Astros: Corpus Christi Player Spotlight – Garrett Stubbs

The catching position is a very interesting place with the Astros organization.

You have former All-Star Jason Castro as the primary starter for the team, with primarily-DH Evan Gattis as the backup. But both have struggled this year (though Gattis has been very good when starting behind the plate) and so we look to the minor leagues for the potential future catcher for the Astros. One of the candidates to be a solid catcher in the future is now-Corpus Christi player Garrett Stubbs.

Garrett Stubbs may be one of the steals of last year’s draft, being picked in the 8th round by the Astros. Last year he was able to progress up to Quad Cities, where he hit .274 with 23 hits in 25 games. Another very impressive part of his game each season is his ability to get on base, with an OBP of .370 in Quad Cities.

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Stubbs is not only a guy who knows how to get on base, but someone who knows how to throw runners out when he’s behind the plate. Over his career so far, he’s thrown out 31 runners attempting to steal while only allowing 25 stolen bases. He hits for a good average, but at the same time he mainly hits singles. He has improved at that a little bit this year, but it is something he’ll need to get better yet if he wants to make it to the power-hitting Astros.

This has been a very good season so far for Garrett Stubbs. After starting the season hitting .291 for Lancaster, he earned the promotion up to Corpus Christi just 5 days ago. Since the promotion in 3 games, Stubbs has definitely impressed. He’s hit .417 and is starting to lead off for the team. He’s also shown more speed this year, stealing 10 bases for Lancaster, already double the amount he had last season.

Next: Astros' Evan Gattis: The Best Catcher in the League

Garrett Stubbs is still very young and has the ability to truly be a great catcher for the Astros’ organization some day. This may not come for a few years, as he still has several areas of his game on which he needs to improve. Unless the Astros are able to get a long-term catcher in the offseason, I see Stubbs playing many games behind the plate for the team.

**Statistics via milb.com**