AFL rosters out

[Jacksonian]

The initial rosters are out.  Here are the Astros farmhands.  They'll play for the Mesa Solar Sox:

Dave Clark is the manager.
Barthmaier
James
Muecke
Reineke
Towles
Manzella
Flores
Einertson will be on the Taxi Squad and only be active on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

[Duman]

The initial rosters are out.  Here are the Astros farmhands.  They'll play for the Mesa Solar Sox:

Dave Clark is the manager.
Barthmaier
James
Muecke
Reineke
Towles
Manzella
Flores
Einertson will be on the Taxi Squad and only be active on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

It is nice to see Einertson getting some reward for his season.  Let's hope he makes the most of the opportunity. 

Barthmaier is really struggling, it will be interesting to see how he does.

[Duman]

The Mesa Solarsox started their fall season last night.  4 Astros made appearances:

Josh Flores was 2 for 5 with a double, a stolen base and a run scored.

Tommy Manzella went 1 for 3 and was caught stealing.

Jimmy Barthmaier gave up two hits, no runs and struck out 2 in 1 inning pitched.

Josh Muecke went 1 2/3 innings allowing a run on no hits.  He walked 3 and struck out 1.

[Duman]

After this weekend's games, here is how the Astros guys are doing:

Towles - Didn't take him long to pick up a K in the AFL.  He has appeared in 3 games.  He is 2 for 5 with no extra base hits and one K.  He has also been caught stealing once.

Manzella - Has appeared in 3 games, is 3 for 10 with no extra base hits and a caught stealing

Flores - Has appeared in 3 games, is 3 for 11 with a double and 2 Ks.  Has stolen one base.

Einertson - Has appeared in 3 games is 1 for 8 with a double.

Barthmaier has appeared in 2 games has an ERA of 9.00 in 3 innings.  6 hits, 3 walks & 4 Ks

Muecke has appeared in 2 games has an ERA of 3.00 in 3 innings. Allowed no hits, but 3 walks and 2 Ks.

James started one game and has a ERA of 0.00.  No hits, no walks & 2 Ks

Reineke has appeared in one game with an ERA of 4.50.  1 hit (a HR), one walk & 2 Ks.

[Duman]

Flores is hitting .276 in 8 games.  He has 7 Ks in 29 AB.  He has 2 stolen bases.  OBP of .344

Manzella is hitting .273 in 7 games.

Einertson is hitting .250 in 5 games and is slugging at .563. 4 K's in 16 AB.

James has made 2 starts with an ERA of 2.57 in 7 innings pitched.  He has allowed one HR out of 4 hits allowed.  He has walked no one and has 3 Ks.

Barthmaier has appeared in 5 games.  His ERA has dropped to 8.53 with two recent outings where he went one inning and gave up no hits or walks.

Muecke has appeared in 5 games.  His ERA is 1.50.  He allowed his first hit in his last outing.  He has not walked anyone since his 3 walk first outing.

Reineke has made 4 appearances (5 IP).  His ERA has dropped to 3.60 with his two most recent outings being an inning each of no hit, no walk pitching with a combined 5 Ks.  He now has 8 K's.  The two hits he has allowed this year have both left the ball park.

[Duman]

Einertson will be on the Taxi Squad and only be active on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Einertson ph & played RF tonight.  It looks like with Towles off the roster, they may have moved Mitch off the taxi squad. 

[Froback]

Einertson ph & played RF tonight.  It looks like with Towles off the roster, they may have moved Mitch off the taxi squad. 

I just hope he gets regular time.  It is hard to develop a rhythm for any hitter if you don't play consistently.

[MikeyBoy]

I just hope he gets regular time.  It is hard to develop a rhythm for any hitter if you don't play consistently.

That's what I've been trying to tell everybody.

Sincerely,
Jason Lane

[Duman]

Flores is hitting .317 in 12 games.  He has 12 Ks in 41 AB.  He has 4 stolen bases.  OBP of .378

Manzella is hitting .267 in 10 games.

Einertson is hitting .250 in 8 games and is slugging at .458. 6 K's in 24 AB.  He has made 3 errors.

James has made  3 starts with an ERA of  3.27 in 11 innings pitched.  He has allowed one HR out of 6 hits allowed.  He has walked one and has 5 Ks.  His record is 1-0.

Barthmaier has appeared in 6 games.  His ERA has dropped to 6.48. He has not allowed a run in his last 3 outings spanning 4 innings.

Muecke has appeared in 7 games.  His ERA is 1.00.  He has not walked anyone since his 3 walk first outing.

Reineke has made 5 appearances (8 IP).  His ERA has dropped to 2.25 with his last 3 outings resulting in 5 IP, one hit, no runs or walks and 8 Ks.  The two of the three hits he has allowed this year have left the ball park.

[Duman]

See Video of AFL prospects and hear MLB's minors expert Jonathon Mayo butcher Towles, Einertson & Barthmaier's names.

It is a pop up video and I couldn't get a direct link.  I someone knows how to add that I would appreciate it.

[Duman]

We will add newly acquired Michael Constanzo to the list of Astros Farm Hands in the AFL.  MILB did a little blurb on him as I am sure has been pointed out somewhere in the 15 page discourse on the trade in the talk zone.

Mr. Constanzo is not burning up the AFL.  Through 20 games, he is hitting .169 with 25 K's in 71 AB.  He has 2 HR and 10 walks. He has made 2 errors.

Brad James - Had another rough outing on Nov. 5th.  He only went one inning giving up 2 hits and two runs.  This brings his ERA for the season up to 6.32. 

Jimmy Barthmaier - Has now had 9 outings.  In 6 of them, he is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.00 in 6 Innings pitched.  In the other three, he is 0-1 with a ERA around 19.  10 Earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.  Combine them all together and you get an ERA of 8.44 over 10 2/3 IP.

Josh Muecke - He has now been scored on again, giving up 2 runs in his 9th appearance of the year.  That was his first runs since his first outing. Since then he has had two more scoreless innings.  ERA stands at 1.88 over 14 1/3 innings. His 5 walks have come in two appearances.

Chad Reineke - had a streak of 6 straight scoreless outings snapped with a 3 run outing on the 7th.  His season ERA is at 3.75 through 12 IP.  He has 14 K's in those 12 innings but has surrendered 3 long balls out of the 5 hits he has given up.

Tommy Manzella continues to be impressive.  He has a 4 game hittings streak (7 out of 15) and is batting .306 in 15 games.  He has made two errors in the field.

Josh Flores continues to play well, batting .292.  He is showing some pop with 4 doubles and 1 HR.  His K's are concerning 15 in 48 AB, compared to only 5 walks.

Mitch Einertson is batting .302 through his 15 games.  He now has 4 homers and 10 RBI.  For a kid who stuck out 70 times in 220 AB as a rookie, it is encouraging to see him having only 10 K's in 53 AB.

[Duman]

The AFL regular season ended yesterday.  Here is how the Astros farm hands ended up:

Tommy Manzella - the 24 year old short stop had an impressive short season.  He hit .302 which continued the strong way he finished the season in CC (.298 Aug, .333 Sept).  He only committed 3 errors in 16 games. Full Stats

Josh Flores - The speedy center fielder will turn 22 on Sunday.  He bounced back from a rough adjustment to Corpus Christi to hit .292.  OBP was low for his speed and strike outs were high.  Full Stats

Mitch Einertson - The 21 year old outfielder started the season on the taxi squad and ended up playing more games than any other Astro farm hand.  In 21 games, he hit .260, which was down from his .305 in the Carolina league but AFL ball is the equivalent of AA ball so this was an adjustment time for him.  He hit 4 homers but his slugging dropped alittle from the regular season.  His strike out numbers were good, but he did strike out in each of the last 6 games.  Overall, Mitch was rewarded for his good season and he didn't do anything to blow it and performed adequately.  A successful AFL for him.  Full stats

He ranked tied for 8th in HR in the league

Michael Costanzo - Came to the astros during the season in the Lidge trade.  He struggled at the plate hitting only .189.  He struck out  32 times in 90 at bats.  He was one strike out away from the dubious distinction of the most Ks in the league.  He finished stronger with RBI in his last 4 games.  He only committed 3 errors. Full Stats

Jimmy Barthmaier - Jimmy carried his struggles from the season with him.  He appeared in 11 games with an ERA of 9.69.  In his 4 outings in November, he went 4 1/3 innings, gave up 10 hits, 3 walks and 8 earned runs.  His ground out to fly out ratio tells me he was working on some different pitches in the AFL because the last two season, his ratio was around 1.70 but in the AFL it was 0.79.  We will see what these adjustments mean in spring training. Jimmy & Brad James were tied for the 10th most ER allowed in the AFL with 14. His two wins were good for a tie for 8th in the league.

Brad James - Brad was tasked with working on his change up to give him an adequate 3rd pitch to go with his sinking fastball and slider.  The numbers would indicate that he didn't master it in the AFL and there is more off season work to do.  His control appeared to be off with an average of a walk an inning but his K numbers were up to over one per inning. He ended the season with a 7.00 ERA in 18 IP.

Josh Muecke - the 25 year old made the most of his time in the sun.  He made 13 relief appearances (2nd most in league) with a 1.56 ERA in 17 1/3 innings. His overall ratios were similar to his full season numbers.

Chad Reineke - Another 25 year old who made a good impression during his time in AZ.  In 11 games (14 IP), he chalked up an ERA of 3.86 with a strike out an inning average.  He only gave up 7 hits but 3 of them left the yard. His ERA against righties was 0.00 with 100 Ks, against lefties it was 11.57 with all three HR (out of 4 hits). His overall WHIP of .86 was good enough for 8th in the league.

[I'm Richies Dad]

Duman-

How do you think the final stats will effect Manzella's status in the organization?  I would assume he is being looked upon to replace Everett in 2009.  Do you feel the small sample really influences that at all?  I would also assume that he gets put on the 40 man as well.

[Jacksonian]

Duman-

How do you think the final stats will effect Manzella's status in the organization?  I would assume he is being looked upon to replace Everett in 2009.  Do you feel the small sample really influences that at all?  I would also assume that he gets put on the 40 man as well.

I'm not Duman, but...

His stats won't effect anything.  The Astros will look at his overall experience.  They'll be looking at the mechanics of his swing, his at-bat management, agressiveness, confidence...  There's not enough AB's there to use stats for any real purpose.  He doesn't have to be put on the 40-man until after the 2008 season so it's unlikely he'll be added before the Rule 5 draft.

[VirtualBob]

I'm not Duman, but...

Nor I, but ...

His stats won't effect anything.  The Astros will look at his overall experience.  They'll be looking at the mechanics of his swing, his at-bat management, agressiveness, confidence...  There's not enough AB's there to use stats for any real purpose.  He doesn't have to be put on the 40-man until after the 2008 season so it's unlikely he'll be added before the Rule 5 draft.

I agree ... all about how he is developing.  And along those lines, do you think we can expect him in RR to start the season?  It seems like that might be a bit of a reach, but he responded very well to the mid-season call-up last year to CC.  Assuming that Cody Ransom finds room in Houston, I'm thinking Tommy might be the everyday SS in RR.  Am I too optimistic about his progression?

[Jacksonian]

Nor I, but ...

I agree ... all about how he is developing.  And along those lines, do you think we can expect him in RR to start the season?  It seems like that might be a bit of a reach, but he responded very well to the mid-season call-up last year to CC.  Assuming that Cody Ransom finds room in Houston, I'm thinking Tommy might be the everyday SS in RR.  Am I too optimistic about his progression?

At this point I think we're looking at what happens in spring training to determine where he lands to start 08.

[Duman]

This sample has to be taken in context of several things.  One of which is Manzella has been a streaky hitter in the past.  He has had some strong months (June 06 .375, Aug 06 .422) and bad months (April 06 .226, May 07 .246).  He left Salem hitting .170 (56 AB) in June and finished June hitting .385 (15 AB). 

I agree with the other guys that Spring Training will determine if Tommy is in RR or not.  That is where I have him penciled in right now, with Maysonnet playing SS in CC.  I think Tommy could also be attractive as a potential trading piece.

[VirtualBob]

This sample has to be taken in context of several things.  One of which is Manzella has been a streaky hitter in the past.  He has had some strong months (June 06 .375, Aug 06 .422) and bad months (April 06 .226, May 07 .246).  He left Salem hitting .170 (56 AB) in June and finished June hitting .385 (15 AB). 

I agree with the other guys that Spring Training will determine if Tommy is in RR or not.  That is where I have him penciled in right now, with Maysonnet playing SS in CC.  I think Tommy could also be attractive as a potential trading piece.

As long as we are speculating here, what is the consensus on Wlad Sutil?  Does he get a starting job at Salem?  The uber-utility role at Corpus?  Or does he get the boot?  I've been a bit surprised at how slowly he has progressed over the last few years, but I keep thinking he has a future.

[Jacksonian]

As long as we are speculating here, what is the consensus on Wlad Sutil?  Does he get a starting job at Salem?  The uber-utility role at Corpus?  Or does he get the boot?  I've been a bit surprised at how slowly he has progressed over the last few years, but I keep thinking he has a future.

He falls in the "who the hell knows" category.  I don't have a read on what the Astros think of him long-term.  But, I suspect he'll be let go once he reaches 6 years in the minors.

[Duman]

I have him starting the year at Salem but ready to move up quickly and push someone if he continues how he played at the end of the year last year.  He really took to the lead off spot last year when Flores moved up.  I think that breathed some life into his career for another year.