Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Astros: Good; Royals: Better

So saith former Astro minor-leaguer Jordan Parraz, who was traded to Kansas City for Tyler Lumsden in the off-season...

And it looks like the Kansas City Royals made a good decision to trade for him last winter. They dealt pitcher Tyler Lumsden, who struggled for two years with Class AAA Omaha, to Houston for Parraz, who had never played above Class A.

Lumsden since has been demoted to Class AA, where he has a 7.11 ERA. Parraz, meanwhile, rolled through the Class AA Texas League and was promoted to Omaha last week, and will be the Royals' regular right fielder. His overall average of .352 is third best among all minor leaguers, as is his overall on-base percentage of .444.

The trade, he says, was welcome news.

“I didn't think Houston ever really gave me the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “I played every day, but I never got a chance to really move up or get a confidence boost. It's a good organization, but I think this one is a little better — especially for me fitting in.”


Ouch.