Former Hooks pitching well to start Arizona Fall League

Despite the Peoria Saguaros’ 1-6 record, the Astros are seeing positive signs from Week 1 of Arizona Fall League action.

Taiwanese pitching prospect Chia-Jen Lo is off to a fast start, allowing just two hits in six innings. The right-hander has recorded eight strikeouts without walking a batter.

Lo joined the Hooks in early June, posting an 0-2 record and 2.31 ERA. He fanned 39 in 39.0 innings and notched two saves. The 23-year old right-hander did not allow a run over his final seven outings (15 innings).

Wilton Lopez shutout the opposition in his lone AFL appearance, scattering four hits over three frames.  

Lopez made his Major League debut in August and pitched in eight games for the Astros. Before his stint with Houston, Lopez went 3-5 with a 3.91 ERA as a starter for the Hooks. He fashioned five consecutive quality starts to complete his Hooks tenure with the opposition hitting .153.

Evan Englebrook has recorded three shutout innings to go with five strikeouts. Englebrook was 2-0 with a 3.16 ERA and nine saves for Corpus Christi in 2009.

Catcher Jason Castro is 3-for-15 at the plate for the Saguaros with two runs scored. The top pick of the Astros in the 2008 draft, Castro started seven games for Team USA in September’s IBAF World Cup as the United States won its fourth gold medal. The former Stanford Cardinal hit .293 with 11 doubles, a triple and 29 RBIs in 63 games at Corpus Christi. He also blasted a three-run homer and threw out a runner for Team USA at the XM MLB All-Star Futures Game in St. Louis on July 12.

Shifting gears to the Venezuelan Winter League, Wladimir Sutil has put together a stellar start. The two-year Hook is batting .328 with three doubles, five runs scored and four RBIs for Zulia.

Fernando Abad and southpaw Erick Abreu have combined for seven shutout innings and 10 strikeouts in the Dominican Winter League.

Click here to track all of the action from this year’s winter league slate.