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Fresno Business Like ‘Stro Business: Houston Astros Move AAA From OKC to West Coast

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  • Updated: February 21, 2015
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On September 18, 2014, the Houston Astros signed a 2-year player development contract with the Pacific Coast League’s Class AAA Fresno Grizzlies, after four seasons teamed with the Oklahoma City RedHawks. The Grizzlies spent the previous 17 seasons affiliated with the current World Series Champ San Francisco Giants, who will move their AAA team to Sacramento, recently vacated by the Oakland A’s, whose top minor league team will now occupy First Tennessee Park in Nashville.

Fresno is the ninth AAA affiliate in Astros history, joining Oklahoma City (1962-72 and 2011-2014), Round Rock (TX) from 2005-10, New Orleans (1997-2004), Tucson (1980-86), Charleston (1977-79), Memphis (1976), Iowa (1975), and Denver (1973-74).

The significance of the AAA move from OKC to Fresno is one the Houston Astros’ brass (GM Jeff Luhnow and Player Development heads Quinton McCracken and Allen Rowin) didn’t, and couldn’t take lightly: Previously, moving a player from OKC to the majors was just a jitney to the Bayou City, and initial evaluations of a move west may have seemed daunting; but future call-ups shouldn’t be all that inconvenient, now, with the plethora of games the Astros play on the West Coast.

In fact, the central-California Fresno affiliation will make travel for McCracken, Rowin, and other PD assistants handy, as they move between the north L.A. county’s Advanced A Lancaster JetHawks and Fresno, and back again.

Reid Ryan is the Astros’ President of Business Operations, and it was his wish to partner with Dad, Nolan, and his (and family’s) Round Rock Express.

Currently the Triple A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, there actually was an attempt, last fall, to get the Rangers and the Austin suburb to abort their Player Development deal, which expires following the 2018 season.

In an interview published in the September 18, 2014 Houston Chronicle, Reid Ryan talked about the move that wasn’t: “It’s not a great secret that I would love to work with my family. You never know where anybody’s going to be in four years.”

Shortly after the deal with Fresno was sealed, Grizzlies President and CEO Chris Cummings was quoted as saying that it’s his franchise’s goal to be sure the Astros stick with Fresno for a while: “All we can do is do the best we can to be a better choice than moving over to Round Rock,” Cummings said. “That’s our goal for the next four years, is to make it a really tough choice for them.”

The Milwaukee Brewers actually had a shot at Fresno before the Astros beat ‘em to a pen. The Rockies’ recently-vacated Colorado Springs location was a possibility, too, at one point for the Astros, but Houston powers-that-be weren’t interested in deciphering the skewed metrics a high elevation would yield, obstructing accurate measurement of players’ performances.

Reid Ryan even teased Houstonians by mentioning the outside chance a minor league team calling the tony enclave The Woodlands home one day, then acknowledged the long shot a team landing in that north Houston suburb would ultimately be.

The Grizzly Facts: The Grizzlies feature orange and black as uniform colors, and seem to have an odd fascination with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, judging by their fan apparel, anyway. Employed as mascot is one immensely popular Parker the Bear, the winner of Best Mascot of 2007 by GameOps, besting all other Major and Minor League mascots.

Inasmuch as the Grizzlies won the Minor League Baseball Promotion of the Year Award in 2008 for their “Mascot Showdown” featuring Parker and the Phillie Phanatic, can a Tag Team Grudge Match between Parker and the Astros’ Orbit be far behind? Furry fingers crossed.

A visit to downtown Fresno’s Chukchansi Park will also get you close up to The Drag Kings, the Grizzlies’ dancing grounds crew, who have won an honorable mention by GameOps as Best Entertainment Act.

Make your plans early to attend the fifth anniversary of the fan fave Taco Truck Throwdown this August 6th at Chukchansi Park.

So, the Astros begin 2015 opening Spring Training Camp in Kissimmee, FL this week with a vastly improved club….on paper, anyway, and now move many of the organization’s top prospects to Fresno, basking in the talent wealth of the No. 3 ranked farm system, according to Keith Law of ESPN.com.

Over the last 3 seasons, Houston has had ten of their affiliates qualify for postseason play, a stat which ranks second among all 30 Major League organizations.

This year now seems to be the one where the past recent successes of the Astros’ minor league system culminates in a convergence of prospect talent at Minute Maid Park, coupled with the off-season acquisitions of key veterans.

Will that mean a playoff appearance? Probably not. A winning season? Possibly. But, with the new venue for their AAA team, I defer to a sweatshirt often seen at Chukchansi park: “FresKnows.”

Author: Brad Kyle

Brad was born the same year as rock’n’roll and Disneyland. Aging only slightly better than one of them, he’s a Houston native, and has seen countless Astro games, in all three Houston pro ball stadiums: Colt Stadium, The Astrodome, and Minute Maid Park.

His favorite non-Astro was Pirate legend Roberto Clemente, with 3rd baseman Bob Aspromonte his favorite Houston player as a kid, and Jeff Bagwell more recently.

Brad has spent professional time as a teacher, youth minister, radio personality, record store manager, entertainment booking agent, singer, comedy writer, and…..oh, yeah, sports writer!