Friday is Here

Before we delve into today's Houston Astros minor league notebook, I'd like to talk about one aspect of this blog. I have to admit something to you, dear readers: frankly, I don't have the time or inclination to follow every player in the Houston organization. I do good work on players who I consider having a shot at reaching the major leagues. If they're not too old for the level, or if they were old when they were drafted, I'll follow their stats. But there are some guys, like Marcos Cabral and Chris Minaker at Lancaster, that I just can't keep up with them.

Those two guys are both regulars for the JetHawks and they both have high averages right now. However, they're both 25 and have been around for a while. At Double-A and Triple-A, I'm a little more lenient, if only because those players are closer to the majors. Players such as John Gall (32) and Drew Locke (26), even though they're older, have a legitimate shot at getting to the pros, even if it's just an injury call-up.

I do factor them in when I say things like 'most hits in the minors' or various other comparisons, but I don't track their game-by-game stats. I just don't have the time, as this is my hobby, not my job. I do, however, have a list of 54 hitters and 47 pitchers that I track every day. Think of this blog as the Top 100 Astros Prospects. Now, with that said, let's get to the notebook:

• Yesterday, Yordanny Ramirez continued his blistering May by hitting a solo home run in his first at-bat against New Orleans. Unfortunately, his day ended there as his admiration for the ball made some people angry. Ramirez was ejected and third baseman Chad Spann took his place in the lineup after the defense was shuffled. Spann, incidentally, is 6 for 16 with three runs scored and two RBIs in May.
  

• Jonathan Gaston has absolutely lit up the Lake Elsinore pitching staff in the past two games. He's now 8 for 8 with a walk, three home runs, a double, a walk, five runs scored and eight RBIs in those games. He's reached base safely in his last nine trips to the plate and is 11 for 22 this month. His teammate, Jack Shuck, is the only other JetHawk player with 11 hits and he has nine more at-bats than Gaston. Did I mention this was away from Lancaster's hitter's haven? Yeah, Gaston's been impressive of late. I'll have a hitting profile of him sometime next week.

• Jose Duran was touched up pretty good in his start for Lancaster. Duran (1-4) gave up five runs and seven hits in 3 innings of work. Duran also struck out one and walked three.

• Earlier this week, Lancaster shook up their roster, placing Jason Dominguez on the DL and bringing in right-hander Philip Rummel, a 31st-round draft pick in 2008 out of Kutztown University. This has been unfortunate for Rummel, as no sane pitcher would want to work in this ballpark. In 5 2/3 innings, Rummel has given up 10 earned runs and 12 hits while striking out three and walking two. His ERA sits at 15.88 while his WHIP is 2.47. Here's hoping his time in California gets more enjoyable.
  

• Jordan Lyles turned in his best start of the season, throwing 7 innings and giving up seven hits and one run. The right-hander struck out eight and walked none, with the game's only run coming from a solo home run Lyles (1-3) gave up in the fourth inning. The loss was the third time in five starts that Lexington has been shut out with Lyles on the mound. In an interesting quirk, Lyles did not face a lefthanded batter in the game, as Rome's entire lineup consisted of rightys. He did give up the most line drives (5) that he has in four starts, but made up for it by his big strikeout total. I talked about the Power/Finesse Ratio yesterday in the profile of Bud Norris. Lyles' PFR sits at 1.34 right now, which isn't great, but shows he has the stuff to be a top-line pitcher.

• The only Lexington player to have a good day at the plate? Second baseman Andrew Simunic was 1 for 3 with a double and a stolen base. Since his callup once Albert Cartwright went on the DL with a broken hand, Simunic is 2 for 9 with a walk and two runs scored.

Bud Norris Pitching Profile

David 'Bud' Norris was drafted with the 23rd pick in the sixth round of the 2006 draft. A right-handed pitcher out of Cal Poly, the 5-foot-11, 200 lb. Norris came in as one in a line of college players the Astros targeted during the previous administration under scouting directors David Lakey and Paul Ricciarini.

At 24, Norris is the youngest Astro on the Round Rock roster and uncharacteristically, has been pushed through the system by the front office. He spent most of his first full season in the minors with the Lexington team, making 22 starts and throwing 96 2/3 innings. His numbers were solid, as he went 117 strikeouts to 41 walks. His ERA was a bit high at 4.75 and his record (2-8) reflected that. He did make one start with High A Salem, winning that by throwing six innings and allowing four hits and one run. His strikeout total ranked him second in the Astros system and put him on the map as a prospect.

In 2008, Norris started off strong at Corpus Christi, going 3-0 in five starts in April. He threw 25 innings and gave up 22 hits and five earned runs, striking out 35 and walking six. He didn't give up a home run all month and had an ERA+ of 198. However, his May was terrible, mainly due to a strained elbow that kept him out of the rotation from May 15 to July 6. He returned to post a season line of 19 starts, 80 innings, 89 hits, 84 strikeouts, 31 walks and an ERA of 4.05. The elbow strain clearly knocked him out of the rhythm he was in during the month of April, as he didn't win a game the rest of the year (3-8).

Norris is undoubtedly the prospect closest to the majors right now, since Felipe Paulino got called up last month. The park Norris is pitching in trends towards the pitcher's favor, with a .94 park factor for runs, .98 for hits, .91 for doubles and .96 for home runs. Still, he's posted a solid like of 29 strikeouts to 15 walks, starting five games and throwing 29 innings while giving up 23 hits and 10 earned runs.

He's posted solid if not spectactular game scores in each of his five starts. He's not dipped below 50 on any of his game scores, but his highest is a 61, which is a bit low. As I mentioned in my profile of Jordan Lyles, the big thing with pitch counts isn't to stick to one number for everyone. It's to gradually ease into bigger numbers, so the young pitcher's arm has a chance to catch up and, hopefully, avoid catastrophic injury. Norris has thrown 85, 95, 106, 121 and 87 pitches in his five starts, so he's gradually thrown more and lengthened out his time on the mound. His strikeout numbers are ridiculous and his Power/Finess Ratio is off the charts at 1.71. As a comparison, the highest starting pitcher's number in the majors right now is Rich Harden with a 1.95. Harden is considered one of the best strikeout pitchers in the league, so it's easy to see why the Astros are considering Norris for the closer role if/when El Papa Grande gets traded/leaves via free agency.

As for Norris' contribution this season, he's got a PRC of 6.79, which is not bad, but is lower than expected because of all the walks he's given up. He's got solid splits and is holding lefties to a .209 batting average this season. His line drive percentage has creeped up in each of his last three starts and Norris has given up four line drives in each of the past two games. His BABiP is a little low at .270, which is not surprising since his DER is at .711 and his team's overall DER is at .644, meaning the team has fielded quite a bit better with Norris on the mound than for the other pitchers on the team. His expected winning percentage means he should have won at least two games by this point, but at 0-2, he's still struggling to pick up victories.

Norris has given up two home runs, but at .62 HR/9 innings, that rate is lower than his career minor league average of .9 HR/9 innings. He's also got a great G/F ratio of 31/22, which explains why his FIP is so close to his real ERA...well, that and the strikeouts.

Overall, Norris is a solid if not spectacular starter. He throws a lot of pitcher per batter (3.92 right now and third highest on the team) which is another reason why he's probably slotted for the bullpen. He's definitely a power arm, though and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a late season cameo with the Astros.

Thursday's Thoughts

Here's a look at what happened on Wednesday night in the Astros minor league system. I'm going to try and get up another pitching profile up later this afternoon.

Jose Capellan had an okay start on Wednesday, especially considering his track record to that point. He allowed four earned runs in five innings, but that actually lowered his ERA to 10.16. Capellan also struck out 5, his most strikeouts in a start this season. Fellow Round Rock pitcher Evan Englebrook pitched another scoreless inning in his second game of the season.

Douglas Arguello turned in the first complete game in the Astros minors this season, scattering seven hits and one earned run in a complete game victory. Arguello (1-1) also struck out six and walked none.

A pair of home runs by Jonathan Fixler and Drew Locke were all the support Arguello needed in the victory. Fixler is hitting .231 in May, but all three of his hits this month have been for extra bases and he has a slugging percentage of .710 on the season. Fixler only has 31 total at-bats this season as he played behind Brian Esposito for most of April, but has gotten most of the starts since Koby Clemens was called up from Lancaster.

Locke's home run was his sixth of the season and the 26-year old has scored 15 runs and driven in 30 RBIs. He's slowed down some in May, hitting .263/.348/.421 in 19 at-bats.

Jonathan Gaston went 5 for 5 with three home runs, seven RBIs and four runs scored. The more impressive thing is he did it on the road in Lake Elsinore. Gaston's home/road splits have been pretty lopsided this season, but the entire team beat up on the Storm on Wednesday as seven of the nine regulars collected multiple hits and everyone in the lineup got at least one.

One of the Lake Elsinore players last night was former Baylor shortstop Beamer Weems. The 2008 eighth-round draft pick by the Padres is hitting .264 in 24 games this season and, if he ever makes it to the majors, is a lock for the Ty Wigginton Memorial All-Stars*.

*Incidentally, this year's winner was a very tough call. Boston's Jonathan Van Every has a a very cool name. Craig Calcaterra over at The Hardball Times said it's a name that some 22-year old literary student would use in his first manuscript. Doesn't make it any less awesome, though. Still, it doesn't hold a candle to Elvis. Elvis Andrus, that is. Andrus is your 2009 TWMAS.

For all the grumbling I do about the Lexington offense, they have four players hitting over .300 in May and two players hitting .400. Kody Hinze is off to a 5 for 14 start with a home run and two doubles. Jay Austin has also brought his overall average up to .222 by hitting .318/.348/.409 in May. The two players who have gone the craziest, though, are Ebert Rosario and Brandon Barnes.

For Barnes, it seems like he's finally tapping into his potential after moving over from the football field. This is his second trip through the Sally League, but with an OPS of 1.223 and five extra-base hits in 25 at-bats this May, he's certainly mashing right now.

We discussed Rosario yesterday, and he didn't slow down last night, going 1 for 3 with a run scored and a strikeout. The only thing that concerns me about Rosario is that he consistently bats eighth. For someone who hits for such a good average and has flashed power, shouldn't his manager be batting him higher?

Finally, some sad, sad news for Houston hitting coach Sean Berry. The former Astros third baseman and minor league coach was diagnosed with kidney cancer on Wednesday. Our best wishes go out to him and his family.

Jordan Lyles Pitching Profile

Jordan Lyles is an 18-year old right-handed pitcher from South Carolina. A three-sport athlete from Hartsville High Schol, Lyles was selected with the 38th overall pick in the supplemental portion of the first round in the 2008 draft.

At 6-foot-4 and 185 lbs., Lyles has a good frame for a pitcher. His delivery is an 'easy' three-quarters motion and is not a violent affair. MLB.com didn't do a scouting report on Lyles before the draft last season, but they did post video of his throwing motion, which faintly reminded me of Scott Elarton.

As for his pitches, I'm not sure exactly what he throws, but I'd wager he has a good four-seam fastball and a slow curve. I'm not sure what his fastball velocity is either. I will suppose, however, that he has a ton of movement on his pitches. Very few of his 27 strikeouts are looking, which means he's missing a ton of bats -- a very good sign.

There is a downside to this, however. Lyles isn't a polished pitcher. Right now, he's more of a thrower. He walks more batters than you'd like, he gives up a ton of line drives and he hits about a batter a game. All this suggests he struggles iwth his control. Whether that's due to his pitches having more movement than he expects or just the batters being more discerning in the minors than in high school, I'm not sure.

The other way this lack of control can hurt his is he doesn't get through many innings. Lyles has not completed the sixth inning in any of his five starts this season and has not faced more than 25 batters in any one start. I do not have his pitch counts*, but because of his large strikeout totals, he has to be running up against a limit earlier than you'd like in his starts.

* I'm reading the Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers right now, and Bill James and Rany Jaziersky/Keith Woolner are arguing over whether high pitch counts are actually detrimental. It's changed my mindset on the subject a bit, as I think the problem lies in not taxing a young arm too early. Pitchers can throw 120-130 pitches, but work up to it. That's why these young guys are being started off slowly. The More You Know!

Lyles has also been fairly unlucky with the defense behind him. His strikeouts help limit the effect of defense, but when the ball has been put in play, his fielder's have had a DER over 100 points lower than Ross Seaton. Lyles has a BABiP of .348, so his numbers should trend down a little. The biggest difference between Seaton's 4-1 record and Lyles 1-2? Seaton has stranded 91.6% of his base runners while Lyles is at 67.3%. Some of that is because Lyles gives up more hits, ubt he's also been hit harder as Lyles has a line drive percentage almost 10 percent higher than Seaton. Also, Lyles has gotten zero run support in two of his five starts, which hurts his record even more.

So what does this all mean? Lyles has been okay this season, but hasn't posted a Game Score of 60 or abvoe yet and his PRC is at 4.40, half as much as Seaton. Lyles does have great natural stuff, however, and if he can refine his breaking pitches or clean up his control, he has the ability to be a top of the rotation starter.

Wednesday's BIG Rundown

One day later than I wanted to get this up, but I hope to get a couple pitching profiles done this afternoon and rush those straight to your eager internet browsers. Here's the news and notes from the past five days in the minors:

• As I mentioned on Monday, Albert Cartwright broke his hand when he was hit by a pitch on Sunday. He'll miss four to six weeks and was replaced on the Lexington roster by 2008 17th-round draft pick Andrew Simunic, a second baseman out of the University of Tennessee. Anyone want to guess who the last middle infielder Houston drafted from Tennessee? Simunic made his debut on Tuesday, going 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
• Outfielder Yordanny Ramirez is just on fire right now. He's 6 for 22 in May with two home runs, two doubles and only one strikeout. He's also driven in six runs and scored four, bringing his season totals to 13 RBIs and 10 runs. He started on Tuesday in center field, as Brian Bogusevic was bumped over to left field for the second time this week.
• One Round Rock player who's scuffling since the calendar flipped is John Gall. The 32-year old slugger has played first and left field for the Express, but is just 1 for 10 this month, dropping his average down to .276. His last two appearances have been as a pinch hitter.
• Lexington's Ebert Rosario is enjoying his May so far, by going 7 for 17 with three home runs and a double. He also had two home runs and five RBIs in one game last weekend. Rosario is hitting .384/.408/.644 this season.
• Corpus Christi outfielder Collin DeLome clubbed his Texas League-leading eighth home run of the season on Tuesday and the Hooks gave starter Casey Hudspeth (2-2) enough run support to pick up his second victory. The 24-year old right-hander pitched 7 innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking two.
• Fellow Hooks' starter Sergio Perez (3-1) also had a nice start to May, pitching six shutout innings in a win over the weekend. Perez gave up eight hits and struck out six while walking one. The outing nearly doubled his season strikeout total and he now has 13 strikeouts and nine walks in 2009.
• 2004 eighth-round draft pick Evan Englebrook was activated to the Round Rock roster on Monday and pitched two innings in his 2009 debut. The 27-year old gave up two hits and a run in two inning and was credited with a blown save.
• The lone good start in the past five days for Lancaster was lost in extra innings. Jeff Icenogle (0-2) pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen. The 25-year old left-hander gave up four hits while striking out two and walking one. His game score of 77 is one of the highest in the Astros farm system this season.
• Lexington's Henry Villar started his second game on Monday as Brad Dydalewicz missed his second straight start with a strained oblique. Villar struck out six in 3 2/3 innings, raising his strikeout total this season to 32. He's giving up a fair number of hits and walks, with a WHIP of 1.47 but his FIP is at 1.62 largely due to all the strikeouts. He's one of the Lexington pitchers that shouldn't have a problem transitioning to the ballpark in Lancaster.

Sick Day

So I took Monday off of work since I've come down with a little bit of a sinus infection and EVERYONE in my office is also sick right now. I just didn't want to contribute to the infection gang.

At any rate, I didn't get a chance to review the first few box scores of May, but Brian McTaggert of the Houston Chronicle did post about various minor league happenings.

Of interest:

-- Third baseman Chris Johnson is at least a week away from returning to the lineup.
-- Catcher Koby Clemens' promotion is not permanent and he'll return to Lancaster once Quintero is healthy.
-- RHP Brad Dydalewicz strained his oblique, which necessitated his move to the 7-day DL. He should be back soon.
-- One of our Players of the Month, second baseman Albert Cartwright, broke his hand over the weekend and is out four to six weeks. That is not good news for the Lexington offense.

I'll definitely be back tomorrow with a roundup of the past four days.

April Players of the Month

Well, I'm still working on my defensive ratings, so they won't come out until some time this weekend. I got behind at some point and it's taking me a long time to catch up on all the box scores I've missed. Still, I have enough hitting and pitching data to give you the first Players of the Month awards from the people at Minor Musings.

Triple-A (Round Rock Express)

(Age, year and round drafted)

Hitter of the Month: Mark Saccomanno, 1B/3B (29, 23rd, 2003) -- Saccomanno is tied for fifth in the PCL in RBIs with 20. He's also hit four home runs, three doubles and a triple. He's batting .282/.305/.500 with an Adjusted OPS of .830 and a weighted OBP of .322. His walks may be down but he's also only struck out four times in 81 at-bats, which is a rare skill in the Astros farm system. His BABiP is at .254, which is lower than his batting average, meaning he's probably going to do better than this next month.

Pitcher of the Month: Bud Norris, RHP (24, 6th, 2006) -- Norris is the youngest member of the Round Rock staff and, since Felipe Paulino left for the big leagues, has been it's most consistent member. Norris has started four games, pitching 23 2/3 innings with 25 strikeouts and 15 walks. He's given up six earned runs for an ERA of 2.28 and a WHIP of 1.39. His FIP (Fielding Independant Pitching) is at 3.66, a shade higher than his overall ERA but not high enough to suggest he's been lucky rather than good to this point. He's thrown 407 pitches and is averaging 3.88 pitcher per batter faced, which is higher than you'd like for a young guy. Still, he's been very efficient and should be a good contributor for the Astros, maybe sometime this summer.

Double-A (Corpus Christi Hooks)

Hitter of the Month: Drew Locke, LF (26, 19th, 2005 by LA Dodgers) -- I have players on the Hooks I like more than Locke, but there's no question he's been the best player on that team through the end of April. He's batting a ridiculous .446 in 74 at-bats, and has 33 hits, five home runs and six doubles. He has some troublesome spots (his age, high strikeout rate, low walk rate) but he put up a monster month. The Round Rock outfielders better watch out, because he could be on the move.

Pitcher of the Month: T.J. Burton, RHP (25, 18th, 2001 by Cleveland) -- I didn't want to put a reliever here, but Burton really has been the best pitcher on the Hooks' staff. In 10 innings, he's allowed just six hits, one earned run while striking out six and walking none. He's also picked up two saves and two holds in seven appearances. In his last three outings, he's thrown less than 10 pitches each time. The one bad spot? He gives up a TON of fly balls (18 in 34 batters faced). Still, he's become the rock of that bullpen.

High-A (Lancaster JetHawks)

Hitter of the Month: Jack Shuck, CF (21, 6th, 2008) -- Seems like I'm talking about Shuck every day. While Jonathan Gaston and Brian Pelligrini each came close in Runs Created, Shuck led the way on the back of his 29 hits in 82 at-bats, his .411 OBP and his 8/9 BB/K ratio. Shuck has scored 13 runs and is 6 for 6 on stolen base attempts. The outfielder from Ohio State has also reached base four times on errors, giving him a wOBA of .353.

Pitcher of the Month: Chia-Jen Lo, RHP (23, 2008 Int'l FA) -- Lo is the second straight reliever to win the award, rightfully so. In 14 2/3 innings, he's given up five hits and two earned runs while striking out 24 and walking seven. Lo (1-0) has one save and three holds and has pitched longer than one inning in all seven of his appearances.

Low-A (Lexington Legends)

Hitter of the Month: Albert Cartwright, 2B (21, 36th, 2007) -- Cartwright was the only Legend in double figures in Runs Created before Thursday's game (Ebert Rosario had a triple to join him). The second baseman is tied for the Astros minors lead in doubles with seven and has two home runs and a triple to boot. His 22 hits are the most on the Legends and he's second in steals with three. Cartwright's got a wOBA of .367 and a BABiP of .400, so we'll see if he can sustain this success, but right now's he's been the bright spot in a lonely offense.

Pitcher of the Month: Ross Seaton, 19 (3rd, 2008) -- Seaton has gotten plenty of press on this site. In comparison with the rest of his teammates, he's thrown the most innings, faced the most batters and is third in strikeouts. Only Brad Dydalewicz and Kyle Greenwalt have a lower ERA of all the starters and both have less strikeouts. Now, let's avoid a May letdown, shall we?

Notes for Friday: Brad Dydalewicz was placed on the 7-day disabled list and right-hander Ashton Mowdy, the 19th-round pick in 2008 from Eastern Oklahoma State Community College, took his place and pitched a perfect inning of relief on Thursday.