Minor League affiliates sitting pretty in first place

HOUSTON -- The Astros' rebuilding process appears to be coming along nicely at the Minor League level, where the club's top six Minor League affiliates entered play Wednesday all in first place in their respective divisions.

The Astros' combined Minor League record of 376-271 (.581) is tops among all 30 organizations in baseball. Last year, the Astros had the top combined winning percentage among domestic Minor League clubs.

"I think it's a good indication of what's coming," general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "You look at those teams and there's prospects on every single team up and down the system. It's hard to have that much success in the Minor Leagues, but our coaches have done a terrific job. Scouts are doing a good job, but it's mostly the players. They're playing well."

Triple-A Oklahoma City (68-50) led the Pacific Coast League South division by four games, thanks to a 12-game winning streak. Double-A Corpus Christi and Class A Lancaster both won the first half titles in their leagues, but the Hooks (27-18) were tied for first place in the Texas League South and the JetHawks (28-17) had a 4 1/2-game lead in the Cal League South in the second half.

Meanwhile, Class A Quad Cities (27-16) had a half-game lead in the Midwest League's Western Division, while short-season Tri-City (29-21) had the same lead in the New York-Penn League's Stedler Division. Rookie league Greeneville (29-15) led the Appalachian League's Western Division by four games.