April's Last Stand

Here's my last recap of April. Round Rock was off last night and Lancaster will be off today.

Houston starter Brian Moehler got absolutely bombed in his appearance with Corpus. He gave up 11 hits and eight runs in 5 innings in his first rehab start with the Hooks. According to the game recap, he started off strong but fell apart late. Maybe he needs to be slotted into a suddenly-thin bullpen when he comes off the DL.

Drew Locke and Collin DeLome continue to mash in Corpus. Jimmy Van Ostrand and Locke both had three hits for the Hooks on Wednesday. Van Ostrand hit two home runs and raised his average to. 408 in 49 at-bats. DeLome has been hitting more line drives, which has raised his average to .289. He's got about the same numbers both at home and on the road, with a little better power in Corpus due to the short right field.

As I mentioned on Wednesday, Jason Castro pinch hit last night a day after getting hit by a pitch. He stayed in the game to catch the last half-inning, which tells me he's feeling fine. T.J. Steele did not play, but that may have just been a routine day off. Jordan Powell was effective out of the 'pen for the JetHawks, pitching a perfect ninth in the loss. Powell has struck out 13 while walking one in 17 1/3 innings this season. His BABiP is a solid .333, so this is a good baseline for his performance. At 24, he's getting old for the California League, but not so much so that he can't develop into a nice prospect.

22-year old Henry Villar struck out eight in 3 2/3 innings for Lexington in his second start of the season. The right-hander has 26 strikeouts this season in five appearances and had a game score of 57 for his start on Wednesday, even though he didn't even finish the ninth.

21-year old catcher Federico Hernandez is hitting .467 in his last four games for Lexington. He's upped his overall average to .245 and has a weighted OBA of .306, which is the third highest on the team. His BABiP is a low right now at .237, so he should get better over time, but right now he's giving Lexington the offense it dearly needs.

That's all for now, as I've got to get my defensive stats ready for tomorrow's unveiling of my Hitter, Pitcher and Defensive Players of the Month for every level of the system! Get excited!