Corpus Christi 2019

[VirtualBob]

Looks like the Hooks have posted their 2019 roster.

Pitchers:  Brett Adcock, Brandon Bailey, Brandon Bielak, JB Bukauskas, Jose Hernandez, Tyler Ivey, Carson LaRue, Ronel Blanco, Justin Ferrell, Colin McKee, Erasmo Pinales, Kit Scheetz, Gabriel Valdez.

Catchers:  Lorenzo Quintana, Chuckie Robinson.

Infield:  JJ Matijevic (who is apparently moving to 1B), Odvaldo Duarte, Anibal Sierra, Abraham Toro.

Outfield:  Josh Rojas, Ronnie Dawson, Stephen Wrenn, Chas McCormick, Carmen Benedetti.

[Jacksonian]

Looks like the Hooks have posted their 2019 roster.

Pitchers:  Brett Adcock, Brandon Bailey, Brandon Bielak, JB Bukauskas, Jose Hernandez, Tyler Ivey, Carson LaRue, Ronel Blanco, Justin Ferrell, Colin McKee, Erasmo Pinales, Kit Scheetz, Gabriel Valdez.

Catchers:  Lorenzo Quintana, Chuckie Robinson.

Infield:  JJ Matijevic (who is apparently moving to 1B), Odvaldo Duarte, Anibal Sierra, Abraham Toro.

Outfield:  Josh Rojas, Ronnie Dawson, Stephen Wrenn, Chas McCormick, Carmen Benedetti.

I'm wondering if Scheetz is here rather than Round Rock because he's likely to pick up more innings here than there.

[VirtualBob]

The Hooks looked good in their win at the Dell Diamond today. Adcock started well, but was being squeezed and seemed to lose command later in his outing. Ronel Blanco was impressive, and Justin Ferrell looks to be 8 feet tall.

Stephen Wrenn made several good plays in CF and smoked a stand-up triple off Guduan.

Toro looked good at the plate and in the field. Josh Rojas handled 2B well and had a couple of quality ABs. JJ Matijevic looks very natural at 1B.

Quintana was the anti-Ritchie behind the plate and is a sutpridingly good base runner.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

I'm sure it's been mentioned somewhere in the Bus Ride before but I just noticed that Tim Purpura is the President/Treasurer of the Texas League.

[Jacksonian]

I'm sure it's been mentioned somewhere in the Bus Ride before but I just noticed that Tim Purpura is the President/Treasurer of the Texas League.

He's been in an executive in several minor league organizations since leaving the Astros.

[VirtualBob]

Tanner Duncan has apparently been promoted to the Hooks to replace Brendan Feldman.

[VirtualBob]

Has anyone seen J.B. Bukauskas in person? He had another drinker of an outing tonight. 19-something ERA so far. Do his mechanics look off? Is he working on something? Or just struggling a bit??

[juliogotay]

Has anyone seen J.B. Bukauskas in person? He had another drinker of an outing tonight. 19-something ERA so far. Do his mechanics look off? Is he working on something? Or just struggling a bit??

He pitched well in Astros S-T games.

[Jacksonian]

Abreu with the early season promotion.

[jbm]

Any reports on Ivey?  I’m curious, 3rd rounder who seems like he might be drawing some attention.

[toddthebod]

I was watching some highlights of Ivey.  He has an interesting pitching motion.

[jbm]

How so, Spastic, Luis Tiant, Fernando?

[Bench]

How so, Spastic, Luis Tiant, Fernando?

Video from last fall

[jbm]

Thanks.  It's more of a tempo thing than a balance thing.  It doesn't scream "That will be hard to repeat."

[Duman]

Bukauskas with a good outing last night: 4 IP, 1 H, 1R/ER, 2 BB, 9 K (70 pitches - 40 strikes) Brings his ERA down to 12.75 for the year. 

[Duman]

Jayne is reporting that Tyler Ivey may be serving a team suspension

I have two solid sources who have said that Ivey has been suspended for an undisclosed number of games. I am going to go out on a short limb and assume that the suspension is related to an incident in his April 12th start in Amarillo in which he was removed from the game after a foreign substance was found on his glove. In any event, Ivey was not in Corpus Christi during my time there from Friday through Sunday and has not pitched since April 23rd. I reached out to the Astros for comment, but have been unable to obtain any further information at this time. I am, however, confident in my sources. UPDATE: One source is telling me that the suspension is for 14 games.

[Duman]

J J Matijevic suspended for 50 games due to 2nd failed test for drug of abuse. 

[jbm]

Thanks for the updates, even though they are basically shitty updates.

[moriartp]

So both guys got suspended for things they don’t punish in the majors?

[MusicMan]

J J Matijevic suspended for 50 games due to 2nd failed test for drug of abuse. 

Five-year, $10M contract offer on its way.


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[VirtualBob]

Jayne is reporting that Tyler Ivey may be serving a team suspension

Ivey is officially listed on the 7-day Injured List ... for what that is worth.

ETA - After reading the piece, Jayne does mention that.

[VirtualBob]

Five-year, $10M contract offer on its way.


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Been there; Done that.

[Lefty]

Been there; Done that.

Bud approves

[Jacksonian]

Chas McCormick going all out.

[VirtualBob]

Brett Adcock finally had a scoreless outing last night, with 7 Ks through 3 IP. It did take him 80 pitches though. Meanwhile, Tyler Ivey returned from the IL and picked up where he left off - 5 hitless innings with 7 K & 2 BB to pick up the win and lower his ERA to 0.86.

It will be interesting to see who gets bumped to RR to fill Martin’s spot, but Ivey must certainly get some consideration.

[moriartp]

Seth Beer promoted to Corpus today.

[Jacksonian]

Nick Hernandez has worked his way back to AA.

[geezerdonk]

Riley Ferrel returned to the Astros. It’s as if he was never with the Marlins.

[jbm]

Saw a couple of Hooks games against the Travelers who are a Royals affiliate.

Little of note for the position players, but:

Dawson only played in one of the games I saw. He plays a nice CF. Good jumps and coverage. He also hit an oppo homer.

Toro generally puts the ball in play, but not a lot of hard hit balls.

Beer had one hard hit ball. He’s probably a good hitter, but I didn’t get an inkling of that skill, let’s of rollover grounders. He better be a good hitter because his other skills won’t carry him upward.

Shaver seems like his bat is OK.

In the hitter’s defense, they were going against the two Florida Gator pitchers who were recent Royal’s high picks. Kowar has good stuff but below average command in this outing. Singer has average stuff with good command.

[jbm]

On the mound:

Donato - low 90s FB with average secondaries. He did seem to grow stronger throughout the game and does seem like a guy that outpiches his ability.

Peredes - small dude. Kind of a slinger with a live arm. Kind of wild, but FB and SL are impressive. 97 or so on the FB and high 80s SL. Both with a lot of swing and miss. Saw a few curves and what I assume were changes, but they need improvement. Overall, i really enjoyed watching him. I’m thinking he’d be in the pen if he makes it, but he’s someone I want to follow.

Collado - sidearmer with high 80s FB and low 80s breaking ball. Doesn’t light up the gun but he was impressive, sort of dominant in his 3 innings. Another to keep an eye on.

[VirtualBob]

I guess the rally caps worked. Down 4-1 after 7, the Hooks put up 10 in the top of the 8th to give Nick Hernandez his first win.

[Bench]

I'm going to catch a Hooks game on Friday (and possibly Saturday). What players should I pay particular attention to? Aruaz jumps out, as does Dawson, for the hitters. Whitley of course, and Abreu for the pitchers.

Any suggestions about where to find probable pitchers?

[geezerdonk]

Ivey, Javier, Scrubb and McKee. Collado also if he is back from injury.

[jbm]

I’d add Peredes to the list of pitchers. Good luck on finding probables.  They used to have a gamenotes document that had it, but now you are left to a day-of lookup on MiLB.  You could also email the media contact and get a helpful response and likely info. I haven’t done it with the Hooks, but the Express guy is responsive and it’s the same ownership group.

Enjoy, it’s a nice park and relatively pleasant even on hot summer days.

[geezerdonk]

Javier pitched last night so you might see him this weekend. He is putting together a real nice year at Corpus Christi.
70 innings, 2.06 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 104 SOs, .123 average against and only 4HRs. Only hole in his stats is walks - 38.
22 years old in his fifth year in the organization. Uniformly good stats at every level. No. 10 prospect. High spin rate on his fastball. 

[Bench]

Thanks to both of you!

[Bench]

Looks like it’s Whitley tonight according to MiLB

[jbm]

Looks like it’s Whitley tonight according to MiLB

Hopefully, it’s the good Whitley. Last start was ass.

[Bench]

Hopefully, it’s the good Whitley. Last start was ass.

The first five batters were the good Whitley. The rest were ass.

[geezerdonk]

Did you get to see the Saturday game? Combined shutout. Javier with 10 SOs. He has pretty much mastered AA. I wonder if he will get a AAA start this year.

[JimR]

The first five batters were the good Whitley. The rest were ass.

Have they ruined this guy?

[jbm]

Have they ruined this guy?

I am certainly worried about him and his future, but I don’t buy into the narrative that they did anything wrong.

[Duman]

The first five batters were the good Whitley. The rest were ass.

GM on Sunday's broadcast said his struggle is related to FB command. 

[Jacksonian]

Have they ruined this guy?

He's probably too young to conclude that, but this appears to be his second lost season in a row.

[JimR]

I am certainly worried about him and his future, but I don’t buy into the narrative that they did anything wrong.

Rushing him to AAA and saying for publication they expected him in Houston in 2019 certainly was wrong.

[Lefty]

Rushing him to AAA and saying for publication they expected him in Houston in 2019 certainly was wrong.

Aren't there quotes from Luhnow admitting they rushed him?

[JimR]

Aren't there quotes from Luhnow admitting they rushed him?

Dunno. My view. Have no idea what he thinks.

ETA: let me hasten to add I believed the koolaid. I thought he’d be in the rotation by August. I did not say “uh oh” until I saw the results and heard about his demeanor in RR.

[BlownRanger]

Dunno. My view. Have no idea what he thinks.

ETA: let me hasten to add I believed the koolaid. I thought he’d be in the rotation by August. I did not say “uh oh” until I saw the results and heard about his demeanor in RR.

I certainly though we'd see him in the rotation. 

This is further evidence that Spring Training is worthless in terms of forecasting production.

[Duman]

Luhnow also said he will likely pitch this fall.  I would expect a repeat of the Arizona Fall League which is a bit unusual.

[Duman]

Forrest Whitley went 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K

Starts game BB, BB, double steal, Wild Pitch on steal run scores,  Triple.  Then strikes out the side.
2nd inning: K, BB, CS, KL
3rd Inning: Single, Picked off/Caught Stealing, F7, 1-3
4th inning: IF Single, F9, K (FT), BB, KL
5th inning: K, K, F7

Threw 88 pitches/49 for strikes

Video of his 9th K is enbedded in the game story

[jbm]

To me, even the last K illustrates Whitley: very inconsistent or losing his delivery from pitch to pitch. 

I think I saw peak Whitley last year, where he had almost a full game of repeating his delivery and only a few short stretches where he lost it. I’ve also seen ass Whitley this year where he couldn’t throw two pitches in a row the way he intended.  Now, he seems back to having a bit more good stretches than bad.

My hope, even from last year, is that it is related to body type (lanky with a somewhat uncoordinated lower half) and it will improve with physical maturation and repetition. 

There’s been talk about his immaturity and maybe that’s true and a fatal flaw. Hope that’s not the case, cause when he repeats, he dominates.

[Knoxbanedoodle]

To me, even the last K illustrates Whitley: very inconsistent or losing his delivery from pitch to pitch. 

I think I saw peak Whitley last year, where he had almost a full game of repeating his delivery and only a few short stretches where he lost it. I’ve also seen ass Whitley this year where he couldn’t throw two pitches in a row the way he intended.  Now, he seems back to having a bit more good stretches than bad.

My hope, even from last year, is that it is related to body type (lanky with a somewhat uncoordinated lower half) and it will improve with physical maturation and repetition. 

There’s been talk about his immaturity and maybe that’s true and a fatal flaw. Hope that’s not the case, cause when he repeats, he dominates.

I was stunned by his body when I saw him in Spring training couple years. He was all legs and hips.

[Bench]

Did you get to see the Saturday game? Combined shutout. Javier with 10 SOs. He has pretty much mastered AA. I wonder if he will get a AAA start this year.

I did not. That would have been a good one to go to.

[JimR]

To me, even the last K illustrates Whitley: very inconsistent or losing his delivery from pitch to pitch. 

I think I saw peak Whitley last year, where he had almost a full game of repeating his delivery and only a few short stretches where he lost it. I’ve also seen ass Whitley this year where he couldn’t throw two pitches in a row the way he intended.  Now, he seems back to having a bit more good stretches than bad.

My hope, even from last year, is that it is related to body type (lanky with a somewhat uncoordinated lower half) and it will improve with physical maturation and repetition. 

There’s been talk about his immaturity and maybe that’s true and a fatal flaw. Hope that’s not the case, cause when he repeats, he dominates.

Haven’t they completely changed his delivery? If so, I can see repeating being difficult, at least at first. Too much thinking going on.

I do not know about maturity but I heard criticism of his mental toughness.

[Jacksonian]

Haven’t they completely changed his delivery? If so, I can see repeating being difficult, at least at first. Too much thinking going on.

I do not know about maturity but I heard criticism of his mental toughness.

As the video shows he's working from the stretch with no one on base.

[JimR]

As the video shows he's working from the stretch with no one on base.

Is that one of the changes made?

[Jacksonian]

Is that one of the changes made?

Not one that I'd heard, but I think it would help him repeat new mechanics in the short term.

[JimR]

Not one that I'd heard, but I think it would help him repeat new mechanics in the short term.

Martin used an abbreviated windup which looked a bit like the stretch, but, as you said, Whitley is pitching from the stretch.

[Lefty]

I was stunned by his body when I saw him in Spring training couple years. He was all legs and hips.

He's lost a bunch of weight from what I saw his Sr year in HS.

[JimR]

He's lost a bunch of weight from what I saw his Sr year in HS.

Yes, I think I read about this. He was very big in HS.

[Lefty]

Yes, I think I read about this. He was very big in HS.

He had tree-trunk legs.  Never looked pudgy or anything, just big.

[geezerdonk]

Javier up to AAA. He hasn’t pitched in a week. I thought that he might get the start at Houston tomorrow.

[geezerdonk]

How about Brett Conine? 11th round pick in 2018. In the last two years he has gone from low A to AA pitching a combined 140 innings with 166 SOs, 39 walks, only 6 HRs, 2.12 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, .208 average against.

[JimR]

Javier up to AAA. He hasn’t pitched in a week. I thought that he might get the start at Houston tomorrow.

Saw him in RR last night. He was very good.