Astros Prospect Report: June 24th, 2016

Rodgers Tosses Another Gem in 2-1 Win

Brady Rodgers continues to shove at the Triple-A level. The ERA is down to 2.83 and his FIP is 2.99 (not adjusted for last nights game). He has a strikeout rate close to 9 K/9 and it's the highest it's ever been in his career outside of a five inning stint at Corpus in 2014. He's doing a lot of this with his curve ball as he's getting a lot whiffs with it. His fastball is still nothing that stands out in the velocity department. He sits 87-92. He fits the profile of a control guy. His walk rate is the lowest it's ever been too at 1.08 (again outside of one game appearances at a level).

Hooks Hit 3 HR's, Lose 8-7

Conrad Gregor, Derek Fisher, and Roberto Pena all hit home runs, but it wasn't enough as Keegan Yuhl and Eric Peterson gave up four runs a piece. I have to give a lot of credit to Teoscar Hernandez. I was really down on him after his poor performance in Corpus last season, but his turn around is amazing. He has his lowest strikeout rate since the DSL at 17.3% and his third highest walk rate (led by 2014 in Lancaster and 2011 in DSL). It's all come at a drop in his power as his ISO is down .132 (lower than last year in Corpus). But, as a CFer with his speed, OBP is very important. He doesn't have to be a big power hitter if he hits like he has and can have that kind of plate discipline. He is four shy of his career high in stolen bases and it's just half way through the season.

Lancaster Falls 5-4

In a rare Cal League occurrence (if anything is actually rare in world of teams scoring 15 runs regularly), the pitcher's hit! Pitcher's don't start hitting until Double-A and that's only in the parks of affiliates in the NL. Well, last night was one of those weird occurrences where catcher Trent Woodward got hit in the head and had to leave the game. The DH was Garrett Stubbs who is the other catcher on the team and had to catching duties forcing the pitchers to hit. Joshua James and Kevin Comer combined to go 0-3 and Comer struck out.

Tucker Steals Two in Second Game Back; Fall 5-2

Kyle Tucker's seems to be just fine after coming back from injury. He stole two bases back to back to essentially turn a single to a triple. In other news, I still believe that Anthony Hermelyn is going to be one of the better catching prospects in the system and he hit a home run. Sure, it's only his second of the season. But, he has a .339 OBP which is third on the active roster.

Jones Homers in 5-2 Win

Taylor Jones hit his second home run which is something you expect out of a guy who stands 6-7 and looks like he should be on a basketball court. He only hit two this year for Gonzaga and now has equaled that in just seven games. We talked about it on the podcast reviewing the draft how the Astros have been able to get some power-lite type first baseman and adjust the swing to get some more power and so far so good.

Two notes for the pitching staff. Brett Adcock has been much better than his college numbers would suggest. His issues with walks are very notable (62 in 78 innings this season) but has just two in six inning in pro ball. Small sample size of course, but he looks to be on the right track. I had mentioned that his delivery was inconsistent due to changing in timing of his rotation and push off. Fixing how he pushes off could fix a lot of that and really improve his control. Austin Nicely has three appearances this season. And his third was the one where he finally picked up a strikeout.

Four Run 8th Puts Greeneville on Top 9-8

Big eighth inning! Miguel-Angel Sierra and Bryan De La Cruz both hit big home runs. De La Cruz hit a solo shot but Sierra hit the big three-run homer with two outs. Sierra was the 19th best IFA prospect in 2014 according to Baseball America and he signed for one million. De La Cruz signed in 2013 for $170,000.

DSL Orange Wins 5-2

DSL Blue Wins 7-4