No. 30 prospect cranks two homers at Triple-A

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Julks homers twice for second time at Triple-A (Sept. 28)
Corey Julks is ending the season on a high note.

In Triple-A Sugar Land's 10-1 win over Round Rock, Houston's No. 30 prospect was 2-for-5 in the team's last game of the year, and both knocks were big flies.

The eighth-round (241st overall) selection in the 2017 Draft cranked his first homer of the night with a three-run jack to left field in the fourth for his 30th blast of the season. He followed that with a solo shot on the first pitch he saw in the sixth, giving the Space Cowboys their 10th run of the game. His four RBIs matched a season high.

For September, the 26-year-old is slashing .287/.327/.553 with seven homers and 20 RBIs. -- Ethan Sands

Perez crushes first Triple-A homer (Sept. 25)
Joe Perez's first Space Cowboy homer came in a grand way.

The No. 9 Astros prospect saved his best for last, crushing his first Triple-A homer in the last week of the regular season as he went 3-for-4 with four RBIs in Triple-A Sugar Land’s 11-5 win over Albuquerque.

The 23-year-old has quickly ascended among the Minor League Ranks and he showed why on Sunday, crushing a grand slam to right field in his first at-bat. Perez capped off his performance with two singles.

The third baseman’s long ball brought his homer tally to seven and improved his slash line to .289/.358/.418 between Rookie Level, Double-A and Triple-A. -- Edwin Perez

Lee goes yard twice on three-knock night (Sept. 23)
For the second time this season, Korey Lee posted a multihomer game to help lift Triple-A Sugar Land to a 6-4 victory over Albuquerque at Constellation Field.

The seventh-ranked Astros prospect clubbed the pair of jacks as part of his ninth three-hit game of the year -- with one of those performances coming for Houston. Lee cranked a two-run shot to left in the first to put the Space Cowboys ahead, led off the sixth with another deep fly to left -- his 25th of the season -- and added a single in the eighth. His second dinger put Sugar Land ahead for good.

The 24-year-old is batting .239/.307/.489 with 47 extra-base hits, 76 RBIs and 73 runs scored over 102 games with the Space Cowboys this season. -- Rob Terranova

Six arms combine on no-no for Fayetteville (Sept. 7)
Baseball's evolution has brought about the emergence of what has become known as the "bullpen game." Usually an "opener" starts on the hill before giving way to another short-inning arm, and the pattern continues as nine innings are essentially pieced together. It's proven to be effective at the Major League level, but rarely has it produced extraordinary results.

That pattern changed at SEGRA Stadium as six pitchers -- Bryant Salgado, Brett Gillis, Ronny Garcia, A.J. Blubaugh, Zack Matthews and Austin Temple -- combined to toss Single-A Fayetteville's second no-hitter, 3-0, against Lynchburg.

"It's pretty special, every single pitcher that toed the rubber tonight had to be on their A-game and they definitely were," Woodpeckers pitching coach John Kovalik said. "Just a crazy scenario that transpired out there, and I'm very happy and proud of these kids." Full story »

Daniels produces second career multihomer game (Sept. 6)
Zach Daniels has no shortage of power in his bat.

The No. 29 Astros prospect went on a power surge, producing his second career multihomer game as he went 3-for-5 with two long balls in High-A Asheville’s 7-5 win over Greenville.

The 23-year-old’s display of pop started early as he crushed a solo shot to left-center field in the first inning. Daniels continued it with a solo blast to center field in the fourth inning, then capped it off with a single in his next at-bat.

The outfielder brought his homer tally to 22 and improved his slash line to .290/.372/.530 on the season. -- Edwin Perez

Melton homers in multihit effort (Aug. 31)
It was impossible to keep Jacob Melton off the bases.

The No. 6 Astros prospect showcased his ability to produce at the plate as he went 4-for-4 with one homer and two doubles in Single-A Fayetteville’s 6-0 win over Down East.

The Astros' second-round pick (64th overall) in the 2022 MLB Draft displayed his power as he hit a solo homer to right field in the fifth inning. Melton reached base safely the rest of his plate appearances as he walked in the third inning, hit a single in the ninth and doubles in the first and seventh inning.

The outfielder brought his homer tally to three and improved his slash line to .270/.329/.459 this season. -- Edwin Perez

Prospect collects eight RBIs, hits grand slam (Aug. 30)
Shay Whitcomb had a grand ol’ time with Double-A Corpus Christi. The Astros prospect tallied three hits -- a two-run homer, a two-run double and a grand slam -- while driving in a career-best eight runs in the Hooks’ 11-4 win over San Antonio.

Never before in his two-year career has Whitcomb tallied more than four RBIs in a game. He was well on his way to surpassing that mark when he connected on a no-doubter to center field to get the scoring started in the second inning. The 23-year-old followed it up in the next frame with his 18th double of the year to extend his team’s lead to 4-0, but the biggest blow was yet to come. In the fourth, the shortstop stepped up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. On a 1-1 pitch, he swatted his 18th dinger of the year in grand fashion, clearing the bases and firmly blowing the game open.

It’s the second time this month that Whitcomb has clubbed two homers in a game, and he’s batting .268/.326/.549 with 12 extra-base hits in August. -- Stephanie Sheehan

Brown, Diaz getting called up (source) (Aug. 29)
HOUSTON -- Top Astros prospect Hunter Brown, ranked No. 71 overall by MLB Pipeline, will be called up when rosters expand on Thursday, a source told MLB.com.

The team has not confirmed the report.

The Astros are off that day, but Brown will be with the club when it opens a three-game series at the Angels on Friday. From Sept. 1 through the end of the regular season, all clubs must carry 28 players -- two more than on the current roster -- on their active roster, with a limit of 14 pitchers.

The Astros also plan to purchase the contract of No. 3 prospect Yainer Díaz, a catcher/first baseman who played in the Futures Game, a source said. Full story »

Brown fans four in hitless outing for Sugar Land (Aug. 28)
No matter if he’s starting or entering the game in relief, Hunter Brown can be counted on. The top Astros prospect hurled 3 1/3 hitless innings out of the bullpen in Triple-A Sugar Land’s 12-1 victory over Las Vegas, striking out four and walking two.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander came into the game with his team up 1-0 in the third, and by the time he threw his final pitch, the Space Cowboys had staked him to a 12-run advantage. Brown was on point all night, firing 40 of his 58 pitches for strikes and getting five ground ball outs. The 24-year-old struck out the first batter he faced on five pitches and, after allowing a leadoff walk to begin the fourth, retired the next eight in a row, whiffing three of them.

It was Brown’s first scoreless outing since June 30, and he lowered his ERA to 2.55 while being one of 10 qualified pitchers in the Pacific Coast League to have amassed over 100 innings, with 134 strikeouts in 106 frames. -- Stephanie Sheehan

Space Cowboys' Lee wallops three home runs (Aug. 23)
With his club beginning a road trip in Las Vegas, it's only appropriate Korey Lee hit the jackpot.

With a final score befitting a football game, the No. 7 Astros prospect left his mark by homering three times and driving in a career-high five runs to power Triple-A Sugar Land past Las Vegas, 23-8 at Las Vegas Ballpark. The Space Cowboys cleared the fences a franchise-record nine times and tallied 21 hits, 12 for extra bases.

Lee became the fourth Sugar Land player to achieve the feat and the second this season. Enmanuel Valdez left the yard three times against Round Rock on June 15. Full story »

Drew Gilbert sidelined for rest of 2022 season (Aug. 20)
The Astros' first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Drew Gilbert, will be sidelined for the rest of the season after sustaining a dislocated right elbow that spontaneously went back into place before he was examined.

The Astros' No. 2 prospect left the game on Aug. 13, when he crashed into the center-field wall in the sixth inning, which led to the injury on his non-throwing arm.

The 21-year-old’s injury will force him to miss the remainder of the season while undergoing rehab on his elbow. Gilbert is expected to be fully recovered prior to the start of Spring Training. -- Edwin Perez

Space Cowboys post out-of-this-world 17-run inning (Aug. 19)
The bottom of the sixth inning between the Oklahoma City Dodgers and Sugar Land Space Cowboys started like many innings do: with a leadoff single.

The Dodgers were coming off a 4-1 win during the first game of their doubleheader with the Space Cowboys, and they were just an inning-and-a-half away from potentially heading into the weekend with a pair of wins.

Instead, that leadoff single would be just the beginning of, perhaps, the wildest half-inning those in attendance had ever seen.

The Space Cowboys would go on to get nine more hits (10 total), nine walks and a hit-by-pitch, plating a team-record 17 runs in an unbelievable offensive explosion that led to a 21-4 win. Full story »

Melton rips 1st pro homer as Gilbert departs early (Aug. 13)
Jacob Melton has shown his potential in his young career.

The Astros’ second-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft has not been able to produce early in his career as he did not get a hit in his first four games. Melton finally accomplished it in the fifth game with style, going 1-for-5 with a homer in Single-A Fayetteville’s 6-4 loss to Down East.

The 21-year-old struggled in his first plate appearances as a professional player, going 0-for-17 with six strikeouts. He overcame these struggles in his second at-bat as he displayed his production and power with a solo homer to center field.

Drew Gilbert left the game early after he crashed into the center-field wall in the sixth inning. -- Edwin Perez