Over the past two weeks, BlueShield of Northeastern New York and the Tri-City ValleyCats continued their work on local youth ball fields throughout the Capital Region.

Field work has been done at fields including  Cohoes Intermediate Baseball, Carman Little League in Schenectady and Westland Hills in Albany. Work included replacing/repairing the mound and home plate areas, cutting out lips along the baselines and other general field maintenance.

Below is a slideshow of pictures from the recent renovations:

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Let’s take a look around the majors and minors at how our former ‘Cats are faring. (Updated on Friday, May 25)

Noteworthy:

• Felipe Paulino continues to impress, going 6.2 innings and picking up the W against the New York Yankees Monday night.  Paulino struck out 8 and scattered 6 hits as he extended his scoreless streak to 13.2 innings.  Pualino is 2-1 in the early going and holds a pristine 1.42 ERA.
• Bud Norris continued to impress, pitching 7 scoreless with 8 K’s on the way to notching his 5th win of the season.  Norris lowered his ERA to 3.14 in the process as he picked up his 4th straight victory.
• JD Martinez powered the Astros offense, going 3-4 with 3 RBI on Wednesday to help finish off a sweep of the Cubs.  Martinez is hitting .294 in his past 7 games.
• Last year’s first round pick, George Springer, continues to rake at Advanced-A ball.  Springer has hit a scalding .372 during the month of May, with 8 jacks.  He has 21 walks this month compared with only 4 strikeouts, showing everyone he’s not only developing the power, but has complete control of the strike zone.   Springer doesn’t appear to be cooling off anytime soon, as he has hit .425 in the past ten.  The sky truly appears to be the limit for the Astros top outfield prospect.
• Telvin Nash continues to lead the entire Astros minor league system with 12 Home Runs.
• Relievers Dayan Diaz and Jason Chowning continue to form a lights out pair out of the bullpen for the Lexington Legends.  The two have similar numbers (0.77 and 0.78 ERA, respectively) and have combined to strike out 61 in 46.1 innings of work.
• Jose Altuve continues to get the respect he deserves.  Hitting .309 on the year, he was spotlighted by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.  Check out this article if you didn’t get a chance earlier in the Month.

Houston Astros (Through 44 games)

Jose Altuve: .309 BA, .365 OBP, 9 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 9 SB

J.D. Martinez: .235 BA, .342 OBP 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 25 RBI

Chris Johnson: .288 BA, .319 OBP, 6 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 2 SB

Jason Castro: .220 BA, .304 OBP, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI

Brian Bogusevic: .211 BA, .303 OBP, 4 2B, 2 3B, HR, 10 RBI, 6 SB

Bud Norris (5-1): 3.14 ERA, 57.1 IP, 51 H, 20 ER, 18 BB, 58 SO

Fernando Abad: 5.19 ERA, 8.2 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 4 HR

Other ‘Cats around the majors:

Hunter Pence (Phillies): .254 BA, .325 OBP, 7 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 28 RBI, 3 SB

Ben Zobrist (Rays): .217 BA, .355 OBP, 9 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 3 SB

Matt Albers (Red Sox): 2.25 ERA, 20 IP, 14 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 13 SO, 3 HR

Troy Patton (Orioles): 1-0, 4.15 ERA, 21.2 IP, 20 H, 10 ER, 4 BB, 17 SO, 3 HR

Felipe Paulino (Royals): 2-1, 1.42 ERA, 25.1 IP, 22H, 4 ER, 7 BB, 29 SO, 1 HR

Around the minors:

Drew Sutton (Gwinnett Braves, Triple-A Atlanta Braves): .270 BA, .374 OBP, 10 2B, 2 3B, 15 RBI, 2 SB

Jordan Parraz (Gwinnett Braves, Triple-A Braves): .305 BA, .377 OBP, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 SB

Chad Reineke (Louisville Bats, Triple-A Reds): 1-3, 4.91 ERA, 47.2 IP, 64 H, 26 ER, 16 BB, 33 SO, 1 HR

Houston Astros minor league affiliates:

Lexington: (through 44 games)

Brandon Meredith: .217 BA, .333 OBP, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 6 SB

John Hinson: .309 BA, .321 OBP, 4 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 SB

Jordan Scott: .284 BA, .390 OBP, 9 2B, 2 3B, 20 RBI, 8 SB

Zach Johnson: .249 BA, .350 OBP, 15 2B, 3B, 6 HR, 49 RBI

Matt Duffy: .326 BA, .391 OBP, 13 2B, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 4 SB

Mike Kvasnicka: .185 BA, .237 OBP, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB

Drew Muren: .274 BA, .324 OBP, 10 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3 SB

Justin Gominsky: .205 BA, .253 OBP, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 4 SB

Carlos Quevedo: 3-1, 3.05 ERA, 38.1 IP, 31 H, 13 ER, 5 BB, 40 SO

Nick Tropeano: 2-3, 2.73 ERA, 52.2 IP, 42 H, 16 ER, 11 BB, 63 SO

Jonas Dufek: 1-0, 4.76 ERA, 39.2 IP, 44 H, 21 ER, 13 BB, 29 SO

Murilo Gouvea: 1-1, 3.04 ERA, 26.2 IP, 21 H, 9 ER, 7 BB, 33 SO

Dayan Diaz: 4-2, 0.77 ERA, 23.1 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 11 BB, 27 SO

Jason Chowning: 1-2, 0.78 ERA, 23 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 8 BB, 34 SO

Lancaster: (through 47 games)

Erik Castro: .321 BA, .343 OBP, 8 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 2 SB

Telvin Nash: .232 BA, .306 OBP, 10 2B, 12 HR, 25 RBI

Ben Orloff: .278 BA, .361 OBP, 4 2B, 12 RBI, 2 SB

Rafael Valenzuela: .262 BA, .333 OBP, 4 2B, 3 3B, 8 RBI, 5 SB

George Springer: .320 BA, .361 OBP, 8 2B, 4 3B, 10 HR, 34 RBI, 10 SB

Ben Heath: .276 BA, .308 OBP, 5 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI

Enrique Hernandez: .270 BA, .307 OBP, 12 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB

Adam Bailey: .296 BA, .343 OBP, 11 2B, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 2 SB

Rene Garcia: .243 BA, .308 OBP, 7 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI

Bobby Doran: 4-3, 3.62 ERA, 54.2 IP, 54 H, 22 ER, 15 BB, 41 SO

David Martinez: 1-3, 6.55 ERA, 44.0 IP, 51 H, 32 ER, 11 BB, 35 SO

Zachary Grimmett: 2-3, 7.90 ERA, 41.0 IP, 60 H, 36 ER, 9 BB, 36 SO

Andrew Robinson: 0-1, 7.84ERA, 20.2 IP, 24 H, 18 ER, 7 BB, 19 SO

Brian Streilein: 1-2, 7.23 ERA, 18.2 IP, 21 H, 15 ER, 10 BB, 16 SO

Jorge De Leon: 0-4 8.63 ERA, 24.0 IP, 35 H, 23 ER, 14 BB, 19 SO

Corpus Christi: (46 games)

Brandon Barnes: .318 BA, .377 OBP, 20 2B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 6 SB

Andrew Simunic: .279 BA, .328 OBP, 4 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 4 SB

Jake Goebbert: .263 BA, .337 OBP, 9 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 1 SB

Austin Wates: .302 BA, .356 OBP, 8 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 8 SB

T.J. Steele: .141 BA, .184 OBP, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB

Chris Wallace: .194 BA, .286 OBP, 5 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB

Jake Buchanan: 2-3, 5.40 ERA, 53.1 IP, 70 H, 32 ER, 13 BB, 33 SO

Alex Sogard: 0-1 6.75 ERA, 10.2 IP, 14 H, 8 ER, 16 BB, 6 SO

Oklahoma City: (47 games)

J.B. Shuck: .272 BA, .328 OBP, 2 2B, 2 3B, 8 RBI, 5 SB

Dallas Keuchel: 4-4, 4.52 ERA, 63.2 IP, 69 H, 32 ER, 13 BB, 30 SO

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:

5/22/12: Bud Norris pitches 7 scoreless to give the Astros the win against the rival Cubs on Wednesday.  Norris has won his last four decisions.

5/21/12: Paulino pitches his Royals past the Yankees.

5/22/12: Jose Altuve continues to show that size does not predicate power.  He absolutely crushes this one:

Last Friday was the last day for longtime ValleyCats bookkeeper Gene Gleason, who has hung up his calculator after 11 years with the ‘Cats.

This is actually Gene’s second retirement. He worked for D&H Railroad for 35 years before joining the ValleyCats, first as an usher, then becoming the bookkeeper/accountant. We are all going to immensely miss Gene around the office and at the ballpark, and wish him nothing but the best during his official retirement.

We presented Gene with two gifts. A framed photo of “The Joe” with a written message from each member of the front office:

Gene is a HUGE RPI Hockey fan and goes to almost every game, so we thought it would be fitting to get him a personalized jersey to wear to the games:

Below is a photo of Gene with Media/Production Manager Chris Chenes, who both worked together during the first year of ValleyCats baseball in 2002 as ushers.

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With Gene’s departure, we welcome Ryun Girmindl aboard, full-time. Ryun spent the past two seasons as an intern in our Food & Beverage Department.

Ryun grew up in Niverville, NY and graduated from Ichabod Crane High School in 2008. He then went on to study Business and Information Science at SUNY Albany.

In his free time, Ryun enjoys spending time with family, friends and following his favorite sports teams, the NY Yankees, NY Giants and Chicago Bulls.

Following the ’4 in 24′ field renovations, the BlueShield of Northeastern New York’s Community Grounds Crew Program has been continuing in full force with the maintenance of Westland Hills in Albany and Carmen Little League in Rotterdam.

Another very important project was the renovation of the Middleburgh Central School’s baseball field. The field was hit hard by Hurricane Irene and needed lots of work. That’s where the BlueShield’s BlueCrew and the ValleyCats stepped in to re-sod the infield and put in a new pitcher’s mound and home plate area.

Here are some photos from Middleburgh:

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The past few weekends have been filled with Little League Opening Days (20 to be exact), and community events that SouthPaw, Pappy SouthPaw, Rowdy and many other ‘Cats mascots participated in. Below are some photos from just a handful of them.

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Aside from the Opening Days, one of the events we participated in was  Bowling Against Bullying at Spare Time in Latham. The event was organized by singing sensation and Bethlehem Middle School student Anthony Gargiula. Anthony is a staple here at “The Joe,” singing the National Anthem each season.

All of the money raised will fund bullying education in area schools.

Our Community Relations Department has been busy working on a new slogan that reflects our entire community outreach efforts, and today we are proud to announce our ‘Cats Care campaign.

Here is the new logo designed by Fan Development Manager Michelle Skinner and Community Relations Manager Ryan Burke:

We will be incorporating this logo into everything that we do in and around the community, so you will be seeing it often!

It’s been a great 10-years thus far, and we look forward to being a big part of the community for many years to come. A big thank you to all of our fans, who continue to support ValleyCats Baseball. It can’t be said enough times, without all of the fan support, we wouldn’t be able to bring the fun and excitement of Minor League Baseball to the Capital Region.

Here’s to a wonderful 2012 season at “The Joe!”

Beginning at 6 AM on Friday, April 13, the Cambridge Valley Athletic Association, South Colonie Youth Baseball, Coxsackie Little League and Waterford Little League all received much needed improvements to their playing fields.

Each ball field had new sod placed on their infield, while also seeing their pitcher’s mound and homeplate areas re-built, all in less than 24-hours.

The ’4 in 24′ Youth Field Renovation Project was the kick-off to a season long campaign known as the Community Grounds Crew Program. Partnering with BlueShield of Northeastern New York, the ValleyCats Community Grounds Crew will assist numerous other youth leagues in the Capital Region with field maintenance projects from June through September.

This year, we divided up into four different groups, one at each field beginning at 6 AM. The last field to be completed was Coxsackie, at around 8 PM. A total of 14 hours! That’s a new record, compared to last year’s 21 hours.

Special thanks goes out to Stadium Operations Manager Keith Sweeney and Account Executive Kyle Wheeler for coordinating the project, and to Head Groundskeeper John Hudson for leading the efforts of rebuilding the mound and home plate areas.

The amount of support we received from the volunteers at each location was tremendous! It was a true team effort to complete each field renovation! The ’4 in 24′ was also supported by Pioneer Bank and could not have been completed without the aforementioned help.

Below are the before & after photos from each ball field:

Click here to view the full ’4 in 24′ photo gallery

The ValleyCats and BlueShield of Northeastern New York’s Community Ground Crew Program made a stop at Ricky Cramer Memorial Field in Jefferson Heights, Catskill this past week, to help renovate a field that was in desperate need of an overhaul.

With help from volunteers, we rebuilt home plate and the pitcher’s mound, did some sod work around the infield, graded in new dirt and made sure the baseline dimensions were accurate.

The field is going to be used by Catskill Little League’s Senior Division (Babe Ruth), as well as the Catskill High School baseball team.

“This is the first real construction on the site in over 40 years. We’ve been working non-stop over the past month to get to the point we’re at today,” said Catskill Little League President Ed DuPont.

With the help of other members of the community, the field will also receive new dugouts, a new scoreboard, a roadway sign, and fence-guards will be installed across the outfield.

“This has not been a one-man show. This is a massive project and it took a massive community effort to do this,” DuPont said.

The whole idea behind the ValleyCats and BlueShield of Northeastern New York’s Community Grounds Crew program, is to make sure that the fields of our youth are well maintained and safe for play. We are proud to have been able to help out in Catskill and continue our efforts to be ambassadors for the game of baseball.

We will continue to take renovation applications through September, and encourage any league interested in field maintenance assistance to fill one out and send it to us.

Click here to download an application.

On Friday, the ‘Cats and the Community Grounds Crew will be renovating four more fields, in less than 24-hours. The project is known as the ’4 in 24′ Extreme Field Renovation, which began last year and was extremely successful.

This year, the ’4 in 24′ will take place at youth fields located in Cambridge, Coxsackie, South Colonie and Waterford. Pioneer Bank is also supporting these renovation efforts.

For coverage of the ’4 in 24′, be sure to visit our website, www.tcvalleycats.com, and our Facebook & Twitter pages for updates throughout the day on Friday.

Here are more pictures from the Catskill renovation:

Today was a special day. Sure our individual tickets went on sale this morning, but what made the day truly special was the time SouthPaw and members of the ValleyCats front office spent at The Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center.

SouthPaw visited with over 10 children, handing out ValleyCats hats and baseballs to each one. To see the smiles on these kids faces was a very rewarding and inspiring experience. It was so great to be able to brighten the day of these children and their parents, who have gone through so much.

The Children’s Hospital treats infants, children and adolescents who have serious illnesses or injuries that require advanced medical care.

SouthPaw loved it so much that he will be making many more appearances at the hospital in the future.

Here are a few pictures from our visit:

The Houston Astros have announced the preliminary rosters for their long-season minor league affiliates, and many former ‘Cats are scattered throughout the list.

Below is a slimmed down version of the rosters, showing where all of your former ‘Cats will be beginning their 2012 season. These rosters are subject to change and will not be officially finalized until the minor league Opening Day this Thursday, April 4. Rosters do not include Disabled List players.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AAA)

PITCHERS:
DALLAS KEUCHEL (’09)
JORDAN LYLES (’08)

OUTFIELDERS:
COLLIN DELOME (’07)
JAKE GOEBBERT (’09)

CORPUS CHRISTI (AA):

PITCHERS:
JAKE BUCHANAN (’10)

CATCHERS:
CHRIS WALLACE (’10)

INFIELDERS:
ANDY SIMUNIC (’08)

OUTFIELDERS:
ADAM BAILEY (’10)
BRANDON BARNES (’07)
T.J. STEELE (’08)
AUSTIN WATES (’10)

LANCASTER (A-Advanced):

PITCHERS:
JORGE DE LEON (’09-’10)
BOBBY DORAN (’10)
ZACH GRIMMETT (’09)
DAVID MARTINEZ (’10)
ANDREW ROBINSON (’10)
ALEX SOGARD (’10)
BRIAN STREILEIN (’10)

CATCHERS:
RENE GARCIA (’09)
BEN HEATH (’10)
RYAN MCCURDY (’10-’11)

INFIELDERS:
ERIK CASTRO (’09)
ENRIQUE HERNANDEZ (’10)
TELVIN NASH (’10)
BEN ORLOFF (’09-’10)
RAFAEL VALENZUELA (’11)

OUTFIELDERS:
DANIEL ADAMSON (’10)
GEORGE SPRINGER (’11)

LEXINGTON (A):

PITCHERS:
JASON CHOWNING (’10)
DAYAN DIAZ (’11)
JONAS DUFEK (’11)
MURILO GOUVEA (’10)
KYLE HALLOCK (’11)
CARLOS QUEVEDO (’10)
NICK TROPEANO (’11)

CATCHERS:
MILES HAMBLIN (’11)
MIKE KVASNICKA (’10)

INFIELDERS:
TYLER BURNETT (’10)
MATT DUFFY (’11)
ZACH JOHNSON (’11)

OUTFIELDERS:
JUSTIN GOMINSKY (’11)
ANDREW MUREN (’11)
JORDAN SCOTT (’11)

My final day at Spring Training was an eventful one. With camp day taking place for the minor leaguers and the big league club hosting Prince Fielder and the Detroit Tigers, there was plenty to capture. Not to mention that MLB Network was filming their “30 Clubs in 30 Days” Astros episode that premiered Wednesday night.

Here are some early morning photos of the MLB Network set:

Dan Plesac interviewed many Astros including manager Brad Mills:

The crew filmed the situational fielding session taking place on one of the backfields. Minor leaguers were brought over to serve as runners for the drills.

Before the major league game at 1pm, J.D. Martinez & Brett Wallace got some at-bats in a minor league intersquad game:

Stubby Clapp’s family was in town and here he is with his boys Cooper & Cannan:

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow speaks with manager Brad Mills during batting practice:

We spoke with Jeff right after and will be posting that video tomorrow. He is a big fan of the New York-Penn League and we look forward to seeing him at “The Joe” this summer.

Here are a few photos of Prince Fielder during batting practice:

Fielder’s boys were tossing the baseball around behind the cage:

Tigers manager Jim Leyland and Dan Plesac:

2008 All-Star ValleyCat J.B. Shuck:

2010 ValleyCat Jake Buchanan:

To see more photos from spring training, click here to view the photo album on our Facebook page.

In five full days at spring training, I’ve taken lots of photos, interviewed many former ‘Cats and current Astros, learned alot about the daily grind these players face and got a little sunburned at the same time. Okay, very sunburned! I hope everyone enjoyed the photos and I look forward to posting videos of many of the interviews conducted at camp. We’ll also be showing them throughout the 2012 season on our video board.

Opening Day is just 83 days away and individual tickets will be going on-sale Wednesday, April 4 at 10am. Stay tuned to tcvalleycats.com for all the latest news and ticket promotions leading up to the season!

Another early morning for me, as I arrived at the Astros complex at 8:30am. That is actually not early compared to when the players arrive. Shuttle busses pick the players up at 7am and arrives at the complex around 7:20. Being here four days now, I’ve pretty much got the hang of the daily routine and have adapted to it in order to accomplish our objectives for the trip.

Here’s how the days have typically gone: Get some footage of stretching and drills on the minor league side until about 10am, head over to the major league side for batting practice, head back to the minor league side to talk to players as they head in and out of lunch, then back over to the major league side to interview our former players after BP, then back to the minor league fields to talk to more players before the scrimmages.

At times during the scrimmages, coaches will be working with other guys on another field. Today, Stubby Clapp and Tom Lawless were working with Matt Duffy and Chan Jong Moon on fielding short hops and in-between hops.

Once the scrimmages end, that is the last opportunity for me to get my interviews before the players head to the locker rooms to shower, change and catch the vans back to the hotel.

Some interesting tidbits I learned today: George Springer used to participate in gymnastics, Tyler Burnett and I share the same favorite movie of “Blue Streak” with Martin Lawrence and Dave Chappelle, Jason Castro and Brandt Walker both went back to Stanford in the fall of 2010 to take the same class and were part of a group project together.

Tomorrow the Astros host the Detroit Tigers at 1pm while it’s a camp day for the minor leaguers. MLB Network is at Astros camp and will be filming their “30 Clubs in 30 Days” show. Dan Plesac was here Monday taping interviews.

MLB Network video crew:

It’s also the last day in Florida for me as I’ll be catching an 8:30pm flight back to Albany. With some time to kill, I’ll try to post a recap and pictures from the airport.

Here are a few more photos from Monday’s minor league action:

George Springer:

Evan Grills:

It’s amazing how fast five days can go. I feel like I just got here but only have 2 more days left. Thus far the trip has been very productive. The main objective is to gather content for our website, social media, video board and more.

On Tuesday morning at 9:15, ‘Cats manager Stubby Clapp will be a guest on Big Board Sports with Rodger Wyland on FOX Sports 980. He’ll talk about last season, his time spent coaching Team Canada in the Pan-Am Games, the upcoming season and more. Make sure to tune in or listen online.

On Saturday at the Osceola County Stadium, the Astros hosted a split-squad game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1pm while the AA and AAA squads hosted the Detroit Tigers minor leaguers. One of the highlights from the day was when 2009-10 ValleyCat Ben Orloff got his first ever taste of major league action. Orloff was a defensive substitution for Jose Altuve in the top of the 8th inning in the Astros game against the Pirates, and he didn’t waste any time flashing some leather.

The first batter hit a ground ball up the middle and Orloff made a great diving stop and an even more impressive throw for the out. Then in the bottom of the inning, with the go-ahead run standing on third base, he hit a slow ground ball deep in the hole that the shortstop had to rush to field, making a late throw to first base not in enough time to nail Orloff. It went in the books as an RBI single, which was great to see since Ben is one of the nicest guys in the Astros minor league system, and works extremely hard on his game. He was a key member of the ‘Cats 2010 championship team and plays like a winner.

Here are some photos from Orloff’s first major league experience:

More photos from the big league game:

J.A. Happ:

J.D. Martinez:

Brian Bogusevic:

Jarred Cosart:

Now some photos from the minor league side:

The room where all the minor leaguers eat lunch before the 1pm scrimmages:

Those on the road get to take a boxed lunch:

Tomorrow the big league team is on the road, so I’ll be spending the day on the minor league side as the Astros & Braves Class-A teams play.

It was a HOT day today in Kissimmee, with temps getting into the mid 80′s. From what I hear, the average temperature this time of year is 78 degrees. Plus the sun is extremely hot and much different than back home in upstate New York. That means globs of sunscreen!

Today the Astros big league club had an away game in Bradenton against the Pirates, but there were some guys who stayed back. Out of who I saw, that list included Jose Altuve, Chris Johnson, Chris Snyder, Carlos Lee, Bud Norris, Wandy Rodriguez and some others.

My first stop in the morning was to the big league side of the complex. Jordan Schafer, Carlos Lee, Jose Altuve, Chris Johnson and Chris Snyder were taking BP.

Chris Snyder and his son:

A picture perfect moment occurred when Chris Johnson hit an absolute shot on top of the clubhouse roof in left field and everyone looks on in awe.:

I had the chance to speak with 2009 ‘Cat Jose Altuve after batting practice and will share that interview upon my arrival back home.

From there I headed over to the minor league side where they were taking batting practice & doing some base running drills. The Lexington & Lancaster squads had scrimmage games against Nationals affiliates Potomac and Hagerstown, while Oklahoma City and Corpus Christi had games on the road at the Nats complex in Viera.

Here is a picture of the Astros lineups:

Not meaning to ignore other minor league guys that are also having good springs, but from just what I have heard, Zach Johnson, Chris Epps and George Springer are all performing very well. There are most definitely others, but those are all I have heard. I will try to dig up some minor league spring stats and share them with everyone if possible.

Here are a few things I uncovered today after speaking with some of our former players. Justin Gominsky likes to write poetry, Kike Hernandez will be playing with Team Spain in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers in September, Brandt Walker is progressing nicely after surgery on a torn ACL and Matt Duffy’s biggest inspiration is his sister, who passed away following a battle with a blood disease.

Now onto the pictures from a hot day in Kissimmee. (Please ignore the first few duplicate photos)