Meszaros reinstated from Inactive List

According to Baseball America (and with a captip to Street), we learn that Danny Meszaros has been reinstated from the inactive list.

If you recall, Meszaros, as well as Marcos Cabral and Jonathan Fixler, were suspended last August for 50 games for violating the league's substance abuse policy (which later turned out to be what seems like a tainted over-the-counter supplement.)

No idea yet as to where Meszaros will play, and it's certainly curious that Fixler and Cabral weren't re-instated, since their suspensions happened on the same day.

A further note on this Methylhexanamine

Over at the Crawfish Boxes, Subber10 has a big ol' post on the substance that Meszaros, Fixler, and Cabral tested positive for. We're pretty sure we are referred to pretty heavily, and that's fine.

Subber has a far more extensive background in bodybuilding than any of us do, so his post should be taken seriously. It's a long post, and worth the read, and it steers away from our "They got popped for sullied Benadryl" post from yesterday, but here's the concluding paragraph:

In conclusion, were the players wrong for their usage of Jack3d and did they adequately do their research to help prevent this? Probably not to their fullest capabilities, but probably enough in their mind. Is the MLB adequately doing their part in educating and helping these young athletes? Not at all! There is so much more that they could do to help preven this. Do I still issue my free pass to Danny Meszaros? You bet I do because if he was using Jack3d, he's no better than I am because I've been planning on buying it as my next pre-workout supplement when I run out of my current one!

Fixler/Cabral/Meszaros: Methylhexaneamine-heads!

Subber10 over at The Crawfish Boxes touched on the banned stimulant that Meszaros, Fixler, and Cabral tested positive for: methylhexaneamine. WTF is that?

The infallible Wikipedia basically says that Methylhexanamine is a nasal decongestant, though it can be used as a general stimulant.

Back in 2009, five Jamaican athletes were suspended for testing positive for Methylhexanamine, but only because the anti-doping panel couldn't figure out if it was actually prohibited, so they suspended them anyway, because it was close enough to another banned substance.

This bodybuilding forum says that methylhexaneamine has properties similar to amphetamines and ephedrine.

So, to sum up: There's a pretty good chance that Meszaros, Fixler, and Cabral were busted for a nasal decongestant.

If I'm wrong - and it's entirely possible - leave a comment.

Further words on the PED suspensions today

Zach Levine, conveniently in Corpus, filed a report with some quotes regarding the Meszaros, Fixler, Cabral, and Rodriguez suspensions for use of an undisclosed PED.

Wade, in a statement:
"The Houston Astros fully support the efforts of the Commissioner’s Office to rid our sport of any type of inappropriate drug use. Our players and staff have been briefed, counseled, educated and warned about what the ramifications and consequences are when they choose, either knowingly or not, to violate the MLB drug policy. And yet, despite the best efforts of MLB and the Astros, we still have individuals who abuse our game by ignoring reality. We are embarrassed by these types of suspensions. They are a smear on our game and our organization, and we will redouble our efforts to make sure the message gets through."

Ricky Bennett:
"I’m always disappointed when our guys make those kind of choices," said Bennett, who stressed that performance-enhancing drug dissuasion takes place at every level of the system. "Unfortunately it happens sometimes."

Confirmed: Meszaros, Fixler, and Cabral suspended

Zach Levine has just confirmed our earlier report that Danny Meszaros, Jon Fixler, and Marcos Cabral have been suspended 50 games for PED use. More later.

Tranzactionz!

A few transactions for you from yesterday:

-David Cook activated from temporarily inactive list
-Marcos Cabral placed on 7-Day DL by Corpus
-Leandro Cespedes sent back to Lancaster after a spot start in Round Rock
-Edwin Walker called up to Corpus from Lancaster

Tranzactionz!

Got some transactions for you on this beautiful Saturday morning:

July 16

Round Rock activated Josh Banks (All-Star Game)
Round Rock assigned Danny Meszaros to Round Rock from Corpus

In 26 appearances for the Hooks (32IP), Meszaros allowed 28H/11ER, with 42K:16BB for a 3.09 ERA/1.38 WHIP. In his last ten games, Meszaros has allowed 8H/1ER, 15K:6BB in 12.1IP.

Corpus placed Marcos Cabral on the Temporarily Inactive list, and activated Jordan Lyles (All-Star Game)

Lexington activated Dan Sarisky from the 7-Day DL.

Greeneville assigned B.J. Hagen to GCL Astros.

In seven appearances for the Gastros, Hagen (an off-season signee) allowed 19H/11ER in 10IP, with a 9.90 ERA/1.90 WHIP. He last pitched for Greeneville on July 10, when he allowed 6H/4ER in 1.1IP.

Eddie's Farm: June 21

Round Rock

Omaha doubled up Round Rock last night 6-3. Polin Trinidad was the hard-luck loser, throwing 7IP, 7H/6R (3ER), 4K:0BB, and 3HR allowed. Why is it a hard-luck? Because Yordany Ramirez' fielding error led to three unearned runs. Jonah Bayliss and Yorman Bazardo threw a scoreless inning. Oswaldo Navarro had your only multi-hit game (2x4, RBI), and Matt Kata (1x3, BB, RBI) also got on base twice.

Man of the Match: Matt Kata

Corpus

The Hooks did all their scoring in the 5th inning, and that was enough to hold off San Antonio for a 3-2 win. Jeremy Johnson threw 117 pitches to get 9H/2ER, 4K:1BB in 7IP. Henry Villar gave up a hit and a walk in 1IP, and Danny Meszaros allowed three hits - but both kept San Antonio off the scoreboard to preserve Johnson's win. Jack Shuck, German Duran, and - yes - Jeremy Johnson had two hits each (each also adding a walk), but it was Marcos Cabral (1x3, 2RBI, BB) and Jimmy Van Ostrand (1x3, BB, RBI) who provided the RBIs.

Huge moment in the bottom of the 9th: San Antonio has nobody out, Jesus Lopez on 1st, down 3-2. Andrew Parrino hit a fly ball to Gaston, who then fired it to Clemens, doubling off Lopez, and getting the double play.

Man of the Match: Marcos Cabral.

Lancaster

All-Star Break

Lexington

All-Star Break

Tri-City

The ValleyCats get back in the win column with a 5-0 win over Lowell. Tommy Shirley threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 5K:1BB; David Martinez threw 4IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:2BB; Blazek - 1IP, 3K:1BB; and Robinson - 1IP, 1H/0ER, 1K:1BB. The ValleyCats' drawing of walks were the keys of the game - Tyler Burnett drew three; Oscar Figueroa drew two; Wilton Infante, Mike Kvasnicka, and Daniel Adamson all drew a walk each. Infante, Ben Heath, Adamson, and Adam Bailey all added hits, with Kvasnicka, Heath, and Adamson collecting RBIs.

Man of the Match: Daniel Adamson - 1x3 with the lone XBH (2B), BB, and RBI.

Tranzactions

Our buddy Greg Rajan confirms that Wladimir Sutil will head up to Round Rock from Corpus, along with T.J. Burton; Erick Abreu and Marcos Cabral are back on the coast.

We also find out that Matt Nevarez has been activated from the DL, and Edwin Walker will head back to Lancaster to accommodate his roster spot. Very sporting of him...

More Tranzactionz

Captip to Farmstros for the further minor-league updates, because now we can see that, in addition to the earlier transactions...

Erick Abreu, Marcos Cabral, and Sergio Perez have been sent from Corpus to Round Rock, while Jonathan Fixler was sent to Corpus from Lexington.

This is also due to Gary Majewski, Drew Meyer and Sam Gervacio being placed on the DL at Round Rock.

The Lancaster Effect

Hey, so it's a slow news day, after the sigh of relief that came with Matsui's release. Let's see how those heavy hitters from the '09 Lancaster team are faring in Corpus. A couple of things to note:
-The players selected are only players who played 100+ games at Lancaster in 2009.
-I realize there is a period of adjustment, so let's reserve judgment on these stats and understand that we're dealing with 100-150 ABs at the Double-A level. Let's just call this a guide...

Name	Team	Avg/OBP/SLG	XBH/H	K:BB
Clemens	09LAN	.345/.419/.636	0.5	2.14
Clemens	10CC	.259/.350/.540	0.52	2.39
Gaston	09LAN	.278/.367/.598	0.56	2.14
Gaston	10CC	.217/.290/.304	0.28	3.00
Steele	09LAN	.345/.385/.562	0.36	4.44
Steele	10CC	.233/.263/.288	0.17	7.17
Cabral	09LAN	.298/.358/.461	0.35	1.75
Cabral	10CC	.284/.333/.379	0.26	1.71
Shuck	09LAN	.315/.389/.414	0.24	0.86
Shuck	10CC	.284/.354/.356	0.21	1.67

Eddie's Farm: May 8

Round Rock

The 2011 Cardinals can eat one, after the 2012 Astros beat 'em 5-4. Wesley Wright threw 7IP, 5H/1ER, 5K:1BB, while Gary Majewski screwed up and got the blown save AND the win after allowing 4H/3ER, 1K:1BB in 1IP. Casey Daigle threw 1IP of scoreless relief for his 2nd save. Oswaldo Navarro was 2x4 with a walk and 2RBI, while Drew Meyer was 2x3 with a walk. Chris Shelton got a two-run single, as the Express overcame a 4-3 deficit in the bottom of the 8th for the win.

Man of the Match: Has to be Wesley Wright - 2.78 ERA on the season.

Corpus

The Hooks never really had anything going in a 3-1 loss to San Antonio. Jeremy Johnson threw 5IP, 3H/1ER, 2K:2BB. Edwin Walker, Erick Abreu, Henry Villar, and Jared Wells combined for 4IP, 4H/2ER, 1K:3BB - with Walker getting the loss. Jack Shuck (that dog don't give a ****, for you Darkness fans), and Cabral had your multi-hit games, and Jhon Florentino had your other hit, for the offense. Here's some brutal for you: Koby Clemens is hitting .233; Gaston is hitting .188, Van Ostrand is hitting .217. Cabral is hitting .333 on the season.

Man of the Match: Marcos Cabral

Lancaster
The JetHawks got their 3rd straight win with a 5-3 win over Inland Empire. Brad Dydalewicz threw 5IP, 4H/1ER (2 total), 3K:1BB to lower his ERA to 11.72. Mike Schurz gave up 2H/1ER in 0.1IP, while Pat Urckfitz got the win, and David Berner got his 5th save with a combined 3.2IP, 1H/0ER, 2K:1BB. The JetHawks got 11 hits, none for extra bases, but Ori, Federico Hernandez, and Brandon Barnes had two hits each. Only Ebert Rosario went without a hit, and the JetHawks stole five bases on the night.

Man of the Match: Brad Dydalewicz

Lexington

The Legends took a 7-0 lead, and held on for a 7-4 win over Greensboro. Jose Cisnero had a rough night as the SP, throwing 5IP, 4H/4ER, 5K:4BB. Arcenio Leon threw 3.2IP, 1H/0ER, 3K:4BB and Kirk Clark got the save with the final out. J.D. Martinez was 2x4 with a double and a homer and 3RBI, and Kody Hinze with his 7th homer to go 2x4 with 2RBI on the night. Jonathan Meyer (.309), Rene Garcia (.290), and Jose Altuve (.327) had the three other hits. Meyer and Altuve had SBs (while Altuve was also CS), and Hinze and Mier had fielding errors for Hinze, and 8 for Mier on the season).

Man of the Match: J.D. Martinez

Lancaster JetHawks: Marcos Cabral

Marcos Cabral
How did he get here?: Signed as free agent, April 2009
Stats: 5'11", 185 lbs, Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Age as of April 1, 2010: 25 (26 on April 4, 2010)




2009 Overview

AB	Avg/OBP/SLG	K:BB	XBH-RBI	XBH/H%	K/PA%
477	.298/.358/.461	77:44	50-71	35.2%	14.6%

Career (2003-05, 2007-09)

AB	Avg/OBP/SLG	K:BB	XBH-RBI	XBH/H%	K/PA%
1479	.269/.350/.390	258:171	120-169	30.1%	15.2%

What happened?

Cabral was signed out of the Blue Jays organization in April 2009, and took over a utility role in the field, playing mostly at SS, but spending 10+ games at 1B, 2B, and 3B, as well. Cabral posted the best numbers of his career at Lancaster with an .819 OPS. He does not strike out much, and encouragingly, his XBH rate didn't increase dramatically at Lancaster over the rest of his career.

Cabral posted a .958 Fld% at SS for Lancaster, committing 12 errors in 289 chances, but turned 33 double plays for the JetHawks.

What went right?

Plate discipline. Cabral isn't going to be a liability with the bat, but a K:BB ratio of 1.75 will certainly help. He did get some help, with a .335 BABIP. He'll be 26 on April 4, so he is a little old for the Cal League, but he'll most likely head up to Corpus in 2010.

What went wrong?

Thanks to nine games in Winter Ball, his splits at Lancaster have been erased, but if we had to pick something from a limited look at his numbers, I'd like to see a little more speed out of him. He has only stolen 20 bases (and been caught 13 times) in 416 games. Ideally out of a small-ish shortstop, you'd like to get some SBs in there. But admittedly, I'm reaching here.

Minor League Roundup

Some days, as time allows, we'll take a look at the Minor Leaguers and see how those guys are doing. Some days we won't. That's the hook. You'll just have to keep coming back. Astros County is now getting over 120 hits a day, which after five months and no marketing budget, is pretty awesome - so thanks for your support. Tell a friend.

Round Rock
Arias gave up 2ER in 3IP to raise lower his ERA to 10.13 in a 4-1 loss to New Orleans. Bogusevic got two hits while John Gall cracked a double and Manzella hit a triple. Yordany Ramirez is hitting .316 while J.R. Towles is sitting nicely at .357

Corpus Christi
Slugfest last night as the Hooks and Whatever the NW Arkansas Team Is Called each got 13 hits. Problem was, NW Arkansas scored two more runs in a 9-7 loss. Mitch Einertson went 3x4 while Jimmy Van Ostrand went 2x5 to lower his average to .414. Polin Trinidad took the loss with 4ER in 5IP.

Lexington
The Legends got the crap kicked out of them 12-0 at the hands of the Hickory Hickories (this name has been changed). Managing only two hits of offense, Jordan Lyles gave up 4ER in 4.1IP (but did strike out six batters), and then reliever Brian Wabick got rocked for 5ER in .2IP.

Lancaster
The JetHawks dropped their sixth straight last night to the Inland Empire 66ers, 11-4. Marcos Cabral hit his first homer of the season.

Astros sign SS prospect Marcos Cabral

In an interesting move, the Astros signed 25-year old prospect Marcos Cabral.

Cabral spent 2008 in the Blue Jays organization, beginning the year in the Florida State League (High-A) and ending in Syracuse (Triple-A). In five minor-league seasons, Cabral has posted a line of .255/.346/.356 with 128 walks and 181 strikeouts in 1002 ABs.

And if you wanted a list of the players the Astros released at the end of March, here you go:
RHP Colt Adams, RHP Corey Bass, RHP Tip Fairchild, RHP Danny Graves, RHP Michael Koons, RHP Brett Robinson, RHP Sean Walker, LHP Antony Bello, LHP Eduin Ciriaco, LHP Pascual Juan, LHP David Qualben, LHP Tom Vessella, C Jimmy Goethals, 1B Josh Pressley, 1B Ole Sheldon, 2B David Newhan, 3B Jeff Eure, SS Cat Everett, OF Billy Hart, OF Jason Romano, OF Jason Tyner