Astros Land Six Prospects On A Top 75 Prospects List

The first sort of top prospects list has come out and it’s John Sickels of Minor League Ball (@MinorLeagueBall) who came out with the first list. Sickels is well-known though he sometimes has unusual rankings for some prospects. There are times you may see other prospects lists with a player in the 80’s but Sickels is a lot higher on him and puts him in the 40’s. I happen to be a fan of Sickel’s works and I think he does a good job with his rankings. He are the Astros prospects on his top 75 list with his notes italicized. (Note: Jarred Cosart was 36th on midseason list. He has graduated off the list.)

6) Carlos Correa, SS, Houston Astros. Pre-season ranking 24, July rank 7. I expect a power surge next year.

9) George Springer, OF, Houston Astros. Pre-season 72, July 15. Outstanding power/speed combo. Like Baez, the strikeouts are a problem, but he draws walks too. Baez is ahead a bit due to age.

20) Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros: 2013 first-round pick. Slotting new draftees can be problematic, but I think Appel has more dominance potential than he showed in his first look against pro hitters. This ranking could slip a little once I do full analysis.

37) Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Houston Astros. Pre-season unranked, July 34. Still has some command issues but has improved, stuff is unquestioned.

43) Lance McCullers, RHP, Houston Astros. Pre-season 66, July 43. Has some command issues but stuff is first-class, reports from Midwest League observers very positive.

73) Jonathan Singleton, 1B, Houston Astros. Pre-season 57, July 60. Scouts continue to rave about his ability but he underperforms expectations. That needs to change.

Honorable Mention: Delino DeShields Jr. and Rio Ruiz

I am a bit surprised with two of his rankings. Most prospects lists have George Springer in the late teens or twenties. This is the first time I have seen Springer in the top-10. It’s nice to see though I’d like to see if other prospect experts follow Sickels here. Though Singleton had a rough season, other prospects lists are likely to have Singleton higher. Most had Singleton as a top 30 prospect entreating the season and you see Sickels had him at 57. Not to say that Sickels is wrong, but I do expect Singleton to still be in the top-50 on the other prospect lists.

What do you think Astros fans? Happy with the list? Should other prospects be on or off the list? Sound off in the comments below!

Mike Foltynewicz (photo by Tammy Tucker)