Start your July watching Bud Norris

You can watch Round Rock starter Bud Norris' next start on Wednesday at the Express' website. Video of all Round Rock home games are available for FREE at the team's website. Select Round Rock road games and all Lexington home games are available at MiLB.com for a fee

JULY games available to view:

ROUND ROCK
1-3- Nashville(7:05)(FREE)
4- @Memphis(6:35)
5- @Memphis(1:35)
6-7- @ Memphis(7:05)
16-19- Oklahoma(7:05)(FREE)
20- Albuquerque(7:05)(FREE)
21- Albuquerque(5:30)(FREE)*It appears the Express are making up a rain out or suspended game this day, creating a Doubleheader.
22-23- Albuquerque(7:05)(FREE)
28-31- @Memphis(7:05)

LEXINGTON
4- Rome(6:05)
5- Rome(1:05)
6-7- Rome(6:05)
8-11- Savannah(6:05)
22-25- Lake County(6:05)
26- Hagerstown(1:05)
27-29- Hagerstown(6:05)

In addition to these games three games will be broadcast by Fox Sports Southwest
July 2- Round Rock vs. Nashville(7:05)
July 23- Round Rock vs. Albuquerque(7:05)
July 26- Corpus Christi vs. Frisco(6:05)

Trinidad heading to Round Rock

Left-hander Polin Trinidad will be moving up to Round Rock later this week. He is scheduled to stay with Corpus Christi and represent the Hooks in Wednesday's Texas League All-Star Game.

Q & A with 7th Round Pick Keuchel

With the signing of 1st Round Pick Jiovanni Mier, the Astros have signed 24 of their top 26 picks. Stephen Goff at Examiner.com posted an interview with one of the two unsigned Dallas Keuchel of the University of Arkansas.

Trinidad Continues hot June

Polin Trinidad made his fifth solid start of the month for Corpus Christi Thursday night. He pitched eight scoreless innings allowing only six hits against San Antonio. For the month Trinidad has allowed three earned runs and 27 hits in 37 1/3 IP with 21 strikeouts. For the season, the left-hander has a 2.94 ERA in 82 2/3 IP.

Castro and Lo to Futures Game

A pitcher and a catcher from Corpus will be at the Major League Futures Game on July 12. Chia-jen Lo and Jason Castro will represent the Astros in St. Louis as part of the festivities surrounding the All-Star Game. Lo, from Taiwan, will be on the international team, while Castro will play for the U.S. squad.

First Round Pick agrees to contract

Jiovanni Mier and the Astros have agreed to a contract. The first round pick is scheduled to be at Minute Maid Park after taking a physical on Thursday.

Farmstros Five 2009- Week 11

All eight Astros affiliates are playing as of this week. However, only Lancaster had a winning record at 3-2(They ended their first half at 26-44). Round Rock was 2-4(32-39); Corpus Christi was 1-8(31-39 to end the first half); Lexington 2-3(36-34 for the first half); Tri-City was 1-2 in their first week of competition; Greeneville won their first game, while the GCL Astros lost theirs; the DSL Astros were 1-4(10-10, over-all)

The Farmstros Five for the week of June 17-23, 2009

Top Performer

Luis Cruz, LHP, Greeenville. The 2008 draftee had arm problems shorten his first season of pro ball. He came out throwing on opening night of year two. He pitched six scoreless, hitless innings for Greeneville.

The Other Four:

Bud Norris, RHP, Round Rock. Norris extended his scoreless streak to 20 IP with an eight inning stint allowing three hits and striking out 10.

Polin Trinidad, LHP, Corpus Christi. Trinidad pitched an 8 1/3 inning complete game, losing the game although he only allowed one earned run.

T.J. Steele, OF, Lancaster. Steele went into the all-star break hot. He was 10 for 19 with six runs scored, one double, three triples and seven RBI.

Jordan Lyles, RHP, Lexington. Lyles pitched six scoreless innings striking out 11 while allowing only two hits.

Gaston wins all-star Game with Walk-off HR

After striking out in his first three at bats, Lancaster's Jonathan Gaston led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a walk-off home run to give the California League All-Stars a 2-1 victory over the Carolina League squad.

In the South Atlantic League All-Star Game...

Lexington infielder Ebert Rosario had a double and a solo home run in four at bats.

Ross Seaton pitched a scoreless inning and Robert Bono gave up one run in one inning.

GCL Astros Roster Released

The GCL Astros started their season Tuesday afternoon, and their roster is has posted. It is mostly made up players from Latin America. Eight players selected in this month's draft will be starting there as well.

Florentino an All-Star

Corpus Christi infielder Jhon Florentino has been added to the South Division squad for next week's Texas League All-Star Game. The game is scheduled for July 1(Wednesday) at Frisco.

Norris may Start Saturday against Tigers

Jose de Jesus Ortiz on Tuesday in the Houston Chronicle indicates that Bud Norris may get the start on Saturday at Minute Maid against Detroit. If Paulino is not ready to go, it will be between Norris and Backe. Norris has the lowest ERA in the Pacific Coast League, and has not allowed a run in 20 IP(Ortiz's article says 19).

Rookie Leagues Begin Tuesday

The Astros two rookie league affiliates get started Tuesday. The GCL Astros are back for the first time since 1998. They play at the Mets Gulf Coast League squad at 11:05 am(Houston time). Greeneville gets started in the Appalachian League at Bristol, Virginia at 6:00 pm.

A little Gulf Coast League Astros trivia: Roy Oswalt pitched for them during that final 1998 season.

First Halves End

Sunday night marked the end of the first half of the season for Lexington and Lancaster. Lexington ended the half at 36-34 in 4th place out of eight teams in the South Atlantic Leauge South. Lancaster dwells the cellar of the California League South with a 26-44 record. Both teams are off through Tuesday's all-star games. Ross Seaton, Robert Bono, and Ebert Rosario are scheduled to represent Lexington while Jonathan Gaston is Lancaster's all-star honoree.

Corpus Christi has two games left in their first half. They are last in the Texas League South with a 31 and 37 mark.

Astros watching Morales this summer

One thing I really enjoy about maintaining this blog is learning new things about how building a baseball team works. For example, this article on the Astros 45th round pick Adrian Morales was informative for me. According to the article, the Astros are looking for a summer league for Morales to play in so that they can watch him some more before the signing deadline, which I think is August 17. I knew that drafting teams sometimes watched draft picks in the summer, but I didn't realize that they would do the legwork as far as finding a place for a player to audition.

Torrence...a Buckeye? an Astro? Both?

According to this Columbus Dispatch article, there is still no word on whether 2007 draft pick and Ohio St. cornerback Devon Torrence will spend a third summer playing baseball for the Astros farm system. I have seen him projected as a starting cornerback for the Buckeyes in the fall.

Greeneville Roster Available

Greeneville has released their roster for Tuesday's season opener.

Pitching Night with Bud Norris and Polin Trinidad

Bud Norris threw another eight scoreless innings for Round Rock with 10 strikeouts. Norris extended his scoreless streak to 21 IP. Meanwhile, Corpus Christi's Polin Trinidad had his scoreless streak end at 23 1/3 IP in a complete game loss. Trinidad allowed 1 earned run in 8 1/3 IP.

Tri-City releases roster

The Short Season A Tri-City Valley Cats begin their New York-Penn League season Friday, and their roster has been released. The 27-man squad includes 14 players from last week's draft.

Draft Pick 2-0 in Omaha!

Dallas Keuchel, the Astros 7th Round Draft Pick, earned his second win of the College World Series as Arkansas stayed alive knocking off Virginia 5-4 in 12 innings Wednesday night. After starting in Saturday's opener, Keuchel pitched four scoreless innings in relief to close out Wednesday's game. Keuchel allowed a double and a steal to the lead-off batter in the bottom of the 12th. He then proceeded to strikeout the side, sealing the victory. Arkansas plays LSU on Friday.

2009 GCL Astros Team Capsule

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t1998

Home Stadium- Osceola County Stadium, Kissimmee, Florida

Manager- Omar Lopez served as the manager of the Astros Venezuelan team last year. He moves to Florida in the Astros first season in the Gulf Coast League.

Nearby teams
Orlando(Braves)- 25 miles
Winter Haven(Indians)- 32
Lakeland(Tigers)- 45
Melbourne(Nationals)-55
Tampa(Yankees)-75

Heck Chats with the Houston Chronicle

Astros scouting director Bobby Heck chatted with the Houston Chronicle about the 2009 Draft Class Wednesday. He indicated that the club has signed Jonathan Meyer, who was taken in the supplemental third round. He also indicated that an announcement on several sigings would be coming soon.

Tri-City Valley Cats spotted

Tri-City starts its schedule on Friday. The team is there, but the roster won't be announced until Thursday. However, this article sheds light on a few of the players who are there.

Farmstros Five 2009- Week 10

It was a solid week in the minors. Corpus Christi led the way going 6 and 1(30-31, over-all). Elsewhere, Round Rock was 2-3(30-35); Lancaster was 4-4(23-42); Lexington was 5-2(34-31); the DSL Astros were 5-1(9-6).

The Farmstros Five for the week of June 10-16, 2009

The Top Performer:

Polin Trinidad, LHP, Corpus Christi. Trinidad pitched 15 scoreless innings and allowed only five hits with 12 Ks in two starts. Trinidad has not allowed a run in 17 2/3 IP.

The other Four:

Brian Pellegrini, OF, Lexington. Pellegrini was 15 for 28 with one double, five home runs and 11 RBI>

Bud Norris, RHP, Round Rock. In his only start, Norris pitched eight scoreless innings allowing only two hits with six strikeouts.

Thomas Steele, OF, Lancaster. Steele went 11 for 29 with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 10 RBI.

Jonathan Gaston, OF, Lancaster. Gaston was 14 for 28 with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBI.

Five Hooks named to Texas League All-Star Team

Two Hooks will be in the starting lineup when the South All-Stars of the Texas League take on the North All-Stars on July 1 in Frisco. Shortstop Wladamir Sutil and outfielder Drew Locke were named as starters on the South. Outfielder Collin DeLome and left-handed starters Doug Arguello and Polin Trinidad were honored as well. Arguello is injured and will not play in the game.

GCL Astros Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Norris throws goose eggs too

Bud Norris went Trinidad one better Monday night. The Express starter allowed two hits and no runs in eight innings against Nashville.

Trinidad throws eight more Scoreless

Corpus Christi left-hander Polin Trinidad shut out San Antonio for eight innings Monday night. In his last two starts Trinidad has pitched 15 scoreless innings and allowed only five hits. The Hook starter has not allowed a run in 17 2/3 innings.

In-depth look at the draft class

Mark Maloney at Kentucky.com has done a fine job profiling the 51 picks of the Astros in last week's draft.

Draftee Wins in Omaha

Astros draftee Dallas Keuchel of Arkansas pitched six innings and picked up the win as the Razorbacks knocked off number 2 seed Cal State-Fullerton in the first game of the College World Series on Saturday. Keuchel was selected in the 7th round by Houston.

Astros Sign 22

The Astros announced the signing of 22 players selected in last week's draft.
The signings and minor league assignments(where available) have been updated in the 2009 Draft Class section.

Tri-City Valley Cats Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Greeneville Astros Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

7th Round Pick to Take the Hill in Omaha

Astros seventh round pick Dallas Keuchel is slated to start the opening game of the College World Series in Omaha Saturday for Arkansas against Cal. State-Fullerton. Left-hander Keuchel, a junior, made 16 starts for Arkansas this season going 7-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 98 IP. The game begins at 1 pm(Central Time) on Saturday.

51 Picks in All as draft wraps-up

The Astros made a total of 51 picks as the draft wrapped up Thursday. A wrap up of the picks...

By School
High School-19
JUCO-5
Four Year College Underclassmen-15
Four Year College Seniors-12

By Position
LHP-6
RHP-19
Outfielders-9
First Basemen-4
Second Basemen-2
Third Basemen-3
Shorstops-6
Catchers-2

Farmstros Five 2009- Week Nine

Round Rock led the way with a 4-3 week(28-32, over-all). Corpus Christi was 3-3(24-30); Lancaster went 2 and 3(19-38); Lexington went 3-4(29-29); the DSL Astros were 2-3(4-5).

The Farmstros Five for the week of June 3-9, 2009

Top Performer

Jason Castro, C, CORPUS CHRISTI. Castro actually spent the week with Lancaster. However he has been promoted to AA Corpus after going 9 for 17 with three doubles, one home run and one RBI.

The other four:

Koby Clemens, C, Lancaster. With Castro's promotion, Clemens moves into the starting role for Lancaster. This week he went 6 for 10 with three doubles and five RBI.

Chris Johnson, 3B, Round Rock. Johnson went 10 for 26 with three doubles, one triple, and one RBI.

Jeremy Johnson, P, Round Rock. This Johnson pitched 7 1/3 scorless innings for the Express.

Jiovanni Mier, SS, High School. This week Mier graduated and was the first round pick of the Astros.

Gaston is a California League All-Star

Outfielder Jonathan Gaston is Lancaster's lone representative on the California Leauge All-Star Game. The California all-stars will take on the Carolina League all-stars on June 23 at Lake Elsinore, California.

Three Farmstros South Atlantic All-Stars

Three members of the Houston organization have been named to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game. Starting Pitchers Robert Bono and Ross Seaton along with Infielder Ebert Rosario will represent the Lexington Legend at the June 23 game to be held at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, West Virginia.

Four Draft Picks Today for Houston

Thanks to the Crawfish Boxes for the officical information on when the Astros pick today.

The first three rounds of the draft will begin tonight at 5 pm(Central). Houston has four picks...

1st Round(21st over-all)-Jiovanni Mier, SS, High School(California)
2nd Round(69th)-Tanner Bushue, RHP, High School(Illinois)
3rd Round(100th)-Telvin Nash, OF, High School(Georgia)
3rd Round Supplemental(111th)-Jonathan Meyer,3B, High School(California)
*The Astros received this pick as compensation for their failure to sign third round pick Chase Davidson last summer.

Farmstros will be updating the Astros Draft Class through Thursday

Castro up to Corpus Christi

Catcher Jason Castro, Houston's first pick in last summer's draft, has been promoted to AA. The announcement was made after Lancaster's game on Sunday. Castro becomes the second players taken in the 2008 draft to reach Corpus Christi. He joins reliever Daniel Meszaros.

Astros Drafts in Review- 2008

Finally, it is the eve of the 2009 Major League Draft. Today a look at where last year's draftees are:

31 of the 32 selections who signed are still in the system. Only pitcher Chase Lehr has been released.

at Corpus Christi
Daniel Meszaros, RHP

at Lancaster
Jason Castro, C
David Duncan, LHP
David Flores, IF
Jonathan Gaston, OF
Chris Hicks, RHP
Chris Jackson, IF
Philip Rummel, RHP
Jack Shuck, OF
T.J. Steele, OF
Shane Wolf, LHP

at Lexington
Jay Austin, OF
Michael Diaz, IF
Phil Disher, IF
Brad Dydalewicz, LHP
Michael Hacker, LHP
Jordan Lyles, RHP
Ashton Mowdy, RHP
Jacob Priday, IF(Priday has been on the Restricted List all season)
Kirkland Rivers, LHP
Ross Seaton, RHP
Andrew Simunic, IF

at Extended Spring Training(likely to be on a short season team this month)
Luis Cruz, LHP
Rene Garcia, C
Kyle Godfrey, RHP
Zachary Grimmett, RHP
Jarred Holloway, LHP(had surgery this Spring and is out for the season)
Jeff Hulett, IF
Danny Meier, OF
Nathan Metroka, OF(spent a brief period up at Lexington)
Nathaniel Pettus, RHP

As the Astros prepare to feed their farm system in the draft, Farmstros encourages you to feed the hungry of Houston with the May 2009 Win-a-thon to support the Houston Food Bank.

Draft Gets Rolling on Tuesday

The Major League Draft gets going on Tuesday, June 9 at 5 pm(Central Time). The event has expanded to a three day affair that can be followed entirely on MLB.com.

The first round(32 picks) will be shown on the MLB network.
Tuesday night will see the completion of three rounds.

On Wednesday, Round Four starts at 11 am. The day concludes with Round 30.

Rounds 31-50 will be completed on Thursday, beginning at 10:30 am.


The Astros will be aiming to continue restock their farm system, although they don't have quite as many picks early in the draft as last summer. In 2009, Houston had six picks in the first 122. This summer they have only four in that same number of selections. They pick #21 over-all, after which their next pick is #69 over-all.

Farmstros will attempt to keep picks posted on the 2009 Draft Class page with appropirate links as time permits on the three days.

Astros Drafts in Review- 2007

The draft gets started in four days. Today we take a look at who's still around from the 2007 draft. You may want to cover your eyes(this one isn't pretty)

June 5-2007
June 8-2008

June 9- 2009 draft begins

2007

at Corpus Christi
Collin DeLome, OF
Jon Fixler, C

at Lancaster
Craig Corrado, IF
Jordan Powell, RHP

at Lexington
Robert Bono, RHP
Albert Cartwright, IF
Kyle Greenwalt, RHP
Kyle Miller, IF
Brian Pellegrini, 1B
Brian Wabick, RHP
Marques Williams, OF

at Extended Spring Training
Russ Dixon, IF/OF
Colton Pitkin, LHP

Traded
Matt Cusick, IF to acquire LaTroy Hawkins

NOTE: Devon Torrence, OF who was drafted in 2007 is rumored to be leaning towards focusing solely on playing football for Ohio St. where he is projected to be a starting cornerback this season. If this happens, he will be leaving the Houston system.

As the Astros prepare to feed their farm system in the draft, Farmstros encourages you to feed the hungry of Houston with the May 2009 Win-a-thon to support the Houston Food Bank.

Farmstros Five Week 2009- Week Eight

Back-to-back complete game shut-outs were the highlight of a relatively strong week in the Astros farm system. Round Rock(24-29, over-all) and Lancaster(17-35) both went 4 and 3 for the week. Lexington was 3 and 3(25-25); Corpus Christi was 2 and 4(21-27).
The Dominican Summer League Astros kicked off their season and went 2 and 2.

The Farmstros Five Top Performers for the week of May 27-June 2:

Yorman Bazardo, RHP, Round Rock. Bazardo finished off a four-win month of May with a two-hit, complete game shutout on Sunday.

Ross Seaton, RHP, Lexington. On Monday, Seaton led the Legends to victory with a three-hit complete game shutout.

The Other Three:

Drew Locke, OF, Corpus Christi. Locke went 11 for 23 with two doubles, one home run and nine RBI. He had six RBI in one game.

Jonathan Gaston, OF, Lancaster. Gaston went nine for 24 with three doubles, two triples, three home runs and six RBI.

Xavier Baso, RHP, DSL Astros. Baso picked up the DSL Astros first win of the season with five innings of scoreless relief work. The 18-year old from Venezuela allowed three hits and struck out seven.

Here Comes Bazardo!

I didn't think much of it when the Astros picked up Yorman Bazardo this spring. The right-hander had just under 30 IP in parts of three major league seasons, so I assumed he was just filling a spot at Round Rock. If May is any indication, Bazardo, who turns 25 in July, might be more than that. In six starts last month, he went 4-0 with a 1.49 ERA in 42 1/3 IP that covered six starts. He closed out the month Sunday with a complete game two-hit shutout at New Orleans. Bazardo was signed by Florida in 2000 out of Venezuela. He also spent time in the Detroit system.