Astros Prospect Report: Games of June 1, 2016

High A Lancaster: WON 6-1 over the Inland Empire 66ers (LAA)

Beating up on the High-A affiliate of the hapless (in the minors, at the very least) Los Angeles Angels might not be something to beat your chest over, but a win is a win and the pitching was good in this one.

On the offensive side, Johnny Sewald went 3-5 with a pair of doubles to raise his batting average through 39 High-A at bats to .282 and scored two runs.  Garrett Stubbs went 1-4 and continues to be surprisingly good with the bat.  Ramon Laureano went 1-4 with a pair of runs driven in, Brooks Marlow went 2-4 with his first triple of the season, and Jason Martin continued his recent red-hot streak with a 2-4 night to raise his batting average back up to .294 on the season.

On the hill, Rogelio Armenteros hurled five innings of one run (in Lancaster) ball, allowing just four hits and a walk while fanning six.  Dean Deetz and Jacob Dorris combined for four scoreless innings of relief, allowing a total of two hits and one walk while striking out a pair of hitters each.

Box Score:

Low A Quad Cities: LOST 5-4 to the Clinton LumberKings (Game 1)

Kyle Tucker went 1-3 with a single and an RBI and was thrown out stealing for just the fourth time on the season.  It wasn't a terrible day for the Bandits offensively, it just wasn't terribly newsworthy either.  Six total hits in the game, all singles, and three walks taken, amounting to four runs.

Both pitchers in this one deserve recognition, however, and for different reasons.

Albert Abreu, highly touted right-handed pitching prospect, has struggled in 2016 and continued the discomfiting trend in this one.  He couldn't escape the third inning and allowed five earned runs - despite allowing only three hits and striking out four in two and two-thirds innings pitched - by virtue of handing out walks (five in the short apearance) like a pediatrician hands out lollipops.  Or stickers.  Or maybe stamps.

You get the idea.  Not very good at all...though clearly he's still missing bats.  Just seems he's struggling more with his command.

The other pitcher, 2015 draft pick (and former Alex Bregman teammate, at LSU) Zac Person continued his utter dominance of Midwest League hitters with a three and a third innings pitched-perforance in which he allowed just two hits, no walks, and struck out four batters.  The 23-year-old's season ERA has now fallen to 1.46 on the year, and it seems likely that a call to Lancaster is imminent - especially with the draft approaching, the short seasons gearing up to start, and the fresh meat likely to be injected into the season for Quad Cities as a result relatively soon.

Box Score:

Low A Quad Cities: LOST 6-4 to the Clinton LumberKings (Game 2)

Getting swept out of a double header can be frustrating, for both fans and players.  It takes quite a commitment of time to sit through a double header from a fan's perspective, even when the games are shortened like these two games were, and it is very taxing to play in from a player's perspective.  No one has ever had a quote about playing in double headers that says "Hey, let's LOSE two" after all.  And yet, lose two is what the River Bandits did this day.

Kyle Tucker had another single in this one (and another caught stealing immediately afterwards, his second of the day and fifth on the season) and also plated another run, this time with a sacrifice fly.  Myles Straw and Osvaldo Duarte were each 2-4 on the day, and each did it by virtue of logging a single and a triple in the contest.

On the bump, Makay Nelson was forgettable in two and two thirds innings pitched.  He allowed six runs (three earned) on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.  Adam Whitt, on the other hand, was dynamic in three and a third innings pitched, holding the opposition scoreless on just two hits, both singles, and no walks while striking out five LumberKings.

Box Score: