Yordan Alvarez hasn't quite been cleared for Major League takeoff, but he won't be far from the launching pad to begin the 2019 season.The Astros reassigned MLB.com's No. 44 overall prospect to Minor League camp Tuesday, the club announced. Alvarez is expected to open the season at Triple-A Round Rock

Each offseason, MiLB.com goes position by position across each system and honors the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in their organization. Click here to locate your favorite club.There is such a thing as a good problem, and the Astros have plenty

Prior to the start of the Pacific Coast League semifinals Wednesday, Triple-A Fresno skipper Rodney Linares predicted the matchup will be decided by each side's biggest strengths -- his team's offense and the El Paso bullpen. After roughing up starter Walker Lockett for seven runs, it took more than four innings

Baseball is a game of numbers, and there are always going to be some statistics and figures that are more memorable than others. Seventy-three home runs. A .406 average. A 56-game hitting streak. A 116-win season. With the Minor League season coming to a close this week, Toolshed looks back on

The Fresno Grizzlies (1-0) survived the El Paso Chihuahuas (0-1) 8-7 in 10 innings in game one of the PCL Pacific Championship Wednesday night from Southwest University Park. Fresno improved to 6-6 in extra frames and 26-11 in 2018 set openers. Brendan McCurry (1-0) enjoyed the victory after one and

Behind a superb outing from Brady Rodgers (3-3), the Fresno Grizzlies (79-56) beat the El Paso Chihuahuas (80-55) 5-1 Thursday night from Chukchansi Park in the final regular season home game of 2018. Rodgers faced one over the minimum in seven scoreless innings. He gave up a leadoff hit and

Nineteen days are all that remain on the full-season Minor League calendar.Last Friday, Toolshed blended some individual accomplishments with team goals to look at which prospects could have a major impact on playoff races across the Minors. This time, the column keeps its focus squarely on the players themselves.While the

The Fresno Tacos (70-51) beat the Las Vegas 51s (60-61) 6-3 Tuesday night from Chukchansi Park. With the victory, the magic number lowered from 13 to 11 with 19 games left to play. The Tacos also won their 17th set of the season (31 chances) and jumped to 19 games

The Fresno Tacos (59-43) conquered the Iowa Cubs (37-64) 2-1 Tuesday night from Chukchansi Park. With the victory, Fresno improved to 19-7 in the first game of a series (10-3 at home), 13-17 in one-run affairs and 35-8 when permitting three runs or less.Tacos starter Josh James (4-4, win) hurled

The Tacoma Rainiers (49-42) survived the Fresno Grizzlies (52-38) 4-3 Thursday night at Cheney Stadium. With the victory, Tacoma trails Fresno by three and a half games for the division lead. Rainiers starter Bryan Evans (2-1, win) twirled six innings of two-run ball. He scattered five hits and struck out

The Fresno Grizzlies (49-35) blanked the Sacramento River Cats (38-47) 5-0 Tuesday night from Raley Field. With the victory, the Grizzlies improved to 37-20 versus the River Cats and 22-7 on the road since the affiliation switch in 2015. Fresno is perfect in the fifth game of a series (4-0)

The Fresno Grizzlies (48-35) continued a challenging road trip on Monday night in Northern California, suffering a 4-3 loss in 10 innings on a walk-off homer to the homestanding Sacramento River Cats (38-46). The setback dropped Fresno to 2-6 this season against Sacramento, and 2-6 on this road trip, with

It's not all that difficult to fathom, even this far in advance.The date is Sept. 19, and the Astros are hosting the Mariners at Minute Maid Park. Because of a fantastic midseason run back in June, the home team holds a 10-game lead in the AL West and could clinch

The Fresno Grizzlies (44-27) have the best record in Triple-A Baseball after sweeping the Round Rock Express (30-41) in four games, the punctuation mark coming in a 5-3 win at Dell Diamond on Tuesday night. The victory capped a 6-1 road trip where the Grizzlies allowed three or fewer runs

Enjoying a 5-1 roadtrip thus far, the Fresno Grizzlies (43-27) equaled their longest road win streak this season on Monday night with a 9-3 victory over the Round Rock Express (30-40), capturing their fourth consecutive victory between this series and their visit to New Orleans last week. Fresno has allowed

The Fresno Grizzlies have been playing Triple-A baseball for nearly 20 and one-half seasons, but have yet to throw a no-hitter.Saturday night in Round Rock, Texas was as close as they've come.  Right-hander Trent Thornton, in his fourth professional season, fell just four outs shy of a franchise first, limiting

MIDLAND - A two-out RBI single by Jamie Ritchie in the eighth inning Wednesday night was the difference in Corpus Christi's 4-3 win over the RockHounds before 3,181 fans at Security Bank Ballpark.With San Antonio's extra-inning triumph over Frisco, the Hooks (39-26) remain two games back of the Missions with

CORPUS CHRISTI - Alex De Goti belted two home runs and Riley Ferrell spun 2 1/3 shutout frames to earn his fifth save of the year as Corpus Christi wrapped up a 6-4 triumph over San Antonio before 6,365 fans Monday night at Whataburger Field.The Hooks (38-25), who shoot for

It took 48 days, but the Albuquerque Isotopes finally beat the Fresno Grizzlies 10-3 Sunday afternoon from Isotopes Park. The game resumed play on July 21st (Saturday) after it was suspended on June 3rd due to rain. Both teams continued action in the top of the fourth with two outs.

Texas League pitchers have not been able to figure out Myles Straw this season. The Astros' No. 20 prospect frustrated them again on Saturday, going 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles, three runs scored and a stolen base in Double-A Corpus Christi's 7-2 win over Tulsa at Whataburger Field. It's his

CORPUS CHRISTI - Myles Straw went 5-for-5 with three runs scored, and Alex De Goti belted a late three-run dinger as the Hooks rolled to a 7-2 triumph before 5,117 fans at Whataburger Field.Framber Valdez also turned in a terrific start. After allowing two markers in the first, Valdez retired

CORPUS CHRISTI - Midland chipped away at an early three-run Hooks edge Friday night, winning a back-and-forth affair, 7-6, before 5,868 fans at Whataburger Field.Corpus Christi (18-16) put four of the first five runners on in the first, but settled for one marker as Joel Seddon coaxed a double play

MIDLAND - Kevin Hill and Alex Winkelman combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, and centerfielder Myles Straw turned in two outfield assists Friday night as the Hooks beat Midland, 6-3, in the series finale at Security Bank Ballpark.Corpus Christi (17-11) struck first, scoring three first inning runs against