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Houston Astros Top 20 Prospects in Review

This list was originally published November 29, 2007. THIS IS NOT A NEW LIST!!!!!  THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE OLD LIST!!!

1) Troy Patton, LHP, Grade B+
     Traded to Baltimore. Torn labrum, out for year.
2) J.R. Towles, C, Grade B 
     Lost job after .143/.255/.264 performance for Houston. Hitting .287/.361/.575 for Triple-A Round Rock. Will get more chances.
3) Felipe Paulino, RHP, Grade B
     Out with a pinched nerve in his throwing arm.
4) Bud Norris, RHP, Grade B-
     3.48 ERA with 60/17 K/BB in 54 innings for Double-A Corpus Cristi, 55 hits allowed. Fine command with a good K/IP, interesting prospect.
5) Mike Costanzo, 3B, Grade B-
     Traded to Baltimore. .258/.330/.393 with 10 homers, 128 strikeouts in 103 games in Triple-A. Not enough power to get away with that strikeout rate.
6) Michael Bourn, OF, Grade B-
     .233/.290/.306 with 33 steals in 96 games for the Astros. Great speed obviously, but other offensive skills are lacking. 
7) Mitch Einertson, OF, Grade B-
      .226/.271/.375 in Double-A. Up-and-down performance record is down again.
8) Juan Gutierrez, RHP, Grade C+
      Traded to Arizona, 6.83 ERA with 64/33 K/BB in 82 innings for Triple-A Tucson, 118 hits allowed. Horrible numbers, obviously.
9) Brad James, RHP, Grade C+
      4.55 ERA with 45/32 K/BB in 91 innings in Double-A, 106 hits allowed. On the DL since early July. Don't like the K/IP ratio.
10) Sam Gervacio, RHP, Grade C+
       3.53 ERA with 76/24 K/BB in 59 innings in Double-A, 55 hits allowed. Very impressive strikeout rate. still needs to sharpen command.
11) Chad Reineke, RHP, Grade C+
       4.41 ERA with 100/35 K/BB in 112 innings for Round Rock. Traded to Padres for Randy Wolf, has pitched well in his first two starts for Triple-A Portland. A nice solid C+/B- prospect.
12) Jordan Parraz, OF, Grade C+
       .304/.409/.443 with 19 steals for Class A Salem. Good tools, fast and strong, good strike zone judgment. Why doesn't he get promoted?
13) Josh Flores, OF Grade C+
       Hasn't played this year due to knee injury. Blew out two ligaments.
14) Eli Iorg, OF, Grade C+
      .254/.297/.399 with 16 steals, 10 homers in Double-A. Held back by poor strike zone judgment.
15) Collin DeLome, OF, Grade C+
       HItting a combined .247/.309/.484 with 19 homers, 27 walks, and 108 strikeouts in 380 at-bats between Low-A and High-A. Obviously has good power, but bad plate discipline is a big problem.
16) Paul Estrada, RHP, Grade C+
       Hasn't pitched this year due to shoulder injury.
17) Polin Trinidad, LHP, Grade C
       2.32 ERA with 34/11 K/BB in 62 innings in the Carolina League, 4.28 ERA with 41/13 K/BB in 67 innings in the Texas League. Good command, but low strikeout rate and fly ball tendencies are a bad combo.
18) Max Sapp, C, Grade C
       .204/.285/.306 in the Sally League is not what the Astros were looking for. High strikeout rate with no offensive production.
19) Sergio Severino, LHP, Grade C
       2.66 ERA with 54/24 K/BB in 51 innings in the Sally League, followed by 8.12 ERA and 26/31 K/BB in 41 innings in the Carolina League. Command is the big problem here.
20) Koby Clemens, 3B, Grade C
       .273/.360/.432 for Salem. Good walk rate, not a lot of home run power but hits plenty of doubles. Has a chance to advance in a weak system.

Injuries and trades ripped the guts out of this list. There isn't a lot to get excited about in this system, which suffered years of neglect. Towles should still be a good player, and Parraz has always interested me, but otherwise there is not much here, with a definite paucity of impact types.

0 recs  |  Comment 11 comments

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a little

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Atleast they got Tejada for some of those parts.

The Giants need to sign Harry Doyle.

by jrose643 on Aug 3, 2025 3:50 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

dunno

I dunno….it would have to be one of the worst.

John's Wife and Email Secretary

by mssickels on Aug 3, 2025 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Bud Norris

Norris seems like a ray of hope in this terrible system. Do you think he’s made it to B+ status yet, or at least a straight B? I’d also like to hear anything about his stuff; if I recall, he throws a good slider and a decent fastball, but any scouting info would be appreciated.

by limozeen on Aug 3, 2025 8:48 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Brian Pellegrini?

Anyone hear of this guy? Currently slugging pretty well at Lexington, but he’s hitting for a low average and isn’t getting any yonger. I went to college with the guy, and there are varying opinions of him from the St. Bonaventure crowd. Any thoughts?

http://www.myspace.com/ryanmac10

by RyanFromBonas on Aug 3, 2025 9:42 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Thoughts on the recently departed Matt Cusick?

He was doing quite well in Lexington, although he was one of the older guys on the team. Good walk numbers though. Even if he never makes it to the big leagues he’s probably more useful than La Troy Hawkins.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Aug 4, 2025 12:50 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

his college rep

was as a “plays above his tools” guy.
Hes a nice 2b/3b player but I don’t know if he is going to get a whole better than he is right now.

I don’t get why LaTroy gets needlessly bashed right there.
The guy is a good MLB reliever who is having a bad year.

by nms on Aug 4, 2025 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Cusick

Hey John I was wondering if you could give an quick approximation of where both Reineke and Cusick would ranked in the current system if they weren’t traded. Both top 10?

by yellowbookdotcooommm on Aug 5, 2025 12:05 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Brian Bogusevic

Since the move from SLP to RF Brian has produced for Corpus Christi and has moved into the 5 spot from the 7 spot.
He has 3 HR’s (all opposite field) and 10 RBI’s
Average is up to .300 from low .200’s early on in his transition.
He has above average speed and covers a wery windy RF in Corpus well, with a strong enough arm to hold runners on third from making an attempt at scoring on middle deep balls to right.

Allen Wahlström
CC, Texas

by FFWally on Aug 5, 2025 12:27 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

.345/.410/.636

sounds good to me

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 9, 2025 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

What exactly is the deal with Towles?

Do the Astros still see him as their answer at C for years to come?

HIs recent stints in the majors somewhat worry me….should I be worried?

by barlow078 on Aug 10, 2025 4:55 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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