In my second live look of the season, I was fortunate to be in attendance for the finale of the six game series between Corpus Christi and Arkansas in early July. The pitching matchup for this game was Rhett Kouba (Houston, #13) and Kyle Tyler (Seattle, unranked). It was a 10-4 final in favor of the Hooks. There were lots of base runners in this one. Astros prospects that played in this game included Drew Gilbert (now the Mets #1 prospect), Joey Loperfido (#5), Colin Barber (11), and Kouba (#13). Zach Dezenzo (Astros, #4) and Colton Gordon (Astros, #12) were not in the lineup. Mariners prospects that played in this game included Jonatan Clase (#6) and Alberto Rodriguez (#19). Emerson Hancock (Mariners, #11), Prelander Berroa (Mariners, #16), and Isaiah Campbell (Mariners, #28) did not play in this game for the Travelers.
Rhett Kouba - RHP (Astros #13): Win 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (85 pitches, 57.6 Str%, 23.5 CSW%)
Kouba came into this game in the midst of a strong season (3.93 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, .252 BAA, 26.4 K%, 5.2 BB%) and was solid, as advertised. He was staked with an early 3-0 lead and, by the fourth inning, it was 7-1 for the Hooks. The six-foot and 180 pound right-hander had little trouble with his normally-pinpoint control, as he walked four in his five innings of work. He allowed just one hit during this outing, though. Koube started a 1-6-3 double play in the fourth inning to get out of a jam and struck out Spencer Packard to end the fifth, limiting a possible big inning to one run. His final line was 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB and 4 K. The 12th round pick out of Dallas Baptist in 2021 effectively mixed his low-90s four-seamer with his mid-80s slider to keep the Travelers hitters off-balance. He used his changeup sparingly but enough to give the opposing batters something else to think about. His fastball location was inconsistent in this outing, which is not normal for him, but he showed good game management out of the stretch, limiting the damage and keeping the lead out of reach for Arkansas.
Drew Gilbert - RF (METS, #1): 2 for 5, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 K
Gilbert was the player I was most excited to see in this game. He was a first round pick (28th overall) in last year's draft and has already been promoted three times in his first year as a pro. He had a strong game, going 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored. The home run came on a middle-middle fastball, which he punished deep to right field. The sound off the bat was loud; he definitely has very good bat speed and didn’t miss his pitch. His other hit was a soft line drive off the glove of the second baseman in the first inning. Gilbert did strike out twice in this game, and he showed some swing and miss during his few at-bats. He swings hard, which caused his helmet to fall off on a couple of occasions. He struggled to pick up spin in his final at-bat, swinging and missing at two sliders. There also wasn’t a noticeable two-strike approach when he got down in the count, leading to the two strikeouts. Gilbert had four putouts, one on a line drive and one on a ball in foul territory. On the defensive side of things, it should be noted that he gets good jumps on the ball. He didn’t have a throw that wasn’t cut off in this game.
Gilbert was subsequently traded to the Mets in the Justin Verlander trade.
Joey Loperfido - 1B (Astros, #5): 3 for 5, 2 R
Loperfido played first base in this game, and he has also played second base and all three outfield spots this season. He had three hits - all singles. Two of those balls were line drives to right field and the other was a ground ball through the hole. He also had a line drive out to the second baseman in his fourth at-bat. He has solid plate discipline, as he did not chase any pitches out of the zone in any of his at-bats. He has smooth actions and moves well around first base. He also handled all of the throws his way.
Colin Barber - LF (Astros, #13): 1 for 4, RBI, BB
Barber hit an inside fastball the opposite way to left field for his RBI single in the first inning. It was, simply put, a good piece of hitting. In his second at-bat, he drew a four-pitch walk and didn’t expand the zone as all four pitches were close. In his fourth at-bat, he struck out in a lefty/lefty matchup. He looked in-between during this at-bat. He also did not chase during any of his at-bats, instead showing good discipline. He collected four putouts in the game and went back into the gap nicely to track down one long fly ball. His throw on the sac fly in the first inning was cut off because the play wasn’t going to be close.
Jonatan Clase - CF (Mariners, #6): 1 for 4, R, 2 SB
Clase seems to do something positive every game and can single-handedly score his team a run with his speed. In the first inning, he was hit by a pitch, stole second and third, and then scored on a sac fly. He has legitimate double-plus speed and it might be elite. It’s game-changing, and the opposing team can’t do much about it. He singled in his final at-bat on a solid line drive up the middle. Clase did not chase any pitches out of the zone this game and whiffed once on a pitch in the zone. This is an improvement from my other looks at him this season. He gets tremendous jumps in center field, but he only had one routine putout in this game.
Alberto Rodriguez - RF (Mariners, #19): 1 for 4, 2 RBI, K
This was Rodriguez’s second game in Double-A, and he collected his first hit - an RBI single in the 5th inning. He took a first-pitch fastball and lined it right back up the middle. He also had a hard line out to right field in the third inning. His second RBI came on a sac fly in the ninth. He shows good plate discipline, only swinging at strikes. His strikeout in the first was a swing and miss on the seventh pitch of the at bat on a well-located four-seam fastball at the top of the zone. Rodriguez did not have any putouts in the game, but he is a below-average runner and is a corner outfielder, at best.
Zach Daniels - CF (MARINERS, UR): 3 for 5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K
Daniels had a strong game for Corpus Christi going 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. He has plus raw power and showed it hitting his home run deep to right-center field. It was a no-doubter. His two other hits were a single and a double to deep to left field over the head of Robert Perez. Daniels also struck out twice in this game, which is notably his weakness. He came into the game with a 36.4 K%. The problem was not chasing pitches out of the zone; it was in-zone whiffs, as he had four of those during this game. He played solid defense, recording three putouts and getting good jumps and taking efficient routes.
Other notes:
The Travelers had good showings out of their bullpen in this game by Ben Onyshko, who threw two shutout innings (0H, BB, 3K) and Dayeison Arias who struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth. He threw some tight sliders, which the Hooks hitters had trouble picking up and generated four whiffs in the inning.