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Astros Minors Report: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not for AA Corpus Christi

By Issa Cook |
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Aug 3, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa (1) hits a two-run home run during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

A lot has changed since I wrote my last Corpus Christi Hooks update. The month of July included a lot of roster moves for the Astros AA affiliate, and their win-loss record has definitely been affected. The Hooks, who won the first half of the Texas League season with a 48-22 record, are 23-18 in the second half.

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They still have been able to win ball games, but with all the moving and shaking they haven’t been as dominant as they were from April through June. Of course, a lot of this has to do with the fact that current Astros Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers haven’t been with the team in the second half and their best player, Brett Phillips, was traded in late July.

Speaking of Phillips, it’s a shame that he was traded to the Brewers because I had watched him play in Corpus Christi just last week and was 100% sure that I would be writing about him in this post. Too bad he’s with another organization, but Carlos Gomez has been a really good center fielder so far in Houston.

Anyway there are still a lot of good players in Corpus who are making a case to join the Astros sooner rather than later and others who are making Corpus Christi feel like home, so let’s get to talking about those guys.

Next: Who's Hot Part 1

Who’s Hot: Colin Moran

Feb 26, 2015; Kissimmee, FL, USA; Houston Astros infielder Colin Moran poses for a picture during photo day at Osceola County Stadium Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

I want to start this slide off by congratulating Colin Moran for being the first Hooks player to graduate from the Who’s Not portion of the article to the Who’s Hot section! This is not something that’s easy to do, as there are always plenty of choices. Moran has had quite the turnaround in the second half for Corpus Christi.

In July, he hit .349 with seven doubles, two triples, 22 RBIs, and three home runs. Oh yeah, he also had a .945 OPS! These were crazy good numbers for the third baseman that couldn’t hit AA pitching only a couple of months ago. These numbers are also why he was named Texas League Player of the Month in July! A great honor for a nice little comeback story in Moran.

Moran wasn’t finished producing in July. He is 8 for 16 with two home runs, two doubles, six RBIs and five runs in his last five games. This recent run of Moran crushing baseballs has brought his season totals to a .315 batting average, .843 OPS, 22 doubles, 5 home runs, and 54 RBIs. This is much more solid than the low .23os batting average that I wrote about back in May and June.

If Moran can continue hitting the way he’s hitting now, I think he’ll definitely be in AAA by the end of the season. It looks like he has figured out AA pitching and deserves a shot at Fresno. Matt Duffy is having a great season in Fresno but his services might be needed with the Astros at one of the corner infield spots if Luis Valbuena and Chris Carter continue to struggle. I think there’s a good chance of this happening, so I’ll put Moran’s chances of playing at AAA in 2015 at 60%.

Next: Who's Not Part 1

Who’s Not: Brandon Meredith

Jul 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A detailed view of the baseballs before the game between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Rangers defeated the Giants 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Hooks OF Brandon Meredith was not having a great 2015 season at all, and was granted an unconditional release on July 12th. The right-handed hitting outfielder and first baseman was in the middle of his second season at Corpus Christi, but just couldn’t quite adjust at the AA level.

After hitting 16 home runs at High A Lancaster in 2013, the Astros decided to promote him to AA in 2014, and never saw the power numbers at the same level. Meredith was hitting .248 with 4 home runs and only 37 hits compared to 38 strikeouts when he was released.

These were obviously not great numbers, and the Hooks already had Brett Phillips, Jon Kemmer, and Teoscar Hernandez occupying the outfield spots. He could have played first base, but then AJ Reed was brought up.

With the stacked farm system that the Houston Astros have right now, sometimes it’s necessary to cut players with potential. That’s what happened with Meredith, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be successful with another organization if he gets the chance. A .248 batting average can definitely be improved upon, as Colin Moran probably knows better than anyone. 

Next: Who's Hot Part 2

Who’s Hot: Joe Musgrove

Jun 23, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A glove and ball belonging to Cincinnati Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton (not pictured) sits on the field before the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Reds at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, I had to include the newest member of the Astros Top 10 prospects club to this list. Musgrove has been a beast in 2015 at Low A Quad Cities, High A Lancaster and AA Corpus Christi. The 22 year-old right hander has an near perfect record this year in the minors, posting a 4-1 record for Quad Cities, 4-0 record for Lancaster, and 3-0 record for Corpus Christi.

After seeing those stats, I don’t really care what his numbers are. If he’s a winner, I want him in an Astros uniform. End of story…not really. The kid obviously needs more time to grow, and here are his numbers at Corpus Christi by the way:

  • 2.08 ERA
  • o.90 WHIP
  • 26 SO/4 BB
  • 3-0 Record

As fast as Musgrove has been progressing this season, the Astros will probably be quick to pull him up to AAA if he continues to pitch well. But, I would argue that Musgrove should settle in at Corpus Christi for the final few weeks of this season. The Astros obviously think highly of him if they didn’t deal him in a deadline trade, and he has a lot of time to grow still. He isn’t needed in Houston, and can help the Hooks in a AA playoff run.

The only scenario in which I see Musgrove being promoted to AAA Fresno is one where a AAA pitcher gets promoted to the Astros in September call-ups and Musgrove is called up to replace that guy. I think he would do a fine job for the Grizzlies (or Tacos I guess), but he knows his status is safe within the Astros organization and there should be no rush on his promotion. I’d put his promotion chances at 30%.

Next: Who's Not Part 2

Who’s Not: Chris Devenski

Jul 21, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; A baseball, baseball glove and baseballs are shown on the infield during batting practice before the game against the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

This is defintietly not who I expected to be writing about for my second Who’s Not in this aritcle. IF uyou would have tolde me one month ago that Devenski would be on this list, I would have called you crazy. I probably would have said that he’d be in AAA right now, as he was that dominant in the first half.

Devenski started the Texas League All-Star Game, and since then it’s been all downhill. Since his start on June 27, his ERA has climbed from 1.16 to 3.09! This was only in five starts! He essentially has ruined a dominating first half by putting up some less than stellar numbers in July.

The Hooks expect that there’s something wrong with Devenski, so they placed him on the 7-day disabled list just a few days ago. Hopefully there’s no serious injury, and he can make it back to be the AA ace that he was a few weeks ago.

I was pretty upset when Jeff Luhnow decided to promote Mark Appel over Devenski a few weeks ago, but maybe he had his good reasons. Devenski hasn’t had nearly as many supporters recently, and is making Luhnow look a lot better.

I was also surprised that Devenski didn’t get dealt, as he really might be a good piece at AAA for another organization. He needs to get his stuff back in order to move up the ranks in this organization, as he now has room to grow in AA.

Next: Astros Season 2/3 Finished: How to Push Through the Final Third

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