Friday Morning Hot Links

I turn 38 years old today. I currently have a sinus infection and an upper respiratory infection. Gray hair is slowly taking over my head. There's a muscle in my hip that I tore about 12 years ago that still gives me problems. I think about that while I click a couple of links and see that, in their Age 38 seasons...

Barry Bonds (2003) hit .341/.529/.749 with 58K:148BB and 45 HR.
Ted Williams (1957) hit .388/.526/.731 with 43K:118BB and 38 HR.
Cy Young (1905) threw 302.1IP with a 1.82 ERA/0.87 WHIP, 210K:30BB and still went 18-19.
Randy Johnson (2002) threw 260IP with a 2.32 ERA/1.03 WHIP, 334K:71BB and went 24-5.

Whatever, I'll just take a couple Bayer Back & Body and make another cup of coffee.

*Bleacher Report's Joon Lee has a fascinating article - if you haven't read it already - on 2013 1-1 pick Mark Appel's semi-permanent retirement. It's too good to pull too much from, but here's one quote, on Appel wondering if things would have been different had the Astros selected Kris Bryant:
Things are absolutely different. I don't know if I'm four-and-a-half years later wanting to step away from the game, but I'm sure it has to be different. I never go to Lancaster, and that was an introduction to pro ball in the worst way possible...If they choose me over Correa, do the Astros win a World Series? 

You can always play What-Ifs with the draft. In almost every round you can look and say, "Man, if they had just chosen that guy..." But the fact is that Appel was as close to a sure-thing as you could get - two years in a row - in a prospect. Joon Lee's article references Harold Reynolds, on draft night 2013, saying Appel could be in Houston by August...like, two months later. We all collectively laughed because that was ridiculous, but certainly by 2015 Appel would be ready.

Appel joins just two other 1-1s to never make it to the Majors (Brien Taylor - 1991; Steve Chilcott - 1966). From the article Appel has decided that it's going to be a part of his legacy, but he's at peace with that. Good for him for reaching that point.

*Check McTaggart's interview with Appel from yesterday for more insight.

*Baseball America's JJ Cooper says Appel highlights the challenges of scouting. Cooper:
Even someone who was analyzed, dissected and probed as deeply as a player can be proved almost immediately to be less than expected when he became a pro. This is not an indictment of amateur scouting. Instead it's a reminder scouting is extremely difficult and an ever-evolving art.

*Quad City Times reporter Steve Batterson looked back at Appel's time with the River Bandits and the first time in draft-era baseball history that two #1 picks from consecutive years played on the same minor-league team.

*Missed this from a couple of days ago: Baseball America ranked the Astros' farm system 10th. Here's how the AL West shakes out:
Anaheim: 14
Oakland: 18
Arlington: 23
Seattle: 30

It's worth noting that in 2013 the Mariners had the 2nd-best and Arlington the 3rd-best ranked farm system in baseball.

*Rob Manfred said that if the average game drops below 2:55, he'll pull the pitch-clock idea off the table for 2019. And that whole "starting extra-innings with a runner on 2nd" thing? Not going to happen in the regular season or playoffs.

*Geoff Cameron: Bruce Arena made decisions that cost us going to the World Cup.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Things actually Happened yesterday.

*The Astros claimed Buddy Boshers off waivers.

Vs LHBs, 2017, lowest OPS-against to highest:
Chris Devenski (157 PAs): .111/.178/.236, 61K:10BB
Ken Giles (115 PAs): .196/.270/.314, 37K:11BB
Will Harris (76 PAs): .233/.263/.342, 19K:3BB
Buddy Boshers (62 PAs): .224/.258/.397, 10K:2BB
Joe Smith (77 PAs): .246/.325/.377, 24K:8BB
Brad Peacock (243 PAs): .249/.342/.418, 70K:28BB
Hector Rondon (86 PAs): .230/.337/.473, 23K:12BB
Tony Sipp (73 PAs): .247/.304/.548, 18K:5BB

Boshers allowed a .904 OPS to right-handed batters, so unless Brent Strom is an actual miracle worker, the Astros could plan on Boshers being the LOOGY they thought they were giving Tony Sipp $18m to be. It's also worth mentioning that Boshers still has a minor-league option remaining, so if things don't work out in Spring Training, he can go to Fresno without having to pass through waivers. Though the fact that Boshers fell all the way to the Astros in the first place indicates that may not really be an issue.

Boshers, Rule 5 pick Anthony Gose, and Sipp will fight each other to the death at the Ballpark of the Seven Isles or Whatever the New Kissimmee is Called starting next month.

The Masked Marvel has a round-up of Twitter reaction to the move.

*Baseball America released their Top 100 Prospects list yesterday. Here's where the Astros fall:
#10: Forrest Whitley
#15: Kyle Tucker
#62: Yordan Alvarez
#76: J.B. Bukauskas

Also on the list are former Astros prospects:
#35: Franklin Perez (traded for Justin Verlander)
#77: Albert Abreu (traded for Brian McCann)
#80: Brett Phillips (traded for Mike Fiers and some scrub outfielder)

Number of prospects on BA's Top 100, AL West:
Houston: 4
Oakland: 4
Anaheim: 3
Arlington: 2
Seattle: 1

Only the Astros, Rays, White Sox, and Blue Jays have two prospects in the Top 20.

*Alyson Footer writes that J.D. Martinez's impending payday (any day now, surely) got its foundation in Houston.

*Richard Justice: Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, and Corey Seager highlight MLB's great young shortstops.

*Jose Altuve got a bat made of Swarovski crystal.

*Every time the Annunciation Catholic Church sold out of their handmade Astros-themed rosaries, the 2017 Astros dominated that night's game. Now the Pope will receive one.

*Here is a 28-minute long condensed version of Game 5.

*The Brewers have made an offer for Yu Darvish, apparently.

*Naomi Parker Fraley aka Rosie the Riveter passed away at 96 over the weekend.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

It's good to be back.

*The Astros have until 7pm Central on Friday to tender a contract to their nine arbitration-eligible players. McTaggart notes (in the above link) that Mike Fiers and Evan Gattis are possible non-tender candidates. McTaggart, on Gattis:
The Astros are trying to upgrade the catching position defensively, which means Gattis could be limited to DH duties next season. Considering he could make close to $7 million, Houston could try to trade him and take advantage of his value while moving his contract.

*Jake Kapplan reports that the Astros will "surely attempt" to trade Mike Fiers before the deadline.

*Carlos Beltran interviewed to be the next manager of the Yankees. He'll also receive the Sports Illustrated Hope Award at the SI Sportsperson of the Year event next month.

*Baseball America named A.J. Hinch as their Manager of the Year. The only other Astros manager to win BA's award was Larry Dierker in 1998.

*Buster Olney links the Astros to lefty reliever Mike Minor.

*Doug Miller has a really good background piece on the evolution of Shohei Ohtani.

*This Tiki Island dude took his Earn History towel to Mt. Everest's base camp.

*Astroline is back this evening from 6-7pm at the Pluckers on Shepherd.

*This MMP brick tribute got me.

*Check out this League City family's Christmas lights display:

The Astros winning the World Series synced with Christmas lights pic.twitter.com/MZsfoiq8vt

— Kent (@RealKentMurphy) November 29, 2017

Baseball America's Midseason Top 100 Prospects

Baseball America released their updated Midseason Top 100 Prospects list, and it's notable for our favorite team.

#11: Kyle Tucker (preseason #19)
#32: Franklin Perez (preseason #54)
#47: Francis Martes (preseason #15)
#53: Derek Fisher (preseason unranked)
#57: Forrest Whitley (preseason unranked)

Elsewhere in the AL West, here are the division opponents' number of players on the list:

Oakland: 3 (#26, #27, #93)
Seattle: 2 (#61, #83)
Lewisville: 1 (#34)
Anaheim: 1 (#96)

Friday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros have won the opening game in nine straight series after beating the Yankees 3-2 last night on Keuchel's strong start, Correa's 2-run homer, and Jake Marisnick's outfield assist to end the game. Keuchel threw 6IP, 5H/1R (0ER), 9K:1BB. Keuchel, who has a career 1.24 ERA in seven starts against the Yankees:

Maybe I just like the New York lights

And the entire fan base's nose starts bleeding. 

Yankees manager Joe Girardi:

He sinks it, he cuts it, his curveball, his changeup. We did a much better job in the fifth and sixth innings, we made him work and got him out of the game. We just never really got the one big hit.

*On Marisnick's throw to end the game:

You have to take that shot. It took a perfect throw to get him. If there's less than two outs, you don't do it, but it's the right call. He made a perfect throw. 

*The Astros are seven games up on the 2nd-place Angels, matching the biggest lead the Astros enjoyed in the 2015 season, last on May 4, 2015 before going and getting swept by Flower Mound. 

*Luhnow said the team is in no rush to make a rotation move:

We're going to be active in conversations so we know who's available and when they might be traded, but I don't feel like we're going to be in any hurry, especially since we've gotten off to a good start. As long as we continue to play well, there's no urgency to solve a problem right now. 

*The New York Post's Joel Sherman looked at the two paths the Astros and Yankees took to get to 1st place in their division. Yankees GM Brian Cashman:

(Tanking) is not something that was afforded to us here. So we had to go a different route. 

*Ken Giles thanks the Phillies' organization, and Jonathan Papelbon, in particular. Giles, on this year:

I am in more of a comfort zone this year. Things feel so much better this year.

*George Springer teases Gurriel's hair before games. 

*Beltran was hopeful to re-sign with the Yankees for 2017, but didn't want to wait around for an offer. 

*While this isn't the point of the article, Beltran got to pick his kids up from school yesterday. 

*Jon Heyman's AL Notes column is out and the first note on the Astros is about.............Doug Fister.

*Updated Baseball America Top 100 Prospect rankings! (Pre-season rankings in parentheses):

15. Kyle Tucker (19)

19. Frankie Tuesday (16)

39. Franklin Perez (54)

66. A.J. Reed (72)

67. David Paulino (51)

*Sam Miller: Just tell us if you're juicing the ball.

*MLBTR has a great look back at the 1992 Expansion Draft.

*David Roth: Roger Clemens, Suzy Waldman, and the Freakout Heard 'Round the World

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*Check out MLB.com's Top 30 Astros Prospects list. No real surprises at the top, but some interesting names towards the bottom, such as Colin Moran slipping to #25.

*#1 prospect Francis Martes threw live BP yesterday, and people were impressed. Martes is Roy Oswalt's "pet project," helping him develop his changeup. Josh Reddick:
Electric. He's got a lot of movement, gets on you pretty quick...He seemed to hit most of his spots pretty good today. He's got a lot of life on his pitches.

Were I a cynical man, I'd panic about Josh Reddick struggling against a Double-A pitcher...

*Lance McCullers' first live BP session went fine.

*ESPN wrote about the options Chris Devenski brings to the Astros.

*Buster Olney has a little anecdote about Alex Bregman.

*Baseball America ranked Houston #3 in their Organization Prospect Rankings. (Oakland is #17, Ramgers are #22, Mariners #23, and Angels #29)

*Brian T. Smith wrote that playing better would fix baseball.

*The influence of Ring Lardner on journalism.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros and Collin McHugh went to an arbitration hearing over the difference of $500,000. McHugh wanted $3.85m, the Astros wanted to pay him $3.35m. 

*Luhnow: "If we can avoid getting off to a bad start, I think chances are good that we're going to be seeing baseball in October here."

*Luhnow thinks the depth added to the roster will help the team overcome the inevitable downturns.

*Baseball America released their Top 100 prospects for 2017, complete with five Astros:

-Francis Martes (#15)

-Kyle Tucker (#19)

-David Paulino (#51)

-Franklin Perez (#54)

-A.J. Reed (#72)

*Nolan Ryan at 70.

*Former Astros prospect David Rollins is playing roster roulette...again.

*A state senator from north Houston will introduce a bill for Harris County voters to approve the plan to renovate the Astrodome. 

Singleton out, Sunday Links

Good morning, reader. I was at a conference for the last three days with a broken phone and spotty wifi which, as I slowly found out, was the worst possible three days to be without a phone or solid wifi. Thanks to the Masked Marvel from coming out of semi-retirement to write up the McCann/Reddick deals.

*Later today we'll take a look at the pitchers the Astros gave up for Brian McCann.

*The Astros placed Jon Singleton on outright waivers, clearing some room on the 40-Man Roster. If you remember Singleton signed that 5yr/$10m contract before he made it to the Majors in a process that Luhnow was hoping would mean the Astros got a middle-of-the-order slugger at $2m/year. It was low-risk/high-reward. The Astros still owe Singleton $4m over the next two seasons with a $500,000 buyout in 2019.

Singleton's career in Houston obviously did not pan out how either intended. Though he hit a homer in his first MLB game, Singleton finished his rookie season with a .168/.285/.335 slash line. He struck out 134 times in 362 PAs. That was essentially his shot. Singleton only played 19 games in Houston 2015 (.191/.328/.298) and did not see any action in 2016 despite the Astros' notable struggles at 1B, even in September.

And so the Hunter Pence trade era comes to an end. Jarred Cosart was traded to Miami in 2014 in the Marisnick/Moran deal after going 10-8 in parts of two seasons with the Astros. Cosart is now in the Padres' organization. Domingo Santana was traded to Milwaukee in the Gomez/Fiers deal and is coming off a .256/.345/.447 season for the Brewers in 77 games. Josh Zeid was placed on waivers in November 2014 and has spent time in the Angels and Mets organizations. And that's that. Maybe prospects aren't the greatest thing in the world.

*Brian McCann's favorite memory came against the Astros when he hit a homer off Roger Clemens in Game 2 of the 2005 NLDS in his first career postseason AB. John Smoltz says McCann will bring that Leadership intangible to the Astros. Smoltz:
I just think he's going to be relieved to know that he's going to be the guy and it's going to be a team that he can have his fingerprints on a little more. 

*Ken Rosenthal writes that the Astros' acquisitions of Brian McCann and Josh Reddick does not necessarily mean that they're out on the pursuit of Carlos Beltran, or perhaps even Chris Sale (who is seemingly available) or Chris Archer. The likeliest alignment, it seems, is Springer in CF, Reddick in RF, and a Marisnick/Aoki platoon in LF. The addition of Beltran would take ABs away from the platoon situation.

*OR the Astros could simply not offer a contract for 2017 for Nori Aoki.

*Brian McTaggart says the Astros may not want to break up their core by trading Bregman for someone like Archer or Sale.

*Brian T. Smith has a column about the momentous day the Astros decided to go all in. Smith:
Thanks to one of the best young cores in the game...the Astros don't "have" to win the whole thing in 2017. But they must stop finishing in second (or third) place. 

Luhnow:
We need to do the best job possible to give our players and our fans a chance to win a championship, and that's what we've been doing. We've been pursuing that aggressively, and I think our fans are going to see the results of that starting this year on the field. 

*Luhnow told Fanrag's John Perrotto:
We feel like we're going to be in contention every year for the foreseeable future. The reality is that every season is going to turn out differently than you expect.

*The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo says the Astros are possible destinations for Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, or Evan Longoria.

*Baseball America released their Top 10 Astros prospects list. Click the link for the write-up, here's the list:
1. Francis Martes
2. Kyle Tucker
3. David Paulino
4. Franklin Perez
5. A.J. Reed
6. Forrest Whitley
7. Teoscar Hernandez
8. Yulieski Gurriel (remember he still qualifies as a rookie, missing the cut-off by one AB)
9. Derek Fisher
10. Garrett Stubbs

*Check out Aubrey Huff - AUBREY HUFF! - throwing shade at Josh Reddick:

Please explain 2 me how someone can receive a 4 year 52 mill contract who hit 281-10-37! Guess U don't have to be good to get paid anymore

— AUBREY HUFF (@aubrey_huff) November 18, 2016

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Masked Marvel has the glorious recap of last night's dramatic walk-off win over the A's.

*The Rangers beat the Twins, the Angels beat the Orioles, the Mariners beat the Royals.

*The Astros remain 6.5 GB of the Ramgers, 2.0 back of the Blue Jays for WC1 and 1.0 back of the Red Sox for WC2.

*FanGraphs has the Rangers at 65.1% to win the division, with the Astros at 29.8%. They give the Astros a 60.2% chance of making the playoffs.

*Valbuena knew it was out as soon as he hit it. Since May 7 Valbuena is hitting .302.

*Valbuena bailed out Will Harris, who had a bad night. Hinch, on Harris:
It spiraled a little bit out of control for him. He just wasn't making pitches at the right time.

*Springer isn't upset about missing out on the All-Star Game.

*Jose Altuve has re-signed with super agent Scott Boras. Altuve:
I think that's the best decision I can make. I think he's the right guy for me. That's what I feel.

*Baseball America released their midseason Top 100 prospects list! The rundown (click the link for a brief write-up):
#8: Alex Bregman
#29: Francis Martes
#32: Joe Musgrove
#35: Kyle Tucker
#47: David Paulino
#94: Derek Fisher

*Daz Cameron broke his index finger and will miss the rest of the season.

*Today's Knuckleball breaks down the righty pitchers in the Futures Game.

*Jurgen Klinsmann is "in discussions" to be the next manager of England.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

A side story to start your day: I started running about eight months ago as a way to look and feel more sexy like Carlos Gomez and less like Pablo Sandoval. A couple of months ago I pulled both my quads, and the demands of my job have prevented those from healing as quickly as I would have liked. I started listening to podcasts instead of Rage Against The Machine while I "run," as a way to occupy my mind a little bit more - and it's a gentler way to get going at 5:00am. One of the podcasts I've enjoyed is the Black Tapes podcast, which is creepy af. This morning while running and listening to the latest episode, I turned the corner and two people were standing in the middle of the road staring at me. It was awful and horrible and almost died. Apparently my labored breathing had alarmed the two morning walkers, who were curious as to whom - or what - was coming behind them. It's a shame I had to murder them in the time-old Fight or Flight decision. On to the links...

*Baseball America plays Best-Case/Worst-Case with the American League.

*A.J. Hinch is giving the Astros today off.

I asked our guys to stay away. They're not going to get extra credit points for showing up and working out. When I give them rest and recovery time I want them to use it.
-A.J. Hinch

*Not-Closer Luke Gregerson is recovering from his oblique soreness and has started to look more like a baseball player.

*Carlos Gomez got on the scale naked to show that he's just like us.

*USA Today's Ted Berg wrote about Carlos Correa on the brink of superstardom.

*Your first six starting pitchers for Grapefruit League play:
Thursday vs. Phillies: Doug Fister
Friday vs. Cardinals: Wandy Rodriguez
Saturday vs. Mets: Collin McHugh
Sunday vs. Blue Jays: Scott Feldman
Sunday vs. Pirates: Brad Peacock
Monday vs. Yankees: Mike F. Fiers

*A.J. Hinch doesn't know much about 2015 Texas League Pitcher of the Year Chris Devenski, but Devenski made a good first impression.

*File this under: I swear I've seen this story at least twice before, but Marwin's versatility is what makes him valuable to the Astros.

*Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gomez have emerged as the Welcoming Veterans Who Buy Suits For Young Guys and Offer An Encouraging Word committee.

*Updated FanGraphs projections have the Astros at 88-74. You can vote on the accuracy of the projections (as you can with every other MLB team's projections). At writing (5:58am), just 4% of the voters believe that number is too high by at least four wins. Sources indicate that the 4% is Rangers beat writer Evan Grant.

*MLBPA chief Tony Clark talked about tanking without saying the word "tanking."

*Perusing Bovada's MLB futures odds (I'm a non-practicing gambler) the Astros are +160 to win the AL West (Ramgers are 2nd at +210); +700 to win the AL Pennant; +1600 to win the World Series; Over/Under is set at 87.5 wins.

Which locations are the best fit for expansion? Montreal, Austin, Vancouver, Mexico City.

Before you go:

Darvish through 15 bitches off before mound felt good

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) February 29, 2016

Friday Morning Hot Links

*WHEN CLICKBAIT TOTALLY WORKS: A.J. Hinch is happy in Houston and no one can interview him without the Astros permission....but the Dodgers job would be really cool.

*The Astros are bringing back 45 instructors, coordinators, and coaches for 2016. Notably, Morgan Ensberg is the organization's new Mindset Coach. Lamarr Rogers, who managed Greeneville to the 2015 Appy League championship, will manage Tri-City.

On Ensberg:
In his newly-created role, Ensberg will travel throughout the Astros system to help develop the mental skills of the Astros players while implementing organizational initiatives.

*With Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Daz Cameron at the top of the 2015 draft, Baseball America ranked the Astros' 2015 draft class as the best in baseball. BA also had Alex Bregman as the 2nd-best pure hitter in the draft, Kyle Tucker as the 5th-best pure power hitter in the draft, and Daz Cameron as the most intriguing background (Tucker was 4th). Bregman made the list of the Closest to the Majors from the 2015 draft.

*Here's a great story about former Astros great Ben Zobrist's early baseball career.

A.J. Reed wins award

Baseball America named Astros 2nd-Round pick A.J. Reed as their college baseball player of the year...

Using deadened BBCOR bats, Reed smacked 23 home runs as well, matching Olerud’s total with supercharged bats. Reed led the nation in homers, slugging percentage (.735) and OPS (1.211), while ranking second in total bases (164) and third in RBIs (73). He hit .336 with a .476 on-base percentage, walking (49) more than he struck out (48). That offensive season alone would make him worthy of the Player of the Year award, but Reed also went 12-2, 2.09 in 112 innings as Kentucky’s Friday night ace in the rugged Southeastern Conference. He ranks just one win shy of the national lead and tops the SEC.

Click the link for all kinds of nice quotes from various ESS EEE SEE coaches.

-

In other draft news, the Astros have apparently agreed to terms with 7th Round pick Derick Velazquez and 26th Round pick Mott Hyde.

From NumberFire: Why the Houston Astros won the 2014 Draft

Mayo's Mock Draft

Jonathan Mayo posted his first Mock Draft for next month's amateur draft. In said draft, Mayo has Carlos Rodon going to the Astros with the 1-1 pick.

A slow start left Rodon's status as the top pick in question, and one of the big high school pitchers below could still be Houston's choice, but here's saying the N.C. State lefty has done enough to reclaim the spot.

Meanwhile, Rodon stays atop Baseball America's 2nd Mock Draft of the Spring.

Industry opinion appears to favor Aiken as the top prospect in the draft, and he’s the rare high school player with a long-enough track record to earn the No. 1 selection. But Rodon’s trend lines continue to point in the right direction, and the Astros’ big league struggles likely bring pressure to speed up the rebuilding process in Houston. Rodon’s talent is worthy of the No. 1 pick, and so is the buzz factor he would bring.

Manuel says Rodon's "top-shelf" slider gives him more upside than Aiken. 

2014 Prospect Matrix

We'll add to this post as the prospect rankings continue to come in, but I thought it might be interesting to see the alignment between the major lists. So what you have below are the Astros prospects represented on Keith Law's, Baseball Prospectus', MLB.com's Top 100-101 Prospect List, MLB Draft Insider's Top 100, FanGraphs, and Baseball America.

Name	KLaw	BPro	MLB	DrIn	FanGr	BsAm
Correa	4	5	8	3	9	7
Appel	11	21	17	15	26	39
Springer	19	20	21	19	14	18
Foltynewicz	70	43	54	81	57	59
Singleton	78	57	50	84	55	82
DeShields	80	UR	66	56	UR	UR
Velasquez	82	UR	UR	UR	67	UR
McCullers	UR	UR	52	UR	UR	77

Tuesday Morning Link Dump

Here is what you would probably enjoy knowing on this absolutely freezing morning.

*Fantastic read from the Crawfish Boxes on the Great Delino DeShields Debate

*Baseball America wonders if the 16-30 Astros prospects in 2014 are better than the 1-15 Astros prospects in 2010.

*Jim Callis says the Correa/Appel tandem is the best hitter/pitcher prospect combo in baseball.

*Jesse Crain is about ten days away from beginning his throwing regimen

*Jim Crane told reporters in OKC that the Astros may extend their PDC with Oklahoma City (it expires following this season). Crane:
We've made it clear as an organization we'd like to own our Triple-A team, but right now there's nothing in the works. Our team is here ... We like this market. This is a great ballpark and these folks (Mandalay) do a great job.

*The Oklahoman posted an interview with Roger Clemens.

*This is what happens when Fantasy Writers don't really know much about a team.

*Bud Norris told Orioles101 that he is grateful to be in Baltimore, and "was very blessed and thankful for my time in Houston but losing 100+ games 4 seasons in a row was very hard on me, the team, coaches, and the city." (Ed. Note: Four seasons in a row?)

Baseball America's Top 10 Astros prospects

Fun times as Baseball America released their Top 10 Astros prospect list this morning. Click the link for the full run-down, as well as Best Tools, Top 15 Players Under 25, etc.

Here is your quick-read Top 10, as ranked by BA:

01. Carlos Correa
02. George Springer
03. Mark Appel
04. Mike Foltynewicz
05. Lance McCullers, Jr.
06. Vince Velasquez
07. Jon Singleton
08. Domingo Santana
09. Michael Feliz
10. Asher Wojciechowski

Baseball America Rates Astros' Farm System Number 2 In Near Term Value

As the season winds down, we will start to see farm system rankings trickle in from various sources. The Astros figure to rank very highly in most of these. One of the first is Baseball America's "Near Term Value" Ranking. And sure enough, the Astros come in at #2.

This isn't a pure farm system ranking, and instead is weighted towards top prospects in advanced leagues. So, while Correa will be the Astros' top prospect on most lists, he doesn't earn as many points here as Foltynewicz and Springer. This is encouraging. While the strength of the farm system is still primarily at the lower levels, this list shows how much talent is close and should be ready to help soon. It's going to get better.

So many Astros on Texas League prospect list

Baseball America posted their (paywalled) Top 20 Texas League Prospect List, and there are so many Astros...

#1: George Springer
Springer’s tool set evoked some of the league’s recent elite center fielders such as Taveras or Mike Trout.

#2: Mike Foltynewicz
Managers this year shook their heads at the mere mention of Foltynewicz...

#6: Domingo Santana
...he’s been a bargain since signing for $330,000, and the Astros should reap the benefit of the Phillies’ investment.

#16: Max Stassi
Stassi handled Corpus Christi’s string of pitching prospects, showing a feel for receiving, calling pitches and game management.

DeShields makes Cal League prospect list

Baseball America released their Top 20 California League prospects yesterday. Once again, it's a pay site, so we'll only pull parts of words from it and let you try to figure it out.

#4: Delino DeShields, Jr.
Pitchers could bust him inside early in the season, but he got better at pulling those balls as the year progressed.

And that's it for Astros on the list.

Baseball America's NYPL prospect list

Baseball America released their Top 20 New York Penn League prospect list today, and the NYPL Champion Tri-City ValleyCats are represented with just one name...

Michael Feliz - No. 3
His combination of stuff, polish, size and arm strength makes him one of the higher-ceiling prospects in the league.