AAA Fresno Grizzlies: 4-3 loss to Las Vegas (NYM)
-> Colin Walsh: 3-for-4, R
-> Tyler White: 2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
-> Rico Noel: 1-for-4, R
-> Garrett Stubbs: 0-for-2, 2 BB
-> Drew Ferguson: 0-for-2, 2 BB
-> A.J. Reed: 0-for-2, RBI
SP Mike Hauschild: 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K
RP Dayan Diaz: 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K (loss)
RP Jacob Dorris: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Stubbs hasn't hit a ton in his 11 games with Fresno, but he has drawn five walks already, and has whiffed just five times.
More of a vintage Hauschild performance tonight. Eight ground outs to go with those seven punch outs, so 15-of-18 outs not in the air.
White has hit .280 in six games since being sent back to Fresno.
AA Corpus Christi Hooks: Doubleheader vs. Tulsa (LAD)
Game One: 6-1 loss
-> Jason Martin: 2-for-3, 2B
-> Ryne Birk: 1-for-2, 2B, RBI
-> Jamie Ritchie: 0-for-2, BB, R
SP Cionel Perez: 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 K
RP Nick Hernandez: 1.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K (loss)
RP Yoanys Quiala: 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Game Two: 3-1 loss
-> Kyle Tucker: 2-for-3, solo HR
-> Arturo Michelena: 1-for-2
-> Ryne Birk: 1-for-3
-> Carlos Canelon: 1-for-3
-> Jon Singleton: 0-for-2, BB
SP Framber Valdez: 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 5 K (loss)
RP Ralph Garza: 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
No indication I can find of an injury to Cionel; he was at 34 pitches and had just allowed two singles and then two walks in a row (the last one walking in a run) so they probably just got him out of there to save him and his arm.
Nick Hernandez, whew. Four long balls in less than two innings. Hang with 'em.
Quiala was the bright spot in game one. Eight-of-11 outs on strikes and the ground. His outings are usually never much more than three or four innings, so I'm not sure if they're just being cautious or if he's thought of as more of a long relief-type. He's not that young at 23 years old.
Tucker has been slumping, no two ways about it. This was his first homer since July 25, in fact. May this be the early signs of an adjustment and coming hot streak.
A+ Buies Creek Astros: 7-3 win over Lynchburg (CLE)
-> Carmen Benedetti: 3-for-5, 2B, 3B, R, 2 RBI
-> Jake Rogers: 2-for-4, BB, R
-> Yordan Alvarez: 2-for-5, 3B, RBI, 2 R
-> Randy Cesar: 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI
-> Myles Straw: 1-for-4, SB, RBI, 2 BB
-> Alex De Goti: 1-for-4, BB
-> Stephen Wrenn: 1-for-5, BB, R
-> Rodrigo Ayarza: 1-for-5, 3B, RBI, R
SP Abdiel Saldana: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K
RP Justin Ferrell: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RP Brett Adcock: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K
RP Carlos Sierra: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K (win)
After an initially-slow start in A-Advanced, Alvarez is raking again. He's hitting .368/.387/.439 in the month of August. It's not perfect; both his walk rate and his power output haven't risen back to the level they were with QC, so there's work yet to do. On the other hand, his strike out rate has dropped noticeably; from 25.9% with Low-A all the way to 16.1% in 41 games with Buies Creek. It's little wonder that Fangraphs just placed him at #4 on their update Top 10 Astros prospects list yesterday (ahead of Derek Fisher, J.B. Bukauskas, and Daz Cameron, to name a few). Hope the Dodgers are enjoying Josh Fields!
Benedetti is raking, as usual. He's hitting .320/.358/.560 in a 13 game sample with BC. The power is nice, because that's been the knock on him; very talented hitter but just doesn't have the power you want in a corner player. But I'll take that as something to work on in the 12th round. If his bat develops as people think it might, he could be a starter. Think Yuli Gurriel with more walks; he'll have some pop but 15-20 homers is likely the max you could realistically hope for, and that's a best-case outcome.
After a blazing start in May, June was not a great month for Rogers. He started to round back into shape in July, and now he's hitting .279/.415/.488 in August. I remain skeptical that he'll ever hit for significant average at higher levels, but he appears to have the eye for walks and the power to run into some long balls now and then. If you want a Major League comp in terms of offense, maybe Alex Avila with elite catcher defense. That's not a bad ceiling at all.
A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 9-8 win over Peoria (STL)
-> Ronnie Dawson: 2-for-4, BB, HR, SB, R, 2 RBI
-> Luis Payano: 2-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI
-> Chas McCormick: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 R
-> Raymond Henderson: 1-for-2, BB, RBI, R
-> Abraham Toro-Hernandez: 1-for-3, HR, SB, RBI, R, 2 BB
-> Josh Rojas: 1-for-3, BB, 2 R
-> Kristian Trompiz: 1-for-5
-> Wander Franco: 0-for-3, BB, R
-> Daz Cameron: 0-for-4, BB
SP Carlos Sanabria: 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 1 K
RP Salvador Montano: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K (win)
RP Yohan Ramierez: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 5 K (save)
Though Dawson has scuffled recently, it's hard to be too worried when you see 10 walks against nine strike outs in 15 games this month of August. His OBP remains high, and barring a big, late slump, he looks well on-pace to finish the year with both double-digit homers and steals, not to mention 20+ doubles. 50 total extra-base hits is well within reach with a late push.
Toro hasn't destroyed the Midwest League by any means, but he's drawn a ton of walks and posted a .297 ISO in his 20 games with Quad-Cities so far. Because he's showing himself so competent at the plate so soon, I wonder if he's a guy they'll have go to the AFL or a Caribbean league this off-season to continue refining his work behind (and at) the plate.
SS Tri-City ValleyCats: 6-5 loss to Hudson Valley (TBR)
-> Gabriel Bracamonte: 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI
-> J.J. Matijevic: 1-for-4, BB, 2B, 3 R
-> Jonathan Arauz: 1-for-4, BB, RBI
-> Michael Papierski: 1-for-4
-> Bryan De La Cruz: 1-for-5, R
-> Kyle Davis: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB
-> Andy Pineda: 0-for-2, BB
-> Adrian Tovalin: 0-for-3, BB
SP J.B. Bukauskas: 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K
RP Ben Smith: 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
RP Corbin Martin: 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K
RP Brandon Bielak: 2.0 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Lot of higher-end pitching talent here, with Bukauskas, Martin, and Bielak all in the same game.
Bukauskas has looked a tad rusty in his first two outings with Tri-City, understandably so after a long layoff from college games. All told, he's missed bats, but walked some guys, too. No one is expecting anything magical in these last few weeks, though; just getting his feet wet, getting some groundwork instruction, and then an off-season of conditioning for a long professional schedule.
Local boy Martin may be team MVP at this rate. Another solid outing for him; he's allowed just three earned runs in 18.1 innings, while striking out 27 and walking just four. So that's a 1.47 ERA, 13.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. Fully expecting to see him in Quad Cities on opening day next year, and he could be in Double-A at this time in 2018 if everything goes well.
Bielak continues to not show the command problems that may have lowered his draft stock. Just three walks in 17 innings with Tri-City so far, and 6.7 strike outs per walk.
RK Greeneville Astros: Off Night
Today's Scheduled Starters
AAA: Rogelio Armenteros vs. TBD
AA: Forrest Whitley vs. Mitchell White
A+: Hector Perez vs. Tanner Tully
A-: Ronel Blanco vs. Austin Warner
SS: Tyler Ivey vs. TBD
RK: Doubleheader
-> Game One: Hansel Paulino vs. Deivi Garcia
-> Game Two: TBD vs. TBD