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.

Employees of the Month: April 2017

The Astros are 16-9 and are 1st in the AL West. Life has meaning again and everything is fun. Let's get to the Employees of the Month. These players get to park at the front and get 10% off in the Team Store.

Houston

Evan Gattis: Hitting .321/.400/.518 with 9K:7BB gets Gattis the Employee of the Month for April. Gurriel was a strong possibility but Gattis' top-to-bottom month gives him the nod.

Dallas Keuchel: No-brainer for Pitching Employee of the Month. Keuchel allowed 25H/6ER, 36K:11BB in 44.2IP for a 1.21 ERA/0.81 WHIP. These are stupid numbers.

Fresno

Jon Kemmer: Kemmer hit .356/.406/.559 for Fresno in April.

Brady Rodgers: Limited by elbow trouble, Rodgers still gets the nod because the rest of the pitching staff has been hot garbage. Rodgers made three starts, allowing 14H/2ER, 11K:1BB in 16.1IP.

Corpus

Catching prospect Garrett Stubbs hit .341/.413/.634 in eleven games in April - the next-highest OPS trails Stubbs by 191 points.

Dean Deetz: Deetz threw 13.2IP, 4H/1ER, 13K:3BB in three April games for a 0.66 ERA/0.51 WHIP.

Buies Creek

Kyle Tucker hit .301/.372/.566 with six stolen bases in April.

Franklin Perez pitched in three games, throwing 14.1IP, 3H/0ER, 14K:3BB for a 0.00 ERA/0.42 WHIP.

Quad Cities

Even though he only played in ten games, I'm rolling with Marcos Almonte over Jake Rogers. Rogers hit .258/.370/.565 with ten of his 16 hits going for extra-bases. But Almonte hit .359/.406/.667 with 6K:2BB in 39 ABs.

Carson LaRue: Over 20IP, LaRue allowed 12H/2ER, 18K:7BB. Walks are a little high, but a 0.90 ERA/0.95 WHIP over a month will play.