Astros Are Making a Move, Danny Worth to Join Club

Danny Worth to Join the Houston Astros in St. Louis

On this week’s Talking Stros, I suspected that this weird two-game series versus the St. Louis Cardinals would be the perfect time for the Houston Astros to call up A.J. Reed. With the travel day Monday, it would have been the perfect chance for them to set up today as A.J. Reed day in Houston to win the fans back over. However, nothing ever developed there.

It’s understandable, and Reed is not having the season that we expected at Triple-A this season, ss he was even yanked from a game for lack of hustle. Once again, it appears for now that another golden boy is struggling for the Astros. It is too soon to write off Reed, and he has the talent to be the middle of the order the hitter the Astros thinks he can be.

The key to this will be how Reed handles his first time in his life that he has struggled because he has always been a stud on the baseball field. He has shown some signs of breaking out recently with some extra-base power, but not enough for the Astros to call up Reed now, but soon.

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There is one player that is worth the Astros calling up with his play in Fresno and that is Danny Worth, the Fresno MVP candidate so far this season. Look at his career MLB stats, I dare you to and get super excited about his being promoted before tonight’s games. Instead of focusing on his MLB record, let’s concentrate on the now. My co-host Brandon on Talking Stros tried to tell me that Worth would be the guy that would get the call, now he’s rubbing it in my face a little.

At Triple-A, Worth has a slash line of .340/ .449/ .550/ .998 with eight homers and 36 RBI’s. He has added 12 doubles and two triples, and he has a strikeout/walk ratio of 43/37 in 235 plate appearances. The question is, is he an AAAA player or a player that could help the Astros get back on track, and what is his role on the Astros team. My guess is that he will take over at third base versus lefties with Luis Valbuena moves to first base.

Before the Astros can activate him, they have to make a place for him on the 40-man roster, so who will be removed. Everyone seems to think that Jon Singleton will be released, but I don’t see the Astros making that move yet. I would guess that Brad Peacock or Kevin Chapman could be designated for assignment, opening up a spot on the 40-man roster for Worth.

As far as the 25-man roster, for now, I see Tyler White being sent down. After his power surge at the start of the year, he has lost his smooth stroke at the plate as well as his confidence. He still has a bright future, but he needs to get consistent playing time in the minors. The other candidates could be Jake Marisnick or Tony Kemp, but I think Kemp might be the odd man out despite his production. The Astros love them some Marisnick and his elite defense.

Next: Astros: Talking Stros with 2nd Round Pick Ronnie Dawson (Interview)

Welcome to the Astros Danny, but don’t expect this to be the last move the Astros make over the next seven days, Reed’s time will come once they get past the Cardinals and Reds left-handed pitchers. More moves will have to be made, because the Astros will not settle for the current offense, at least I would hope they don’t.

***Stats from MiLB.com***