More minor-league releases

Via Jose de Jesus Ortiz, the Astros have released the following minor-leaguers:

*Joe Bircher. Bircher was the 2012 10th Round pick out of Bradley University. He was limited to 78IP in 2013 due to injuries, and was 3-3 with a 4.15 ERA/1.29 WHIP in 65IP for Quad Cities.

*Ernesto Genoves. Genoves, a catcher, was signed as an amateur free agent prior to the 2008 season, and never played more than 52 games in a season. In 37 games for Tri-City last year, he hit .196/.275/.299. His high-water mark was in 2011, when he hit .280/.375/.464 for Greeneville.

*Gera Sanchez. RHP Gera Sanchez was an unsigned free agent in 2012 (he was drafted by Boston in the 42nd Round of the 2009 draft, but did not sign). Sanchez spent the majority of 2013 in Quad Cities, striking out 57 batters in 50IP, but with a 5.22 ERA/1.44 WHIP.

*Jesse Wierzbicki. The Astros 24th Round pick of the 2011 draft out of North Carolina, Wierzbicki hit .271/.362/.409 in parts of three seasons. In 2013, he spent most of the season in Quad Cities, but did spend 25 games in Lancaster, hitting .245/.351/.351.

*Brandon Wikoff. This one's a heartbreaker (I mean, none of these are fun, but this one in particular). Wikoff was the Astros' 5th Round pick in 2009. Wikoff was in Corpus by 2011, hitting .308/.398/.353 with 33K:47BB in 331 PAs. He dealt with a wrist injury in 2012, but was injured in a one-car wreck at Spring Training last season. He played in three games in all of 2013.