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Astros Minor Leagues: Nick Tanielu Leads Quad Cities in Hitting

By Larry Manch

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Astros Class-A Report: Quad Cities River Bandits (July 18-24)

Astros minor leaguer Nick Tanielu continues to lead the River Bandits with his solid hitting as the team works its way through the second half of the Midwest League season. The Bandits were 4-3 this week. Although the team is hitting well and getting good pitching, they remain in third place in the Western Division, six games behind Kane County, and two games behind second place Peoria.

Tanielu, 22, was a 2014, 14th round draft pick by the Astros out of Washington State University. He has done well in his short professional career, batting .300 in 2014 with the Tri-City Valley Cats of the NY/Penn League, and winning MVP honors in the league All-Star game. His OBP last year was .353, .425 slugging percentage, and .778 OPS; his hitting and solid defense at second and third base were enough to earn him a promotion to the full-season Midwest League Quad Cities River Bandits for 2015.

This season, Tanielu is playing primarily third base, and occasionally as designated hitter. In 82 games, he is batting .308, with two home runs, 44 RBI, and a .351 OBP. He stands a good chance of gaining another promotion before the season is over, to High-A Lancaster. Several of his River Bandits’ teammates have already made the jump this season, including Derek Fisher, Mott Hyde, Jacob Nottingham, and most recently, Jamie Ritchie and pitcher Francis Martes.

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Quad Cities is 17-12 in the second half, and 62-35 overall, three games better than any other Midwest League team. Bandits’ batters lead the league in walks (397) and OBP (.347). The pitching staff leads the league in wins (62), ERA (2.66), innings pitched (895), fewest hits allowed (738), fewest runs and earned runs allowed (323,257), WHIP (1.17), and are tied for the lead in shutouts (10).

The cover photo is courtesy of @QCBanditPhotog.

Other notes:

  • RHP Francis Martes, 19 years old, was promoted on July 20 to High-A Lancaster. Martes was 3-2 with a 1.04 ERA, 52 IP, 33 H, 13 BB, 45 K for Quad Cities.
  • The July 20, 14-5 win over Cedar Rapids was the first time May 27 (47 games) that the River Bandits scored more than nine runs.
  • Quad Cities’  longest game in five years happened on July 22, a 4-3 win over Kane County (15 innings, four hours, 56 minutes).
  • The July 23, 5-2 loss at Kane County marked the first time this season the River Bandits have lost a road series.
  • Former River Bandit, RHP Aaron Greenwood, was released on July 23 by the High-A Lancaster JetHawks.
  • LHP Zach Davis was promoted on July 24 from Tri-City to Quad Cities. Davis was 0-0, 4.09 ERA, in 11 innings over 11 games with the Valley Cats.

Next: Keeping up with the Astros Prospects: OF Jon Kemmer

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