I am kind of torn on what I would like to see happen with Paredes. He was rushed to the majors before he was ready for sure, but he did hold his own, especially offensively. With that being said he had an unsustainable batting average on balls in play similar to Chris Johnson in his rookie year that suggests that he is a good candidate to digress also like Johnson did at the plate.

Defensively I really don’t mind him at third. He did look awkward at times, but I would think that as he becomes more comfortable with the position he should become more smooth also. Looking at his defensive statistics he was still a better third baseman than Chris Johnson this year, so then for me it becomes a question of if not Paredes then who else. I wouldn’t mind seeing Matt Downs given regular playing time over there, and if the Astros choose to go with Downs over Paredes and send Paredes to the minors to work at another position then that wouldn’t hurt my feelings any. After allthe he was rushed and the extra development time in the minors could be good. If its between CJ and Paredes then I would rather see Paredes over there because the upside so much greater.

One reason why I wouldn’t mind seeing the Astros stick with him at 3rd is that if you look at the depth in our system there is not a 3rd base prospect there until Lexington with Mike Kvasnicka. Maybe you could call Johnathan Meyer a prospect at Lancaster, but he has a lot to prove. Neither of those prospects are very solid, and have very low floors. They are also a very long ways away. Outfield at the upper levels is also a weakness, so that is a possibility for Paredes, and would be okay by me.

Low cost free agent third baseman are also an option if Paredes, CJ, and Downs don’t sit well with you. Guys like Kouzmanoff and Brandon Wood are some of the more intriguing low cost options that could be a shot in the dark much like Bill Hall was this past season.