Chia-Jen Lo released

Bummer. Reliever Chia-Jen Lo was released by the Astros today.

Lo appeared in 19 games for the Astros in 2013, giving up 14H/9ER, 16K:13BB in 19.1IP. He signed with the Astros back in November 2008 - by Glen Barker, I might add - and posted a career minor-league 2.45 ERA/1.20 WHIP. In 16 appearances for OKC (his first stint at Triple A) in 2014, he threw 19IP, 27H/10ER, 17K:12BB.

PreStros Morning Report: July 27

Oklahoma City (58-50), 3.0 GB

A strong spot start by Henry David Rollins and the usual from George Springer led OKC to a 5-0 win over the Cubs. Rollins went 6 scoreless IP with 3 H and 8K:1BB. Philip Humber, Josh Zeid, and Kevin Chapman each added a scoreless inning, with Zeid adding 3 K for good measure.

Springer was 2x2 with 2 BB, 1 SB, 3 R, 1 RBI, and an exciting inside-the-park home run.

Marwin Gonzalez was 2x3 with 1 BB and 2 RBI. No, he has not been traded yet. 

Man of the Match: George Springer

Corpus (21-15), 1.0 GB

The Hooks pen held things down for over seven innings, giving the bats time to pull out the 7-6 come back win over Midland. Seaton got rocked in 1.2 IP, giving up 6H/6R 1K:2BB. Theron Geith and Jonas Dufek each gave 2.2 scoreless IP with 3 K. Pat Urckfitz and Chia-Jen Lo added a scoreless 1 IP each to finish things up.

Preston Tucker was 1x4 with 1 BB, 2 R ,and 1 HR. Max Stassi went 2x4 with 1 HR and 3 RBI. Domingo Santana was 2x4 with a solo HR. 

Man of the Match: Geith/Dufek/Urckfitz/Lo

Lancaster (23-14), 3.0 up

The JetHawks committed six errors (four by Carlos Perdomo) en route to a 7-5 loss to the Quakes. Kyle Hallock threw 4 IP and allowed 7H/4R (2 ER) with 3K:3BB. Michael Dimock went 3 IP, giving up 4H/3R (1 ER) with 2K:1BB. Cameron Lamb finished with 1 IP and 1 H.

DDJ went 2x5 with 1 SB, 1 2B, 1 R, and 1 RBI. Matt Duffy was 1x4 with a solo HR. Chris Epps went 2x4 with 1 BB, 1 SB, and 1 R.

Man of the Match: Delino DeShields Jr

Quad Cities (18-15), 4.5 GB

QC pitchers allowed 22 baserunners as the River Bandits lost 8-6 to Beloit. Chris Devenski threw 5 IP, allowing 10H/2R with 4K:1BB. Juri Perez went .2 IP and gave up 5H/5R with 1 BB. Gerardo Sanchez threw 2.1 IP and gave up 4H/1R with 2K:1BB.

Teoscar Hernandez was 2x5 with 1 2B and 2 R. Carlos Correa was 2x4 with 1 2B, 1 R, and 2 RBI. Rio Ruiz was 2x4 with 1 SB, 1 HR, and 3 RBI.

Man of the Match: Rio Ruiz

Tri-City (26-14) 3.5 up

The ValleyCats couldn't muster any offense as they lost 4-0 to Vermont. Adrian Houser threw 5 IP and gave up 7H/2R with 3K:1BB. Tanner Bushue went 2 IP and allowed 2H/2R with 2K:1BB. Patrick Christensen went the last 1 IP with 1 H.

Tony Kemp was 1x3 with 1 BB and 1 SB.  

Man of the Match: Tony Kemp

Greeneville (23-12), 2.0 up

In a shortened, 7 inning game, the Astros lost 2-1 to Pulaski. Chris Lee went 5.1 IP and gave up 6H/2R with 5 K. Gonzalo Sanudo threw 1.2 IP.

Thomas Lindauer was 1x2 with 1 2B and 1 RBI.

Man of the Match: Thomas Lindauer

GCL Astros (14-16), 5.5 GB

The Astros lost 3-0 to the Tigers. Jose Montero threw 5 IP and gave up 4H/3R with 3K:5BB. Samil De Los Santos, Erick Gonzalez, and Zach Dando each threw a scoreless inning in relief, with De Los Santos striking out the side in his outing.

Yonathan Mejia was 2x4

Man of the Match: Samil De Los Santos, I guess

DSL Astros (24-23) 8.0 GB

One rough inning was all it took for the Astros to lose 4-2 to the Royals. Gerardo Juarez threw 5.2 IP, allowing 6H/4R with 5K:2BB. Geronimo Franzua went 2.1 IP, allowing 2 H with 1K:1BB.

Luis Payano was 2x4. Hector Roa went 2x4 with 1 2B, 1 SB, 1 R, and 1 RBI. 

Man of the Match: Hector Roa

7-Day DL listings

So there was great consternation last week when we posted our Who Still Here offering, listing the players who made the Opening Day rosters across the four full-season teams.

"Where is (Player)!" the masses shouted.

Well, now we have some explanation from Baseball America. Here are the players placed on the 7-Day DL:


Sergio Escalona
Murilo Gouvea
Grant Hogue
Chia-Jen Lo
Kenny Long
Telvin Nash
Andy Simunic
Max Stassi
Kyle Weiland
Brandon Wikoff

Six Astros' to Participate in the WBC

The U.S. roster for the World Baseball Classic was announced today and there will be no Astros on team U.S. However, Houston will feature 6 players in the classic this year.

Fernando Martinez and Rhiner Cruz will both play for team Spain, and Xavier Cedeno will represent team Puerto Rico.

3 minor leaguers are also participating in the classic: Murilo Gouvea will play for team Brazil, and Che-Hsuan Lin and Chia-Jen Lo will both play for Chinese Taipei.

Jeff Luhnow said he isn't against players playing in the WBC but says it may hurt the chances of players trying to make the team out of spring training. From astros.com, "The big challenge is ... a guy like Fernando Martinez, who's trying to make our club, [being] gone for an extended period of time. I think that potentially hurts him, even if he does well in the Classic," Not to worry F Mart, Luhnow says he doesn't think it is likely team Spain makes it past the 1st round.

I was surprised to see Lo participating after coming off of TJ surgery and only 10 appearances last season. Luhnow says he doesn't think it is a concern as the amount of relievers on each roster should keep any individual from being overworked.

In 2009 the Astros sent 7 to the WBC:
TJ Burton
Chia-Jen Lo
Chris Barnwell
LaTroy Hawkins
Roy Oswalt
Miguel Tejada
Carlos Lee

Lo is the only of the 7 still in the organization and the only Astros' repeat member on a WBC roster.

Astros County Top 25 Prospects: 25-21

What a difference a year makes! Since I know we have the smartest readers in the entire internet, I won't rehash just how needed this organizational overhaul was when Houston's rebuild was started a couple years ago. Not only do the Astros now have bona fide prospects knocking on the door, but quality depth on the farm as well. Sure, the last two years have been painful in The Juicebox, but the fans' patience should start paying off soon, with some of these kids making appearances as early as this coming season.

In order to add some semblance of structure to these rankings, I judged a list of about 50 players on four categories: ceiling, floor, production, and intangibles.

Because I don't feel like writing this as a novel, let's break it up a little so I can spend a couple seconds on each player.

25.  Jonathan Villar

"But wait, how can you rank a guy 25th when the experts have him in their top 10?" Honestly, I'm not a Villar fan. The tools are definitely there, and I think he has one of the higher ceilings in the system, but I have doubts that he'll ever put it all together. Between his lackluster production to date, and his questionable make-up I still feel like he could flame out at any minute. But if he pulls it all together this year and proves me wrong, I'll be one of his biggest cheerleaders. This toolsy shortstop will probably spend the year in AAA, but he's still fairly raw. Villar was signed by Philadelphia out of the Dominican Republic and came to Houston in 2010 as part of the Roy Oswalt deal.

24.  Marc Krauss

Marc is a power-hitting corner outfielder who is also capable of drawing a walk. After repeating at AA last year, he'll likely start the season at AAA and could show up in Houston late this season. He was a 2nd round pick for Arizona in 2009 and came to Houston in the Chris Johnson trade last year.

23.  Jiovanni Mier

Yep, Mier ranked above Villar. That just happened. Prior to a pretty bad hamstring injury this season, Mier was showing us why he was a #1 pick in 2009 (Lancaster caveat). He's a more polished fielder at shortstop with a better eye at the plate and, in my opinion, a better makeup than Villar. His ceiling may not be as high, but I think he's more likely to stick around for a little while. Assuming Villar moves up to AAA, Mier will probably be in Corpus this year.

22. Joe Musgrove

Musgrove is a big right-handed starter who battled injuries in 2012. If his health comes back and, with it, his velocity as well he could start moving up the list. He was a supplemental first round pick for Toronto in 2011 and came to the Astros organization as part of the multi-player trade with the BlueJays this year. I doubt Musgrove plays full-season ball this year, so I'll say he starts the year with Tri-City.

21.  Chia-Jen Lo

Lo has bounced around the prospect radar for a few years now. Remember when he was the winning pitcher in the same Futures game as Jason Castro? Well, since then he's thrown just 47 innings in the past three seasons. After injuries threatened to derail his career, he came roaring back in 2012. Lo was signed as a reliever out of Taiwan prior to the 2009 season. I'd expect him to start out at AA and could move up very quickly if his arm and production hold up. We may even see him in Houston in September.

40-Man Roster set squarely at 36

Okay, the Astros have protected all the players they are going to protect for the upcoming Rule 5 draft. And the players added to the 40-Man roster are:

Jose Cisnero, Jarred Cosart, Robbie Grossman, Chia-Jen Lo, Brett Oberholtzer, Ross Seaton and Jonathan Villar.

We also find that the Astros lost reliever Mickey Storey to the Yankees in a waiver claim, and Scott Moore has been outrighted off the 40-Man Roster - he can elect free agency, or accept the assignment to Oklahoma City.

The 40-Man Roster now stands at 36 players, giving the Astros some flexibility as they explore trades and the Rule 5 draft. McTaggart has some reaction from those added to the 40-Man, as well as Jeff Luhnow. Moore, for one, isn't happy:
"I'm a little bit surprised by the decision, and I'm not sure if I would come back yet."

Among the surprises who were not protected were Marc Krauss, Josh Zeid, and Jason Stoffel. Luhnow says:
"We're at the point now as an organization (where) we are starting to build some depth, so you are risking losing some guys..."

The Chron's Brian Smith says the Astros have several players drawing interest from other clubs and while talks continue, nothing is imminent. He also added that the Astros aren't likely to lock up any arbitration players with long-term deals, preferring the financial flexibility that comes with going year-to-year. So, sorry Jed Lowrie, Wesley Wright, and Bud Norris.

The Meat Wagon makes an early round

Zachary Levine has a post up in which we learn about a mini-camp for the following players:

Jake Buchanan, Jarred Cosart, Mike Foltynewicz, Brett Oberholtzer, Ross Seaton, Jason Stoffel, and Josh Zeid.

And also some Meat Wagon notes:

*The Astros signed minor-leaguer Mike Hessman.
*Vince Velasquez is ready to go after Tommy John surgery at the end of 2010.
*Chia-Jen Lo had to have TJ surgery at the end of the season, and probably won't be back until 2013.

Tranzactionz! Durango claimed, Carpenter called up

A host of tranzactionz for your reading pleasure, courtesy of Alyson Footer (and here):

*The Astros claimed outfielder Luis Durango off waivers from the Padres, and sent him to Oklahoma City.

*They then transferred Alberto Arias to the 60-Day DL.

*They then optioned Brian Esposito back to Oklahoma City...

*...And called up David Carpenter from OKC to Houston.

*And according to Farmstros, Chia-Jen Lo has been put back on the DL, after two injury-free outings.

Durango is a 25-year old switch-hitting outfielder who has been in the Padres' system since 2003. He did spend some time with the Padres, hitting .305/.369/.305 in the admittedly small-sample 37 games (67 PAs).

In seven minor-league seasons, Durango has hit .315/.406/.366, with 73 career extra-base hits (46 2Bs, 24 3Bs, 3 HRs) in 2410 plate appearances. Encouragingly, however, he's managed to strike out just 283 times (11.7% of PAs) and draw 296 walks. Still, there's not much pop in his bat. He was hitting .243/.328/.294 in 61 games for Triple-A Tucson before getting placed on waivers.

So the question for Durango is, should we read anything into this? Bogusevic is up, leaving Shuck, DeLome, Barnes, and Locke as your OKC OFs. Is Durango better than what the Astros have at OKC now? Does it indicate that there's an expendable outfielder or two at OKC, or that J.D. Martinez won't be coming to OKC in the near future? Who knows what lurks in the mind of the Apparatus?!

Also, good for David Carpenter. Even if it's just a cup of coffee, we're happy for him, after the position change, and all. And we're happy for the Astros, who got a potentially viable bullpen piece out of the Cardinals in the Pedro Feliz trade.

Meat Wagon Updates

Zach Levine has a new post in which he addresses a couple of players who need the Florence Nightengale treatment (and not "Syphilis" - turns out she never had syphilis. Yet I digress.)

*Jose Vallejo, who was on the wrong end of a kitchen knife, is trying to get back to pre-sliced form (see what I did there?)

*Chia-Jen Lo is "a little behind" after a UCL injury.

*Alberto Arias should be ready for Spring Training after his shoulder cleaning.

Levine's Minor League Notebook

Within Zach Levine's minor-league updates we learn a few things:

-Danny Meszaros threw a bullpen session on Sunday and is nearing a return.
-Fernando Abad has missed seven weeks and is heading to Florida to rehab his injured shoulder.
-Chia-Jen Lo won't be throwing for at least two more weeks after partially tearing his UCL.
-Tanner Bushue is nearing a return, and Farmstros says he'll pitch tonight.

Wondering why Dydalewicz was sent down to Lexington? Ask Ricky Bennett:
"He's had trouble repeating his delivery," assistant general manager and farm director Ricky Bennett said, adding that it's not a new issue with Dydalewicz. The lefthander tends to have difficulty shedding some side-to-side movement in favor of coming forward to the plate.

Bennett also had a note on Jack Shuck's success:
"The speed of the game has slowed down considerably for him. Strike zone discipline is much better for him, and pitch selection is much better."

More Tranzaction

Corpus

May 8: Placed Michael Garciaparra on the DL.

In Greg Rajan's blog post from last night, the injury is unknown, and Wladimir Sutil was activated from the DL. We also learn from Rajan that Chia-Jen Lo was placed on the DL with arm soreness, which is more specific than "Arm Injury."

Tranzactionz - mostly injuries

Corpus Christi
May 7: Reliever (and future Astros...closer?) Chia-Jen Lo was placed on the 7-Day DL yesterday with an arm injury. Edwin Walker was called up from Lancaster to fill his roster spot.

Lancaster
SP Kyle Greenwalt was placed on the 7-day DL with an undetermined injury
Mike Schurz was called up from Lexington
Mike Modica was assigned to Lexington from Extended Spring Training

Lexington
CF Brian Kemp was activated from the DL
RHP Juan Minaya was activated from the Temporarily Inactive List

Levine's 10 Minor League storylines

Good article from Levine today regarding the minor-league storylines in 2010. I'll list the 10 lines, you click the link and read the descriptions:

10. The sophomores (2009 draft class)
9. The fate of Round Rock
8. Chia-Jen Lo
7. Getting out of Lancaster with an ERA under 5.00
6. Who's the next 1B?
5. Dominican Academy
4. Gaston/Steele/Shuck
3. How will Jordan Lyles fare at Corpus?
2. Jason Castro
1. June draft

Mayo's 10 Prospects to Watch

Apparently it's Astros Day for Jonathan Mayo, who posted his 10 Astros Prospects to watch. They are:

Jay Austin
Jason Castro
Collin DeLome
Jon Gaston
Chris Johnson
Chia-Jen Lo
Jordan Lyles
Tommy Manzella
Jiovanni Mier
Ross Seaton

There were some subtractions from last year's list:
Felipe Paulino
Bud Norris
Brian Bogusevic:
As a guy who has the skills to play an outfield corner well (that pitching arm works from the outfield too), he will need to show he can hit for more power than he did last year.

Baseball Daily Digest's 2010 Preview

BDD has a massive preview of the 2010 Astros. It's well worth a full read, so let's only pull a couple of things of note:

On the final place in the standings:
They’ll remain pseudo-competitive in the Central and could finish anywhere in the standings; though a 4th, 5th or 6th finish is more likely than a 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

Achilles Heel:
Eventually, like in Philadelphia, Ed Wade will get his proper due. At least in Philadelphia, the ownership group was not as closed off to taking the necessary steps to become successful as McLane is. He finally agreed to move on from Cecil Cooper last year and begrudgingly has let a youth movement begin in Houston. It’s not the worst thing in the world when your owner demands the team remain competitive but it sure can slow down a long overdue rebuilding process.

Writer Brian Joseph's Top 10 Astro Prospects:
1. Jason Castro
2. Jiovanni Mier
3. Jordan Lyles
4. Ross Seaton
5. Koby Clemens
6. Collin DeLome
7. Chia-Jen Lo
8. Jay Austin
9. T.J. Steele
10. Jon Gaston

C-Lo and his perfect imperfections

Brian McTaggart has a new article on Taiwanese pitcher Chia-Jen Lo, and not surprisingly, learning English is the hardest part.

Wade:
He's got a good arm and good stuff and has good poise on the mound and doesn't seem to be in awe of the fact he's playing in a foreign environment, and I think he's put his best foot forward. I think he grasps enough on his own that some point in time he may not have Justin all the time with him, and that's why at some point we think it's important for him to establish some greater foundation of English, because that will help him progress even more rapidly."

On C-Lo's role:
"I'm not sure the development guys have really gotten their arms around whether starting is eventually going to be the thing for him. It may be more of a bullpen role, and it could be a significant bullpen role."

Highlights from Jason Castro chat

Jason Castro stopped by Baseball America yesterday to participate in a chat. What were some of the highlights?

-For the most part I feel that I just need to continue to get repetitions behind the plate this spring and continue to refine the subtleties of catching. In addition, continuing to gain the trust and build working relationships with the pitching staff in order to work more efficiently on the field.

-I have put in a lot of work this past year and offseason to really round out my game offensively and defensively. I have made some big strides to polish my skills behind the plate (blocking, receiving, calling a game) while continuing to adjust offensively to the levels of competition I have come up against in the recent past.

-This offseason was a good one for the Astros as we were able to make some important acquisitions to strengthen not only the pitching staff but the line up as well. If everything happens the way it should I feel that this is the year to make it back in the hunt for the playoffs.

-A few guys who i've had the opportunity to catch who have a combination of good stuff and makeup this past year are Chris Hicks, Danny Meszaros, and Chia-Jen Lo. They all had solid years last year and continued to get better as the year went on.

-I think as I continue to get stronger with age and with continued work i can see myself being able to add some more power to my game as well as the ability to hit for a good average.

-I think that my development in the past year and a half has greatly increased ever since I signed with the Astros. Catching coordinator with the Astros Danny Sheaffer has helped me quite a bit since i signed and given me a lot of advice to get where i am today.

Click the link for the full chat.

The Hardball Times gives us their Top 10 Prospects

The always-excellent Hardball Times has their list of the Astros' Top 10 Prospects (with a note):

1. Jordan Lyles - He is a legit ace prospect but still has much to prove.

2. Jiovanni Mier - The first things that jump out are his defense and overall confidence.

3. Jason Castro - He is close to the big leagues and has proved himself in my eyes.

4. Sammy Gervacio - He is Houston's closer in training, and if he improves his command he will reach that level.

5. Tanner Bushue - His short Gulf Coast League stint was impressive, and it will be fascinating to see how he adjusts to being a full-time pitcher.

6. Ross Seaton - Seaton's fastball hasn't been as good as advertised, but he has shown strong consistency with his control.

7. Jonathan Gaston - He has immense power due to his all-or-nothing swing, which has resulted in cringe-worthy strikeout numbers, but his saving grace could be his patience at the plate.

8. Brad Dydalewicz - With better control and an uptick in his strikeout rate, he could have a middle-of-the-rotation future.

9. Chia-Jen Lo - His command is lacking, and if he is going to live up to his potential one of his secondary offerings needs to become a dependable weapon.

10. Jay Austin - His swing and speed make me think the top of the order could be in his future, and he has a good amount of time to get there, but he has a long, long way to go.

Read the whole article for further notes.

C-Lo getting fast-tracked to Houston?

Zach Levine's new blog post discusses the Maturation of Chia-Jen Lo:

In my brief experience watching him in Corpus Christi in the second half of last year, it seemed as if he was leaning on the fastball, going to it at the first sign of trouble. Scouts I talked to seemed to really like the potential of his stuff and absolutely love his fastball. It was the most glowingly I heard scouts talk about any aspect of an Astros prospect's game last year.

What does Ricky Bennett think?
He really started to show progress with his ability to throw his breaking ball for strikes. I think he gained confidence in doing it. We started to see it a little more often, which is good. He's not there yet, but we definitely saw progress. I know he's going to get an opportunity to compete and make the club in Round Rock. If he comes in and shows us that he's ready to do it, I don't see why he couldn't handle that level."

So he could be in an Astros uniform next year?
"I think that's realistic. That's something that Ed (Wade) and I have talked about. The one thing I like about him is that he's not afraid. He's a pretty mature kid. He's got experience in international competition. I think all those things play a factor. I think it's realistic that we have a chance to see him in 2010."

With this development - the possibility of C-Lo with the Astros - is an interesting one. First, it backs up a promise that the Astros will be more aggressive in promoting their young'uns. Second, it means that someone will lose a job, provided of course that this promotion comes before September 1. So maybe my original thought was too hypothetical, and I'll stop.

Castro, C-Lo invited to Major-League Spring Training

Not much of a shocker here, but Castro and C-Lo have been invited to Big Team Spring Training, along with catchers Brian Esposito, Lou Santangelo, and pitcher Shane Loux.

Wade, on Castro:
"He's going to get every opportunity to make the club,"

On C-Lo:
"We think he's got a legitimate chance to make our club. We're very pleased with what we've seen in a short period of time in our organization."

I feel an affinity for C-Lo, as he was the first signing that Astros County reported, back in November 2008.

Shane Loux, however, is a recent signee, says McTaggart:
Loux spent the 2009 season in the Angels organization and split time between the Majors and Minors. In 18 appearances (six starts) with the Angels, he was 2-3 with a 5.86 ERA. He had a 3.81 ERA in a combined nine games (six starts) between Triple-A Salt Lake City and Class A Rancho Cucamonga.

And if you're keeping score at home, the Astros have hired Dave Borkowski to be the pitching coach at Greeneville, spending his last three seasons in the Astros' organization.