Summary

I hate to admit bias, but Trey Williams is one of my favorite draft prospects from this draft. I've been high on this kid since last summer. Could it be that he fills an organizational need of a high ceiling third base prospect who projects to be an offensive force with legitimate power? Possibly. But, in all seriousness, this kid has it all. He even has MLB blood lines as he's the son of former MLB first baseman Eddie Williams.

At first sight, Williams immediately catches your eye as a physical specimen with his height and broad shoulders that shows an ability to carry lots of lean muscle. To add to the positives, he is leaner than I remembered from last summer.

At the plate, his bat speed stands out. John Klima of Baseball Prospect Report witnessed him catch up to a 94-95 MPH fastball from LHP prospect Max Fried on the first pitch of the AB. He has very strong and quick wrists which allow him to sit on pitches just a little longer and still make solid hard contact. His frame and strong wrists scream power potential and Williams has the swing plane to allow for that projection. Another quality to point out is that he is a very mature hitter with patience. Baseball America has even said he is patient to a fault.

In the field, his arm strength really stands out. He has the arm for sure, but needs a little mechanical work to become more accurate. He is well coached at this point in his career and has good footwork, but looks too mechanical. Overtime, he should get more comfortable and improve in the field, but as of right now, he has all the tools to handle the hot corner.

Floor

Despite having great hands, wrists, and forearms, Williams doesn't project to be a .300 hitter, so he could never really hit enough. He could also struggle to keep his range as he continues to grow. So, you could end up seeing a guy that has to move to 1B or LF with a low batting average and 10-15 HR's. That kind of prospect doesn't make it out of the minors, but that's the risk you take with HS athletes.

Ceiling

You're looking at an All-Star type player if everything works out. I can see him hitting around .280 consistently, but because of his plate discipline, he could be a .350+ OBP type hitter. Power wise, I think his ceiling is probably in the range of 30 homers. Not bad at all. Defensively, his ceiling would be a little above average because his range isn't phenomenal, but is definitely solid.

Projected Draft Round

Williams is expected to anywhere from the mid-1st round to late 2nd round. He's rated anywhere from a top 15 prospect for the draft to as low as the 82nd best prospect by ESPN. He's slipped leading up the draft because scouts are beginning to question his approach and he's shown a lack of energy during the Spring.

Will he sign?

Good question! The new rules make it hard to predict for some of these HS guys. He's not considered a big risk as HS prospects are concerned. But, you never really know with the strict slot restrictions. I think if he's selected within supplemental round, he should be solid bet to sign.

College Commitment: Pepperdine

Bibliography after the jump

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Summary

There always seems to be a guy that is recognized as a good talent but really isn't considered as true top five draft prospect until the few months before the draft. This year it's Carlos Correa. This young right-handed short-stop has shot up draft boards the past few months and is now firmly a top five prospect. It's not really that hard to see why. He's a phenomenal athlete and he's just 17! The downside is that he's played in Puerto Rico and hasn't faced a lot of competition outside of the Area Code Games.

Let's talk about his bat. Currently, he's really raw but has progressed a lot this spring which is the main reason for his helium. You don't typically see huge jumps between current scouting grades and projected scouting grades, but ESPN has him currently at a 35 and projected at a 60. A 25 grade jump is quite big, but his hand-eye coordination is elite. Power wise, ESPN has him currently at a 40 with a 60 projected power rating. That's a 20 jump. I normally wouldn't buy that kind of jump, but I can see it with him. The power right now is evident in BP, but he's really more of warning track guy right now. As his body fills out into the 210 pound area, he'll really tap into that power. The power projection is good enough to allow him to still be a prospect at 3B.

At 6-4, 190 pounds, he is long and lean with the ability to produce leverage. Leverage isn't the most important thing for power, but it's a factor. What he's really able to create power with is that he produces plenty of torque with his hips and arm extension. His contact ability is from his hand-eye coordination which I've already described as elite and a line drive approach. He has also has quick wrists which don't hurt either. There may be one negative aspect about his hitting, he extends his arms early in his swing which hurts his ability to hit inside fastballs.

In the field, he's quick to react and has great instincts on how to field the ball. He's not overly fast, but those instincts allow for him to still have above-average range. He's athletic and can get into a good position to field the ball no matter where he has to range and the hands are soft enough to real anything in. His arm is probably the best tool he has in the field and the release is quick.

The bad news is that many scouts think he'll fill out to the point where he grows out of the SS position into a 3B. Remember I said he wasn't that fast and still has range because of instincts? Well, if he's that much slower, he may not have range for SS. Although, some scouts think he'll stick.

Floor

Could he be our next Jimmy Paredes? A very toolsy IF who once played SS and then played 2B because of footwork and then 3B because he has the arm for it and we needed one. He's not a switch-hitter like Paredes, but he could have that versatility and tools while struggling to hit.

Ceiling

Correa is getting a lot of comparisons to uber-prospect Manny Machado for his frame, hitting ability, and power potential. Machado is currently ranked #14 by Baseball America, so I'd like to add that to the system. Ultimately, his ceiling depends on sticking at SS while his power developing into a .280 hitter with 20 HR's. But, even if his growth pushes him to 3B, and his bat develops, he's still a great player because he'll be a plus-plus defender there.

Projected Draft Round

Definitely in the top 10 picks, and as high as 1-1. John Sickels even ranked him the top draft prospect in the draft yesterday. This is where the debate starts. Do you take him at 1-1 or pass on him for someone else you feel is better. Is there someone better?

College Commitment: Miami (FL)

Will he sign?

I think he signs! If the Astros take him at 1-1, there would be absolutely no reason not to sign. Top five picks just sign.

Bibliography after the jump

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Once again this week, the only team preventing an organizational sweep was the big league Astros. Despite what you think of J.A. Happ, he pitched well last night and has been stinging some good starts together. That is what stands out from last night. From top to bottom, there was good starting pitching through the entire organization. Paul Clemens and Brett Oberholtzer represented the Bourn trade quite well last night with two runs allowed (one earned) between them. Juan Abreu even had a shutout inning too. Bobby Doran induced his regular high number of groundouts to limit damage while his run support went crazy in the 5th inning. Aside from not finishing the 6th inning, Nicholas Tropeano was just filthy and dominant on his way to racking up nine strikeouts.

Since the draft is just a two days away and Mark Appel's draft profile won't go up until tomorrow, I'm going to clue you in on his performance last night. Appel pitched a complete game and was just filthy with his off-speed pitches. He gave up just one run on four hits and two walks. The best stat is that he struck out eleven. Most of the hits and walks came in the 7th and 8th innings when he struggled a little bit but was able to shut it down when it counted. A very impressive start and very timely with it being just three days before the draft. The unfortunate part is that Jeff Luhnow, Bobby Heck, and the regional cross-checkers started sitting down and talking about the 1-1 pick on Thursday in Houston, so it's unlikely they were at the game scouting it. But, I'm sure they had a scout there and were able to at least watch some parts of the game.

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Summary

Major League organizations like Major League bloodlines, and the Cecchini family are making a name for themselves. Garin Cecchini was drafted in the 4th round in 2010 and is currently one of the better hitting prospects in the Boston Red Sox minor leagues. Gavin isn't the hitter that his older brother is, but he's more athletic. Gavin has the chance to make it as a short-stop while his brother has already moved to 3B.

For a short-stop the only thing that matters is if he can stick. I think he can but he won't be the second coming of Adam Everett. His range is average to above-average and his arm is the same way. He has good instincts, soft hands, and great hand-eye coordination. That sets him up to be an average to above-average short-stop, but not a great one. His range and arm are reasons that some scouts think he'll be better served at 2B or even 3B. Although, 3B would be a worst case scenario since his arm is just average or a little better.

At the plate, his hand-eye coordination allow him to make frequent contact. It allows him to not strikeout often and foul off pitches he can't do much with. He's also a pretty patient hitter. He's quick with his compact swing that has a little loft, but doesn't lend itself to much home run pop. He starts with a wide base and steps into an even larger base. It limits his lower body involvement and makes his swing a little too reliant on shoulders and arms. Depending just how much he fills out will determine his true power in the future, but it's much more likely that he'll be a gap hitter with a few balls that he'll turn on. That brings to the next point, he has a little speed. Speed will allow for him to be a gap hitter with doubles instead of a singles hitter to the gaps.

Floor

His floor is actually pretty safe for a HS guy as he's pretty polished given his age. Besides being a career minor leaguer, his floor is that of a utility guy capable of playing 2B, SS, and 3B. He'll make good contact and put the ball in play, so he'll make a good pinch hitter as well. He could be pretty valuable on the bench, especially with spraying doubles to the gaps as a pinch hitter.

Ceiling

This depends on where plays defensively. If he sticks at SS and hits a high average with lots of doubles, you take that. He won't be a gold glove SS and he won't be Tulo with the bat. I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of Elvis Andrus with little less stolen bases, somewhere around 25-30.

Projected Draft round

He'll likely be selected between 10-20 overall. He's not good enough to be considered 1-1, but guys who can hit for average and plenty of doubles while potentially sticking at SS, don't last til the supplemental round.

College Commitment: Mississippi

Will he sign?

I think he will. He's getting drafted on tools and potential to stick at SS. He's going to get drafted highly to boot. I think he has too much to lose by going to school where he could show he can't play SS.

Bibliography after the jump

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Summary

I didn't know anything about this guy when David asked me to do this profile. In fact, I saw 1B/DH and immediately thought to myself, why are we even profiling a HS kid that can even be listed as a DH? The answer is that we like John Klima around here and when John Klima likes a guy, I do too. I try to avoid hanging on one writer/scout's opinion of a guy, but if I do, it's John Klima.

Ron Miller is from the inner city and is a product of the Urban Youth Academy's that MLB has put together over the years. Because he is an inner city guy, he doesn't get much exposure, nor much competition. In fact, he opted to forego his senior year to play in another league that gets more attention by scouts. Plus, he participated in the Area Code Games, so he's no stranger to scouts. Yet, I'm surprised his name isn't thrown out there that often.

I'm going to take you through my own phases of impression. First off, you look at his body and you think he's going to grow into a Prince Fielder type body. He's currently standing around 5-10 and weighs 210 pounds, so he's already a big body kid. He's got a belly in front of him but you can see in film from last year compared to this year, he's trimmed that thing down. But, he's a big body guy with a lot of muscle.

You see him take BP, and you see an easy swing that is low maintenance from the right side. You hear the crack of the bat, and you know he puts a charge in the ball. You look at the bat speed, and you're jaw drops. John Klima calls it "Bat spped that can kill!" Because of his body, strength, bat speed, and some loft in his swing, you know this kid is going to be known for his power. We are talking about plus-plus power! A ceiling of at least 30 home runs.

As for his approach, there are some question marks. He can recognize pitches fairly well for a guy who is as raw as he is. He can catch up to any fastball. He waits for curve balls to break before he swings. But, he doesn't let the ball carry in far enough. By that I mean, he makes contact early and pulls everything. He doesn't hit the other way at all. He's shown improvement in this area, but he's still a pull hitter. He won't be a high OBP guy nor a high batting average guy. But, he won't be terrible either.

The biggest question scouts have about him is where he is going to play. A lot of scouts focus on his body and say he'll be regulated to the American League teams as a future DH. Some say he can handle 1B. He has the arm for it and he has the hands for it. In fact, he may have the arm and hands for 3B, which he currently plays in HS. He just doesn't have the range for it. Will he have the feet for it? Watch the first video after the jump and decide for yourself. I'm friends with a former Big 10 scholarship CFer, and he can't do some of that stuff as quickly as Miller.

Floor

Defensively limited power hitters with questions surrounding how much they'll hit are bountiful in the minors. They have just one shot to reach the majors, their bat. However, not all of them have his kind of power. His floor is a career minor league power hitter. As a major league floor, he's a DH that hits for a low average but bits his fair share of bombs.

Ceiling

Will you take a .275 average with at least 30 home runs from a right-handed first baseman who is average defensively? It's a simple question doctor! I know I would! He could do it year in and year out for several years. I think he's ultimately a slightly lesser version of Prince Fielder.

Projected Draft Round

I honestly have no clue where he is expected to be drafted. He's not rated in any top 100 and I haven't found any projection for him. My guess is that he'll go after the 5th and his signability really will determine how far he falls. The Astros will have plenty of opportunities to grab him. Klima feels more comfortable about his floor than Trey Williams, so he could be a steal at some point in the draft.

College Commitment: UNLV

Will he sign?

I actually feel pretty comfortable about him signing. It's just a gut feeling. If I were drafting, I'd try to get some underslot deals to re-allocate money to him. But, that could just be me. If he's offered good money, I think he'll sign. Here's an interview with him. He sounds pretty signable to me.

Bibliography after the jump

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What a crazy night in the minor leagues! Lancaster won in the 13th inning, can you imagine what time that game actually ended in CT? I know I was already in bed. Lexington fought until the 14th inning before losing. And, it gets better! Corpus won in the 15th inning! So, be prepared when you start looking at the box scores and see several 7 at-bats for hitters and one reliever pitching five innings, despite the starter going seven.

OkC's win has some good little story lines to briefly go over. One is that Wes Musick started and pitched a great game. He's really shot up through the system this year since he started out at Lancaster. We'll see how long he lasts in AAA with Armando Galarraga still not being activated. But, perhaps he's earned a second start and will prove he belongs in the rotation there. If he continues to pitch well there, he'll raise his ceiling in my eyes which currently stands at middle reliever/LOOGY.

Scott Moore played LF last night. I hadn't noticed this before, but he's actually played eight games out there and has even played one at 2B. If Moore continues to hit the way he has this season, he could be a valuable bat off the bench if he's that versatile. He'll primarily be a pinch hitter with some pop, but he could fill in some positions in a pinch.

Hey, Brett Wallace! You like getting highlighted? That bomb last night says yes!

For you twitter people, look at Jason Chowning's stat line in the Lexington box score then immediately go to milb.com page, look at his stats. You will then be awe struck at his lack of a promotion. You will then be implored to go to your twitter and tweet something and include #FreeJasonChowning. And if you're feeling froggy, tweet him @Jason_Chowning and let him know your a fan.

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Summary

Power is a popular tool. We talked about it yesterday with Adam Brett Walker, but today we'll talk about it with Courtney Hawkins. I don't mean that to say that Hawkins has Walker's power, because he doesn't. Yet, Hawkins is a right handed power hitting outfielder in his own right. Plus, he's great athlete that is currently capable of playing center field, but his 6-2, 210 pound body will likely cause him to grow into a corner spot, which isn't a problem since he has an above average arm that will allow him to play in right.

Hawkins is a busy man at the plate. I mean that as he has a lot of pre-swing movement including very busy hands. His swing is pretty complex with a lot of movement. He has starts out with a wide base and toe taps into a narrow base before stepping back into a wide base. We all know the issues with timing from the toe touch, but because of the size of step after his toe touch, he often times can lunge instead of stepping. That's an issue against quality off-speed pitches. It works for him now because it gets some more out of his legs for power at times, but more often he ends up out of balance.

That's the bad news. The good news is that he's improved his pitch recognition and some other things at the plate to reduce his bad swings and improve his hitting ability. That's why he's shot up draft boards as he projects to hit for a much better average with above average power.

If things just don't work out, he's a prospect on the mound as well due to a low 90's fastball and a slider that peaks your interest.

Floor

As with any other HS prospect, it's pretty low. He's got the power and he has the athleticism, but he still may not hit. Scouts feel better than they did about his ability to hit in pro ball, but he'll still strikeout on a good breaking ball. That leaves his floor as a corner outfielder that hits his fair share of bombs but just doesn't create enough contact to ever make it out of the minors. Think of a guy like Colin DeLome

Ceiling

The better you feel about his ability to stay in center, the better you see his ceiling. He's signed on at University of Texas to be a CF and plays it now, but they aren't professional level. He'll swipe his share of bags, and he'll play solid defense, mostly because of a strong and accurate arm. His ceiling is probably of that of a .280 hitter with around 25-30 home runs.

Projected Draft Round

There's a chance Hawkins could be a top 10 pick on Monday, but he's a mid-1st rounder for sure. Probably not considered for the 1-1 spot and highly unlikely to be available in the supplemental round.

College Commitment: University of Texas

Will he sign?

That's a good question. A commitment to Texas is not taken lightly, but neither is the kind of money offered in the first round. I've read from a BA writer that they expect only one or two players not to sign from the first round, so the odds are that he will. But, with a HS kid who is committed to a good college program has it's risks.

Bibliography after the jump

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Last night was rough for Houston. Just no other way to put it. But, the good news is that the minor league affiliates pulled off a sweep for the night!

Crazy right? But, that's not the craziest part, I'm going to highlight Brett Wallace! I've been down on this guy lately mostly because he disappointed me so much last season, but he's been pretty good lately. Heck, I was even down on his recent performance because he was on a west coast road trip to these offensive ball parks. The road trip included Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, and Reno who are 1st, 3rd, and 4th respectively in HR factors in the PCL. Which explains his astronomical OPS of 1.062 over his last ten games. He's blasted three home runs in that span, but the good news is that one was last night at home.

I was very surprised to see that he's hit the same amount of home runs at as on the road. Why was I surprised? He's had more at bats away from home and OkC is the most suppressive HR environment in the PCL. So, his 8 HR total is much better than I really thought it was. His OPS on the season is still bad for his position (.761), but it's improving. He's been unlucky at home with a .271 BABIP so perhaps that pedestrian .261 average will creep up. That and he needs to draw more walks to fit in with this organization. His BB% is actually the lowest its been since his short stint in AA in the 2008 season. His k% is also the highest it's ever been in the minors.

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Summary

If anyone challenges Joey Gallo for the most power in this draft class, its Adam Brett Walker. Some scouts give this guy an 80 for a future power grade. That's reserved for only the most powerful beasts in baseball. But, that's what you're going to get with Walker. His dad was an NFL running back, so he's grown up as an athlete and around professional sports. He has power in his heritage, and he brings that to his plate. It's obvious that he has it with his 6-5, 225 pound frame. Sound like Domingo Santana? Despite him being a right-handed hitter, his power and frame have caused him to be compared to Fred McGriff. Now, that's high praise.

So, why is he not included in talks for 1-1 with that kind of comparison? For starters, he's got power but has issues with consistent contact. Walker just strikes out way too much. He struggles against advanced pitching, especially with breaking balls. At this point, he just can't let the ball travel deep enough to recognize it and put a good swing on it. If he can't hit well at Jacksonville University, he probably won't hit well in professional baseball. Although, he's had some issues with a hand injury this year which could be causing him to hit worse. He has a long uppercut swing which is also more susceptible to holes that can be exploited by breaking pitches. In pro ball, he'll have some work to do to make consistent contact.

He runs well for a guy his size (double digit stolen bases) but his home is likely at 1B. He doesn't have a great arm, but has made him capable of playing LF at this point. He could possibly stay in LF in pro ball since he can run well and he needs work at 1B. He's stiff (what guy that size isn't) and doesn't have soft hands. He needs more work at 1B. I'm starting to think he could a bigger leaner version of Telvin Nash.

Floor

Like I said, he could be like Telvin Nash. Although, it's too early to really say what Telvin Nash could be. Still, his floor is a guy who just puts mistakes pitches over the outfield wall but fails to do much else. His power alone could put him up to AA just because his Lancaster numbers could be absurd.

Ceiling

Giancarlo Stanton! That's his ultimate ceiling. Lots of power and capable of hitting .250-.270 but you'll have to deal his fair share of strikeouts. You can take that in the clean-up spot can't you? When a guy jacks 30-40 bombs a year, you can put up with a lot.

Projected Draft Round

Jonathan Mayo has him as the 49th best prospect while Keith Law has him at 80. He's a supplemental round to 3rd or 4th round type prospect. Although, power can get you drafted much earlier than expected when draft day comes. I wouldn't be surprised at supplemental pick or early second round.

Will he sign?

I think so. He still has questions to answer about his bat and where he belongs defensively, but there's not much he'll accomplish at Jacksonville University. His development would likely be better served in pro ball. But, he's a really young junior in his age 20 season and would still be one of they youngest seniors next year if he chooses to try and build his stock next season in school. Anything before mid-2nd round and I think he's a sure bet to sign.

Bibliography after the jump

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Summary

Heaney is not the dominating presence on the mound since he stands 6-2 and weighs 175 pounds. That weight is actually a big improvement for him since he was drafted out of high school weighing below 150 pounds. But, pitching isn't all about striking fear in a hitters heart, it's about being better than the hitter. This is where Heaney succeeds. You know that term "pitchability" that gets thrown around with guys like Jordan Lyles? Well, that's his calling card. He's smart and knows how to attack your weaknesses at the right time to beat you.

Because of his size, there were question marks surrounding his ability to be legitimate starter in the big leagues because scouts weren't sure if he could keep his fastball velocity and stuff going deep into games and rack up inning totals. Heaney finished the season out with a nine game stretch that left every scout no longer doubting him as he racked up a lot of innings in a short amount of time and maintained his stuff into the ninth inning on a few occasions. Heaney has flown up draft boards since and now is recognized as one of the best, if not the best, college lefty available.

He works off of his fastball that ranges from 88-92 and flashes 93 on occasion which is well above-average for a lefty. It's not a straight offering either since he brings it with heavy sink and good arm-side run. He uses breaking ball as an out pitch in which he gets hitters swinging or pounding the pitch into the dirt. I call it his breaking ball as it's most commonly called a curve but have seen it referenced as a slider. The changeup is developing but will be at least an average pitch. All three are at least average and can be at times above-average.

Mechanically, I don't see any major flaws that say he'll be an injury risk. It's an easy motion which you can tell from the videos that he doesn't have a lot of effort in his delivery. His arm slot seems to be on the low end of a 3/4 arm slot which lends to why his curve has been described as a slurve and slider. His motion also involves a little deception because of his slow leg kick and stride that lead you to expect a slower motion. But, that's not the case as he still generates some good arm speed that gets on you before you expect it.

Floor

Hate to say it, but a guy with his stuff has at least a job as a LOOGY. Heck, lefty's with his fastball alone can make it through a season as long as they have a show me pitch to go with it. He has the curve which is above average so he'll be able to handle the job. What would cause him to get here is that his body doesn't actually hold up for the workload of a starting pitcher. He gets here because he's not an injury risk and has above average stuff.

Ceiling

Ultimately, his ceiling is as a #3 starter or a decent #2. He's just not dominant enough to be a #1. He has the pitches and if the changeup truly develops into an above average pitch, this guy is going to move quickly through a system and be a solid contributor early. He could also be a late bloomer as far as body development. If he fills out a little more and hits 93 consistently, that #2 ceiling looks even more appealing.

Projected Draft Round

His late season surge that topped out in the Big 12 tournament has potentially put him in the top 15 picks. He's a first rounder for sure and something would have to show up between now and Monday to drop him into the supplemental round. He's just done too much this season to fathom him falling that far.

Will he sign?

I don't see why not. The questions surrounding the college junior have been answered so there's really not much to prove. However, he'll turn 21 on the second day of the draft, so even if he doesn't sign, he'll still be fairly young coming out as a college senior next year. I just don't see him improving his stock next year as he's already put together a solid body of work this season that scouts like.

Bibliography after the jump

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The question has been answered! Adam Bailey is the man that gets the call to Corpus to fill the shoes of T.J. Steele. In fact, Steele has already signed a minor league free agent deal with the Padres and was sent to AA. Guess who their AA affiliate is? The San Antonio Missions who are in the Texas League! Irony!

The roster situation seems to be cleared up for Corpus now with them at 25. Chris Hicks was activated and promoted to OkC. Although, OkC is now full with Jordan Lyles being optioned down but Ben Bass and Armando Galarraga have yet to be added. Some more movement could happen which could result is some players being released.

With Bailey's promotion, lets take a look at his body of work. He fell just short of 100 plate appearances for Corpus last year, and hit very well for the Hooks. So, it's a bit surprising that he has spent so much time in Lancaster this year. That was until I dug into his numbers some more. Something is different this season with his swing. He has posted just an .812 OPS in Lancaster. He has posted the power numbers with an ISO of .207 but his batting average and OBP are both down slightly.

Those don't really seem like a big deal, except you would expect a better OPS in Lancaster from a guy like Bailey. Although, it's an improvement from last year in Lancaster. It's better than his CC numbers too, but only slightly, and CC is suppresses lefty power too.

The difference are his batted ball types. Bailey is posting a similar BABIP at just over .300, but his LD% is down 5% from last year. His GB% is up 6% from last year. His FB% are different with Outfield FB% at nearly 6% down while Infield FB% is up 4.5 %. Maybe it's a product of him over swinging to take advantage of Lancaster so he can get back to where he finished last year, or maybe he's made some bad adjustments to his swing. I don't know, but I'd like for his LD% to climb back up to normal.

EDIT: Game Scores added

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Summary

It's tough to get information on guys that are not in the top 100. So, unfortunately I'm going to do a little bit of scouting on my own from video in conjunction with a few reports I could find.

Joey DeMichele goes along with a theme we have been pointing out lately with guys who stand out because of production rather than for tools. He's not the Tyler Naquin hitter, but he's a guy that puts the barrel of the bat on the ball and hits for a high average. The problem is that his production often gets overshadowed since he plays with a much higher profile in Deven Marrero. Despite that, he is still regarded as the best hitter on the team and won the Pac-10 hitting crown last season as a sophomore. Baseball America also named him a 3rd Team All-American. So, he comes supporting his own list of accolades.

The bat is what will get him drafted. He just hits. He has good bat speed from the lefty side, probably considered above-average by most, but it doesn't wow you. His swing is tailored primarily for hitting gap to gap, but he can pull one every now and then. He hits lots of doubles and triples but he's not a big time home run hitter. Because he has the ability to get a lot of extra-base hits, he's the clean-up hitter for the Sun Devils. He doesn't strike out much either. He draws his share of walks as well. He has pretty good pitch recognition as well, but can get a little heavy on his front foot on off-speed stuff.

Defensively, he plays a combination of second and third base. He's not a really fast guy, enough to steal a few bags, but it limits his range some at 2B. At 3B, his range is a little more appropriate, but his arm fits better at 2B. Either way, he can play both and not be a liability at either position. However, he likely won't be a standout at either position. He's not a big guy at 5-11 and around 190 pounds, so he won't outgrow 2B to force him to 3B. If he stays at 3B, it's because a team thinks he can develop a little more power and his arm can handle the hot corner very well.

Floor

His ability to hit for average and maintain a good OBP, I think his floor is pretty high. The ability to hit and play decent defense at both 2B and 3B, can be very valuable off the bench for a few years. I'm trying to think of a floor type that we all could be familiar with in our system, and best I can come up with is something like an Andy Simunic with better power.

Ceiling

I don't think he has any All-Star selections in his future, but I think he could provide some good seasons as an everyday second baseman or third baseman depending on how his defense or power develop. His highest ceiling is definitely as second baseman where his power projection is much more attractive where he could hit around 10 bombs in a good season. A guy who can play average defense at 2B with that kind of power an a near .300 average can be valuable.

Projected Draft Round

Not much to go on as I haven't seen him rated anywhere except one site had him at 92. Jim Callis said in a chat last month that he thinks he will get popped in the 5th round.

Will he sign?

He's a high floor type without a ton of tools, he doesn't have much to gain from a senior season at Arizona State. His best bet as a 21 year old junior to move through a system as a prospect is to go ahead and sign. However, he grew up as an Arizona State fan, so he may have some unfinished business if the Sun Devils don't accomplish everything he wanted to this year. But, with Marrero likely to sign as well, he may not have the team to accomplish more next year.

Bibliography after the jump

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There's not a whole lot to choose from in highlights from yesterday, with it being a pretty crappy day for most prospects. The ones deserving of it have been highlighted in the past few weeks or are just too old for their level to to get too excited about quite yet. And yes, I'm looking at Matt Duffy on this one, I want him moved to C.C. at some point so I can just figure it out! Luis Ordosgoitti pitched really well and he could get a highlight, but I've got bigger plans for him that will come later.

Instead, we're going to look at the roster situation in Corpus. With the release of J.C. Thompson and T.J. Steele to go along with the promotion of Brandon Barnes to replace Justin Ruggiano in OkC, the roster is a bit short. Brandon Wikoff and Henry Villar were activated to fill two of those spots, but they don't help the issue of losing two OFers. The roster stands at 24 (Chris Hicks is number 25 but has been on the DL almost all season) and only Jake Goebbert and Austin Wates are listed as OFers. The numbers are split evenly between position players and pitchers and with several of the bullpen arms capable of pitching several innings, they are good there. The issue is having three catchers that only play catcher and two OFers.

The obvious answer is to just promote Adam Bailey who deserves it, or George Springer to generate some excitement. You would have thought that would have happened by now though. Unless they are waiting for the JetHawks to return home from their road trip so he can pack everything up in less of rush. But, Lancaster is in a battle for the first half championship in their division which plays to the goal of creating a winning environment throughout the season. Taking Bailey or Springer damages that as they are both big hitters for that lineup.

It looks like they are going to go with what they've got for the time being though. Andy Simunic and Jonathan Singleton are capable of playing in the OF, with Singleton limited to LF and Simunic capable of LF and RF. So, they have options and aren't struggling to fill positions in the field. But, with an open roster spot and an obvious need as neither guy is in their natural position out there, it seems obvious to fill the void. At this point, I wouldn't rule out a minor league free agent coming in who is older and can hit to help out this roster that has struggled more that people expected this season.

EDIT: Hat tip to Bryan at Astros County for pointing out the roster crunch at OkC this morning on twitter. They stand at 23 with Ben Bass and Galarraga still not added and the ML roster needing to send one more down as well to get back to 25. So, the roster at OkC will be at 26 and someone will need to be sent to CC or released. They have too many pitchers so it's likely a pitcher gets sent to CC but that still doesn't solve the OF problem.

Game Scores added.

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Happy Memorial Day! I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you that have served this country. Our freedoms are not free, they come with a price. Thankfully, there are men and women out there just like you who have paid that price, no matter what your duty was, whether it was as a mechanic or on the front-lines. You all deserve to be appreciated. Today is your day. Thank you! Because of you, we have the freedom to appreciate baseball, so let's talk baseball!

Let's take a look at the records for each team. Right now, OkC is 28-22 and just half a game back on the Albuquerque Isotopes who are in the lead of the division. They actually face the Isotopes again tonight to finish off the series and hopefully bring it to a tie for 1st place

The Corpus Christi Hooks have been playing better baseball and have a division best 6-4 record over the last ten games but still rest 6 games back from 1st with a 23-26 record. They have a three game lead over last place and in a series with Springfield who is the other division but boasts the same record.

Lancaster recently hit a skid that included getting swept by the division leading High Desert Mavericks in which they started the series tied for 1st and now are three games back. They lost last night against Lake Elsinore, whom they are now tied with for 2nd place. They continue this series tonight and try get back into 2nd place and over their current .500 record as they race for the first half championship.

Lexington has the be the most improved team lately as they have posted at 7-3 record over the last ten games and now have one of the better records in the system with a 26-23 record. Although, they have a huge deficit to climb as they are still 7.5 games back from 1st place and 4 games back from 3rd place. They start a series tonight against Augusta who is a sub-.500 team right now and they hope to gain a little more momentum to climb back into the race.

In other news, T.J. Steele was released yesterday. Now, I do feel bad for guys when they are released because usually it means that their dreams of Major League baseball is over, and nobody wants to see a guy have to give up on his dream. With T.J. Steele, I still feel that way and wish him luck in the future, but this move was a long time coming.

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Summary

Matthew Smoral was once considered to be interchangeable with Max Fried as the top High School LHP. That was until this season when he has struggled with some blisters and a foot injury. His first game of the season was cut short in the fourth inning due to blisters causing him to lose control and rely solely on his fastball that was a little slower than normal. It's one start, but that can hurt your stock when about 30 cross-checkers are in attendance.

What makes him such a prospect? Just look at him. He stands 6-8 and weighs 225 pounds...soaking wet. He's long and lanky, but is working hard to gain weight and it's paying off. Despite being from Ohio, he worked out this summer in Houston with David Evans while playing with the Houston Heat traveling baseball team. That's where he met Mitchell Traver, whom David profiled yesterday. He focused on getting stronger, using his legs, and repeating his mechanics to control his secondary pitches. Sounds like a perfect goal to me for a high school kid.

Despite not pitching a whole lot this season, it looks like he is repeating his low 3/4 arm slot. His mechanics look pretty clean as well. There are a few flaws, like being too stiff and losing his balance in the follow through, but those issues are improving. His plant foot is also inconsistent causing him to land with his stance a little open as well. All of these are minor issues that a professional pitching coach can get cleaned up in Instructional League since he is an athletic kid.

His fastball ranges in the low 90's in most starts and can touch 94. From the left side, that is great velocity and because he has a good frame, he likely could hit that velocity more consistently. His second best pitch is a slider. With his low arm slot, he gets really good movement on it, but the issue is that his arm slot causes him to get too much on the side of the ball at times so the pitch has great horizontal movement, but lacks in vertical drop. Change-up is really raw but shows good signs. He hasn't used it much in a lot of his big starts, so it's pretty hard to project.

Floor

He already has an injury history from this season with a foot injury. Guys this large can struggle with lower extremity injuries, especially with the feet. That lowers his floor quite a bit. But, you have to think that with a fastball in the mid-90s and a real good slider that can dominate hitters, you have to like him as a late inning bullpen guy, or the best LOOGY you can find.

Ceiling

If the fastball velocity does improve and the change-up becomes an above-average pitch, your looking at a top of the rotation pitcher. His upside is the reason his name is usually associated with Max Fried when talking the 2012 draft. Fried is much more polished, but Smoral could have better upside in the long term. His low arm slot and repatoire has earned him some comps to Madison Bumgarner, I wouldn't mind that.

Projected Draft Round

Originally tagged as a top 15 pick, Smoral figures to drop into the second half of the 1st round with a small chance of the supplemental round. If he were to last that long, this is the only time in which the Astros would likely consider drafting him. I just can't fathom him lasting to the second round.

Will he sign?

Probably. He's committed to University of North Carolina which is a solid commitment, but he seems dedicated to the game and wants to apply himself to it professionally right now. Although, if the injury makes him fall too far, going to college and proving his health could skyrocket his stock.

Bibliography after the jump

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Summary

This guy is a Bobby Heck Special. Projectable? Check! Athletic? Check! Clean Mechanics? Check! Curveball? Check! Feel for a change-up? Check! Pitchability? Check Mate! Walker Weickel has everything that fits the Bobby Heck mold. Weickel stands 6-6 and weighs just 205, so there is some mass that can be added to his frame, although he doesn't look overly lanky. But, with his height and already a frame that looks strong, he can put on some good weight and possibly a workhorse type pitcher. But, it's not really his frame that really stands out, it's his great arm speed.

Mechanically, he looks pretty clean. The high arm slot comes with a little bit too much arm abduction, but doesn't look terrible. Like I said, the arm speed is great and his arm wrap looks a little violent at times, but is likely a product of the arm speed. I wouldn't call it a concern. He has a high leg kick and a good stride that allows him to land very balanced on his plant leg and can get it a defensive position. He is athletic, so he repeats the delivery and he has a full arm circle so his timing is pretty consistent and control isn't wild.

His fastball sits in the low 90's, and I've seen some reports saying as low as 89-91, but most agree with 91-94. While it's not eye popping, it is above average for a HS kid. He doesn't muscle it up there as he has that great arm speed and really hits those velocities with ease. With arm speed like his, and a projectable frame, he could add a few ticks in pro baseball. Because of his high 3/4 arm slot and possibly even considered over-the-top, he has a great downward plane that makes the pitch play up, despite not having a lot of movement. I'm always reminded of a friend of mine that played Division I ball that said he hated facing really tall pitchers because all you do is pound their fastball into the ground. With Weickel's height and high release point, he is that kind of pitcher.

With his arm slot, it's not surprising to see his next best pitch is a curveball. He has good 12-6 break but the pitch can get a loopy at times. It's a work in progress, but the pitch flashes plus potential. He obviously has work to do to refine the pitch, and has come a long way in improving his arm speed on the pitch as it was a little slower on the curve than the fastball this time last year.

He has a feel for a change-up, and it flashes above-average to plus potential. He has good speed separation but lacks great command on it right now. As things stand right now, it's a distant third pitch by most reports, but the potential is there.

Floor

You'll get tired of reading this, but with HS guys, failure to reach the majors is possible. But, his floor as a major-league pitcher is probably as a groundball specialist. The plane for his fastball is great, which could even land him in a set-up role. It would also depend on which secondary develops more. Likely, it's the curve which could lead to a lot of groundouts as well. I don't expect him to be an absolute strikeout phenom though.

Ceiling

It's a stretch to say he has the ceiling of an Ace, but a very good #2 pitcher is a nice tag to put on him. It's hard to throw a real good slider from his arm slot, which is what he would likely need with all of his other pitches maxing out their potential to be an Ace. But, three above-average to plus pitches will get the job done. And, for young guys like him, it's not far fetched to suggest adding a fourth pitch, but for him a cutter is the most likely pitch.

Projected Draft Round

Weickel has been mocked as high as a top 15, but will likely be a late rounder with a small chance of reaching the supplemental round. He definitely won't reach the 2nd round, in which he'd be a steal in.

Will he sign?

He doesn't look like a signability risk. He'll likely be easier with the higher he's drafted. The new rules make it a little more difficult to sign him if he slides, but I don't see him sliding due to signability risks.

College Commitment: University of Miami (FL)

Bibliography after the jump

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There's one guy that I want to highlight today, and that's Tyson Perez. Anytime you throw a complete game in 81 pitches (radio announcer says 79-80), you deserve to get highlighted. But, that's not the only reason he deserves this, he has been solid in all three of his starts since getting called up to Lancaster from Extended Spring Training and skipping Lexington.

I'll give you a little background on Perez since he's not a top prospect. He was a 17th round draft pick last year out of Fresno Community College. He signed quickly and was assigned to Greeneville's rotation where he made 13 starts. His ERA was 5.07 and stuck out 49 while walking 13 in his 55 innings. None of his numbers really stood out, so when he didn't make a full-season roster to start the season, I wasn't surprised. Then, all the starting rotations started getting skewed with Kyle Weiland's injury and Lancaster's most stable starter, Wes Musick as sent to Corpus. In comes Tyson Perez. Now, that surprised me and said this was a temporary promotion and as soon as things leveled out, Perez would be back in EST. That hasn't happened, but neither has Weiland returned. But, given his performance, I think Perez is permanently in Lancaster.

What has he done in Lancaster? He's pitched in three starts for 20 innings and has allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits and just two walks. He's only struck out eleven, so once again that number is eye-popping. Up until last night, he had nine strikeouts in eleven innings, but his two strikeouts last night really dropped his k%. Even though he's not dominating with strikeouts, he's inducing weak contact and getting outs.

How is he doing it? I don't have any scouting reports on him but somebody asked Kevin Goldstein about him and he says that Perez could be a sleeper. He also said that he has a solid fastball and a good curve.

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Today seems like a good day to revisit Delino DeShields Jr., since he did steal four bases last night. He originally was tagged with five steals but they changed his double and stolen base to a triple after the game. Fair trade off. You can read about his night and a little about his goals here. It's nice to see that he has really put in the work to be what he's expected to be. If there's one thing I've hear about his character, it's that he puts in the work to achieve his goals. This time last year, people were starting to doubt his base stealing capabilities because he had been caught stealing about the same amount as times he had stolen bases. This time around, he's been caught once. Big improvement.

So, we know he's improved on the base paths. And, we've heard that there is a night and day difference in his defense from last year. But, what about his improvements in the plate so far? It's not as big of a difference as you'd hope.

DDJ's average is up a about twenty points over last year, but the sample size is still small and over the last ten games, its about ten points worse that last year. The power is slightly elevated, but could be a result of just hitting more. The good news is that he's still drawing walks (23) at a higher rate (13.6% vs. 9.7%) and the strikeouts are about the same at at 21%. The great news is that his BABIP is under .300 which is not what you would expect for a guy with his speed, so maybe he's been unlucky and numbers rise in the future.

As for his batted balls, there hasn't been much change. His LD% is slightly elevated but .6% isn't really a change in this sample size. His GB% is higher by almost 2% which is good and bad. You want your leadoff guy to put the ball in play and just beat it out. DDJ can do that. But, for a guy with his strength and frame, I think it limits his power potential too much.

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The two main prospects from the Huner Pence trade are well known. But, Jonathan Singleton and Jarred Cosart aren't the only prospect we received in return. Josh Zeid was the other prospect named at the time of the trade, so he is fairly recognizable. But, the final prospect in the trade, the PTBNL, is actually a bigger prospect than Zeid in many opinions. Domingo Santana has all the tools scouts drool of, and right now, he's playing like a toolsy prospect.

What do I mean by that? He's swinging the bat and doing things that get you excited. But, he's not displaying skills yet. Overall, a .797 OPS isn't great, but its creeping up. Mostly due to his power that has shown up in the last ten games. Over that period of time, he has an .882 OPS because of three home runs, a triple, and two doubles. His OBP is terrible over that period of time (.293) because his plate discipline is still poor. Two walks and ten strikeouts don't help that OBP much at all. The strikeouts are actually an improvement over the season (25% vs 32%). So, that's something you can take note of.

Listening to the games. You can easily tell he is hacker. He takes big swings and really needs to tone it down. He's still getting by on his tools alone, which is ok in the lower levels. But, the thing to watch moving forward is his plate discipline. Something else you notice when listening to the games, he is raw in the outfield still. He has one heck of an arm, but his routes are poor and he doesn't always make the right decisions in the outfield. A lot of that should improve moving forward with coaching and repetitions in the outfield.

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Two years ago we had a huge surprise come from the minor leagues with a 20th round draft pick from the previous year tear up Lexington. For the life of us, nobody could figure out why this man was still in Lexington at mid-season. Eventually, this man earned his promotion to Corpus Christi where he still posted a great average and OBP. This man is none other than J.D. Martinez.

Fast-forward two years, and we have another 20th round draft pick from the previous season hitting very well in Lexington. This time around it's Matt Duffy. Let me get this out in the open, I am not saying the Duff-man will be the next JD. Just pointing out similarities in their profile. He's not hitting as good as JD was in Lexington, but his numbers in every category are creeping up.

As of right now, his triple slash is .294/.351/.471 for an OPS of .822. Not bad at all for the Sally League, but he is currently 22 and that doesn't bode well for his Age-Relative to League. Although, JD was just six months younger in his time at Lexington. Duffy has been hitting more doubles recently and is a result of a 24.1% LD% and that isn't much higher than his his career average of 23% (still a small sample size). He is physically close to his potential, so adding strength is not necessarily going to have much affect on his power. But, he's hitting doubles and focusing on line drives, it won't be long til he starts turning on some pitches. He does have five home runs, which is at a nice rate, but will need to do that a little more often to get noticed.

At this point he is showing he's advanced for the level at the plate and draws walks 6.8% of the time and strikes out just 17.7% of the time. The issue is will he turn on more pitches and be a legitimate power threat. When he starts really showing a lot of power, the discussion for promotion will start to heat up. But, where do you send him? Currently you have Jonathan Meyer hitting well in Lancaster and is definitely better defensively. But, he's still being batted low in the line up and could benefit by a full season in Lancaster. CC has nobody, but can he make the jump? Only showing legitimate power and maintaining his batting average and plate discipline can tell. His progress is one to watch at this point.

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I hope you all had a great Mother's Day weekend! You better have let the women in your lives know they're appreciated.

The weekend definitely had it's highlights. If you didn't check TCB Saturday, I suggest you go back and read the MiLB recap and check out what George Springer did. Then, Saturday night, Domingo Santana did his own magic with walk-off grand slam. Jonathan Singleton wouldn't be out totally outdone, and launched his 5th homerun. Possibly even a bigger story was Paul Clemens getting back on track and posting a great game score.

But, lets get you updated on the standings.

Oklahoma City is still in 3rd place in their division with a 20-17 record. They currently stand 3.5 games back, but they are still 3.5 games ahead of the Rangers affiliate, Round Rock. Yep, Round Rock fans are still on the losing end. It's Glorious! A few bats are cooling a little like Brian Bixler, but some bats are warming up (Brett Wallace is hitting a little better), while Fernando Martinez still is the offensive leader of this team. The pitching staff has had a rough run, and things may not get better as they soon will start a trip to the West Coast teams and their offensive parks.

The most talented team is still in the cellar with a 15-21 record. The Hooks struggled and had a stretch of 1-9 baseball. They have looked better over the last few days as the offense has improved with Singleton showing some more power and Jose Martinez stepping up. The pitching staff was probably biggest reason for the struggle as there were some rough starts and a few relievers are pretty bad. Things seems to be clearing up there and hopefully Cosarts start yesterday is a step in that direction.

Lancaster sets out today to become .500 as their record stands at 18-19. Even with that record, they are just 2 games back in their division and are on a 3 game win streak. The offense is legit, as we all knew. The struggles are with the pitching staff. They've lost the most stable starter in Wes Musick to AA, but have gained another in Tyson Perez. This team has confidence and I think the pitching staff will improve as the season moves on.

Lexington is in the middle of the division with their 4th place ranking and 17-18 record. They are 7.5 games back, but are far from last place. The Rome Braves are 6-28! That's rough! The pitching staff has struggled outside of Folty and Tropeano for the most part, but they've taken steps to improve in that area. The pitching will likely improve and the offense should remain stable as the anchors of the lineup are older prospects.

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There's a lot of good things that happened last night in the minor leagues but only one really stands out. I didn't follow the minors last night as it was date night with wife and I was in the middle of a movie when my phone started buzzing with this tweet.

Jason Schwartz @jasondschwartz

Springer has hit 4 HRs today and where in the world is @Subber10@whattheheck57 @farmstros????

Really?!?! The night I really take off from the minors and Springer goes all Josh Hamilton? And yes, I will say that! I don't care if it was in two games, it was four consecutive at-bats in a double header. I wasn't even going to write this morning, but this is too good not to post and discuss.

Rodney Linares shook up the lineup for yesterdays games, which included dropping Telvin Nash to number five in the order and Springer to number two. I think Springer responded well.

So, lets check in Springer's stats on the season. He's now batting .310 and has hit six doubles, four triples, and an outstanding eight home runs. He's drawn eleven walks and has struck out forty-four times. That makes his triple slash line of .310/.356/.572 which ends up in a .929 OPS. That 27.5 K% is quite bad for the season, but it's his first season (I don't count those eight games last season) in an aggressive placement with a reputation of striking out in college. I think that number will come down over time, but he'll never be a low strikeout guy. It's just not in his profile.

But, he's been much more impressive in his last ten games, so let's see how he's performed in that time. First off, a 1.298 OPS over that period of time is jaw dropping. Although, it's upheld by last night mostly, but his batting average has been good over that time (.415). He's struck out nine times in forty-four plate appearances over those ten games, which is a much better 20% K% (SSS). He also has another HR in that period of time that wasn't last night.

I'm seeing improvement, and that's the goal. It seems like putting Springer in Lancaster wasn't too aggressive after-all.

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Who had the best performance yesterday? None other than Jordan Lyles! The major league clubs seems to be having tree-outs for the starter on Tuesday between Aneury Rodriguez and Lyles, and Lyles bid could be all he needs to make it.

He posted a game score of 63 which is lower than what it could have been since he gave eight hits. One of those hits was to STARTING SHORT STOP ANGEL SANCHEZ! You have to think that a guy like Jed Lowrie would have taken care of that one. A lot of his singles were groundballs to centerfield. That could be a factor of hitters taking what they can get and shooting it back right and Lyles couldn't field it or the combination of Sanchez and Bixler for the middle infield couldn't range quite far enough.

The biggest thing I want to take away from the start was his groundball rate. Most of the hits were groundballs and he induced ten groundouts. You'll have success if you can do that as well as strikeout a handful of guys. Mark it down right here. Subber predicts Jordan Lyles gets called up (going out on a limb right).

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What a bad day overall. Astros: Lose...RedHawks: Lose...JetHawks: Lose...

The rest of the teams were off. But, there was good news to celebrate about. Fernando Martinez and George Springer both homered and Dallas Keuchel pitched his best game of the season. Martinez is up to six on the season and Springer is up to four. Keuchel's game score was 75, which is one better than his previous season best of 74.

But, Martinez is the man of the day. His triple slash currently stands at .317/.380/.537 which results in a pretty OPS of .916. In his 134 plate appearances this season, he's hitting very well and showing good plate discipline with is strikeout rate standing about 17% and his walk rate is around 8%. Looks great overall.

The only red flag is a BABIP that stands at .351 which is supported by a LD% of 22%. Will he maintain both of those? Probably not. Expect both of those to come down some, but it's nice to see that he's seeing the ball well and making good contact.

This will probably spark some, "Let's bring him up to help out an offense that seems to be struggling." Let's not and say we did. And here's why. First reason is that he has struggled for much of his career and hasn't really had an extended stay in AAA, so let him sustain some success for his confidence and ensure that this guy is ready before he's called up. The second reason, who do you send down? Mr. Clutch Bogusevic? Nope! Maxwell? Nope, too versatile. Schafer? Yeah, ok! J.D. Martinez? He's struggling, but c'mon! Buck? The only real veteran presence in the OF, I really doubt it.

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Right where it needs to be!

That's the short answer, but you didn't expect me to give you a short answer to that question did you? I've seen a little bit of talk about Jonathan Singleton's power production so far this season on twitter and even a little here on TCB. Wasn't so much his overall power production, but his home run total. As of last night, Singleton now has four home runs this season, the same number that Josh Hamilton hit last night.

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Remember that article I posted from Baseball America that named the Corpus Christi Hooks as a top 10 team in all of minor league baseball pre-season? Let's check in how that's going.

The Hooks are 13-19 and tied for 7th in the Texas League overall and in 3rd place in their division. Not exactly dominating the way they were expected to. In fact, thanks to last nights win, they are 1-9 in their last ten games. This is a team that's young and full of talent, but guess what? Young talent is expected to struggle at times as they develop. This team is going to have it's ups and downs all season and if any last night's total erruption at the plate (17 runs) is any indication, we are about to see an up swing.

Most of their struggles have to be placed on the the pitching staff as they've surrendered the most home runs in the league and one of the worse ERA's. Although, the offense isn't void of blame. While the team overall has been one of the best in plate discipline, they haven't been getting enough base hits and haven't exactly hit for a lot of power. Not a good combination.

Who's performance last night help mitigate those issues last night? Well, Ross Seaton pitched efficiently and the top half of the batting order either drew a ton of walks (Singleton and Barnes) or picked up multiple hits (Wates, Goebbert, and Martinez). Singleton also launched his fourth HR of the season.

Seaton is an interesting case. Seaton either pitches efficiently and goes fairly deep into a game with low strikeouts, or he picks up good strikeout numbers and leaves in the 5th inning. He really struggles to find that time when he can attack a hitter and try to strike him out. He either tries to strike them all out, or rely almost exclusively on the defense behind him. Can someone teach him a little balance in his life?

Edited to include Game Score for starting pitchers

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Here's an idea, how about I highlight the best pitching performance from last night? Wes Musick was by far the best pitching performer of the night, and he did in his AA debut. Musick has been the best pitcher for Lancaster up until this point, but hasn't really been dominant. He's limited runs but hasn't struck people out at a great clip, which is illustrated by his game scores of 64, 43, 65, 54, 72 (thanks Tim). I'm a proponent of promoting guys after a good game for confidence reasons, and his last start in Lancaster was his best. Unfortunately, this is a temporary stay in CC to replace Jarred Cosart until the pitching injuries iron out.

So, what about his performance last night? His game score was 66 which isn't as good as his previous start due to allowing six hits and walking two, but the strikeouts were there. Pitchers who aren't exactly heavy groundball pitchers can actually improve after leaving Lancaster due to the less offensive environment in which flyballs can't all of a sudden leave the park. Musick could be one of those guys. He likely could have a few more starts, so he'll be interesting to watch to see if he can force his hand into staying in CC. He's already pretty old, so AA is a bit more age appropriate.

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Let's get you caught up on some of the big stories from the weekend! But first, I just want to remind you that Jarred Cosart is set to make his Triple-A debut tonight. I'm pretty nervous about this one as he hasn't exactly pitched lights out in Corpus so far. So, cross your fingers and hopes that Burt Hooten is going to work his magic.

First off, Nicholas Tropeano is a good pitcher. I mean he makes good pitchers look...not so good. He bounced back from two poor performances in his last two starts, to completely dominate Saturday night. You can read the stat line after the jump, but it's his overall numbers that are the most impressive. He currently ranks third in the Sally League in strikeouts (43) and inning pitched (33 2/3) and sixth in ERA (1.87). He's also only walked ten batters, a 4.3:1 K:BB ratio is quite nice.

I thought Trope would be the man to replace Wes Musick in Lancaster since he was promoted to Corpus to fill Cosart's spot, but Tyson Perez was promoted from EST for that spot. You can read about his debut and what he's been working on here.

The last big thing I want to point out is that I can give you a reason to watch ESPN today. I know that ESPN isn't popular around these parts (and for good reason). The sports network doesn't give the Astros much credit, but they did today for the Astros minor leagues. This video made #2 on top plays for last week and put Austin Wates phenomenal catch on national TV. It was quite an impressive catch to say the least.

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I have to send a big thanks out to conroestro for pinch-hitting for me the past week as I dealt with finals. He did a great job filling in and provided some great highlights. I've already messed with him on twitter, but I'm gonna have to call him out at TCB because that's what we do. He highlighted Jiovanni Mier's great start to the season, and boom! Jio pulls a hammy stretching a double into a triple. Blames on you buddy!

Let's see if I can safely highlight a player once again and produce another big game like I did with Jonathan Singleton! (See what I did there? Point out his failed highlight while boasting about mine? #Giggity)

Delino DeShields Jr. hit a monster shot over a rather tall left field wall last night to display a little bit of that power potential that was talked about when he was drafted. While an OPS of .712 is not anything to get excited about to start out for the season, it is a solid improvement over the .627 he posted last year. He's hitting for a better average and drawing more walks. He's even striking out a little less. The sample size is still small but it's good to see about a fifty point improvement in his OBP. His SLG% is also up, but it's mostly due to his improved batting average as his ISO his about the same after his HR last night. The biggest improvement this season is effectiveness on the basepaths. He has stolen 18 bases but has yet to be caught. That's a huge improvement over last year as he was caught stealing 11 times and stole 30 bases. He's on pace to easily beat that this season.

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There's a few things to mention from last night, but really one thing that I want to discus. First, Kody Hinze's bat seems to be coming alive with back to back nights with home runs. He's not really a prospect unless he gets moved to OkC and does similar work, but if he continues to hit, that may happen. Second, you have to like what is going on in Lancaster for position players. Jiovanni Mier has his OBP up .391, and that is absolutely nothing you can complain about. I'd like to see more doubles which we know he can hit, but I'll take the on-base percentage for now. You also have to like that teams continue to test the arms of George Springer and Domingo Santana and very few of them win. Both of these guys picked up outfield assists last night and are making names for themselves out there. The pitching in Lexington had a good game. Folty was decent, but effective and Jason Chowning just needs to be promoted.

Alright, my topic of discussion! It's not anything special, but more of a "what could have been?"

Erik Castro is going on a tear in the Cal League at the tune of .321/.377.625 triple slash line that includes four bombs. It's not Telvin Nash numbers with the power, but it's with a lot less strikeouts (which are also still high). Castro is primarily playing DH and 1B and will be 25 in November. You all just got a lot less excited.

Castro was drafted in 2009 in the 10th round as a 3B which was a switch from his catching days as the battery mate of Stephen Strasburg in college. He hit well that summer but had to undergo surgery in his throwing shoulder for I believe a torn labrum. Castro then missed all of 2010 and made his debut last year in Lancaster in a disappointing fashion. He doesn't seem to have the arm anymore for any position of defensive value like 3B or Catcher which is where his bat would look very nice.

Since he did have the year off, you could excuse his age if he were playing 3B and hope that he could be moving up through the system as a viable option as a regular for a few years, but that's not the case. He has played one game there this season and seven there last season, all while being on the same team as Jonathan Meyer. The fact Meyer was there reduces his time to play there because Meyer is a better defender. So, I'd like to see the Astros be aggressive with Castro and push him to Corpus since there aren't any 3B prospects there to see if he can get back into it and if the arm really is too weak for that position. I'm not saying now, after not even a month of baseball, but closer to June if he is still hitting.

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