Sunday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros are 1-0 when Kyle Tucker plays in Houston, avenging - finally! - the 2005 World Series loss by taking their 6th straight win, and eight of their last nine, against the White Sox. It's their 5th win in a row. They're 60-31.

*The Astros scored 12 runs on 17 hits. The twelve runs are the 3rd-highest for the Astros in 2018. The 17 hits are the 2nd-highest total of the season. Last night the Astros got seven extra-base hits (five doubles, two home runs) - it's the 6th time this season that Houston got at least seven extra-base hits. They're the second team in MLB to 60 wins.

*Game Number for the Astros' 60th win:
2018: 91
2017: 89
2016: 115
2015: 106
2014: 139
2013: Folks,
2012: I mean
2011: Well
2010: 131
2009: 122
2008: 119
2007: 134
2006: 127
2005: 112
2004: 120
2003: 111
2002: 115
2001: 109
2000: 140
1999: 100
1998: 101

*Houston has scored 27 runs in three games against the White Sox. They scored 24 runs in their previous seven games.

*Josh Reddick was the only member of the lineup to not get on base at least twice. Bregman and Stassi had three hits each.

*Alex Bregman hit his 17th home run of the season in his 399th plate appearance of the season. He hit 19 home runs in 2017, and his 17th home run in his 612th plate appearance of 2017. Bregs:
I think we're swinging the bats well. I think we're playing good baseball, and I think our pitching staff is throwing the ball really well, and offensively we've done a good job of passing the baton to the next guy, and if we continue to do that, we'll be successful.

Turn up the volume ...
Geoff Blum: “Good spot for a homer.”
<Bregman blast>
Todd Kalas: “Really?”
Blum: “You’re welcome.” pic.twitter.com/t6KL1p70MO

— Matt Young (@Chron_MattYoung) July 7, 2018

*Via the previous link from McTaggart, Jose Altuve is nine hits shy of his own record for hits before the All-Star Break.

*Yuli Gurriel was 2x4 with a home run and a walk and 4RBI. In his last five games, Yuli has raised his OPS from .727 to .775.

*Maximus Stassi was 3x5 with 2RBI. His three hits in a game are a career-high.

*George Springer stole his first base since June 16. He's stolen six bases in his last seven attempts dating back to May 9.

*Kyle Tucker was 1x4 with 3K and a walk so why was Jake Marisnick even optioned. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm trying to delete it. Tucker:
It was awesome. I had a lot of fun tonight and we came up with the win, so that makes it even better. Just being in the big leagues is awesome, especially this team.

Jake Kaplan: Why now's the right time to promote Tucker.

Luhnow, on Tucker's promotion:
When you have a top guy like that and you're blocking him for reasons other than the fact that he's not ready, you have to question whether you're doing the right thing for the organization. We want him to get exposure this year and to answer the question whether he's a guy that should be in our lineup game one of the postseason.

Tucker's promotion and Marisnick's demotion says a lot about Tony Kemp, writes Chandler Rome. On Kemp, Luhnow:
It didn't affect when we were going to call up Kyle Tucker, but it did affect the move we were going to make to clear space for him. Tony has come up and played well.

MLB.com's Jim Callis, on what to expect from Tucker.

*Charlie Morton threw 5.2IP, 5H/5ER, 8K:2BB - the most ER CFM has allowed since June 3. Charlie F. Morton's starts with 0ER allowed: 5
Charlie F. Morton's starts with 4+ ER allowed: 3

Hinch:
I feel bad for Charlie because he got a little nickel and dimed at the end with a few soft hits and an ill-timed walk and then a well-placed, bases-clearing double. I thought his stuff was really good at the end. That saying that he pitched better than the line indicates, that's going to be the day today. Still a winning pitcher, still a guy that gave us a chance to win. 

CFM's last three starts: 19.1IP, 32K:6BB. Morton has now gone six straight starts (35IP) without allowing a home run. His career-high without allowing a home run is eleven straight starts (64IP)- from April 20 through June 20, 2011.

*Ken Giles allowed a home run to Avisail Garcia in the 8th. It's the 2nd home run he's allowed in 2018, first since May 1 against the Yankees (the Right Cross game), a span of 83 batters.

*The bullpen needed 46 pitches to get through 3.1IP to close out the game.

*Hunter Atkins: In light of Verlander approaching 200 wins, is 300 even possible anymore?

*The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo writes that the Astros have shown interest in Chicago's Jose Abreu, saying that he's a better offensive option than Gurriel and Gattis.

*NW Arkansas outhit Corpus 6-5 but lost 4-0. Corbin Martin threw 5IP, 4H/0ER, 3K:0BB and Framber Valdez followed him up with 4IP, 2H/0ER, 6K:1BB. DH Ryne Birk was 0x1 with 3BB.

*Brett Adcock did the damn thing with 5IP, 1H/0ER, 3K:1BB but Hector Perez allowed 3H/3ER, 2K:3BB in a 4-2 loss to Myrtle Beach. Adcock's last two starts: 10IP, 2H/0ER, 4K:3BB.

*Cesar Rosado's line for Quad Cities: 6.1IP, 3H/2ER, 12K:3BB, WP, HBP, in a 6-4 loss to Burlington. Seth Beer was 3x5 with an RBI to raise his average to .412. It's okay. He was the only batter in Quad Cities' lineup hitting over .258.

*In a got dang Circle of Life thing, to make room for Jon Kemmer the Twins released cHRis Carter.

*For sure, man: Robinson Cano compares his 80-game PED suspension to his grandfather's death.

*Representative Jim Jordan is a piece of crap. Oh, so is convicted felon Dinesh D'Souza.

*Baltimore Baseball's Jack Gibbons, on slain reporter Rob Hiassen, whose brother wrote many novels which I have enjoyed.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros were off last night, so I hope you got to hug your family and read for pleasure. Welcome to Astros Countb.

*Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the Six-Pitcher No-Hitter at Yankee Stadium. Read Sweeny Murti's oral history of the game in The Athletic. Stay for this exchange:

Jeff Kent: Wow you guys get excited about beating the Yankees.
Billy Wagner: You dumbass, we just threw a no-hitter.

*Jake Kaplan writes that Hector Rondon has earned the opportunity to be the Astros' closer. And because I'm stupid, and was stupid busy yesterday (out of town for the week again), I didn't see this article and sent a statistical look at how Rondon has recaptured his form over to The Athletic late last night. You might read it. If they're all Rondon-ed out, I'll put it here.

*The Mariners beat the Angels.

*Joe Musgrove had thrown 6IP, 4H/0ER, 6K:0BB. The Pirates had a 5-0 lead over Arizona. Then Musgrove opened the 7th by hitting Micah Chris Owings (to me, the Diamondbacks will always have Micah Owings on the team, like Bobby Bonilla for the Mets) in retaliation for Josh Harrison getting plunked a half-inning earlier. A wild pitch and throwing error later and Musgrove was out. Then the wheels fell off.

*With a double in the 4th inning, Randy Cesar extended his hitting streak to 33 games in a 6-4 Corpus win over San Antonio. Alex de Goti hit two more home runs (his 2nd 2HR game in his last four) while Taylor Jones and Myles Straw also went deep. Riley Ferrell threw 2.1IP, 1H/0ER, 4K:0BB for the save.

*Ronnie Dawson, Abraham Toro, Brandon Bielak, and Brett Adcock were selected to the Carolina League All-Star Team.

*Cool story in the Corpus paper about the Cuban contingent in Corpus.

*3rd Round pick Jeremy Pena flew to Houston yesterday for his physical to take place today.

*Jim Crane is taking over the Houston Open.

*Holy crap Leeds United might actually get Marco Bielsa. This is the baseball equivalent of the 2013 Astros landing Joe Maddon.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Last Wednesday I had to put my sweet dog, Angus, down. Yesterday my car caught on fire trying to jump the battery and damn if that isn't a metaphor for...something. Screw it. Last day of school. I'm going to Dallas to pick up a new car today. Whatever let's get to the clustershow that was last night's game.

Czech Jexas' series recap.

*The Astros are 35-22. They're 19-11 on the road. Twenty of their first 57 games (about to be 24 of 61) have been against 2017 playoff teams, in which Houston is 8-12. They've allowed 160 runs, 72 fewer than the Mariners for lowest in the AL West, 26 fewer than the Nationals for best in MLB. Houston has scored the 3rd-most runs in MLB (behind the Red Sox and Yankees). Their +123 run differential is 34 runs better than the 2nd-place Red Sox.

*The Astros lost the season series to the Yankees, 5-2. Get ready to hear about that for the next four and half months from some dude with a shaved head, track suit, and gold chains.

*Oh hey the Astros lost to the 27 RANGZ because...I don't really know. Because we live in a fallen world? Because Adam and Eve, like Pete Rose millennia later, did literally the one thing they weren't supposed to do, and got banished because of it? The Astros had a 2-1 lead but immediately gave it back and couldn't overcome the deficit against Luis Severino. Hinch:
[Severino] is elite for a reason and I think we saw why tonight. They're a good team and you have to play well to beat them. And there are a couple of games here we should have beat them.

*Severino: 7IP, 4H/2ER, 11K:1BB. In two starts against Houston this season, Severino: 16IP, 9H/2ER, 21K:2BB.

*Keuchel: 5IP, 7H/4ER, 7K:3BB. He also threw two wild pitches. Keuchel:
It helps out we see each other just in May, and hopefully we'll see each other in October. There's a lot of baseball left, and that's why we play series like this, to see where we're at, at the end of May, and see what kind of adjustments we need to make and go on from there. 

*Having given up an earned run in one game prior to May 27, Collin McHugh has now given up a run in consecutive outings. He threw 3IP (saving the bullpen for a night), 1H/1ER, 3K:1BB. His ERA is a washed 1.05.

*Max Stassi was basically the lone bright spot on offense, going 2x3 with both of the Astros' extra-base hits (a double, a home run) and driving in all three of the Astros' runs.

*Carlos Correa was 0x4 with 3Ks. It's his first game of the season with three strikeouts. The last time he was 0x4 with 3+ Ks? September 9, 2017. It's the 7th game of his career with zero hits and 3+ strikeouts.

He is 18x96 in May with 28K:1BB - a .188/.284/.365 line. That said, his home/road splits are remarkable (yes, I know he's finishing up a seven-game road trip):
Road: .321/.394/.495
Home: .189/.286/.400

*Jake Marisnick was 0x2 with two strikeouts. So that's 51 strikeouts in 103 plate appearances...and one walk. When we watch the 2018 Astros World Series documentary, we'll look back at the bottom of the 8th inning on April 28, 2018 when the Astros were up 10-0 on Oakland and get misty-eyed watching Marisnick draw a leadoff walk against Emilio Pagan and think, "That's the point in which the season...well it wasn't a whole lot of fun at that point...but good ol' Marisnick, drawing a walk."

103 plate appearances, and Marisnick has gotten to a three-ball count 12 times (he struck out in five of those).

*Aaron Boone:
When I look across that that club, I look at them as, they're a really good team. We know that. I certainly think we have their respect, and we know we're a really good team. But we recognize it is only May.

*Here we freaking go again. The Red Sox [Bart Scott voice] can't wait to get at the Astros tonight. So listen to some rando reliever named Matt Barnes, who I wish was the actual basketball douche Matt Barnes:
It's going to be an exciting series. I think everybody wants another shot at them. They're the defending champions. It's them, and we've got to go in there and show them that we mean business.

Come get this business, Not-Basketball-Douche-Matt Barnes.

*Alex Cora says that, without the 2017 Astros, there's no chance he's ready to be a major-league manager.

*There is no update on Brian McCann, and Josh Reddick continues to work out at Minute Maid Park and get back in shape after a "mysterious infection" above his knee has held him out.

*FanGraphs' Travis Sawchik: The Astros' quiet catching advantage.

*David Paulino's right shoulder hurts but the Astros don't know if it's serious, so why not just let him sit out and hope everything goes great.

*Forrest Whitley threw a simulated game earlier this week as the Astros take it slow from bringing him back after his 50-game suspension and lat strain. Luhnow:
I'm hoping it's a blessing in disguise because (a) other players will not end up in his situation and (b) we saved a couple bullets in his arm there that may come into play later this year...I think he's going to be anxious to make up for lost time. The motivation is there, he's learned a lesson. We're going to need him down the road, whether it's this year or next year. I think he's going to play an important role for our organization this year.

Close your eyes and think about Whitley pitching in Houston out of the bullpen in September and October.

*Crazy game in Fresno as the Grizzlies had a 3-1, 5-1, and 8-3 lead before allowing Albuquerque to tie it up. Fresno scored three runs in the top of the 10th, and then Albuquerque scored three runs in the bottom of the 10th. Fresno got one across in the top of the 11th for the 12-11 win. Kyle Tucker hit home runs in the 1st and 2nd off of Former Astros Great Brett Oberholtzer. Jon Kemmer was 4x6 while Tyler White and catcher Eduardo de Oleo went 3x6 each.

*Taylor Jones hit two home runs as Corpus beat Springfield 11-4. Myles Straw, Josh Rojas (HR), Randy Cesar (HR), Stephen Wrenn (HR, 2B), and Alex de Goti (2B, 3B) each had three hits.

*Brett Adcock threw 5IP, 2H/0ER, 6K:0BB in a 1-0 Buies Creek loss to Down East. Large Adult Pitcher Adcock, 2018: 44.2IP, 21H/11ER, 51K:23BB.

*In 1990 the Astros were so hot for high school catcher Jason Varitek that they offered him a six-figure bonus.

*Former Astros Great Kirk Saarloos will interview for the Rice head coaching job.

*A look at Former Astros Great Armando Galarraga's imperfect game (which is actually more memorable than had he correctly gotten his perfect game).

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Doing any of this feels pretty freaking stupid, given what happened in Santa Fe yesterday morning. A.J. Hinch spent two minutes going off about trying to find answers instead of offering condolences. School shootings in America should not be treated like typhoons in Southeast Asia, Nor'Easters in New England, or earthquakes in California - things that are geographic anomalies.

Whatever. Here's some baseball stuff.

Surprisingly, the Astros have won eight of their last ten games, 19 of their last 30. They're three games up on Seattle. Houston's Pythagorean Record is 35-11.

*Charlie Morton: 7IP, 4H/1ER, 8K:1BB. The one run came on an Edwin Encarnacion home run - it was Cleveland's only extra-base hit of the night. Devenski and Giles allowed as many hits in their two combined innings. Morton:
I thought it was OK. I thought I made some really good pitches and I thought I got away with some really bad pitches. I think I'm surprised at how effective my four-seamer is and it's made my job easier. I don't feel like I'm really pitching that well. I'm not really executing a ton of pitches. My stuff is playing in the zone pretty well.

*The Masked Marvel takes a break from binge-watching Royal Wedding stuff to tell you how great the rotation has been.

Opportunities to score:
1st inning: Bases loaded, one out - Gurriel GIDPs.
4th inning: Two on, one out - Fisher and Stassi strike out swinging
5th inning: Two on, nobody out - Bregman GIDPs, reaches first, gets picked off.
8th inning: Two on, nobody out - Marwin flies out, Gattis sac flies, McCann grounds out.

Hinch:
We had a lot of runners on base because we had really good at-bats, especially from the top half of the order and Tony at the back end. I always say if we keep giving ourselves a chance, we'll eventually come up with the big hit, and we did.

*The Astros were 1x10 w/RISP last night. The Astros are hitting .255/.334/.424 with runners in scoring position. With two outs and runners in scoring position, the Astros are hitting .195/.282/.328 with 53 strikeouts in 195 PAs. So, for perspective:

Astros w/RISP: .255/.334/.424
MLB w/RISP: .247/.332/.401

2017 Astros w/RISP: .294/.360/.481

Astros w/RISP, 2 out: .195/.282/.328
MLB w/RISP, 2 out: .227/.331/..382

2017 Astros w/RISP, 2 out: .282/.380/.492.

Yeah, the 2018 Astros OPS w/RISP, 2 outs is 261 points lower than 2017's split.

*Derek Fisher is now 1x20 with 15 strikeouts with runners in scoring position. Tony Kemp is 1x1 with no strikeouts with runners in scoring position.

*George Springer was 2x3 with a home run and 2RBI. Gurriel was 2x3. Tony Kemp was 2x3.

*Indians starter Mike Clevinger, after the game:
There's not much room for error. They are pretty loaded top to bottom. We are right there from top to bottom. We are right there with them. There's not anything they have that we don't have. They aren't that special.

No, see, idiot, this is a family situation: we are allowed bust on the Astros, but you do it and I will absolutely hit you with a pipe.

*We are all this guy's significant other.

welp. Sorry @astros My husband did not see Kemps hit since he was shelling peanuts for our 5 year old daughter at her FIRST ever game. When he looked over the wall it was foul and he wanted to get the ball for his baby. I'm not a jerk wife and he knows baseball.

— Valerie Dominy (@AMDEventPlans) May 19, 2018

*See, this cat thinks he cute:

Tyler Bauer in the @Indians dugout...against @astros pic.twitter.com/jL24aMjEgX

— Karen Warren (@karenwarrenHC) May 19, 2018

*Josh Reddick was a late scratch last night with a "left leg irritation." I doubt he cut himself shaving. If this is Peak Astros, then next Saturday we'll wonder why Reddick hasn't played all week, and then at the All-Star Break they'll announce he had to have it amputated.

*Maybe you noticed (I didn't): Will Harris is back to pitching from the 3B side of the heheh rubber after spending the Spring and early part of the season more towards the middle.

*Jake Kaplan: What Tony Kemp's promotion means for Derek Fisher. Stay for notes on Verlander, McHugh, and Yordan Alvarez.

*A.J. Hinch says he's open to splitting up Verlander and Cole.

*Jayson Stark notes that Justin Verlander's batting average against is 19 points lower than the season-best .167, set by Pedro Martinez in 1999.

*Nick Tanielu (14th Round, 2014) made his Triple-A debut last night and went 2x4 with a double and an RBI

*Here's a great piece from Jayne at WTHB (which, if you don't follow her or read her site on a daily basis then what in the actual hell are you doing with your fandom?) on Buies Creek's Brett Adcock.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros continued to do good things and everyone's favorite closer got in a game for the first time in a week to shut it down. Astros win, 4-2, their 7th comeback win of the season. Houston is back on top in the AL West by a half-game.

*McCullers: 5IP, 5H/2ER, 3K:4BB. 52 of his 89 pitches were for strikes. Peacock (2IP, 3K), Devenski (1IP) and Giles (1IP, 1H) held Oakland to one hit and four strikeouts over the last four innings.

McCullers threw 26 changeups (a career-high tied with his last start) to 28 curves. McCullers:
My breaking ball has been a little bit elusive so far this year. I've flashed it at times, but it's hard when you know how to pitch one way and that way is not really there for you....If anyone knows where my curveball's at, I'd like it overnighted to Minute Maid. 

Hinch, on Giles getting the game-ending GIDP, one week after getting blown up against the Yankees:
It was nice to see him close out the game, especially under a little bit of duress...He's coming off some emotional outings, and for him to get the ball where he needed, it's nice to see.

Oakland scored their two runs on McCullers' Wild Pitch (he had two) and a sac fly.

*McCullers and the Astros showed Class when McCullers stepped off the mound before Stephen Piscotty's first AB to let the crowd give him a standing ovation. McCullers:
It's tough, man. I feel for him and I feel for his family. From everything I've heard he's an awesome guy. I just wanted him to have some time to be able to come up and have the fans recognize him. I wanted that moment to be his.

Emotional standing O for Stephen's first AB. Then he singled for Gretchen. pic.twitter.com/RvY80qu7Z0

— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) May 9, 2018

*George Springer was 2x4 with a walk and 2RBI. Springer's last ten games: 18x45 (.400), 9 RBI.

*Other two-hit games: Gurriel, Marwin. Marwin Gonzalez is 7x14 in his last three games.

*Bregman hit his 3rd home run of the season. He got his 3rd HR in the Astros' 45th game of the season in 2017.

*Seeing as how the bottom of the lineup actually got some hits last night (5-9 in the lineup: 6x20, three runs scored), Hinch is pleased:
The first two games here, we've gotten production out of the bottom of the order and that sets up nicely for the top of the order. When the bottom of the order contributes, it's a complete lineup.

*FanGraphs: The Astros aren't the only team adding spin.

*Speaking of spin rate, it's worth mentioning that the Friday, May 18 pitching matchup is projected to be Tyler Bauer vs. Justin Verlander.

*Now at 47 straight games, Carlos Correa is six games shy of tying Adam Everett's franchise-high errorless streak.

*Over at WTHB, Jayne has a great interview with Corpus 1B Taylor Jones who is...no longer under the radar.

*Couple of notable minor-league transactions yesterday:
-Justin Ferrell was promoted from Buies Creek to Corpus. Ferrell had thrown 16.2IP, 6H/3ER, 24K:4BB.
-JJ Matijevic was promoted from Quad Cities to Buies Creek. Matijevic was hitting .354/.446/.708.

*Brett Adcock was a little more wild last night for Buies Creek, but ran his scoreless IP streak to 17 with 5IP, 2H/0ER, 7K:5BB. Wild West Sheriff Kit Scheetz struck out eight in four perfect innings.

*James Paxton became the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in Canada. ESPN's David Schoenfield asks if Paxton is for real or not. Having watched him dominate the Astros for three years (which probably means I've watched more Mariners games than all of ESPN's writers combined), yeah, I'd say James Paxton is for real.

*SI: Paxton's no-hitter is a perfect example of modern baseball.

*Charlie Crockett, descendant of David Crockett (NOTE: NOT "DAVY") talked music, race, and Texas. He's playing at the Houston House of Blues Friday night.

*Andre Dawson has owned a funeral home in Florida for ten years.

Friday Morning Hot Links

I got nothin', man. I didn't get to see the game (because I'm a dummy and I left a job where I could take in day games), so I was only tangentially aware that the Astros did actually score runs - plural. I don't have any HAWTTAKEZ on who's to blame. Sorry.

*The Astros went 28 innings played between runs. They went 4-6 on the homestand. The Astros still have not won a game in which they trailed by 2+ runs. Houston is tied with Anaheim for 1st place in the AL West.

*Lance McCullers retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.

*Bottom of the 9th, 2 on, 2 out: Chapman vs Altuve. Boone:
I said, 'This is pretty good, isn't it?' This is great. This is what you live for, right? This is our best against the reigning MVP, a game on the line. Embrace that, love it. And our guys do.

Astros relievers posted a 6.23 ERA in 21 2/3 innings during the 10-game homestand, allowing 21 hits and 15 runs. Three saves were blown.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 3, 2018

Let's dive into this a little further, shall we? Here's each reliever's performance this homestand:

Brad Peacock: 2IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:1BB
Ken Giles: 3.1IP, 4H/4ER, 5K:0BB
Collin McHugh: 3.1IP, 1H/0ER, 5K:0BB
Chris Devenski: 3.1IP, 2H/0ER, 6K:0BB
Joe Smith: 2.2IP, 7H/7ER, 4K:1BB
Will Harris: 2IP, 3H/3ER, 2K:1BB
Hector Rondon: 2.2IP, 3H/1ER, 1K:3BB
Tony Sipp: 1.1IP, 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB

I'm missing an inning somewhere. Probably doesn't matter, maybe it does. I literally don't care. But I guess the logical conclusion is that we need more Tony Sipp. You can point to Hinch pulling Devenski after 12 pitches in favor of Will Harris but Hinch has been on record saying that he's going to limit Devenski's innings earlier in the season in favor of keeping him fresh come September and October and Will Harris had allowed two earned runs coming into tonight so...bad day to have a bad day.

But let's be real here: if you take out Joe Smith (again, I know you can't do that, but still, it's a thought exercise) then the Astros bullpen threw 19IP, 14H/8ER - a 3.79 ERA - and that's INCLUDING Giles' awful no good very bad horrible day. Let's take out Joe Smith.

*Giles was magnanimous in how the bullpen situation played out yesterday.

*The Astros only had one extra-base hit - Correa's home run in the 8th. Houston has 33 home runs through 33 games. At the same point in 2017 they had 45 home runs.

*Jose Altuve was 0x5 with 2Ks. You have to go back all the way to April 24 to find his last 0x5 game - the last time he was held hitless in a game. In between he was 10x27. The most concerning thing - if you're looking for something to be concerned about - is that Altuve has five doubles and two home runs all season. He's gone five games without an extra-base hit. Altuve has five extra-base hits in his last 21 games.

*Yankees play-by-play guy Michael Kay: The Astros are the team to beat. And the Yankees did, three times out of four.

*Boone, on a potential post-season matchup:
We think we're a really good team, we know they're a great team and any time, here or [in New York], we know we have to be at our best to beat them. And I think that was the case here.

*Here we go again. Arizona, who is 21-10, just hosted the Dodgers and split a four-game series. Now here come the Astros, making Arizona the first team in MLB history to host the previous year's World Series participants in consecutive series. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo:
I think what our mindset here is that we love challenges. We accept challenges. We have the L.A. Dodgers within our division and right behind them we have the World Series champs. What better situation could you walk into to evaluate yourself individually and then collectively. This is how we are stacking up...It will be a good gauge for us, and I think that is something this entire group embraces.

Back in March I wrote a Thing saying that there's nothing that statistically to indicate a World Series Hangover. I still think I'm right. But what I did not entertain was the idea - and I've alluded to this before in this space - that, when you're the defending champs, every team plays their absolute best because they're measuring themselves against you. Don't get me wrong, I think every Major League Baseball player, and Bartolo Colon, tries their hardest most of the time. I think there's a grind involved with the travel and the wear and tear of playing 162 games in 180 days that we, as fans under-appreciate. But there has to be a difference between playing those 162 games against MLB teams, and then playing 162 games against MLB teams that are using you as a measuring stick. Hitters are more locked in, pitchers have a little extra life on their stuff.

*This is going to be a fun narrative all season. North Jersey newspaper The Record asked if Lance McCullers had some sticky substance on his cleats. Lance responded (if you're at work, maybe throw your earbuds in; if you're at home, maybe wait until The Kids are brushing their teeth):

Y’all ass. Let me wear my cleats in peace. pic.twitter.com/X43TqqgA5d

— Lance McCullers Jr. (@LMcCullers43) May 4, 2018

*Why are the Astros hitting so much better on the road? Hinch:
I remember answering these questions in 2015, and 2016 was the opposite - it's gone back and forth with this group. I don't know if it's subconsciously we see the [short left-field] porch, the Crawford Boxes, and try to hit the ball out of the ballpark. It's weird, it's very unusual.

*Tags ranks McCullers' curve as one of the best pitches in the AL West.

*A.J. Hinch would totally play an international series.

*Patrick Dubuque wrote an essay in Baseball Prospectus about Ken Giles, self-harm, fatherhood, and forgiveness.

*Welcome to Double-A, Corbin Martin. Martin was making his Hooks debut in Midland last night and threw 0.1IP, 5H/6ER, 0K:1BB in a 12-6 loss. To be fair, four of the five hits were singles and one inherited runner for Chris Nunn scored. Nunn allowed two doubles, a triple, and a home run.

*Buies Creek's Large Son Brett Adcock (4th Round - 2016) threw 6IP, 2H/0ER, 8K:1BB in a 4-2 BCA win last night. Adcock's last two starts: 10IP, 2H/0ER, 17K:2BB.

*The Houston Chronicle's Joe Holley wrote a book called "Hurricane Season: The Unforgettable Story of the 2017 Houston Astros and the Resilience of a City." Houston Press:
[Holley] brilliantly alters chapters detailing the destruction of Harvey and its aftermath with summaries of each of the Series games. And the latter are written engagingly enough to engage the non-sports fan readers.

Hmmm.

*There is absolutely nothing of value for the Astros' section of Jon Heyman's Inside Baseball column. I envision Heyman trying to call some people in the Astros' front office for some Inside Baseball Tings (sic), getting sent to voicemail, and opening up Baseball-Reference. "Hm!" he audibly allows. "Gerrit Cole is pretty good!" [types furiously at keyboard].

*FanGraphs' Craig Edwards makes the valid point that competitive imbalance is not the same as tanking. Teams can be bad without trying to be bad.

*The Hardball Times' Michael Lopez and Sadie Lewis took a look at how the strike zone varies from umpire to umpire

*Fare thee well, Ichiro.

*Someone was regularly dropping deuces on the high school track. Cops set up a sting (?) and found that it was the superintendent.

Ladies and Gentleman he’s name is @Trent_Thornton1 and believe it or not he’s a really good Pitcher 🦄 pic.twitter.com/KG2gq2Odb5

— Rodney Linares (@RondeyLinares) May 3, 2018

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Wow what a dumb game! Dallas Keuchel was perfect until he very decidedly was not perfect and the Astros' bats took an extra day off. The Astros are 1-3 on their ten-game homestand.

*Keuchel: 7IP, 7H/6ER, 3K:0BB. Keuchel:
I've already taken a look at [the pitches] before I got too down on myself or blamed myself. Sometimes when you throw pitches in guys' cold zones, they're going to hit them out. That's just what happened to be the deciding factor, the last three runs in the seventh.

More Keuchel:
That's probably going to go down as one of the more frustrating outings of my career.

Keuchel gave up 3HR for the 8th time in his career and the first time since September 16, 2015 against East Fort Worth.

Sean Manaea didn't allow a hit until the 4th inning, setting an Oakland record of 14 consecutive no-hit innings. Hinch:
We just couldn't bunch anything together to where we could get something going and get on a roll a little bit. We had a couple of opportunities, but if you expect to capitalize on every single opportunity, especially against a quality pitcher like Manaea...you're not going to. Given a couple more shots, you're going to break through. But not tonight. 

*There were only three hitters in the lineup last night with an OPS over .800:
-Correa (.954)
-Reddick (.860)
-McCann (.849)

*Oh hey look Joe Smith gave up 3H/2ER in 0.2IP. His ERA is 9.72. His FIP is 4.01 Joe Smith is not very good right now and I'd rather only see him in games where it's 14-0, or at HEB. Smith's last two outings: 1.2IP, 6H/6ER, 0K:1BB.

*Collin McHugh threw a perfect 9th. His last six outings: 8.1IP, 3H/0ER, 16K:2BB.

*There are four AL West teams over .500. There are four teams over .500 in the AL East and AL Central combined.

*In this Alyson Footer Notes piece, we find that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and George Springer are buddies, Josh Reddick donated a bunch of jerseys to Kingwood High School, and Jeff Bagwell will make his broadcasting debut tonight.

*3B Coach Gary Pettis' son, Dante, was drafted by the 49ers in the 44th pick last night. Jake Kaplan has background and details in The Athletic.

*Tyler Stafford has a good piece in The Athletic on Ken Giles and his slider.

*Everyone who attends the June 24 game in Corpus against Frisco will get a replica World Series ring.

*Speaking of Corpus, the 12-8 Hooks took on the 5-15 Frisco RoughRiders (the Double-A club for Arlington) last night. Frisco had a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the 9th, Corpus tied it up. Then Frisco scored two in the top of the 10th, and Corpus answered with three for the 4-3 walk-off win on Myles Straw's single/Frisco's throwing error.

*Corbin Martin and Brett Adcock combined for a 14-strikeout one-hitter against Frederick last night. Martin this season: 19IP, 4H/1R (0ER), 26K:7BB. Yes, a 0.00 ERA / 0.58 WHIP. "Hitters" are "hitting" .065 against him this season.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*When the Astros acquired Gerrit Cole pretty much everybody said that, with a tweak in his mechanics, he should return to form. Well, A.J. Hinch says Cole doesn't need it:
Gerrit Cole is pretty damn good. He's been an effective big league pitcher. Did he give up a few home runs last year? Yeah. Did he have a slightly down season compared to his standards? Yes. That doesn't mean he can't be a top elite pitcher in the American League just given his stuff, his makeup and his ability to pitch.

*Brian T. Smith: Jim Crane knows he has a team that's built to last.

*Ken Giles worked on his endurance this offseason, and he cares not for your worries about him.

*In The Athletic (subscription required) Francis Martes has made the Astros well-pleased with his refined delivery.

Here's a similar story in the Chronicle. Hinch:
He's throwing as hard as anybody in camp. It's still really early, but he came really prepared.

*Brady Rodgers and Jandel Gustave - both coming off Tommy John surgery in 2017 - are on a restricted program that involves some "light throwing."

*Luhnow said that, had Colin Moran not fouled a ball off his face, the Astros might not have traded him to the Pirates:
I think had he been given that opportunity, I think he would have hit .300, I think he would have hit for power. We might not have traded him because we might have wanted to figure out a way to keep him on our club.

*Luhnow talked to Newsday's David Lennon about the slow offseason and the thinking behind the front office slow-play:
We all have great young players in our system and on our big-league teams. And because the investment is so high in young players, they get to the big leagues fairly early. They're still developing at the big leagues, and so swapping one of the young players out for an established veteran is not as attractive today as it would have been five years ago or 10 years ago...It could be that there's just simply fewer spots because a lot of the younger players are taking up spots and they're contributing. It doesn't explain everything, but part of the dynamic is that we're doing a good job as an industry developing young talent and valuing that talent. 

You look at who would make a list of the Great GMs in the game right now, and it's a fairly short list: Theo, Luhnow, Dayton Moore, Billy Beane (?), Brian Cashman. How did they get there? It's through drafting - and developing - that talent. We are now in a cycle in which GMs that rely on trades and free agent signings to bolster their team aren't doing so well (see: Dipoto, Jerry). Perhaps the most important "skill" for a GM right now is the ability to draft well.

Look at the playoff teams from 2017 and how many players on the current 40-Man roster - with 1.0+ years of service time - were acquired through the draft, signed as an amateur free agent, or a Rule 5 pick:

Colorado: 14
Washington: 13
Cleveland: 12
Minnesota: 12
Arizona: 11
Boston: 10
Houston: 9
Los Angeles: 9
New York: 8
Chicago: 5

Okay, I'll be honest, I didn't think Chicago would rank last here, but it is what it is. The average number of players who meet this criteria for 2017 playoff teams is 11.1 players/per roster.

Let's look at the teams that finished under .500 with the same criteria:

New York Mets: 15
San Francisco: 13
Detroit: 12
Arlington: 11
Baltimore: 10
Pittsburgh: 9
Cincinnati: 9
Chicago White Sox: 8
Philadelphia: 8
Toronto: 7
Anaheim: 6
Kansas City: 6
Miami: 6
Seattle: 6
San Diego: 5
Tampa Bay: 4
Oakland: 3
Atlanta: 2

The average number of players who meet this criteria on sub-.500 teams is 7.0 players.

There are a host of asterisks that could go along with this list: maybe you traded for a guy in A-ball and you developed him into a Major-Leaguer (see: Martes, Francis) and, as a result, he's not on this list. Maybe your team sucks, and the guys that have made this particular cut simply aren't very good, and that's why your team was 64-98 (cough, Mets/Tigers, cough). There are also issues with making this an annual exercise: the White Sox, Padres, and Braves are going to be good soon, but they won't show up as highly on this list because the building blocks they're using were acquired through trades. But I'll let the point stand. I guess.

*Riley Ferrell talked about getting notified of his Spring Training invitation while duck hunting:
About 3:30pm, birds [were] about to start coming in, [and] I was excited for that. I get this text message, and I'm like, 'I don't know who this is.' Looked at it, and I was like 'Oh, I got invited to big league camp. That's pretty cool.' No longer was I worried about birds. 

*2016 4th Round pick Brett Adcock (117Ks in 107.2IP at Buies Creek last season) is ready for the season:
I obviously have things I need to fine-tune. If I didn't, I'd be in the big leagues right now. I'm just trying to make myself 1 percent better each day. If I can do that, hopefully I can end up in the right place. 

*Josh Reddick, in all his Josh Reddickness (Reddickulousness?), talked about the ballistic missile scare in Hawaii:
I went back to my room (after it was clear that the alert was not real) and it was actually frustrating, because me and my girlfriend were going to visit with the Dolphins that morning. We got there on time. We got to play with the dolphins that morning. It was plenty of time. She wasn't even worried about dying; she was worried about seeing the dolphins. I said, 'Those dolphins can wait, we can see them tomorrow if we're still here.' Still had a great time. 

*Rich Hill has chilled out about the 2017 World Series. In a sample poll of Rich Hill and myself, 50% of respondents have chilled out about the 2017 World Series.

*If you find yourself in Fresno on May 12 you can pick up this sweet Carlos Correa Starting Lineup figure.

*Eric Hosmer signed an 8yr/$144m deal (with an opt-out after five years) with the Padres.

*The Rangers have backed out of the deal to sign reliever Seung-Hawn Oh after concerns about his MRI. So here comes a bunch of editorials comparing them to the dastardly Astros and their treatment of Brady Aiken, yes?

*Chris Archer says the Rays could have the best rotation in MLB. And then they traded Jake Odorizzi to the Twins, so who knows now?

*Fernando Abad, who signed a new deal with the Phillies for 2018:
2010-2012 w/HOU: 84.2IP, 5.10 ERA / 1.56 WHIP, 1.97 K:BB ratio.
2013-present:            233IP, 3.13 ERA / 1.21 WHIP, 2.58 K:BB ratio.

*The Haunting of Lindsey Jacobellis.

*From No Depression: A musician's life on social media.

*The Globe and Mail's Michael Harris: I Have Forgotten How To Read.

#Astros Joe Smith 2017 Pitch Quality

5.87 QOPA

Late Break (Top 1% MLB)
Horizontal Break (Top 1% MLB)
Location (Top 6% MLB) pic.twitter.com/DDMtkyltsl

— MLB Quality of Pitch (@qopbaseball) February 17, 2018

In Appreciation Of...Brett Adcock

It's another installment of the In Appreciation Of...series, in which we highlight an under-/unheralded prospect in the Astros system. Check the one from a few weeks back on Corpus pitcher Dean Deetz. Now up is Quad Cities LHP Brett Adcock.

Hailing from Bay City, Michigan, Adcock helped his high school team (and God help them if their high school is not the Bay City Rollers) go 42-2 and win the State Championship in 2013, going 12-0 himself with an 0.58 ERA and 124 strikeouts.

Adcock was one of the best pitchers in the University of Michigan's history, finishing his career with 256 strikeouts (5th in school history) with the 6th-lowest ERA in school history, at 3.09. In 2016, his junior season at Michigan, Adcock went 7-5 with a 3.22 ERA, but most notably 100 strikeouts (5th-highest in Michigan history for a single season) in 78.1IP (and 62 walks, but whatever). His 2016 season gave him All-Big 10 Conference second team honors.

Coming out of his junior season he was throwing an 84-85 mph cutter, a 90-94 mph fastball 78-80 mph curve, and a 78 mph changeup.

The Astros drafted him in the 4th Round of the 2016 draft and he began his professional career with Tri-City. He made his debut on June 20, where he allowed 1H/1ER, 3K:1BB in 1.2IP. Then he was stretched a little bit, throwing 2.2IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:1BB on June 24. On June 29 he got touched up for 2H/2ER, facing three batters, but was injured fielding a bunt. The specific injury wasn't disclosed and, to my knowledge, still hasn't been disclosed. Word around the campfire is that it was his knee. Still, it cost him the rest of the season, so it had to have been bad.

Still, Adcock, who will turn 22 at the end of August, reported to Quad Cities healthy. Adcock has made five appearances (one in relief because Astros), and turned the corner on both the injury and that walk rate. Here are Adcock's strikeout numbers after five outings: 8, 8, 6, 4, 11. He has yet to walk more than two batters in an inning and is throwing 4.21 pitches/batter, with a 5.29 K:BB ratio. Last night's game was the best of his young career: throwing 6IP, 4H/1ER, 11K:1BB with 55 of his 89 pitches for strikes.

Adcock's season line, thus far: 23.2IP, 15H/3ER, 37K:7BB. 1.14 ERA/0.93 WHIP.

The biggest concern for Adcock's professional career was his walk rate, and as he puts up a 14.1 K/9 to go with a 2.7 BB/9, that'll play at any level.

Good for you, Brett Adcock. We appreciate you.

Friday Morning Hot Links + PreStros Report

*Well the Astros lost for the 10th time in 29 games yesterday afternoon. And I didn't like it. I didn't watch it because day games and whatnot, but still.

*Joe Musgrove had another rough 1st inning, allowing the Rangers to take a 4-0 lead by the time the Astros came to bat. Musgrove:
I battle a little bit of head games with myself. It's frustrating because McCann and I had such a good plan going in and he called such a good game. I just wasn't able to execute. 

Some interesting splits this season for Musgrove:

With no one on base (73 ABs): .247/.295/.411
With runners on (50 ABs): .340/.397/.580
With RISP (21 ABs): .381/.400/.762

With two outs (46 ABs): .391/.429/.674
1st inning (30 ABs): .400/.419/.700

*The Astros were 2x14 w/RISP and left 16 men on base. Three different times the Astros had the bases loaded, and couldn't get The Big Hit. Hinch:
We're pretty good with runners in scoring position, and today we gave ourselves a lot of opportunities. It's easy to say what if. How the game would have changed if we were able to come up with the big hit with the bases loaded.

*Luke Gregerson's last five outings: 21 batters faced, 10 outs, 9H/5ER, 4K:2BB, 2HR.

*Jenny Dial Creech says the Astros made a statement this week.

*Jon Heyman's Notes column this week is actually of some value as he details the Astros attempts to lock up Dallas Keuchel to an extension last winter/this spring. Sticking point was apparently a team option, but we'll see how things progress.

*Bradford Doolittle looks at the surprising impact of Marwin Gonzalez (who homered again yesterday).

*Fort Worth Guy doesn't like the Woo. This is all the more reason to keep doing it. It's why I liked Tal's Hill, because fans of other teams hated it so much.

*Corpus' J.D. Davis was placed on the DL.

*Josh Beckett will make his Root Sports Southwest debut on Tuesday. Tune in to see if his delivery turns a 30-minute show into an hour and a half.

*Notable for this weekend: Mike Trout is dealing with hamstring tightness.

*Houston: Number One for Naked Gardening Day.

PreStros Report: Games of May 4

When Fresno (12-16) can pitch, they can't hit. When they can hit, they can't pitch. Fresno lost to Sacramento 4-2 yesterday. David Martinez dropped to 0-4 after allowing 7H/3ER, 4K:3BB in 5IP. Kevin Comer, Reymin Guduan, and Sean Stutzman combined for 4IP, 4H/1R (0ER), 4K:3BB. Fresno was 1x12 w/RISP, but got two hits each from Tony Kemp, Derek Fisher (2B, RBI), and Jon Kemmer (2B).

Corpus (15-12) never had the lead in a 5-2 loss at Midland. Cy Sneed allowed 6H/4ER, 8K:4BB in 4IP. Carlos Hiraldo gave up 7H/1ER, 2K:0BB in 3.1IP. Andrew Thome got the final two outs with two men on base. Corpus was 1x10 w/RISP. Antonio Nunez was 2x5, Alejandro Garcia was 2x4. Jon Singleton and Bobby Boyd were each 1x2 with 2BB.

Buies Creek (19-9) did all their scoring in the 4th inning in a 9-4 win over Myrtle Beach. Hector Perez threw 5IP, 3H/4R (2ER), 7K:2BB in the win. Sebastian Kessay gave up just one hit, striking out four in 3IP; Nick Hernandez struck out the side in the 9th. Myles Straw was 3x5 with an RBI; Dexture McCall hit a bases-clearing double, going 1x3 with two walks and 3RBI.

Quad Cities (14-11) beat Fort Wayne 11-3. Brett Adcock threw 6IP, 4H/1ER, 11K:1BB. In 23.2IP, Adcock (4th Round, 2016) has struck out 37 batters, walked seven, and allowed just 3ER. Salvador Montano lasted just an inning, walking five and allowing 2ER. Lucas Williams threw 2IP, 1H/0ER, 5K:1BB. Marcos Almonte was 2x4 with a pair of homers and 6RBI; Rodrigo Ayarza was 3x4 with a double and a stolen base; Jake Rogers was 2x3 with a double, walk, RBI; Alex De Goti was 1x4 with a home run, walk, and 2RBI.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The Masked Marvel has the recap of last night's BoomWin against the Mariners. The Rangers beat the Red Sox, Angels beat the Rays, and the Twins beat the A's. On the Wild Card side, the Blue Jays beat the Royals.

So the Astros are 7.5 behind the Ramgers, 2.5 ahead of the Mariners in the division. And they're 1.0 behind the 1st WC, and 0.5 behind the 2nd WC spot.

*FanGraphs has the Astros at a 25.7% chance to win the division and a 32.5% change of a Wild Card spot. That 32.5% Wild Card chance is the highest in the AL.

*Will Harris will make his All-Star debut and Jose Altuve gets his 4th All-Star nod. Altuve joins Biggio as the only Astros to start two consecutive All-Star Games. One more All-Star selection and Altuve will tie Lance Berkman for 2nd in team history. Biggio leads the franchise with seven ASG nods. Harris:
I'm not going to take it for granted. I don't know if I'll ever get another opportunity like this again. I'm going to soak it in. I'm going to have a big smile on my face for a few days. It should be a lot of fun.

Harris is the first Astros reliever to make an All-Star team since Brad Lidge in 2005.

*George Springer is one of the biggest All-Star snubs, writes David Schoenfield. But he is part of the Final Vote thing.

*Hinch wants to give Altuve and Springer a day off before the All-Star break.

*Over his last 25 games, Ken Giles has a 2.30 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 23.1IP.

*FanGraphs does a deep dive into AL Center Fielder hitter contact quality. Basically, if Gomez could cut his strikeouts, he'd be Adam Jones...
With a league average K rate, he'd be about a league-average performer, or for his position, a little better. Instead, he's been the definition of replacement-level offense.

*Fresno's Brady Rodgers will start the Triple-A All-Star Game for the PCL on July 13.

*2016 4th Round pick Brett Adcock is out for the season after suffering a knee injury while fielding a bunt.

*From the NYT: Where players go to vent.

*Yahoo: How scouts got Corey Seager wrong

*Pittsburgh's Jung Ho Kang is under investigation for sexual assault after a Pirates/Cubs game in Chicago.

*If it makes you feel better about the Rangers thing:

The #Indians, on verge of winning 11th consecutive game vs. #Tigers this season; have outscored them 76-24. They lead 11-1 tonight in 8th

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 6, 2016

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Good moanin'. If you were like me, you took a mental break from watching/thinking about the Astros and now you're ready to get all pissed off about the Cardinals.

*The Twins beat the Angels, the A's did something the Astros haven't been able to do for 14 months: beat the dog piss out of the Rangers. The Mariners and Astros were off.

*The updated division looks like this:
-SW Texarkana: -
-Seattle: -4.5
-Houston: -9.5
-Oakland: -11.5
-Anaheim: -12

*FanGraphs gives the Astros a 15.6% chance to win the division and a 29.0% chance of making the postseason.

*The Washington Post breaks down what has happened to Dallas Keuchel.

*Less than 24 hours after Alamo Heights lost the state championship game, star pitcher and Astros #17 pick Forrest Whitley was in the weight room.

*The Astros signed 4th Round draft pick Brett Adcock for "a little bit below slot." The 2016 Draft page has been updated accordingly.

-Fresno's Brady Rodgers has figured something out: in his last four starts he's 4-0 with a 1.35 ERA, and out-dueled Tim Lincecum on Sunday. Astros' Director of Minor-League Operations Allen Rowin:
He's just using his pitches better and knowing how to compete at the higher level. He went through our system, on up through Double-A, and really had success everywhere he went and got to Triple-A last year, and it was the first year he had got hit pretty good and he had to figure some stuff out, and he's done it.

The ever-sunshiny Morgan Ensberg:

There is literally nothing for @Rodg_20 to work on here in AAA. Dude is a Big League caliber.

— Morgan Ensberg (@MorganEnsberg) June 13, 2016

*The Hooks are 40-22, 11-2 in their last 13, and 31-10 since May 1. MLBTR lists Alex Bregman first in their Knocking Down The Door series.

*A group of 50 high school girls will be at Minute Maid Park today and tomorrow for the Astros' Urban Youth Academy's "Softball Breakthrough Series," for a chance to get seen by college coaches.

2016 Draft Link Dump: Rounds 3-10.

It was a whole lot easier to write about the draft when I had a job in the summer that allowed me to cheat them out of labor so I could put together a post on each draftee. Times have changed, but here's a link dump for each player the Astros drafted. (The links for 1st Round pick Forrest Whitley and 2nd Round pick Ronnie Dawson can be found here).

3rd Round: Jake Rogers - Catcher from Tulane, hit .261/.384/.403 this season. Stole 13 bases in 14 attempts. Threw out 16 of 27 baserunners. Grew up as a Rangers fan, but "I'm a big Astros fan now. It'd be fun to beat up on them a bit."

4th Round: Brett Adcock - Lefty junior pitcher from the University of Michigan. 256 career strikeouts are 5th in Michigan history and his career 3.09 ERA is 7th-lowest in school history. Went 7-5 with a 3.22 ERA this season. Threw 78.1IP, 52H/28ER, 100K:62BB with a .190 BAA.

5th Round: Abraham Toro-Hernandez. "The Bull" - a nickname I made up. Switch-hitter, drafted as a 3B, but played infield at Seminole State Community College and catcher in high school. Grew up just outside of Montreal and speaks English, Spanish and French. Hit .439 with 20 homers, 86 RBI and can throw 92mph. His college coach thinks he could catch in the Majors.

6th Round: Stephen Wrenn, junior center fielder out of the University of Georgia. Son of All-ACC 1B and 2nd Round pick by the Indians, Steve Wrenn. Broke three bones in his face in pre-season after a flyball grazed his glove and popped him the coconut. Career .292 average with the Bulldogs, starting all three years. Hit .324 as a sophomore with eight homers, 28 RBI and 28 stolen bases as a sophomore. Stole 56 bases as a Bulldog.

7th Round: Tyler Buffett, junior righty reliever out of Oklahoma State. Threw 67.1IP, 59H/25ER, 66K:29BB, .236 BAA with no homers allowed. Two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.

8th Round: Nick Hernandez, junior righty reliever grew up in Missouri City (Dulles HS), drafted out of the University of Houston. Called getting drafted by the Astros a "dream come true." Threw 51.1IP, 27H/8ER (1.40 ERA!), 67K:11BB this season with a .154 BAA. Signed for less than slot.

9th Round: Ryan Hartman, a senior lefty pitcher out of Tennessee Wesleyan College. Threw 98IP, 62H/7ER, 129K:12BB (!), a 0.64 ERA and a .176 BAA. Led Division 1 baseball in earned runs and ERA. Signed with the Astros.

10th Round: Dustin Hunt. Senior righty starter out of Northeastern University. Threw 86IP, 68H/26ER, 93K:27BB this season. 54 of those 68 hits were singles. Said getting drafted by the Astros was "the best feeling I've ever had." Signed with the Astros.