PreStros Morning Report: July 7

Fresno (49-37, 6.0 up)

It was a rough start for Fresno against Tacoma last night, with Tacoma taking a 5-0 lead after two innings. Fresno rallied but fell short in an 8-7 loss. Mike Hauschild threw 4.2IP, 11H/6ER, 1K:1BB; Jose Veras allowed 0H/1ER, 2K:2BB; Jordan Jankowski allowed a hit in 1IP, Kevin Chapman allowed the game-winning run in the 8th, and Tyson Perez threw a perfect 9th.

Matt Duffy was 3x4 with a double and an RBI; Tyler Heineman was 2x4 with a double; Jonathan Villar was 1x4 with a walk and an RBI; L.J. Hoes was 1x4 with a triple, walk, and two runs scored. Domingo Santana was 1x4 with a double and 2RBI.

Man of the Match: Matt Duffy

Corpus (53-29, clinched playoff berth)

Corpus was on the wrong end of a pitcher's duel, losing to Springfield 1-0, and getting swept for the first time this season. Chad Qualls got the start - yeah - throwing 1IP, 0H/0ER, 0K:0BB before Ruben Alaniz came in for the final 7IP, allowed 9H/1ER, 2K:1BB.

Jack Mayfield made his Double-A debut and went 4x4; Jon Kemmer was 2x4 with a double and an outfield assist, nailing a runner at home; Colin Moran was 1x4 and Danry Vasquez was 1x3.

Man of the Match: Jack Mayfield

Lancaster (47-35 overall, 8-4 in 2nd Half, 2.0 up)

Despite getting out-hit 8-6, Lancaster shutout Rancho Cucamonga to extend their 2nd Half lead to 2.0  games with a 4-0 win. Austin Chrismon threw 7IP, allowing 6H/0ER, 4K:2BB; Jordan Mills allowed 2H/0ER, 1K:0BB in 2IP.

Six different JetHawks recorded hits, and the three that didn't get a hit at least drew a walk. A.J. Reed hit his 22nd homer of the year - a two-run shot - to make one further wonder why he's still in Lancaster. J.D. Davis had a double. Chase McDonald added an RBI.

Man of the Match: Austin Chrismon

Quad Cities (53-28, already clinched playoff berth)

Game 1: Making up Monday night's postponement, Quad Cities dropped Game 1 to Clinton, 6-1. Justin Ferrell allowed 6H/5R (4ER), 0K:3BB; Michael Freeman allowed 5H/1ER, 1K:1BB in 3IP, and Riley Ferrell threw a perfect 7th, striking out one. Clinton also held Quad Cities to one hit: a single by Nick Tanielu. Alex Bregman drew a walk and stole a base. Alex Hernandez got an RBI.

Game 2: And Clinton held Quad Cities to just three hits in Game 2, but Quad Cities still won, 1-0. David Paulino threw 6IP, 5H/0ER, 8K:0BB; Ryan Thompson threw a perfect 7th inning. Bobby Boyd was 1x3 with the lone RBI and a stolen base; Alex Bregman was 1x2 and Jason Martin was 1x2 with a double and a stolen base.

Man of the Day: David Paulino

Tri-City (9-9, 3.0 GB)

Tri-City put up three in the 4th and four in the 5th, and held off a late rally by Lowell in a 7-4 win. Dean Deetz threw 5IP, 1H/0ER, 3K:4BB, 3WP and an HBP; Zac Grotz gave up 4H/3ER, 0K:1BB in 2IP; Zach Davis struck out one in the 8th, and Adam Whitt allowed 1H/1ER, 2K:0BB in the 9th.

Drew Ferguson was 3x4 with a double and a 3-run homer; Kolbey Carpenter (2RBI) and Bobby Wernes (2BB) had two hits each. Anthony Hermelyn was 1x4 with an RBI and a stolen base; Edwin Medina was 1x4 with a walk and two stolen bases.

Man of the Match: Drew Ferguson

Greeneville (7-7, 0.5 GB)

Greeneville had a 1-0 lead after the first inning but turned it into a 6-1 deficit by the end of the 3rd, going on to lose at Kingsport 6-4. Salvador Montano went just 1.2IP, allowing 1H/2ER, 3K:4BB; Brandon Culbreth's struggles continue as he goes 0.1IP, allowing 4H/4ER, 0K:2BB, allowing two of Montano's runs; Juan Delis gave up a hit and struck out two in 2IP, allowing two of Culbreth's runs. Albert Abreu threw 4IP, 1H/0ER, 3K:1BB.

Aaron Mizell was 3x4 with a double and 3RBI; Hector Roa was 2x4, and Osvaldo Duarte was 2x5 with a stolen base. Brauly Mejia hit a solo homer, and Gabriel Bracamonte was 1x4 with a double. Appalachian League Player of the Week Connor Goedert was 0x3 with a walk.

Man of the Match: Aaron Mizell

GCL Astros (2-11, 6.0 GB)

Game suspended by rain

PreStros Morning Report: April 23

TL;DR

*Org goes 2-2 on the night; cumulative 37-21 (.638) record
*Fresno loses a pitcher's duel at Salt Lake, 1-0, despite Alex White's strong start.
*Corpus stormed back at Frisco to win 8-2 in a Mark Appel 4IP, 6H/2ER start. Tyler Heineman was 3x5 with two doubles and 2RBI.
*Lancaster's J.D. Davis was just a triple short of the cycle (see below for a joke) in an 11-5 loss to Modesto.
*Quad Cities got strong pitching from Austin Chrismon and A&M's Daniel Mengden to overcome three unearned runs in a 4-3 win.


Fresno (8-7)

While the Grizzlies held Salt Lake to one run on seven hits, Salt Lake did just a little bit better, holding the Grizzles to, um, no runs on two hits. Fresno loses, 1-0, which I imagine is a pretty rare thing in the Pacific Coast League. Alex White threw 5.2IP, 5H/1R (0ER - a Jon Singleton throwing error led to the run) - 2K:1BB; Darin Downs and Tyson Perez allowed a hit each in the last two innings.

Your only two hits came courtesy of Nolan Fontana, who had a double and a walk, and L.J. Hoes. The Grizzlies struck out ten times, walked twice, and were 0x3 w/RISP.

Man of the Match: Alex White

Corpus (9-4)

Corpus was down 2-1 at the end of the second and then got two in the 3rd and four in the 4th, cruising to an 8-2 win over Frisco. Mark Appel threw 4IP, 6H/2ER, 3K:0BB, HBP, with 51 of his 71 pitches for strikes and six groundouts to two flyouts. Angel Baez threw a perfect 5th inning, and Kyle Westwood threw 4IP of "relief," allowing 4H/0ER, 1K:1BB. So far for Appel, three outings, 14IP, 10H/3ER, 11K:2BB.

Tyler Heineman led the way, going 3x5 with two doubles and 2RBI; Colin Moran was 2x5 with two doubles and an RBI; Carlos Correa was 2x5 with a double and an RBI; Conrad Gregor and Brandon Meredith each went 2x4 with a double, walk, and an RBI. Tyler White was 1x3 with two walks, and Tony Kemp - back at 2B - was 1x4 with a walk.

Man of the Match: Tough one. How about Tyler Heineman?

Lancaster (8-7)

Modesto scored early and often as the JetHawks fall 11-5. Blaine Sims allowed 6H/4ER, 3K:3BB in 5IP, Randall Fant allowed 4H/4ER in 0.1IP; Tyler Brunnemann gave up 2H/0ER, 5K:2BB in 2.2IP, and Frederick Tiburcio allowed 2H/3ER, 1K:2BB in the 9th.

J.D. Davis was just a triple short of the cycle (reminder: a triple short of the cycle is like being a second girl short of a threesome. That's copyrighted by me, by the way.) going 3x4 with 3RBI. Brett Phillips (two doubles) and Chan Moon (2B) were each 2x5. Chase McDonald hit his 5th homer of the year, and Jose Fernandez hit his first home run of the year.

Man of the Match: J.D. Davis

Quad Cities (12-3)

Quad Cities overcame two errors and a 3-0 deficit in the 5th to defeat Peoria, 4-3. Austin Chrismon threw 5IP, 5H/3R (0ER), 6K:0BB, and Daniel Mengden allowed just 2H/0ER, 5K:1BB in 4IP.

Alfredo Gonzalez (BB, RBI) and Mott Hyde (2B, BB) had two hits each; Sean McMullen (2B), Jacob Nottingham (BB, RBI), Alex Hernandez, and Thomas Lindauer (2BB, SB) had your other hits.

Man of the Match: Chrismon and Mengden.

PreStros Morning Report: April 12

TL;DR

*Organization goes 3-1 on Sunday, cumulatively 11-5 on the season.
*Matt Duffy knocked in four runs, but the Fresno bullpen was shaky in the loss to Las Vegas
*Lance McCullers was The Man as Corpus got the four-game road sweep at Tulsa
*Jobduan Morales hit a walkoff in a Lancaster win
*Austin Chrismon allowed three baserunners and Jacob Nottingham was a triple short of the cycle* in a Quad Cities win over Clinton.
*PreStro of the Day: Troy Scribner - Lancaster

*Standard Astros County line: Being a triple short of the cycle is like being a second woman short of a threesome ®

Fresno (2-2)

The Fresno Grizzlies had a 2-0 lead and a 5-4 lead, but Las Vegas kept scoring off of the Grizzlies bullpen, and a late rally fell short. Fresno loses, 8-7. Luis Cruz threw 5IP, allowing 4H/3ER, 5K:1BB; Darin Downs gave up a run with 2H, 1K:1BB in 1IP; Kevin Chapman took the BS/L with 2H/3ER, 1K:1BB in 0.2IP; Jason Stoffel inherited the bases loaded, and thus allowed two of those runs to score; Jordan Jankowski gave up 2H/1ER, 2K:0BB in the 9th.

Matt Duffy was 2x5 with a home run and 4RBI on the day; Joe Sclafani (BB), Jon Singleton (2B), and Alex Presley (2B) had two hits each. Matt Dominguez was 1x3 with a double and 2RBI.

Man of the Match: Matt Duffy

Corpus (4-0)

Corpus might not lose, like, ever. Lance McCullers threw a gem, hit 99 a few times on the gun, and the Hooks cruised to a 4-0 win and a road sweep at Tulsa. McCullers threw 5IP, 4H/0ER, 7K:3BB; Travis Ballew allowed 2H/0ER, 3K:0BB; Daniel Minor (BB) and Tyson Perez each threw hitless, scoreless innings.

Tony Kemp (BB), Leo Heras (RBI), and Brandon Meredith (2B, 2RBI) had two hits each - and Meredith and Heras each had outfield assists, getting runners at second base. Telvin Nash hit a solo homer and drew a walk.

Man of the Match: Lance McCullers

Lancaster (2-2)

San Jose and Lancaster traded runs in the 2nd, and then that would be it until Jobduan Morales provided a walk-off hit and a 2-1 JetHawks win. JetHawks pitcher Troy Scribner had a day, allowing 2H/1ER, 8K:1BB in 6IP; Tyler Brunnemann threw 2.1IP, 1H/0ER, 0K:2BB; and Frederick Tiburcio struck out the last two Giants batters he faced.

Chan Moon (2B) and Chase McDonald (BB) had two hits each; James Ramsay, J.D. Davis, Jose Fernandez (BB, RBI) and Morales added your other hits.

Man of the Match: Troy Scribner

Quad Cities (3-1)

A 5-run 5th for Quad Cities is all they needed (all most teams need, really) in a 7-2 win over Clinton. Austin Chrismon threw 6IP, 2H/1R (0ER), 3K:1BB; Eric Peterson threw 2IP, 2H/1ER, 1K:0BB and Ryan Thompson allowed just a hit with 2K in the 9th.

Jacob Nottingham was 3x4 with a double, homer and an RBI; Bobby Boyd was 2x3 with 2RBI and a stolen base; Derek Fisher and Nick Tanielu were each 1x4 with an RBI.

Man of the Match: Austin Chrismon

PreStros Morning Report: July 29

Oklahoma City (60-50), 2.0 GB

Craziness at Bricktown last night as the RedHawks, down 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th, tie it up and then get the walk-off on a wild pitch in a 4-3 win over Iowa. Brad Peacock threw 7IP, 6H/1ER, 3K:1BB; Kevin Chapman gave up 2H/2ER in 0.2IP, and Jason Stoffel got the win with 1H/0ER, 0K:2BB in a four-out outing.

George Springer was 2x4 with a double, triple, walk, and two stolen bases; Jose Martinez and Ruben Sosa (2RBI) each had a hit and a walk; Cody Clark was 0x1 with three sac flies.

Man of the Match: George Springer

Corpus (22-16, 1.0 GB), 64-44 overall

Max Stassi was tagged out at home as the tying run of the game, and the Hooks drop to San Antonio, 4-3. Bobby Doran allowed 10H/3ER, 3K:2BB in 6IP; Sergio Escalona allowed 0H/1ER, 0K:1BB, WP, Balk, HBP in 1IP, and Jonas Dufek struck out two in the 8th.

Max Stassi, though. 4x4 with two doubles, a home run, a walk and 2RBI. In his last ten games, he's hitting .400/.429/.971 (of 14 hits in his last ten games, he has two doubles and six homers). Rene Garcia and Preston Tucker had two hits each; Jonathan Meyer was 1x2 with two walks and an RBI.

Man of the Match: Seriously?

Lancaster

Off.

Quad Cities (20-15, 4.5 GB), 58-46 overall

Quad Cities never trailed and, despite getting out-hit 9-8, won at 63-43 Beloit 4-1. Colton Cain threw 5IP, allowing 5H/1ER, 5K:2BB; Daniel Minor gave up four hits (but no runs) in 1.2IP; Jordan Jankowski struck out two in 1.1IP, and Juan Minaya walked one in the 9th.

Terrell Joyce was 2x3 with two runs scored; Teoscar Hernandez (2R, SB), and Jesse Wierzbicki had a hit and a walk; Carlos Correa was 1x5 with 2RBI.

Man of the Match: Colton Cain

Tri-City (26-16), 3.0 up

Tri-City's losing streak runs to four as the ValleyCats get shutout for the third straight game in a 2-0 loss to Connecticut. Chris Cotton took the Hard Luck Loss, allowing 7H/1ER, 2K:0BB in 5IP; Charles Basford allowed a hit and a walk in 2IP and Andrew Walter gave up 1H/1ER, 2K:0BB in 2IP.

Chan Moon (BB) and Jack Mayfield (SB) had two hits each. The ValleyCats got nine hits - all singles - and were 1x6 w/RISP.

Man of the Match: Chris Cotton

Greeneville (25-12), 2.0 up

That is a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 11th for the Gastros, who defeat Burlington 4-3. Austin Chrismon allowed just 3H/0ER, 2K:1BB in 5IP; Jordan Mills gave up 4H/3ER, 2K:3BB in 4IP; newly-promoted Troy Scribner allowed 1H/0ER, 2K:2BB in the 10th and Raul Rivera got the win with 1H/0ER, 2K:0BB in the 11th.

Thomas Lindauer was 2x5 with an RBI; Tanner Mathis was 1x4 with a double and two walks; Marc Wik was 1x2 with three walks.

Man of the Match: Austin Chrismon

GCL Astros (15-16), 6.0 GB

It was 6-0 Astros before the GCL Yankees2 (no typo) got on the board in a 6-1 Astros win. A rehabbing Brian Holmes struck out eight (two walks) in 4.1IP scoreless innings; Juan Santos recorded the final two outs of the 5th; Francis Ramirez struck out three, walked two, and allowed the lone run in 3IP; Erick Gonzalez gave up a hit and two walks in the 9th.

Yonathan Mejia (RBI) and Jose Solano (2B) had two hits each; Jason Martin (2B) and Ydarqui Marte (2B, RBI) had a hit and a walk each. Javaris Reynolds, Jose Fernandez and Jacob Nottingham had your other RBI.

Man of the Match: Brian Holmes

Draft picks are tight-lipped about bonuses

In addition to Tony Kemp not talking about the exact amount of his signing bonus (and who can blame him?), the same can be said for 26th Round pick Austin Chrismon.

I'd rather not say how much it was. But it was definitely enough to not go back to school at this moment. Plus, (the Astros) will be covering my last three semesters of school. It really was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

Draft picks selected after the 10th Round can sign for up to $100,000 without penalizing the team's bonus pool, but I've been curious if the "paying for school" promise applies to that $100,000 limit. Will try to find an answer soon, but it's something the Astros have promised to Tony Kemp, as well.

26th Round Austin Chrismon will sign

Judging from the headline of Austin Chrismon's hometown paper, it sure does sound like the 26th Round pick will sign, even if he didn't expect to be drafted.

I knew I had a chance. But I wasn't really expecting it, to be honest with you.

June 9 signing updates

*7th Round pick James Ramsay says he's likely to sign with the Astros. Slot value for 7-197 is $202,300.

Ramsay:
This has always been a huge dream of mine. Hopefully, I'll get to play in the major leagues.

*10th Round pick Austin Nicely, who found out he'd been drafted while at his high school graduation, is still undecided whether to sign or go to the University of Virginia.
I'm still in a whirlwind.

*14th Round pick Chris Cotton, LSU's closer, isn't even concerned with the Astros right now.
Excited for the opportunity given by the Astros. Still a Tiger, though, and ready for the chance to win another championship.

*This SBNation Washington State blog wouldn't be surprised to see 18th Round pick Adam Nelubowich come back to Pullman for his senior season. Prior to the draft, his hometown paper said it didn't really matter which team called his name in which round.

*23rd Round pick Thomas Lindauer is talking about the University of Illinois in past-tense, though the Champaign Room (the SBNation blog for the University of Illinois) says it's possible he'll return for his senior season. Lindauer said (pre-draft) he's willing to listen to an offer:
If it works out, it's something I want (to) do. If not, I'd be perfectly fine with being part of (Illinois) next season. 

UPDATE: Lindauer will sign with the Astros. 

*26th Round pick "William Chrismon" is actually better known as Austin Chrismon, whom the Astros drafted in the 32nd Round of the 2010 draft, and went to East Carolina.

*27th Round pick Pat Christensen is likely going to sign with Houston.

*Yeah, 35th Round pick Kacy Clemens is headed to Austin.

26-767: William Chrismon

With the 1st pick of the 26th Round (767th overall), the Astros select 6'2" 227lb RHP William "Austin" Chrismon from Christopher Newport University.

Chrismon was originally selected in the 2010 draft by Houston in the 32nd round.

He spent his first two college seasons with East Carolina University before being named this season's d3baseball.com's South Region Pitcher of the Year after going 7-4 with a 1.74 ERA, including three complete games.

32nd Round pick Austin Chrismon to go to East Carolina

So it seems as though 32nd Round pick Austin Chrismon will not be signing with the Astros:

“We couldn’t reach an agreement on a dollar figure I’d be comfortable with. And I didn’t want to miss out on the college experience and getting an education. So I’ll try again in three years.”

32nd Round Chrismon isn't leaning one way or the other

Among the handful of players yet to sign, 32nd Round pick Austin Chrismon has no idea what he'll do:

"I'd say it's the most important decision I've had to make, by far, because it affects my future. It's very exciting, but at the same time it's very stressful. I have friends constantly asking me questions, and I just have to tell them I don't know yet. I have those who tell me it's all about getting your education, and I have those who tell me it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I have to take. But I'm not leaning either way right now. I'm right in the middle."

But make no mistake, it's about the Green:

"We're just trying to get as much out of them as possible before making a decision. For now, I'm just taking it one day at a time and focusing on the next time I throw. I probably have a better chance of signing and getting the money I want now than in the future. And if they go to a worldwide draft, it's possible I wouldn't get drafted (in '13). I'm just looking at this as a chance to show what I can really do. I have to sell myself, I guess. It all depends on how well I can do."