Matt Duffy to sign

20th Round pick Matt Duffy has signed and will report to Tri-City, according to VolBaseball

Brandon Meredith to sign

6th Round pick Brandon Meredith tweeted a few minutes ago:

Another meeting with the Astros tonight looks as if I'll be signing and off to Tri City sometime early next week!!!

This is awfully kind and self-congratulatory

Good old Jeff Gordon, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave Jim Crane some advice on how to rebuild the Astros:

1. Be like St. Louis.
2. Enjoy!

In trying to form a response, I could do no better than Craig Calcaterra

In response to Richard Justice's post on how to fix the Astros (call up Biggio and Bagwell), I could find no better way to do it than Craig Calcaterra did.

Jeff Gordon won't leave it alone about Milo not leaving Berkman alone

Jeff Gordon's Tipsheet in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has this note:

Tipsheet caught the Houston broadcast of the Cards-Astros game Thursday night on satellite radio while driving home from a meeting. The seventh inning conversation turned to Lance Berkman and his All-Star Game candidacy.

Astros play-by-play man Milo Hamilton couldn’t resist needling Berkman, again. Earlier he ripped Berkman for whipping himself into top shape as a Cardinal after failing to do so during final, injury-marred season an Astro.

Milo’s Thursday night comment was something like this: “If he makes the All-Star Game, I hope he brings his trainer.”

Snap!

/Dead Horse

Corporan up, Cancel down

With a clue to the previous post, the Astros brought up Carlos Corporan and sent down Robinson Cancel.

Who Wandy replaces is on a need-to-know basis. And you don't need to know.

Brad Mills isn't concerned with who Wandy replaces when he rejoins the rotation Monday.

Mills:
"We'll address that later. I don't think that needs to be taken care of right now."

Some possibilities:

1. He replaces Jordan Lyles. The Astros would then have to burn one of his option years to send him back to OKC.

2. Wandy replaces Aneury Rodriguez, who would then have to be moved into a bullpen role thanks to his Rule 5 status. This is further complicated by the impending return of Brandon Lyon.

Barring some sort of Big Time Move (flat-out releasing someone), I'm guessing Option #2 is the best bet.

But what to do with the bullpen? Right now it's:
Melancon, Del Rosario, Escalona, Fulchino, Lopez, and Fernando Rodriguez.

If Aneury goes to the bullpen, you need two guys back to OKC to make room for Brandon Lyon. Who do you choose? Personally, I'd like to see Brandon Lyon sent off to the Yankees for a bag of peanuts. But I'm guessing this will not be the case. With the Astros currently feeling like they only need one LHP in the bullpen, this would make Escalona expendable. And you could choose one of Fulchino, Lopez, or Del Rosario who flat-out scare you to death whenever they come into a game.

UPDATE: Totally forgot that Valdez had already been sent down for Lyon. So...nevermind.

Holy crap. Bill Hall is in demand

Ken Rosenthal says that the Nationals and Orioles are interested in the services of one Bill Hall.

Bill Hall: Chesapeake Bay:: David Hasselhoff: Germany

And Ruben Sosa will sign

It looks like 23rd Round pick Ruben Sosa will sign with the Astros.

Sosa:
"It's really exciting. I was planning on playing here with the guys, and then I got the call. I didn't expect that call. I had a feeling, but when it happened, it kind of slapped me in the face. It was like, 'wow.'"

Sosa will head to Orlando this morning.

The Astros tried to bring back Evan Englebrook

Remember Evan Englebrook? Big guy? High heat? He wanted to go in a different direction, after the Astros added him to the 40-Man Roster.

Englebrook:
This past offseason, the Astros "sent me to winter ball to face some major leaguers. I was hoping they'd let me face big-leaguers in September, (but) that wasn't in their plans. So I went there, and then they did offer me a contract. I just wanted to go somewhere else, start over new, somewhere fresh and go that route."

That said, he's sort of putting the severity of his arm injury off on the Astros' medical staff:
"Three years ago, I hurt my AC joint at the beach. My AC joint was sticking out. It was only a first-degree separation which, with a month's rest, it clears. I went to (the Astros) and went to their doctor, and they told me it's no big deal, you'll be fine, it's just probably all in your head, it's probably always been there. So I pitched for a month with it, and then it went to a 3rd-degree separation where I needed surgery.

"That was in August '08, and I was knocking on the door then; I think I had about a 13-, 14-inning stretch where I think I only gave up like one hit; in 11 innings I didn't give up a hit. My velocity started coming around, and I had a split change that was working. And I went with what they said and then I hurt it. ... I didn't have surgery on it until November, so they wasted three months of my time. ... I (had) said, ‘I want surgery,' and they kept saying, ‘No, no, you can rehab it.' ... I missed two months beginning the next season.

13th Round pick John Hinson got more than 13th Round money

Although financial terms weren't disclosed, John Hinson's dad said the deal was:

“A lot better deal than 13th-round.”

Hinson:
“Whenever I talked to the Astros and we met in Greenville, it actually ended up being not that hard of a decision to make. I love Clemson. I loved playing there. I love that program. What it means to me is something great. Whenever I looked at it, coming down and playing for the Astros was my best option. It was pretty clear. I'm just excited to be able to be able to pursue my dreams.”

Brandon Culbreth signs

The Winston-Salem Journal says that 8th Round pick Brandon Culbreth will sign with the Astros for $150,000 plus a fund to pay for his impending college education.

Culbreth:
"I was very, very surprised. I was expecting to go anywhere from the 10th to the 40th, 50th (round). To go in the eighth, it was a big surprise. Even my agent was surprised."

Culbreth will head to Kissimmee:
"We are going to Target to load up on supplies that I can live on. It's crazy. It will hit me when I am at the airport about to board the plane. It hasn't hit me that I am a professional baseball player."

Culbreth's high school coach, Andy Partin:
"Last year, he didn't even pitch the last month of the season because he couldn't get it done. That's proof of a guy who spends a whole year in the weight room, working on his mechanics and buying into what coaches tell him to do. And he just blew up. Last year he was at 86 (miles an hour) and this year, he hit 95. That tells you that you have to commit to the weight room. This guy, he gets drafted Tuesday, and is in the weight room Tuesday and Wednesday. That tells you a lot. I couldn't be happier for him."

Dominique Taylor isn't planning on signing

33rd Round pick Dominique Taylor isn't planning on signing, but instead will likely go back to Salt Lake Community College:

"As of right now, I plan on going back (to SLCC)," Taylor said.

Taylor, 18, said he plans to meet with Astros personnel this summer before making a final decision before the Aug. 15 deadline.

Looks like Jesse Wierzbicki will sign

The Times-Herald has a good indication that 24th Round pick Jesse Wierzbicki has signed, and will head to Tri-City:

"The Astros are going to have me play some first, designated hitter and try to get me some work in left field."

This will of course happen after the University of North Carolina finishes its run in the College World Series.

Arkansas doesn't expect Jarrod McKinney back

31st Round pick Jarrod McKinney is expected to sign with the Astros, according to Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn:

(McKinney) should sign, Van Horn said because they wouldn’t have any draft leverage as seniors in 2012.

Eddie's Farm: June 9

Oklahoma City (25-35)

OKC got out to a 4-0 lead after four innings, and then held on for a 4-3 win at Omaha. Nelson Figueroa threw 6.1IP, 8H/2ER, 6K:2BB; Fernando Abad struck out both batters he faced; Ross Wolf allowed 1H/1ER, 1K:1BB in 1IP, while David Carpenter has yet to allow an earned run at OKC, striking out one in 1IP and recording his 4th save of the year.

Brian Bogusevic (2B) and Drew Locke (2B, 3RBI) had two hits each, while Tommy Manzella was 0x2 with 2BB. Koby Clemens, hitting 6th, was 1x3 with a walk.

Man of the Match: I refuse to give it to Nelson Figueroa. So, Drew Locke.

Corpus (21-37)

Corpus had a 3-0 lead in the 5th, but gave up six of the next seven runs in a 6-4 loss to Midland. Ross Seaton gave up 5H/5R (3ER), 4K:2BB in 6IP; Blake King allowed 1H/1ER, 0K:1BB in 1IP (and has allowed runs in his last three outings, out of four, since coming over from the Cardinals' organization). Patrick Urckitz gave up a hit and a walk in 0.1IP, and Matt Nevarez got two quick outs to end the game.

The story of the Hooks has become Jose Altuve - who was 2x4 with a solo homer - and is hitting .438/.455/.750 since coming up from Lancaster. Johnathan Villar was 1x4 with a double, walk, and 2RBI (and an error). T.J. Steele hit his 4th homer. J.D. Martinez was 0x4 with a strikeout and is hitting .243/.317/.243 in his last ten games.

Man of the Match: Jose Altuve

Lancaster (24-35)

Inland Empire got out to a 3-0 lead, and Lancaster couldn't make up the difference, for a 3-2 loss. Robby Donovan threw 6IP, 6H/3R (2ER), 7K:1BB, unfortunately getting the loss and dropping to 2-7. Wander Alvino threw the final 2IP, allowing 1H/0ER, 0K:1BB.

Johnathan Meyer was 2x4 with a solo homer and 2RBI, with Jay Austin, Erik Castro (BB), Austin Wates, Kody Hinze, and pinch-hitter Andy Simunic each adding a hit.

Man of the Match: Robby Donovan

Lexington (28-32)

The Lexington bullpen - assisted by the defense - imploded last night, allowing the final six runs of the game in the eighth and ninth innings to lose 8-7 at home to Hickory. Mike Foltynewicz allowed 6H/2ER, 2K:3BB in 6IP; Brian Streilein allowed 4H/2R (1ER) in 2IP, while Jorge De Leon allowed 3H/4R (0ER), 1K:1BB in 1IP. Errors by Ray King, two from Mike Kvasnicka, and Delino DeShields helped all of that.

Jiovanni Mier was 3x6 with two doubles, Adam Bailey was 3x4 with a double, walk, and 2RBI; Roberto Pena was 2x4 with a double and a homer.

Man of the Match: Jiovanni Mier

DSL Astros (5-3)

The Astros were down 3-1, but got four late runs for a 5-3 win against the DSL Yankees2. Agapito Barrios threw 6IP, 5H/3ER, 4K:0BB; Jandel Gustave walked four in 1+IP but emerged otherwise unscathed; while Yeudy Perdomo threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:1BB, getting the win.

Juan Santana (2BB), Darwin Rivera (RBI), Franny Polanco (RBI), and Jose Solano (RBI) had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Juan Santana

From the Office of the County Clerk - G63: Astros v. Cardinals

Well that sucked all kinds of things. Cards score five in the 6th, and beat the Astros 9-2.

*The Astros drop to 2-6 against St. Louis, yet still hold the series lead since the beginning of 2010, 12-11.

*Since the out-of-nowhere four-game win streak, the Astros are 1-5.

*J.A. Happ threw 5.1IP, allowing 6H/6ER, 5K:2BB. The loss drops Happ to 3-8, and that 8th loss ties him with Jeremy Guthrie and John Danks for most in the Majors.

*Wilton Lopez allowed two baserunners (1H/1BB) - and three of Happ's runs - in one out. In his last ten games, Lopez has 8K:8BB, walking at least one batter in seven of those games. This is incredible, as Lopez only walked five batters in 67IP in 2010.

*Jeff Fulchino struck out two batters in 1IP, but allowed 2H/1ER. Fernando Rodriguez gave up two solo homers (striking out four) in 2IP. In Rodriguez' first four appearances, he managed to allow 2H/0ER, 6K:2BB in 4.2IP. In his last two appearances (3IP), he's allowed 4H/3ER, 6K:0BB.

*The Astros, as an offense, managed seven hits - all singles. It's the first time since May 10 (26 games), and the third time this season, that they did not get an extra-base hit.

*Hunter Pence extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a 2x4 night. In those 20 games, 11 of those have been multi-hit games, and his OPS has risen 70 points (.777 to .847).

*Carlos Lee didn't get a hit, but drew two walks - again - for the third straight game. The last time he had drawn even one walk in three straight games was August 1-3, 2010.

*So far in June, Brett Wallace - in six games - is 7x22 with 5K:4BB, hitting .318/.423/.409. He has two extra-base hits - both doubles.

*Man of the Match: Hunter Pence

*Goat of the Game: Wilton Lopez

Astros sign LHP Paris Shewey

Washington State LHP Paris Shewey has signed as an undrafted free agent.

Says Washington State:
The southpaw tied for the Pacific-10 Conference regular season lead with 10 saves in 2011. He led the Cougars with 23 appearances and his save total is tied for third on the Washington State all-time single-season list. He will report to the Gulf Coast League Astros in Kissimmee, Fla.

More signings!

The Astros have officially signed:

5th Round pick - Nick Tropeano
22nd Round pick - Drew Muren
41st Round pick - Chase Davidson
44th Round pick - Blake Ford
45th Round pick - Chris Epps

Astros release Francis Beltran

The Astros have released OKC pitcher Francis Beltran, so sez Brian McTaggart.