Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*The Masked Marvel posted another Depth Charts look.

*20-year old pitching prospect Jose Rosario died in a motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic on Sunday. He had signed as a free agent in December 2013 and spent the last two seasons between the Dominican Summer League and the Gulf Coast League. Astros International Director Oz Ocampo:
Jose was a beloved member of the Astros' Latin American program. He will be remembered as a long, lanky-framed pitcher with tremendous ability, an outgoing personality and an ever-positive disposition. He was a true student of the game and was constantly looking to learn and improve his abilities.

*The Hardball Times takes a wide-angle view of the 2010-2013 Astros in The Art of the Tank. Jeff Luhnow should drop a mixtape called "Tha Blueprint."

*Rangers pitching coach Doug Brocail appeared on the always-fun always-reasonable Dallas Morning News podcast, and said this:
The Houston Astros have a ton of talent as far as arms, and I mean a ton of talent...But I will tell you...and I'm not taking a shot at Houston...the arms that I saw, and the arms that we (the Rangers) have on paper, and the guys we saw face us at the Double-A level last year...we have just as much, if not more pitching, as the Houston Astros.

*Despite only being $250,000 apart, the Astros are willing to let Jason Castro go to an arbitration hearing. He filed for $5.25m, the Astros filed for $5m.

*The Astros are handling Trim Evan Gattis' case like it will also go to an arbitration hearing.

*Per MLB Pipeline, A.J. Reed is MLB's Top 1B prospect:
With his penchant for making consistent hard contact and waiting out pitchers reluctant to challenge him, Reed could claim Houston's first-base job as soon as he proves he can hit advanced left-handers. 

*And in the Top 2B prospects list, Tony Kemp ranked #8.
Kemp saw some time in the outfield last year and played there in college, so that might be his best ticket to reaching Houston.

*The Harris County Commissioners Court will vote today on the first step of renovating the Astrodome.

*You should really read Rob Manfred's Q&A with Jeff Passan.

*Marie Mahoney - the only Houston native to play in the AAGPBL (the league which inspired "A League of Their Own") passed away Sunday at the age of 91.