Astros weekend links
What’s new with the Astros? We’ve got prospects playing in the AFL. The instructional league is wrapping up and winter leagues are getting started. The front office is hard at work on re-tooling the roster. And, of course, there’s that intriguing bankruptcy case involving CSN Houston.
Let’s get started with what’s happening on the field before working our way to the courtroom.
Peoria tied it in the fourth on a two-run homer by Astros prospect Jonathan Meyer. Delino DeShields, Houston’s seventh-ranked prospect, provided insurance with an RBI single in the ninth.
Monday we went over to watch our instructional league team beat the Braves, 12-2. [Outfielder James] Ramsey hit a three-run bomb, and [first baseman Chase] McDonald hit a bomb. We had five pitchers and couple of them were in the high 90s, and one of them [right-hander Jandel Gustave] was over 100. It was really a fun day.
A big bat like Shin-Soo Choo (.285/.423/.462 slash line in 2013) would be a major boost, but with a price tag that could exceed $100MM, there is virtually no chance of Houston biting. While the Astros have promising young players in the mix, they’re nowhere near ready to contend, which means big checks won’t be written this year.
Attorney Thomas Clare of the Washington, D.C., firm Kirkland & Ellis, which is representing the Astros, filed a letter with Judge Isgur on Friday saying that attorneys have reached an impasse on two points regarding witness lists and deposition locations in advance of an Oct. 28 hearing.
Delino DeShields (photo by Nora Wall)