On the Farm: Lambson, Mayfield, McCullers
On the Farm profiles select farmhands in the Astros system. The cchooks.com series continues with LHP Mitch Lambson, INF Jack Mayfield and RHP Lance McCullers.
Mitchell Lambson
Pitcher
BORN July 20, 1990 in Tualatin, OR
OPENING DAY AGE 24
HEIGHT 6'4
WEIGHT 208
BATS Left
THROWS Left
RESIDES Scottsdale, AZ
SCHOOL Arizona State
ACQUIRED Selected in the 19th round of the 2011 June draft
Career Highlights: 2014 - Went 4-2 with a 2.14 ERA and 3 saves in 40 appearances between Lancaster and Corpus Christi. Struck out 63 and walked 9 in 54.2 innings, posting a 1.01 WHIP and a .229 batting average against. Promoted to Corpus Christi in mid-June where 19 of his 23 appearances were of the scoreless variety. Did not allow a run in 7 consecutive outings from July 24 to August 13. During time with the Hooks, averaged 7 strikeouts for every walk and fanned 9.5 batters per 9.0 innings pitched. Yielded 2 earned runs over his final 12 appearances, striking out 19 against 1 walk in 18.0 innings. Opened the season with Lancaster. Was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and .245 BAA in 11 appearances at the JetHawks' hitter-friendly home park, The Hangar. Did not allow a run in 8 of his last 9 California League outings. Selected to pitch for Salt River of the Arizona Fall League. Fashioned a 1.26 ERA and a .128 BAA in 10 appearances for the Rafters, striking out 17 against 7 walks in 14.1 innings. Hurled 9.1 shutout frames over 6 appearances to close out the fall. 2013 - Led Quad Cities in appearances and holds (8), and tied for 2nd on the club in victories. Owned the most innings and strikeouts among River Bandits without a start to his credit. Fashioned a 1.26 ERA and held the Midwest League to a .143 batting average in his first 9 outings (14.1 IP). Following the all-star break, went 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA and 1 save in 20 games. Struck out 49 and walked 8 in 44.0 IP during this stretch. Kept the opposition off the scoreboard in 7 of his 8 August appearances, logging a 0.49 ERA and .141 BAA. Was tagged for 6 runs on 6 hits without recording an out on June 5 at Cedar Rapids. Outside of this performance, his ERA sat at 2.27 for the season. 2012 - Posted a 3-1 record and 2.15 ERA in 23 appearances between Greeneville and Lexington. Averaged 10.6 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. His season began in late-June with a run of 4 shutout outings at the rookie-level Appalachian League. Promoted to the Legends on June 30. Won both of his 2 decisions over 9 appearances at home, allowing 1 earned run in 21.2 innings for a 0.42 ERA. Fanned 27 and walked 4 with the South Atlantic League hitting .217 against him. 2011 - Made 22 appearances for Tri-City following the June draft. Did not yield a run in 7 consecutive outings from July 13-27. Struck out 9 and walked 2 in 8.0 innings during this stretch. Career Notes: Stands 17-12 with a 2.82 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 126 appearances, striking out 235 against 52 walks over 207.1 innings. Has fanned 4.5 batters for every free pass issued. Owns 10.2 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. College Notes: Authored a 24-11 record, 3.06 ERA and 17 saves in 102 appearances (3 GS) during 3-year tenure with the Sun Devils. Struck out 254 batters and walked 56 in 208.0 innings. Is one of only three pitchers in Arizona State history to record over 100 appearances, 20 wins and 10 saves. Earned First Team Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball in 2009. Tabbed First Team All-Pac-10 as a sophomore in 2010 and received honorable-mention honors following his junior campaign.
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
W-L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
CG |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
|
2011 |
Tri-City (A) |
2-6 |
4.33 |
22 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
35.1 |
33 |
19 |
17 |
8 |
39 |
|
2012 |
Greeneville (R) |
1-0 |
0.00 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
9.2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
|
|
Lexington (A) |
2-1 |
2.72 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
36.1 |
30 |
12 |
11 |
10 |
42 |
|
2013 |
Quad Cities (A) |
8-3 |
3.03 |
41 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
71.1 |
61 |
24 |
24 |
25 |
79 |
|
2014 |
Lancaster (A) |
1-1 |
3.32 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
21.2 |
21 |
8 |
8 |
4 |
28 |
|
|
Corpus Christi (AA) |
3-1 |
1.36 |
23 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
33.0 |
25 |
8 |
5 |
5 |
35 |
|
|
Career Totals |
17-12 |
2.82 |
126 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
207.1 |
174 |
71 |
65 |
52 |
235 |
Jack Mayfield
Infielder
BORN September 30, 1990 in Del Rio, TX
OPENING DAY AGE 24
HEIGHT 5'11
WEIGHT 190
BATS Right
THROWS Right
RESIDES Del Rio, TX
SCHOOL Oklahoma
ACQUIRED Signed as a non-drafted free agent on June 17, 2013
Career Highlights: 2014 - Batted .282 with 31 doubles, 2 triples, 9 home runs and 55 RBIs in 105 games between Quad Cities and Lancaster. Began the season in the Midwest League and hit safely in 5 of his first 6 contests for the River Bandits. During this run, batted .391 with 3 doubles, 1 home run and 4 RBIs. Saw action at shortstop (22 GM), third base (10 GM) and second base (6 GM). Helped turn 15 double plays and was charged with 7 errors in 135 total chances for a .948 fielding percentage. Hit .313 on the road, clubbing both of his home runs while plating 9 in 18 games. Made California League debut on June 2. Following a slow start with the JetHawks, hit .343 with 12 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs and 20 RBIs in 27 July contests. Hit safely in 11 of 12 games July 2-14, raising his batting average from .218 to .317. During this stretch, scored 12 times and drove in 12 runs while notching 7 doubles, a triple and three home runs. Homered in back-to-back contests in late August as part of a 4-game stretch when he plated 7. Batted .351 with 3 homers, 14 RBIs and a 1.011 OPS in 74 at-bats vs. left-handed pitching. Batted .345 with 4 runs, 3 doubles, 1 homer and 4 RBIs during the playoffs as Lancaster captured the California League championship. Fashioned a .965 fielding percentage and turned 37 double plays with 44 of his 63 assignments coming at second base. Also logged 11 contests at short and 8 at third base. 2013 - Debuted with Greeneville three days after signing. Hit safely in 8 of final 10 Appalachian League games, batting .419 with 8 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. Joined Tri-City in mid-July. Worked mostly at second base, committing 6 errors in 135 total chances for a .956 fielding percentage. Teamed to turn 16 double plays. For the year, batted a combined .238 with 8 doubles, 4 home runs and 18 RBIs in 55 games between the Appalachian and New York-Penn leagues. Career Notes: Has played exclusively on the infield, logging time at second (75 GM), shortstop (66 GM) and third base (18 GM). College Notes: Hit .263 with 33 doubles, 5 triples, 11 home runs and 85 RBIs in 172 games over 4-year career as a Sooner. Named MVP of the 2013 Kleberg Bank College Classic at Whataburger Field, going 5-for-13 with a home run, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Led the 2013 Academic All-Big 12 Baseball Team with a 4.0 grade-point average.
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
|
2013 |
Greeneville (R) |
.255 |
29 |
94 |
12 |
24 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
11 |
9 |
19 |
2 |
|
|
Tri-City (A) |
.220 |
26 |
91 |
13 |
20 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
18 |
1 |
|
2014 |
Quad Cities (A) |
.265 |
39 |
147 |
24 |
39 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
16 |
13 |
26 |
2 |
|
|
Lancaster (A) |
.293 |
66 |
246 |
39 |
72 |
22 |
2 |
7 |
39 |
2 |
50 |
1 |
|
|
Career Totals |
.268 |
160 |
578 |
88 |
155 |
39 |
2 |
13 |
73 |
43 |
113 |
6 |
Lance McCullers
Pitcher
BORN October 2, 1993 in Tampa, FL
OPENING DAY AGE 21
HEIGHT 6'2
WEIGHT 205
BATS Left
THROWS Right
RESIDES Tampa, FL
ACQUIRED Selected in the supplemental 1st round (41st overall) of the June 2012 draft
Career Highlights: 2015 - Rated by MLB.com as Houston's No. 10 prospect entering the season. 2014 - Led Lancaster's pitching staff in starts and strikeouts. Slotted 2nd on the club in saves and ranked 4th in innings pitched. Hurled 6.0 shutout frames to win Game 2 of the California League Championship Series as the JetHawks went on to claim their 2nd title in the last 3 years. Went 1-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 7 April appearances, including 4 starts. During this time, struck out 33 and walked 12 in 28.2 innings, holding the circuit to a .204 average. Finished the month by fanning a season-high 10 batters over 5.0 scoreless innings in a victory on April 29 against High Desert. Next triumph came May 17 at Rancho Cucamonga when he limited the Quakes to 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out 9 over 5.0 innings. Appeared in 7 games out of the Lancaster bullpen, going 0-1 with a 2.16 ERA. He was 4-for-4 in save chances and featured a .191 opponent's batting average as a reliever. For the season, averaged 10.67 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. Entered 2014 as Houston's No. 5 prospect and No. 60 overall according to MLB.com. 2013 - Named a Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star and finished T-4th in the league with 117 strikeouts. Made Midwest League debut April 5 at Kane County and went 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits with 5 strikeouts and no walks. Lost back-to-back games in which he appeared April 9 & 16, at Burlington and vs. Clinton. Fanned career-high 9 batters in no-decision May 5 at West Michigan. Earned first win of the season May 28 vs. Kane County in a relief appearance. The 5/28 game started stretch of victories in three straight appearances through June 7. He did not allow a run (and just 2 hits) in 10 innings during this stretch, lowering his ERA from 1.94 to 1.57. Earned Quad Cities' Pitcher of the Month honors for May after he went 1-2 with a 1.88 ERA in 7 games (4 starts). In 24 May innings, he walked 14, struck out 26 and held opponents to a .195 batting average. Pitched in the Astros' tandem system, alternating between starting and relieving, from Opening Day until June 7. On the season went 4-2 with a 3.44 ERA in 19 starts and 2-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 6 relief appearances. He did not allow a home run over his first 19 appearances of the season, covering 74.2 innings. Became a full-time starter June 11 through the end of the season, going 3-1 with a 4.75 ERA (28 ER in 53 IP) in 11 starts. Worst start of the year came July 2 vs. Clinton: 3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO. Tossed a career-high 6.1 innings July 17 at Fort Wayne. Left-handers hit .193 (33-for-171) against him, while righties batted .276 (59-for-214). Averaged 10.0 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. 2012 - Entered the 2013 season as Houston's No. 4 prospect according to Baseball America. BA also rated McCullers' best fastball and slider as tops in the Astros' in the system. Made professional debut July 13 at the GCL Nationals and threw 3 1-hit, shutout innings with 2 strikeouts. Allowed a run in only 1 of 4 appearances in the Gulf Coast League, July 19 at the Marlins. Left-handed hitters in the GCL went 2-for-16 (.125) against him. First appearance for Greeneville was August 6 vs. Johnson City; started and took a no-decision after 4 scoreless frames with 4 walks and 4 whiffs. Took the loss in each of his next, and final, 3 appearances: August 12 at Princeton: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO; August 19 vs. Burlington: 3 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO; August 25 at Danville: 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO. Signed for a $2.5 million bonus in 2012, then the 4th-largest in Astros history. Career Notes: Averages 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings. His father, Lance, pitched 7 seasons in the major leagues from 1985-1992 with San Diego, New York (AL), Detroit and Texas.
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
W-L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
CG |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
|
2012 |
GCL Astros (R) |
0-1 |
1.64 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
11.0 |
10 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
|
|
Greeneville (R) |
0-3 |
4.80 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
15.0 |
10 |
11 |
8 |
10 |
17 |
|
2013 |
Quad Cities (A) |
6-5 |
3.18 |
25 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
104.2 |
92 |
49 |
37 |
49 |
117 |
|
2014 |
Lancaster (A) |
3-6 |
5.47 |
25 |
18 |
0 |
4 |
97.0 |
95 |
63 |
59 |
56 |
115 |
|
|
Career Totals |
9-15 |
4.19 |
58 |
45 |
0 |
4 |
227.2 |
207 |
125 |
106 |
117 |
261 |