No. 11 NICK TROPEANO, RHP ASTROS Team: low Class A Lexington (South Atlantic)Age: 21Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 2 GS, 14 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 17 SOThe Scoop: The release of Colin DeLome this week closes the book on the Astros' 2007 draft. Houston literally has no draftee from that year left in the organization. What ranks among the worst drafts of all time didn't produce a single big leaguer or really anyone who came close to the big leagues. We mention that only to point out what a new day it is for Astros fans. For the first time in a long time, there are plenty of reasons for Houston fans to check minor league box scores every night. Much of that is because of trade acquisitions like Jonathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart and Paul Clemens, but recent Astros' draftees like Tropeano are helping out as well. A fifth-round pick last year out of Stony Brook, Tropeano has struck out at least eight in all three of his South Atlantic League stars. The only run he's given up came when rehabbing big leaguer Rick Ankiel lined a single to score a run in his first outing of the season. With newfound depth in the farm system, Houston is trying to take things slower in promoting prospects. But if Tropeano keeps this up, he may have to prove the exception to the rule.
No. 2 JONATHAN SINGLETON, 1B ASTROS Team: Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas)Age: 20Why He's Here: .429/.484/.929 (12-for-28), 3 HR, 3 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBIs, 8 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 1-for-1 SBThe Scoop: Singleton hit his first homer of the season last Friday, starting him on an extra-base hit binge that accounted for the bulk of his 26 total bases last week. Among the highlights: A two-double game on Monday and a two-homer game Tuesday in which he went deep against Athletics 2011 first-rounder Sonny Gray. Singleton's offensive barrage pushed him to second in the Texas League batting race (.368), third in slugging (.662) and fourth in extra-base hits (12). By virtue of his 11-to-15 walk-to-strikeout ratio, he also leads the TL in on-base percentage at .456.Singleton dabbles occasionally in left field with the Hooks, but his future lies at first base for the Astros, a position he may assume during the second half of 2013. His feel for the strike zone and burgeoning power give him a chance to be a first-division regular there.
Santana makes it at #12 this week.
No. 13 JARRED COSART, RHP ASTROS Team: Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas)Age: 22.Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 8 SO, 1 BBThe Scoop: Cosart's first full season in the Astros organization has not been a breeze. The hard-throwing righty came to Houston along with first baseman Jonathan Singleton in last July's Hunter Pence deal with the Phillies. Cosart allowed one run or fewer in five of his seven starts with the Hooks last season, but he had struggled to regain that form until his outing against San Antonio on Tuesday. He had yielded 12 earned runs over 18 innings in his previous three starts, but against the Missions he didn't give up an extra-base hit while allowing only one runner past second base.
Team: low Class A Lexington (South Atlantic)Age: 19Why He's Here: .345/.486/.655 (10-for-29), 2 HR, 3 2B, 5 RBIs, 11 R, 7 BB, 1 HBP, 3 SO, 8-for-8 SBThe Scoop: A couple of California Leaguers—Billy Hamilton (94) and Rico Noel (55)—have more stolen-base quantity than DeShields, but the Astros 2010 first-rounder isn't so far removed from second place with 54 thefts of his own. DeShields also boasts an 88.5 percent success rate on steal attempts, a full five percentage points better than Hamilton or Noel. Houston can take things more slowly with DeShields now that Jose Altuve has established himself as Astros second baseman of the present, but DeShields may receive a second-half look with high Class A Lancaster nonetheless if he continues his torrid June pace. He's batting .322/.426/.456 (29-for-90) with an even 15-to-15 walk-to-strikeout ratio and 22 steals in 25 attempts.
The 11th overall selection in the 2011 draft, Springer bypassed low Class A and earned an assignment to high Class A and the hitter's haven that is Lancaster. The center fielder acclimated slowly to professional ball in April, but he has has showed steady progress each month, culminating with a 1.288 OPS over the last week to push his season line to .315/.394/.566. During that stretch, only one minor leaguer bested Springer's 13 hits, including five for extra bases. Lauded for his wide tool set, Springer is showcasing his plus power and speed by registering both 17 home runs and 17 steals. Of concern: he has struck out in 26 percent of his plate appearances.
Carlos Correa, ss, Astros: The No. 1 overall pick in June owns a .164/.215/.262 batting line in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League through his first two-plus weeks and 61 at-bats in pro ball. It's not an ideal start, though there are silver linings. First and foremost, Correa is 17 years old and doesn't turn 18 until September. Another reason to be encouraged for a turnaround: He's hitting the ball with authority when he does connect. Of Correa's 10 hits, six have gone for extra bases*, so while he went 6-for-30 (.200) this week, he also smacked five doubles.
No. 3 ROSS SEATON, RHP ASTROS Team: Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas)Age: 22Why He's Here: 1-0, 1.17, 2 GS, 15 1/3 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 12 SO, 4 BBThe Scoop: Seaton posted a 5.23 ERA in the Texas League last year, but his second tour with Corpus Christi has gone markedly better. He's posted quality starts in five of his last six outings and had his best performance of the year last Friday at Northwest Arkansas, limiting the Naturals to three hits over 8 1/3 shutout innings, his longest outing of the season. Seaton has always been a strike-thrower (career 2.54 walks per nine innings), but he's been especially efficient this year as his 1.81 BB/9 ranks third in the Texas League. The not-so-good news is that Seaton still doesn't miss many bats (his 5.53 K-rate is seventh lowest among qualified TL pitchers) and needs to be more effective against lefthanded hitters, who are batting at a .294 clip against him.
No. 7 DELINO DESHIELDS, 2B ASTROS Team: low Class A Lexington (South Atlantic)Age: 19Why He's Here: .429/.467/.714 (12-for-28), 5 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 2 BB, 7 AO, 4-for-5 SBsThe Scoop: DeShields can rightfully blame Billy Hamilton for stealing his spotlight. If not for the Reds prospect's insane stolen base numbers (105 and counting), then DeShields pursuit of 100 bags would be one of the stories of the minor league season. Unfortunately for DeShields, who has 64 steals, and fans of the minors, a Vince Coleman-Donnell Nixon-in-1983 race to the record is unlikely to transpire. DeShields must console himself with a South Atlantic League stolen base crown and the knowledge that he has turned his career trajectory around completely after struggling in 2011.
IN THE TEAM PHOTOThe Astros lured righthander Adrian Houser away from the University of Oklahoma as a second-round pick in 2011. He has come along nicely in the Rookie-level Appalachian League, throwing seven scoreless innings and giving up four hits in a start last Friday. Houser followed that with a win on Wednesday, in which he gave up two runs in six innings. On the season Houser has a 2.86 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 28 innings
NOT-SO HOT SHEET• Brett Oberholtzer, lhp, Astros. Acquired in last summer's Michael Bourn trade with Atlanta, Oberholtzer put Double-A behind him this season by going 5-3, 4.21 with a 1.32 WHIP in 13 starts for Corpus Christi. He even survived an April spot start in Albuquerque, which qualified as his Triple-A debut. But Oberholtzer has been hit hard since his "real" promotion to Oklahoma City on June 22, allowing 17 runs on 35 hits over 19 innings (8.05 ERA). His Saturday start at New Orleans qualifies as his worst. In it he allowed five homers over the course of four innings, while allowing seven runs on 12 hits.
Since last Friday's sheet: 17 for 32, 3 BB, 8 Ks, 2 HR, 3B, 4 2B, and 3 for 3 in stolen bases. 1509 OPS
Well, we'll find out if it is possible for Brandon Barnes to make the hot sheet. Since last Friday's sheet: 17 for 32, 3 BB, 8 Ks, 2 HR, 3B, 4 2B, and 3 for 3 in stolen bases. 1509 OPS
No. 13 JARRED COSART, RHPASTROSTeam: Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas)Age: 22Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 7 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SOThe Scoop: Cosart has been effective in his first full season with the Astros, but he's become a bit of a different animal than he was in the past. A product of last summer's Hunter Pence deal with the Phillies, Cosart has plenty of velocity with a fastball that has touched the high 90s. However, he's never been a big-time strikeout pitcher, instead relying more on groundballs and weak contact to get outs. His groundball rate has soared to new heights this season, with 4.1 groundouts for every out in the air, one of the highest ratios in the minors. Cosart still has question marks (effort in delivery, control), but his power arm and the fact that he's allowed just three home runs in 93 innings this year make him an intriguing arm.
Mike Kvasnicka, of, Astros: Kvansnicka turned down his hometown Twins as a 31st-round pick in 2007 to attend the University of Minnesota, where he saw time in the outfield and behind the plate. Intrigued with Kvasnicka's versatility and smooth swing, the Astros nabbed him with the 33rd pick in the 2010 draft—but his professional career has not progressed as Houston had hoped. The 23-year-old has settled in right field with low Class A Lexington, where this week he went 9-for-27 with three home runs, two of which came in a game against Greenville on Sunday. He's hitting .280 with power in July.
Another comment from the BA Prospect Hot Sheet chat: LINKJared (Las Vegas): I understand that Springer strikes out, but in his first full season he has done nothing but hit. I understand lancaster is a super hitters friendly park, but the way people make it seem its all the park. Break it down for meJ.J. Cooper: Lancaster makes it almost impossible to judge a hitter by his stats while he is there. Here's a rundown of players with a .950+ OPS at Lancaster since 2005: Josh Reddick, Bubba Bell, Brad Correll, Aaron Bates, Zach Daeges, Mickey Hall, Mark Reynolds, Javier Brito, Miguel Montero, Koby Clemens, Jon Gaston, Lee Cruz, Kody Hinze, Jose Altuve and David Flores. Springer had a .955 OPS there this year. Maybe he's the next Reddick or Altuve offensively, but a lot of guys who have done nothing since then had great years in Lancaster as well. Springer has great tools and I think he's a very solid prospect, but that's why you hear us and others saying to discount his Lancaster numbers somewhat.
Well that tastes like piss in my coffee.
Astros RHP Jarred Cosart recorded scoreless outings in three of his final five Double-A starts to earn a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he held the opposition scoreless through seven innings this week. The 22-year-old struck out six, walked two and allowed just three hits over seven innings, proof that he's recovered from the blister issues that sidelined him in July
Around midseason, the Cardinals gave him a brief respite from pitching and made mechanical tweaks. Upon his return they instituted a rule forbidding him from shaking off the catcher's sign. The results have been night and day. Miller's 92-95 mph fastball velocity returned and his command sharpened.
Maybe it's not that uncommon for a minor-league pitcher to be forced to throw the pitch called (I really don't know), but I find it humorous that a: The Cardinals grounded him from shaking off the catcher and b: That his season turned around when he was grounded from shaking off the catcher. I've read that they fixed his mechanics to the way they used to be, which I'm sure is a big part of his success. But, they have to save him from himself in the process.
If we look at this from the perspective of which system has improved the most during this calendar year, then the Astros come to mind. They had one of the best drafts in June, adding Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers Jr., Nolan Fontana, Brady Rodgers, Rio Ruiz and Brett Phillips, among others. They also acquired 15 prospects in five trades in July, and while those deals added more quantity than true quality, Robbie Grossman, Marc Krauss, Joe Musgrove and Co. will help Houston climb up our organization rankings after we rated its system the 17th-best in the 2012 Handbook
Astros RF Domingo Santana has legitimate pop, so his 20 homers this year aren't simply a product of playing his home games at high Class A Lancaster's launching pad. Santana, who just turned 20 on Aug. 5, belted two long balls this week, part of a .385/.484/.692 (10-for-26) showing.
I wouldn't run DeShields nearly that far up an overall prospect list, but there's no question that he's one of baseball's most improved prospects this season. After posting a .642 OPS in his first two pro seasons, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2010 draft has batted .288/.390/.430 at two Class A stops. He also has stolen 99 bases at a better success rate (85 vs. 81 percent) than Hamilton.Hamilton is the better prospect, even if he doesn't stick at shortstop. DeShields can't change games to the same extent with his speed, but he's a plus-plus runner with obvious basestealing skills. While he has more pop than Hamilton, that's not really the focus of his game. DeShields has made strides with strike-zone knowledge and on-base ability this year, though he still can get pull-conscious and power-happy at times.A center fielder in high school, DeShields shows good actions at second base and has smoothed out his infield defense. His arm is fringy and erratic, however, so he doesn't project to be more than an average defender at second base. It's conceivable that both he and Hamilton could wind up as big league center fielders, especially considering that Jose Altuve is one of the few bright spots in Houston.
I wouldn't run DeShields nearly that far up an overall prospect list,:
