Appel thrilled to be coming home to Houston
I'm coming home, I'm coming home! Tell the world, I'm coming home! #GodIsGreat #Astros—
Mark Appel (@MAppel26) June 07, 2013
Here is the transcript of Mark Appel’s conference call with the Houston media on Thursday:
Q: Looking back a year later, not signing with the Pirates and getting drafted by the Astros, did this turn out about as well as you could have imagined?
A: “I don’t think I necessarily had an end goal in mind when I turned down the Pirates’ offer. My goals were to finish my degree, to become a better baseball player, a better person and better teammate. As far as that goes, I think I accomplished those things. No matter what happened in the Draft, I knew I had done everything that was in my control to put myself in the best situation possible.”
Q: How special is this night for you and your family being chosen the No. 1 pick in the Draft?
A: “It’s incredibly special. We’re a tight family. Both my parents were born there [in Houston] and raised there and I lived there for 12 years before moving to California. All my family lives there. It’s very exciting. It was really exciting to have conversations with Mr. Luhnow. “
Q: How big is the signability issue with Scott [Boras] and your agent?
A: “Yes, Mr. Boras is my agent, and he will handle most of the negotiations. I think obviously I will be very involved, but it will go through… I trust him and he’s done a great job so far.”
Q: The extra year, what area of your game improved the most by going back to this past season and getting another year under your belt?
A: “I think the biggest area for me was fastball command and commanding it down in the zone. That really made all my other pitches better. I still think I had a better feel for both my off-speed pitches as the season went on, but the big focus was the fastball command for me and I think once I got that, it really helped my overall game.”
Q: What are you memories of being here in Houston, being a baseball fan and maybe going to the Dome and following the Astros?
A: “I have a lot of great memories. I do remember going to a few games in the Astrodome. My dad’s work had season tickets they split up between a number of people and we got to go to a few games every year. I even remember when Minute Maid Park opened and how great of a ballpark that is. I remember playing Little League baseball at Post Oak Little League and the great summers I had with a bunch of great friends. I’ve gotten some calls and texts from those guys and kept in touch. The friendships and memories I created while I was in Houston were great and still even when I’m back to visit family, new memories have been created every single time.”
Q: How about a timetable when you think you will sign?
A: “That is involved in the negotiation process. As for me, I’m just spending time with my family. I know if at all it would be after graduation. I have a few things planned this summer with family. Obviously, graduation is important. I’m not really sure about the timetable and I really don’t know if I could give you an exact answer.”
Q: Do you have your arms around what’s happened here?
A: “It’s definitely been quite the year. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve had my ups and downs and I’ve become a better person and better ballplayer because of it.”
Astros announce Minor League Players of the Month
The Astros player development department has named May’s Minor League Pitchers and Players of the Month at each of their four full-season minor league affiliates. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team.
TRIPLE-A OKLAHOMA CITY
LHP Brett Oberholtzer was named Pitcher of the Month after going 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA (7ER/26IP) and 27 strikeouts in five starts in May. He was named the Pacific Coast League’s Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 6-13 and held opponents to a .198 (18×91) batting average during the month. IF Brett Wallace was named the RedHawks Player of the Month after hitting .324 (34×105) with six doubles, six homers, 26 RBI and a .403 on-base percentage in 28 games in May. Wallace is hitting .319 (51×160) with eight homers and a .948 OPS in 41 total games at OKC.
DOUBLE-A CORPUS CHRISTI
RHP Jake Buchanan went 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA (0ER/27.2IP) in six May outings to earn Corpus Christi’s Pitcher of the Month honors. The Astros 2011 Minor League Pitcher of the Year currently leads all of minor league baseball with a 0.85 ERA and has allowed just five walks all season in 63.1 innings pitched. He was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 29-May 6. IF Erik Castro was named the Hooks Player of the Month after hitting .360 in 24 May games, raising his season batting average by 88 points from .206 to .294. Castro added 10 doubles, four homers, 20 RBI and a 1.031 OPS (.424 OBP/.607 SLG) during the month.
CLASS A LANCASTER
LHP Theron Geith was named Lancaster Pitcher of the Month after going 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA (4ER/15.1IP) and 10 strikeouts in 10 relief outings for the JetHawks. Geith has posted a 5-0 record with a 2.22 ERA (6ER/24.1IP) on the season. He was acquired by the Astros last year as a PTBNL in the Ben Francisco trade with Tampa Bay. Lancaster’s Player of the Month award went to OF Preston Tucker, who leads all of minor league baseball with 57 RBI. A seventh round draft pick by the Astros last year, Tucker hit .342 (39×114) with seven doubles, one triple, five homers, 30 RBI and a .400 OBP in 29 games in May. He recently had a 17-game hitting streak from May 16-June 2.
CLASS A QUAD CITIES
A pair of Astros 2012 first-round draft picks earned May awards for Quad Cities, with RHP Lance McCullers receiving Pitcher of the Month honors and IF Carlos Correa receiving Player of the Month honors. McCullers earned his first career win while posting a 1.88 ERA (5ER/24IP) and 26 strikeouts over seven outings in May. The 41st overall selection in last year’s draft currently leads the Midwest League with a 1.70 ERA. Correa hit .349 (30×86) with six doubles, one triple, 18 RBI and a .423 on-base percentage in 22 May games. Last year’s first overall selection in the draft entered the season as the third-youngest player in the Midwest League and is hitting .275 (47×171) with 10 doubles, one triple, three homers, 34 RBI, five stolen bases and 26 walks (.380 OBP) in 44 total games this season. Both players were also named Midwest League All-Stars.
The Astros five active minor league affiliates have combined to post a 137-98 (.583) record, which ranks first out of all Major League organizations. Each of the four domestic affiliates are over .500, and three of the four are currently in first place in their divisions.
Martinez rewards Porter’s faith in him
After outfielder J.D. Martinez went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts in Monday’s win over the Rockies, Astros manager Bo Porter tapped him on the back and told him he would be right back in the lineup the next day. Martinez went 8-for-13 in the following three games against Colorado, rewarding Porter’s faith in him.
“I told him he’s not going to go the rest of the season and not strike out five times, so why does it matter if it happened in five consecutive at-bats?” Porter said. “You can’t let it become a mental thing where you’re thinking about the strikeout. You have to make sure you stay in the frame of mind that gives you the best opportunity to be successful.”
Martinez went 4-for-5 on Thursday’s win over the Rockies, setting a career high for hits. He’s hitting .416 (15-for-36) over his last eight games with three doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs and six runs scored.
“I just felt like a lot of this series, the strikeout and stuff, I was catching myself thinking too much,” Martinez said. “I was guessing the situation and what they’re going to throw me and stuff like that. Today I said, ‘I don’t care, I’m going to react. I’m going to look for the ball in a spot and if it’s there, I’m going to react to it.’ I felt like that’s what I did today.”
Castro named AL Player of the Week
Astros catcher Jason Castro was named on Tuesday as the team’s first American League Player of the Week.
Castro hit .579 (11-for-19) with one double, three home runs, five RBIs and five runs scored in six games for the week that ended Sunday, including a 10-for-12 stretch in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Oakland A’s.
Castro is the first Houston player to be honored as Player of the Week since Hunter Pence was named NL Player of the Week in September, 2010. Castro led the Majors in batting average, slugging percentage (1.105) and on-base percentage (.636), was tied for fourth in homers and was tied for fifth overall in total bases (21).
On Monday against the Kansas City Royals, the 25-year-old launched his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot in the third inning as the Astros went on to defeat the Royals, 6-5, at Minute Maid Park. After drawing a walk in a pinch-hitting appearance in a loss to Kansas City on Tuesday, Castro and the Astros bounced back in the rubber match between the two Clubs on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory.
The California native shined on the offensive and defensive sides, going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored at the plate, while throwing out a pair of base runners in the latter half of the contest to help seal the win for Houston.
On Saturday, the Stanford University product combined with teammate Matt Dominguez to launch a pair of homers each, but their efforts were not enough as the host Astros fell to the Oakland Athletics, 11-5. Castro went 3-for-4 in the outing as he and Dominguez became the first Astros duo to collect multiple homers in the same game since Lance Berkman and Craig Biggio on July 25, 2005 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Castro’s pair of blasts gives him six homers on the season, equaling his 2012 total and tying a career high. Houston’s first round pick (10th overall) in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft continued to swing a hot bat in Sunday’s matchup with Oakland, collecting a career-high four hits and scoring a run as Houston fell to the visiting A’s, 6-2.
Castro, in his third Major League season, became the first Astros player with at least three hits in three straight games since Ty Wigginton on August 15-17, 2008.
In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Jason Castro will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time.
Peacock called back up from Triple-A
The Astros recalled right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Tuesday’s game against the Rockies, taking the roster spot of outfielder Robbie Grossman, who was optioned to the Minor Leagues on Monday. He’ll be in uniform for the 1:10 p.m. CT.
Peacock began the season in the Astros starting rotation, but was sent down after going 1-3 with a 9.41 ERA in six games (five starts) with Houston. He went 1-2 with a 4.98 ERA in four starts for the RedHawks, allowing 18 hits and striking out 27 batters in 21 2/3 innings.
Grossman, who was called up April 24, went 0-for-5 with a walk and three strikeouts on Monday to drop his batting average to .198 and on-base percentage to .310. He started 26 of 28 games, mostly in the lead-off spot.
“Just part of the game, part of the business,” Grossman said as he left Minute Maid Park on Monday. “If I played better it wouldn’t matter, but it is what it is.”
Grossman was acquired by the Astros in last year’s trade that sent pitcher Wandy Rodriguez to the Pirates. A Houston-area native, he hit .324 with a .452 on-base percentage in 19 games for Oklahoma City before being called up.
“They said to go down there and keep playing hard,” Grossman said.
The move could open the door for Brandon Barnes, who won Monday’s game with a walk-off win in the 12th inning, to get more playing time. Center fielder Justin Maxwell, who fractured his hand last month, could return soon and will begin a rehab later this week.
Grossman: ‘If I played better, it wouldn’t matter.’
Two weeks after Astros manager Bo Porter said Robbie Grossman would get every chance to prove he was his starting center fielder, the team optioned the outfielder to Triple-A Oklahoma City following Monday’s 3-2 win over the Rockies.
Grossman, who was called up April 24, went 0-for-5 with a walk and three strikeouts on Monday to drop his batting average to .198 and on-base percentage to .310. He started 26 of 28 games, mostly in the lead-off spot.
“Just part of the game, part of the business,” Grossman said as he left Minute Maid Park. “If I played better it wouldn’t matter, but it is what it is.”
The team is planning to call up right-hander Brad Peacock, giving them an extra arm heading into Coors Field later this week.
Grossman was acquired by the Astros in last year’s trade that sent pitcher Wandy Rodriguez to the Pirates. A Houston-area native, he hit .324 with a .452 on-base percentage in 19 games for Oklahoma City before being called up.
“They said to go down there and keep playing hard,” Grossman said.
The move could open the door for Brandon Barnes, who won Monday’s game with a walk-off win in the 12th inning, to get more playing time. Center fielder Justin Maxwell, who fractured his hand last month, could return soon and will begin a rehab later this week. Trevor Crowe has also played well in his limited chances.
Singleton to start season Tuesday
Astros top prospect Jonathan Singleton will begin his season Tuesday for Class A Quad Cities against Kane County after missing the first 50 games of the season for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for a drug of abuse — his second positive test.
General manager Jeff Luhnow said Monday the plan is for Singleton to spend a few days with Quad Cities, a few days at Double-A Corpus Christi before eventually winding up at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He has spent the season so far playing in extended Spring Training.
“We have him on a schedule, and it partially depends on when the team is at home and when the team is on the road and what kind of trip it is and all that,” Luhnow said. “We’ll obviously monitor him and all that. It’s different than coming back from a medical situation when you have to get daily checkups to make sure he’s OK. We know he’s OK. He’s been playing in Florida.”
Singleton, a left-handed-hitting first baseman, hit .284 with 21 homers and 79 RBIs in 131 games last year at Corpus Christi and was expected to push for playing time on the Major League club this year. The Astros acquired him and three other players from the Phillies in the Hunter Pence trade in 2011.
When asked if Singleton could reach the Majors this year, Luhnow cautioned that he had yet to even play at Triple-A.
“I never assume someone is going to make that jump successfully out of the gate,” Luhnow said. “Ultimately he will, but he’s got to demonstrate to us he can handle that environment and pitching before we move him up here.”
Porter sees Dominguez, Castro for the long haul
Astros manager Bo Porter was asked repeatedly this spring about setting his starting lineup, and he always gave the same answer: “Jose Altuve is my starting second baseman and he’s going to hit leadoff.” In other words, Porter was set on the 5-foot-6 Altuve as his starting second baseman, but every other position was up for grabs.
Though the evaluation process continues in the outfield, earlier this month Porter identified J.D. Martinez as the starting left-fielder, Robbie Grossman as the starting center-fielder and Jimmy Paredes as the starting right-fielder — for now. These names are by no means locked in as much as Altuve, an All-Star a year ago, but Porter’s declaration was more about finding out what Martinez, Grossman and Paredes can do to prove they belong.
Which brings us to Saturday night, when third baseman Matt Dominguez and catcher Jason Castro both hit two homers, becoming the first Astros teammates to do that since Lance Berkman and Craig Biggio in 2005.
Dominguez, a tremendous defender, has seven homers in his last 12 games after not hitting a homer in his first 33 games this year, and the former first-round pick Castro has homered three times in his last six games and is hitting .450 in that span. Dominguez is hitting .253 with seven homers and a team-leading 24 RBIs, and Castro is hitting .265 with six homers and 15 RBIs.
After the game, Porter was ready to say Dominguez and Castro had joined Altuve in locking up a starting spot for the long term, and considering there’s nobody in the Minor Leagues ready to push them, that’s a good thing for the Astros.
“We found ourself a third baseman and we found ourself a catcher,” Porter said. “And coming into the season we knew we had a second baseman. This is the thing: You let them play long enough, the questions you have, they’ll answer them. One way or another, they will answer the questions you need to have answered. I will not leave this season without getting every question I have in my head answered.”
As for first base and shortstop? Jonathan Singleton appears to be the first baseman of the future and will begin his Minor League season next week after missing the first 50 games because of a second failed drug test. The shortstop spot is being kept warm until 2012 No. 1 pick Carlos Correa is ready, though Jonathan Villar could be interesting to watch next year.
And don’t sleep on Chris Carter, who has enough power to entrench himself at first base or designated hitter if he can cut down on his strikeouts.
Whether any of these names are here when the Astros hope to contend in a few years remains to be seen, but there are some signs on hope in the rubble of a 14-35 season.
Singleton headed to Quad Cities
Astros top prospect Jonathan Singleton, who is nearing the end of his 50-game suspension for a second failed drug test, will begin his season sometime next week at Class A Quad Cities before moving to Triple-A Oklahoma City, general manager Jeff Luhnow said Sunday.
Singleton, ranked by MLB.com as the top prospect the Astros’ organization, was suspended Jan. 9 after violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for a drug of abuse. Singleton later said in a statement he had tested positive for marijuana.
Singleton, a left-handed-hitting first baseman, hit .284 with 21 homers and 79 RBIs in 131 games last year at Double-A Corpus Christi and was expected to push for playing time on the Major League club this year. The Astros acquired him from the Phillies in the Hunter Pence trade in 2011.
Luhnow didn’t have an exact date for Singleton’s return, saying it would happen next week. He would likely be eligible to return May 28, which would be the 51st game on Corpus Christi’s schedule and he was on its roster when suspended.
“Right now, it looks like we’re going to send him to Quad Cities for a short period of time and from there to go his next assignment, which will probably be Oklahoma City,” he said. “Just give him a chance to play under the lights somewhere else, and Quad Cities is our newest affiliate and we love the ballpark and we love the management team and it’s a good opportunity.
“Whenever we have a chance to send a big leaguer, or close to a big league player there, is strengthens the bond between us and our affiliate.”
Clark, Perez speak with Paredes
Astros bench coach Eduardo Perez and first base coach Dave Clark both had conversations with outfielder Jimmy Paredes on Saturday, a day after he crashed into teammate Jake Elmore and forced him to drop a ball that allowed the Pirates to score the winning run in the ninth inning
Paredes, who was in right field, didn’t see Elmore, the second baseman, waving his arms to signal he was prepared to catch the ball, at which point Paredes should have backed off. It was the second time in less than week Paredes ran into a second baseman. He crashed into Jose Altuve on Monday in Detroit and partially dislocated Altuve’s jaw.
“This is Major League Baseball and you can’t have those kinds of fundamental mishaps in big league games,” manager Bo Porter said. “It should not happen.”
Perez said he was honest with Paredes. He told him the play in Detroit wasn’t his fault because Altuve didn’t hear him calling for the ball, but on Friday he should have peeled off as Elmore was raising his hands.
“He was a little confused on how he’s going to look down and up at the same time,” Perez said. “It’s just him being a little bit raw out there, but he’s got to learn from it. I tried to tell him to switch positions [Paredes used to play second base] and think about when you’re a second baseman, what do you do? How do you call it? You call it by raising your hand and you’re expecting the right-fielder to see you. Now you’re a right-fielder and you have to see him. If he’s under the ball, he’s getting it.”
Veteran pitcher Edgar Gonzalez, who was on the mound at the time, spoke to Paredes in their native Spanish after the game and offered words of encouragement.
“He told me that happens in the game sometimes and he told me the most important thing is you and Elmore are fine,” Paredes said. “There were no injuries. Nobody got hurt. In the game, that situation happens. That’s what he was he was telling me. Just keep going.”
Brian McTaggart
Recent Comments