Astros Announce Minor League Team MVPs

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros Player Development Department announced the 2010 Most Valuable Players for the team's minor league affiliates. The eight MVPs, selected by the field staff of each team, will be recognized next Spring Training amongst their peers.

Outfielder Drew Locke was named MVP of the Round Rock Express, the Astros 2010 Triple A affiliate. He hit .279 (133x477) in 135 games with 17 home runs, 36 doubles and 74 RBI and finished the PCL season ranking tied for sixth in doubles (36). Locke earned Round Rock's Offensive Player of the Month honors three times this season and was named PCL Player of the Week from August 16-22. Since May, Locke compiled a .296 (124x418) average with 34 doubles, 17 home runs and 69 RBI as Round Rock's primary right fielder.  Last season, he received Double A Corpus Christi Team MVP honors. Locke was acquired by Houston from Los Angeles (NL) in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft on December 11, 2008.

Drew Locke - Round Rock Express (AAA) - Outfielder
AVG -- AB -- H -- R -- 2B -- 3B -- HR -- RBI -- SB
.279 -- 477 -- 133 -- 71 -- 36 -- 4 -- 17 -- 74 -- 6

In Corpus Christi, the Astros Double A affiliate, infielder Koby Clemens was named MVP after hitting .241 (109x452) with 26 home runs, 85 RBI and a .350 on-base percentage. The 23-year-old first baseman was named a Midseason All-Star and finished third in the Texas League in home runs (26), fourth in RBI (85), sixth in runs (75), and 10th in slugging percentage (.476). Selected by the Astros in the eighth round of the June 2005 Draft, Clemens also received Class A Lancaster Team MVP honors last year as he led the California League in RBI and slugging percentage.

Koby Clemens - Corpus Christi Hooks (AA) - Infielder
AVG -- AB -- H -- R -- 2B -- 3B -- HR -- RBI -- SB
.241 -- 452 -- 109 -- 75 -- 22 -- 3 -- 26 -- 85 -- 9

Brandon Barnes captured Lancaster Team MVP honors for the JetHawks, the Astros Advanced Class A affiliate. Barnes hit .269 (132x491) with 27 homers, 31 doubles and 80 RBI. The right-handed hitting outfielder tied for sixth in the league in slugging percentage (.517) and posted a .326 on-base percentage. His 27 homers ranked fifth in the league and led all Astros minor leaguers. He was also Lancaster's Defensive Player of the Month in June and led the club in doubles, home runs and RBI. Barnes was a sixth-round pick of the Houston Astros in the June 2005 Draft.

Brandon Barnes  - Lancaster JetHawks (A) - Outfielder
AVG -- AB -- H -- R -- 2B -- 3B -- HR -- RBI -- SB
.269 -- 491 -- 132 -- 81 -- 31 -- 5 -- 27 -- 80 -- 14

Lexington Legends outfielder Jacob Goebbert finished his second professional season with a .291 average (151x519), 48 doubles, 10 home runs and 98 RBI to earn MVP honors. He finished first in the South Atlantic League in doubles, while ranking second in RBI and sixth in hits (151). Among Astros prospects, Goebbert finished the season ranking first in RBI. He was named South Atlantic League Player of the Week from July 26-August 1, and earned Defensive Player of the Month honors twice for the Legends. Goebbert was a 13th round pick of the Astros in the June 2009 Draft.

Jacob Goebbert - Lexington Legends (A) - Outfielder
AVG -- AB -- H -- R -- 2B -- 3B -- HR -- RBI -- SB
.291 -- 519 -- 151 -- 91 -- 48 -- 1 -- 10 -- 98 -- 14

The New York-Penn League Champion Tri-City ValleyCats (SS-A) named infielder Ben Orloff their Team MVP after he hit .307 (73x238) with 23 stolen bases and a .405 on-base percentage in 63 games. Orloff, a ninth-round selection in the June 2009 Draft, finished his second professional season by winning Tri-City's Defensive Player of the Month for July and August and earning Midseason All-Star honors. His 23 stolen bases ranked fourth in the league and his .307 batting average ranked second amongst all Astros minor leaguers.

Ben Orloff - Tri-City ValleyCats (SS-A) - Infielder
AVG -- AB -- H -- R -- 2B -- 3B -- HR -- RBI -- SB
.307 -- 238 -- 73 -- 52 -- 4 -- 0 -- 0 -- 16 -- 23

For the Greeneville Astros (R), outfielder Telvin Nash hit .265 (53x200) with 12 doubles, 12 home runs and a .348 on-base percentage to earn team MVP honors. The Houston Astros' third-round pick from the June 2009 Draft led the team with 36 RBI and tied for the team lead in home runs. Nash earned Defensive Player of the Month honors in August.

Telvin Nash - Greeneville Astros (R) - Outfielder
AVG -- AB -- H -- R -- 2B -- 3B -- HR -- RBI -- SB
.265 -- 200 -- 53 -- 30 -- 12 -- 1 -- 12 -- 39 -- 1

With the Astros Gulf Coast League affiliate, right-hander Jose Perdomo earned team MVP honors by posting a 4-3 record with a 1.67 ERA (11ER/59.1IP) in 11 starts. Signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2009, Perdomo ranked second in the GCL in strikeouts (69), third in ERA, fifth in innings pitched and third in WHIP (0.98). He was also named GCL Astros Pitcher of the Month in July.

Jose Perdomo - Gulf Coast League Astros - Right-handed Pitcher
W-L-S -- G -- GS -- ERA -- IP -- H -- ER -- BB -- SO
4-3-0 -- 11 -- 11 -- 1.67 -- 59.1 -- 38 -- 11 -- 20 -- 69

Right-handed pitcher Francisco Baso was tabbed MVP of the Astros Dominican Summer League team after posting a 7-3 record with three saves and a 1.33 ERA (6ER/40.2IP) in 16 relief appearances. He also earned DSL Astros Pitcher of the Month honors in June and July. The 19-year-old native Panamanian was signed as a non-drafted free agent prior to the 2008 season.

Francisco Baso - Dominican Summer League Astros -Right-handed Pitcher
W-L-S -- G -- GS -- ERA -- IP -- H -- ER -- BB -- SO
7-3-3 -- 16 -- 0 -- 1.33 -- 40.2 -- 34 -- 6 -- 15 -- 34