Next Monday, June 4^th, Major League Baseball will hold its annual First Year Player Draft.  The Astros hold the first overall pick warranted by their 56-106 record in 2011, and are currently weighing all their options.  While there is no “Bryce Harper” or “Stephen Strasburg” transcendent talent this year, there are a handful of quality options worthy of the top selection.  Let’s take a quick look at 5 of the possibilities for the Astros.

Mark Appel (RHP Stanford)

The player most linked to the Astros at number one overall is Stanford pitcher, Mark Appel.  At 6’ 5’’, 190 lbs. the long right hander features a strong fastball in the 92-95 mph range with good movement, and a plus slider.  While he is working on developing a changeup as well, Appel hasn’t dominated as much as his stuff indicates.  Even though he already anchors a steady Stanford pitching staff, scouts feel his best is yet to come, projecting him as a pitcher with Justin Verlander-type potential.  Appel is the most refined pitcher in the draft and probably the closest to the majors.  His ceiling is high, and it’s very, very likely the Houston native is the selection here for the Astros.

Byron Buxton (OF Appling County HS, Ga.)

Perhaps the best overall talent in this year’s draft, Byron Buxton of Baxley, Georgia is less likely than Appel at number one, but still has a legitimate shot to sneak in as the top pick.  At 6’ 2’’ and 170 lbs. Buxton flashes great natural ability and legitimate five-tool talent.  His speed, potential power, and strong arm project him as a player ranging anywhere from Matt Kemp to the B.J. and/or Justin Upton brothers.  Although still raw, Buxton has a simple swing with quick bat speed that scouts feel will give him the skills to hit not only for average, but for serious power.  As the top High School position player in the draft, Buxton will not slip too far if he does not go number one to the Astros.  Most likely, he will be off the board in the top 3 selections.

Kyle Zimmer (RHP San Francisco)

Zimmer has been a big surprise among scouts this year, truly coming on the radar following a strong showing in last year’s NCAA regionals and the famed Cape Cod League.  At 6-foot-4, 220 lbs. Zimmer projects as a workhorse starter who can be a strong number 1 or 2 starter for Major League clubs for years to come.  His fastball is at 94-96 consistently and has occasionally touched 99.  His 12-6 curve is also a plus offering.  Accompanying those two pitches is an average changeup with the potential to be a plus pitch in the future, and a little used slider that could become average down the road.  Zimmer is extremely athletic and has a serious demeanor when on the mound.  He fields his position well and is mechanically sound in his delivery.  The margin between Zimmer and Appel is very slim, and should he not go to the Astros, he most certainly will not slip out of the top 5.

Kevin Gausman (RHP LSU)

Less likely as the top selection yet just as talented is yet another strong right hander, Kevin Gausman.  In 2010, he was drafted by the Dodgers in the sixth round, but decided to pitch at LSU, and has since greatly improved his draft outlook.  With a solid 94-96 mph for his fastball, and a 85-86 mph changeup as a second plus pitch, Gausman has strong potential.  The jury is still out on his breaking pitches, however, including an upper-70s curve and an inconsistent slider.  As just a sophomore, Gausman projects to have a lot of room for growth, and he has potential as a number one or number two starter in the not too distant future.  Most likely he will be a top 5 pick.

Mike Zunino (C Florida)

As a dark horse for the top spot overall, the Astros could go with the best college position player in the draft, Mike Zunino.  The leader of a powerhouse Florida Gators team, Zunino has impressed with his strong bat, power, defense, and leadership intangibles.  Drawing comparisons to a young Jason Varitek, the 6-foot-2, 220 backstop would be more likely to be the first selection if not for the recent pick of Stanford Catcher Jason Castro (10^th overall, 2008).  Before starting his professional career, Zunino will attempt to lead the Gators to the National Championship, after losing in the College World Series Final to champion and rival South Carolina in 2011.  He is also a finalist for this year’s Golden Spikes Award, given to the top player in College Baseball.

Who do you think the Astros will pick number one?  Which player will look best in a ValleyCats uniform?  Leave your thoughts below in the comments section!

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:

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:

While the tournament is set to get underway this afternoon, “The Joe” has already hosted some great action this week, serving as the venue for the MAAC 2012 Awards Banquet. The final four teams enjoyed dinner on the concourse and also were honored for their achievements. Player of the Year went to Chris Burke of Iona, and Pitcher of the Year was won by Rider starter, Mike Murphy. Also receiving awards were Jon Fitzsimmons and Devon Stewart, both of Canisius, as the Relief Pitcher and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Coach of the year award went to Fairfield manager, Bill Currier.

The action on tap for this weekend at “The Joe” will definitely prove to be exciting. The winner of the MAAC Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals with an opportunity to move on to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. As is often said, “The Road to Omaha Starts Here!” Be sure to keep up with all the action and get out to “The Joe” for some fun, sunshine, and great baseball action this weekend.

For ticket information, visit maacsports.com, or tcvalleycats.com. To watch all of this weekends’ game action streaming online, go to maac.tv.

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 Gleason, Tri-City ValleyCats, 11 Years of Service”

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.

Colonie Little League- WNYT sports anchor Rodger Wyland the Master of Ceremonies

Rowdy & Damien, the UAlbany Great Dane were in attendance!

Cambridge Little League- Ribbing cutting for newly renovated field!

Rensselaer Little League

The Rensselaer High School baseball team in attendance

SouthPaw participating in the pie toss at Rotterdam Softball!

Classie Lassie Softball

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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.

Anthony and SouthPaw!

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!”

]]> http://catscorner.mlblogs.com/2012/04/17/cats-care/feed/ 0 mlblogscatscorner1 Cats Care Logo Low Res http://catscorner.mlblogs.com/2012/04/16/recap-community-grounds-crews-4-in-24/ http://catscorner.mlblogs.com/2012/04/16/recap-community-grounds-crews-4-in-24/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:49:42 +0000 mlblogscatscorner1 http://catscorner.mlblogs.com/?p=2125613 ]]>

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:

Cambridge Before

Cambridge After

Cambridge Before

Cambridge After

Coxsackie Before

Coxsackie After

Coxsackie Before

Coxsackie After

South Colonie Before

South Colonie After

South Colonie Before

South Colonie After

South Colonie Mound- Before

South Colonie Finished- Mound

South Colonie First Baseline- Before

South Colonie First Baseline- After

South Colonie Before

South Colonie After

Waterford, April 2011

Waterford, April 2012 Before Renovations

Waterford Completed

Waterford Baseline- Before

Waterford Baseline- After

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

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:

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:

SouthPaw with Colbie, one of the ValleyCats biggest fans!