On the Farm: Lo, Martinez, McCurdy

Leading up to the 2013 season, cchooks.com spotlights select farmhands in the Astros system. Today, we feature RHPs Chia-Jen Lo and David Martinez and C Ryan McCurdy.

Chia-Jen Lo
Pitcher
Height:  5-11
Weight:  180
Born:  4/7/86 in Pingtung County, Taiwan
Bats/Throws:  R/R
Resides:  Pingtung County, Taiwan

School:  Chinese Culture University.

Acquired:  Signed as a non-drafted free agent in November 2008.

Career Highlights: 2012 - A member of Houston's 40-man roster, made 14 relief appearances for Mesa of the Arizona Fall League, posting a 1-0 record and 2.40 ERA.  Notched three saves in as many opportunities, striking out 11 against four walks in 15.0 innings.  Carved out a 0.90 ERA (3 ER | 30.0 IP) in 19 appearances between the Gulf Coast League and High-A Lancaster.  Fanned 31 batters, walked six and limited the opposition to a .186 batting average.  Was the pitcher of record in Lancaster's Game 2 victory of the California League Mini Series against Lake Elsinore.  Tossed two scoreless innings, walked one and struck out four in the best-of-five championship series as the JetHawks swept Modesto to earn their first California League title.  Had appeared in only nine games since 2009, recovering from Tommy John surgery.

2010 - Missed all but a month (April) of the season due to a right-arm injury.  Five of his seven appearances were scoreless, and in four of the seven he tossed two or more innings of shutout relief.  Struck out three over 1.2 innings vs. Frisco on April 30 - his final outing before being placed on the disabled list May 7.  Held opponents to a .176 batting average and threw 62 percent of his pitches for strikes.  Ranked by Baseball America as the fifth-best prospect in the Astros system entering the season.

2009 - Was the winning pitcher for the World Team in the 2009 XM All-Star Futures Game in St. Louis, tossing an inning of shutout relief.  Collected his lone career win in his third outing for the JetHawks, recording seven strikeouts over three shutout innings in a 3-2 triumph against Inland Empire April 14.  Joined the Hooks in early June and finished second on the club in appearances.  Finished strong, blanking the opposition over his last seven outings (15 innings).  Was 2-for-2 in save chances, including a four-inning whitewash at Frisco September 1 that featured five strikeouts.  For the year, held opponents to a .179 batting average and posted 10.49 strikeouts per nine innings.  Allowed just two home runs all season and only one with the Hooks.  Made six appearances for the Peoria Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League, going 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA, with two walks and 12 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.

Career state note - Has held the opposition to a .182 batting average.

David Martinez
Pitcher
Height:  6-2
Weight:  223
Born:  8/4/87 in Cumana, VZ
Bats/Throws:  R/R
Resides:  Cumana, VZ

Acquired:  Signed as a non-drafted free agent in March 2005.

Career Highlights: 2012 - Led the California League champion Lancaster JetHawks in starts, innings pitched, strikeouts, ERA, batting average against (.285) and WHIP (1.33).  His win total tied for first on the club while his innings pitched ranked third in the circuit.  Strung together a stellar second half, going 7-2 with a 3.08 ERA in 13 starts (14 appearances).  Walked 14 and fanned 63 over 87.2 innings during this stretch.  Following the all-star break, placed third in the league in ERA, tied for fourth in wins and ranked seventh in WHIP (1.25).  Won CL pitcher-of-the-week honors June 11-18 after carving out seven innings of two-hit shutout ball against Inland Empire on June 15.  He struck out five 66ers and did not issue a free pass.  Went 2-1 with a 3.09 ERA in five July appearances (including lone relief outing).  Issued five walks against 24 strikeouts in 32.0 innings and was named the club's pitcher of the month.  Stood 7-2 and posted a 3.08 ERA away from Lancaster's hitter-friendly home park, The Hangar.  Won both of his postseason starts, limiting the opposition to five runs on 13 hits and two walks in 12.0 innings for a 3.75 ERA.

2011 - Worked mostly out of the bullpen for Lexington.  Posted a 4-5 record and 4.17 ERA in 32 relief appearances while going 2-for-4 in save situations.  Four of his five starts occurred in succession to close out the season.  Fashioned a 1.80 ERA during the month of April, yielding just two earned runs thru his first seven appearances.  Won his first three decisions and posted 25 strikeouts against six walks leading up to the all-star break.  Three of his five June outings were of the scoreless variety.  Was 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA for the month, fanning 10 while walking five.  Was tabbed the Legends' starter on August 18 at Hickory but only faced one batter, leaving the game following a three-hour rain delay.  Five days later, blanked Asheville over five innings, allowing just two hits while striking out three to earn the victory.  Fared far better at home than on the road, posting these splits for the season: 2.31 ERA, .247 AVG | 6.83 ERA, .328 AVG.

2010 - Helped lead Tri-City to the New York-Penn League title.  Paced the club strikeouts, ranked second in wins and ERA, and finished third in innings pitched.  His first six appearances were out of the bullpen.  Went 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA and 0.93 WHIP during this stretch, striking out 13 against three walks in 14 innings.  Fashioned a 3-1 record and 3.20 ERA in 10 starts.  Won both of his decisions in August, posting a 1.19 ERA over six outings (five starts).  Struck out 31 and walked six thru 30.1 innings for the month.  Was the winning pitcher in Game 1 of the championship series, holding Brooklyn to a pair of runs over five innings.

2005-2008 - Compiled a 16-5 record and 3.35 ERA over 50 appearances (16 starts) in the Venezuelan Summer League.  Fanned 114 batters against 38 walks in 155.2 innings.

Career stat note:  Owns a 3.13 strikeout-to-walk ratio thru eight seasons.

Ryan McCurdy
Catcher
Height:  5-10
Weight:  180
Born:  12/28/87 in Tampa, FL
Bats/Throws:  R/R
Resides:  Tampa, FL

School: Duke.  Served as a full-time starter at three positions (second, third & catcher) over four-year tenure.  Did not make an error behind the plate during senior season and caught 19 runners stealing.  Posted a career .978 fielding percentage (19 errors | 865 total chances), leading all ACC third basemen in 2008 and 2009.  Notched a .397 on-base percentage during career, striking out only 44 times in 820 plate appearances.  Was hit by 69 pitches as a Blue Devil, setting ACC career and single-season records.  Won All-ACC Academic Baseball Team honors twice and was a member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll thrice.

Acquired:  Signed as a non-drafted free agent in June 2010.

Career Highlights:  2012 - Hit .203 with 16 runs scored, seven doubles, one triple, one home run and 16 RBIs in 55 games between Lancaster, Corpus Christi and Lexington. Featured more walks than strikeouts (19 to 14). Began the season at Lancaster, where he made only two appearances before being promoted to the Hooks in early May.  Drove in three runs on three two-out singles May 16 in San Antonio.  Swatted a grand slam - the lone home run of his career - on May 24 in Corpus Christi's 13-4 rout of Arkansas.

2011 - Played all but one game of the season with short-season Tri-City.  Tabbed the ValleyCats Player of the Month in August, hitting .395 with four doubles and 11 RBIs.  Batted .385 and drove in 13 of his 17 RBIs at home.  Was 10-for-28 (.357) with runners in scoring position.

Career stat notes:  Has committed just eight errors in 734 total chances for a .989 fielding percentage.  Features a 23.8 caught-stealing percentage, having thrown out 31 of 130 base runners. Averaging 12.07 plate appearances per strikeout.