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Houston Astros Minor League Week In Review: April 9th – 19th

By Jimmy Price

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Houston Astros Minor League Week In Review: April 9-19

With the minor league season in full swing, we here at Climbing Tal’s Hill will be putting out a weekly review of the Houston Astros minor league system. While the Houston Astros major league club has improved, the Astros minor league system is still very good, and they showed it in the first week and a half. Let’s take a look at how they did.

AAA: Fresno Grizzlies (7-4)

  • L.J. Hoes, OF: .355 BA (11-31), 6 R, 4 2B, 6 RBI, 3 BB/6 SO
  • Preston Tucker, OF: .350 BA (14-40), 10 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 5 BB/7 SO
  • Matt Duffy, 3B: .325 BA (13-40), 5 R, 2 2B, HR, 12 RBI
  • Andrew Aplin, OF: .294 BA (5-17), 5 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 SB
  • Nolan Fontana, SS: .290 (9-31), 11 R, 3B, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 10 BB/8 SO
  • Jon Singleton, 1B: .270 (10-37), 9 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 BB/9 SO

The Grizzlies offense did well, but most of the starters struggled. Preston Tucker is building on his success last season and is off to a hot start with 4 HR so far. Aplin continues to impress in his time. Playing good defense, hitting for average, drawing walks, and stealing bases. Singleton has showed some power in the early going and has done a good job limiting strikeouts.

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (7-3)

  • Carlos Correa, SS: .341 BA (14-41), 8 R, 8 2B, HR, 12 RBI, 5 BB/11 SO, SB
  • Tony Kemp, 2B: .382 BA (13-34), 8 R, 2B, 4 RBI, 10 BB/5 SO, 2 SB
  • Leo Heras, OF: .318 BA (7-22), 6 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 BB/4 SO, SB
  • Tyler Heineman, C: .286 BA (8-28), 4 R, 2 2B, 3 BB/1 SO

Carlos Correa has gotten off to a great start. It is really nice to see him get hot early on in his AA debut. Fellow infielder, Kemp, has continued his hot hitting from last season. Would like to see a little more power but the ten walks are encouraging. Former #1 pick in 2013, Appel made two starts, both of which were fantastic. McCullers also made two starts and has yet to yield a run, with 12 K in 10 IP.

A+: Lancaster Jethawks (6-5)

  • Chase McDonald, 1B: .375 BA (15-40), 6 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB/14 SO
  • J.D. Davis, 3B: .359 BA (14-39), 8 R, 4 2B, HR, 10 RBI, 4 BB/8 SO, SB
  • Danry Vasquez, RF: .351 BA (13-37), 6 R, 7 2B, 5 RBI, 5 BB/4 SO
  • Brett Phillips, CF: .341 BA (15-44), 9 R, 2 3B, 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI, SB

Lancaster got off to a slow start with the bats but really got rolling the last few seasons. Davis has shown an ability to hit for average and I am sure more home runs will come. Brett Phillips has built on his great year last season. He has done exactly what we expected him to do this season. The starting pitching got roughed up a bit, but Frias made two great appearances this week. Also nice to see Vasquez hitting well early on after a rough season last year.

A: Quad Cities River Bandits (9-2)

  • Jamie Ritchie, C: .448 BA (13-29), 9 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 10 BB/7 SO, 2 SB
  • Bobby Boyd, OF: .333 BA (13-39), 4 R, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SB
  • Derek Fisher, OF: .316 BA (12-38), 9 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB/12 SO, 2 SB
  • Mott Hyde, SS: .294 BA (10-34), 8 R, 6 2B, 3 RBI, 4 BB/5 SO

It is still early in the season, but Ritchie has been very impressive. Derek Fisher is off to a hot start smacking three homers, though it would be nice to see him cut down on the strikeouts some. This team is filled with experienced college guys and should do well all season. The pitching has been great so far. Dykxhoorn, only 20 years old, was a 6th round pick in 2014 and one to keep an eye on. Musgrove dominated the NY-Penn League last season and has dominated the Midwest League so far.

The minor league season has got off to a good start for all teams. The top prospects are hitting the ball and pitchers like Appel and McCullers have rebounded well. As always, go Astros!

Next: Week 3 Power Rankings: Where Do the Astros Land?

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