Houston Astros Farm Report: QC River Bandits Roll On

The whole entire Houston Astros system is stocked with talent, as AAA Pitcher Dan Straily confirmed with me on Sunday night. While the Astros have an impressive 25-13 record, one team in their system has a better record than the parent club. The Low Class-A team Quad Cities River Bandits have a 29-8 record. Let that sink in a little, imagine the amount of winning that the Astros have done, and add four more wins to that. Last week I started writing about them here, and I received a little grief for busting their twelve game win streak.

Team Week in review

The River Bandits started last week with a 24-6 record, they won five games and lost two this past week. They lost the first game after my streak breaking post but won the next three games. How did they win five games last week, they outscored their opponents by a score of 52-33. This run differential was including a game that they won 15-8. As a team, they hit .281/ 21 doubles/ 3 triples/ 4 stolen bases.

While the hitters had a good week, the pitchers had a so-so week. The Bandits pitching staff had a 4.08 ERA as a team with a WHIP of 1.35. They gave up an average of 4.28 runs, 9.28 hits, while striking out 6.14 batters and walking 3.42 per game.

River Bandits Hitters

Who’s Hot?

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

Daniel Mengden has been hot all season. This past week, Mengden pitched ten innings without giving up an earned run. He had a WHIP of 0.90, which means that he averaged less than one hit or walk per inning. Mengden and his awesome mustache could be up for a promotion if he can continue to pitch like this.

Akeem Bostick made his second appearance for the River Bandits this season and had yet to give up an earned run in those two appearances. This past week, he closed out the game by pitching four innings and striking out one batter.

Who’s Not Hot?

I will not be getting a Christmas card from Brock Dykxhoorn because he was the pitcher to start the game on the day after my first Quad Cities post. He gave up five runs in four innings, with a ski high ERA of 11.25 and a WHIP of 2.00. Hopefully, you are not pitching tomorrow Brock!

Joshua James has been somewhat effective for the season, but in two games this past week, James has pitched nine innings this week. In those nine innings, he had an ERA of 7.00 and a WHIP of 1.56 with four strikeouts.

Conclusion

Good luck this next week River Bandits, but remember that your parents don’t like it when you embarrass them. The two losses this past week was a blowout loss where they allowed ten runs. The second loss was in an extra inning game that the Bandits lost in the 13th inning. The River Bandits as a whole do not seem to have a real powerful team, but they can still hit. Keep your eyes on Derek Fisher and David Mengden, they could eventually make the Astros roster in a few years.

Next: Keeping Up with the Prospects: Brett Phllips