Climbing Tal's Hill
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How Are Departed Astros Faring?–Week Two

By Jason Burke

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Last week, we took a look at how some of the departed Houston Astros spring training numbers thus far, and also asked for suggestions you’d like to see added to the list. Now we’re two weeks into camp, and the numbers should be a better representation of how each player is doing. Some improved, some slid, and some have a chance to be headed back to Houston.

Like last week, we’ll start with the Delino DeShields and Carlos Corporan, both of whom are on the Rangers. While Corp isn’t going anywhere, DeShields hasn’t been performing well, and due to his Rule 5 draft status, could be offered back to the Astros if he fails to make the Rangers’ opening day lineup.

Up until Friday, DeShields was batting just .071 with his only hit being the triple we mentioned last week. After a 2-for-3 day on Friday against the Giants, DeShields now has three hits in 17 at-bats, giving him an average of .176. He sat out of Saturday’s game. According to Baseball-Reference, the at-bats DeShields has been getting have been against Double-A ranked pitchers, or a score of 7.1 in their system.

Corporan had a rough week, and is now 3-for-11 with five strikeouts in limited spring action.

Rio Ruiz saw some action with the Braves this week. While he has yet to collect a hit in three at-bats, Ruiz has two walks and a run scored to go along with one strikeout. Michael Foltynewicz was shipped with Ruiz to Atlanta in the Evan Gattis deal, and didn’t pitch a ton this past week. In total, Folty has accumulated 2 1/3 innings pitched, giving up seven hits and six runs (two earned) while walking four and striking out two.

Jarred Cosart, who was traded at last year’s trade deadline in the deal that brought Colin Moran and Jake Marisnick to the Astros, received a little time on the bump this week. He’s pitched four innings and given up three runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out four. His spring ERA sits at 6.75.

Enrique Hernandez, or Kike Hernandez, was traded to the Dodgers in the Dee Gordon deal at the winter meetings in December. Thus far, Kike is 3-for-22 (all singles) with Los Angeles and has an rbi, two runs scored and a walk to go along with five strikeouts.

Nick Tropeano was traded for Hank Conger early in the offseason, and has had a decent spring so far, pitching 6 1/3 innings and allowing five runs (three earned). The seven hits and two home runs allowed could be cause for concern for Tropeano down the road, or it could just be a small sample size. It’s still hard to tell at this point.

Jandel Gustave and David Rollins were selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Red Sox and Mariners, respectively. Gustave was then traded to the Royals, and has been effective this spring, pitching 5 1/3 innings and allowing just one run for an ERA of 1.69. Gustave has yet to pitch above Low-A Quad Cities, so the chances that he sticks with the Royals, especially in that bullpen, may be slim. He’ll definitely be a player to keep an eye on.

David Rollins is fitting right in with the Mariners, pitching four innings and allowing just two hits to this point. Rollins only has one game of experience at the Triple-A level, but he pitched well in that 2013 outing, going six innings and allowing just three hits and a walk. Last season Rollins spent the entire season in Double-A, tallying 27 games (12 starts), and finished with a 3.81 ERA. At age 25, he may be getting his first real chance to stick at the major league level.

Just to round out the former Astros that are now on divisional rivals, Rudy Owens signed a minor league deal with the A’s in November with an invite to spring. Thus far he has pitched five innings and allowed five runs on six hits and a home run.

If this list tells us anything, it’s that teams around the league, and specifically those in the AL West have taken notice of what the Houston Astros are doing, and like what they see. So much so, that they want to add some of the available talent themselves. While facing some of the former players isn’t exactly ideal, it’s a nice way to keep up with a handful of them 19 times a season.

Next: Next Year Coming to a Ballpark Near You

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