Friday's Trip to the Minors

With the torrential rains that have pounded the Astros farm system lately, it's a wonder that none of the prospects have been washed away yet. Greeneville hasn't played a game since Monday because of rain, Round Rock's game on Thursday was moved to a double-header on Friday because of rain and Lexington, well, Lexington just had a regularly scheduled off-day. But still, that's a lot of rain. So, we have four games to go through today. Without further ado, here's all the news and notes from around the Astros farm system:

Reliever Sammy Gervacio was called up from Round Rock on Thursday after Russ Ortiz was released. The 24-year old appeared in 35 games this season, pitching 46 2/3 innings for Round Rock and striking out 48 while walking 20. His FIP of 4.01 is significantly lower than his ERA of 5.40, mainly because his K/9 rate is at 9.26. His BB/9 rate is not as good at 3.86 but it's definitely playable in the bullpen. Gervacio's BABiP sits at .306, which means he hasn't been lucky or unlucky, so this is a good snapshot of the player the Astros are getting. He's a little like Alberto Arias, but with a livelier fastball and a funkier delivery.

Sergio Perez didn't pitch badly for Corpus on Thursday, lasting three innings while giving up five hits and three runs (two earned), striking out two and walking three. Perez only threw 66 pitches before leaving the game in Ryan McKeller's hands. McKeller, Tyler Lumsden and Evan Englebrook each made scoreless appearances, with McKeller throwing three innings and Lumsden and Englebrook putting up zeroes in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Interestingly, all three were relievers at Round Rock earlier in the season before being demoted to Corpus. Lumsden picked up his first victory as a Hook and Englebrook got his first save. No word on whether Perez' quick exit was due to an injury.

Drew Locke, Jason Castro and Wladimir Sutil each had big days at the plate. Locke went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, two RBIs and a walk. Locke's home run was his 16th of the season and fourth this month. The 26-year old is now one home run shy of team leader Collin DeLome....Wladimir Sutil also got in on the hit parade, going 2 for 5 and scoring a run. Sutil's hitting .268/.349/.320 this month, but was just 1 for 12 before Thursday. The 24-year old is hitting .289/.369/.345 in 87 games.

Castro also had a multi-hit game, going 3 for 5 with two doubles and two runs scored. The 22-year old's average is up to .309 at Corpus and the doubles were his sixth and seventh since his call up from Lancaster. Since July 21, Castro has hit six of those seven doubles, adding a triple, eight RBIs and 12 runs scored. Castro is 15 for 38 over that stretch, bringing his season average up 32 points from .277. Another interesting fact: Castro also batted .309 in 56 games with Lancaster, so his total season average is also .309. Maybe he should consider wearing 30, 9 or 39 in the pros.

Ebert Rosario had his best game as a JetHawk on Thursday, going 2 for 4 with a walk, an RBI and a strikeout. The 22-year old third baseman is batting .205/.244/.256 in nine games since being called up and is hitting .265 on the season. Rosario hit second on Thursday and has batted in the top half of the order every game he's played in Lancaster.

Koby Clemens just won't quit. The 22-year old started in left field on Thursday, which is something he's been doing since T.J. Steele went on the DL about a week ago, and picked up another two hits. More impressive is that Clemens did it from the cleanup spot and the two hits were a triple and a home run. Clemens has now scored 48 runs for Lancaster and is hitting .402/.460/.821. That's an OPS of 1.281 for those counting at home. What's more, his home/road splits aren't too out of sync with his season line, as Clemens is hitting .349/.411/.651 at home and .326/.412/.567 in away games.

I'm a little shocked by this, so bear with me as we get through this together. Lancaster's starter Shane Wolf combined with reliever Jack Tilghman to pitch a nine inning...shutout! The two twirled a five-hitter and Wolf had a game score of 72 after striking out nine in six innings and allowing just four hits and one walk. Tilghman got his third save after allowing just one hit in the final three innings, striking out two and walking one. Wolf started the season in the rotation, but was ineffective and was sent to the bullpen. Lately, he's strung together some good relief appearances, so was given a chance to start on Thursday. I'd say he came through brilliantly.

Not a lot happened in Tri-City, as third baseman Erik Castro was probably the offensive star, going 1 for 3 with two runs scored and a walk. However, Castro also struck out once, was picked off once and caught stealing another time, so his production was kind of a wash. Castro is hitting .236/.374/.486 this season, thanks to 16 walks in 72 at-bats combined with six doubles and four home runs. It's safe to say the hits will come eventually. You know the difference between hitting .250 and .300? It's 25 hits. 25 hits in 500 at bats is 50 points, okay? There's 6 months in a season, that's about 25 weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week - just one - a gorp... you get a groundball, you get a groundball with eyes... you get a dying quail, just one more dying quail a week... and you're in Yankee Stadium.

Starter Colton Pitkin got roughed up on Thursday, giving up eight hits and five earned runs in four innings, striking out two and walking three. Pitkin also had a bad G/F ratio of 2/6 and gave up a home run. I don't want to get into too much detail on him, because I want to do a profile later on. Suffice it to say his game score was 25 and the average is 50. Not good, my friends, not good at all.

Outfielder Telvin Nash had his best day as an Astro on Thursday, going 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI. The big 18-year old is batting .176/.247/.279 in July and .190 overall this season, but has shown a little power with six doubles and a triple. I should mention again that he's still a teenager and that we shouldn't worry too much about him struggling through his first 84 professional at-bats. Something about small sample sizes and all.

2009 sixth round pick Enrique Hernandez continues to play well, however, going 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored on Thursday. The 19-year old is hitting .298/.323/.383 in July and .304/.342/.375 in 112 at-bats this season.

That's all for now, but look for something else today, as I decide whether to do a profile of a young pitcher or to come up with something else for your reading please. Till then...

Thursday's Thoughts

I'm off today, so this quick and dirty look at the Astros minor league system comes to you live from early Thursday morning. We'll try to get something more in line with my usual 2,500 word posts on Friday. Without further ado, here's the news and notes from Wednesday's minor league games:

Jose Capellan started for Round Rock on Wednesday and was very effective. In six innings, Capellan gave up three hits and one earned run while striking out six and walking one. In addition, Capellan went 2 for 2 at the plate and had a sacrifice hit. To top it all off, the long reliever who was starting for the first time since late April needed just 74 pitches to get through his innings.

Outfielder Brian Bogusevic picked up two more hits on Wednesday, going 2 for 4 with two runs scored and a walk. They were the 49th and 50th runs of the season for Bogey, as the 25-year old has batted in the top three lineup spots for the majority of the season.

A few short notes on Round Rock: Chris Johnson picked up his first hit in three games, going 1 for 4 with a strikeout and a GIDP.... Mark Saccomanno hit his 12th home run, going 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored. It was the second straight game with a homer for the 29-year old from Baylor....Three different relievers threw a scoreless inning, each striking out one batter. Geoff Geary and Sammy Gervacio each earned holds while Casey Daigle picked up a save. Since former closer Chad Paronto was called up to the Astros then designated for assignment, Daigle has finished two games.

Not as much going on in Corpus, but there were some middlingly interesting things in the box score. For instance, Danny Meszaros threw three innings in relief, striking out two and lowering his ERA to 4.47. It was the longest outing I can recall this season for Meszaros but I'll double check that and get back to you on Friday. Former Rice pitcher Kenny Baugh picked up his second victory since joining the Hooks this month.

Collin DeLome didn't get a hit on Wednesday, but he did walk once and stole his 14th base of the season. DeLome also struck out once, but the walk and steal added more value in my eyes, so I won't hold it against him. This time...

Minor notes on the Hooks: Jhon Florentino extended his hitting streak to six games by going 1 for 4 on Wednesday. Florentino had a day off on Tuesday.... Jason Catro went 3 for 4 and has his season average hundreths of a point away from .300....Drew Locke hit two home runs, giving him 15 this season and continuing his run of extra-base hits that started when I called him out in this space a week or so ago. Maybe he just fixed his swing and adjusted to the pitchers. I still think it was all Minor Musings...

An absolute shootout took place in Lancaster as the JetHawks and High Desert combined for 17 runs and 24 hits. Starter Casey Hudspeth picked up the victory for Lancaster by allowing just two earned runs over seven innings. Reliever Ashton Mowdy was actually having a good start in Lancaster before giving up five hits and five runs without recording an out in the eighth inning. Mowdy still has a great strikeout rate, if that's any consolation.

Jon Gaston hit his 29th home run on Wednesday and is now two home runs away from tying the Lancaster single-season record of 31 set by Kyle Nichols in 2003. Koby Clemens also hit a home run on Wednesday, his 12th this season, and went 4 for 5 at the plate. The 22-year old now has multi-hit games in 6 of his last 10 starts.

Jay Austin finally broke his hitless streak, going 1 for 5 on Wednesday but still saw his season average drop down to .259. Austin did pick up an outfield assist, though, so it doesn't seem like he's letting his recent hitting struggles affect his defensive play.

Brandon Wikoff went 2 for 3 with a run scored and a walk, but was caught stealing on his only attempt on Wednesday. Wikoff is batting .455 since his callup from Tri-City three days ago.

Robert Bono put up a rather forgettable start on Wednesday. The 20-year old lasted 5 2/3 innings, striking out one and walking two while giving up seven hits and two earned runs. The right-hander still has a sub-3.00 ERA but hasn't been striking many guys out in his last couple of starts, so his numbers may soon regress.

Former Texas A&M pitcher Scott Migl put together his best appearance of the season on Wednesday, pitching 1 1/3 innings for Tri-City without giving up a run. Migl struck out one and walked none, lowering his ERA to 11.13. Migl battled injury problems while at A&M, but if he can stay healthy, has the arm to be a good prospect.

Third baseman Erik Castro reached base all four times he went to the plate on Wednesday, going 1 for 1 with a run scored, a double and three walks. Castro is hitting .232 this season, but has not played regularly since college, where he caught No. 1 oveall draft pick Steven Strasberg. Castro is making the transition from catcher to third, giving the Astros more depth at the position.

Former Stanford pitcher Brandt Walker wasn't bad on Wednesday, he just wasn't that great either. Walker gave up just two hits and two runs in 4 1/3 innings, while striking out four and walking six. The 21-year old has had a devil of a time finding the strike zone since being drafted. Walker has walked 22 batters in 27 1/3 innings while striking out 20. For those of you scoring at home, that's not a good ratio at all and makes for a BB/9 rate of 7.24.

That does it for today, but I'll be back on Friday, so stay tuned...

Wednesday's Rundown, Part II

Continuing on:

Right-hander Chris Hicks was lit up on Tuesday for Lancaster. Though it wasn't as bad as Round Rock's game, Hicks did give up eight runs (seven earned) and 10 hits in six innings. The 22-year old struck out five and walked one while giving up three home runs. If you neutralize his stats for this season, taking Clear Channel Stadium and its hitter-friendly confines out of the equation, Hicks looks like a fairly good pitcher. In 102 innings, Hicks has given up 134 hits, 15 home runs, 30 walks and struck out 78. If we take the ballpark factor out of these numbers, we see Hicks should have around 126 hits, 84 strikeouts, 31 walks and 13 home runs. His K/9 rate goes up from 6.88 to 7.40, his BAA goes down from .312 to .295 and his ERA drops from 5.50 to 4.57. Interestingly enough, his adjusted ERA is almost right in line with his FIP of 4.52.

Outfielder T.J. Steele returns from his hamstring injury with authority, going 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and two runs scored on Tuesday. Steele had missed two weeks with the injury but is still batting .327/.351/.473 in 57 plate appearances this month.

Outfielder Brandon Barnes hit his seventh home run since joining Lancaster and his fourth this month. the 23-year old former football player is 29 for 99 with nine walks, 23 runs scored, 20 RBIs, six doubles and 22 strikeouts in July, giving him a line of .293/.355/.475. On any other team, his Runs Created total of 16.4 would put him in contention for the team lead, but he's a distant fifth in Lancaster, behind Koby Clemens, Jon Gaston, Matt Weston and J.B. Shuck.

Center fielder Jay Austin went hitless again, making him 0 for his last 21 at-bats. The 18-year old has walked three times in the past two games, so he's at least getting on base, which is something he hasn't done consistently this season. In 83 games, Austin has 25 walks compared to 65 strikeouts. He doesn't strike out a ton, but does need to take a few more pitches as he learns and develops.

Shortstop Brandon Wikoff had two hits on Tuesday in his second game with Lexington. The 21-year old is now 3 for 8 with one strikeout in two games with the Legends, and, if the next paragraph's evidence is any indication, is helping stabilize the infield defense there. With the return of Albert Cartwright and the promotion of Jeff Hulett, Lexington has an all-new infield, which will hopefully help out those young pitchers, since the team has a Defense Effiency Ratio of .700 on the season.

Left-hander David Duncan pitched well in his latest outing with the Legends, allowing three runs (two earned) and five hits in seven innings but picking up his second loss. Duncan struck out six and walked one for a game score of 62, but Lexington scored just two runs for him. Duncan did hit a batter and gave up two home runs, but had a solid 8/6 G/F ratio and an excellent Defense Efficiency Ratio of .824. In fact, his FIP was high at 6.06, meaning it was the defense behind him that helped him more than anything. Still, a solid start as he tries to repair the damage done to him in Lancaster. At 23, he's young enough to be a mid-level prospect, and he skipped Lexington to start in High A ball this season, but obviously needed some more work.

First baseman/left fielder J.D. Martinez pounded out five hits on Tuesday, raising his average with Tri-City to .345/.375/.586. Martinez has hit three home runs and nine doubles in 17 games with the ValleyCats and is 51 for 135 between Greeneville and Tri-City this season with 14 doubles, one triple and eight home runs. Martinez also has a 21/9 K/BB ratio, which is fairly reasonable for a power hitter.

Right-hander Wander Alvino gave up one run and six hits in six innings on Tuesday, rebounding nicely from his first bad start back on July 22. In that one, the 22-year old gave up six runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3, registering a game score of 20 which was is his lowest total this season in seven starts. Alvino needs to miss some more bats, though, as his K/9 rate is at 5.23 in a pitcher-friendly league.

Center fielder Brian Kemp is 3 for 15 in his last four games with four runs scored, three walks and one stolen base. After beginning the season red-hot, Kemp has cooled off some but is still a solid leadoff hitter. The 20-year old is hitting .290/.394/.323 this month and .301/.415/.345 on the season with 16 walks, 19 strikeouts and 21 runs scored in 119 at-bats. Kemp has also been successful on five of eight stolen base attempts.

Second baseman Jose Altuve has one hit in his last four games, but has actually hurt his batting average over that stretch. In those four games, the 19-year old is 4 for 15 with two runs scored, three walks, three strikeouts and three stolen bases. Altuve is batting .330/.431/.536 this month and .328/.413/.493 on the season. Some have said his ability to walk stems from his height being listed as 5-foot-5 (when we know the official height it always a bit taller than reality). Still, Altuve is proving to have some pop to go with good baserunning instincts, as he's stolen 17 of 19 bases this season.

Shortstop Jiovanni Mier likes to pick up hits in bunches. In his last five games, he has multi-hit games in three of them and been o-fer in the rest. During that stretch, Mier is 8 for 19 with a home run, two doubles, four runs scored, four RBIs, five walks, two strikeouts and four steals. His averages in July have been blistering at .333/.443/.517 with nine extra base hits in 87 at-bats. His scouting report coming out of the draft focused more on his defense than his bat, but if he can continue to show good plate discipline with some pop, he will be a very valuable player.

Third baseman Jonathan Meyer continues to scuffle a bit, going 2 for his last 14 with a double, two RBIs, one walk, two runs scored and four strikeouts. Meyer hasn't gotten his bat going like right side running mate Mier, but he has at least kept taking the occasional walk. In 117 at-bats this season, Meyer has walked 19 times and struck out 32 times. He's just 18 years old, so hopefully he can continue to grow at the plate.

Center fielder Grant Hogue started late this season because of an injury, but he's shown surprising production for a player drafted in the 35th round. This month, Hogue is 23 for 71 with five doubles, a triple, seven walks, 13 strikeouts and has stolen 10 of 11 bases. He's only scored 12 runs in 21 games, but that's largely because the top two lineup positions are usually filled by Altuve and Mier. Still, Hogue gives the Astros another young, athletic outfielder to stock their system.

Right-hander Tanner Bushue has not been done enough justice in this space, which I'll rectify with a profile of him sometime soon. In the meantime, let's look at his last two starts. On the 17th, Bushue lasted five innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking two. The 18-year old went another five innings in his most recent start, giving up three hits and one earned run while striking out six and walking one. His K/9 rate over that span is 9.00 and is now 7.66 over all five of his starts. His BB/9 rate ticked up a bit to 2.01 but the most startling thing about his line thus far is he doesn't give up line drives. In three of his starts, he's given up zero line drives and has given up four total. Of course, the prevailing theory is that a pitcher can't really control how many line drives they give up, but it still means batters are not making solid contact, which means his raw stuff must be pretty good.

Right fielder Emilio King is one of the few GCL Astros hitting well this month, as he's gone 7 for 15 on his current five-game hitting streak. The 19-year old has three doubles, one triple, two RBIs, seven runs scored, two walks, one strikeout and two stolen bases over that stretch, raising his overall averages up to .293/.433/.476.

Shortstop Luis Bryan was named to the Farmstros Five this week and deserved it roundly. Over his last six games, Bryan is 10 for 26 with three doubles, one triple, eight runs scored, four RBIs and three strikeouts. Bryan has also played well in the field and has raised his season averages to .321/.330/.464. The 18-year old doesn't walk much...scratch that, AT ALL, as he doesn't have one walk in 84 at-bats this season. Still, a power-hitting middle infielder is welcome anytime in this system.

Second baseman Enrique Hernandez is also struggling to walk, and it's lowering his OBP significantly. The 19-year old has a respectable average at .281 but his OBP is at .309 this month since he's walked three times in 89 at-bats. Maybe I make too much of this, but for a player to be successfull at the higher levels (especially in the pros), he needs to walk. Just ask Jeff Francouer how well he's done by not walking. I think Hernandez is athletic enough to make an impact in the system, as his defense has been good and he's shown a little pop with five double and one triple this season. He just has to learn to take a pitch or two.

That's it for today, we'll be back tomorrow with more fun and exciting tidbits.

Wednesday's Rundown

The InterWeb has been abuzz in the past 12 hours since the news of Bud Norris' callup hit. A couple months ago, I did a short profile on Norris here. In charting each of his starts, I really like what Norris brings in terms of potential to the rotation. In 19 starts for Round Rock, Norris struck out 112 batters in 120 innings, averaging 8.40 K/9 and 3.98 BB/9. He struck out ten batters once and allowed two or fewer runs in 11 starts. Norris has a positive G/F ratio at 129/109 and a HR/9 rate of 0.45.

His record at Round Rock is pretty terrible at 4-9, but his expected winning percentage sits at .687, meaning his record should be more like 13-6. His Pitching Runs Created is at 51.12, which means he has created the most runs for the Express of any player this season. His average game score is a 57 and he's induced 16 double plays.

I am concerned, however, about his control. In Zachary Levine's Q&A with Tal Smith yesterday, Smith suggested that Norris' lack of control was similar to Wandy Rodriguez, so I went back and looked at Wandy's track record to begin his career. Rodriguez is pitching in his fifth season in the majors and here are his BB/9 rates over that time span: 3.7, 4.2, 3.1, 2.9, 3.0. In the minors, Wandy had a career BB/9 rate of 3.1 and his progression went like this: 2.4, 2.5, 3.3, 3.6, 3.3, 4.5 (though that last season consisted of only five starts at Round Rock).

Obviously, as the levels got harder, Wandy got more inaccurate. Norris has a career minor league rate of 3.7 and a progression of 3.1, 3.7, 3.5 and now 3.98. So, to this point, Norris has had worse rates for most of his time in the minors and for his college career. In three season with Cal Poly, Norris had a BB/9 rate of 5.47, but that number is skewed by his sophomore season when he walked 30 batters in 34 innings. In his only season as a full-time starter in college, Norris walked 57 in 110 2/3 innings, giving him a BB/9 rate of 4.64.

While Norris does give up free passes more than you'd like, he differs with Wandy in another, very key area. Only once in his minor league career has Norris given up more hits than innings pitched and that came in 2008 when he hurt his arm. That's only been true for Wandy about half the time, as he had 3 of 6 minor league seasons with more hits than innings pitched and his first two pro seasons continued that trend. Of course, this shows the big difference between the two: Norris is a power pitcher, who misses bats while Wandy is not overpowering, but uses location to make up for lack of speed.

What does this mean for Houston? I haven't the foggiest. No one seems sure how they'll use Norris, as the 8th inning role has recently been vacated with LaTroy Hawkins shingles-related trip to the DL. Norris has proven, though, that he does deserve a shot at the big league rotation.

So, now that that's out of the way, let's get to the links of the day and then all the news and notes you can handle from the Astros minor league system:

Links for today:

More discussion of curveballs and our youth

Even more about curveballs

Not specifically about the topic, but a good read on pitching mechanics

Now the notes:

Polin Trinidad and T.J. Burton got absolutely 70's era Led Zepplin-rocked on Tuesday against Memphis. Trinidad lasted five innings, giving up 10 hits and nine earned runs while striking out three and walking one. The 23-year old also gave up six home runs. What's worse? Trinidad gave up two home runs each to three different players, including two to former Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. Burton got off no lighter, giving up eight hits and five earned runs in 1 2/3 innings while walking three and striking out no one. Not a pretty night on the mound for the Express, as even catcher Brian Esposito got into the fun, pitching a scoreless eighth while allowing two hits and one walk. That's after he caught the first seven innings of the game.

Esposito was called up to Round Rock after J.R. Towles went back on the disabled list. I'm not sure why this time, but the 25-year old has had just 18 at-bats this month and 129 total at-bats this season (in the minors). Towles just can't seem to stay healthy the past month or so, but hopefully he can turn it around soon and maybe make a September call-up.

Mark Saccomanno hit another home run on Tuesday, his 11th of the season. The 29-year old has now gone 5 for his last 8 and has three home runs this month. Saccomanno is hitting .313/.407/.522 with an OPS+ of 147 in July.

Reliever Chia-Jen Lo pitched a scoreless inning on Tuesday, giving up a hit and striking out one. Lo also didn't walk anyone, which is noteworthy since the 23-year old has walked four in seven innings this month and has generally struggled with his control since being promoted to Corpus Christi.

Starter Brad James, however, wasn't so lucky, lasting seven innings while giving up eight hits and five earned runs. James walked three but struck out three and suffered his eighth loss of the season....Drew Meyer extended his hitting streak to 11 games by going 2 for 4 with a double and a strikeout.

Collin DeLome hit his 17th home run of the season on Tuesday, going 1 for 4 with three strikeouts and two RBIs. The 22-year old has created 17.5 runs this month and has 61 runs created this season. DeLome has 38 extra base hits in 383 plate appearances, but has also struck out 92 times. His OBP of .340 is good but not great and he'll have to continue walking occasionally to offset his strikeouts.

This post is running long, so we'll break it up into two parts today. Part II coming up soon...

Tuesday Brieflys

I had a comment on the Lancaster post yesterday that I was about to respond to in kind, but I figured I could just roll it into this post. The question was whether this offensive outburst for Koby Clemens is unusual, and the answer is yes and no. It is unusual in that his career minor league line is .270/.360/.436, but that also includes his skewed Lancaster numbers this season. His best minor league campaign was in 2005, the year he was drafted, when he hit .294/.391/.469 in 169 at-bats split between Rookie League Greeneville and short-season Tri-City. Clemens already has a career high in doubles this season with 32 and is four home runs short of his personal-best of 15, set back in 2007 in Lexington. Clemens did play at Salem last season, which was the most pitcher-friendly parks in the Astros system, so moving from Salem to Lancaster has been a huge boost to his numbers. Still, he's repeating High A ball after repeating Low A the previous two years, so he's not making the progress the Astros hoped when they took him in the fifth round back in '05.

Before we jump into the rundown, here are some interesting links I found today that apply (at least partially) to the minor league system:

Discussion of blogosphere journalism and trade rumors

Q&A with Tal Smith

Curveballs and young arms

With that, let's get to all the news and notes from the Astros minor league system:

First baseman Mark Saccomanno had a big game on Monday, going 3 for 4 with a triple, a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored. The 29-year old is hitting .302/.403/.476 this month with a double, two triples and two home runs. Saccomanno is also 5 for his last 14 and has four multi-hit games this month, including a four hit night in the first week of July.

Right-hander Felipe Paulino struggled again on Monday, giving up five hits, three earned runs and walking five in three innings of work. The 24-year old hasn't made it out of the fifth inning since returning to Round Rock last week. Interestingly enough, his pitch count has been high in all three appearances. He's thrown at least 70 pitches in all three, but has thrown just 54% of his pitches for strikes, which is right in line with how many strikes he threw in his brief stint with Round Rock in April.

In 14 starts with the Astros, Paulino threw strikes 62% of the time, but that percentage plummeted once he went into the bullpen in May. It rose again once he rejoined the starting rotation through the first of July. His walks, however, have also hurt him. In April, Paulino averaged 2.73 walks per 9 innings between both Round Rock and Houston. In May, that number jumped to 5.89 before falling back to 1.89 for the rest of his tenure with the Astros. Since rejoining Round Rock, Paulino has allowed 9.25 walks per 9 innings.

We can even look further into his strike data in the majors. Paulino got 16.4% swinging strikes in his time with the Astros, but had just eight in his final two appearances. I don't have the same type of data for his three Round Rock starts, but I can say that two of his seven strikeouts have been looking. He's obviously still missing bats, so it's hard to say whether his problem is mechanical, mental or due to an injury. His control seems to come and go this season, starting when he was demoted to the bullpen in May. Hopefully, he can get right soon.

Catcher Jason Castro hit another double on Monday, giving him a 7-game hitting streak and raising his averages to .299/.373/.433. The 22-year old now has four doubles this month with one triple and one home run. Castro also has a 7/8 BB/K ratio and has scored 12 runs in July. As I've said before, Castro profiles more as a doubles hitter in the pros, so this is a good sign. I'd like to see a little more power, but his defense is solid, he's hitting for average and he's getting base at a good clip, so I won't be picky.

Corpus Christi has become the home of several long hitting streaks. Drew Locke had his 10-game streak broken on Monday, Jhon Florentino has a five-game streak while Mark Ori has a four-game streak. Monday also saw Drew Meyer extend his streak to 10 games in dramatic fashion, hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning on Monday. Meyer is batting .365 over the streak, pulling his average this month up to .284/.364/.375.

Outfielder Collin DeLome hit a triple while going 1 for 4 on Monday. DeLome now has seven doubles, two triple and two home runs this month with 11 runs scored and 11 RBIs. DeLome is leading the team in Runs Created with 16 and weighted OBA at .330. He also struck out for the 17th and 18th times on Monday, but has walked nine times now. If he keeps that rate up, walking once every 10 at-bats, DeLome can be a successful major leaguer.

Right-hander Tip Fairchild made his return to the Astros system on Monday, starting for Lancaster. The 25-year old gave up nine hits and five earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out five while walking none but also giving up three home runs. Fairchild used to be one of the better pitchers in the Astros system, but had Tommy John surgery in May of 2007 and was released just before the season started in 2009. The general timetable for recovery from Tommy John is 18 months, so hopefully, he can get back to being a productive member of the farm system.

The Big Three in Lancaster of Koby Clemens, J.B. Shuck, and Jon Gaston all had good days at the plate on Monday. Clemens was 2 for 4 with a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Shuck went 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored. Gaston hit his 28th home run, a solo shot in the seventh and went 1 for 4 with two runs scored. Lancaster still lost 7-6, despite out-hitting High Desert 12-11. Did the Astros know what they were getting into when they signed this deal with Lancaster? It seems a pretty steep price to pay just to have a presence on the West Coast.

Right-hander Ross Seaton got hit hard on Monday, giving up five earned runs in five innings while allowing six hits and two home runs. Seaton did strike out six and walk three, giving him a 16 strikeouts in his last 16 2/3 innings. Still, it was his lowest game score in 10 starts at 38 and his highest FIP of the season at 8.40.

Shortstop Brandon Wikoff made his debut with Lexington, going 1 for 4 at the plate with a run scored and making one error in the field. Wikoff batted .27/.357/.347 in 28 games with Tri-City before his promotion. The fifth-round pick is the first 2009 Astros draft pick to make it onto a full-season team.

Weekend Leftovers from Lexington

Let's take a trip to Lexington for all the news and notes from this weekend:

Kyle Greenwalt had a decent start on Friday, lasting 6 2/3 innings while allowing six hits and four runs (three earned). Greenwalt struck out five while walking two and giving up his first home run in six starts and only his seventh of the season. The 20-year old hasn't gotten much run support this season and especially in his last six starts. Over that period, the Legends have scored 16 runs, giving him an average of 2.67 runs a game, while Greenwalt is getting an average of 3.72 runs a game this season. The league average is currently 4.27.

Shortstop Chris Jackson struggled in Lancaster this season but has done better in Lancaster. Over the weekend, he went 4 for 12 with a triple and an RBI. Jackson is batting .220/.281/.300 in 14 games with Lexington and hit .183/.239/.244 in 58 games with Lancaster. The 22-year old was drafted out of Virginia Commonwealth in the 29th round in 2008.

Jay Austin was 0-for the weekend, going 0-for-11 in three games. His July average dropped to .311/.340/.478 and his season marks dropped to .266/.314/.364. Austin hasn't gotten a hit since July 20 and is 1 for 28 since July 18. He's also struck out eight times over that time frame and stolen just one base.

Jordan Lyles had his second straight poor outing, which may or may not have anything to do with his reduced work load. Lyles lasted five innings on Saturday, giving up eight hits and six earned runs while striking out four and walking three. The 18-year old had a Defense Efficiency Ratio of .529 but don't blame everything on the defense, as his FIP was 5.20. Basically, it was a bad start all around and was his second straight start with a game score in the 20's.

Brad Dydalewicz had a below-average start on Sunday, combining a drop in his strikeout rate with a couple of home run balls. In five innings, Dydalewicz gave up five hits and two solo home runs while striking out three and walking four. The 19-year old lefty had a FIP of 9.60, his highest total since his fourth start and more than twice his season average of 4.34

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Weekend Leftovers from Lancaster

I just picked up a hit writing this review of Lancaster's weekend. That's how hitter-friendly it is up there. Anyway, here are all the news and notes from the Jethawks' weekend:

Righthander Leandro Cespedes got a no decision on Sunday, pitching seven innings and allowing eight hits and four runs. The 22-year old struck out eight and walked three while giving up one home run. Cespedes is on a nice little streak recently, recording game scores of at least 50 in his last five starts. His K/9 rate is up to 7.86 while his BB/9 rate is at 3.43, but his PRC is at 32.78 right now. Cespedes has been getting better and better though, and doing it in a tough hitters' park and league.

Catcher Koby Clemens went 6 for 11 over the weekend, with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs. Clemens has his highest monthly average of the season in July with a line of .389/.449/.758. The 22-year old has also driven in 34 runs this month but has struck out 28 times.

Third baseman Ebert Rosario was just 2 for 13 over the weekend with two RBIs. The 22-year old is hitting .143/.143/.190 since his call-up to Lancaster in five games.

Centerfielder J.B. Shuck went 5 for 14 over the weekend with a double, an RBI and a strikeout. Shuck is great at getting on base, with a OBP of .402 for the season and 50 walks, but has been harder to strike out than anyone on the Lancaster roster. Shuck has struck out 11 times this month and only 38 times all season. Combine that with his 17 stolen bases in 95 games and he continues to be one of the best leadoff prospects the Astros have in their system.