Houston Astros Farm Report: A.J. Reed heating up, Matt Duffy struggling

Offense

2015 PCL MVP Matt Duffy has struggled mightily since returning to Fresno to join the Grizzlies. Through his first 51 at-bats with the club, he has managed only six hits and two RBIs while striking out 21 times. Duffy is currently hitless in his last 11 at-bats dating back to April 24.

After the first month of play, Eury Perez currently leads the Grizzlies in batting average with a .349 clip; the only downside is that his OBP is also .349 because he has yet to draw a walk through his first 43 at-bats.

Perez has spent time with the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves over parts of the past four seasons. In 119 at-bats with the Braves last season, the 6’0″ outfielder slashed .269/.331/.303. The right-handed Perez has little to no pop in his bat, and despite his ability to steal bases, Tony Kemp is likely ahead of him if the Astros decided to add another outfielder to the 40-man roster.

Kemp himself is slashing .304/.422/.362. Like Perez, Kemp is not known for his power, but more for his speed and athleticism – through 20 games, his only extra base hits are two triples. At 5’6″, Kemp is undersized, but can play both second base and in the outfield.

Danny Worth has yet to slow down as a member of the Houston Astros organization. Worth has an impressive line – .346/.418/.551 – with three home runs and five doubles to boot. It’s going to be tough for Worth to find a way to the Astros as a middle infielder, but he may be an asset for another team interested in the 30-year-old veteran.

Colin Moran has remained consistent in Fresno and has collected a base hit in seven out of his last nine games. Through his first month of play, he’s slashing .303/.357/.395. His power numbers from Spring Training have not carried over into the season, but with Luis Valbuena‘s line of .183/.290/.250, no home runs and only four RBIs, Moran may realistically find himself on the 40-man roster by the end of the month.

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A.J. Reed has raised his batting average 50 points over the course of a current eight-game hit streak. Two of those hits were home runs to raise his season total to five. The big lefty is slugging .519 through his first twenty games. Against left-handed pitching, Reed is 4-for-18 with one home runs, six walks and six strikeouts.

After a rough start, Jon Singleton is hitting .351 over his last ten games with four home runs, and a current four-game hit streak. Of course, it’s hard to believe fully in Singleton at this point, but his production is not far behind Reed’s after their first 20 games.

Jake Marisnick was having a rough go of things after his demotion last week. In his first four games at Triple-A, Marisnick is 3-for-19 and struck out four times in Friday’s loss to El Paso. Like Duffy, Marisnick will likely need a chance to get going after only getting ten at-bats in the Astros first few weeks of play.

Next: Pitching

Pitching

Brad Peacock remains the most consistent starting pitcher for the Grizzlies thus far, but it’s not saying all too much. Peacock has not allowed more than three runs in his first four outings and struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings in Tuesday’s loss. On the downside, the right-handed Peacock has allowed 14 hits and five walks over only 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts.

After throwing 11 2/3 scoreless innings to begin the season, Tommy Shirley allowed four runs in each of his last two starts. Shirley was a Round 9 pick in 2010 for the Astros and spent all of 2015 in Fresno where the 6’5″ lefty held a 3.07 ERA and 1.05 WHIP as a reliever.

James Hoyt (acquired from the Braves in the Evan Gattis trade) has pitched well as the Grizzlies primary closer this season. Through his first 11 appearances, Hoyt has allowed only three runs on seven hits while striking out 20 in only 12 1/3 innings. Hitters are hitting a paltry .171 against him early on.

Next: Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins Series Preview

It’s worth noting that the Houston Astros’ 2015 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Joseph Musgrove, has been lights out in his first four outings for Double-A Corpus Christi. If Musgrove continues to pitch well, he may find himself in Fresno sooner than later.

**Statistics provided by MiLB.com & Baseball-Reference**