Ricky Bennett on the AFL participants

Brian McTaggart's blog post has comments from Ricky Bennett on the Astros in the Arizona Fall League. And they are:

On Evan Englebrook:
"He continues to improve. The one thing we like about him is his ability to throw down hill. He creates a good arm angle. He's velocity has been up. He's been sitting at 92 to 97 [mph], which is good. He's a big, tall guy and his mechanics can get out of whack, but he's showing more consistency and more velocity. He's a late-bloomer."

On C-Lo:
"He did pretty well. Our reports were all good. He continues to throw the ball well and pitch well. He's really focused on using his breaking ball a lot more and has made progress with it. It's not where it needs to be, but he's starting to show more confidence and the ability to throw it for strikes. If he continues that focus, hopefully he comes into camp ready to pick up where he left off."

On Wilton Lopez:
"He's starting to become a lot more consistent with his arm slot and his breaking ball is more consistent, and that's due to a higher arm slot. That's something we've worked on since we signed him. He continues to work hard and make adjustments. It's just a matter of getting him some mound time."

On Danny Meszaros:
"We're not necessarily working on anything in particular in terms of mechanics. We just are trying to get him to have better command more than anything else. He pitches late in games and needs to get his command of his fastball down more consistently and use his breaking ball the same way."

On Jason Castro:
"He's doing fine. He's not tearing it up numbers-wise by any means, but he continues to work well with pitchers. I got a reporter from David Bell, the manager, who said he's receiving the ball well and could improve slightly on fastballs down in the zone. He has an excellent idea of calling a game and is throwing well and understands how to play the game the right way."

On Jose Vallejo:
"He's doing OK. He's staying on the ball better and his defense has been solid. He has good range, soft hands and an accurate arm. He's a second baseman, but has had to play a little third base because of the makeup of the roster. He's very athletic and plays hard. He's been pulling off the ball, but lately he's been trying to stay on the ball and use the whole field."

On Jon Gaston:
He got off to a little bit of a slow start, and a lot of it is just timing. He had timing issues during the season and would get in longer slumps. He wouldn't be aggressive and we kind of saw that when he first went out there. It took him some time to get his feet under him, but he has been swinging the bat better lately. He hit a grand slam a few games ago and that got him back on track. He's hitting for power and taking his walks, but he still strikes out a little too much for us, and that's something we have to address. He can play all three outfield position and is a gamer."