Like the FCL the season also kicks off on Monday. For the first time since 2017 the Astros will also be fielding two DSL teams…
Any random thoughts on our players?
Not a clue other than i expect some of these guys will be there…
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Both DSL clubs lost their openers. DSL Orange lost to Boston Blue 11-4 while DSL Blue lost 4-2 to KC Glass.
As far as the recent signees, Luis Baez (batting 3rd and playing RF) is on DSL Orange and went 0-4 with 3 whiffs. Samuel Capellan (playing 2B and hitting leadoff) is also on DSL Orange and went 2-4 with a walk and SB.
Cuban shortstop Alberto Hernandez is with DSL Blue and went 2-3 while hitting leadoff. Fellow Cubano Kenni Gomez played CF and went hitless out of the 5th spot for the Blue. Also playing for the Blue are Axell De Paula and 3B Rafael Ramirez. De Paula hit 7th and DH’d and struck out in all three ABs while Ramirez batted 9th and whiffed twice in his two ABs.
Rosters (not necessarily complete) are here…
One of the guys listed in the article is 16 year old (turns 17 next month) Raimy Rodriguez. Listed at 6’1" 175 lbs. He’s on the Orange squad and pitched in the opener yesterday: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
The Orange fell to the Guardians 5-1 while the Blue were on the wrong side of a 10-9 score against the White Sox.
Luis Baez is off to an 0-14 start with 7 KKKKKKKs.
The two squads are a combined 1-7 to start the season.
Some notes on island play:
- The Orange squad is 23-21 and the only junior Astros team above .500
- The DSL clubs had two representatives at the DSL All-Star game two weeks ago
- One of the All-Stars was 19 year old Cuban catcher Sandro Gaston who’s currently hitting .325/.422/.675 with a 24% K rate. Gaston was signed for $10K
- The other All-Star was 17 year old Dominican INF Waner Luciano who’s at .235/.377/.424 with a 19% K rate. No reported bonus
- $1.3MM man OF Luis Baez has recovered from the slow start and is currently at .282/.323/.519 though his K rate of 27% remains on the high side
- The highly paid Cuban duo of 17 year old OF Kenni Gomez ($775K) and 18 year old SS Alberto Hernandez ($950K) have had divergent performances. Gomez is hitting .300/.442/.550 but in only 77 PAs so he’s missed some time with injury. Hernandez’s line of .204/.311/.207 ain’t impressive but his whiff rate of just 12% is spiffy
- 17 year old Dominican SS Samuel Capellan ($500K) has a .254/.348/.356 line but in only 69 PAs so he too appears to have been banged up
- Neither INF Rafael Ramirez ($360K) nor OF Axell De Paula ($300K) are off to great starts to their pro careers at .165/.271/.252 and .223/.314/.339 respectively. De Paula also has a horrific 39% K rate
- 20 year old Dominican RHP Jose Fleury (no bonus reported) has 50 Ks versus just 4 BBs in 34 IP
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Fattened up today against the Astros Blue squad (3rd-worst hitting team in the 49-team DSL): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 .BB, 10 K. Now 60 Ks and just 4 BBs in 38 IP. Those whiffs rank 4th in the league Although 2 innings short of qualifying, his 0.82 WHIP and .193 BAA would both rank in the top five in the DSL.
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Numbers have improved to .328/.427/.702. That 1.129 OPS is second best in the DSL.
interesting. any news on defense?
DSL also wrapped up it’s season today with both clubs winning their games. The Orange squad finished at 36-23 after winning 9 of its last 10 games and tied for second in the 8-team North division. The Blue went 23-37 and finished 6th.
Barring some fast finishes by either Sugar Land or Corpus Christi, the DSL Orange is likely the only one of the eight affiliates to finish with an above .500 record.
Walks were also a problem for the DSL hurlers. The Blue finished 44th (out of 49 teams) with a BB/9 of 6.2 while the Orange finished 35th at 5.7. The walks kind of offset the success that pitchers had at whiffing guys. The Orange finished 2nd with a K/9 of 11.9 while the Blue finished 14th at 9.5.
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The Orange squad is in the DSL playoffs and won their game today against Pittsburgh Gold 6-5.
20 year old Venezolano Jose Guedez was sharp on the hill (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K).
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Pronouncing that name is hard! If I am even pronouncing it correctly. Middle name easy.
If you can pronounce Venezuelan (hint hint), you can probably pronounce Venezolano.
Or maybe not.
The Orange lost quarterfinals game #2 to Pittsburgh Gold by a 12-4 score. Astros pitchers walked 12, uncorked 4 WPs and plunked a batter. Add a couple of errors to the mix for a nice clean ballgame.
Game #3 (which I assume is the deciding game although info is scarce) is tomorrow.
The Orange get eliminated with the 4-2 loss.
Catcher Victor Diaz went 4-10 in the playoffs with 2 homers and a walk after hitting .395/.469/.628 this month in the regular season. He has signed by the Astros on July 5 after a checkered history with two other organizations. Signed by the Phillies for $250K back in '18 as a 16 year old and was subsequently released at the end of April last year after what appears to have been a positive steroids test. The Dodgers signed him in September but released him this spring.