JetHawks: Prospect Feliz an 'ace' to wach
April 9, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER - When asked if he felt he was the "ace" of the JetHawks' pitching rotation, Dominican Republic native Michael Feliz, the Astros' top-rated prospect in Lancaster, looked puzzled.
A highly touted 21-year-old still working on mastering the English language, the term just escaped Feliz's ever-expanding Spanish-English mental dictionary.
"When I came (to America), I was barely 16 years old and it was a little difficult because I couldn't speak English," said Feliz, a hard-throwing right-hander who'll make his first start for the JetHawks on Friday. "That helped me to have to learn English to keep maturing to continue with my career."
For Feliz, the only JetHawk on the Astros' current 40-man roster, the language was just one of multiple barriers he still continues to overcome while he makes his way to the major leagues.
The first one came immediately after signing with the Oakland Athletics out of the Dominican Republic in 2010. Just a teenager then, Feliz tested positive for steroids and his contract was voided.
He landed with the Astros not long after and, after serving a 50-game suspension, he began to demonstrate his true worth on the mound.
"I work hard. I want to move up quickly," Feliz said.
He played in rookie league his first three years in America before finally moving to short season Tri-City in 2013, starting 10 games and posting an ERA of 1.96 with a 0.96 WHIP.
Last year in Low-A Quad Cities, Feliz's ERA ballooned to 4.03 in 19 starts, but the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder was selected to the Futures Game World Team.
"It was fun and a great experience," said Feliz, who pitched an inning in the game and struck out two batters. "I had fun. A lot of good stuff there."
Feliz, the fifth-ranked prospect in the Astros organization, will make his first start in the JetHawks' tandem-starter system opposite to Giants' No. 24 prospect Chase Johnson.
In the Astros' minor league system for the past five years, it feels like it's been an eternity since Feliz first signed with Houston.
Only now that he senses he's on the verge of getting his major-league call-up has Feliz been able to reflect on his life in the fast lane.
"Now I'm like, 'Man I was a young player, a young boy,'" Feliz said. "I've matured a lot."
The Astros will be looking for that maturation to come to fruition for Feliz in Lancaster, a location that can be challenging for pitchers due to its occasional hard winds.
During 2014, Houston's No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel had a miserable time in 12 games as a JetHawk, posting a 9.74 ERA with a 1.917 WHIP.
In a turn-over-a-new-leaf move, Appel was promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi, where he performed well, posting a 3.69 ERA in seven games.
Feliz hopes to make better memories at The Hangar before it's his time to move on.
"I feel like I'm really close to the major leagues because I'm on the 40-man roster," Feliz said. "So I can hopefully be there soon."
That would make him quite "feliz" (happy) as they say in the Dominican Republic.
"I'm always feliz," he said smiling.
Venezuela vs. America
New JetHawks manager Omar Lopez noted two big differences between managing in the pros in his native Venezuela, where he managed Astros All-Star Jose Altuve, and in the United States.
First is pressure to perform, which according to Lopez is slightly heavier in the South American country.
"Here, you develop," Lopez said. "You let the players learn how to play the game and they have pitch counts. You got to be more careful with players here than out there.
"You got to win out there. If you don't win, the fans will be the judges. They'll support you, but they're hard."
The second difference, Lopez said, is the media, which is slightly less intrusive in the U.S.
"It gets crazy out there," Lopez said. "You guys make simple questions here. Out there (in Venezuela), it's tough questions. They want to get involved more in details. We have to be careful about it."
Player of the Year happy to be back
Winning the 2014 Astros' Minor League Player of the Year award didn't get Brett Phillips a new promotion to start 2015.
And Phillips, who moved up from Quad Cities and batted .339 with a .421 OBP in 27 games with the JetHawks in 2014, is fine with it.
"I was only here for month and a half last year and even though I played well the Astros want to see the same production for a longer amount of time," Phillips said. "I'm excited to be here."
Should the 20-year-old continue to put up those kinds of numbers, however, it won't be long before he gets another bump up.
"I'm pumped," Phillips said. "Let's get the season going."
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER - When asked if he felt he was the "ace" of the JetHawks' pitching rotation, Dominican Republic native Michael Feliz, the Astros' top-rated prospect in Lancaster, looked puzzled.
A highly touted 21-year-old still working on mastering the English language, the term just escaped Feliz's ever-expanding Spanish-English mental dictionary.
"When I came (to America), I was barely 16 years old and it was a little difficult because I couldn't speak English," said Feliz, a hard-throwing right-hander who'll make his first start for the JetHawks on Friday. "That helped me to have to learn English to keep maturing to continue with my career."
For Feliz, the only JetHawk on the Astros' current 40-man roster, the language was just one of multiple barriers he still continues to overcome while he makes his way to the major leagues.
The first one came immediately after signing with the Oakland Athletics out of the Dominican Republic in 2010. Just a teenager then, Feliz tested positive for steroids and his contract was voided.
He landed with the Astros not long after and, after serving a 50-game suspension, he began to demonstrate his true worth on the mound.
"I work hard. I want to move up quickly," Feliz said.
He played in rookie league his first three years in America before finally moving to short season Tri-City in 2013, starting 10 games and posting an ERA of 1.96 with a 0.96 WHIP.
Last year in Low-A Quad Cities, Feliz's ERA ballooned to 4.03 in 19 starts, but the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder was selected to the Futures Game World Team.
"It was fun and a great experience," said Feliz, who pitched an inning in the game and struck out two batters. "I had fun. A lot of good stuff there."
Feliz, the fifth-ranked prospect in the Astros organization, will make his first start in the JetHawks' tandem-starter system opposite to Giants' No. 24 prospect Chase Johnson.
In the Astros' minor league system for the past five years, it feels like it's been an eternity since Feliz first signed with Houston.
Only now that he senses he's on the verge of getting his major-league call-up has Feliz been able to reflect on his life in the fast lane.
"Now I'm like, 'Man I was a young player, a young boy,'" Feliz said. "I've matured a lot."
The Astros will be looking for that maturation to come to fruition for Feliz in Lancaster, a location that can be challenging for pitchers due to its occasional hard winds.
During 2014, Houston's No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel had a miserable time in 12 games as a JetHawk, posting a 9.74 ERA with a 1.917 WHIP.
In a turn-over-a-new-leaf move, Appel was promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi, where he performed well, posting a 3.69 ERA in seven games.
Feliz hopes to make better memories at The Hangar before it's his time to move on.
"I feel like I'm really close to the major leagues because I'm on the 40-man roster," Feliz said. "So I can hopefully be there soon."
That would make him quite "feliz" (happy) as they say in the Dominican Republic.
"I'm always feliz," he said smiling.
Venezuela vs. America
New JetHawks manager Omar Lopez noted two big differences between managing in the pros in his native Venezuela, where he managed Astros All-Star Jose Altuve, and in the United States.
First is pressure to perform, which according to Lopez is slightly heavier in the South American country.
"Here, you develop," Lopez said. "You let the players learn how to play the game and they have pitch counts. You got to be more careful with players here than out there.
"You got to win out there. If you don't win, the fans will be the judges. They'll support you, but they're hard."
The second difference, Lopez said, is the media, which is slightly less intrusive in the U.S.
"It gets crazy out there," Lopez said. "You guys make simple questions here. Out there (in Venezuela), it's tough questions. They want to get involved more in details. We have to be careful about it."
Player of the Year happy to be back
Winning the 2014 Astros' Minor League Player of the Year award didn't get Brett Phillips a new promotion to start 2015.
And Phillips, who moved up from Quad Cities and batted .339 with a .421 OBP in 27 games with the JetHawks in 2014, is fine with it.
"I was only here for month and a half last year and even though I played well the Astros want to see the same production for a longer amount of time," Phillips said. "I'm excited to be here."
Should the 20-year-old continue to put up those kinds of numbers, however, it won't be long before he gets another bump up.
"I'm pumped," Phillips said. "Let's get the season going."