Astros announce Minor League Players fo the Month for August

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros Player Development Department has named the following Players of the Month for August: Oklahoma City: LHP Brett Oberholtzer, OF Jimmy Paredes, C Carlos Corporan; Corpus Christi: RHP Paul Clemens, OF Jake Goebbert, IF Ben Orloff; Lancaster: RHP Nick Tropeano, OF Domingo Santana; C Carlos Perez; Lexington: RHP Mike Foltynewicz, OF Brandon Meredith, IF Nolan Fontana; Tri-City: RHP Lance Day, OF Preston Tucker, C Tyler Heineman; Greeneville: RHP Daniel Minor, IF Brian Blasik; Gulf Coast League: RHP Edison Frias, IF Juan Santana, OF Teoscar Hernandez; Dominican Summer League: LHP Edwin Villarroel, IF Luis Reynoso, C Pedro Coa. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team.

Triple A Oklahoma City
*LHP Brett Oberholtzer, Pitcher of the Month: 1-4, 2.68 ERA (12ER/40.1IP), 34 SO, 7 BB, in 6 starts in August
*IF Jimmy Paredes, Offensive Player of the Month: .293 (29x99), 14 R, 9 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 6 SB, .485 SLG in 23 games in August
*C Carlos Corporan, Defensive Player of the Month: 67 games at catcher, .998 FP (1E/446TC), .444 CS% (28CS/63ATT)

Notes: Brett Oberholtzer posted a 2.68 ERA in six August starts...threw 5 straight quality starts to end the month and did not allow more than two runs in each of those 5 starts for a 2.02 ERA (8ER/35.2IP)...walked just 7 batters in his 40.1 innings pitched...Jimmy Paredes earned his 2nd consecutive OKC Offensive Player of the Month award after hitting .293 with a .485 slugging percentage in the month of August...the switch-hitter had 9 multi-hit games during the month, including his 6th 4-hit performance of the year on August 3 at Tacoma...hit .318 (161x507) with 28 doubles, 13 homers, 59 RBI and 37 stolen bases in 124 total games for the RedHawks this season before getting promoted to the Astros' Major League club...ranked T-1st in the PCL in steals, 2nd in hits and total bases (242) and 3rd in runs scored (92) at the time of his callup...Carlos Corporan has made just 1 error in 446 total chances for a .998 fielding percentage in 67 games at catcher this season...his .444 caught stealing percentage (28CS/63ATT) leads the PCL among catchers with at least 60 stolen base attempts.

Double A Corpus Christi
*RHP Paul Clemens, Pitcher of the Month: 3-2, 3.09 ERA (12ER/35.0IP), 30 SO, 10 BB, .254 (34x134) opp. avg. in 6 starts in August
*OF Jake Goebbert, Offensive Player of the Month: .389 (28x72), 17 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 12 BB 1.082 OPS in 26 games in August
*IF Ben Orloff, Defensive Player of the Month: 38 games at shortstop, .981 FP (3E/162TC), 21 double plays

Notes: Paul Clemens went 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 6 starts in July...has been a key part of the Hooks' playoff push as the club has won 4 of his 7 total starts...Jake Goebbert hit .389 with a .471 on-base percentage and a .611 slugging percentage in August, leading the Texas League in all three categories during the month...the 2009 13th round pick posted a .335 batting average (56x167) in the 2nd half this season...he has hit .290 or better in each of the last 3 seasons in the Astros' minor league system...Ben Orloff has a .981 fielding percentage in 38 games at shortstop for Corpus Christi this season...Orloff was named Lancaster's Defensive Player of the Month in June.

Class A Advanced Lancaster
*RHP Nick Tropeano, Pitcher of the Month: 4-0, 2.15 ERA (9ER/37.2IP), 35 SO, 8 BB, .246 (35x142) opp. avg. in 6 starts in August
*OF Domingo Santana, Offensive Player of the Month: .333 (35x105), 26 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 16 BB .973 OPS in 29 games in August
*C Carlos Perez, Defensive Player of the Month: 26 games at catcher, .996 FP (1E/228TC), .467 CS% (14CS/30ATT)

Notes: Nick Tropeano went undefeated with a 2.15 ERA in 6 starts with Lancaster in August...led the league in ERA among pitchers with at least 5 starts, ranked 3rd in innings pitched and 6th in strikeouts during the month...5 of his 6 outings in the month were quality starts...in 12 total starts with Lancaster this year, he is 6-3 with a 3.31 ERA (26ER/70.2IP) and 69 punchouts...Domingo Santana hit at a .333 clip with a .449 on-base percentage and .524 slugging percentage during August...was named the California League Player of the Week for the week of August 27 to September 3, after hitting .484 (15x31) with 3 doubles, 4 home runs and 7 RBI during the week...hit a homer in 3 straight games from August 31 to September 2... for the season, is hitting .302 (138x457) with 26 doubles, 3 triples, 23 homers and 97 RBI...his .921 OPS ranks 7th in the California League...entered the season as the youngest player in the league at 19 years old (turned 20 on August 5)...Carlos Perez has made just 1 error in 228 total chances for a .996 fielding percentage...has thrown out 14 of 30 attempted base stealers.

Class A Lexington
*RHP Mike Foltynewicz, Pitcher of the Month: 2-0, 1.99 ERA (5ER/22.2IP), 25 SO, 11 BB, .210 (17x81) opp. avg. in 4 starts in August
*OF Brandon Meredith, Offensive Player of the Month: .280 (21x75), 16 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 10 BB, .533 SLG in 20 games in August
*IF Nolan Fontana, Defensive Player of the Month: 48 games at shortstop, .974 FP (6E/135TC), 33 double plays

Notes: Mike Foltynewicz is Lexington's Pitcher of the Month for the 3rd time this season...was named the South Atlantic League's Most Outstanding Pitcher for 2012...went 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in 4 August starts...struck out 25 batters in 22.2 innings pitched...did not allow a run over 3 starts and 19.0 innings from August 6-21... struck out a career-high 10 batters in 6.0 innings on August 21 against Greensboro...posted a 14-4 record with a 3.14 ERA (53ER/152.0IP) and 125 strikeouts this season...ranked T-1st in the SAL in wins, 2nd in innings pitched, and 4th in ERA...owns the most career wins in Lexington history with 19 victories...Brandon Meredith hit at a .280 clip with 5 doubles and 4 homers in August...posted a .318 (61x192) average and hit 14 of his 15 total homers in the 2nd half...led the SAL in homers in the 2nd half, posting a .630 slugging percentage...Nolan Fontana posted a .974 fielding percentage in 48 games at shortstop this season for Lexington.

Short Season Class A Tri-City
*RHP Lance Day, Pitcher of the Month: 4-1, 2.97 ERA (6ER/30.0IP), 19 SO, 4 BB, .239 (28x117) opp. avg. in 5 starts in August
*OF Preston Tucker, Offensive Player of the Month: .352 (38x108), 24 R, 6 2B, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 10 BB, 1.012 OPS in 27 games in August
*C Tyler Heineman, Defensive Player of the Month: 36 games at catcher, .997 FP (1E/308TC), .406 CS% (13CS/32ATT)

Notes: Lance Day earned 4 wins with a 2.97 ERA during 5 August starts...fanned 19 batters as opposed to just 4 walks...the undrafted free agent is 6-1 with a 2.73 ERA (16ER/52.2IP) in 11 appearances (8 starts) this year for Tri-City...Preston Tucker hit .352 with a .410 on-base percentage and a .602 slugging percentage in 27 games in August...had a 15-game hitting streak from August 10-26...hitting .327 (53x162) with 8 homers this year for Tri-City...Tyler Heineman has made just 1 error in 308 total chances for a .997 fielding percentage...has thrown out 13 of 32 attempted base stealers.

Rookie Level Greeneville
*RHP Daniel Minor, Pitcher of the Month: 3-0, 0.35 ERA (1ER/26.0IP), 25 SO, 2 BB, .135 (12x89) opp. avg. in 4 starts in August
*IF Brian Blasik, Offensive Player of the Month: .329 (27x82), 12 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 17 RBI in 21 games in August
*IF Brian Blasik, Defensive Player of the Month: 48 games at 2B, 5 games at 3B, 1 game in LF, .983 FP (4E/230TC)

Notes: Daniel Minor gave up just 1 run in 26.0 innings pitched in August...allowed 12 hits and issued 2 walks, striking out 25 in his 4 starts...had a 19.0-scoreless innings streak from August 4-17...struck out 11 over 7.0 innings of 1-hit ball on August 10 at Princeton...was named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Week for the week of August 6-12...led the league with a 2.75 ERA (18ER/59.0IP) this season...Brian Blasik hit .329 during the month of August and was named Greeneville's team MVP...hit .318 (69x217) for the year...Blasik was also named Greeneville's Defensive Player of the Month for the 2nd consecutive month...recorded a .983 fielding percentage after making 4 errors in 230 total chances.

Gulf Coast League
*RHP Edison Frias, Pitcher of the Month: 3-1, 2.78 ERA (3ER/16.1IP), 12 SO, 1 BB, in 3 appearances (1 start) in August
*IF Juan Santana, Offensive Player of the Month: .310 (22x71), 5 2B, 10 RBI in 20 games in August
*OF Teoscar Hernandez, Defensive Player of the Month: 48 games in the outfield, .957 FP (5E/115TC)

Notes: Edison Frias posted a 2.78 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched in August...made a 7.1 inning relief appearance on August 9 against the GCL Cardinals, allowing 1 run on 4 hits...did not allow an earned run in 7.0 frames in his only start in August...went 4-1 with a 2.14 ERA (11ER/46.1IP) this season for the club...Juan Santana hit .310 in the month of August...Teoscar Hernandez put up a .957 fielding percentage in 48 games in the outfield with the GCL Astros...ended his season with the Class A Lexington Legends.

Dominican Summer League
*LHP Edwin Villarroel, Pitcher of the Month: 2-1, 0.53 ERA (1ER/17.0IP), 3 SO, 3 BB in 4 apps. (2 starts) in August
*IF Luis Reynoso, Offensive Player of the Month: .364 (24x66), 8 R, 7 2B, 9 RBI, 9 BB, .917 OPS in 19 games in August
*C Pedro Coa, Defensive Player of the Month: 26 games at catcher, .960 FP (7E/174TC), .595 CS%

Notes: Edwin Villarroel was named the Pitcher of the Month for the DSL after allowing just 1 earned run in 17.0 innings pitched in 4 appearances (2 starts) in August...was named to the DSL All-Star team...posted a 2.25 ERA (17ER/68.0IP) on the year, leading the team in innings pitched..Luis Reynoso hit .364 with 7 doubles in August...finished the year with a .281 (48x171) batting average and 11 doubles...Pedro Coa had a .960 fielding percentage and threw out 25 out of 42 attempted base stealers.