Breaking the top 50

Jason Castro breaks in to Jonathan Mayo’s top 50 prospects list at number 27.

(h/t to Leeaire for the link)

____________________

Not bad for a ‘fourth outfielder’

Drew Locke broke the Hooks single season RBI record on August 3rd with his 95^th RBI in his 105^th game of the season (he currently has 101 RBIs in 110 games). The previous record holder was Hunter Pence, who had 95 RBIs in 136 games played with the Hooks in 2006.

Locke’s 101 RBIs lead the Texas League, outdistancing second in the league by 14 RBIs. As of Saturday, he also was second in batting average at .331 (first was .333) and tied for third in home runs (first was 20). Greg Rajan at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times notes that Locke is making a run at the third Triple Crown in the Texas League since 1888, and is doing so despite a .238 batting average in June.

Rajan also notes that Locke leads the Texas League in outfield assists, and is one of only three outfielders in the league with double-digit assists.

____________________

Speaking of broken records…

Another Hooks’ record goes down in flames.

Boone will mark the Hooks’ sixth rehab assignment this season, joining Brandon Backe, Doug Brocail, German Duran, Darin Erstad and Kaz Matsui as Astros who’ve played in Corpus Christi in 2009.

The Hooks’ previous high for rehab assignments in a season was four, in both 2005 and 2007. No individual player has had more rehab assignments than Backe’s three in 2005, 2007 and this year.

From that same article Rajan notes that German Duran has only appeared in three games with the Hooks this season.

Duran has played only two games since straining a quadriceps muscle during his July 16 Corpus Christi [debut]. He hasn’t seen action since Aug. 2 at Midland. Hooks manager Luis Pujols said Duran’s status is “day to day.”

____________________

Just because

Another look at Wladimir Sutil’s entertaining glovework against Northwest Arkansas in July 3, 2009 (original post by Duder here).

He mighta been a receiver or defensive back, but…

Bill Dwyre at Los Angeles Times writes about Jiovanni Mier and on the baseball career that almost wasn’t.

“I remember my mom crying,” [Mier] says. “I remember being strapped down. It was the worst feeling ever. Just terrible. After about three hours at the hospital, I asked them if they could loosen it up a bit. I remember being able to move my elbow to my head and that was great.”

____________________

Fun with numbers: draft bonus slotting system edition

The draft signing deadline is less than two weeks away, yet 20 of the 32 first round picks from this years draft remain unsigned and there have been no above-slot first round deals. What about Jiovanni Mier you say? Well… Jim Callis at Baseball America is reporting that while the number was above slot, MLB is playing with the numbers a bit as to show otherwise.

“The commissioner’s office won’t even acknowledge that Mier got an above-slot bonus. Like most draftees, he’ll collect all of his bonus by Jan. 1, but MLB is calculating that the slight deferral of the final payment decreases the net present value of his deal to $1,329,224—just under its recommendation of $1,332,000. MLB never has applied that reduction to a standard bonus payout in the past.”

____________________

Speaking of prospects

While there have been no additional reported signings of ’09 draftees by the Astros since Dallas Keuchel signed, they continue to be active in the free-agent prospects market. According to the Creighton Blue Jays athletics website, the Astros have signed Kirk Clark to a free-agent deal.

“A hard-throwing right-hander from Moline, Ill., Clark elected to bypass his senior season to start his professional career with the Astros organization. He has been assigned to the Tri-City ValleyCats in the New York-Penn League (short season A), though he has yet to appear in a game. After transferring in from Iowa Western CC, Clark went 0-2 with two saves and a 4.21 ERA in his only season for Creighton. Clark appeared in 26 games, including two starts, and threw 36.1 innings of work. He struck out 37 and walked 25 men, holding foes to a .261 average. He had been pitching this summer for the Glacier Pilots in the Alaska Baseball League, where he was 2-2 with a 1.95 ERA and two saves in 27.2 innings of work, before impressing scouts with his low-90s fastball.”

____________________

Staying put

Levine comments on late-season movement of prospects within the Astros system.

“We’ve made most of our moves. There may be one or two more moves toward the end of the season from a promotion standpoint that we may look to do,” assistant general manager Ricky Bennett said. “But generally speaking, our players are where they need to be, and I want them to settle in and finish on a good note and look toward next year.”

____________________

Starting to put it together

Levine also notes that Koby Clemens has been filling in for T. J. Steele in left as of late, and is starting to put things together at the plate.

“I think [experience at multiple positions] will increase [Clemens] value,” Bennett said. “He’s a baseball player, and that’s what we like about Koby. It doesn’t matter where he plays; he just wants to be in the lineup every day.

***

This year being his second year in High A ball, he’s really putting it together. I think he’s really understanding how to use his hands, and he has a much better approach using the whole field that’s really helping him.”

____________________

Players of the month

And the Astros minor league players of the month for July are…

♦ Round Rock: RHP Casey Daigle, OF Brian Bogusevic, IF Jason Smith;

♦ Corpus Christi: LHP Andy Van Hekken, OF Andrew Locke, IF Jhon Florentino;

♦ Lancaster: RHP Leandro Cespedes, OF Jon Gaston, IF Marcos Cabral;

♦ Lexington: LHP Patrick Urckfitz, OF Jay Austin, IF Andy Simunic;

♦ Tri-City: RHP J.B. MacDonald, OF Brian Kemp, IF Barry Butera;

♦ Greeneville: RHP Jose Cisnero, IF Jose Altuve, OF Grant Hogue;

♦ GCL: RHP Juan Minaya, RHP Michael Schurz, IF Enrique Hernandez, IF Luis Bryan;

♦ DSL: RHP Francisco Baso, IF Hector Rodriguez, IF Mario Gonzalez.

____________________

In case you weren’t aware

Minor League Splits dot com posts daily recaps of “Top Prospects and Yesterday’s Top Performances” for each MLB teams minor league affiliate. You can catch daily recaps of the Astros affiliates here.

The Astros site lists:

♦ Affiliate results (with links to box scores and play-by-play)

♦ Top pitching prospects (with a line from the previous game)

♦ Top batting prospects (with a line from the previous game)

♦ Top pitching performances

♦ Top batting performances

♦ Affiliate box scores

Definitely worth a look-see if you are interested in keeping up with Astros minor leaguers.

____________________

And from the ‘shoulda posted this weeks ago and you’ve probably already seen it so why bother’ department…

Greg Rajan at the Caller-Times writes that Whataburger Field has not turned out to be the bandbox some originally thought it would be (July 18).

Zach Levine at the Chronicle profiles Drew Locke of the Corpus Christi Hooks (July 18).

“The questions that linger with Locke halfway through his first season in the organization are his age and his defense. But it remains to be seen whether that reflects just a lack of opportunity in a crowded Dodgers system. He plays left and right field… but he is still a work in progress as he adjusts back to a position that he vacated last year. Locke’s bat, though, is what made him a Texas League All-Star this year and what the Astros hope will eventually get him to Houston.”

Houston Chronicle ‘Minor League Notebook’ on Chia-Jen Lo and Daniel Meszaros (July 20)

Bailey Stevens profiles Jon Gaston for MLB.com (at Astros.com on July 21).

Castro stands out at the Futures Game

Rick Hummel at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch remarks on Castro and his performance at the Futures Game.

One of the most impressive players on either side was Castro, the top pick of the Astros last year who already is in Class AA. He has hit .295 for basically one year of minor league ball, but, perhaps more significantly, has thrown out 49 of the runners who have tried to steal against him.

[Ozzie] Smith made a whistling motion when he described Castro’s throwing motion. “Vinny (former base-stealing champion Vince Coleman) would have a hard time stealing on him,” Smith said.

____________________

Onward and upwards

Justice provides some commentary on Jason Castro and on his performance at the Futures Game.

He’s the son of a California firefighter and has played all over the field but was always drawn to catching because of the extra responsibility.

How’d he end up a catcher?

“I’d caught when I was real young and always had catching in my back pocket. You’re the one back there controlling things. It’s exciting and keeps you on your toes.”

What has it been like at Double-A?

“When I first got to Double-A, I didn’t know what to expect. Now having been there a month or so, I’m kind of settling in and getting more comfortable.”

What does he still need to work on?

“Obviously, I need to improve in all aspects to keep advancing, to continue to refine my skills, not just as a hitter, but I need to work on the small things that make you a big league catcher.”

Castro on being invited to the Futures Game:

“It’s an honor to be invited. It’s exciting to be in here with all these guys.”

And on his performance:

“I was excited to get in there. It puts things in perspective a little bit. You get to see some other talent. It’s a good opportunity to go out and compete. I was fortunate enough to have some things go my way.”

Astros Scout Joe Graham talks about the intangibles:

“Obviously, anyone can see the tools. He’s more of a quiet leader. He has intangibles you look for in a catcher. He’s not a rah-rah guy. He has a calm demeanor and helps calm the pitching staff down.”

Bobby Heck chimes in as well:

“The more we watched him, the more we appreciated him. *** It’s his makeup, preparation and intelligence. He was involved in game plans at Stanford. A lot of times amateur catchers don’t call their own games. The more we looked at him, the more our guys talked, there was a common thread. He’s a good teammate. He gives the same effort every game.”

____________________

Who is better, Lyles or Seaton?

A Baseball America subscriber asks Jim Callis about Lyles, Seaton and Mier.

Lyles and Seaton in BA’s top ten Houston prospects list:

When both were coming out of high school a year ago, we regarded Seaton as a first-round talent and Lyles as a fifth- or sixth-rounder. *** After their pro debuts, we ranked Seaton No. 3 and Lyles No. 6 on our Houston Top 10 Prospects list.

Pitching performances at Lexington

Seaton has the better ERA (2.57, fifth in the South Atlantic League), but Lyles is having the better year. Lyles, who has a 2.92 ERA, has superior numbers in more important categories: strikeouts (118, second in the SAL, in 96 innings), K-BB ratio (118-21), opponent average (.238), groundout/airout ratio (1.04) and homers per nine innings (0.4). Seaton’s strikeouts are surprisingly low (55 in 95 innings), but SAL hitters haven’t made hard contact against him.

Comparing Lyles and Seaton

Lyles’ fastball sat in the high 80s for much of last spring, but he pitched at 90-96 mph in his debut and has shown similar velocity this year. Seaton, who threw at 90-94 mph in high school and pitched just four innings after signing last summer, has worked more in the high 80s in his first extended taste of pro ball. His slider is better than Lyles’ curveball, but I’d give Lyles the edge as a prospect right now because he has more present velocity, more projection remaining and better results in 2009.

What does Lyles project as?

Scouts definitely think more highly of [Lyles] these days, and he projects as a possible No. 3 starter, maybe more.

Will Jiovanni Mier crack BA’s next Houston top ten prospects list?

As for Mier, he’ll probably rank around No. 5 on our next Astros Top 10. He was the best defensive shortstop in the draft and he’s off to a nice start with the bat (.327/.422/.509) at Rookie-level Greeneville.

____________________

Lyles cracks the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet (again)

Coming in at number four this time.

Lyles’ overpowering fastball has helped him rack up 118 strikeouts in 95 2/3 innings, good for second in the league, and he’s allowed three or fewer runs in all but two of his 17 starts on the season.

____________________

Concussive power

Mark Maloney at the Lexington Herald-Leader writes about Jay Austin’s power surge.

Perhaps Jorge De Leon knocking Jay Austin upside the head wasn’t a bad thing. DeLeon, a shortstop, collided with the Lexington Legends center fielder as both pursued a fly ball on May 30. Did DeLeon knock a “hitting sense” into Austin? Not really. But since his return, Austin has been H-O-T.

Austin on his problems early in the season and the changes he’s made to get past them:

“I was getting out in front [of the ball]. After talking to Lawless, he helped me out a lot. So now I’m staying back behind the ball, seeing it better. … He tells you how it is. No sugar-coating or anything.”

“It was hard coming in every day and playing. My confidence was low, but you’ve just got to grind through it. I never doubted myself.”

Manager Tom Lawless says Austin is on the right path:

“There’s a lot of learning involved in what he’s got to do before he gets to play at the big-league level/ He’s definitely on the right path of understanding what everybody is trying to get to him — the information and knowing how to play the game.”

“He did a lot of work … and he made a few changes in his swing. You could probably say he’s the best player on the team right now.”

Ricky Bennett on Austin’s first full year of pro ball:

“We knew the first half of the season would be a learning curve for him. A young kid going into his first (full) year. There was a lot of things that we felt he needed to learn and, as the season went along, we were hoping that he would start to pick things up a lot quicker, apply things a lot quicker. Since he’s come back from the DL, he’s really done that and we’re really happy with where he is. We’re going to continue to work with him every day and continue to feed things to him. Hopefully, he’ll continue to make progress.”

____________________

Hitting the links

The Hooks official website highlights the performance of Castro and Lo at the Futures Game.

Zach Levine provides a progress update on this years signed draftees.

The Greenville Astros do a good deed.

Astros sign ‘em quick, but that is not true with other teams and their Oklahoma draftees.