Marc Krauss: Player Profile

Originally a second round draft pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009, Marc Krauss has been a power prospect ever since. The Astros acquired him in the 2012 trade deadline deal that sent Chris Johnson to Arizona.

Krauss started his Astros career at AA Corpus Christi by hitting five homeruns in only seven games. The awesome power display prompted a quick promotion to AAA. After arriving in Oklahoma City, Krauss went into a slump. He finished out the season hitting only .123 with zero extra-base hits in 22 games with the RedHawks.

Despite his struggles at the higher level, the Astros thought enough of Krauss to add him to the 40-man roster in November of 2012. Krauss had shown enough power at the lower levels that the Astros wanted to protect him from being lost in the Rule 5 Draft.

Krauss would fare better in his second AAA stint and earn a call-up to the big leagues in June of 2013. But the big man would see a limited amount of action upon his arrival in Houston. After a couple of weeks of mostly pinch-hitting duty, Krauss finally started to get some starts in leftfield, and at the designated hitter position.

Krauss struggled at the plate and was eventually sent back to AAA in August. He returned to the Astros in September, finishing the year with a .209/.267/.366 slash line in 146 plate appearances. Nothing to write home about — but it was also a small sample size.

The Astros still see Krauss as a power threat and have kept him on the 40-man roster — at least up until this point. Although, at 26 years of age, time may be running out on the barrel chested OF/1B. Krauss still has minor league options available and could see a significant amount of time at OKC in 2014. With George Springer knocking on the door, Krauss will need to demonstrate some of that power if he wants to stay in the big leagues.

Marc Krauss (David Richard-USA TODAY Sports)