Astros minor league thread

[yankeebiscuitfan]

Post anything regarding the Astros MiLB players or Astros' MiLB affiliations here.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

The Lancaster JetHawks have extended its player development contract agreement with the Houston Astros and will be the major league club's high-A affiliate for the next two years. The Astros affiliation began in 2009 when the two organizations signed a four-year agreement to place Houston's high-A affiliate in the California League for the first time in over 40 years.

In the four years that the JetHawks and Houston have been partners, several players have gone on to play at the Major League level, including Jose Altuve and Jason Castro, two young phenoms for the Astros major league club.

The Houston organization's other Minor League affiliates are located in Oklahoma City, OK (AAA), Corpus Christi, TX (AA), Lexington, KY (low A), Tri-Cities, NY (short season A) and Greenville, TN (Rookie).

The JetHawks have had three other Major League partners in the franchise's 17-year history. Prior to Houston's arrival in 2009, the JetHawks had a two-year partnership with the Boston Red Sox, which followed a six-year affiliation with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2001 - 2006 and five-year partnership with the Seattle Mariners from 1996 - 2000.

Over 100 former JetHawks have moved on to the Major League level during Lancaster's existence, including notables Brandon Webb, Justin Masterson, Mark Reynolds, Dan Uggla, Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin, and has reached the California League playoffs in nine of the club's 17 years.

[astrosfanatic]

George Springer is hitting .264 with 3 HR and 11 RBI in Fall League play. He hasn't looked all that good but had a big 2 HR game last night

[catman]

Astros' Organizational All Stars: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121024&content_id=40029854&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb

[astrosfanatic]

Thanks for posting this catman!!

I am excited about some of these prospects progress. It's been a while since Astros fans have seen this much success at MULTIPLE levels in the minors. It really gives us hope for a stronger farm system that will replenish the team with talent when others leave.

Folty has to have had the most impressive year last year of all the pitchers. Not only did he put up the great stats, but he put up the good stats in a heavy hitter's league. It's a good sign. He will like pitching in Corpus a lot more. :)

RHP CJ Lo will be a guy to keep an eye on. The hard throwing South Korean has returned from Tommy John and is back to his hard throwing ways. He was the one big signing for the Astros a couple years back when they "boosted" their Pacific Rim scouting (which has subsequently fizzled). I am hoping that he can be an in-house option to close games here soon.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

Jim Crane says the Houston Astros could be part of a move to place a Triple-A Pacific Coast League team in The Woodlands, an affluent Houston suburb, reversing the decision made by Drayton McLane, Jr. to oppose any such moves.

“Something closer (to Houston) could certainly enhance the brand,” Crane told the Houston Chronicle. Right now the Astros' top farm team is the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League).

Officials from both Sugar Land and The Woodlands, along with existing Minor League Baseball owners, had approached former Astros owner McLane about placing a Triple-A team in the Houston suburbs, only to be rebuffed. In Sugar Land's case, city officials worked out a deal with Peter Kirk and Opening Day Partners to place a team at a city-financed ballpark; Constellation Field was a tremendous success, with the Sugar Land Skeeters (independent; Atlantic League). In addition, Montgomery County -- which includes The Woodlands -- had an agreement with Ventura Sports to finance a new independent American Association ballpark; that effort fell through, but there were further talks with the Atlantic League about a new ballpark.

And we're guessing Crane saw that success (which included a comeback from Roger Clemens) and decided the Astros could benefit as well.

It's way too early to discuss potential relocation candidates, but there is at least one PCL team on that market that could conceivably be moved to The Woodlands. (No, we're not going to identify the team.)

For Crane, a dive into MiLB ownership is a way to extend the Astros brand. “We don’t own [our farm teams], so we’d have to step up and buy them and move them around and we’re looking at all those options,” Crane told the Chronicle. “Because we feel if we control those options, it’s better for our partners and better for our fans."

[wcs71401]

I live 10 minutes away from the Astros Single-A affiliate (Tri-City ValleyCats). I covered them for three seasons. Hunter Pence was there in 2004. I wasn't covering games then but I was there as a fan. I started in 2006 (Bud Norris, Chris Johnson, Jordan Parraz, Brian Bogusevic, Jason Castro, etc...) it is crazy to see so many people that have come through my backyard essentially in the bigs now for the Astros and for other teams.

[astrosfanatic]

Why build a new stadiun when Sugar Land has one and can accomodate a AAA team right now? Curious.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

Why build a new stadiun when Sugar Land has one and can accomodate a AAA team right now? Curious.

I wonder if the Skeeters want to move. I wonder what is more expensive; buying out an Indy team or building a new stadium.

[astrosfanatic]

I wonder if the Skeeters want to move. I wonder what is more expensive; buying out an Indy team or building a new stadium.

That is a good question

[yankeebiscuitfan]

That is a good question

Yeah. Sometimes I have a brainwave.

[astrosfanatic]

As of last Friday, the Astros minor league teams had a combined 22-5 W/L record. That's an 81.48 winning percentage!

DOMINATION!

[yankeebiscuitfan]

As of last Friday, the Astros minor league teams had a combined 22-5 W/L record. That's an 81.48 winning percentage!

DOMINATION!

The future looks bright?

[yankeebiscuitfan]

Quad Cities River Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League) owner Dave Heller wants to add another attraction to Modern Woodmen Park a "4D" theater to go alongside a new Ferris wheel and other carnival attractions.

A "4D" theater is a small attraction seating 16 or so patrons and uses moving seats and other special effects (like water) to create an immersive experience that lasts 10 minutes or so. It would be part of an area beyond the ballpark's left-field wall that includes the Ferris wheel, two zip lines, a carousel and other attractions.

The basic cost for such an attraction is $1 million, and Heller is proposing picking up the cost if the city approves the plan. From the Quad Cities Times:

"It will give people another reason to come here and enjoy Modern Woodmen Park whether there is a game taking place or if the team is out of town,'' Heller said.

"The hope is that if people come here and enjoy the Ferris wheel, they will watch a movie, too. We pride ourselves on being one of the most innovative organizations in Minor League Baseball, and this would bring another unique attraction to our ballpark and to the Davenport riverfront.''

If approved by the city, the attraction could be ready to be opened in June.

[catman]

Thats a nice little ballpark. I'll have to check the new attractions out this summer.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

Thats a nice little ballpark. I'll have to check the new attractions out this summer.

That's quite a ride from the Houston area to the Midwest.

[astrosfanatic]

The future looks bright?

It really does. I know prospects fail much more frequently than they hit, BUT we finally have multiple guys in the system that have the chance at being productive at the MLB level. And we even have good prospects at each position:

C- Max Stassi
1B- Jonathan Singleton
2B- Delino DeShields
3B- Rio Ruiz
SS- Carlos Correa
LF- Domingo Santana
CF- George Springer
RF- Robbie Grossman

SP: Jarred Cosart, Mike Foltyniweicz, Lance McCullers


I mean, there's a ton more depth to the system. I didn't even mention guys like Villar, Fontana, Tropeano, and Paredes who could each easily become solid pieces themselves.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

With the Mississippi River cresting in Davenport, the Quad Cities River Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League) are bringing out their bridge system for fan access to Modern Woodmen Park Thursday night.

The River Bandits have been on the road this week; good thing, because the Mississippi River hit flood levels -- 18 feet or so -- late Sunday and early Monday. The flooding surrounded Modern Woodmen Park but didn't enter the playing field, thanks to the measures taken when the ballpark was renovated several years ago. The photo above shows the flooding in the parking lot next to the ballpark on Saturday; since then the flooding overtook the entire area.

Flooding in the area isn't new: the River Bandits solved this problem years ago with a temporary walkway allowing access to the ballpark, and that system was installed over the weekend.

However, there may be a casualty as a result of the flooding: the installation of a Ferris wheel outside the left-field ballpark wall. The area planned as a Ferris wheel pad is currently under water, and it will take a few weeks for the ground to dry out once the floodwater recede. River Bandits owner Dave Heller had hoped to have the Ferris wheel up and running this season, but the delay may mean a 2014 opening instead. From the Quad-City Times:

City Administrator Craig Malin informed the Davenport City Council at last week's meeting, telling them, "My expectation is that we may have to wait one season for the Ferris wheel and have it ready for opening day."

Heller is taking a more cautious approach.

"The last conversation I had with the city administrator was that we don’t really have to make a decision now or anytime this month on the installation," he said. "We'll wait and see where the water is at the end of the month and make an informed decision."

A planned zipline should be operational this summer, however.

[catman]

That's quite a ride from the Houston area to the Midwest.

I live about 100 miles from the Quad Cities. It makes for a really nice road-trip.

[astrosfanatic]

John Ely and Alex White are both done for the season with Tommy-John Surgery. :pat:

[TxBulldog]

Who? lol

I do not think either one of them will ever contribute much. I was not impressed with either one of them.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

The Houston Astros are about to buy their AA farm team the Corpus Christi Hooks. Here's the article from Ballpark Digest:


After naming Reid Ryan as president of the Houston Astros, owner Jim Crane added another Ryan-related asset to his portfolio with the purchase of the Corpus Christi Hooks (Class AA; Texas League).

It's been a stated goal of Crane to control his team's farm system a la the St. Louis Cardinals -- where Astros GM Jeff Luhnow spent many years -- and he has reportedly been negotiating for the purchase of a Class AAA Pacific Coast League team as well. The purchase of the Hooks from Ryan-Sanders Baseball (where Reid Ryan arrives from) cements the investment in Texas baseball for Crane. No changes are expected to be made to the successful franchise; indeed, Ryan said the purchase only cemented the team's commitment to Whataburger Field. From the Caller-Times:

“This team is going to be here to stay,” said Ryan, whose only comments to local media were with the Caller-Times. “When I look at where we are, I don’t think it’s any big secret that we have a desire to extend this lease that we have with Whataburger Field. We’ve worked on that in the past and it’s something I’d like to address in the future.

“From the Astros’ standpoint, we’d like to work with the city leaders to try to come up with a plan (where) we could sign the extension now so people could put their minds at ease that the Houston Astros are going to be in Corpus Christi for a long, long time.”

Ryan declined to disclose the terms of the sale. It still needs to be approved by Major League Baseball as well as Minor League Baseball and isn’t expected to be finalized until the fall.

The Hooks are currently a farm team of the Astros; that obviously won't change.

[astrosfanatic]

This is a great move for the Astros. The Rangers have already made attempts to encroach on Astros territory with their acquirement of Round Rock in the Austin Area. The Astros needed to keep the Hooks to soliidfy their hold on South Texas. Now of course, there is this little thing about winning and that being necessary to build fan bases, but wins will come in time. We need a great farm system. And Whataburger field seems like a great park for our prospects to play on to give the big league club a solid idea of how they are going to do. It isn't a launching pad or a cavernous park either. That definitely helps in the development of players.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

Did you know that Justin Timberlake played for the hooks as well? ;)