On The Farm: Hartman, Hermelyn, Hernandez
Leading up to Opening Day, cchooks.com will profile select farmhands in the Astros system. Today, we feature LHP Ryan Hartman, C Anthony Hermelyn, and RHP Nick Hernandez.
Leading up to Opening Day, cchooks.com will profile select farmhands in the Astros system. Today, we feature LHP
Pitcher
BORN April 21, 1994 in Anaheim, CA
OPENING DAY AGE 23
HEIGHT 6'3
WEIGHT 223
BATS Left
THROWS Left
SCHOOL Tennessee Wesleyan College
ACQUIRED Selected in the 9th round of the June 2016 draft
Career Highlights: 2017 - Went 5-7 with a 3.64 ERA in 25 games (16 starts) between Quad Cities and Buies Creek. Tossed 108 2/3 innings with 90 strikeouts and 33 walks. 1.22 WHIP was the 5th-best among Astros minor league pitchers and ranked 4th in walks per-9 innings (2.7). Held .226 (84 AB) batting average against vs. left-handed hitters and .247 (324 AB) batting average against vs. right-handed hitters. Began campaign with Quad Cities, posting a 2.04 ERA (17 2/3 IP) in April with 15 strikeouts and 3 walks. Tossed 6 innings (1 R, 1 K, 0 BB) on April 19 at Burlington. Had a 2.37 ERA (22 IP) in May. Went 6 scoreless innings and matched a career-high 7 strikeouts on May 20 at Kane County. Made Buies Creek debut on May 31 vs. Carolina (3 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 4 BB, 1 K). Bounced back with 6 innings (2 ER, 7 K) on June 6 vs. Myrtle Beach. Picked up 4-inning save (1 ER, 5 K) on June 30 vs. Potomac in 2-1 victory. Excelled in July, recording a 1.74 ERA (20 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 15 K, 4 BB, .216 BAA). Allowed just 1 earned run during 4 straight appearances from July 6-July 24 (19 IP, 11 H, 13 K, 4 BB). Toughest month of season came in August (5.56 ERA, 22 2/3 IP, 18 K, 7 BB).
2016 - Made pro debut on June 24 vs. Vermont, tossing 2 innings in relief and allowing 1 earned run. Went 4 scoreless innings (5 H, 1 K, 0 BB) on July 5 vs. State College. Had 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 innings during August, striking out 20 batters while issuing just 3 walks in the month with a .155 batting average against. Finished campaign with 3 consecutive 4-inning outings from August 25-September 4. In season finale on September 4 at Connecticut, went 4 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts.
College Notes: Led all NAIA pitchers with a 0.64 ERA in 98 innings pitched during senior campaign. Registered 129 strikeouts and just 12 walks during 2016 season.
Ryan Hartman Career Stats
Catcher
BORN November 18, 1993 in McKinney, TX
OPENING DAY AGE 24
HEIGHT 6'1
WEIGHT 223
BATS Right
THROWS Right
HOMETOWN McKinney, TX
SCHOOL Oklahoma
ACQUIRED Selected in the 4th round of the June 2015 draft
Career Highlights: 2017 - Threw out 40% of attempted base stealers (16 caught stealing in 40 attempts). Committed 0 errors in 51 starts at catcher and allowed 3 passed balls. Hit .225 (80 AB) against left-handed pitching and .250 (184 AB) against right-handed pitching. Hit .282 (78 AB) with 29 RBIs in situations with runners in scoring position. Hit .254 (36 G) in 1st half as compared to .232 (38 games) in 2nd half. Began campaign by going 8-for-21 with 4 RBIs in 6 games. Best month was April, hitting .261 (46 AB) with 4 doubles and 6 RBIs during the month. Put together 5-game hit streak from May 11-May 18, while belting 1st home run on May 15 at Myrtle Beach. Went 3-for-5 with an RBI on June 10 at Wilmington. Hit 2-run home run on July 21 at Carolina. Went 3-for-4 on July 5 at Myrtle Beach. Hit Went 9-for-26 with 4 RBIs in 6-game span from July 30-August 13. Finished season with a hit in 6 of 7 games played, including a 2-hit performance in season finale on September 4 vs. Down East.
2016 - Threw out 29% of attempted base stealers (20 caught stealing in 68 attempts). Started season by hitting .333 (45 AB) with 8 doubles, 3 RBIs, and a .464 on-base percentage during April. Collected 3 hits on April 21 at Kane County and April 28 vs. South Bend. Cooled down in May and June, hitting a combined .216 (125 AB). Hit 1st home run of campaign on June 12 at Burlington. Went 3-for-3 with 3 runs scored and an RBI on June 29 vs. Cedar Rapids. In July, collected 3 RBIs on 2 occasions (July 8 vs. Clinton, July 21 vs. Dayton). Hit just .096 (52 AB) in 16 games during August.
2015 - Threw out 35% of attempted base stealers (12 caught stealing in 34 attempts). Started 5 games at 1st base and made 0 errors. Batted .309 (55 AB) against left-handed pitching and .213 (136 AB) against right-handed pitching. Made pro debut on June 19 at Connecticut, going 1-for-4 with an RBI. Hit 1st pro home run on August 3 at Hudson Valley.
Career Notes: Has thrown out 34% of attempted base stealers (48 caught stealing in 142 attempts). Has committed 7 errors in 165 games at catcher.
College Notes: 1st-Team All-Big 12 honoree as a junior at Oklahoma in 2015, batting .321 with 6 home runs and 49 RBIs. Played in Cape Cod Baseball League for the Harwich Mariners, hitting .308 in 117 at-bats and was selected for the 2014 Cape Cod League All-Star Game
Anthony Hermelyn Career Stats
Pitcher
BORN December 30, 1994 in Missouri City, TX
OPENING DAY AGE 23
HEIGHT 6'2
WEIGHT 221
BATS Right
THROWS Right
HOMETOWN Missouri City, TX
SCHOOL Houston
ACQUIRED Selected in the 8th round of the June 2016 draft
Career Highlights: 2017 - Went 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 38 appearances between Buies Creek and Corpus Christi. Tossed 58 2/3 innings while striking out 70 batters and issuing 26 walks. Registered a .170 batting average against. Tied for the most saves (10) in Houston's system. Went 9-for-9 in save opportunities with Buies Creek. Earned Carolina League Midseason All-Star honors. With Buies Creek, held left-handed hitters to .156 batting average (45 AB) and right-handed hitters to .157 batting average (70 AB). Began campaign with 3 straight scoreless outings (4 2/3 IP, 1 H, 7 K), including a 3-inning save on April 8 vs. Winston-Salem in season debut. Had sensational May and June in 15 total appearances, throwing 20 innings without allowing a run (6 H, 30 K, 5 BB). Held opposing hitters to a .092 batting average during May and June. Went season-high 4 innings with career-high 7 strikeouts (0 R, 0 H) on June 27 vs. Carolina. Made Corpus Christi debut on July 8 vs. Arkansas, tossing 2 scoreless frames. Went 2 2/3 scoreless innings in following appearance on July 14 at Midland. Allowed 5 runs (2 ER) in lone inning on July 23 at Midland. Went 3 innings (2 ER, 1 H, 5 K) on August 11 vs. Springfield. Roughed up on August 16 at Tulsa (1 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 2 BB). Bounced back with solid outing on August 19 at Springfield (3 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 1 K, 2 BB). Finished campaign with 3 consecutive scoreless outings from August 28-September 3 (4 2/3 IP, 0 H, 6 K, 1 BB).
2016 - Went 1-2 with a 1.73 ERA in 19 appearances between Tri-City and Quad Cities. Tossed 26 innings with 30 strikeouts and 9 walks. Picked up 6 saves in 8 chances with Tri-City. Had 2 consecutive scoreless appearances to begin pro career (3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 K, 2 BB). Went season-high 3 innings (1 ER, 1 H, 4 K, 0 BB) on June 29 vs. Williamsport. Posted a 1.29 ERA (7 IP) in 7 appearances during July. Midwest League debut came on August 20 vs. Kane County, tossing 2 scoreless innings (1 H, 1 K, 1 BB). Finished campaign with 1 2/3 scoreless frames (1 H, 2 K, 0 BB) on September 4 at Burlington.
Career Notes: Averaging 10.6 strikeouts per-9 innings in minor league career.
College Notes: American Athletic Conference 1st-Team honors in 2016 with the Cougars, finishing season at 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA in a team-high 29 appearances.
Nick Hernandez Career Stats