Astros Prospects: Talking Stros w/ JJ Cooper, Defends Martes over Bregman

CTH/TexSR: I know Colin Moran had a great second half last year, but who get’s the third base role between Moran and J.D. Davis?

Cooper: We are based in North Carolina, so we saw a lot of Moran in college. We have Moran ranked 8th and Davis a little further down at 13th after the Ken Giles trade. We have Moran ranked higher, with that being said, I’m not completely sold on Moran being and everyday third baseman defensively. You have to know what you are looking for, has a really good arm, but the range will be limited. He can hit a lot of doubles and occasionally find some home runs and hit for a decent average to go with it; I would call it a stretch to call him an average third baseman defensively.

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I think Davis has the better full toolset to be an everyday guy, especially defensively. I think he has a little more power, but there is a little more risk in the bat. They are pretty close, so if you are talking about which one could be the guy, Moran has the edge because he is a little further along. Along those lines, I don’t think that Tyler White can be a big league third baseman, I think he can hit, but his defense is questionable. I don’t think any of these guys are a certainty to play third, and we don’t know what’s going to happen with Bregman. I do know that it would be hard for Bregman to play second or shortstop, I can see Bregman playing third, so he is another guy to fit into the puzzle.

I don’t think any of these guys are a certainty to play third, and we don’t know what’s going to happen with Bregman. I do know that it would be hard for Bregman to play second or shortstop, I can see Bregman playing third, so he is another guy to fit into the puzzle.

Next: Houston Astros: Talking Stros with Jon Kemmer (Interview)

Thanks to JJ Cooper for coming on Talking Stros, there is a lot more that Cooper talked about, but I’ll let you listen to the podcast version of our show. With the technical issues, the podcast starts after a few questions with Cooper. One thing that I wanted to point out that one of the prospects that Cooper likes is Jon Kemmer, “not because he will be a superstar, but that guy has hit everywhere he has gone. Compare him to a guy like White, it’s a little easier to see Kemmer fitting because he is an outfielder.”