Astros Double-A Notes: Fresh faces continue positive trend

In the wake of the Astros moves at the trade deadline, the Corpus Christi Hooks’ mass exodus has given the chance for new faces to shine.

July 31 has come and gone, and with it, many familiar faces have left Corpus Christi as the Astros make moves. Seth Beer, Abraham Toro and Bryan Abreu have all been on the move in recent weeks. Joshua Rojas had been called up to Triple-A Round Rock a few weeks before being traded.

With Beer and Rojas being shipped off to Arizona, that left positions available to promote Toro to Triple-A. Abreu had a brief, successful cup of coffee with the Astros. However, with that came moves to promote from within.

Enter in the new era of Hooks Baseball.

With the call-ups of Jonathan Arauz and Jake Adams, plus the newly-acquired Andre Scrubb, the Hooks look to carve out even more break-out prospects to help the Astros later in the year.

Scrubb, who has become the early favorite of under-the-radar moves, has flourished since joining the Hooks. In his ten innings of work with his new club, Scrubb has only allowed one earned run while striking out twelve. He also has proven to come up big in key situations.

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Coming over from the Dodgers, it would be easy to say that the Astros may have found themselves in another Yordan Alvarez situation. Scrubb looks to be like the real deal when it comes to closing out games, and if the Astros only had to trade away Tyler White to achieve that, then I call that a win-win.

The newly-promoted Arauz has also made his impact early in his Hooks career. Looking to follow in Rojas’ footsteps, the 25th overall prospect for the Astros had a steady season in Fayetteville before getting the call to Double-A.

Now with the Hooks, Arauz is swinging a steady bat to the tune of a .265 average and gathering four extra-base hits in his first 11 games with the Hooks, two of which were home runs.

The 21-year-old shortstop has been heralded more for his glove, as he rounds out as a viable option for anywhere within the diamond. He already has played multiple positions for the Hooks and looks to continue on his budding career as a defensive wizard.

With the departure of Beer, many fans will be upset for more than just his pun-worthy name. Beer made it a habit of crushing balls out of the park. Jake Adams, or should we say Rake Adams, has made it his mission to fill those shoes perfectly.

Before arriving at Whataburger Field, Adams was raking down in Fayetteville. Over the course of the season, Adams had 27 extra-base hits, 15 of which were home runs, and 66 RBIs in 321 plate appearances for the Woodpeckers. In Corpus Christi, it hasn’t been any different.

Through his first eleven games, the 6’2″ right-handed first baseman has hit .282 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. Those three bombs have come in three straight games, and they are averaging 433 feet. That’s serious power, and only being 23 years old, it stands to reason that he will just grow into it more.

Just look at this swing. It’s a thing of beauty.

Grab your popcorn because the Rake Adams show is about to begin.

The Hooks continue to push for a Texas League playoff spot and trail the Amarillo Sod Poodles by five games. However, with the new faces continuing to gel, the Hooks look to have not missed a beat with their recent departures.