Astros Prospect Report: Games of May 24, 2017

AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 5-3 loss to Tacoma (SEA)

-> Tyler White: 3-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI

-> Tony Kemp: 2-for-4, 2B, SB, 2 R

-> A.J. Reed: 1-for-3, BB, 2B

-> Derek Fisher: 1-for-3, BB

-> Colin Moran: 0-for-3, RBI

-> Eduardo de Oleo: 1-for-4, 2B

-> Jon Kemmer: 1-for-4, SB

-> Preston Tucker: 1-for-4

SP Trent Thornton: 4.0 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K

RP Aaron West: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K

RP Reymin Guduan: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

RP Kevin Comer: 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K (loss)

RP Dayan Diaz: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Okay so...Tyler White was the starting shortstop in this game.

A decent bounce-back outing here for Thornton after getting hammered for nine earned runs in his last game. It should be noted that he had allowed just one earned through four innings, but in the fifth he was pulled after a Kemp error, and Aaron West allowed both inherited runners to score. So the outing was really a little better than it looks. Combined between Double-A and Triple-A, he has a 1.1 BB.9 and a K/BB ratio of 6.8. A few rough outings have made the ERA elevated. He'll have to show he can limit that, as a guy with his stuff will need to live on the edges and be careful. The great peripherals give you hope in that level of command developing consistently.

I'm not sure what to make of White. The average is decent, but everything else has fallen off. There seems to be a trend with our hitters recently; guys have a level of success, go to the Majors, fall apart, and then can't even find success in the minors again, at least not at the same level as before the call-up. Are they working on things and that leads to the drop off? Impossible to tell. But it's worrying. A year ago, we wondered if we'd be able to fit everyone in the lineup; now we're discussing wheither Marwin Gonzalez is the best option for our starting first baseman right now.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: Doubleheader vs. Springfield (STL)

Game One: 3-2 loss

-> Jamie Ritchie: 2-for-3, BB

-> Drew Ferguson: 1-for-2, HR, RBI, 2 BB, 2 R

-> J.D. Davis: 1-for-3, BB, RBI

-> Ramon Laureano: 1-for-4

-> Jack Mayfield: 1-for-4

-> Bryan Muniz: 1-for-4

-> Antonio Nunez: 0-for-2, BB

SP Alex Winkelman: 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 5 K

RP Andrew Thome: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 K (blown save, loss)

Game Two: 5-3 win

-> Bobby Boyd: 3-for-3, 2 2B, 2 R

-> Drew Ferguson: 2-for-3, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R

-> Garrett Stubbs: 2-for-4, 2 RBI

-> Trent Woodward: 1-for-2, BB, RBI

-> Antonio Nunez: 1-for-2, BB

-> Jack Mayfield: 1-for-3, R

-> Ramon Laureano: 0-for-2, BB

SP Yohan Ramirez: 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K

RP Sean Stutzman: 2.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K (win)

Ferguson might have the best ratio of performance against buzz of any guy in our system right now. He's simply done nothing but hit and yet no one knows who he is or what to make of him. After these games, he's batting .323/.409/.475 with five long balls. He's also posting a 11.5% walk rate and a 20.3% whiff rate. It's hard to tell how much pop he really has, mostly because his biggest sample was with Lancaster last year, but it certainly looks like double-digit power, if not more. Throw in 20+ stolen base ability, and he might just be a real prospect. The performance is there, for sure.

How about that Double-A debut for Winkelman? Eight outs on the ground against two on the fly as well, so 13-of-16 outs either on strikes or the ground.

Ramirez is a story, too. The kid had never pitched above the GCL, guys. And here's one run in 4+ innings and eight punch outs in Double-A out of nowhere.

Hey, don't look now, but here comes Laureano. He's off the interstate, finally. Small steps. He's hit .293 over his last 12 games.

Meanwhile Stubbs is struggling at the dish, having hit just .235 over his last ten games. You also have to go back to the last day of April for his last home run. He has just ten base hits in the entire month of May.

A+ Buies Creek Astros: 8-3 win over Salem (BOS)

-> Jake Rogers: 3-for-3, 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

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

-> Randy Cesar: 1-for-2, BB, 2 RBI

-> Pat Porter: 1-for-2, BB, RBI, R

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

-> Jason Martin: 1-for-3, 3B, R

-> Anibal Sierra: 0-for-1, BB, R

-> Kyle Tucker: 0-for-3, RBI, R

SP Franklin Perez: 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 K

RP Sebastian Kessay: 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K (win)

Alright, so this was supposed to be a double-header, but not only was the second game rained out, but this one was called after just five innings. No word on another makeup yet (tomorrow is getaway day so they won't do it then) or starting pitchers for tomorrow's normal game, either.

Have a day, Rogers. That makes eight dingers on the year, in just 33 games. His ISO combined between QC and BC is a robust .293, and he's drawn a bunch of walks (14) too. He still clearly has work to do at the plate, but I have to say, he's looked much better than I expected so far this year, and he's already moved up to A-Advanced.

We've had several guys like Straw come through the system in recent years. Nolan Fontana (just called up with the Angels) and Andrew Aplin (just dealt to Seattle) come to mind. Johnny Sewald is another. Like all of them, Straw will have to hit at least some to justify his no-power skillset, but so far, so good. The real test is yet to come in Double and Triple-A.

Eight game hitting streak for Martin, who is on a nice roll. He's honestly been pretty consistent all year; after his first five games were a little rough, he's hit .287 in the 36 since then. Much of it has come in May, as he's batting .338 with a surprising six bombs this month.

Rough outing for Perez, unfortunately. He labored; despite not walking anyone, it took him 47 pitches to get through just those seven outs.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 7-4 loss to Peoria (STL)

-> Marcos Almonte: 4-for-5, RBI, R

-> Taylor Jones: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, R, 2 BB

-> Osvaldo Duarte: 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI

-> Daz Cameron: 1-for-3, SB, R, 2 BB

-> Yordan Alvarez: 0-for-3, 2 BB

-> Ronnie Dawson: 0-for-3, BB, R

SP Carlos Danabria: 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 K (loss)

RP Forrest Whitley: 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K

RP Ronel Blanco: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Whitley has been inconsistent, but wow, has he been overpowering at times. It's pretty clear that his stuff lets him have his way with Low-A hitters on the regular, even if he's not consistently dominant yet this early into his career. Four more punchouts tonight makes 35 in just 22.2 innings (13.9 K/9). The walks were uncharacteristic, but he's still whiffed five batters for every one he's walked.

Almonte has eight hits in the last three games, one of them a homer. That's six homers in 27 games now, and it's surprising because he entered the year with just nine as a pro to his name. If the power increas is (somewhat) real, it could be a turning point for him; he's always shown a small amount of hitting talent and a solid eye at the plate, and a bit more power could make him interesting as an up-the-middle player.

Alvarez's hitting streak is snapped at seven, but his on-base streak continues to eight in a row.

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Mike Hauschild vs. Andrew Moore

AA: Rogelio Armenteros vs. Dakota Hudson

A+: TBD vs. TBD

A-: Enoli Paredes vs. Bryan Dobzanski