Corpus Christi Hooks, Midland Rockhounds fighting for playoff spot on final day
By Jason Burke
The minor league seasons are about to wrap up, and while there are many interesting story lines to keep track of, today we’ll focus on one in the Texas League that is still awaiting a resolution.
At the big-league level, the Houston Astros are ruling the roost in the AL West while the Oakland Athletics are staring down their third straight season in the cellar. Down in the Double-A Texas League, the team’s affiliates are locked in battle for the last remaining playoff spot, which will be determined on Monday–the season’s final day.
For the Midland Rockhounds, the A’s affiliate, they are looking to sneak into the playoffs after a subpar season by their standards. At 31-36 in the second half the ‘Hounds need either a win, or a Hooks loss in the season’s final game to secure a playoff spot for the fourth season in a row. The last three years they’ve walked away as Texas League champions.
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For the Hooks, this race goes beyond baseball. Corpus Christi was one of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Harvey, and while baseball is likely one of those things furthest away from the resident’s minds at the moment, a playoff berth would be a welcome distraction.
To get to this point, it took Midland scoring three times in the top of the ninth on Sunday evening in order to bring home the win, while the Hooks had to sweep a Sunday double-header to stay alive in the playoff hunt.
For the Oakland affiliate, 2016 draftee A.J. Puk, Grant Holmes (acquired in the Rich Hill/Josh Reddick trade) and Jorge Mateo (Sonny Gray deal) are the three names that could ring familiar with fans, but catcher Sean Murphy (#11), Sheldon Neuse (#14, acquired in Sean Doolittle/Ryan Madson deal), Max Schrock (#17) and Heath Fillmyer (#19) represent some of the other talent on the club. With three straight League championships and another team bursting with talent, just getting their ticket punched could be enough to give this sputtering club what they need to go on a postseason run.
The ‘Stros affiliate is also stacked with talent, including Houston’s top two prospects in Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley, while Ramon Laureano (#12), Framber Valdez (#15) and Jason Martin (#17) round out the top 30 prospects. Jon Singleton, once the future first baseman of the Astros, has been relegated to Double-A all season long and is still on the roster collecting big fat checks and hitting dingers.
The final matchups for each team are as follows: Jacob Nix (1-1, 7.06 ERA) will be tossing for San Antonio in Corpus Christi against Akeem Bostick (5-6, 5.08 ERA) and the Hooks. The San Antonio Missions (Padres affiliate) lead the Southern division, while the ‘Hound opponent, Frisco, resides at the bottom of the division.
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The ‘Hounds will be on the road in Frisco (Rangers) and will have Fillmyer (10-5, 3.48) taking the bump for them while the RoughRiders have Collin Wiles (9-11, 4.71) set up in opposition.
No matter which team ends up with the playoff spot there is going to be an intriguing story that comes out of it. For Midland, can they make it four in a row? And for Corpus Christi, the story would go much, much deeper with the recent events that have devastated the region.