Lumsden traded to San Diego

Per sources, it seems as though Tyler Lumsden has been traded to the Padres for future considerations in order to make room for Dallas Keuchel.

Remember, Jordan Parraz was traded in order to get Lumsden, so we'll see if the future considerations are aligned with the rumor that the Padres are interested in Berkman playing the outfield.

Eddie's Farm: July 8

Round Rock

The Express had a 6-3 lead heading into the eighth, and that didn't last as Oklahoma City got two in the 8th and one in the 9th to tie it before Jonah Bayliss allowed a single, walk, single in the 12th. Oklhaoma City wins 7-6. Josh Banks allowed 9H/3ER, 3K:0BB in 6.2IP. Polin Trinidad struck out both batters he faced. Roy Corcoran gave up 3H/2ER in 0.2IP, and Gary Majewski allowed 3H/1ER in 2IP. Jonah Bayliss took the loss with 3H/1ER, 1K:1BB in 2IP. Matt Kata was 3x6 with two doubles and two RBIs. Drew Locke (3B, RBI) and Wladimir Sutil had two hits each. Brian Bogusevic hit his 10th homer of the year, also drawing a walk.

Man of the Match: Matt Kata.

Corpus

Those Hooks can't catch a break, losing 2-1 to Tulsa, running the losing streak to 13 games. Five of those 13 games have been one-run losses. Tyler Lumsden threw 6.2IP, 6H/2ER, 3K:1BB in the loss, while Evan Englebrook threw 2.1 perfect innings. Jon Gaston and Marcos Cabral had two hits each, while Jack Shuck was 1x4 for the other hit. Koby Clemens was 0x3 with 3K:1BB.

Man of the Match: Tyler Lumsden

Lancaster

And the JetHawks get blanked by Rancho Cucamonga 7-0. Pat Urckfitz threw 6IP, 6H/3ER, 4K:2BB, but it was Edwin Walker who allowed 4H/4ER, and Kyle Godfrey threw two perfect innings. It was all singles for the JetHawks: Austin, Cruz, Flores, and Simunic.

Man of the Match: Pat Urckfitz

Lexington

Bad loss for the Legends, who were leading 8-1 in the 6th inning, and ended up losing 10-9 in 10 innings. Jose Cisnero allowed 4H/3ER, 5K:6BB in 5IP. Arcenio Leon gave up 3H/2R (1ER) without recording an out, Wander Alvino walked two in 2IP. Kirk Clark allowed 3H/3ER, 1K:1BB in 1IP and Mike Schurz took the blown save and loss with 2H/2R (1ER), 2K:2BB in 1.1IP. Overshadowed by the loss was the fact that the offense blew up. J.D. Martinez was 5x5 with a double and two homers for six RBI. Rene Garcia (2B, BB) was 3x4, and Goebbert, Bray, Mier, and Garcia added doubles.

Man of the Match: J.D. Martinez

Tri-City

Big win for the ValleyCats last night as they dominated Staten Island 9-2. Jake Buchanan threw 5IP, 4H/2R (1ER), 3K:0BB, while Alex Sogard (1.2IP, 4K), Jason Chowning (1.1IP, 2K:1BB), and Chris Blazek (1IP, 1K) held it down for the win. Ben Orloff, Ben Heath, and Tyler Burnett had two hits each, Enrique Hernandez was 1x4 with 3RBI, and Adam Bailey was 1x5 with 2RBI.

Man of the Match: Ben Heath (2x5, 2B, 3R)

Greeneville

If you were not at the Greeneville/Pulaski game last night, you not only missed 28 runs, 36 hits, and five errors, but also Martial Arts Night. Still, Greeneville was up 14-4 after four innings, and then had to withstand a Pulaski rally to hold on for a 16-12 win. Euris Quezada threw 5IP, 9H/5ER, 5K:2BB. B.J. Hagen followed it up with 2IP, 1H/1ER. Jamaine Cotton had the roughest night, allowing 5H/5ER in 0.1IP, while Ryan Cole himself allowed 3H/1ER in 0.1IP. Brian Streilein threw the only scoreless outing, with 1H/0ER in 1.1IP. Jhonny Medrano, Telvin Nash, and Chris Wallace all hit homers as Wallace went 4x5 with 3RBI, Medrano was 3x6 with 4RBI, Ricardo Garcia was 3x5 with 2RBI, and Nash was 1x3 with 2BB. Jonathan Merritt also drew two walks.

Man of the Match: Chris Wallace.

GCL Astros

And the GCL Astros beat the GCL Nationals 8-5. Luis Ordosgoitti allowed 8H/3ER in 4IP, and Mark Jones recorded the win with 2H/1ER, 2K:2BB in 3IP. Dieudone Paul allowed his first earned run of the season, with 3H/1ER, 0K:3BB in 2IP. Jose Monzon was 3x4 with a homer and two RBI, Ryan Ditthardt was 2x3 with two doubles and 3RBI, and Rafael Valenzuela was 2x4 with a two-run homer.

Man of the Match: Jose Monzon.

Eddie's Farm: May 17

Round Rock

Sleet and hail and cold and war and plague suspended the Express/Sky Sox game last night with two outs in the top of the 8th, and Express runners on first and second. Drew Locke had a three-run homer, while Shelton hit a two-run jack. The game will be completed at 6:05 Central time tonight, and the last game of the series will begin 30 minutes after that game has ended.

Corpus

Come on. Nelson Payano gave up a walk-off homer to San Antonio's Matt Clark for a 1-0 win over Corpus. Tyler Lumsden threw 7IP, 5H/0ER, 4K:1BB to lower his ERA to 2.39. The Hooks were 0x10 w/RISP, leaving seven on base, striking out 12 times and not drawing a walk (I realize there's an organizational philosophy here, but it doesn't have to be "Don't Walk.") Jhon Florentino and Lou Santangelo both had two hits - and both had doubles. Shuck, Gaston, and Clemens each had a hit, but Gaston was 1x4 w/3Ks.

Man of the Match: Tyler Lumsden

Lancaster

Lancaster followed Corpus' lead, only Lake Elsinore scored their run in the 1st inning, and the JetHawks only managed to scratch out two hits. Lancaster wastes Keuchel's effort and loses 1-0. Dallas Keuchel threw a complete game, 8IP, 6H/1ER, 11K:1BB. He has allowed 10H/1ER, 15K:3BB in his last 17IP. Brandon Barnes and Brandon Wikoff got the only two hits, while Jay Austin went 0x4 with 4Ks.

Man of the Match: Dallas Keuchel

Lexington

David Duncan and the Legends' bullpen were excellent, shutting out Greenville 4-0. Duncan threw 5IP, 1H/0ER, 4K:0BB in his season debut while Wander Alvino allowed 2H/2BB in 2IP, and Jose Trinidad threw 2IP, 1H/0ER. J.D. Martinez was 3x5 with a double, and Jake Goebbert and Kody Hinze both had two hits. Jose Altuve and Hinze both hit solo homers (Altuve's 2nd, Hinze's 10th), and Hinze added another RBI for his 40th. Hinze and Martinez are 1-2 for the SAL lead in RBIs, and Hinze's homer put him back on top.

Man of the Match: Kody Hinze

Eddie's Farm: April 17

Round Rock

Wesley Wright spotted the Zephyrs a 3-0 lead, and while the Express came back for a 4-3 lead, Roy Corcoran and Jonah Bayliss each gave up a run for a 5-4 loss to New Orleans. Wright threw 5IP, 5H/3ER, 5K:1BB in the no-decision. Edwin Maysonet was 2x3, and Brian Bogusevic hit his 1st homer of the year. Jason Castro was 0x3 with a walk, lowering his average to .200, but his OBP is .333 and he's been on base in each of the last six games. But the big story in the lineup was the presence of Lance Berkman in the three-spot. Let's take a gander at his ABs:

1st inning: Flyout to CF
3rd inning: Strikeout looking
5th inning: Sac fly (RBI) to RF

The best news is that there was no swelling, and Berkman will play seven innings today.

Man of the Match: Brian Bogusevic

Corpus Christi

Because of the wet conditions in Corpus, the Hooks and Drillers played a pair of 7-inning games (why haven't the Astros thought of that!).

G1: Jordan Lyles dealt it as the Hooks won 5-0. Lyles threw 6IP, 2H/0ER, 5K:0BB, throwing 56 of his 81 pitches for strikes, getting nine groundouts, four flyouts, and five strikeouts. Danny Meszaros finished it off with 2Ks in 1IP. Offensively, it was clicking. German Duran and David Cook were both 3x3, with Cook coming within a homer of the cycle, and 2RBI. Lou Santangelo hit his 3rd homer of the season, and Koby Clemens hit his 4th homer.

Man of the Match: Jordan Lyles

G2: Corpus must have used up all those runs early, as they out-hit the Drillers 5-3, but fell short in a 1-0 loss. Tyler Lumsden threw 4IP, 2H/0ER, 0K:0BB, and one of Marcos Cabral's three errors led to Henry Villar giving up an unearned run for the hard luck loss. Jack Shuck was 2x4, while David Cook got another hit, and Lumsden getting a base knock of his own.

Man of the Match: Tyler Lumsden

Lancaster

The JetHawks scored five in the 2nd to get a 5-1 lead, but then gave up the next eight runs to lose 9-5 to Rancho Cucamonga. Shane Wolf threw 5.1IP, 7H/4R (3ER), 3K:1BB; Ashton Mowdy threw 2.2IP, 4H/4R (2ER), 2K:1BB, and Brian Wabick threw 1IP, 2H/1ER, 1K:1BB in a sloppy game in both pitching and defense. Three erros - by Albert Cartwright, Ebert Rosario, and Mark Ori - led to three unearned runs. Freddy Parejo was 2x4 with 2RBI (and has six hits in his last 12ABs), while Raul Contreras, Jordan Comadena, and Jay Austin contributed the other RBI. The JetHawks are now 1-8.

Man of the Match: Freddy Parejo

Lexington

Greenville jumped out to a 5-0 lead, and that's pretty much all it took in a 5-3 win over Lexington. Brandt Walker got the start, going 4IP, 3H/5ER, 4K:3BB, and 2WP. Arcenio Leon and Mike Schurz threw the next 5IP, combining for 4H/0ER, 2K:1BB. J.D. Martinez was 2x4 with an RBI, and Kody Hinze hit another homer. Jose Altuve was 1x4 with an RBI. Our boy Aaron Bray is in a little slump, and is two for his last 21.

Man of the Match: J.D. Martinez

Fixler Files, Vol. 2

Over at Farmstros, Jonathan Fixler has been providing updates from Spring Training. Here's a pull from Fixler on Tyler Lumsden and Chris Salamida:

This afternoon, one of the pens I caught was for Tyler Lumsden. He appears to be at full strength (last years suffering from some arm soreness) and with his clean bill of health he is throwing with greater velocity, had great control over his off speed pitches, and seems to be right on track for the season. The first day of live batting practice I was extremely impressed with Chris Salamida. In the past year Sal has changed his arm slot to throw from underneath, and it is apparent he has grown more comfortable, having become more precise with the location of his fastball and increased the depth on his slider.

Good stuff - so head over to Farmstros and check out the previous post.

Moves that worked, moves that didn't

Note: This is a retrospective of moves made in the 08-09 offseason, and during the 2009 season. So you won't find "Signing Kaz Matsui" in the list of Moves That Worked, Moves That Didn't.

Moves That Worked

Trading Pudge for two prospects
Pudge was supposed to be the stop-gap at catcher for two reasons: (1) To allow time until Jason Castro was major-league ready, and (2) to keep Quintero from becoming the full-time starter. It worked alright, but it was clear that Pudge was old, and his effect on the pitching staff was negligible (Wandy originally attributed 09 success to working with Pudge, and then imploded in May/June, and then righted the ship - even after he was gone). So to trade Pudge to the Rangers for anything more than a copy of The Sandlot 3 and some Icy Hot was impressive. To get two prospects out of it is nothing short of amazing. The Rangers acquired him to help with their push for the post-season, but were 14-14 in games Pudge started down the stretch.

The two players the Astros received have done well. Matt Nevarez, a 22-year old RH reliever, only played in 8 games (8.1IP), but had a 0.00 ERA / 0.36 WHIP, four saves, and 13K:0BB. 22-year old infielder Jose Vallejo had limited time with the Astros, but put together a .289/.318/.349 line at Double-A Frisco, and was 7x20 (.350/.350/.500) in seven games at Round Rock.

Signing Chia-Jen Lo
The Astros' first foray into Pacific Rim scouting culminated in the November signing of RHP Chia-Jen Lo. The 23-year old split time between Lancaster and Corpus, where at Lancaster, C-Lo had a 1.78 ERA / 0.91 WHIP in 25.1IP, with a 36:13 K:BB ratio. At Corpus, despite battling injury, C-Lo had a 2.31 ERA / 1.28 WHIP, allowing just one homer in 39IP at Corpus. He'll compete for a bullpen spot in 2010, and will start at Round Rock if he doesn't get the spot out of Spring Training.

Claiming Chris Coste
It may not look like it, but the Coste experiment wasn't such a bad one. Despite posting a .204/.259/.252 line with the Astros, with five extra-base hits in 103 plate appearances, having Coste on the roster allowed Ed Wade the ability to trade Pudge. Making 14 starts behind the plate, and 13 starts at 1B to spell Erstad when Berkman went down, Coste didn't make a single error behind the plate, and only one at first.

Claiming Jeff Fulchino off waivers from the Royals
When the Astros claimed the huge righty off waivers from the Royals last December, he was coming off a season in which he allowed 14 ER in 14IP for Kansas City and a combined 4.87 ERA for Double-A NW Arkansas, and Triple-A Omaha. So I don't know that anyone was expecting Fulchino to throw up a 3.40 ERA / 1.18 WHIP over 82IP for the Astros this year, earning Rookie of the Year honors from the Houston BBWAA. He struck out 71 batters in 82 innings, and has put himself in a position to emerge as an 8th inning option in 2010.

Letting Ty Wigginton walk
The Astros were looking at a hefty little bump from Wigginton's $4.35 million salary in 2008. Instead, Easy Eddie declined to offer him arbitration, and he signed with the Orioles, where he signed a two-year $6 million deal. Wigginton hit .273/.314/.400 with 11HR and 41RBI, but also played below-average defense at 1st and 3rd. The offense was okay, but certainly not worth the $6 million he probably would have received.

Moves That Didn't

Picking up Cooper's option
Obviously, this was a pretty short-sighted move on Drayton/Ed's part. Perhaps this precipitated Cooper losing the clubhouse as the players realized they would likely be dealing with a lack of communication and questionable tactics for two more seasons. And while the Astros were never considered contenders, except for a two-week span in July, Astros players looked like they would rather be anywhere else except on the field in the second half.

Signing Mike Hampton
In 21 starts for the Astros in 2009 in which the Astros were 7-14, Hampton put up a 5.30 ERA / 1.55 WHIP in 112 IP. He allowed 13 homers, and had seven quality starts, compared to five disaster starts, and five starts in which he didn't make it out of the 5th inning. It was a low-risk, high-reward signing, but the Astros paid almost $300K per win.

Trading Jordan Parraz for Tyler Lumsden
The Astros sent Jordan Parraz to the Royals for Tyler Lumsden, a minor-league pitcher who was initially assigned to Round Rock. Except it didn't last. And Lumsden was sent down to Corpus on July 2. Lumsden was another "project pitcher" (see: Fulchino, Jeff) coming off Triple-A seasons in Omaha with ERAs of 5.88 and 7.21, respectively. He came to Round Rock, and put up a 4.42 ERA / 1.91 WHIP in 18.1IP, and 5.15 / 1.72 in 43.2IP in Corpus. And he's 26. Meanwhile, 24-year old RF Parraz ( 2004 3rd round pick) hit .358/.451/.553 for Double-A NW Arkansas, and .298/.358/.426 in Omaha.

Not re-signing Randy Wolf
By all accounts, Randy Wolf was open to coming back to Houston in 2009. The Astros allegedly had a 3-year $29.5 million offer on the table, then the economy tanked, and that offer was pulled. Wolf re-signed with the Dodgers for $5 million, and went 11-7 in 214.1 IP, with a 3.23 ERA / 1.10 WHIP. His 2.76 K:BB ratio was his highest since 2001, and his 2.4 walks/9 were his lowest since 2004. It's doubtful that Wolf would have taken a $24 million pay cut to come back, but it is what it is.

Anything I missed?

Eddie's Farm: September 1

Round Rock
The offense went off for 12 runs on 13 hits in a 12-7 win over Albuquerque. With multi-hit games from Towles (2x3, double/homer), Bogusevic (2x5, 2RBI), Manzella (2x3, 2-run homer), Saccomanno (2x5), and Kata (2x5), it would have been hard to lose this game. Yet it almost happened. It took a 6-run 8th inning to push the Express over the top. Mark McLemore only lasted an inning, giving up 4H/3ER. Roy Corcoran came in for the next 4IP and gave up 5H/2ER, 4K:1BB, while Armando Benitez got his first win as an Astro-in-training (anyone else think he's the backup option if the Astros don't re-sign Valverde?).

Corpus
Corpus, behind the hot bat of C Jonathan Fixler, beat up Frisco 6-1. Fixler was 3x4 with two homers and 4RBI. DeLome provided the other 2RBI with a 2x4 night. Tyler Lumsden is showing some late-season return in the Parraz trade, and went 5IP, 5H/0ER (1 total), 2K:4BB. C-Lo closed out the final four innings with 3H/0ER, 5K:0BB.

Lancaster
High Desert shut the JetHawks down, winning 6-2. Koby Clemens was 2x4 with his 21st homer of the year, and Craig Corrado was 2x3 with a double. Shane Wolf threw 4.2IP, 10H/6ER, 1K:3BB while Jose Duran and Ashton Mowdy threw the final 3.1IP, with 1H/0ER, 2K:4BB. Mowdy's ERA at Lancaster currently sits at 9.82, while Duran's is 8.26.

Lexington
Lexington scored in three different innings, and that was enough to beat Asheville 3-1. Jay Austin was 2x5, Albert Cartwright was 2x3 with an RBI, and Brian Pellegrini hit his 25th homer of the year. Robert Bono improved to 9-8 with a 3.35 ERA after giving up 6H/1ER, 5K:0BB in 5IP. Henry Villar threw 2.2IP in relief, striking out five, and Matt Nevarez got another save for the Legends.

Tri-City
Despite scoring three runs in the bottom of the 9th, it was one run short as Aberdeen beat the ValleyCats 4-3. Erik Castro was 2x5 with a 2-out 3-run homer. Brandt Walker dropped to 1-6, after allowing 7H/4ER in 3.1IP, and Nathan Pettus, Dan Sarisky, and Max Fearnow threw the final 5.2IP, allowing just 3H/0ER, 4K (all Sarisky's):0BB.

Greeneville
And it's with sadness that we bring you the final Greeneville recap of the season, as the Gastros finished the season last night with a 6-2 win. Jiovanni Mier was 2x3 with 3RBI, Bubby Williams was 2x3 with a homer and 2RBI, Kyle Miller was 2x4, and Our Boy Aaron Bray was 2x3 with an RBI - finishing the season hitting .278. Angel Gonzalez threw 5IP, 3H/1ER, 3K:2BB, Murillo Gouvea threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 4K:1BB in relief. We'll have a full season recap of the Gastros in the coming days, but the Gastros finished the season 27-40, 17.5GB of APP West winner Elizabethton.

Eddie's Farm: August 27

Eddie's Farm was back at it last night as we wind down the minor-league seasons across the organization: 3-4 last night.

Round Rock
Completion of Wednesday's suspended game finishes with a 6-4 win, as Nashville scores three in the top of the 9th (with Corey Patterson's three-run jack). Tommy Manzella had the multi-hit game with a 2x5 night, Chris Johnson and Matt Kata had 2RBI each. Wesley Wright got the win, because Andy Van Hekken (AVH) had to be pulled for the completion of the game. Armando Benitez followed up his 3HR performance with a scoreless inning.

Game 2: And Round Rock won the shortened second game 2-1 on Chad Spann's 2-run homer. Mark McLemore threw 5IP, 4H/1ER, 1K:1BB and Chad Paronto got his second save of the day.

Corpus
Rough night for the Corpuses, as Midland dominated 10-0. The Hooks had four hits (Castro, Van Ostrand, Molina, and Moresi). Unbelievably, the Hooks' pitching staff only had three earned runs after errors from Ori, Weatherby, and Locke led to seven unearned runs. Lumsden got the loss, throwing 6IP, 5H/6R (1ER), 2K:4BB, Weatherby threw 3IP, 3H/4R (2ER), 1K:0BB.

Lancaster
The JetHawks only got three hits in a 4-0 loss to San Jose. Shuck, Rosario, and Barnes provided hits, and no JetHawk made it to scoring position. Chris Hicks threw 5IP, 7H/4ER, 5K:2BB, and San Jose pitcher Paul Oseguera threw a complete-game, 9IP, 3H/0ER, 15K:0BB.

Lexington
The Legends actually had a 4-0 lead in this game, and then Hickory scored eight unanswered runs for an 8-4 win over Lexington. Brandon Wikoff was 2x4 with an RBI, Federico Hernandez was 1x4 with a 2-run double. Ross Seaton threw 6IP, 5H/1ER (2 total), 5K:0BB, while Kyle Godfrey had his 2nd blown save and third loss of the season with 2IP, 5H/5R (1ER), 1K:0BB.

Tri-City
Despite out-hitting Staten Island 14-9, Tri-City found a way to lose 10-6. Brian Kemp was back in the leadoff spot, going 1x3 with a walk. The ValleyCats got multi-hit games from Barry Butera, J.D. Martinez, Jhonny Medrano (2 RBI), Rene Garcia, and Jorge De Leon. But going 3x13 with RISP doesn't help much. Brandt Walker threw 2IP, 6H/6ER, 1K:3BB, following by 2ER outings from Brendan Stines and Dan Sarisky. Mike Modica and Max Fearnow threw hitless IPs each.

Greeneville
Greeneville was on the right end of a 4-1 game against Burlington. Jonathan Meyer was 2x4 with a solo homer, and Grant Hogue, Our Boy Aaron Bray, Jiovanni Mier, Kyle Miller, Oscar Figueroa, and Ryan Humphrey all had hits, as well. Angel Gonzalez threw 6IP, 4H/1ER, 5K:1BB and Joan Belliard threw three perfect innings in relief for his first save.

Astros: Good; Royals: Better

So saith former Astro minor-leaguer Jordan Parraz, who was traded to Kansas City for Tyler Lumsden in the off-season...

And it looks like the Kansas City Royals made a good decision to trade for him last winter. They dealt pitcher Tyler Lumsden, who struggled for two years with Class AAA Omaha, to Houston for Parraz, who had never played above Class A.

Lumsden since has been demoted to Class AA, where he has a 7.11 ERA. Parraz, meanwhile, rolled through the Class AA Texas League and was promoted to Omaha last week, and will be the Royals' regular right fielder. His overall average of .352 is third best among all minor leaguers, as is his overall on-base percentage of .444.

The trade, he says, was welcome news.

“I didn't think Houston ever really gave me the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “I played every day, but I never got a chance to really move up or get a confidence boost. It's a good organization, but I think this one is a little better — especially for me fitting in.”

Ouch.

Eddie's Farm: July 12

Eddie's Farm goes 1-5 yesterday in a brutal string of games. Lexington was off, Tri-City played a double header..

Round Rock
Round Rock got dropped 3-1 in a loss at Nashville - and I'm really happy (dripping sarcasm, in case any Cubs fans are reading) I missed all of these games this time around. All of the scoring took place in the 2nd inning, and the Express managed just five hits, only one for extra bases - a triple of Mark Saccomanno. Yorman Bazardo pitched 6IP, 6H/3ER, 1K:1BB.

Corpus
Outhit Northwest Arkansas 11-5, but lost 5-1. Sutil, DeLome, and Einertson had multi-hit games, but again, only one extra base hit - a 9th inning RBI triple from Brian Esposito. New Hooks signee Kenny Baugh threw 6IP, 4H/4ER, 1K:1BB, and Tyler Lumsden lowered his ERA to 7.94 with 2IP, 1H/0ER, 3K.

Lancaster
Inland Empire jumped on the JetHawks with six runs in the first two innings, and then held on to win 8-5. Multi-hit games from Shuck (2x2 with three walks), Suarez, Gaston, Clemens, and David Flores gave the JetHawks a chance, but the pitching just wasn't there. Flores and Matt Weston connected for homers and the 1-2-3 of Shuck-Suarez-Gaston went a combined 6x11 with 1K:4BB and three extra-base hits. Chris Hicks got the loss with 2IP, 7H/4ER (6 total), 2K:2BB. Shane Wolf picked up the next five innings and held the 66ers to 5IP, 4H/1ER, 5K:0BB.
Lexington call-up Ashton Mowdy closed out the game with 2IP, 3H/1ER, 5K:0BB and 2WP.

Tri-City
In Game 1, the ValleyCats scraped only four hits in a 3-0 loss to Oneonta. Brian Kemp, of course, got one of those hits, and is now hitting .347 - the only starter in yesterday's game with an average over .250. Colton Pitkin threw a 7IP complete game, giving up 9H/3ER, 2K:0BB.

In Game 2, same score, but this time six hits for the ValleyCats in the 3-0 loss. Kemp got another hit, as did Wikoff, Russell Dixon (hitting .306), Erik Castro, J.D. Martinez, and Pedro Gonzalez. Robby Donovan took the loss with 3IP, 3H/1ER (3R total). J.B. MacDonald got 4Ks in 3IP.

Greeneville
And we finally have a winner for Eddie's Farm as Greeneville had a 12-2 lead at the end of three innings - including a 7-run 3rd inning - to win 13-7 against Pulaski. Jose Altuve was 3x5, Miguel Arrendell was 2x4 with a 3-run homer and Jiovanni Mier, Nathan Metroka, and Aaron Bray all had 2RBI for the Gastros. Mier is now hitting .317. B.J. Hyatt continues to have a rough go of it, with 6H/6ER in 3.2IP, to go along with 3BB and 2HR - his ERA is now 10.45. Angel Gonzalez got the win with 1ER in 4IP to lower his ERA to 14.73.

Transactions!

Hey, we have some transactions to report over the last couple of days...

Round Rock
July 4: Placed J.R. Towles on the 7-day DL
July 4: As a result, Jonathan Fixler was called up to replace Towles

Corpus Christi
July 2: Tyler Lumsden sent down from Round Rock
July 2: Signed free agent RHP Charlie Weatherby III

Minor League Transactions

Hey! We got some transactions to report over the last few days!

Round Rock
May 24:
Activated Tyler Lumsden

Lancaster
May 27:
Released Chris Minaker

This is something of a question mark for me. His line was .319/.350/.416 with 9XBH in 31 games for Lancaster at 2B this season.

Lexington

May 24:
Jose Trinidad placed on 7-Day DL
Steve Brown activated from 7-Day DL
Ricardo Bonfante placed on 7-Day DL
Brad Dydalewicz activated from 7-Day DL
Kirkland Rivers called up from Tri-City ValleyCats
Russell Dixon sent down to Greeneville Astros

Round Rock got their homer on last night

I know I promised a weekly minor-league spot, but in the absence of a major-league game last night, I do want to point out that they started the season in The Rock last nigh, and the Express put the whoop on the Iowa Cubs.

Abercrombie, (My Friend) Mark Saccomanno, Bogusevic and Towles all hit home runs - Towles' and Bogusevic's homers came off prized Cubs prospect Jeff Samardasoasiohssfzzz. Felipe Paulino struck out six Iowa batters in five innings, leading the Express to a 10-4 win over Iowa. John Gall, playing in left field went 1-for-1 with three walks.

Hensley gave up three hits, four walks and four earned runs in 1.1 for the dent to the Express' ERA. Lumsden and Johnson each threw scoreless appearances, as well.

Nice start, fellas.

More Sayonara!

Some guys were sent to minor-league camp today. So sayonara (and see you later) to:

IFs: Drew Sutton, Mark Saccomanno
Ps: Polin Trinidad, Tyler Lumsden, Sam Gervacio
OF: Yordany Ramirez

Coming from JJO, who did an excellent job in this one, reported on what Coop said about each of those players sent down...

Lumsden (who is shifting to the Bullpen)
"We like his stuff. We just need him to be more consistent and trust his stuff in the strike zone."

Trinidad
"He's going to go hopefully in the rotation and we'll give him a chance to start at Round Rock and see where he goes."

Gervacio
"It's as good as you can get at the major league level from that sidearm-type delivery. He's going to be a bullpen guy for us. It might be sooner rather than later."

Yordany
"We know he can play the outfield and we know he can run. ... There's not many guys that can defend as good as him. He needs to work on making more contact and using his legs, putting the ball on the ground and bunting more. Just work on making better contact."

Sutton (who will focus on playing 2B)
"I was impressed with his patience at the plate and his idea of the strike zone, which is what I thought coming in."

Maybe they should be called the "Killer Ls"

Another day, another tail-smokin'. This time, once again, to the Pirates, 11-4.

At least there were seven hits, spread out over seven players: Bourn, Ramirez, Pence, Boone, Newhan, Gall and Palmisano (who started at C and went 1-for-3, with a double).

Five pitchers got in, after Backe went and strained his ribcage:
Hensley: 2IP, 2H, 3ER, 1BB, 1K
de la Vara: 1IP, 4H, 3ER, 1BB, 1K
Paronto: 2IP, 1H, 1BB
James: .1IP, 0H, 4R (1ER), 3BB
Lumsden: .2IP, 1H, 1ER, 2BB, 1K

The Astros made three more errors, this time by Bourn (1), Gall (1) and Sutton (2). And of the Astros' pitchers to throw in more than one game, only Paronto, Geary, Wright and Fulchino have ERAs under 3.00. And seven Astros pitchers have ERAs above 10.00: Lumsden (10.12), Norris (10.38), Nieve (11.25), de la Vara (12.27), Gervacio (13.50), Trinidad (18.00), Hensley (23.62).

However, Easy Eddie says to pump the brakes:
"I've seen teams have tremendous spring trainings and play really poorly out of the chute, and I've seen teams really struggle in Grapefruit League play and hit their stride the last week of the exhibition season and go from there," he said. "Hopefully at some point here in the next week to 10 days, the regulars will play more and stay in games longer and we're trying to get them to the point where they're ready to hit their strides."

This is a good point. Because basically, Corpus Christi and Round Rock are basically 1-8-1 this Spring Training. And about those ERAs, statistics get skewed when you're only talking about an inning here and two innings there.

We can also expect to see more guys get sent to minor league camp this week. Their names will be removed from the sidebar as they come in.

Clay Hensley did not help his chances

Though, to be fair, the Astros didn't help him much, either. Clay Hensley gave up eight runs (four earned) on five hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. Though errors by Tejada, Abercrombie and Sutton did Hensley and Lumsden (who gave up three runs - two earned) in a little bit. Walking six batters didn't help. Only Gil de la Vara had a perfect outing in 1 IP as the Mets beat the Astros 13-1.

Nieve (who has no options - see? it's just funny now), allowed five baserunners in 2 IP.

Astros Notes from Wednesday

I love JJO's Notes section. Here's what's new from yesterday that we didn't get to:

-Toby Hall has been shut down from throwing until results from an MRI are returned - not for the Spring.
-Brad James, Edwin Maysonet, Tyler Lumsden and Yordany Ramirez all signed one-year contracts for $400,000.

That brings payroll to $103.41 million

Fulchino signs deal, Castro is big, Capellan missed his flight

JJO's notes from yesterday:

-Capellan missed his flight to Florida and missed the first workout Saturday. Good start, buddy.
-“I didn’t realize Castro was as big as he was,” said Cooper, who met Castro last July in Washington, D.C., after the catcher was signed. “He’s a tall kid, has a good body.
-de la Vara and Tyler Lumsden have made a good early impression. “I know one thing: He’s got a pretty good arm,” Cooper said of Lumsden. “I saw the ball come out of his hand really good.” I don't even know what that means, other than the very, very obvious thing. That's two stellar quotes in the same article.
-Jeff Fulchino signed a one-year, $400,000 deal.
-Kaz Matsui gets the worm, becoming the first starter to report and workout. Aaron Boone, Jason Michaels, Brian Bogusevic, Chris Johnson, Tommy Manzella, Edwin Maysonet and Jason Smith are already in camp.

Astros complete... uh, one trade

Alyson Footer reports the Astros sent 23-year old outfielder Jordan Parraz to Kansas City to complete some trade. It's either the Fulchino or the Lumsden trade. Footer reports Fulchino. A Royals press release says it's Lumsden. I'll go with the Royals on this one.

Interesting about Parraz - he was the Astros' "Best Outfield Arm," ranked by Baseball Prospectus prior to 2008.

Tyler Lumsden report - from someone who actually knows what they're talking about

Guess who my new best friend is? Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Mr. Dutton took some time out of his day to answer a few questions about the newest Astro, Tyler Lumsden...

AC: From the reports I've read about Lumsden, he's got the tools - he just hasn't put it together yet. What do you know about Lumsden?

Bob Dutton: The guy missed all of 2005 because of major elbow surgery and just hasn't been able to recapture the promise that made him the 34th overall pick in 2004. He'll flash it at times, but he's actually been going down hill. He was OK in 2006 at Double-A, erratic in 2007 at Triple-A and pretty bad last year at Triple-A.

AC: Dayton Moore likes to build around pitching, so what does it say about Lumsden that Moore seems to be willing to let him go rather than stick it out and see if he progresses?

BD: The Royals gave him 2 1/2 years and, as I mentioned above, he's trending downward. They also have a bunch of lefty relievers at the big-league level. Also, they have better lefty prospects in Danny Duffy and Mike Montgomery. Lumsden was a pretty easy choice as the odd man out.

AC: Where do you see the organizational focus of the Royals heading?

BD: It's the Atlanta blueprint. Build your team around starting pitching.

AC: Has the mindset of the Royals' fanbase changed with Dayton Moore's arrival?

BD: Absolutely. The great majority of folks who email and call me seem to believe Moore has the franchise on the right track and, given sufficient time and resources, will build a winner. The question, really, is whether he gets sufficient time and resources. For now, the Glass family seems content to OK just about everything Moore wants.

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Thanks to Bob Dutton. So the question is this: which organization is in better shape - the Royals or Astros?