What’s weird is that they already had an open spot on the 40 man. Now they have 2 spots. I suspect they thought the timing was right to try to slip him through waivers, but maybe they really do have 2 pending moves coming up soon.
I think that most likely, we see only one move, and Luhnow wanted to keep an open spot just in case. He typically likes to have an open spot on the 40-man, and usually he clears a spot before a call up, like he did before calling up Tucker (he traded away Hoyt).
Jack Mayfield with a triple and a HR tonight. Taking out May (when I believe he was hurt), he’s had a really good consistent season, with his ops in April, June, and July all between 768 and 772. He will play in the majors; probably won’t have a long career given he is about to turn 28, but ability to play all across the infield, enough power to hit 15 HR in a season...he’s got value.
There were reports at the time that the Astros thought he would lose his speed as he filled out and that he wouldn’t be able to stay in centerfield.
Added a 2 RBI double. A single away from the cycle, but since it's the 8th inning it's unlikely he even gets a chance.
I'm really happy for Stassi this year. I have a personal story about his mother. He's from the same town where my grandad retired in the service in California. When my grandad was diagnosed with cancer a few years back, Stassi's mom was my grandad's nurse during his treatment. I was there when he was first going through treatment and she was so caring. When she found out I was from Houston, she stated that she now roots for the Astros. She was very humble in saying that she has a son who plays in their minor league. She mentioned that I may not know who he was but when I told her I did, she was so delighted to know. It was really cool to see her face light up. She was just an amazing human being. That whole town roots for him in that area and it's really cool to see.
Hansen has been lights out, which really isn't that surprising for a guy who was good as a reliever in the big 12. It is encouraging that he's maintained basically the same K and BB rates working almost exclusively 2-3 inning stints. Freure is odd, because he's nothing like his college stats. He led the NCAA with a 14.57 K/9, but paired it with a 5.37 BB/9. As a pro, the walk rate is down to 2.4/9, but his K rate also dropped to 8.4/9. It also appears they intend to try and develop him as a starter, despite being almost exclusively used as a reliever in college.
J.J. Matijevic just hit a two-run homer (16) for Buies Creek that pushed their lead to 6-1 over Down East in the 11th inning.
Buies Creek pitchers @ Down East Gabriel Valdez: 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 6 K Peter Solomon: 4 IP, 2 H, 6 K Enoli Paredes: 2 IP, K
Wonder when Tyler Ivey gets his promotion to Corpus? He's had one of the most consistently dominant season of any of the full-season guys this year. Reminds me of Corbin with his combination of swing/miss and GB producing skills, although some of Corbin's swing/miss has evaporated in Corpus.
Akeem Bostick followed it up with 4 IP of hitless ball (4 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 6 K) to get the save and drops his ERA to 3.74.
With only 3 weeks left in the minor league season, I doubt we see anymore promotions except fringy guys filling in for injuries. But Ivey and Solomon have looked good in High A and both could start in AA next season. This front office has done an unbelievable job of evaluating amateur pitchers.
I had Bostick pegged as a breakout guy this season but he’s been very inconsistent. He has had flashes though (like last night), and age is still pretty much on his side. Next season will be make or break for him.
Yeah, it's absurd how many quality arms they have stockpiled up and down this system. They must have some of the best amateur scouts in the business and/or they've figured something out in evaluating pitching prospects that no other organization has discovered yet.
Seems to be the way his career has gone to this point though. The only thing he's been consistent at is being inconsistent. He has the ability. He's now done it for 2 outings in a row. But in July he was terrible...after a great June.
He'll be a milb free agent after next season, so he pretty much has to put it together or he'll be gone. I wonder if they'll commit to trying him as a starter, or just see if his stuff plays better as a reliever next year. Last year Whitley made his AA debut on August 18th, with the Astros saying they like to give guys a taste of the level they want to start them at next year, so it's certainly possible they'll move some guys around. Minor League playoffs tend to influence late season promotions as well, but right now, every team except the complex leagues are set to make the playoffs, so that might not be a factor unless Tri City loses hold of their 2 game lead. (Buies Creek and Fresno hold 7 and 6 game leads, with QC and CC already in)
BA released their farm system ranks. Astros at #8 State of the System: The Astros have viewed their prospect depth as a bank to help the big league club, doling out players like Brett Phillips, Teoscar Hernandez, Colin Moran, Albert Abreu, Jorge Guzman, Jorge Alcala and Hector Perez in deals that have brought back big league talent. The Astros’ farm system depth has been significantly diminished by those moves, but Houston has held on to its highest ceiling prospects like Whitley and Tucker. There’s still enough impact here to be a Top 10 system, but after Whitley, Tucker and Alvarez graduate, the system will take a big dip.
