On the Farm: Geith, Hallock, Heidenreich

Leading up to the 2014 season, cchooks.com spotlights select farmhands in the Astros system. Today, we feature LHPs T.J. Geith and Kyle Hallock and RHP Matt Heidenreich.

T.J. (Theron) Geith
Pitcher
BORN June 27, 1989 in Peoria, AZ
OPENING DAY AGE 24
HEIGHT 6'5
WEIGHT 175
BATS Left
THROWS Left
RESIDES Peoria, AZ
SCHOOL Louisiana Lafayette  
ACQUIRED Via trade from Tampa Bay as the player to be named later in exchange for OF Ben Francisco in August 2012.  

Career Highlights: 2013 - Went 6-0 with a 4.45 ERA in 44 appearances between Lancaster and Corpus Christi. Struck out 49 and walked 20 in 64.2 innings. Debuted with the JetHawks on April 5 against High Desert, permitting two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings. His next 11 appearances were of the scoreless variety. Tabbed Lancaster's Pitcher of the Month for May after posting a 3-0 record and a 2.35 ERA in 10 appearances. Permitted three earned runs over his final seven California League appearances for a 2.08 ERA. Concluded JetHawks tenure on July 17 by converting his lone save chance in a three-inning performance at Inland Empire. Went 4-0 with a 2.49 ERA and did not surrender a home run in 16 outings at Lancaster's hitter-friendly ballpark. Made Double-A debut on July 23 against San Antonio at Whataburger Field. Best outing with the Hooks occurred four days later in Midland when he fanned three over 2.2 scoreless innings.

2012 - Featured a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.45 at Charlotte, Tampa Bay's Class A affiliate. An injury forced him to miss most of the first two months. First appeared on May 20 and struggled in his first eight outings. Proceeded to log a 2.06 ERA through the balance of his season (23 appearances), limiting the South Atlantic League to a .204 batting average. Run includes a stretch of 12 consecutive scoreless performances. 2011 - Went 4-2 with a 2.08 ERA in 18 appearances between the Gulf Coast League and Hudson Valley. Fanned 34 batters against seven walks in 30.1 innings.

Career Notes: Owns a strikeout-to-walk rate of 3.47.

College Notes: During two-year tenure with the Cajuns, was 12-7 with a 4.63 ERA and three complete games in 29 starts. Recorded 119 strikeouts and 49 walks over 173 innings. Selected by the Rays in the 39th round of the 2011 draft. Was originally taken by the White Sox in the 49th round in 2009 out of Scottsdale Community College.

Kyle Hallock
Pitcher
BORN August 6, 1988 in Sandusky, OH
OPENING DAY AGE 25
HEIGHT 6'2
WEIGHT 190
BATS Left
THROWS Left
RESIDES Sandusky, OH
SCHOOL Kent State
ACQUIRED Selected in the 10^th round of the June 2011 draft

Career Highlights: 2013 - Went 5-6 with a 6.73 ERA in 34 appearances (13 starts) between Quad Cities, Oklahoma City, Lancaster and Corpus Christi. Struck out 55 and walked 49 in 96.1 innings, yielding 18 home runs. Opened the season on April 5 with a perfect inning of relief for the River Bandits, striking out two of the three batters he faced. The next day was shipped to directly to Triple-A. Best appearance was April 29 against Nashville when earned the victory after authoring four scoreless frames out of the RedHawks bullpen. Final outing with OKC was a start in Game 2 of a May 5 doubleheader at Iowa. Permitted one run on four hits in four innings. His 2013 sojourn continued with the first of two stints in the California League. Combined with Luis Cruz to toss a no-hitter on May 12 opposite Stockton. Faced 16 batters and only one reached due to throwing error by second baseman Delino DeShields. Cruz took care of the final four innings to notch the save. Won three of four decisions over the next nine appearances (four starts) with the JetHawks before being sent to the Texas League. Pitched 5.1 innings of one-hit, one-run ball in Double-A debut vs. Springfield on June 27. Settled for a no-decision as the Cards erupted for five runs in the ninth to win 6-5. Appeared out of the bullpen three days later and worked two scoreless innings vs. Tulsa. Struggled in his return to Lancaster, allowing 14 earned runs in 7.1 innings, which spanned two starts and one relief appearance. Concluded the campaign as a member of the Hooks, going 0-3 with an 11.25 ERA in eight appearances (four starts).

2012 - Combined to go 1-3 with an 8.22 ERA between the Gulf Coast League and Lexington. Was limited to 12 appearances (11 starts) due to elbow surgery.

2011 - A Mid-Season New York-Penn League All-Star and MiLB.com Organization All-Star, ranked eighth in the NYPL in ERA and was second among circuit starters with strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate of 8.90. Ranked second on Tri-City in starts and innings pitched and placed fourth in strikeouts. Held the league to two earns run or fewer in each of his first 12 starts. Was the ValleyCats Pitcher of the Month for July, going 1-2 with a 2.13 ERA in five outings. Struck out 26 and walked five over 25.1 innings. Surge began on July 1 when he fanned 11 without issuing a walk.

College Notes: Among Kent State career leaders in Ks (237, 2nd), IP (297.0, 3rd), wins (22, 5th) and appearances (65, 7th). Named the 2011 MAC Pitcher of the Year, becoming the ninth Kent State arm win the award. Was 10-4 w/ a 1.95 ERA, leading Golden Flashes to MAC regular season & tournament championships.

Matt Heidenreich
Pitcher
BORN January 17, 1991 in Coronado, CA
OPENING DAY AGE 23
HEIGHT 6'5
WEIGHT 205
BATS Right
THROWS Right
RESIDES Coronado, CA
ACQUIRED Via trade from Chicago-AL, along with LHP Blair Walters, for RHP Brett Myers in July 2012. Originally selected by the White Sox in the fourth round of the 2009 draft. 

Career Highlights: 2013 - Injury issues limited him to 31 games, including eight starts. First appearance was April 7 vs. Tulsa. Hurled three scoreless innings out of the bullpen and struck out a pair to earn the win. Permitted 16 earned runs and five home runs over the next four appearances (10.2 IP). Got the start April 29 at Frisco and did not allow an earned run over four frames. Next outing threw five scoreless innings opposite Midland to notch the victory in relief. From May 12 to July 12, went 2-0 with a 4.97 ERA over 14 outings (1 start). Was shipped to the Gulf Coast League in mid-August. His GCL run ended on August 23 with a four-inning performance against the Braves: 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K. Made two appearances with the Hooks to close out the season. Posted a 2-1 record and 2.14 ERA in six starts for Peoria of the Arizona Fall League. Fanned 18 and walked nine in 21.0 innings for the Javelinas.

2012 - Went 12-5 with a 3.95 ERA in 25 starts plus one relief appearance for Winston-Salem, Birmingham and Corpus Christi. Named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for June 25-July 2, after he went 2-0 and allowed an earned run over 16.0 innings pitched, including a complete game shutout. Named a Carolina League Mid-Season All-Star. Promoted to Double-A Birmingham July 4 and allowed two runs, one earned, over eight frames in his debut. Followed that start by allowing 11 earned runs over 10.1 innings in his next two outings. Traded to Houston July 21. Made Hooks debut July 26 at San Antonio and allowed one earned run in eight innings en route to a win. Lasted six full innings just once (August 18) after his Corpus Christi debut. At the plate, went 0-for-7 with 2 RBIs.

2011 - Ranked among South Atlantic League leaders in starts (27, T1st), innings pitched (154.1, 4^th), BB/9 IP among starters (1.81, 4^th) and putouts among pitchers (20, 1^st). In June went 1-3 with a 2.92 ERA in six starts. Posted a 3.95 ERA in 16 home starts and a 4.95 ERA in 11 road starts.

2010 - Was among Appalachian League leaders in ERA (2.49, 4^th), innings (76.0, T3rd) and BB/9 IP (1.09, 2^nd). From July 8-August 22, pitched in nine games, including seven starts, and went 3-1 with a 1.27 ERA, seven walks and 41 strikeouts. The ERA ranked 5^th among rookie league pitchers and 13^th across all of minor league baseball in that span. Pitched one frame for Kannapolis on September 2 and allowed two earned runs.

2009 - The only season in his career in which he did not make a start. Held right-handed hitters to a .152 batting average, while lefties hit .375 against him. From July 23-August 20 made eight appearances and allowed just one earned run in 11 innings (0.82 ERA).

Career stat note:  Has a career BB/9 IP rate of 1.88 (97 BB in 465.0 IP), which would have ranked fourth in the Texas League in 2013.