The Astros are losing sponsorships because of the “challenging times”. However GM Wade sees a way to make some quick money.
For those players who are not ready for the Caribbean leagues but who are from that country, there is the Parallel league. Yesterday, I found the Venezuelan League’s page for it’s liga paralela. Houston has a team by itself in the league for the time being. I am sure this will cease now that the Astros are closing their academy in Venezuela. Here are some notable performances from the Parallel League Season:
Jose Altuve - The little 2nd baseman was 5th in the league in average (.341), tied for 3rd with 3 triples and finished 9th with a slugging % of 0.480. He lead the team in the following categories: hits (42), doubles (8), RBI (20), total bases (59), walks (19), Stolen bases (9 in 12 attempts), on base % (.441). Altuve did commit 15 errors in 35 games, which also lead the team.
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It is playoff time in the tropics. The Dominican League’s playoffs have already started and the other two are close behind. Let’s check on the progress of those with Astros connections.
Puerto Rico
Gigantes de Carolina
Tyler Lumsden, LHP - Had two good outings before Christmas. Combined 3 1/3 innings with no runs, 2 hits, 2 walks & 2 Ks. Season ERA is sitting at 7.27 through 17 1/3 IP.
Lobos de Arecibo
Edwin Maysonet, SS - Appeared in two games since the last update. Season average down to .295 in 61 AB. Has made 3 errors.
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“I tell people that buying a major league team is like buying the Mona Lisa,” McLane said.
12/10 Ortiz
Roy Oswalt has been watching the Astros’ moves this winter. He even discussed the team’s budget concerns with general manager Ed Wade and owner Drayton McLane, which is why he’s willing to restructure his contract …
J. R. has made an appearance in the Dominican Winter League. He is on Aguilas Cibaenas. So far he is 0 for 6 with an RBI and a run scored. We will add him to our list of players to watch in the Caribbean.
Here is the latest from warmer climates. We are still waiting to see J. R. Towles show up on a roster in the DWL. I have stopped tracking the Minor League Free Agents, so the list is shorter this time.
Puerto Rico
Gigantes de Carolina
Tyler Lumsden, LHP -Had one appearance since our last visit. He gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits and a walk in 1 IP.
Lobos de Arecibo
Edwin Maysonet, SS -Hasn’t appeared in a game since 11/28. Hitting .302 on the season. (more…)
Astros is the first professional sports team to switch to a new type of grass turf …Platinum TE Paspalum sod …created by Turf Ecosystems LLC, based in Naples, Fla., …
Now
“It’s always been a place that I cherished wherever I went, whether it was Colorado or New York,” Hampton said. “This place always held a special place in my heart.”
Link
Cue the steel drums. It’s December and time for a winter ball update.
Puerto Rico
Gigantes de Carolina
Tyler Lumsden, LHP - New acquisition from the Royals. Has had one good start (5 IP, 6K, 0 ER, 1 hit, 2 BB) but otherwise has been pedestrian. Season line up to this point 13 IP, 16 hits, 13 Runs/ER, 10 BB, 11K. Trend looks to be improving however.
Lobos de Arecibo
Raymar Diaz, RHP -released by Houston and will no longer be tracked.
Edwin Maysonet, SS -Bounced back with a descent week going 3 for 11 with a double and a triple. Now hitting .302 on the season. (more…)
The Astros refused to offer salary arbitration to any of their four free agents, general manager Ed Wade said early today.
Notable unsigned names include Paul Lo Duca, Michael Barrett, Toby Hall, David Ross, Javier Valentin, Gregg Zaun and former Astro Paul Bako.
Eleven players were released by the Astros from their minor league system last week. David Dinelli and Luis Pardo were among the 11. Dinelli was the 6th round pick and Pardo was the 9th round pick in the 2007 draft for the Astros. Three other members of the draft class of 07 were included in the releases: Kevin Carkeek (25th round), David Miller (32) and Jake Leonhardt (37th round). Let’s look at how bad things are now from that draft.
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Here is the latest from the land of beisbol, beaches and in the VWL’s case the land of oil and dictators.
Puerto Rico
Lobos de Arecibo
Raymar Diaz, RHP - his week was slightly better than last week. His ERA dropped to 10.29. He had a good outing on Wednesday (1 hit in 1 IP) and then got shelled on Friday (*.* ERA outing).
Edwin Maysonet, SS - Suffered from the curse of the Duman. After bragging about his lack of Ks. He fanned 4 times in 10 AB this week. Five of this 13 hits this season are for doubles.
Leones de Ponce
Rene Garcia, C - has not played
Reggie Abercrombie, OF - Went 2 for 14 this week with 6 strike outs. His season average is down to .208 (more…)
The Astros Farmhands are through with their AFL season. Here is how they faired.
Drew Sutton started off hot and cooled off towards the end of the season. He only had 4 hits in his last 30 AB on the season. He had 8 straight 2 strike out games to wrap up the season. He still finished with a .315 average. His 32 runs scored ranked him in a tie for 3rd most. He tied for 7th most doubles (9) ,5th most HR (7) and 8th most total bases (66). He took 24 walks on the season which lead the league but also fanned 31 times which was 7th most in the league. He finished just out of the top 10 in OPS (1.036). Projection for spring - AAA
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(Alyson Footer) “My opinion isn’t a popular one, but when it comes to Sheets, I say pass.” Link
Puerto Rico
Lobos de Arecibo
Raymar Diaz, RHP - had a rough week. In 2 1/3 innings, he gave up 8 hits, 5 earned runs, no walks and one K. His season ERA is a whopping 10.50.
Edwin Maysonet, SS - he had a solid week, going 7 for 19. Last Tuesday, he went 3 for 4 with 3 doubles. He has only 3 strike outs in 32 at bats. (more…)
The fall/winter leagues in the states are wrapping up. The Hawaiian Winter League wrapped up today. Here is how the Astros farm hands faired.
Jason Castro - tied for 5th in the league in average (.333), 7th in the league in slugging (.487), 4th in the league in OBP (.438), and 5th in the league in OPS (.925). He tied for 9th most doubles (6) and tied for 6th most walks (16). He struck out 21 times in 74 AB and only made one error. (more…)
Trade for Peavy? “We talked early on, and (Padres GM Kevin Towers) was candid in looking at our situation and our system that we probably don’t have the pieces to make it work,” Wade said.
Let’s get things started in Puerto Rico who just started their winter league on Thursday night. Here are the Astros’ connections to the league and how they have fared so far.
Lobos de Arecibo
Raymar Diaz, RHP - in his first two outings went a combined 3 2/3 innings giving up 4 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 3 while being held accountable for 2 runs.
Edwin Maysonet, SS - has hit in all three games so far (4 for 13), with only 1 strike out.
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