Houston Astros Minor League Players Of The Month: August
By Jimmy Price
Houston Astros Minor League Players Of The Month: August
Unfortunately, the Houston Astros minor league season is over. There were some great performances this month like Mark Appel‘s 8 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 K. Several prospects were promoted like Josh Hader, Teoscar Hernandez, and Brett Phillips. Let’s take a look at the minor league players of the month for each team. Here are the best:
Click here for July’s players of the month
AAA: Oklahoma City RedHawks
HITTER: Preston Tucker, LF
- August Stats: 28 G, .317 BA/.383 OBP/.519 SLG, 19 R, 9 2B, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 13 BB/30 SO
RUNNER UP: Joe Sclafani, 3B
- August Stats: 27 G, .369 BA/.454 OBP/.524 SLG, 23 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 15 BB/9 SO, 5 SB
I usually do not put a runner up on these but this was a very tough decision. I went with Tucker due to the 30 RBI in 28 games but Sclafani was very impressive. He had 53 hits and walks in only 27 games in August. He has really put together a nice season. Tucker meanwhile had 18 2B, 7 HR, 51 RBI in 73 AAA games.
PITCHER: Rudy Owens, LHP
- August Stats: 3-0, 2.93 ERA, 40.0 IP, 31 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 13 BB, 32 SO, .217 BAA, 1.10 WHIP
For the second month in a row, Owens is my pitcher of the month for OKC. The numbers this month were better than last months too. Since the all start break he is 3-1 with 3.06 ERA.
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks
HITTER: Colin Moran, 3B
- August Stats: 27 G, .304 BA/.350 OBP/.413 SLG, 12 R, 6 2B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 9 BB/22 SO
Acquired in the Jarred Cosart, Moran got promoted immediately to Corpus Christi (AA affiliate). He had a good month driving in a good amount of runs for the Hooks.
PITCHER: Jordan Jankowski, RHP
- August Stats: 2-1, 1.35 ERA, 20.o IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 33 SO, .149 BAA, 0.65 WHIP
Jankowski was flat out dominant in August. He actually had one outing in August where he went 3 IP with 8 K and then next outing he went 5 IP with 9 K.
A+: Lancaster JetHawks
HITTER: Brett Phillips, CF
- August Stats: 26 G, .336 BA/.410 OBP/.561 SLG, 18 R, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 12 BB/20 SO, 5 SB
Phillips was promoted at the beginning of August after a good month of July. He continued his hot streak and showed good power in Lancaster. Even more impressive was the 12 BBs in 26 games. Most likely the breakout prospect of the year.
PITCHER: Vincent Velasquez, RHP
- August Stats: 2-2, 3.54 ERA, 20.1 IP, 19 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 12 BB, 31 SO, .244 BAA, 1.52 WHIP
Velasquez came back from injury and was able to put a good month together. While he did walk a few too many, 31 K in only 20 IP is awesome.
A: Quad Cities RiverBandits
HITTER: A.J. Reed, 1B
- August Stats: 29 G, .283 BA/.333 OBP/.519 SLG, 17 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 7 BB/27 SO
Reed was also promoted after a good showing in Tri-City. Nice to see his power transfer with 14 XBH in August. If he starts in Lancaster next year he could really put up some numbers.
PITCHER: Adrian Houser, RHP
- August Stats: 0-2, 3.00 ERA, 27.0 IP, 25 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 26 SO, .234 BAA, 1.07 WHIP
Really nice run for Houser recently. Great to see him limit the walks and keep the strikeouts up. He has quietly put together a solid year in Quad Cities.
A-: Tri-City ValleyCats
HITTER: Terrell Joyce, OF
- August Stats: 25 G, .256 BA/.365 OBP/.610 SLG, 14 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 13 BB/38 SO
Joyce had a nice month of August with a .975 OPS. With the departures of Reed and Davis, Joyce stepped up as the middle of the order bat.
PITCHER: Joseph Musgrove, RHP
- August Stats: 3-0, 1.17 ERA, 30.2 IP, 18 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 26 SO, .173 BAA, 0.68 WHIP
Musgrove has been flat out dominant of late. 3 BB in only 30.2 IP is awesome and on the season he has a 1.2 BB/9 rate. He may be tapping into that potential that got him drafted in the first round in 2011.
Stick with House Of Houston for more on the Astros and the Astros minor league system. With the season coming to a close, team and position reviews for the minor league teams will be coming out in the near future.