Who’s Hot At The Plate?
Xavier Neyens – Neyens, the Astros first round pick last year, put together another big week. In 5 games he hit .333 with one home run and an impressive 9 walks to just 3 strikeouts. Neyens has a .985 OPS this season so far.
Nehomar Ochoa – Ochoa is truly having a bounce back year. He had a monster week hitting .545 with 3 doubles, a home run and 4 runs batted in. Playing the best ball of his career, Ochoa is hitting .326 with a .906 OPS over 26 games.
Jason Schiavone – Schiavone has been on an absolute
tear. After being on this list last week, he is here again. In six games in Asheville this week, Schiavone hit .400 with 2 doubles, 4 home runs and an OPS of 1.671. He has 15 home runs this season.
Ethan Frey – Frey was a favorite as a prospect who was going to fly up the system but he got off to a slow start. This was a strong week for him though as he hit .391 with 2 home runs, 6 runs batted in and drew 5 walks for Asheville.
Caden Powell – Powell also got off to a slow start but put together a monster week. In four games for Asheville, Powell hit .563 with a double, a home run and 5 runs batted in. Powell is hitting .277 through 24 games this season.
Kyle Walker – Walker also had a big week for Asheville. The 23-year-old played in five games last week and hit .389 with 3 doubles, a home run and 5 runs batted in. He’s hitting .293 through 22 games this season.
Who’s Hot On The Mound?
Ryan Verdugo – Verdugo was drafted in the 12th round of the 2024 draft, and the right-hander turned in his best pro outing this week. In his one start for the Woodpeckers, he tossed 5 no-hit innings while striking out 5 batters.
James Hicks – Hicks has been a bit up and down this year, but this week was a good outing for him. Hicks made one start for the Hooks and went 6 innings allowing 2 runs while striking out 6. He has a 4.55 ERA this season.
Javier Perez – Perez has been one of the best pitchers in the Astros system this season and this week he had a nice start for the Woodpeckers allowing 2 runs over 6 innings. Overall he has a 2.73 ERA with 35 K in 29.2 innings.
Luis Rodriguez – Rodriguez was acquired a couple of years ago in the Julks trade and has been a pleasant surprise. This week in his one outing for Asheville he went 5 innings allowing 2 runs with 4 strikeouts. He has 22 K in 21.2 innings.
TEAM ERA and OPS:
Sugar Land – From 3.84 ERA to 4.33 ERA – From .700 OPS to .708 OPS
Corpus Christi – From 4.48 ERA to 4.90 ERA – From .691 OPS to .703 OPS
Asheville – From 6.92 ERA to 7.75 ERA – From .719 OPS to .770 OPS
Fayetteville – From 5.06 ERA to 4.98 ERA – From .735 OPS to .730 OPS
