Astros: Have Plans Changed With A.J. Reed?

The Houston Astros have once again an opening at first base that needs to be filled.

When the Houston Astros sent down Tyler White, I thought for sure that it wouldn’t be too much longer before the Astros brought up their future first baseman A.J. Reed. The Astros were facing three left-handed pitchers versus the Reds, so it would not have been beneficial to call up Reed in that series. But they will face a string of righties now, why not bring up Reed?

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The Astros are currently without a true first baseman, they are now using Marwin Gonzalez and Luis Valbuena at first base, it only makes sense that they call up Reed to take over first base. With his struggles versus lefties, maybe he could platoon with Gonzalez at the very least. However, the Astros plans have seemed to change as the media spoke to Jeff Luhnow Monday night.

Luhnow cited a few reasons why Reed may not be promoted right now as we previously thought via Angel Verdejo article Astros’ Jeff Luhnow thinks A.J. Reed is ready if needed. Speaking of whether Reed is ready or not, Reed hit his tenth homer to account for all the offense that the Grizzlies needed to win the 2-1 game.

Let’s take a look at the reasons Jeff Luhnow gave for Reed not being called up right now.

Next: Reason One

Give Danny Worth and extended look.

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Luhnow (Via Verdejo) said, “we’re going to give Danny an extended look up here.” This is a strong statement by Luhnow because Worth wasn’t thought of as much of an asset coming into the season, now he is blocking Reed? He was mostly considered as a depth acquisition, but he earned his promotion with his strong play in the minors like I wrote about here, Astros Are Making a Move, Danny Worth to Join Club.

How will calling up Reed affect Worth’s playing time? The Astros will look to keep Valbuena in the lineup, which would take a little playing time away from Worth if Reed is at first and Valbuena is at third base? Worth has not done anything special, and he’s hitting .222 with two doubles and an OPS of .556, which is lower than his career MLB OPS of .586. How long will Worth last hitting like he has, nothing special?

Valid Reason? No, he just depth and should not block your stud prospect. If he was hitting well with the Astros, I might change my mind, but I’d rather have Reed on the team.

Next: Reason 2

Valbuena and Gonzalez are producing.

Another reason that Luhnow gave is that “Marwin and Luis are playing well” at the moment. After a slow start to the 2016 season, Valbuena has heated up in the past 30 games, hitting .292 with seven homers and16 RBI’s. This is not including last night’s 2-3 night with a double and two walks. Valbuena has raised his batting average to a semi-respectable .250 with eight homers and 22 RBI’s. Has he done enough to hold Worth or Gonzalez off of third base? Why yes, yes he has! Worth can still play third base when Valbuena is playing first base.

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The 27-year-old Gonzalez, who is the utility infielder, appears to be the main first baseman for now because they like him hitting second when Worth is not in the lineup. He’s a contact hitter who has not had the success that Valbuena has, but he can make contact to at least move up George Springer or get on base with a walk. In the past 30-games, Gonzalez is hitting .258/ two homers/ 5 RBI, not including last night’s one for three night with a walk.

Overall, Gonzalez’s value comes as the guy who can play anywhere, who has surprising pop with five homers on the season. As an everyday first baseman, does he do enough to warrant playing time? That is what Luhnow and A.J. Hinch have to decide.

Valid reason? I agree that Valbuena has done enough to earn the bulk of the playing time, but wouldn’t we be better with at least a platoon at first base with Reed getting the majority of the playing time with Gonzalez starting against lefties? I think we can do better here.

Next: Reason 3

There are several options on the 40-man roster.

The section gave me the most shock because they start throwing all the names out who can help the Astros just as good as Reed can. Luhnow said, “I think (Colin) Moran’s ready, I think (Jon) Singleton can help us out, and I think Reed can.” Not only is Reed fighting people on the Astros 25-man roster, but he is also fighting his teammates in Fresno as well for the job. Verdejo also mentioned that Preston Tucker or White could be options too for the Astros. Most Astros fans tend to forget about Colin Moran.

The name that probably surprises you the most is Jon Singleton, whom some say will never put on an Astros uniform again. However, how many first base/designated hitters can you have on the roster in Triple-A and everyone get playing time? They have Singleton, Reed, White, all fighting for two spots in the lineup. Wouldn’t that disrupt their development by losing playing time?

Valid reason? The odd man out there would probably be Singelton, so are we giving up on him? They still see potential in White and Tucker, need to get Reed ready, but what about Singleton? White has to stay down for a few games anyway and rediscover his swing that he got off to such a hot start with, so bring up Reed or Singleton to clear the logjam.

I still believe that we need to Let The A.J. Reed Watch Begin with His Play in Fresno, but it doesn’t sound like it will be this week. I think the Astros would call up Reed in a low-stress road series where there won’t be too much pressure on him from the home crowd to be the answer at first.

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Maybe starting off versus the Royals at their home won’t be the ideal situation, but maybe next week when we play in Anaheim? Reed needs to be up now or soon because we need to see what he can do before we trade for a bat at the trade deadline.

***Stats from MLB.com and the Quotes from Angel Verdejo’s article linked***