On the Farm: Musick, Nash, Orloff

Leading up to the 2013 season, cchooks.com spotlights select farmhands in the Astros system. Today, we feature LHP Wes Musick, 1B/OF Telvin Nash and IF Ben Orloff.

Wes Musick
Pitcher
Height:  6-0
Weight:  190
Born:  12/30/86 in Lufkin, TX
Bats/Throws:  L/L
Resides:  Lufkin, TX                       

School:  University of Houston.  Named to the All-Conference USA First and Second Teams in his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively.  A three-time starter on Opening Day, was 19-16 with a 4.34 ERA and 219 strikeouts in his three seasons with the Cougars.  Originally selected by the Astros in the 46th round of the 2005 draft out of Hudson High School in Lufkin.  Picked by San Francisco in the 24th round in 2008, and ultimately signed with Colorado after being drafted by the Rockies in the ninth round a year later.

Acquired:  Via trade with Colorado, along with right-handed pitcher Jonnathan Aristil, in exchange for reliever Matt Lindstrom in December, 2010.

Career Highlights:  2012 - Made stops at the top three tiers of the Astros system, carving out a combined 4-4 record and 3.04 ERA in 14 appearances (12 starts).  Made season debut at Rancho Cucamonga on April 9 and tossed five shutout frames.  Held the Quakes to four hits and one walk while striking out six.  Won two of his final three starts with the JetHawks, posting a 2.01 ERA.  His lone loss was a complete game effort on April 20 at Lake Elsinore.  Scattered two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four in eight innings.  Suffered a tough-luck loss in his Double-A debut May 7, tossing seven innings of one-run ball against San Antonio.  Promoted to Oklahoma City on May 21 and authored a solid Triple-A introduction, holding Colorado Springs to a pair of runs and six hits over six innings.  Earned his victory with the RedHawks on May 31 opposite Nashville.  Struck out four and did not issue a walk, silencing the Sounds to one run over six frames.

2011 - Spent the majority of the season in Lancaster's bullpen, where he went 2-4 with one save and a 4.73 ERA in 16 appearances.  His final five outings came as a starter (2-1, 4.91 ERA).  Top month was August when he went 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA in seven games and four starts.  Best effort came right out of the chute, tossing four innings of shutout ball on Opening Day at ClearChannel Stadium to get the save in Lancaster's 5-0 win over High Desert.  Scattered four hits while striking out five in that performance.  Collected wins in back-to-back starts August 24 and 29 at Inland Empire and Lake Elsinore, combining to allow just one run on 11 hits over 11.1 innings while walking two and striking out nine.  Missed roughly two months of the season, mid-May through mid-July, with a hand injury.

2010 - His 4.05 ERA was ninth best among Rockies farmhands.  Tied for the Asheville lead in victories (8) and ranked second in starts, innings and strikeouts.  Averaged 4.19 Ks for every walk issued.  Held opponents to three or fewer runs in 14 of his 23 starts, including a pair of seven-inning shutout performances.  Rebounded from a tough April to go 6-4 with a 3.41 ERA over his last 18 outings.  In 10 appearances after the All-Star break, yielded just 17 earned runs over 55 frames for a 2.78 ERA.  Especially effective away from McCormick Field, going 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA in nine road starts, allowing just 1 HR over 53.1 innings.  Stellar on August 19 at West Virginia when he was perfect through three and two-thirds innings, finishing with a one-hit shutout over five frames with seven strikeouts.  Held lefties to a .198 batting average (106 at-bats), limiting opponents to just three extra-base hits and no home runs.

Career stat note:  Has a walk-to-strikeout ratio of 1-to-3.15.

Telvin Nash
First Base/Outfielder
Height:  6-2
Weight:  230
Born:  2/20/91 in Griffin, GA
Bats/Throws:  R/R
Resides:  Belleview, FL

Acquired:  Selected by the Astros in the third round of the 2009 draft.

Career Highlights:  2012 - Tied for sixth in the minors in home runs, while placing second in the Houston system and California League.  Averaged one blast for every 13.55 plate appearances, which led the CL.  Led the minors in strikeouts after getting fanned in 44 percent of his plate appearances.  Paced the JetHawks in home runs and ranked within the top five of several of the club's offensive categories: RBIs (4th), total bases (194, 4th), walks (4th), slugging percentage (4th), OPS (.879, 4th), games (5th), at-bats (5th), runs (5th) and doubles (5th).  Book ended his campaign with solo shots on Opening Night and in the regular-season finale.  Earned Lancaster offensive player of the month honors in April, posting a .972 OPS to go along with nine home runs and 15 RBIs over 20 games.  Limited to nine games in July due to an ankle injury.  Divided his starts between left field (46), designated hitter (47), first base (9) and right field (1).  Slugged a pair of home runs and drove in five during the playoffs as the JetHawks captured the league title.  Entered the 2012 season as the No. 10 prospect in the Houston system, according to Baseball America.

2011 - Got off to a strong start with Lexington, hitting .310 with five HRs and 11 RBIs in 15 April games, posting a .997 OPS.  Belted three of those homers April 17 at Asheville, going 5-for-6 with four RBIs in the Legend's 18-9 rout of the Tourists.  Missed two months of the season after suffering a broken hamate bone in his left hand.  Returned from hamate surgery in late June and hit safely in four of five games with the GCL Astros, then collected hits in six of his first seven games back with Lexington, batting .333 (10x30) with one home run and four RBIs.  Knocked in a season-high five runs with two doubles and a homer in four at-bats in a 13-5 romp over Asheville August 23.  Performance capped a torrid six-game hitting streak in which he hit .480 (12x25) with seven doubles, two HRs and nine RBIs.  Split his time between first base (33 games), DH (27), left field (11) and right field (2).

2010 - Reached base safely in 20 consecutive games for Greeneville July 7-August 3 with eight home runs, 22 RBIs and a .415 OBP.  Streak was the fifth-longest of the season in the Appalachian League.  Named Greeneville's offensive player of the month in August when he hit .277 with six doubles, a triple, four HR and 18 RBIs in 26 games.  Called up to Tri-City in September for the final four games of the regular season and played in the first two games of the New York-Penn League playoffs.

2009 - Hit .259-1-11 in 17 August games, including his first pro home run August 11 vs. the GCL Cardinals.

Career stat note:  Averaging one HR for every 18.1 pro at-bats, with an .812 OPS.  Has struck out in 36 percent of his plate appearances (1,178).

Prep notes:  As a senior at Griffin High School, hit .527 with 10 HRs and 40 RBIs.  Was also an all-star defensive end for the Bears and recruited to play college football.  Father, Ray Nash, was his high school football coach.

Ben Orloff
Infielder
Height:  5-11
Weight:  174
Born:  4/26/87 in Santa Monica, CA
Bats/Throws:  R/R
Resides:  Simi Valley, CA

School:  University of California - Irvine.  Tabbed Big West Player of the Year, a first in school history, after batting .358 with a team-high 91 hits and 62 runs scored during senior season.  Won the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award and was named a first-team All-American by NCBWA.  Became the Anteaters' all-time leader in games played (241), at-bats (877), runs scored (178) and hits (281).  Was the second player in school history to reach the 60-steal plateau (61).  Made 215 consecutive starts at shortstop.  Was originally selected by Colorado in 19th round of the 2008 draft.  Graduated with a degree in criminology.

Acquired:  Selected by Houston in the ninth round of the 2009 draft.

Career Highlights:  2012 - Hit .290 with 56 runs scored, 13 doubles, 44 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a .361 on-base percentage between Lancaster and Corpus Christi.  Strung together a 15-game hit streak from May 22 to June 7, batting .309 with seven runs scored and 14 RBIs.  Walked seven times against a pair of strikeouts during the streak.  Notched a .309 batting average against right-handed pitchers, compared to a .215 mark vs. lefties.  Batted .322 with runners on base and hit .282 with men in scoring position.  Tabbed the JetHawks' defensive player of the month for June, led all California League shortstops in fielding percentage (.972) at the time of his promotion.  Averaged one strikeout for every 15.09 CL plate appearances which stood as the top ratio in the circuit thru mid-July.  Made Double-A debut on July 17 in Midland, walking twice in five plate appearances. Hit .373 (25-for-67) over final 23 regular-season games, notching 12 runs scored, five doubles, one triple and 12 RBIs.  Posted a career high for hits and RBIs on August 12 against Springfield when he plated four and went 5-for-5 with three runs, a double and a triple.  Matched the RBI total on September 1 in San Antonio.  Was 4-for-9 during the playoffs with two RBIs.  Suited up for Team Israel in the qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic.

2011 - Tied for the team lead in triples and ranked second on the Legends in sac bunts (6).  Also slotted third in steals and fifth in runs scored.  Authored a PA/K ratio of 14.46 which would have topped the South Atlantic League had he not fell shy of the qualifier by two plate appearances.  Hit safely in 17 consecutive home games from July 17 to August 25, batting .367 with a .433 on-base percentage.  It stood as the second-longest home-hit streak in the circuit.  Reached base in 23 straight road games from April 17 to July 8, walking seven times against six strikeouts.  Named Lexington's player of the month for July after hitting .358 with 17 runs scored and a .918 OPS.

2010 - Led the New York-Penn League champion ValleyCats in batting average, runs, hits, stolen bases and on-base percentage (.447).  Also tied for first on the club in sac bunts (6) and ranked second in walks.  Earned team MVP honors and slotted second among Astros farmhands in batting average.  Stood fourth in the league in steals and runs scored, and featured the lowest PA/K ratio (15.00).  Notched the second-longest hit streak in the circuit, a run of 16 games August 8-26.  Hit .305 during this stretch with 15 runs scored and a .440 on-base percentage.  Was named to the mid-season All-Star team and was tabbed Tri-City's defensive player of the month for July and August.  Committed eight errors in 245 total chances for a .967 fielding percentage between second base (23 G), shortstop (16 G) and third (15 G).  Hit .333 (7-for-21) thru five playoff games, posting a pair of doubles and two RBIs.

Career stat notes: Carries a .361 on-base percentage thru four seasons.  Averaging 14.86 plate appearances per strikeout (1248 PA /84 K) while posting a 1.29 K/BB ratio.  Owns a .969 fielding percentage, playing primarily at shortstop (201 G).  Has also logged 68 games at second and 18 at third base.