Astros Prospect Report: Games of July 25th, 2017

GCL Astros (14-10) 6, GCL Nationals (16-9) 8

The Astros’ GCL club was able to muster plenty of offense against Nationals pitching, including notable starter Wil Crowe, but still fell by two runs as three errors and two home runs allowed proved to be too much to overcome. Carlos Machado, a 19-year-old outfielder out of Maracaibo, continued his strong start in the GCL with a single, triple and home run in four trips. Machado hit solidly in the GCL last year, but showed little power; however, in 2017, he already has nine extra base hits in 88 plate appearances. Teenage infielder Ozziel Sanchez-galan, who has done a reasonably good job at the dish since coming stateside, entered the game for Richard Slenker and went 2 for 2 to raise his average to .280.

Notable Lines

Angel Tejeda- 2 for 4, 2B

Carlos Machado- 3 for 4, 3B, HR

Ozziel Sanchez-galan- 2 for 2

Juan Pablo Lopez- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HRA

Greeneville (17-14) 15, Princeton (15-18) 2

The teams each got one home run in this contest, funnily enough from players named Shaver and Hair respectively, but in every other statistical category the G-Stros drubbed the opposing Rays. Center fielder Gilberto Celestino, a talented athlete who is taking on the Appy League at just 18 years old, reached base four times, doubled and stole a bag to pace the offense. Colton Shaver added a double to his homer in a 2 for 5 effort, and 9-hole hitter Jose Benjamin also managed a pair of knocks. Perhaps the biggest performance for Greeneville came from teenage pitcher Humberto Castellanos, who allowed one run over four frames to finish the contest, striking out seven without a walk.

Notable Lines

Gilberto Celestino- 3 for 4, 2B, BB, SB

Colton Shaver- 2 for 5, 2B, HR, K

Joan Mauricio- 1 for 4

Jose Benjamin- 2 for 4

Humberto Castellanos- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K

Tri-City (15-19) 3, Vermont (20-15) 11

The ValleyCats fell short against Greg Deichmann and the Lake Monsters in this one, but managed some good moments on the offensive side. All three of their runs came on solo homers (the team had only four hits overall), all by notable sleeper prospects. Adrian Tovalin picked up his third in Tri-City in just two games, Michael Papierski got his first home run as a professional, and Abraham Toro-Hernandez muscled out his sixth and walked, raising his average to .288. On the mound, the struggles for Astros 2017 third-rounder Tyler Ivey continued, as he was knocked around for five runs and seven hits in just three frames of work.

Notable Lines

JJ Matijevic- 0 for 4, 3 K

Abraham Toro-Hernandez- 1 for 3, HR, BB

Adrian Tovalin- 1 for 4, HR

Michael Papierski- 1 for 3, HR, BB

Jake Adams- 0 for 2, 2 BB, 2 K

Tyler Ivey- 3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, BB, 3 K

Buies Creek (60-42) 3, Winston-Salem (38-63) 1

There were only five hits in this contest, and three of them somehow belonged to Eloy Jimenez and the Dash. In fact, only star center fielder Myles Straw managed hits for the BC Stros, going 2 for 2 with a single, triple, two walks and a pair of stolen bags. Straw has had a very strong season and is displaying fourth outfielder potential thanks to his contact bat, speed, and proclivity for walks. While the 2-9 batters went hitless for Buies Creek, they did cobble together five walks, including two for Randy Cesar. It’s not a total surprise that they couldn’t manage much offense against talented starter Alec Hansen, who went the first six frames for Winston-Salem.

Notable Lines

Myles Straw- 2 for 2, 3B, 2 BB, 2 SB

Yordan Alvarez- 0 for 3, SF, K

Jake Rogers- 0 for 4, K

Randy Cesar- 0 for 1, 2 K

Jorge Alcala- 6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Carlos Sierra- 2.2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 3 K

Corpus Christi (49-53) 5, San Antonio (61-41) 6

The Hooks simply could not overcome a rough start from Yoanys Quiala, who allowed six runs to cross (three earned) in two and a third. Riley Ferrell followed with a strong outing and Brock Dykxhoorn held the Missions without a hit for the games final five innings, but Corpus’ comeback came up just short. Drew Ferguson had a big day with two hits including a homer, and Kyle Tucker made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth with a two run shot that raised his batting average in Double-A to a cool .300. Jason Martin cooled off some with an 0 for 5 day, but remains one of the bigger stories of the second half.

Notable Lines

Drew Ferguson- 2 for 5, HR, 2 K

Kyle Tucker- 1 for 4, HR, K

Jason Martin- 0 for 5, 2 K

Garrett Stubbs- 1 for 3, 2B, BB, K

Riley Ferrell- 1.2 IP, H, K

Brock Dykxhoorn- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Fresno (60-43) 10, New Orleans (40-62) 3

The big story in this contest was slugging third baseman J.D. Davis, who went deep twice while playing in his seventh Triple-A contest. Davis has a long, powerful cut with good bat speed that does lead to some swing and miss, but also plenty of hard contact. The big game brought his average with Fresno to .323, and he has been able to keep his K rate under 25% at each stop this year. With no more Derek Fisher and Colin Moran in Fresno, J.D. Davis and A.J. Reed represent the most interesting names to watch at this point. Starter Trent Thornton managed a quality start in this one, allowing two earned over six and two thirds.

Notable Lines

Tony Kemp- 0 for 5, 2 K

Max Stassi- 1 for 5, K

Preston Tucker- 0 for 2, 3 BB, K

A.J. Reed- 1 for 3, 2 BB, K

J.D. Davis- 2 for 5, 2 HR, 2 K

Trent Thornton- 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HRA