Astros Prospect Report: Games of May 17, 2017

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 6-5 win over Nashville (OAK)

-> Derek Fisher: 3-for-5, SB, RBI, 2 2B

-> Colin Moran: 2-for-3, BB, RBI, 2 2B

-> A.J. Reed: 2-for-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

-> Jon Kemmer: 2-for-4, solo HR

-> Tyler White: 1-for-4, R

-> Tony Kemp: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB

-> Reid Brignac: 0-for-3, RBI

-> Preston Tucker: 0-for-4, BB, R

SP David Paulino: 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K

RP Ashur Tolliver: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

RP Jordan Jankowski: 1.0 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K

RP Dayan Diaz: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K (win)

Fisher is sitting pretty with a .325/.387/.563 line and 20 extra-base knocks. A few days ago, some of the writers discussed a bit about what to do with him. How does he fit into this organization's future, with Springer and Reddick around as regulars, as well as Aoki, Marisnick, and perhaps Kyle Tucker sooner rather than later? Do they keep him or use him at the deadline? He has his warts, but you wonder if teams like Pittsburgh or Kansas City throw in the towel, how much would they like to get a guy with his upside that they can virtually immediately plug into their outfield?

Well, Moran isn't done quite yet, is he? He currently owns a 13.4% walk rate against a 14.3% strike out rate...oh, and a .237 ISO. Patience and power at the same time, what we've always hoped for. With Bregman and Correa absolutely being the left side of the present and future, where does Moran play? Perhaps another strong two months would be enough for some team to want him in a deal. He seems even more blocked than Fisher might be.

Nice game from Reed, but am I the only one worried? After a taste of the Majors, I really wanted to see him go back to Triple-A and crush it. He's drawing walks, but the power is...good, not great. And then there's that 27.3% strike out rate, nearly a 5% jump from Triple-A last year. His BAbip is over .380 but he's hitting under .280. I can't help but be concerned that The Curse of the Puma lives. Not only did we trade him, but where? To the dang Yankees, ya'll. We'll never have another great slugging first baseman until we break the curse. Quick, someone go to the Houston Zoo and offer a giant box of Twinkies to the cougar.

All of Paulino's runs came on a pair of long balls; aside from those, he was pretty sharp, with a WHIP under one.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 5-3 loss to San Antonio (SDP)

-> Antonio Nunez: 3-for-4, RBI

-> J.D. Davis: 3-for-5, solo HR

-> Trent Woodward: 2-for-4

-> Jamie Ritchie: 1-for-3, BB

-> Alejandro Garcia: 1-for-4, R

-> Kristian Trompiz: 1-for-4, RBI

-> Drew Ferguson: 1-for-5

-> Jon Singleton: 0-for-4, BB, R

-> Ramon Laureano: 0-for-4, BB

SP Kent Emanuel: 5.1 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 8 H, 1 BB, 6 K (loss)

RP Ryan Thompson: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K

RP Sean Stutzman: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K

Davis is on a solid run, hitting .293 in his last ten games and bashing four of his now nine long balls during that stretch. Though it's increased a bit over recent games, his strike out rate remains a solid 19.0%, down an impressive 7.5% from last season.

Another polished talent that Houston has nabbed from the Oklahoma region in recent drafts, Nunez is showing some upside. He's hitting .304/.391/.392 and showing solid strike out and walk rates.

If only fellow Oklahoma-area product Laureano could get it going again. This might be the biggest prospect collapse I've seen since starting to follow this system. I can't recall a guy having so much success one year, then returning to that same level and utterly coming unglued. Hopefully it's just a bad six weeks, but wow.

A+ Buies Creek Astros: 6-2 win over Myrtle Beach (CHC)

-> Kyle Tucker: 2-for-4, BB, 3 RBI

-> Myles Straw: 2-for-4, 2 BB

-> Arturo Michelena: 1-for-3, SB, 2 R

-> Pat Porter: 1-for-3, BB

-> Jake Rogers: 1-for-4, BB, 3B, 2 RBI

-> Ryne Birk: 1-for-5, BB, 2 R

-> Spencer Johnson: 1-for-5, 2B, R

-> Anibal Sierra: 1-for-5, 2B, R

-> Dexture McCall: 0-for-3, BB, RBI

SP Brett Adcock: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K (win)

RP Alex Winkelman: 3.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K

RP Howie Brey: 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Not the sharpest outing for Adcock, but a big rebound nonetheless. His ERA is ugly at 9.72, but that's almost cut in half from his seven-run disaster last time out. Outside of that outing, his ERA is 2.20. He continues to miss bats; his K/9 sits at a cool 12.4.

Somewhat similar news for Winkelman; seven base runners on him in less than four innings isn't amazing, but he worked around them, and seven of the ten outs on strikes. Two more came on the ground, FYI. He owns a 12.8 K/9 himself, against a 1.7 BB/9. He's walked six all season, and four of those have come in his last two games.

Tucker has failed to reach via hit or walk in just four of his 37 games. He's batting .351 over his last ten and .304/.396/.622 overall, with 23 extra-base hits and 12 steals. He has just as many walks as he does strike outs in his last 12 games.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 6-3 win over Burlington (LAA)

-> Carmen Benedetti: 2-for-3, BB, 2B, RBI, R

-> Raymond Henderson: 2-for-4, RBI, R

-> Osvaldo Duarte: 2-for-4, 2 SB, 2 RBI

-> Daz Cameron: 1-for-4, R

-> Yordan Alvarez: 1-for-4, R

-> Marcos Almonte: 1-for-4, R

-> Taylor Jones: 0-for-2, RBI, R

-> Wander Franco: 0-for-3, RBI

SP Gabriel Valdez: 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 7 K

RP Cionel Perez: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 K (win)

RP Erasmo Pinales: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K (save)

A sweep for QC here, and their record is back over .500 by a game.

Well, three games is hardly enough to talk about, but how nice to see a strong start for Alvarez. He's basically one month shy of his 20th birthday tomorrow, so there's plenty of time to let him develop. Possible first baseman of the future.

A passable outing for Perez in what has, so far, been an up-and-down campaign for him. He's definitely raw and will need time to work out the kinks.

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Trent Thornton vs. Daniel Mengden

AA: Dean Deetz vs. Kyle Lloyd

A+: Matt Bower vs. TBD

A-: Forrest Whitley vs. Cody Taylor