Last year they promoted Stijn van der Meer 3 levels to Hi-A just before they released him. I saw this as a sink-or-swim move. He sank and was released. They also temporarily promoted Josh Rojas to AAA. He swam and is still with the Astros organization. If Bohanek swims, he stays.
Myles Straw laces one to the left field wall for a double. Link to the video is below to prove this actually happened. http://clips.milb.com/milb/2018/05/21/44-546629-2018-05-20/web_cut/milb_2066582983_1000K.mp4
I don’t think that’s what happened. Pretty sure Van Der Meer negotiated his 2017 placement (to a degree) prior to signing out of the draft. Rojas was promoted to AAA last season as a temporary fill in, same as Bohanek. Rojas’ AAA stint had very little bearing on his 2018 placement or overall trajectory. They needed an infielder, and Rojas was a mature, versatile player who they figured wouldn’t embarrass himself. Same for Bohanek.
I don't think Bohanek's promotion is a good sign for him. They could have sent Trompiz or Angarita from BC who both appear to essentially be organizational depth, or used a guy from XST like Matute or whoever else they haven't released yet, but instead they moved Bohanek up, with little concern about ensuring that he gets ABs at a level appropriate for his development. it's kinda of reminiscent of last year when Spencer Johnson got promoted to Fresno and then sent to AA before ultimately being released.
Abdiel Saldaña: 5 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 K Jorge Alcala: 4 IP, H, BB, 7 K After allowing six runs in his first two appearances this season, Alcala has allowed five runs over his last seven outings. Buies Creek topped WInston-Salem 4-1 as Troy Sieber had two RBI singles and Kristian Trompiz had a two-run single. They both went 2-4. Abraham Toro went 2-3 with a double and scored twice.
Cristian Javier continues to mow down the Midwest League: 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 9 K Javier now has 56 strikeouts in 33 innings this season.
He had some really impressive K numbers and a really solid ERA across 3 levels last season as well. His main struggle is the walks, but he's definitely an interesting one to keep an eye on.
15 guys in QC have 10+ k/9, 12 more in BC. So many guys getting tons of strikeouts. A lot of those guys also have walk issues, but it really bodes well for the Astros having a steady supply of upside arms and quality bullpen reinforcements through the next 4-5 years.
Leovanny Rodriguez was dealing today for Quad Cities: 5 IP, 2 H, 9 K Parker Mushinski is in and he's staked to a 3-0 lead
Somewhat oddly, the River Bandits used Luis Garcia for the 9th inning of a 7-0 game. Idk if this is them transitioning him full time into the bp, or just getting work because he hadn't pitched in almost a week for whatever reason. The broadcaster said that Garcia had been worn down after the last few of his starts, so there may be a physical/conditioning issue at play.
Corey Julks went 4-4 today and is having a hot May (890 ops). Julks has 13 SB. Both he and Meyers are high floor guys that feature plus defense at all 3 OF positions, speed, and double digit HR power. High probability of getting to the upper levels and quality everyday player potential.