2011 Farmstros Five- Week 11

By Chris Buck

Farmstros Five Week 11- June 16-22, 2011

Lots of Hooks. With not much going on at AAA and both A-ball teams on their All-Star Breaks, AA, the DSL, and Rookie ball is where the action has been.


Dallas Keuchel, 23, LHP, Corpus Christi
Why? – 1.29 era, 1 GS, 7 IP, 5H, R, 3BB, 5 SO

Back-to-back weeks on the Farmstros Five for Dallas. With Lyles being promoted to the big club, the honor of being the club’s best pitching prospect is now up for grabs. It appears that Keuchel has really started to step up. He has performed well since being drafted, but, in his last ten starts Dallas has a 2.43 era with a 1.13 WHIP. For the season, Dallas now has his era down to 2.84. It is looking more and more as if Dallas will be in Houston this season.

Jose Altuve, 21, 2B, Corpus Christi
Why? – 10-for-29, 4 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, SB.

For the third week in a row, Altuve makes the Farmstros Five. The little guy just continues to play well. For the week, Altuve ONLY had a .345/.345/.483 line for a .850 ops. This week actually dropped his season averages at AA to .382/.404/.629.

J.D. Martinez, 23, of, Corpus Christi
Why? – 13-for-30, 6 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB.

I am actually surprised it took J.D. this long to make the list. To be fair, he was coming off of an injury and it took a week or two for him to get back to his normal self. For those that don’t know, J.D. was drafted in the 20th round of the 2009 draft out of Nova Southeastern University (its in Florida!). He profiles as a high average hitter with some gap-to-gap doubles power. But the knock on J.D. is that he isn’t the best athlete and is pretty much limited to left field, and won’t help you much on the base-paths. But, J.D. can hit! There is no doubt about that, as he has done it since he first got to the organization. For this season, he has a .320/.391/.451 line; all at AA Corpus. Martinez seems almost destined to take over left field duties in Houston once Carlos Lee’s contract is paid off.

Jimmy Paredes, 22, if, Corpus Christi
Why? – 10-for-33, 5 R, 2B, 3B, 5 RBI, BB, SB.

Paredes had been playing second base in Corpus, until Mr. Altuve got there. He has now been playing third. It appears that he is capable of playing the middle infield, but the development of Altuve has forced the organization to try him at other positions. Paredes was acquired from the Yankees in the Lance Berkman trade last July. He is viewed as an athletically gifted middle infielder that needs his bat to come around. Lately, the bat has done just that. With a .303/.324/.394 line for week 11, Paredes needs to work on his plate discipline. His best asset right now is his speed. He currently has 23 stolen bases in 29 attempts. Last season, he stole 50 bases between the Yankees and Astros systems. If he puts it all together, the Astros may have a switch hitting middle infield prospect with plus speed and the ability to be an above average defender at multiple positions.

Matthew Duffy, 22, IF, Tri-City
Why? – 10-for-21, 3 R, 3 2B, 6 RBI, 1 BB.

Rookie ball has started and Mr. Duffy has gotten off to a loud start for Tri-City. He was drafted just a couple of weeks ago in the 20th round out of the University of Tennessee. Now, we aren’t making any J.D. Martinez comps just yet, but this seems to be a really nice start to the professional career. For the season he has a .417/.464/.542 line in just 6 games.


Worth Mentioning! Kody Hinze, in a shortened week due to the California-Carolina League All-Star Game, went 5-for-8 with 2b, HR, 7R, 3RBI, 4BB. (Editor's Note: Hinze, who plays for Lancaster, also won the Home Run derby held in conjunction with the California-Carolina League All-Star Game.)