Tranzactionz!

The Astros made some moves over the last couple of weeks, according to Baseball America. Here are the ones that involve new information:

-Signed LHP Xavier Cedeno

Xavier Cedeno will be 25 in August, and has spent his entire career in the Rockies' system (drafted in the 31st Round of the 2004 draft). Cedeno didn't play in 2010, after being moved to the bullpen in 2009. In 47 appearances at Double-A, Cedeno has thrown 149.2IP, 172H/72ER, 77K:59BB, with a 4.56 ERA/1.54 WHIP.

This winter, he's playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League, has made seven starts (12 appearances), and posted 32H/11ER, 31K:13BB (2.32 ERA/1.05 WHIP) for Carolina.

-Released RHP Leandro Cespedes, LHP Chris Blazek, LHP Angel Gonzalez, C Carlos Mojica, 2B German Duran, 2B Pedro Feliz.

Cespedes spent the majority of 2010 in Lancaster. Chris Blazek was suspended for something in 2010 after his return to Tri-City after being drafted in 2005. The other notable name on the list is German Duran, who was picked off waivers by the Astros in July 2009 from the Rangers. Ken Rosenthal at the time thought that Duran could figure into a utility role for the Astros long-term. I guess not.

Tranzactionz!

Got some tranzactionz for you:

Round Rock

Activated 2B Luis Maza from 7-Day DL
Placed 2B German Duran on Temporarily Inactive list

Greeneville

LHP Angel Gonzalez assigned to Greeneville from GCL Astros

Tranzactionz!

Lots of activity yesterday down on Eddie's Farm:

*Assigned Jhon Florentino from Corpus to Lancaster.
*Signed 3B Kody Kirkland and assigned him to Corpus.
*Placed 3B David Flores on the 7-Day Disabled List
*Promoted 2010 10th Round pick Evan Grills from GCL Astros to Greeneville
*Sent Angel Gonzalez to GCL Astros from Greeneville.

The name that probably stands out is this Kody Kirkland fella, huh? Kirkland is a 6'4" 200lb 27-year old infielder. He's been with the Pirates (2002), Tigers (2003-2008), and Braves (2009) systems, hitting .212/.281/.321 between Double-A and Triple-A last season (though in 13 games in Triple-A, he hit .289/.386/.421).

Kirkland is a career .240/.311/.413 hitter, with 839K:222BB and a 41.4% extra-base hit rate. Kirkland was playing with the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs until signing with the Astros, hitting .303 with 11HR and 39RBI in 63 games.

Tranzactionz

Couple of notes for you:

-Robby Donovan has been assigned to Lancaster from Lexington to fill Dallas Keuchel's roster spot.

-Angel Gonzalez has been assigned to the GCL Astros from Greeneville.

Recap of Angel Gonzalez' 6IP no-no

Nice little write-up of Greeneville pitcher Angel Gonzalez' no-hit outing this morning.

Greeneville pitching coach Dave Borkowski:
"Basically I took him in the 'pen and we worked on his fastball and getting it down on lefties and hard and in on righties...

..."He started off the game quick, got two quick outs and then got a little fine and got in a rut. From the second on, he pounded the zone, made the hitters swing at his pitch and forced the hitters to be aggressive. He did a heck of a job."

Eddie's Farm: June 29

Round Rock

It really got away from Shane Loux in the seventh inning, as the Sounds scored three runs, turning a 2-2 game into a 5-2 lead, and adding one more for a 6-3 win over Round Rock. Loux threw 7IP, 9H/5ER, 8K:0BB, and allowing two solo homers. Three two-out hits in the 7th led to the difference in the game. Yordany Ramirez was plunked on the hand and added two hits, and Matt Kata was 2x4 (double, homer in the 9th, and a walk). Tommy Everidge hit one of the longest homeruns I've ever seen - certainly the longest I've seen at Greer Stadium - in the 4th.

Man of the Match: Matt Kata

Corpus

Off!

Lancaster

Doubled up by Modesto, after allowing eight runs in the first three innings, and the JetHawks lose 10-5. Kyle Greenwalt gave up 8H/8ER, 1K:3BB, and got eight outs (how's that for symmetry?) Leandro Cespedes threw the final 5.1IP, 3H/2R (1ER), 2K:1BB. The JetHawks were 4x17 w/RISP, and left 12 on base. Freddy Parejo was 3x4 with an RBI, and Albert Cartwright was 2x5 with an RBI for your multi-hit games. Brandon Wikoff was 1x3 with 2BB.

Man of the Match: Leandro Cespedes

Lexington

The Legends overcame a 5-run 2nd inning by Hickory (who overcame a 4-0 Legends lead by the middle of the 2nd) for a 6-5 win over the Crawdads. Robby Donovan threw 6H/5ER, 1K:2BB in 2IP. Zach Grimmett came in with 4IP in relief, allowing 2H/0ER, 5K:1BB. Wander Alvino (2IP) and Kirk Clark (1IP) allowed a hit and a walk each, but no runs. The top of the order provided nine of the 14 hits, and five of the six runs. Jose Altuve, in the leadoff spot, was 3x4 with 2R. Our Boy Aaron Bray was 4x5 with an RBI and 2R. J.D. Martinez was 2x4 with a run and an RBI. Jiovanni Mier also added two hits on the night. Over his last ten games (12x33), Mier is hitting .364/.463/.485.

Man of the Match: I'm going with Our Boy Aaron Bray.

Tri-City

If you're counting at home, this 4-0 loss to Vermont is the second straight shutout, and the ValleyCats have scored two runs in their last three games (allowing 13). Bobby Doran allowed 6H/4ER, 1K:2BB. Andrew Robinson threw two scoreless innings, and Adam Champion and Jorge De Leon added one scoreless inning each. If you're in a hurry, don't worry, this won't take long. The ValleyCats got two hits - Wilton Infante (in the 4th) and Ben Orloff (in the 9th), while Hernandez, Afenir, and Orloff also added walks. Thanks to two GIDPs, the ValleyCats only got 29 plate appearances. Mike Kvasnicka got the night off.

Man of the Match: Let's give it to Andrew Robinson, eh?

Greeneville

Game 1: Oooh, durn pitch counts. Angel Gonzalez had a no-hitter going through 6IP, striking out four, and walking two. B.J. Hagen allowed 3H/2ER, 1K, in 1IP for the 7-2 win. Jhonny Medrano, Marcus Nidiffer, and Bubby Williams all hit homers.

Man of the Match: Angel Gonzalez

Game 2: Greeneville wins again, 9-1. Jeiler Castillo, Garrett Bullock, and Ryan Cole each threw 2IP with 2Ks, with Bullock getting the win after Castillo allowed 4H/1ER. Justin Harper threw 1IP, 1K:1BB. Chris Wallace and Marcus Nidiffer hit homers, and the Gastros spread out nine runs over seven RBIs. Hector Rodriguez was 3x5 (RBI), while Wallace and Nidiffer added an extra hit each.

Man of the Match: Marcus Nidiffer (dude hit two HRs yesterday).

GCL Astros

The GCL Astros and GCL Cardinals traded 4-run innings, but the Cardinals scored the last five runs for a 10-6 win. Danilo Del Rio allowed 4H/4ER, 3K:1BB in 5IP, while the bullpen of Emmanuel Cedano, Matison Smith, Jeremiah Meiners, and Juan Mojica combined for 3IP, 7H/6R (5ER), 4K:2BB in relief. Meiners allowed three hits and a walk for three earned runs in 0.1IP, and his ERA is currently 67.50. Kyle Redinger was 2x4 with a triple, 3RBI, and a walk. Jose Fernandez was 2x3 with a walk, and Monzon, DeLome (rehabbing), and Parra added RBIs.

Man of the Match: Kyle Redinger

Greeneville Astros: Angel Gonzalez

Angel Gonzalez
How did he get here?: Signed contract prior to 2007 season
Stats: 6'0", 160 lbs, Throws: Left
Age as of April 1, 2010: 21

Splits!

Split	IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	BAA
Season	53.2	7.38/1.57	42:16	.311
As Reliever	9.2	10.24/1.66	10:4	.308
As Starter	44	6.75/1.55	32:12	.311
vs LHB	13	6.92/1.69	7:3	.352
vs RHB	40.2	7.52/1.52	35:13	.297
Home	37.1	7.47/1.61	32:10	.329
Away	16.1	7.16/1.47	10:6	.269
Bases Empty	27.2	x/1.55	27:9	.281
Runners On	26	x/1.58	15:7	.347
w/RISP	11	x/2.36	8:6	.377
June	4	11.25/1.75	4:0	.368
July	21	9.86/1.71	17:7	.337
August	23.2	5.70/1.52	18:7	.296
September	5	1.80/1.00	3:2	.188

K/9 Rate: 7.0
BB/9 Rate: 2.7
Groundout/Flyout Rate: 1.18
K:BB Ratio: 2.63

Okay, some notes about Gonzalez: First season in the States, third in the organization. His walk rate was down, but so was his strikeout rate. That said, his K:BB ratio was up from 2008, from 2.36 to 2.63. His ERA jumped from 2.95 in his second go-around in the Dominican Summer League to 7.38 in 2009, so that's disconcerting. But he turned 21 in August, and his numbers are quite inflated this year than in his previous two. He may spend 2010 in Greeneville again, but I would be surprised if his ERA is over 7.00 again.

Eddie's Farm: September 1

Round Rock
The offense went off for 12 runs on 13 hits in a 12-7 win over Albuquerque. With multi-hit games from Towles (2x3, double/homer), Bogusevic (2x5, 2RBI), Manzella (2x3, 2-run homer), Saccomanno (2x5), and Kata (2x5), it would have been hard to lose this game. Yet it almost happened. It took a 6-run 8th inning to push the Express over the top. Mark McLemore only lasted an inning, giving up 4H/3ER. Roy Corcoran came in for the next 4IP and gave up 5H/2ER, 4K:1BB, while Armando Benitez got his first win as an Astro-in-training (anyone else think he's the backup option if the Astros don't re-sign Valverde?).

Corpus
Corpus, behind the hot bat of C Jonathan Fixler, beat up Frisco 6-1. Fixler was 3x4 with two homers and 4RBI. DeLome provided the other 2RBI with a 2x4 night. Tyler Lumsden is showing some late-season return in the Parraz trade, and went 5IP, 5H/0ER (1 total), 2K:4BB. C-Lo closed out the final four innings with 3H/0ER, 5K:0BB.

Lancaster
High Desert shut the JetHawks down, winning 6-2. Koby Clemens was 2x4 with his 21st homer of the year, and Craig Corrado was 2x3 with a double. Shane Wolf threw 4.2IP, 10H/6ER, 1K:3BB while Jose Duran and Ashton Mowdy threw the final 3.1IP, with 1H/0ER, 2K:4BB. Mowdy's ERA at Lancaster currently sits at 9.82, while Duran's is 8.26.

Lexington
Lexington scored in three different innings, and that was enough to beat Asheville 3-1. Jay Austin was 2x5, Albert Cartwright was 2x3 with an RBI, and Brian Pellegrini hit his 25th homer of the year. Robert Bono improved to 9-8 with a 3.35 ERA after giving up 6H/1ER, 5K:0BB in 5IP. Henry Villar threw 2.2IP in relief, striking out five, and Matt Nevarez got another save for the Legends.

Tri-City
Despite scoring three runs in the bottom of the 9th, it was one run short as Aberdeen beat the ValleyCats 4-3. Erik Castro was 2x5 with a 2-out 3-run homer. Brandt Walker dropped to 1-6, after allowing 7H/4ER in 3.1IP, and Nathan Pettus, Dan Sarisky, and Max Fearnow threw the final 5.2IP, allowing just 3H/0ER, 4K (all Sarisky's):0BB.

Greeneville
And it's with sadness that we bring you the final Greeneville recap of the season, as the Gastros finished the season last night with a 6-2 win. Jiovanni Mier was 2x3 with 3RBI, Bubby Williams was 2x3 with a homer and 2RBI, Kyle Miller was 2x4, and Our Boy Aaron Bray was 2x3 with an RBI - finishing the season hitting .278. Angel Gonzalez threw 5IP, 3H/1ER, 3K:2BB, Murillo Gouvea threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 4K:1BB in relief. We'll have a full season recap of the Gastros in the coming days, but the Gastros finished the season 27-40, 17.5GB of APP West winner Elizabethton.

Eddie's Farm: August 27

Eddie's Farm was back at it last night as we wind down the minor-league seasons across the organization: 3-4 last night.

Round Rock
Completion of Wednesday's suspended game finishes with a 6-4 win, as Nashville scores three in the top of the 9th (with Corey Patterson's three-run jack). Tommy Manzella had the multi-hit game with a 2x5 night, Chris Johnson and Matt Kata had 2RBI each. Wesley Wright got the win, because Andy Van Hekken (AVH) had to be pulled for the completion of the game. Armando Benitez followed up his 3HR performance with a scoreless inning.

Game 2: And Round Rock won the shortened second game 2-1 on Chad Spann's 2-run homer. Mark McLemore threw 5IP, 4H/1ER, 1K:1BB and Chad Paronto got his second save of the day.

Corpus
Rough night for the Corpuses, as Midland dominated 10-0. The Hooks had four hits (Castro, Van Ostrand, Molina, and Moresi). Unbelievably, the Hooks' pitching staff only had three earned runs after errors from Ori, Weatherby, and Locke led to seven unearned runs. Lumsden got the loss, throwing 6IP, 5H/6R (1ER), 2K:4BB, Weatherby threw 3IP, 3H/4R (2ER), 1K:0BB.

Lancaster
The JetHawks only got three hits in a 4-0 loss to San Jose. Shuck, Rosario, and Barnes provided hits, and no JetHawk made it to scoring position. Chris Hicks threw 5IP, 7H/4ER, 5K:2BB, and San Jose pitcher Paul Oseguera threw a complete-game, 9IP, 3H/0ER, 15K:0BB.

Lexington
The Legends actually had a 4-0 lead in this game, and then Hickory scored eight unanswered runs for an 8-4 win over Lexington. Brandon Wikoff was 2x4 with an RBI, Federico Hernandez was 1x4 with a 2-run double. Ross Seaton threw 6IP, 5H/1ER (2 total), 5K:0BB, while Kyle Godfrey had his 2nd blown save and third loss of the season with 2IP, 5H/5R (1ER), 1K:0BB.

Tri-City
Despite out-hitting Staten Island 14-9, Tri-City found a way to lose 10-6. Brian Kemp was back in the leadoff spot, going 1x3 with a walk. The ValleyCats got multi-hit games from Barry Butera, J.D. Martinez, Jhonny Medrano (2 RBI), Rene Garcia, and Jorge De Leon. But going 3x13 with RISP doesn't help much. Brandt Walker threw 2IP, 6H/6ER, 1K:3BB, following by 2ER outings from Brendan Stines and Dan Sarisky. Mike Modica and Max Fearnow threw hitless IPs each.

Greeneville
Greeneville was on the right end of a 4-1 game against Burlington. Jonathan Meyer was 2x4 with a solo homer, and Grant Hogue, Our Boy Aaron Bray, Jiovanni Mier, Kyle Miller, Oscar Figueroa, and Ryan Humphrey all had hits, as well. Angel Gonzalez threw 6IP, 4H/1ER, 5K:1BB and Joan Belliard threw three perfect innings in relief for his first save.

Eddie's Farm: August 11

Round Rock
Mark McLemore got hisself a win as Round Rock defeated Portland 2-1. Chris Johnson and Brian Bogusevic had two hits each (Johnson's hits were a double and a homer), with Johnson and Yordany providing RBIs. Four of the Express' seven hits were for extra-bases. McLemore threw 6IP, 4H/1ER, 2K:3BB and Gervacio, Daigle, and Paronto threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 3K:1BB in relief.

Lancaster
The JetHawks scored two runs in the bottom of the 9th for a 6-5 come-from-behind win. Koby was doin' work, with 2x5 and 3RBI, including a two-run homer. Barnes, Weston, and Cabral also had two hits each. Shane Wolf threw 6.1IP, 7H/4ER, 6K:2BB and Francisco Abad got the win with 2.2IP, 2H/0ER, 4K:0BB.

Lexington
Rough day at the plate for the Legends, as they were shutout in both games of a double-header against Asheville.
Game 1: Only two hits for the Legends - one from Wikoff and one from Pellegrini - in a 5-0 loss. Kyle Greenwalt threw 4.1IP, 5H/3ER, 3K:3BB.
Game 2: And only three hits in the second game in a 1-0 loss, this time from Pellegrini, Suttle, and Hulett. Jordan Lyles threw 6IP, 1H/0ER, 7K:2BB and Henry Villar threw 2IP, 3H/1R - unfortunately unearned, for a hard-luck loss.

Tri-City
Tri-City broke out the big bats for 11 runs on 16 hits - including a 4-run tie-breaking 8th inning for an 11-7 win over Hudson Valley. J.D. Martinez, Erik Castro, and Renzo Tello had three hits each, while Jose Altuve and Nick Stanley had two hits each. Big RBI day from Castro (3), Stanley (3 - on a 3-run jack), and Martinez (2). Brandt Walker threw 3.2IP, 8H/3ER, 2K:0BB. Brendan Stines had a rough one, going 1.1IP, 4H/3ER, 2K:0BB, but Sarisky and Schurz got seven strikeouts in the final four innings to shut Hudson Valley Down.

Greeneville
And Greeneville got hit pretty hard, losing 12-3 to Elizabethton. Jiovanni Mier was 0x5 with 4Ks, but our boy Aaron Bray was 1x3 with 2BBs. RBIs came from Jonathan Meyer and Grant Hogue. Angel Gonzalez threw 4.1IP, 7H/9R (5ER); B.J. Hyatt went 2.1IP, 4H/2ER, 3K:1BB.

Eddie's Farm: August 6

Round Rock
Tacoma pieced together four one-run innings, and that was enough to beat the Express 4-1. Round Rock collected seven hits, two by Saccomanno and Esposito, with Saccomanno's double as the only XBH. McLemore got the loss, throwing 5IP, 10H/4R (3ER), 1K:4BB, but T.J. Burton, Roy Corcoran, and Chad Paronto threw 4IP of hitless relief (Corcoran did give up a walk as the only blemish in relief).

Corpus
The Hooks were held to one run on five hits in a 3-1 loss to San Antonio. Drew Locke did what Drew Locke does, and that's get hits - 2x4 with his 26th homer and 101st RBI of the season. Sutil, Van Ostrand, and DeLome got the other hits. Wilton Lopez threw 7IP, 2H/2ER, 4K:1BB.

Lancaster
A day after scoring 431 runs on High Desert, the JetHawks were held to two runs on seven hits in a 4-2 11-inning loss. Shuck and Corrado collected two hits, Marcos Cabral hit a homer, and Koby Clemens was 1x3 with two walks, though Lancaster was 0x10 with RISP. Leandro Cespedes threw 9IP, 5H/0ER (2R), 7K:1BB. The unearned runs came on a Cespedes pickoff error.

Lexington
Only win for Eddie's Farm last night was from Lexington, with a 10-5 win over Greenville. Steve Brown was 2x5 with a homer and 4 RBI. Pellegrini and Michael Diaz each had two hits, with Pellegrini providing a two-run homer in the 4th. Brad Dydalewicz got his 7th win of the season with 5IP, 5H/4ER, 5K:2BB.

Tri-City
Dallas Keuchel gave up 6H/2ER with 6K:1BB in 6IP, but still got the loss (dropping his record to 0-2 with a 2.12 ERA) in a 2-1 loss to Mahoning Valley. He also picked a Mahoning Valley-er off first. The ValleyCats only got six hits, three from Barry Butera and two from Brian Kemp - who had the lone RBI, scoring Butera. Jorge De Leon had the other hit.

Greeneville
Five Bluefield players had multi-hit games as the Gastros went down 7-4. Catcher Carlos Mojica was 4x4 (seven hits in his last 14 ABs, dating back to July 23), and Ryan Humphrey was 2x4. Our boy Aaron Bray was 0x4 with 1K. Angel Gonzalez gave up 8H/4R (3ER) in 4IP.