Stassi and Martinez called up to The Show

When Carlos Corporan left last night’s game forcing Jake Elmore into emergency catching duties, I wondered — who might the Astros call up if Corporan goes on the disabled list? I thought — whoever it is will be used mostly as a backup, so it isn’t that big of a deal. Both Carlos Perez and Rene Garcia have been doing a nice job at Oklahoma City. But what about AA slugger Max Stassi? No… that’s not gonna happen.

Well, much to my surprise, the Astros have called upon Stassi. And the 22-year old prospect, who had never played above the High-A level prior to this season, is in tonight’s starting lineup. Stassi is getting the start at DH and is batting seventh tonight for Bo Porter‘s club. Although he is an outstanding defender behind the plate, Stassi has also been utilized quite often as a DH this season for Corpus Christi.

Acquired in the Jed Lowrie trade this spring, Stassi has battled injuries for the last few seasons including an oblique strain that kept him on the disabled list for the entire month of April. Despite the late start, Stassi has accumulated 17 homers and 60 RBIs for the Hooks this year.

Also coming to Houston, is 26-year old right-hander David Martinez. A product of the Astros Venezuelan Academy, Martinez went 14-2 with a 2.02 ERA in Corpus Christi before his recent promotion to AAA Oklahoma City. Martinez will replace Wade LeBlanc on the Astros roster. LeBlanc was DFA’d after last night’s not-so-great performance on the mound in Arlington.