Astros Set Hooks' 2015 Roster

CORPUS CHRISTI - First overall draft picks Carlos Correa and Mark Appel headline the Hooks' 2015 Opening Day roster, revealed Wednesday by Astros director of player development Quinton McCracken.

New manager Rodney Linares takes charge of a Corpus Christi contingent which boasts six of Houston's top 10 prospects, according to MLB.com: SS Correa (1), RHP Appel (2), 3B Colin Moran (6), OF Teoscar Hernandez (8), LHP Josh Hader (9) and RHP Lance McCullers (10).    

At the age of 19, Correa hit .325 with 16 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 57 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 62 games for High-A Lancaster last season. His campaign was cut short after fracturing his right fibula while sliding safely into third base for a triple June 21 at Lake Elsinore. Rated by MLB.com as the No. 3 prospect in the game, Correa batted .341 with two homers and five RBIs in 18 Grapefruit League contests this spring.

Joining Correa on the infield is fellow first-rounder Colin Moran, who was acquired by the Astros last July in a six player deal with Miami. Moran debuted with the Hooks on August 1 and was the club's everyday third baseman, hitting .304 with six doubles, two home runs and 22 RBIs. The 2013 ACC Player of the Year hit safely in 24 of his 28 Texas League games and slotted second in the circuit in August RBIs. Moran was originally the sixth overall selection in the 2013 draft out of the University of North Carolina.

The balance of Corpus Christi's infield features returnees Nolan Fontana, Conrad Gregor, Tony Kemp Jio Mier and Telvin Nash, along with newcomer Tyler White.

Fontana hit .262 with 21 doubles and 26 RBIs in 66 games for the Hooks last season. He landed on the disabled list June 19 with a broken finger and missed the remainder of the season. Fontana, a second-round pick in 2012, led the Texas League in walks (61) and on-base percentage (.418) at the time of his injury.

Nash became the first Hook to pace the Texas League in home runs, launching 22 in 84 games last year. From July through the end of the season, Nash batted .271 with a .976 OPS and was third in Double-A with 14 homers.

Tony Kemp, a teammate of Gregor's at Vanderbilt, hit .316 with 30 doubles, eight triples, eight home runs, 58 RBIs, 41 steals and a .411 on-base percentage between Lancaster and Corpus Christi in 2014. He led the minor leagues with 121 runs scored, marking the most accrued by an Astros farmhand since James Mouton (126 runs) in 1993. Kemp also won a Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove at second base.

Hernandez hit .292 with 37 doubles, nine triples, 21 home runs, 85 RBIs and 33 stolen bases between Lancaster and Corpus Christi. The 2014 California League All-Star is rated by Baseball America as the fastest baserunner in the Houston system.

Leo Heras, Brandon Meredith and Jon Kemmer comprise the rest of the outfield.

A pair of elite defensive catchers are slated to serve behind the plate for Corpus Christi this season. Tyler Heineman led Texas League backstops in caught-stealing percentage last year, gunning down 46% of would-be base-stealers. That also represents the best single-season mark in Hooks history.

Roberto Pena earned a 2014 Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove, pacing California League catchers with a .996 fielding percentage. He also topped the circuit by thwarting 57% of potential base thefts. A Mid- and Postseason All-Star, Pena helped lead the JetHawks to the California League Championship, his third ring in the last three years.

Brett Booth is also listed as a catcher for Corpus Christi. Booth, a 34th-round pick in 2013 out of the University of Alabama, batted .242 with five home runs and 24 RBIs in 56 games for Quad Cities last season.  

The Hooks will once again employ a tandem system of eight starting pitchers: Appel, Hader, McCullers, Chris Devenski, Kent Emanuel (L), Michael Hauschild, Aaron West and Kyle Westwood.

Appel went 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA over three appearances (1 GS) in big league camp this spring. The former Stanford Cardinal made his Double-A debut with the Hooks last season, going 1-2 with a 3.69 ERA in 7 outings (6 GS) to close out the year. This run was highlighted by an August 26 performance against Frisco in which Appel struck out 10 and permitted just two hits over eight shutout innings.

Hader was tabbed California League Pitcher of the Year and Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2014. The 21-year-old lefty posted a 9-2 record and 2.70 ERA in 22 games (15 GS) at Lancaster, striking out 112 against 38 walks in 103.1 frames. His efforts earned him an August promotion to Corpus Christi. Hader was picked up by Houston in the Bud Norris deal with Baltimore at the 2013 trade deadline.

McCullers, a supplemental-round selection (41st overall) of Houston in 2012, is averaging 10.3 strikeouts per 9.0 innings during his brief professional career. Last year, he hurled six scoreless innings to win Game 2 of the California League Championship Series as the Jet Hawks went on to claim their second crown in the last three campaigns. Father Lance McCullers, Sr., pitched seven seasons in the major leagues with San Diego, New York (AL), Detroit and Texas from 1985-1992.

Angel Baez, Travis Ballew, Mitchell Lambson (L), Daniel Minor and Tyson Perez begin 2015 by working out of the Hooks bullpen. Lambson and Perez joined Corpus Christi during the second half last year and pitched well enough to earn invitations to the Arizona Fall League. Minor, a native of Dripping Springs, became the highest draft pick in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi history when Houston took him in the ninth round in 2012.

This preliminary roster of 28 players will be adjusted prior to Opening Day (Hooks at Springfield April 9) to meet the Texas League limit of 25 active players.

The Hooks engage their parent club, the Houston Astros, in a Thursday night exhibition at Whataburger Field. First pitch is 6:05. For tickets, call 361-561-HOOK (4665) or visit cchooks.com/tickets. Corpus Christi opens its 2015 championship season Thursday, April 9, at Hammons Field against the Cardinals.

PITCHERS

Appel, Mark

Baez, Angel

Ballew, Travis

Devenski, Chris

Emanuel, Kent

Hader, Josh

Hauschild, Mike

Lambson, Mitch

McCullers, Lance

Minor, Daniel

Perez, Tyson

West, Aaron

Westwood, Kyle

CATCHERS

Booth, Brett

Heineman, Tyler

Pena, Roberto

INFIELDERS

Correa, Carlos

Fontana, Nolan

Gregor, Conrad

Kemp, Tony

Mier, Jio

Moran, Colin

Nash, Telvin

White, Tyler

OUTFIELDERS

Heras, Leo

Hernandez, Teoscar

Kemmer, Jon

Meredith, Brandon