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Astros Prospect Report: Games of May 8, 2016

A mother's love persists even in the face of soul-crushing, mind-numbing, heart-rending systemic days such as these. Happy Mother's Day, everyone - here, have a minor league recap with the system getting outscored 35-10 in three losses.

Tony Kemp is surging.
Tony Kemp is surging.
Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

A mother's love persists even in the face of soul-crushing, mind-numbing, heart-rending systemic days such as these.  Happy Mother's Day, everyone - here, have a minor league recap with the system getting outscored 35-10 in three losses.

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: LOST 9-4 to the El Paso Chihuahuas (SDP)

There was just very, very little to be excited about in this game.  Even James Hoyt had a bad day, getting knocked around the ballpark during his appearance in the eighth inning.  Hoyt gave up four runs, but thanks to an error by Colin Moran (his second of the season) only one of the four was earned.

In a game where James Hoyt struggles, you know there's a good chance the Grizzlies lose.  When James Hoyt struggles, catcher Roberto Pena is the only player to log more than one hit individually, and the only two extra base hits come from (thus-far, in Triple-A) light-hitting Colin Moran and Tony Kemp, it becomes exceedingly likely that the Grizzlies lose.

The Grizzlies lost.

A positive, sort of: Jordan Jankowski gave up a solo home run but was otherwise pretty solid in one inning of work. That should give you an idea about the lack of positives in this game.

For those on prospect watch duty, Colin Moran and Tony Kemp each raised their respective ISO (isolated power) statistics today with doubles.  Kemp added a walk and how now surged past A.J. Reed for second on the team in wRC+ with 129.  Danny Worth, of course, maintains a healthy lead over the rest of the team in hitting.

Box Score:

Fresno Grizzlies
Player Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG*
Eury Perez RF 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .300
Tony Kemp CF 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 .295
Danny Worth 2B 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .365
Matt Duffy 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .134
Colin Moran 3B 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .295
Tyler Heineman DH 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .159
Nolan Fontana SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .195
Roberto Pena C 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .191
Andrew Aplin LF 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .155
Totals 34 4 8 2 0 0 4 3 5 .236
BATTING
2B: Moran (5, Friedrich); Kemp (1, Campos).
TB: Worth; Pena, R 2; Kemp 2; Moran 2; Duffy; Perez, E; Fontana.
RBI: Worth (18); Moran (16); Perez, E (8); Kemp (9).
2-out RBI: Moran; Perez, E; Kemp.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Perez, E 4; Heineman.
Team RISP: 3-for-8.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Kemp (4, 2nd base off Friedrich/Valenzuela).

FIELDING
E: Duffy (4, missed catch); Moran (2, fielding).

El Paso Chihuahuas
Player Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Manuel Margot CF 5 2 2 0 1 0 2 0 2 .269
Carlos Asuaje LF 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .298
James Loney DH 5 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .323
Hunter Renfroe RF 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .299
Casey McElroy 2B 3 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 .396
Diego Goris 3B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .343
Josh Satin 1B 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 .154
Ricardo Valenzuela C 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Nick Noonan SS 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 .308
Totals 35 9 12 4 1 1 9 1 7 .303
BATTING
2B: Loney (6, Peacock); Satin (1, Peacock); Renfroe (12, Peacock); McElroy (6, Hoyt).
3B: Margot (2, Hoyt).
HR: Noonan (1, 7th inning off Jankowski, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Satin 2; McElroy 3; Renfroe 3; Margot 4; Asuaje 2; Loney 2; Goris; Noonan 4.
RBI: Loney (19); McElroy 2 (13); Satin 2 (2); Noonan (14); Margot 2 (14); Asuaje (12).
2-out RBI: Margot 2; Asuaje.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Goris; Margot; Valenzuela.
SAC: Asuaje; Goris.
SF: McElroy.
Team RISP: 5-for-12.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Renfroe (3, 2nd base off Peacock/Pena, R).

FIELDING
E: Noonan (1, throw).
Outfield assists: Renfroe (Worth at 2nd base); Asuaje (Kemp at 3rd base).

Fresno Grizzlies
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA*
Brad Peacock 6.0 7 4 4 0 5 0 3.98
Jordan Jankowski (L, 0-2) 1.0 2 1 1 0 2 1 2.81
James Hoyt 1.0 3 4 1 1 0 0 2.87
Totals 8.0 12 9 6 1 7 1 4.05
El Paso Chihuahuas
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Christian Friedrich 4.2 6 2 2 2 2 0 4.66
Leonel Campos 1.1 2 2 2 1 1 0 4.97
Jose Dominguez (W, 1-1) 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.76
Derek Eitel 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.88
Totals 9.0 8 4 4 3 5 0 5.12
Game Scores: Peacock 47; Friedrich 44.
WP: Hoyt; Campos.
HBP: Heineman (by Friedrich).
Pitches-strikes: Peacock 94-66; Jankowski 18-12; Hoyt 27-16; Friedrich 82-54; Campos 22-13; Dominguez, J 26-16; Eitel 16-9.
Groundouts-flyouts: Peacock 11-1; Jankowski 0-1; Hoyt 4-0; Friedrich 9-0; Campos 2-0; Dominguez, J 3-2; Eitel 2-0.
Batters faced: Peacock 26; Jankowski 5; Hoyt 8; Friedrich 23; Campos 6; Dominguez, J 6; Eitel 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Campos 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Mike Cascioppo. 1B: Anthony Johnson. 3B: Ron Teague.
Weather: 74 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 22 mph, Out to LF.
First pitch: 1:07 PM.
T: 2:44.
Att: 6,115.
Venue: Southwest University Park.
May 8, 2016
* AVG and ERA indicate full-season averages for players and teams.

AA Corpus Christi: LOST 7-4 to the San Antonio Missions (SDP)

There were a few more positives in this game than the Fresno game.

Evan Gattis played Designated Hitter today a day after catching seven innings for the first time since 2014 and had a double and a run scored.  Teoscar Hernandez was 2-4 and hit the ball solidly three of his trips to the plate.  One time it resulted in a loud fly out, but he did manage a rope of a single and his third home run of the season.  He also stole second and third base after his single.  Danry Vasquez had a pair of hits, and Alex Bregman had a walk on the day.

Derek Fisher was the offensive star today, though.  He was 4-4 with a double, two singles, and his fourth home run of the season:

Kyle Smith was essentially shelled in his five innings of work, giving up two home runs en route to four total earned runs on the day on five hits and a walk.  He honestly wasn't as bad as his final stat line showed for most of his appearance, but the results overall weren't good.

David Paulino was not unhittable today, as he gave up three runs (only one earned, on a home run) with two coming as a result of his own throwing error.  He did, however, show excellent poise and calmness under pressure in working out of trouble and avoiding a bigger inning.  In four innings of relief, Paulino allowed four hits, one of which was a home run, and struck out five batters without allowing a walk.

Box Score:

San Antonio Missions
Player Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG*
Auston Bousfield CF 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .188
Nelson Ward 2B 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Nick Torres LF 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 .242
Nick Schulz DH 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .214
Yeison Asencio RF 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
Taylor Lindsey 1B 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .256
Gabriel Quintana 3B 3 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 .237
Ryan Miller C 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .265
Chase Jensen SS 4 1 2 0 0 1 4 0 0 .095
Totals 35 7 9 1 0 3 7 1 10 .233
BATTING
2B: Schulz (1, Smith, K).
HR: Quintana (3, 2nd inning off Smith, K, 1 on, 2 out); Jensen (1, 5th inning off Smith, K, 1 on, 1 out); Torres, N (3, 8th inning off Paulino, D, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Asencio 2; Torres, N 4; Quintana 4; Ward 2; Schulz 2; Jensen 5.
RBI: Quintana 2 (14); Jensen 4 (4); Torres, N (12).
2-out RBI: Quintana 2; Torres, N; Jensen 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Bousfield.
SAC: Quintana.
Team RISP: 2-for-6.
Team LOB: 3.

BASERUNNING
SB: Jensen (1, 2nd base off Paulino, D/Gonzalez, A).
CS: Ward (2, 2nd base by Smith, K/Gonzalez, A).

FIELDING
E: Jensen (1, throw).
DP: 3 (Quintana-Ward-Lindsey; Jensen-Ward-Lindsey; Jester-Ward-Jensen-Lindsey).

Corpus Christi Hooks
Player Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Teoscar Hernandez CF 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 .268
Alex Bregman SS 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .317
Chase McDonald 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .235
Evan Gattis DH 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 .364
Derek Fisher RF 4 2 4 1 0 1 2 0 0 .231
J.D. Davis 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .179
Danry Vasquez LF 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .202
Mott Hyde 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .171
Alfredo Gonzalez C 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .092
Totals 34 4 10 2 0 2 4 2 7 .206
BATTING
2B: Fisher (6, Castillo, F); Gattis (2, Cimber).
HR: Hernandez, T (3, 1st inning off Castillo, F, 0 on, 0 out); Fisher (4, 6th inning off Castillo, F, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Gonzalez, A; Gattis 2; Hernandez, T 5; Vasquez, D 2; Fisher 8.
RBI: Hernandez, T (8); Vasquez, D (5); Fisher 2 (16).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gonzalez, A; Hernandez, T 2; Bregman.
GIDP: McDonald; Davis, J; Gonzalez, A.
Team RISP: 2-for-8.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: Fisher (3, 2nd base off Castillo, F/Miller, R); Hernandez, T 2 (9, 2nd base off Castillo, F/Miller, R, 3rd base off Castillo, F/Miller, R).
CS: Vasquez, D (1, 2nd base by Castillo, F/Miller, R).

FIELDING
E: Paulino, D (1, throw).

San Antonio Missions
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA*
Fabio Castillo (W, 3-4) 5.1 6 3 3 2 5 2 4.38
Adam Cimber (H, 1) 2.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 2.25
Jason Jester (S, 4) 1.2 2 0 0 0 1 0 4.50
Totals 9.0 10 4 4 2 7 2 5.34
Corpus Christi Hooks
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Kyle Smith (L, 0-4) 5.0 5 4 4 1 5 2 4.24
David Paulino 4.0 4 3 1 0 5 1 2.08
Totals 9.0 9 7 5 1 10 3 3.60
Game Scores: Castillo, F 47; Smith, K 45.
Pitches-strikes: Castillo, F 85-50; Cimber 24-20; Jester 19-11; Smith, K 61-42; Paulino, D 64-44.
Groundouts-flyouts: Castillo, F 3-5; Cimber 1-0; Jester 2-0; Smith, K 4-1; Paulino, D 5-1.
Batters faced: Castillo, F 23; Cimber 8; Jester 5; Smith, K 20; Paulino, D 17.
Inherited runners-scored: Jester 1-1.
Umpires: HP: Nate Tomlinson. 1B: Lee Meyers. 3B: Jeff Gorman.
Weather: 79 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 16 mph, R to L.
First pitch: 2:05 PM.
T: 2:33.
Att: 4,047.
Venue: Whataburger Field.
May 8, 2016
* AVG and ERA indicate full-season averages for players and teams.

High A Lancaster: LOST 19-2 to the Visalia Rawhide (ARI)

If you haven't stopped reading yet, this wouldn't be a bad time to.

No?  Slogging through it with me?  Ok, here we go.

Lancaster got dismantled by Visalia, who scored nineteen runs of their own (including nine unanswered runs to end the game) a day after Lancaster laid their own nineteen run bomb shell down.  All told, the Jethawks lost two of three in this series with final scores in the three game set of 14-7 (loss), 19-5 (win), and 19-2 (loss).  ESPN's Keith Law tweeted on Saturday during Lancaster's win a screenshot of the box score with the caption "Baseball as played on one of Jupiter's small moons."

That pretty much sums up each game of this series.

Ramon Laureano started in center field and notched two hits, including a double, along with a walk and a stolen base. Jason Martin, who has gone completely ice cold after a hot start to fall to a .235/.318/.347 slash line for the season, did manage to pick up a hit - a double - and a walk.  He was also caught stealing for the second time this season.  Stellar defensive catcher Garrett Stubbs had his second straight two-hit game.

Elieser Hernandez, Eric Peterson, Andrew Walter, and Ryan Thompson each took their turn in the woodshed (read: on the mound) in this game, allowing 22 total hits and five walks.  Ten of the 22 hits were extra base hits, including five different home runs to five different Visalia players.

The 'Hawks will have an off day to lick their wounds and try to forget today ever happened.

Box Score:

Visalia Rawhide
Player Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG*
Cody Regis 3B 5 2 2 0 1 0 2 2 0 .271
Colin Bray CF 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 .224
Rudy Flores 1B 6 4 4 2 0 1 4 0 0 .342
Grant Heyman LF 6 2 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 .309
Henry Castillo 2B 6 3 4 0 0 1 3 0 1 .342
Dawel Lugo SS 6 2 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 .295
Victor Reyes RF 5 4 4 1 0 1 3 1 0 .314
Oscar Hernandez C 6 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .286
Ericson Leonora DH 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .233
Totals 50 19 22 4 1 5 18 5 5 .290
BATTING
2B: Flores, R 2 (9, Hernandez, E, Walter, A); Lugo, D (3, Peterson); Reyes, V (3, Thompson).
3B: Regis (3, Peterson).
HR: Flores, R (9, 2nd inning off Hernandez, E, 3 on, 2 out); Heyman (2, 6th inning off Walter, A, 1 on, 0 out); Reyes, V (1, 6th inning off Walter, A, 0 on, 2 out); Castillo, H (4, 8th inning off Walter, A, 1 on, 1 out); Lugo, D (5, 8th inning off Walter, A, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Bray; Hernandez, O 2; Castillo, H 7; Reyes, V 8; Flores, R 9; Regis 4; Lugo, D 7; Heyman 5.
RBI: Heyman 3 (12); Flores, R 4 (32); Castillo, H 3 (24); Reyes, V 3 (13); Regis 2 (13); Lugo, D (14); Leonora (14); Hernandez, O (2).
2-out RBI: Flores, R 4; Regis 2; Reyes, V.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Lugo, D; Bray; Flores, R 2; Regis.
Team RISP: 7-for-19.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
DP: (Lugo, D-Castillo, H-Flores, R).

Lancaster JetHawks
Player Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Jason Martin RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 .235
Garrett Stubbs DH 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
Ramon Laureano CF 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 .289
Alejandro Garcia LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .257
Jamie Ritchie C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .238
Marc Wik SS 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .224
Kristian Trompiz 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .152
Bryan Muniz 1B 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .177
Luis Reynoso 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .200
Totals 32 2 8 3 0 0 2 6 7 .251
BATTING
2B: Laureano (8, Elias); Martin (5, Elias); Muniz (3, Wright, A).
TB: Martin 2; Garcia, Ale; Muniz 2; Stubbs 2; Reynoso, L; Laureano 3.
RBI: Wik (5); Laureano (15).
2-out RBI: Laureano.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Muniz; Garcia, Ale; Stubbs 2.
GIDP: Ritchie.
Team RISP: 2-for-11.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Laureano (8, 2nd base off Elias/Hernandez, O).
CS: Martin (2, 2nd base by Elias/Hernandez, O).

FIELDING
E: Garcia, Ale (1, fielding); Trompiz (6, fielding).
PB: Ritchie (2).

Visalia Rawhide
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA*
Ethan Elias (W, 2-1) 6.0 6 2 2 3 3 0 5.01
Jared Miller 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Blake Perry 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.14
Austin Wright 1.0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0.66
Totals 9.0 8 2 2 6 7 0 4.22
Lancaster JetHawks
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Elieser Hernandez (L, 0-3) 4.1 5 6 6 4 1 1 9.87
Eric Peterson 0.2 5 4 4 0 1 0 5.93
Andrew Walter 2.1 6 6 6 0 2 4 10.13
Ryan Thompson 1.2 6 3 3 1 1 0 8.36
Totals 9.0 22 19 19 5 5 5 5.33
Game Scores: Elias 52; Hernandez, E 26.
WP: Elias.
Pitches-strikes: Elias 94-55; Miller 17-10; Perry, B 11-7; Wright, A 28-13; Hernandez, E 85-51; Peterson 23-13; Walter, A 34-25; Thompson 33-24.
Groundouts-flyouts: Elias 5-3; Miller 1-0; Perry, B 1-0; Wright, A 2-0; Hernandez, E 5-2; Peterson 0-1; Walter, A 1-1; Thompson 4-1.
Batters faced: Elias 25; Miller 3; Perry, B 4; Wright, A 6; Hernandez, E 22; Peterson 7; Walter, A 13; Thompson 13.
Inherited runners-scored: Peterson 1-1.
Umpires: HP: Patrick Sharshel. 1B: Jacob Metz.
Weather: 70 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 19 mph, Out to RF.
First pitch: 2:07 PM.
T: 3:09.
Att: 1,403.
Venue: The Hangar.
May 8, 2016
* AVG and ERA indicate full-season averages for players and teams.