Tag: Houston Astros

Astros prospects power Hooks past Missions with homers from Luis Aviles Jr., Drew Gilbert and Kenedy Corona

Former Missions infielder Luis Aviles Jr. hit his 12th home run of the season. The Corpus Christi Hooks beat the San Antonio Missions 8-1 on Friday, July 28, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Former Missions infielder Luis Aviles Jr. (10) hit his 12th home run of the season.
Luis Aviles Jr. opened the season wearing a San Antonio Missions uniform. Friday night he hit a long ball in his former home stadium.

Aviles, Drew Gilbert and Kenedy Corona all homered for the Corpus Christi Hooks in an 8-1 victory over the Missions at Wolff Stadium.

Aviles hit a two-run shot as part of the Hooks’ five-run second-inning surge.

The 28-year-old Aviles was signed by the San Diego Padres to a minor league contract in March and assigned to the Missions. He was released by the Missions in May and signed by a Mexican League team before being picked up by the Houston Astros organization and assigned to Corpus Christi on June 6.

Gilbert, the No. 1 prospect in the Astros minor league system mlb.com/prospects/astros/ added a three-run homer in the second inning. The 22-year-old outfielder was a first-round draft pick by the Astros in 2022 after playing in college at Tennessee.

Corona, the No. 17 Astros prospect, hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. The Hooks outfielder and leadoff batter is a 23-year-old from Venezuela.

All three Corpus Christi home runs came off Missions starting pitcher Daniel Camarena, who took the loss.

Missions manager Luke Montz was ejected in the fourth inning. He protested after Daniel Johnson’s long fly ball down the left-field line was initially ruled a home run, then changed to a foul.

The Hooks' Drew Gilbert (1) hit his sixth home run of the season. The Corpus Christi Hooks beat the San Antonio Missions 8-1 on Friday, July 28, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Hooks’ Drew Gilbert (1) hit his sixth home run of the season.
The Hooks' Kenedy Corona hit his 15th home run of the season. The Corpus Christi Hooks beat the San Antonio Missions 8-1 on Friday, July 28, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
The Hooks’ Kenedy Corona hit his 15th home run of the season.

Astros prospect Colton Gordon gets win; Hooks overpower Missions with big inning

Houston Astros prospect Colton Gordon struck out seven batters in five innings. The Corpus Christi Hooks beat the San Antonio Missions 13-2 on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Houston Astros prospect Colton Gordon struck out seven batters in five innings.
The Corpus Christi Hooks took the lead for good in the first inning and added 10 runs in the sixth to beat the San Antonio Missions 13-2 on Thursday at Wolff Stadium.

Hooks right fielder Zach Daniels had five RBIs with two hits including a first-inning home run.

Corpus Christi starting pitcher Colton Gordon went five innings and got the win. He allowed two runs on three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts.

Gordon, the No. 8 prospect in the Houston Astros’ organization, has allowed two or fewer earned runs in his last six starts and lowered his ERA from 3.98 to 3.30 over that stretch. The 24-year-old left-hander was the Astros’ eighth-round pick in the 2021 draft after playing college ball at Central Florida.

Hooks starting pitcher Colton Gordon. The Corpus Christi Hooks beat the San Antonio Missions 13-2 on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Hooks starting pitcher Colton Gordon.

Astros’ Jose Urquidy looks sharp in rehab start against Missions

Jose Urquidy warms up in the bullpen in front of fans at Wolff Stadium before Tuesday's game. The Houston Astros' Jose Urquidy pitched against the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, as part of a rehab assignment. - photo by Joe Alexander
Jose Urquidy warms up in the bullpen in front of fans at Wolff Stadium before Tuesday’s game.
Houston Astros pitcher Jose Urquidy made his third rehab start on Tuesday night, playing for the Corpus Christi Hooks against the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium.

By the numbers, it was the best of his rehab starts. He went four shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.

In two previous rehab starts with Triple-A Sugar Land, he pitched two innings on July 14 and three innings on July 19.

The 28-year-old right-hander last pitched for Houston on April 30. He had a 2-2 record in six starts on the season for the Astros. He went on the 15-day disabled list on May 1 with right shoulder discomfort.

The Hooks beat the Missions 5-0 on Tuesday with home runs from Jordan Brewer, Chad Stevens and Zach Daniels.

Hooks’ Spencer Arrighetti edges Missions’ Jackson Wolf in duel of Astros, Padres pitching prospects

Missions starter Jackson Wolf pitched seven innings in the loss. The Corpus Christi Hooks beat the San Antonio Missions 1-0 on Sunday, May 14, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions starter Jackson Wolf pitched seven innings in the loss.
Both of Sunday’s starting pitchers at Wolff Stadium have been projected as future big leaguers.

The Corpus Christi Hooks’ Spencer Arrighetti and San Antonio Missions’ Jackson Wolf looked the part. Both rose to the occasion with their longest outing of the season.

Arrighetti earned the win and Wolf took the loss as the Hooks won 1-0.

Wolf (2-4), the No. 16 prospect in the San Diego Padres’ system, pitched well enough for a win on most days. The 6-foot-7 left-hander went seven innings and allowed the one run on four hits with no walks.

Missions reliever Alek Jacob, the Padres’ No. 26 prospect, pitched two scoreless, hitless innings to finish the game. He did not allow a walk and struck out two batters.

Arrighetti (3-2) is the Houston Astros’ No. 9 prospect. The 6-foot-2 right-hander pitched seven shutout innings and allowed two hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. Hooks reliever Cole McDonald pitched two innings and allowed one hit with five strikeouts for the save.

The Missions’ offense was limited to two hits by Juan Fernandez and one by Luis Aviles Jr.

The Missions won five of the seven games in the series. They have Monday off and open a six-day road series in Midland on Tuesday. The Missions return home for a six-day series against Amarillo beginning Tuesday, May 23.

Missions reliever Alek Jacob pitched the last two innings. The Corpus Christi Hooks beat the San Antonio Missions 1-0 on Sunday, May 14, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Missions reliever Alek Jacob pitched the last two innings.
Hooks starter Spencer Arrighetti pitched seven innings and got the win. The Corpus Christi Hooks beat the San Antonio Missions 1-0 on Sunday, May 14, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Hooks starter Spencer Arrighetti pitched seven innings and got the win.

Drew Gilbert makes Double-A debut, Astros prospects play big part of Hooks victory

Corpus Christi Hooks and Houston Astros top prospect Drew Gilbert. The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A farm club of the Houston Astros, beat the San Antonio Missions 5-2 on Wednesday, April 10, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Corpus Christi Hooks outfielder and Houston Astros top prospect Drew Gilbert in Wednesday night’s second game in San Antonio.
Drew Gilbert, the Houston Astros’ top minor-league prospect, moved up and made an instant impact on Wednesday night at Wolff Stadium in San Antonio.

The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros’ Double-A farm club, beat the San Antonio Missions 5-2 in the first game of a doubleheader.

Gilbert recorded his first Double-A RBI in an unusual way in his second plate appearance. He reached base on a catcher’s interference with the bases loaded in the third inning to push across the Hooks’ first run of the game.

Gilbert got his first Double-A hit on a double to center in the top of the seventh inning. He batted second in the order and played center field. In the night’s second game, he went 0-for-3 at the plate and played right field.

The 22-year-old Gilbert was a first-round draft pick by the Astros in 2022. He was batting .360 with with 18 RBIs and six home runs in 21 games in Class A before being promoted to Corpus Christi on Tuesday.

– Colin Barber, the No. 3 prospect in the Astros’ system, was the DH and had three hits including a home run and scored three times in the Hooks’ victory. He is batting .304 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in 21 games.

– Will Wagner, the Astros’ No. 12 prospect, played third base and had a hit and a walk.

– Joey Loperfido, the No. 16 prospect, played second base and had a hit, an RBI and a walk.

– Quincy Hamilton, the No. 22 prospect, played right field and had two hits.

– Hooks starter Rhett Kouba is not listed as one of the Astros’ top-30 prospects but pitched 6 1/3 innings for the win to raise his record to 2-1. He allowed two runs on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts. He is a 23-year-old right-hander who was a 12th-round draft pick in 2021 from Dallas Baptist.

Corpus Christi Hooks starting pitcher Rhett Kouba. The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A farm club of the Houston Astros, beat the San Antonio Missions 5-2 on Wednesday, April 10, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Corpus Christi Hooks starting pitcher Rhett Kouba.
Corpus Christi Hooks DH and Houston Astros prospect Colin Barber. The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A farm club of the Houston Astros, beat the San Antonio Missions 5-2 on Wednesday, April 10, 2023, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Corpus Christi Hooks DH and Houston Astros prospect Colin Barber.

Pedro Leon: Houston Astros prospect and Corpus Christi Hooks infielder/outfielder

Pedro Leon of the Corpus Christi Hooks, a top Houston Astros prospect, hitting a grand slam against the San Antonio Missions on July 4, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Pedro Leon of the Corpus Christi Hooks, a top Houston Astros prospect, hitting a grand slam against the San Antonio Missions on July 4 at Wolff Stadium.
The Houston Astros signed Pedro Leon to a minor league contract in January with the hope that he won’t take very long to get to the majors.

The 23-year-old from Cuba is a shortstop/outfielder currently playing for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. He is batting .240 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 48 games.

One of his home runs was a grand slam against the San Antonio Missions on the Fourth of July at Wolff Stadium.

MLB.com rates him as the No. 2 prospect in the Astros organization.

More on Pedro Leon:

Pedro Leon in Futures Game, MiLB career thus far

Pedro León and Norel González are making a push to extend the Cuban wave in the Astros

Korey Lee: Corpus Christi Hooks catcher and Houston Astros prospect

Corpus Christi Hooks catcher Korey Lee, the Houston Astros' No. 5 prospect, playing against the San Antonio Missions on June 30, 2021, at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Korey Lee, the Houston Astros’ No. 5 prospect, playing against the Missions on June 30, at Wolff Stadium.
Corpus Christi Hooks catcher Korey Lee is the No. 5 prospect in the Houston Astros organization, according to MLB.com.

The 22-year-old from California showed what he could do at Wolff Stadium, hitting a home run against the San Antonio Missions on July Fourth.

Lee open this season with Class A Ashville and batted .330 with three home runs in 29 games. He has played in 23 games in Double-A Corpus Christi, batting .305 with seven home runs.

The 6-foot-2 catcher was a first-round draft pick, No. 32 overall, by the Astros in 2019.

He played in rookie league in the summer of 2019 and batted .268 with three home runs in 64 games. He doesn’t have any stats for 2020 due to the covid shutdown of the minors.

The Missions and Hooks play a six-game series in Corpus Christi beginning tonight.

Houston Astros prospect and Round Rock Express outfielder Yordan Alvarez

Yordan Alvarez of the Round Rock Express playing against the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium. - photo by Joe Alexander
Yordan Alvarez of the Round Rock Express playing against the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Stadium. – photo by Joe Alexander
You get the feeling that Yordan Alvarez is going to be playing in the majors very soon.

And that the 21-year-old from Cuba is going to stay in the majors for a long time.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound outfielder is currently with the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A farm club of the Houston Astros. The word around the league is that Alvarez will continue to improve his skills in the outfield. He has also seen time at first base for the Express.

His left-handed batting skills have already made him one of the biggest offensive threats in Triple-A and the Pacific Coast league.

Here is how Alvarez ranks in Triple-A as of May 23, 2019 (41 games played):
1st in batting average – .396
1st in total bases – 133
2nd in home runs – 19
2nd in RBIs – 57
2nd in hits – 61
3rd in doubles – 15
3rd in runs scored – 39

The Round Rock Express are currently at home for a four-game series against the San Antonio Missions. The series continues tonight and concludes Friday, weather permitting.