HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros player development department has named its players of the month for August for both their full-season and short-season clubs. The players of the month are as follows:
OF Kyle Tucker - Player of the Month
RHP Chad Donato - Pitcher of the Month
OF Carlos Machado - Short-Season Player of the Month
RHP Ernesto Jaquez - Short-Season Pitcher of the Month  
Tucker, 21, batted .471 (33x70) with three doubles, 10 home runs, 27 RBI, six stolen bases and a 1.485 OPS (.542 OBP/.943 SLG) in just 17 games with Triple A Fresno in August. The Astros top position player prospect had two scorching-hot stints with Fresno that bookended a nine-day Major League stint with the Astros from Aug. 11-20. Tucker homered in three consecutive games with the Grizzlies from Aug. 6-9, and then homered in four consecutive games from Aug. 22-25, tallying six total home runs in that four-game span. Tucker was named the Triple A Pacific Coast League Player of the Month for August, and was named the PCL Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 20-26. This marks the second Astros Minor League Player of the Month Award for Tucker, as he was named the June Player of the Month earlier this year.
Donato, 23, had a dominant month of August in what was a breakout 2018 campaign for the Cypress, Texas, native. In six starts during the month, the right-handed pitcher went 6-0 with a 1.23 ERA (5ER/36.2IP), seven walks, 46 strikeouts and just 19 hits allowed for a .154 opponent batting average. Donato, an 11th round selection by the Astros in the 2016 draft, was also named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Month and was twice named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for the week (Aug. 13-19, Aug. 27-Sept. 3). During the month, he led the Midwest League in wins, strikeouts and opponent batting average while ranking third in ERA.
Machado, 20, hit .367 (36x98) with nine extra-base hits (7 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer), 13 RBI and an .890 OPS (.400 OBP/.490 SLG) in 25 games for the Tri-City ValleyCats in August. He was named the New York-Penn League Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 20-26 after he posted four consecutive multi-hit games, including a 5x5 performance on Aug. 25.
Jaquez, 19, posted a 1-0 record with a 0.84 ERA (2ER/21.1IP) and 24 strikeouts in six combined games (two starts) between the Rookie Level GCL Astros (5g) and Class A Short Season Tri-City ValleyCats (1g) in August. This marks the second Short-Season Pitcher of the Month Award for Jaquez, as he also received the honors in June as a member of the Dominican Summer League Astros.
ASTROS PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
April: IF Taylor Jones (Double A Corpus Christi)
May: IF Randy César (Double A Corpus Christi)
June: OF Kyle Tucker (Triple A Fresno)
July: IF/OF Seth Beer (Class A Quad Cities)
August: OF Kyle Tucker (Triple A Fresno)
ASTROS PITCHERS OF THE MONTH
April: RHP Josh James (Double A Corpus Christi)
May: RHP Cristian Javier (Class A Quad Cities)
June: LHP Patrick Sandoval (Class A Quad Cities)
July: LHP Framber Valdez (Double A Corpus Christi)
August: RHP Chad Donato (Class A Quad Cities)
ASTROS SHORT-SEASON PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
June: 1B/OF Victor Mascai (DSL Astros)
July: IF Ronaldo Urdaneta (GCL Astros)
August: OF Carlos Machado (Class A Short Season Tri-City)
ASTROS SHORT-SEASON PITCHERS OF THE MONTH
June: RHP Ernesto Jaquez (DSL Astros)
July: RHP Alfredi Jimenez (DSL Astros)
August: RHP Ernesto Jaquez (GCL Astros)
 -ASTROS-