Astros Prospect Report: Games of July 25, 2016

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 7-3 win over Albuquerque (COL)

-> A.J. Reed: 3-for-4, HR, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
-> Tyler White: 2-for-3, BB, 2 R
-> Tyler Heineman: 2-for-4, RBI, R
-> Jon Kemmer: 1-for-3, R
-> Teoscar Hernandez: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Andrew Aplin: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Jon Singleton: 0-for-3, BB, R

SP Joe Musgrove: 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 7 K (win)
RP Josh Fields: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RP Kevin Chapman: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Five hits in nine AB for Reed since rejoining Fresno. Let's hope he's wiser and more dedicated after having his eyes opened in the Majors. He has 12 long balls in 62 games for the Grizzlies.

White has been tailing off just a bit recently, but is still hitting .290/.358/.597 on the season with 11 long balls in just 32 games.

Four-straight good games for Musgrove after his three-game rough patch. During the last four he's posted a 1.80 ERA in 25 innings of work. His K/BB ratio during those games is 14.5 for goodness sake. Nine outs on the ground against just one on the fly tonight. In other words, Joe Musgrove is bleepin' back, ya'll.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 10-4 loss to San Antonio (SDP)

-> Danry Vasquez: 2-for-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
-> Ramon Laureano: 1-for-3, 3B, RBI
-> J.D. Davis: 1-for-3, 2B, R
-> Nick Tanielu: 1-for-3
-> Derek Fisher: 1-for-4, solo HR
-> James Ramsay: 1-for-4

SP Cy Sneed: 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 3 K (loss)
RP Albert Minnis: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K
RP Michael Freeman: 1.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K

Woo, Sneed's season has taken a sharp downturn. In his last two outings, he's coughed up 15 earned runs in just five total innings, sending his ERA from 3.62 up to 5.18 in less than two weeks. Three long balls sunk him in this game (five of the seven runs on those). That's typically not a sustainable thing. Could just be a freaky bump in the road. We'll see.

Laureano owns a 1.096 OPS four games into his Double-A stint, nice start. Four strike outs, so he's whiffed at about the same rate. Need a bigger sample size, of course.

Stubbs' sample size is a little bigger, though 11 games isn't exactly something to get hot and bothered about. Still, excellent start, .892 OPS, seven walks, and just two punch outs in 11 games. That's all despite an 0-for-4 tonight.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 4-3 loss to Lake Elsinore (SDP)

-> Bobby Boyd: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, R
-> Jamie Ritchie: 1-for-2, BB, R
-> Aaron Mizell: 1-for-3, 2B, R
-> Trent Woodward: 1-for-3, BB
-> Drew Ferguson: 0-for-2, BB, SB
-> Keach Ballard: 0-for-2, BB, RBI
-> Jason Martin: 0-for-4, BB

SP Jose Hernandez: 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 5 K (loss)
RP Jacob Dorris: 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K

After making a complete and utter mockery of the Midwest League for a while (0.60 ERA in his last eight games), Hernandez is tested by the California League for the first time, and has himself a solid game. More solid than even the line tells you; he made it through six innings allowing just one earned run. The other two game as he tried to get through the seventh and just ran out of steam.

Boyd continues to look solid in A-Advanced. He's striking out just a little more recently, but it's not too bad. He's hitting .319 over his last ten game, and is up to .305/.360/.464 on the season. Assume the power isn't legit, but he's a solid centerfielder with some wheels and base-stealing ability.

Ritchie continues to turn his season around. A 1.138 OPS in June has come down a bit, but he's still posting an OPS over .800 in July.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 4-3 loss to Bowling Green (TBR)

-> Arturo Michelena: 2-for-4, 3B
-> Anthony Hermelyn: 1-for-4, RBI, R
-> Randy Cesar: 1-for-4, R
-> Hector Roa: 1-for-4
-> Myles Straw: 1-for-5, RBI
-> Dexture McCall: 0-for-3, BB, R
-> Kyle Tucker: 0-for-3, BB
-> Connor Goedert: 0-for-3, BB

SP Albert Abreu: 3.2 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 1 K (loss)
RP Makay Nelson: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RP Franklin Perez: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Perez has been overshadowed by some other prospects, but he's quietly having a very nice breakout campaign, playing in full-season ball at just 18 years old. He's given up more than three earned runs in just one of his 11 outings, and owns a big 9.8 K/9 to go along with a 2.90 ERA. Despite a few recent control wobbles, his 2.4 BB/9 is more than respectable. Keep this kid on your radar.

After a hot eight-game start in May, Michelena hit just .250 in June and is down now to .186 in July. Strike outs aren't too bad, though, so patience is advisable. Lots of talent, but not a ton of polish at the plate still.

Cesar earned a callup after 30 games with Tri-City, where he hit .389. He's hitting .368 in four games in full-season ball, so it's so far, so good.

SS Tri-City ValleyCats: 13-1 win over Vermont (OAK)

-> Taylor Jones: 3-for-4, BB, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 4 R
-> Ronnie Dawson: 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R
-> Jake Rodgers: 3-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
-> Spencer Johnson: 2-for-5, RBI, 2 2B, 2 R
-> Stephen Wrenn: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, R
-> Ryne Birk: 1-for-3, BB, SB
-> Carmen Benedetti: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB
-> Alexander De Goti: 0-for-3, BB, RBI, R
-> Rodrigo Ayarza: 0-for-4, BB, RBI
-> Tyler Wolfe: 0-for-0, RBI (pinch-hitter)

SP Enrique Chavez: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 K (win)
RP Dustin Hunt: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K (hold)
RP Howie Brey: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Well, that's a butt whuppin'. Great day for a large number of 2016 draftees.

Don't look now, but Rogers is starting to hit a bit. He's hitting .270 over his last ten games, and thanks to a healthy walk rate, owns a .360 OBP on the season. He doesn't strike out a ton, but just hasn't ever been a very accomplished hitter. The Astros will be fine as long as he can hit above the Mendoza line and keep walking.

Speaking of starting to hit, Dawson is hitting .290 over his last ten games. His walk rate has been even more awesome; 22 free passes in 33 games. His OBP is 152 points above his average.

Outside of his last outing, when he allowed three earned runs in five innings, Chavez has been largely spotless. He's allowed just two runs outside of that one game, and owns a 1.41 ERA and an even 3-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio after this outing.

RK Greeneville Astros: 3-2 win over Princeton (TBR)

-> Frankeny Fernandez: 3-for-6, HR, RBI, 2 R
-> Connor MacDonald: 3-for-6, 2B, 2 RBI
-> Miguelangel Sierra: 2-for-4, BB, SB, R
-> Chaz Pal: 2-for-5
-> Gabriel Bracamonte: 1-for-2, SB, 3 BB
-> Abraham Toro-Hernandez: 1-for-5
-> Reiny Beltre: 1-for-5
-> Jonathan Arauz: 0-for-4, BB

SP Carlos Sanabria: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K
RP Carlos Hiraldo: 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K (blown save)
RP Angelo Serrano: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
RP Devin Raftery: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K (win)

Aussie MacDonald is striking out a little too much, and isn't walking a ton, but in 19 games he has 10 extra-base hits and a .243 ISO. It's easy to forget that he's just 20 years old since he's been in the system for a long time now.

Sierra has cooled off a bit after a straight-up ridiculous run. I still don't believe the homers are totally legit, but it's hard to ignore an 18-year-old shortstop with a 1.001 OPS. His strike out rate is still massive, but the talent is inticing.

It's a heck of a cooincidence that there's a catching prospect in our system named "Bracamonte" (correct me if I'm wrong and he really is Javier's son), but he's making a name for himself so far in a small sample. He's hitting .315/.403/.407 in 14 games. Walks, some pop, a few stolen bases, not too many strike outs, and he's a catcher...you couldn't ask for much more so far.

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Cesar Valdez vs. Robert Gsellman
AA: Trent Thornton vs. Seth Simmons
A+: Joshua James vs. Zech Lemond
A-: Off Day
SS: Ryan Hartman vs. Dakota Chalmers
RK: Patrick Sandoval vs. TBD