Hinze: Hitter of Great Measure

For Hooks fans, 2011 will be remembered as the year of the fast track to Houston.

July 19 - Second baseman Jose Altuve.

July 30 - Left fielder J.D. Martinez.

August 1 - Third baseman Jimmy Paredes.

Throw in corner outfielder Jacob Goebbert's August 2 promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City and the Hooks were stripped of their resources in holes Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

With one very notable exception.

Kody Hinze joined the club from High-A Lancaster a month ago, but it seems as though he's been here much longer. Playing every day and consistently putting up numbers creates that impression.

Consider this: while the Houston system has been referred to as a "land of opportunity" - even by Astros GM Ed Wade - and promotions and trades have occurred at a dizzying pace since Altuve's departure, one of the top half-dozen most productive players in minor league baseball plays first for the Hooks.

Second among all full-season minor leaguers in on-base percentage (.440). Fourth in walks (83) and sixth in OPS (1.037). What's OPS, you ask? A statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. In other words, it measures the ability of a player to both get on base and hit for power.

And, for good measure, Hinze is first among Houston minor leaguers with 28 home runs and 86 runs batted in.

As a Hook, his .383 on-base percentage and .305 batting average trail only third baseman Brandon Wikoff among active players. His .524 slugging percentage is tops.

With recent injuries to Jimmy VanOstrand and Chris Wallace, the Hooks are leaning on Hinze, Wikoff, Wladimir Sutil and Jon Gaston more than ever before.

"I didn't expect to have this much success, but so far, so good," Hinze said. "They just told me to come in and keep doing what you're doing."

What he did with the JetHawks was hit .323 with 20 doubles, 22 home runs and 70 RBIs. At the end of games on July 6, Hinze paced the California League in on-base percentage and homers.

Known as a hitter's circuit, the Cal League in general and Lancaster's ClearChannel Stadium in particular have reputations for skewing offensive numbers. Even so, Houston player development staff were confident in Hinze's ability to transition to Double-A. His home-road statistical splits suggested so: home runs (11), RBIs (35) and walks (35) were identical. But beyond that, he possesses the right mental approach.

"I don't even think about home and away," Hinze explained. "You don't want to let that stuff get in your head. If you hit the ball well at one field, you'll hit it well at another. It's all the same."

As a JetHawk, Hinze drew 70 walks in 80 games. He has 214 free passes in 347 professional contests. Hitting may be all the same, as Hinze describes his approach at the plate: "get something up and out over the plate. If you do hit something on the corners you're not going to hit it very hard."

One fundamental change, however, has improved his strike-zone discipline.

"High school strike zones are wide. In college, they get a little smaller and then in the pros even smaller. The higher you go, the easier it is to see the strike zone. It's been easier for me to recognize balls I can hit and balls I can't.

"Sometimes, there's a little luck involved, too."

But hard work under a mentor like Del Hinze - Kody's father and high school coach at Houston's Aldine Nimitz - gave the 6-foot-1, 230-pounder an invaluable introduction to and foundation in the sport.

"He taught me how to play the game the right way and how to roll with the punches, because you're not always going to be successful," Hinze recalled. "Mainly, he taught me about the coaching side of baseball, how to approach different situations."

Taken in the 46th round (pick No. 1,374 overall) by Pittsburgh in 2005 after batting .532 and popping a Greater Houston-leading 13 home runs, Hinze opted for Angelina College. In October of 2007, Astros scout Scipio Spinks signed him as a non-drafted free agent.

Two stints in Rookie ball, 151 games at Low-A Lexington over two seasons and just over a half-season in the California League later, Hinze was thrust into the Hooks lineup 12 days before the biggest, broadest updraft in Hooks franchise history began.

Does it make him anxious for his call?

"You play well every day. You can't control what they do. That's their decision. If you get the call and it's time to go then they think you're ready. If not, there are still things to work on. You just have to play every day. It's their decision."

Spoken like a true coach's son.