On the Farm: Fontana, Gregor, Grills
On the Farm profiles select farmhands in the Astros system. This cchooks.com series continues today with Nolan Fontana, Conrad Gregor and Evan Grills.
Nolan Fontana
Infielder
BORN June 6, 1991 in Winter Gardens, FL
OPENING DAY AGE 23
HEIGHT 5'11
WEIGHT 190
BATS Left
THROWS Right
RESIDES Winter Gardens, FL
SCHOOL University of Florida
ACQUIRED Selected in the second round (61st overall) of the June 2012 draft
Career Highlights: 2015 - Ranked as the No. 14 prospect in Houston's system entering the seasoning according to MLB.com. 2014 - Hit in 7 straight games April 19-26. Registered a 4-hit game April 22 against Midland. Posted multiple hits in 6 of 8 games April 30-May 10. Collected 3 walks in a game six times, including 10 in a 4 game span May 13-17. Hit .325 (26-for-80) with 14 runs and 15 RBIs in 25 May games. Named a Mid-Season All-Star. Reached base in 17 straight home games from April 21 to May 27, hitting .361 with a .480 OBP. Placed on disabled list with a broken finger for the remainder of the season following June 19 contest. At time of injury led the TL in walks (61) OBP (.418) Finished tied for 4th in the Texas League in walks (61), despite playing in just 66 games. Batted .287 against right-handed pitching, but just .167 versus southpaws. Posted a .286 batting average at Whataburger Field and .233 on the road. Rated by MLB.com as Houston's No. 8 prospect and, according to Baseball America, possesses the "best strike-zone discipline" among Astros farmhands. 2013 - Tied for second in the minor leagues in walks and placed third in Advanced-A in OBP (.415). Slotted second on the JetHawks in sac bunts (5) and ranked third in runs and triples. Also tied for third on the club in steals with 16 in 21 attempts. Opened the season with a seven-game hit streak, batting .423 with eight runs, four doubles, a triple, two home runs, nine RBIs and six walks. Tabbed as Lancaster's Player of the Month for April after posting a .365 batting average and 1.078 OPS. Limited to 13 games in May due to a wrist injury. Was back at full speed during July, playing in 27 contests. For the month, coaxed 28 walks compared to 13 strikeouts, reaching base at a .409 clip. Featured a quartet of four-RBI performances, including August 13 against Inland Empire when he launched a seventh-inning grand slam. Hit .500 with the bases loaded, going 8-for-16 with two walks and 21 RBIs. Appeared in 95 games at shortstop and committed 19 errors in 391 total chances for a .951 fielding percentage, while turning 39 double plays. During the playoffs, batted .381 with three runs scored, a double, triple and three RBIs in five games. 2012 - Following the June draft, was shipped directly to the South Atlantic League. Made his pro debut on July 5 at Hagerstown, going 1-for-1 with a run, RBI and five walks. Hit .282 with 20 runs and 30 walks in 22 games for the month. Coaxed 10 free passes over the final three regular-season games. Career Notes: Owns a .427 on-base percentage. Averages 1.04 walks per strikeout and 4.50 plate appearances per free pass. College Notes: Was the first Gator shortstop to earn All-SEC three seasons in a row and joined outfielder Matt den Dekker (2008-10) as the only UF players to be named to the SEC All-Defensive Team three times. During his junior campaign with the Gators, hit .284 with 59 runs, 10 doubles, nine home runs and 30 RBIs in 66 games. Led the club in runs, walks (48) and stolen bases (13). Was on the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, presented to the nation's top collegiate shortstop. Sported a .977 fielding percentage and committed one error in league play. As a freshman in 2010, became the first player in school history to be named to the Division I Rawlings Gold Glove Team and earned Freshman All-America recognition from Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
|
2012 |
Lexington (A) |
.225 |
49 |
151 |
37 |
34 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
25 |
65 |
44 |
12 |
|
2013 |
Lancaster (A) |
.259 |
104 |
386 |
88 |
100 |
18 |
6 |
8 |
60 |
102 |
100 |
16 |
|
2014 |
Corpus Christi (AA) |
.262 |
66 |
229 |
33 |
60 |
21 |
1 |
1 |
26 |
61 |
76 |
5 |
|
|
Career Totals |
.253 |
219 |
766 |
158 |
194 |
48 |
8 |
11 |
111 |
228 |
220 |
33 |
Conrad Gregor
First Baseman
BORN February 27, 1992 in Carmel, IN
OPENING DAY AGE 23
HEIGHT 6'3
WEIGHT 220
BATS Left
THROWS Right
RESIDES Sanibel, FL
SCHOOL Vanderbilt
ACQUIRED Selected in the 4th round of the June 2013 draft
Career Highlights: 2014 - Hit .311 with 16 HR and 86 RBIs at three different stops. Started the year with Quad Cities and strung together 4 straight multi-hit games April 19-25, going 11-for-20 (.550). Hit in 12 of 13 games from May 8-24 at a 413 clip (19-for-46) to raise average from .259 to .305. Reached base safely in all 22 road games he played for the River Bandits, hitting .365 with a .461 OBP away from Modern Woodman Park. Posted multi-walk games 7 times in 44 contests. Hit .360 against left-handed pitching. Promoted to Lancaster May 27. Hit in 18 straight games from June 8-July 1, batting .387 with 17 RBIs and a .452 OBP. Also collected hits in 18 consecutive games at home June 2-July 6, hitting .437 with a .512 OBP. June 4 against Inland Empire went 5-for-5 with 3 runs, a home run and 4 RBIs. Had a monster June, hitting .396 with 6 HR and 25 RBIs. Drove in 5 runs July 17 against Visalia, going 4-for-5 with 3 runs scored and 2 home runs. Hit .397 with 10 of his 12 HR against right-handers. Batted .402 at home and .302 on the road. Promoted to Corpus Christi July 20. Hit safely in his first 4 games as a Hook July 21-24. Hit in 7 of 8 games August 12-23, going 11-for-26 to raise average from .230 to .287. 2013 - Made pro debut June 17 against Vermont. Cracked first home run June 22 at Lowell. Finished 2nd in the New York-Penn League in games and walks, T-3rd in hits and 10th in hitting. Led circuit first basemen in fielding percentage (.995). Tabbed NYPL Player of the Week for August 5-12 after he hit .583 (14-for-24) with 8 RBIs. Average climbed each month: .235 in June, .259 in July, .324 in August and went 5-for-9 in September. Career Notes: Owns a career on-base percentage of .395 and has walked in 12.4 percent of plate appearances. Was selected out of high school by Chicago (AL) in the 40th round of the 2010 draft. College Notes: At Vanderbilt, named a Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American in 2013 and went on to hit .308 with 3 HR and 48 RBIs as a junior. In 2012 finished second on the team in hitting (.328) and led the way with a .463 slugging percentage. Led Commodores in hitting (.353) as a freshman in 2011 and was tabbed a Freshman All-American and Second Team All-SEC in 2011.
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
|
2013 |
Tri-City (A) |
.289 |
74 |
270 |
36 |
78 |
12 |
1 |
4 |
35 |
37 |
43 |
2 |
|
2014 |
Quad Cities (A) |
.298 |
44 |
161 |
26 |
48 |
13 |
1 |
1 |
28 |
28 |
34 |
0 |
|
|
Lancaster (A) |
.367 |
47 |
180 |
43 |
66 |
14 |
3 |
12 |
45 |
27 |
25 |
1 |
|
|
Corpus Christi (AA) |
.239 |
33 |
109 |
14 |
26 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
13 |
13 |
21 |
0 |
|
|
Career Totals |
.303 |
198 |
720 |
119 |
218 |
43 |
6 |
20 |
121 |
105 |
123 |
3 |
Evan Grills
Pitcher
BORN June 13, 1992 in Whitby, Ontario, CAN
OPENING DAY AGE 22
HEIGHT 6'4
WEIGHT 208
BATS Left
THROWS Left
RESIDES Whitby, Ontario, CAN
ACQUIRED Selected in the 10th round of the June 2010 draft
Career Highlights: 2014 - Went a combined 5-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 26 games (16 starts) between Class-A Quad-Cities and High-A Lancaster. Used as part of tandem rotation at both stops. Allowed just 3 earned runs in his first 3 appearances, spanning 11.2 innings. Picked up first win of the season May 2 at Beloit after he went 6.0 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO. Tossed a season-high 7.0 innings twice: May 14 at Wisconsin and June 20 against Peoria. Lost back-to-back appearances June 11 & 20, despite allowing 3 R, 1 ER in 12.0 IP. In 5 games at home posted a 1.99 ERA, while posting a 3.00 earned run average in 11 road appearances. In 4 June games, including 2 starts, went 0-2 with a 0.95 ERA and 2 saves. Posted a 1.37 ERA out of the bullpen and 3.16 as a starter. Threw two CG: a 7-inning CG June 20 against Peoria in Game 2 of a double-header and a rain shortened CG July 2 at Beloit. Promoted to Lancaster for start on July 8. Got shelled for 8 R, 1 ER in 4.0 IP and took loss. Allowed 3 ER in each of last 5 games August 9-September 1. Cal League left-handers hit .346 (18-for-52) against him. 2013 - Did not allow more than 3 ER in a game until August 29, taking him through 13 appearances. Won first 6 decisions for the ValleyCats June 27-August 24. August 29 at Vermont, lasted a season-low 1.2 innings, after yielding 6 ER on 7 H. Tied for the New York-Penn League lead with 7 wins and led the circuit in winning percentage (.875). 2012 - Used exclusively out of the bullpen. Strung together 7 straight scoreless appearances May 31-June 24, covering 11.1 innings to lower ERA from 3.80 to 2.57. Struggled the rest of the way to the tune of a 7.18 ERA (29 ER in 36.1 IP). In 7 day games, yielded 12 ER in 10.2 IP (10.13 ERA). 2011 - Allowed 1 ER in first 6 games (0.96 ERA). First pro win July 26 at GCL Cardinals: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 SO. Won last 3 decisions, spanning July 26-August 19. 2010 - Made pro debut July 13 at GCL Nationals and pitched a scoreless inning.
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
W-L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
CG |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
|
2010 |
GCL Astros (R) |
0-2 |
8.76 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
12.1 |
20 |
14 |
12 |
7 |
15 |
|
2011 |
GCL Astros (R) |
3-1 |
3.00 |
13 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
33.0 |
33 |
13 |
11 |
7 |
29 |
|
2012 |
Lexington (A) |
4-1 |
4.92 |
37 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
71.1 |
81 |
40 |
39 |
23 |
42 |
|
2013 |
Tri-City (A) |
7-1 |
3.34 |
16 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
62.0 |
66 |
28 |
23 |
12 |
54 |
|
2014 |
Quad Cities (A) |
3-3 |
2.70 |
16 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
76.2 |
84 |
28 |
23 |
11 |
47 |
|
|
Lancaster (A) |
2-3 |
4.70 |
10 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
44.0 |
58 |
33 |
23 |
4 |
26 |
|
|
Career Totals |
19-11 |
3.94 |
98 |
30 |
2 |
3 |
299.1 |
342 |
156 |
131 |
64 |
213 |