Weekend Leftovers

Better late than never...here's a rundown of the weekend's notable performers.

Corpus Christi's Mitch Einertson hit his fourth home run of the season. We've talked about him here before, but it's good to see his power coming along. He hasn't gotten consistent playing time this season as the Hooks try to find time in the outfield for Drew Locke, Collin DeLome, Einertson and Josh Flores. Still, Einertson's bat has been strong this season and he's batting .300/.378/.650 in 42 plate apperances.

Speaking of DeLome, he was involved in a very strange play this weekend. He bunted a single to the first baseman, who fielded the ball and threw it to the shortstop. Apparently, DeLome tried to take second because the shortstop threw back to the first baseman who threw to the second baseman to tag DeLome out. This is either an overthrow that was backed up by the shortstop or DeLome got caught in a rundown. Now, how you get caught in a rundown between first and second on a bunt single is beyond me. Still made for an interesting box score....DeLome also hit his first triple of the season to lead off Sunday's game.

Shortstop Wladimir Sutil has reached base safely in 12 straight games heading into Monday night's contest. He's been hitless twice during the streak, but walked both times to keep it alive. Sutil has been splitting time at shortstop with regular third baseman Jhon Florentino.

Locke came over from the Dodgers system this off-season and has hit almost since his first time in the lineup. One of the reasons the Hooks are having such a hard time finding at-bats for everyone in the outfield is that Locke is hitting the cover off the ball. He is 23 of 56 this season with three home runs, five doubles, three walks, 19 RBIs, 10 runs scored and 13 strikeouts. He's not really a prospect at 26, but he is having an excellent month of April.

Lancaster's Craig Corrado had the first four hit game in the Astros farm system this season on Friday. In the same game, Clemens the Younger hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th, right before his callup to Corpus Christi. Corrado is batting .227 in 66 at-bats with a slugging percentage of .333 this season. Drew Locke became the second farm hand to collect four hits in a game on Sunday for Corpus.

Lancaster pitcher Chia-Jen Lo continued his torrid strikeout pace, fanning his 20th batter of the season over the weekend. Lo has pitched 12 innings, giving up four hits, two earned runs and walking five. He has three holds and one win to his record. The Taiwanese pitcher was the first player signed by the Astros new Pacific Rim scouting team, headed by former big leaguer and Astro Glen Barker.

Jonathan Gaston has an impressive raw stat line this season, as he hit three home runs in one game earlier this month. However, his adjusted OPS is just .875, which is good but not great. He walks quite a bit, but he also strikes out a ton and his power is probably a bit of a mirage at this point.

Lexington's Kyle Miller is the first farm hand to wear the Golden Sombrero, striking out four times on Sunday.

Uber-teenager Jordan Lyles had an okay fourth start on Sunday, recording a game score of 48. His strikeouts were down from last start, but he still has 20 in 18 innings, which is tied for the best mark in the Astros system.

Jay Austin continues to hit better, as he stole his second base over weekend. Austin is batting 7 for 28 in last eight games, with an OBP of .344. The numbers are not great, but much better than his .175/.242/.211 overall line. Needless to say, he was pretty horrendous early on.

One bright spot in Lexington's order? Outfielder Russell Dixon has only struck out three times in 47 plate appearances. Granted, he's repeating the Sally League this season and is old for the level at 23, but still...

Tomorrow should be a nother two-post day, as I'm interested in doing a hitting profile on someone...maybe Jason Castro.