The Astros Return to the GCL

The Astros return to the Gulf Coast League (“GCL”) for the first time since 1998, and Ken Jackson at Around Osceola has an informative article discussing the return of minor league baseball to Osceola County Stadium.

Make-up of the GCL:

[The GCL is] made up of newly drafted high school players, young Caribbean-born players in the U.S. for the first time, and other minor-leaguers rehabbing from injuries.

Omar Lopez, GCL Astros manager and former coach for the Astros in the Venezuelan Summer League, on acclimating players to professional baseball and (in the case of the 18 Latin American players on his roster, to the US):

“I have to be a manager, a parent and a babysitter, but I only get one paycheck. The Latin guys are here for the first time, and they need a bilingual person to give them some idea of the culture and how to do a lot of things. The high-school guys have some idea, but we still find ourselves teaching them everything. But, we try not to adjust the games of the ones who have a better idea.”

Jay Edmiston, General Manager of the GCL Astros and Astros Assistant Director of Baseball Operations, on the Astros return to the GCL:

“We needed a league for the younger players, and it made sense to be where players who report for the spring and stay for the extended spring.”

Tanner Bushue on adjusting to moving away from a town of 900 people (and no stoplights):

“I’m taking it all in, adjusting the best way I can. Everybody talks about the hot weather (95 degrees Friday) but I worked out in Houston before the draft and it was hot there and it didn’t bother me.”

Lopez on pitching roles and goals:

“We’ve got to see their stuff and make sure they’re physically and mentally ready to go to the mound. It’s our job to find their role. Right now, we want them to locate and command their best pitch. By the end of the year, we’d like them to leave with a second and third pitch.”

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A new season opens in Oneonta

Ed Weaver at The Saratogian takes a look at the 2009 Tri-City ValleyCats with first-year manager Jim Pankovits and new pitching coach Gary Ruby.

Pankovits on some of the positives for the ValleyCats:

“It’s going to be interesting to see how it evolves. But just on paper right now, we have a nice mixture of some veterans coming back; I call them veterans. They have two to three years of professional experience and experience playing here. Along with the new signees right out of the (2009) draft, having that mixture like that will help the transition for the new guys as well as provide some new blood.”

Pankovits on playing time:

“We want to see what the all can do. I think we have some nice versatility, some guys who can be interchanged here and there. Then eventually, their playing time will be dictated by their performance.

Pankovits on winning:

“We’re going to try to win, no doubt about it. That’s what it’s all about and the sooner they learn how to do that, the better. So, they’ll all get a chance to play early on and we’ll see from there. It’ll be fun to watch ‘em all play.”

Ruby on whether the starters would get to the fifth and sixth innings more than they did the previous year:

“I would think so. A lot depend on the college pitchers and how much they were used. We got all their (innings pitched, pitch-count) numbers and they’re pretty well-balanced. That should be OK. We’re tying to design the whole pitching program to keep everybody healthy and fresh.”

Ruby on the Astros ‘new’ pitch count philosophy:

“The organization has loosened our pitch counts. We want to get our starting pitchers as deep as possible in a game. Their health comes first but I think we have enough experience (on the coaching staff) to know how far somebody can go.”

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Mier adjusting to the minors

Jonathan Mayo at Astros.com discusses adjusting to life in professional ball with first round pick Jiovanni Mier.

Mier finds professional ball a bit different than playing high school ball in California:

“I knew it was going to be much faster, but it’s a lot quicker than I expected. Everything is much faster. I’m coming from high school, so obviously the pitching is much harder, the runners are faster. High school competition wasn’t too bad, but it’s a huge step to the pitchers, they’re much more advanced. In high school, they’re basically fastball, curve. Here, they’ve got everything else and they can do a lot more with their pitches.”

It was nice to get a hit in his first professional at-bat:

“It was exciting. It was my first at-bat and I wanted to do something good. It wasn’t much, but it was exciting to be in front of the fans and such…. You always want to go out and make a good first impression. I was happy to be able to do that and get my feet wet a little bit.”

He was pleased that he was able to come to terms with the Astros as quickly as he did:

“It was really important. That was our goal coming into the Draft, get me signed and get me out there, get me as many at-bats as I could, get me acclimated to the Minor League season, so I can have a better chance heading into instructs, Spring Training and next year. I didn’t want to waste time with anything. We did a good job getting signed as quickly as I could.”

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The Norris Express

Bud Norris has ‘caught the attention’ of Danny Davis at the Austin American-Statesman.

In his first season at the Triple-A level, Norris is leading the Pacific Coast League in earned-run average (2.17) and strikeouts (88). Among all Triple-A pitchers this season, Norris is second in strikeouts only to Tommy Hanson.

Being healthy has helped:

“I’m throwing the ball real well over the course of the year, and my health has held up. I’m going to keep letting the train keep going and throw every five days.”

The excellent numbers haven’t translated to wins though, but that doesn’t concern Norris too much:

“You go out there with the mind-set that your team is going to give you the best effort to win. I go out there every time just worrying about my job, and I know my guys are going out there and trying their hardest. Sometimes you get on the short end of the stick. But let’s not worry about one game; let’s worry about the course of the year and how the team ends up.”

While he’s progressing well, he still has some work to do:

Bombard said his young pitcher needs to work on controlling his fastball. Norris said he needs to improve on keeping base runners in check.

Is it time to make the next step?

“I’m worried about the Round Rock team now and pitching here and giving them the best opportunity to win. When the time is right, they’ll know when I’m ready.”

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Bizarre Bazardo

How does a 24 year old pitcher with a career Triple-A ERA of 4.61 get traded twice, designated for assignment twice, outrighted once and end up with four different organizations? Fangraphs takes a look, but admits it doesn’t have the answers.

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Castro is ‘Catching on’ in Corpus

Greg Rajan at the Caller-Times writes about Jason Castro’s rapid ascent through the minors.

Hooks president Ken Schrom was asked if his team’s newest player had a chance to make it to the major leagues. Schrom didn’t take long to point out that it was a matter of when, not if, Castro found his way into the Houston Astros’ lineup.

Castro on being called up to AA ball less than a year after signing with the Astros:

“It’s all happened real fast. I’ve been thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given. It’s been exciting and I’m looking forward to what’s to come, and the second half here in Corpus Christi.”

Castro on the differences he sees in playing AA ball:

“It’s been pretty good. When I first got here, I didn’t really know what to expect. After the first few games I played, I quickly recognized the jump in competition was definitely there. I’ve settled in and gotten more comfortable. I’d say (the biggest difference is) the speed of the game. The quality of pitching you see as a hitter is definitely better. And on the catching side, you’ve got to be a little smarter. The hitters are better, and they’ll punish you for it. You definitely have to be on top of your game at all times.”

Matt Galante on Astros revamped player development approach:

“Once we evaluate what we have, we’re going to get those guys here quicker because this is the level that separates the men from the boys.”

Hooks manager (and former MLB catcher) Luis Pujols on Castro:

“I think he’s holding his own and doing pretty well. I have worked with him on a couple of things, little details where the higher he goes, people will be looking more at it. I want him to be sure this is the right place to start learning those things, stuff like pitch selection, receiving and blocking.”

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Lyles is ‘Finding His Groove’

Neil White at The State gives an update on former Gamecock signee Jordan Lyles.

Lyles has compiled a 4-6 record and 3.09 ERA while striking out a league-high 98 batters in 78 innings over 14 starts. He credits his maturation to learning to pitch inside — as well as using both sides of the plate to keep hitters off-balance. His ability to throw strikes may be best evidenced by his 16 walks.

Lyles on his progress:

“I’m kind of surprised by the strikeout totals, but since I’ve gotten into pro ball, my velocity has really gone up… I’m feeling good. I’m coming into myself a little more.”

Despite having signed with the Gamecocks, Lyles is happy that he made the decision to go pro:

“I can use the three or four years (he would have spent in college) to put into the minor league system, and I’ll be right there… I’m having fun.”

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Timothy Gaffney with The Register Citizen catches up with Chris Blazek in Litchfield County after having surgery on his left shoulder (his pitching shoulder) to fix an 80-percent labrum tear.

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The Round Rock Express official website puts the spotlight on Chris Johnson.