18-year old righty relief pitcher Dustin Kellogg has been killed in an accident as his truck was hit head on by an 18-wheeler. He pitched in 6 games (0 starts) in Rookie Ball this year for the Astros and he was 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Kellogg whiffed 9 batters while only walking 1 in his 6 1/3 innings in the minors for the Astros. This is a terrible tragedy as my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

23-year old righty swinging 1B Kody Hinze wasn’t a very highly thought of prospect heading into this season but that’s about to change. He has played in 115 games in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 131 of 411 (.319 avg, 1.023 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 28 homers, 88 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has also walked 85 times already this year as he has a good eye at the plate. Hinze has now played in 353 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 352 of 1,249 (.282 avg, .883 OPS) with 213 runs scored, 60 homers, 245 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Astros are going to probably put Hinze on the fast track to Houston to see if he can handle better pitching.

The Astros have released 27-year old righty reliever Casey Fien. Fien pitched in 23 games (0 starts) in Rookie+AAA-ball for the Astros this year and he was 3-2 with 3 saves, a 4.44 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he was 0-1 with a 8.36 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. This is absolutely no loss to the Astros as Fien wasn’t going to pitch for them any time soon.

The Astros have released 31-year old righty reliever/starter Brad Hennessey. He pitched in 11 games (6 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Astros this year and he was 0-4 with a 9.67 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. Hennessey gave up 47 hits, 7 of which were homers, in only 27 innings pitched. He didn’t miss many bats in the minors. Hennessey has pitched in 148 games (44 starts) in parts of five years in the majors and he is 17-23 with 20 saves, a 4.69 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. This is no loss for the Astros.

The Astros have called up 21-year old righty swinging 2B Jose Altuve. Altuve came into this season as the Astros’ #28 prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 87 games in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 139 for 357 (.389 avg, 1.017 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 10 homers, 59 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Altuve has now played in 382 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 479 for 1,466 (.327 avg, .867 OPS) with 276 runs scored, 30 homers, 208 RBIs and 117 stolen bases. The Astros are ready to play for the future and Altuve might be a big part of it.