Astros Prospect Report: Games of May 2nd

It was a 2-2 night for Astros affiliates on Tuesday night- while the big league club was winning a thriller at home against the Rangers, all four full-season farm teams were in action with Jake Rogers and Kevin Comer continuing to be early-season stories.

Quad Cities (13-10) 9, Fort Wayne (9-16) 5

The heart of the order was the story last night for the River Bandits, as 4-6 hitters Randy Cesar, Rodrigo Ayarza and Jake Rodgers combined to go 6 for 10 with four extra-base hits. Ayarza had his fourth home run of the young season in the contest and Rogers added his fifth, continuing what has been a surprisingly effective start at the plate for the third-round catcher. A Texas native best known for his plus defense, he is off to a very strong start with the bat with Quad Cities hitting for some average and power. He is now slashing .284/.385/.627 with five dingers and twelve XBH over all. He has likely improved his stock more than any other Astros prospect in the early going.

Notable Lines

Ronnie Dawson: 1 for 3, 2B, BB, K

Stephen Wrenn: 2 for 5, K

Randy Cesar: 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB, K

Jake Rogers: 3 for 5, 2B, HR

Rodrigo Ayarza: 1 for 2, HR

Daz Cameron: 0 for 4, 3 K

Enoli Paredes: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 8 K

Buies Creek (18-8) 4, Carolina (12-15) 3 (12)

The Carolina Mudcats are pretty stacked for a high-A club, featuring notable prospects Lucas Erceg, Jacob Gatewood, Corey Ray and Isan Diaz. On Tuesday, the BC Stros were able to keep the Mudcats potent offense in check to a degree and eventually won the game on a 12th inning jack by uberprospect Kyle Tucker, his 4th of the year. No players had multi-hit games for Buies Creek in the extra-inning affair, though Jason Martin did reach three times thanks to a pair of walks. Carlos Sierra, a 22-year old prospect from Cuba, came out of the pen to throw three clean innings, lowering his season ERA to 2.45 in 16.2 IP.

Notable Lines

Jason Martin: 1 for 4, 2 BB

Myles Straw: 1 for 5, BB, K

Kyle Tucker: 1 for 4, HR, BB, 3 K

Pat Porter: 1 for 4, 2B, BB, K

Carlos Sierra: 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Corpus Christi (15-10) 1, Midland (12-13) 6

Rogelio Armenteros, one of the Astros better under-the-radar prospects, had a weak start on Tuesday for Corpus, though he was able to limit the damage to just two runs despite an overall ugly line. Armenteros made it through just 3.2 IP, allowing seven hits and walking two while striking out three. Though he has struggled to go deep into games thus far, his stuff is working with consistency and he has a pretty 30/9 K/BB in 23 IP to go with his 1.96 ERA. Only Bryan Muniz had a multi-hit night for Corpus, who managed just seven hits as a team in the contest, though Garrett Stubbs was able to extend his hitting streak to six games with a 1 for 4 night, moving his average to .333. Stubbs missed the first part of the season and was playing in just his twelfth game this year. He will not figure into the team’s plans in 2017 barring injuries, but he has done nothing but mash professional pitching and there is a lot to be excited about at the catcher position in the system.

Notable Lines

Ramon Laureano: 0 for 4

Jon Singleton: 1 for 3, 2B, BB, K

Garrett Stubbs: 1 for 4, 2B, K

Bryan Muniz: 2 for 4, 2 K

Rogelio Armenteros: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Fresno (11-14) 4, Sacramento (9-16) 5

The Grizz ultimately couldn’t overcome a poor start from Brian Holmes and fell in a close contest. Derek Fisher was the top offensive performer for Fresno racking up two hits to raise his average to .303, matching AJ Reed’s mark. The top performance came from reliever Kevin Comer, who is off to an outstanding start to 2017. A nondescript prospect as a starter, Comer has a 18/3 K/BB ratio in 15.2 IP for Fresno so far and could find himself in the majors soon if he continues to perform similarly.

Notable Lines

Jon Kemmer: 0 for 4, BB, K

Preston Tucker: 0 for 5, K

Derek Fisher: 2 for 5, BB, K

Tyler White: 3 for 4, BB

AJ Reed: 1 for 4, 2 K

Kevin Comer: 1.2 IP, H, BB, 3 K