tonight might be the best aspect. Just a gem.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: Off Night

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Tommy Shirley vs. Dillon Overton
AA: Francis Martes vs. Luis Diaz
A+: Trent Thornton vs. TBD
A-: TBD vs. Zack Littell