Astros Minors: Roster Moves and Top Performers

By Larry Manch |

May 29, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view of a Houston Astros helmet and glove before a game against the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Astros Class-A Report: Quad Cities River Bandits (July 24-Aug. 6)

The River Bandits are tied for fourth place in the second half standings, sixth overall in the Western Division. This week’s report covers roster moves and individual performances from the past two weeks for Quad Cities players as well as other Astros prospects from Short Season-A, and the various Rookie Leagues.

Notes:

LHP Framber Valdez was promoted on July 27 to Quad Cities from Tri-City. In five games with the Valley Cats, he went 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA, five walks, and 28 strikeouts.

More from Prospects

On the same day, OF Stephen Wrenn, Astros #27 Top Prospect, also moved up to Quad Cities. Wrenn was the Astros 2016 6th round amateur pick. For the Valley Cats, he was hitting .282 with nine home runs and 27 RBI in his first 36 professional games.
Connor Goedert, 3B, was sent to Tri-City on July 27. The 2014, Round 14 draft pick was hitting .216 with five home runs and 77 strikeouts in 69 Midwest League games.

After Elieser Hernandez‘ fine outing on July 22 (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 14 K), his next appearance, on July 29, was not so great. In that game, in five innings, he gave up 11 hits, seven runs, two walks, and only struck out three.
RHP Juan Santos moved up on July 30 to Quad Cites from Tri-City.
On July 30, RHP Chris Murphy improved his record to 5-6, when he threw four innings in relief, allowing only one hit, no runs, one walk, with five strikeouts.
On July 31, Myles Straw went 4-5, raising his average to .360 at the time. For the five games from July 28 through 8/2, Straw hit .609, to bring his average to .363. On August 5, he had yet another three-hit game, including a triple. He is now at .367 overall, and .460 in his last ten games. Straw does not have enough at-bats to qualify for the league leaderboard. Otherwise, he would be the league’s best by 16 points.
#26 Jake Rogers was promoted on August 3 to Quad Cities from Tri-City. The catcher who was the Astros 2016 Round three draft pick was hitting .253 in 25 New York/Penn League games.
On the same day as Rogers, INF Ryne Birk was also promoted to QC from the Valley Cats. Birk was a 13th round pick this summer, and he was hitting .287 in 36 games. In 136 at bats, Birk struck out only 12 times.

Elieser Hernandez continues to show flashes of brilliance. On August 4, the RHP pitched what was surely the finest game of his life, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning. Over eight frames, Hernandez gave up only three hits, no walks, and struck out eight Peoria Chiefs. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the win, as his teammates didn’t score the go-ahead run until the 13th.
Ralph Garza, who we profiled in July, was promoted on August 4 to the Lancaster JetHawks. For Quad Cities, Garza was 5-4 in 58 innings, 32 games. He had a 2.33 ERA, while his WHIP was a bit high at 1.24.

Other Prospects:

RHP Enrique Chavez (Tri-City Valley Cats) has had several good outings lately. On July 25, he picked up his third win, pitching five innings, allowing only one hit, no walks or run, while striking out seven.
Astros 2016 #1 amateur pick, #5 prospect Forrest Whitley on July 26 in his second professional appearance, started for the GCL Astros. He threw two perfect innings, striking out two.
#9 Daz Cameron, who suffered a broken finger on July 6 and was expected to miss the rest of the season, is now listed as ‘active’ on the Tri-City roster. Hopefully, Cameron can pick up where he left off, hitting .359 in the ten games before the injury.
Recent free agent signee Yulieski Gurriel got his first American professional hits on August 1, going 2-4 with a double for the Gulf Coast League Astros. A few hours later, he was on his way to the Lancaster JetHawks, Advanced-A, California League.

On August 2, Gurriel in the Lancaster lineup as DH went 3-4 with a double, a RBI, and a walk. On August 4, he was at 3B, the first time since signing with the Astros that he appeared as a position player.

#14 prospect Miguelangel Sierra is tied for the lead in home runs in the Appalachian League, with 11. He won’t get a chance to take the lead as he was promoted on August 3 to Tri-City.
#17 prospect Jonathan Arauz had four hits in six at-bats on August 5. He is hitting .375 in his last ten games, and .282 overall for the Greeneville Astros (Rookie).
#18 prospect Gilberto Celestino moved up on July 30 to the GCL Astros from the DSL Astros Orange. After batting .279 with two home runs in 38 games, for the Orange squad, he is off to a slow start in his first four GCL contests, hitting. 111.
#21 Ronnie Dawson is batting .258 in the last ten games, but only .189 on the season for Tri-City.
#22 Freudys Nova, SS, in July 2016 signed a minor league contract with the Astros but has not yet been assigned to a team.
#23 Anibal Sierra, recently signed Cuban free agent, was assigned to the DSL Astros Blue. In his first nine games, he is ripping the ball at a .353 pace, with two consecutive three-hit games.
#26 Guadalupe Chavez, RHP, acquired in the trade for Scott Feldman, was assigned to the GCL Astros. He has not yet pitched for the Astros affiliate.
#30 Yordan Alvarez, 1B-OF, was acquired in the deal that sent Josh Fields to the Dodgers just before the trade deadline. He was assigned to the DSL Astros Orange but has not yet appeared in a game.

Next: Astros: Fresno Player Spotlight- The New Pitchers

Quad Cities went 6-7 the past two weeks. Next week, (August 7-13), the River Bandits play three at home against Burlington, and then the first three of four at Peoria.

** Statistics provided by MiLB.com. **