Jon Singleton Sets Fresno Franchise Record

In case you went to bed early last night and missed the news out of Albuquerque, Jon Singleton had a night. He went 4-for-6 with a grand slam, a two-run homer, and ten runs batted in. Ten. Diez. Dieci. No matter the language, Singleton brought ’em home on Wednesday night, giving him 35 on the season. The ten rbi is one short of the PCL modern day record set by Mike Moustakas, but is the Grizzlies’ new single-game franchise record.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

The minor league leaders in rbi this season are some familiar names for Astros’ fans: Singleton (35), Carlos Correa (32) and Preston Tucker (32), who comprise three of the top four in all of the minors. Creating the three-way tie for second is left fielder Peter O’Brien of the Reno Aces (Diamondbacks) who has 32 rbi of his own. Singleton has now totaled 18 rbi in his last three games, because having 8 in two games simply was not good enough. If he was trying to get the attention of Jeff Luhnow in Houston, this may have done the trick.

Isotopes’ starter Tyler Matzek was making his first start with the Rockies’ Triple-A club after suffering from control issues with Colorado. Matzek went just one inning, walking seven and allowing seven earned. On the bright side he only allowed one hit, but of course that was a single by Jon Singleton that scored two. Asher Wojciechowski started for the Grizzlies and went 5 innings, allowing 8 hits, 4 earned and 2 walks. Wojo also struck out 6, but allowed two home runs. He is now 1-0 with Fresno. Carlos Correa went 1-for-4 with a double, two walks and three runs scored.

On a night that Chris Carter was slotted eighth in the Houston lineup, Singleton called some attention to himself, and his offensive abilities. The slugger is now batting .274 with a .386 on-base percentage and has struck out just one time in the past four games.

Until there is a decision made one way or another (and yes, one could argue that the decision has been made due to where each player is playing) on whether Singleton will take over the Carter duties for the Astros, there will be speculation about when Singleton will be brought up. Whose roster spot would he take? How will he receive playing time? These are all questions that pertain to a potential call-up of the 23 year old.

As I’ve said before, Carter likely will not be traded until he goes on a little bit of a hot streak, upping his trade value. As it stands right now, the Astros could probably receive a 5th starter in the rotation for Carter, but not much else. Teams aren’t as likely to trade their starting pitchers just yet either, with there still being so much time until the trade deadline.

So now we will likely play the waiting game. While I hate to even entertain the thought, there is a possibility that Jeff Luhnow could see Singleton’s hot streak as a reason to trade him to acquire some talent. It will all boil down to which players are being offered for each first baseman (assuming one gets traded) and whether or not Houston will make a push to truly contend this season.

Next: Astros on the Basepaths