The Astros placed RHP Joe Musgrove on Corpus Christi’s disabled list this afternoon. Taking his spot on the Hooks’ active roster is RHP Tyler Brunnemann.

Brunnemann went 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA and 5 saves (9 chances) in 38 relief appearances for Lancaster this year, striking out 70 against 22 walks in 61.2 innings. The Cal League was hitting .241 with 10 home runs against him. Brunnemann, who last worked on Saturday at San Jose, has not allowed a run in his last 7 assignments (10.1 IP). In 13 2nd-half outings, the San Antonio resident is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA and .225 batting average against (3 HR), going 3-for-5 in save opportunities. Of the 10 home runs Brunnemann allowed, 8 were struck at the JetHawks’ hitter-friendly park. His 4.10 home ERA dropped to 2.59 on the road. Lefties hit .294 with 4 home runs while right-handed opponents batted at a .209 clip.

Brunnemann, a 40th-round pick in 2013 out of Hardon-Simmons University in Abilene, went to Canyon High School in New Braunfels. He went 0-2 with a 1.86 ERA and 3 saves in 25 games for Quad Cities to begin last season. Brunnemann made 8 appearances for the JetHawks to close out the year, posting a 2.02 ERA and 1 save. He worked 5 postseason games, allowing 1 run on 2 hits in 6.2 frames. Brunnemann struck out 12 and walked 3 during the playoffs. He lost the opener of the Cal League Championship Series but won Game 5 as the JetHawks captured the title.

Brunnemann pitched for the Adelaide Bite of the Australian Baseball League in the offseason, going 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA and 8 saves in 22 appearances. He was teammates with IF Chan-Jong Moon. Brunnemann owns a career 1.05 WHIP while averaging 10.0 K per 9.0 IP and 3.83 K per BB.

If you’re thrown together with others day after day in any pursuit, you get to know them pretty well. It’s understood we spend more time at work than with our families.

One cool thing about working in baseball is that five months out of the year you have two work lives.

There are those you interact with during the day, and certainly you see them every night. Then, there are those who report to Whataburger Field for Hooks games after their day jobs.

Meet our official scorers, data casters, and clock operator: David Krebs, Lee Yeager, Matt Young, Matt Meinheit, and Edd Price. Small-town mayor, high school baseball coach and World History teacher, medical PR practitioner, high school Journalism instructor, and real estate agent.

Krebs is a long-time youth baseball umpire who’s served as Mayor of Portland since 2004. A former farmer, he’s also worked in sales, contracting, and construction. Krebs played football for the legendary Ray Akins at Gregory-Portland in the late 1960s. You’d expect a small-town mayor to be friendly and approachable, and David is. He has a servant’s heart, operates with humility, and can be firm when required.

Yeager is the head baseball coach at new Veterans Memorial High School, the first high school to open in CCISD since 1967 (Moody). He’s back in Corpus Christi after a year at Grapevine HS. From 2000-14, Yeager was head coach at Carroll, where he led the Tigers to the 2010 UIL Class 5A state championship. Carroll returned to the state tournament in each of the next two seasons. Lee is passionate in his desire to learn about the game and loves all high school baseball players, not just those in his program. He takes his role as a steward of Corpus Christi high school baseball very seriously, and is a gifted administrator and promoter.

Young has been our “swingman” in the pressbox this year. He has a great feel for official scoring, but also serves as a data caster on occasion. The “Matts,” Young or Meinheit, enter all the game data into a press row laptop so you can follow the Hooks at home on your desktop or on the go through your mobile device. Young is a former Corpus Christi Caller-Times sports editor who now works in public relations at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. He is an avid Texas Longhorns fan, and his allegiance predates 2005.  Meinheit, who hails from Illinois, is an always hopeful Cubs fan with a newspaper background as well. Both “Matts” share a dry sense of humor and well-roundedness. They love sports, but it’s not the be-all, end-all for them.

They’ve found a way to make it their hobby, not their life.

Like Yeager – and this is no doubt (his favorite term) key to his success with young people – the “Matts” keep current with pop culture.

Edd Price is the newest member of our team. A realtor by day, he runs the Whataburger Field pitch clock by night. A former youth league baseball coach, Edd serves as a deacon with me at First Baptist Church. He’s a lifetime Corpus Christi resident, a great resource for questions about city history. That comes up a good bit.

Strong opinions are shared in the Whataburger Field pressbox each night. We’ve rated the worst songs of the ‘70s and the ones emanating from ballpark speakers. We’ve talked pro sports and history and college sports and weather and spectator conduct and officiating and managing and players, of course. In the social media age, we’ve cringed when Twitter tells us about breaking news of a national tragedy. We pretty much stay away from religion and politics.

I can count the number of practical jokes over 10 years on one hand.

The richest times are story times, when one of us has the floor and the rest of us laugh so hard we cry.

And I haven’t even told you about the press corps.

-Matt Rogers

Ten minutes before game time last night, the Astros announced a trade involving OF Brett Phillips, LHP Josh Hader and RHP Adrian Houser. The Corpus Christi contingent, including former Hook Domingo Santana, was dealt to the Brewers for OF Carlos Gomez and RHP Mike Fiers.

Phillips, Houston’s 2014 Minor League Player of the Year, is hitting .320 with 90 runs scored, 27 doubles, 11 triples, 16 home runs, 71 RBIs, 15 steals (8 CS) in 97 games between Lancaster and Corpus Christi this year. The Seminole, FL, native, who hit safely in 27 of 31 games for the Hooks, leads the minor leagues in runs scored, while slotting 2nd in total bases (233) and hits (136). Phillips, 21, went 10-for-22 (.455) with 5 runs and 2 doubles in his last 5 games with the Hooks. His last swing as an Astros farmhand was an RBI single in the 8th inning Wednesday night, handing Corpus Christi the go-ahead run in a 7-6 come-from-behind win over San Antonio.

Hader, Houston’s 2014 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, owns a 4-4 record and 3.90 ERA in 22 games (14 starts) for the Hooks, dating back to last season. The 21-year-old lefty is 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA in his last 5 appearances, striking out 27 against 8 walks in 18.1 frames. Hader, acquired by the Astros in the Bud Norris trade with Baltimore in July 2013, held the Texas League to 2 earned runs or less in 13 of 17 Corpus Christi outings this year. He was tabbed the California League Pitcher of the Year last season, going 9-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 22 games (15 GS) for the JetHawks. Originally a 19th-round pick of the Orioles in 2012 out of Old Mill High School in Millersville, MD, Hader is averaging 9.7 Ks per 9.0 IP in his 4-year career.

Houser, 22, earned the victory Tuesday vs. the Missions after hurling 7.0 innings of 2-run ball. He retired 14 of the final 17 men he faced in what was his best Double-A start. Houser went 1-2 with a 6.21 ERA in 7 games (5 starts) for the Hooks. The Locust Grove, OK, native opened the year at High-A Lancaster, going 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in 12 appearances (8 starts). In his last 4 California League outings, Houser stood 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA while striking out 20 against 2 walks in 21.0 IP.

In today’s pre-game interview, Hooks pitching coach Doug Brocail reflects on the Hall of Fame career of his former teammate Craig Biggio and takes us inside the Biggio-Bagwell clubhouse.

The Astros have promoted 1B A.J. Reed to Corpus Christi from High-A Lancaster. Reed, Houston’s 2nd-round pick in the 2014 draft, hit .346 with 75 runs, 16 doubles, 4 triples, 23 home runs and 81 RBIs for the JetHawks. He leads the minor leagues in RBIs and total bases (203), and is tied for 1st in homers. Reed’s 1.088 OPS paces all full-season farmhands. His run total slots 2nd behind teammate Brett Phillips (77) for the top spot in the minors.

Reed enters tonight’s game with an active 38-game on base streak, which began May 28. The 2-time Cal League Player of the Week has hits in last 6 games, going 14-for-23 (.609) with 11 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. Reed, a 22-year-old from Terre Haute, IN, featured a 13-game hit streak from June 13 to June 28. He batted .529 with 18 runs, 4 homers and 18 RBIs during the run, while working 11 walks against 6 strikeouts for a .603 on-base average. Reed hit for the cycle on June 16 vs. Visalia and went deep 3 times, including a grand slam, en route to a 9-RBI night May 6 at Stockton.

A consensus first-team All-America selection in 2014, Reed led the NCAA in home runs (23), slugging percentage (.735) and OPS (1.211) as a junior at the University of Kentucky. The two-way player posted a .336 batting average, 18 doubles, 73 RBIs and a .476 on-base percentage, coaxing 49 walks against 48 strikeouts. He became the first player in SEC history to pace the conference in home runs and wins, going 12-2 with a 2.09 ERA in 16 outings. Reed won the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur player in the nation by USA Baseball. He was tabbed the Southeastern Conference Male Athlete of the Year, Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year and the SEC Player of the Year. Reed became the 3rd SEC player to earn unanimous national player-of –the-year honors, joining Dave Magadan (1983) and David Price (2007).

The Astros named OF Jon Kemmer and RHP Aaron West the top Hooks for the month of June. Kemmer led all Double-A hitters by batting .403 in the month with four home runs and 14 RBI. In seven June appearances, West went 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA, one walk and 13 strikeouts.

The full release from Houston is below.

The Houston Astros Player Development Department has named June’s Minor League Pitchers and Players of the Month at each of their four in-season minor league affiliates and two Dominican Summer League affiliates. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team.

At Triple A Fresno, IF Matt Duffy was named the June Player of the Month after hitting .298 (31×104) with four doubles, three homers, 24 RBI and a .369 on-base percentage in 27 games. Duffy is hitting .277 (76×274) with nine homers on the season, while ranking sixth in the Pacific Coast League and second on the Grizzlies in RBI (57). RHP Brady Rodgers earned Fresno’s June Pitcher of the Month award after recording his best month of the season. The Astros third round pick in the 2012 draft went 4-1 with a 3.07 ERA (10ER/29.1IP), five walks and 18 strikeouts in five June starts.

OF Jon Kemmer was named Corpus Christi’s June Player of the Month after leading the Double A level with a .403 (29×72) batting average in June. The left-handed hitter added three doubles, four homers, 14 RBI and a 1.062 OPS (.451 OBP/.611 SLG) in 21 games during the month, and is hitting .321 (54×168) with a .929 OPS on the season. Corpus Christi’s June Pitcher of the Month honors went to RHP Aaron West, who posted a 2-1 record with a 1.29 ERA (2ER/14IP), one walk and 13 strikeouts in 7 June outings. West has posted a 2.54 ERA (14ER/49.2IP) in 15 outings (4 starts) at Corpus Christi this season.

At Class A Advanced Lancaster, IF A.J. Reed was named the Player of the Month and RHP Edison Frias was named the Pitcher of the Month for June. Last year’s second round pick by the Astros, Reed led the minors in RBI (30) in June, while also hitting six homers and leading the Class A Advanced level in batting average (.434, 43×99) and OPS (1.206) during the month. Reed currently leads all of minor league baseball in RBI (72) and OPS (1.036) this season while ranking second in home runs (20). Frias went 2-0 with a 3.57 ERA (9ER/22.2IP) and 17 strikeouts in four games (three starts) in June. The Dominican-native leads the JetHawks in innings pitched (65.1) this season and has a 3.73 ERA (21ER/50.2IP) since the beginning of May.

OF Jason Martin took home Quad Cities June Player of the Month honors after hitting .294 (25×85) with three doubles, three homers and a .384 on-base percentage. Martin has hit .287 (54×188) in 50 games for the River Bandits this season. RHP Joshua James earned the River Bandits Pitcher of the Month award for June, as he went 1-0 with a 2.14 ERA (5ER/21IP), 18 strikeouts and a .186 opponents’ batting average during the month. James has been one of the rotation leaders for Quad Cities this year, ranking second on the club in innings pitched (63.1) while posting a 2.70 ERA (19ER/63.1IP) in 14 games (nine starts).

For the DSL Astros Blue squad, IF Reiny Beltre was named Player of the Month and RHP Hector Perez was named Pitcher of the Month for June. Beltre, who was recently promoted to the GCL Astros, hit .338 (25×74) with four doubles, three homers, 19 RBI and a .938 OPS (.398 OBP/.541 SLG) in 18 games in the DSL. Perez gave up just three earned runs in 17.0 innings in June for a 1.59 ERA, striking out 18 with four walks in his four starts.

The DSL Astros Orange Player of the Month award went to IF Miguelangel Sierra, who hit .256 (23×90) with nine extra-base hits (seven doubles, two homers) and a .364 on-base percentage in 24 games in June. Sierra currently leads all DSL shortstops in double plays (18) and ranks second in assists (82) and total chances (124). RHP Juan Robles earned June Pitcher of the Month honors for the DSL Astros Orange after posting a 0.87 ERA (2ER/20.2IP) with 21 strikeouts and a .173 opponents’ average in five June starts. Robles currently ranks fourth in the DSL in ERA (0.70, 2ER/25.2IP).

CORPUS CHRISTI – OF Brett Phillips joins the Hooks today from Advanced-A Lancaster. Phillips, Houston’s 2014 Minor League Player of the Year, hit .320 with 68 runs, 19 doubles, 7 triples, 15 home runs, 53 RBIs and 8 stolen bases in 66 games for the JetHawks. The 21-year-old from Seminole, Fla., appeared in the California League-Carolina League All-Star Game last night. Phillips started in center and hit out the lead-off spot for the Cal League, going 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs. His team emerged with a 9-2 victory at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Phillips currently leads the California League in hits (93), extra-base hits (41), runs and total bases (171). He also ranks among the CL leaders in triples (2nd), homers (T-2nd), batting average (3rd) and RBIs (4th).

A 6th-round pick of the Astros in 2012 out of Seminole HS, Phillips hit .310 with 87 runs, 29 doubles, 14 triples, 17 home runs, 68 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 130 games between Quad Cities and Lancaster last year. He was promoted to the California League at the beginning of August and hit safely in his first 5 games with the JetHawks, going 11-for-22 at the plate. Phillips reached base in all but 3 of his 27 regular-season games with Lancaster, boasting a .980 OPS. Batted .324 with 5 runs, 3 dou-bles and 4 RBIs during the playoffs as the JetHawks won the California League Championship.

Prior to his promotion to Lancaster, Phillips led the Midwest League in slugging percentage (.521) and outfield assists (14) while ranking 2nd in OPS (.883) and total bases (200). A MWL Mid- and Postseason All-Star, he also tied for 2nd in triples (12), tied for 4th in extra-base hits (46), and slotted 5th in batting average (.302) and runs scored (68).

On Father’s Day 2015, Hooks manager Rodney Linares reflects on his dad Julio. The elder Linares is the Astros’ advisor for Latin American development and has been a member of the Houston organization since 1973.

Hooks hitting coach Dan Radison chatted about the state of the Hooks ever-evolving lineup and the success of young hitters in the major leagues.

Rodney Linares takes time to reflect on Corpus Christi winning the Texas League South first half title.