Astros Recall Tyler White with Injuries to Gomez and Valbuena

The Astros take advantage of Doug Fister going on paternity leave to bring up Tyler White

The Houston Astros have avoided the injury bug, for the most part, this season. After last night’s game, two players now have nagging injuries with Luis Valbuena‘s and Carlos Gomez. Valbuena suffered the hamstring injury Tuesday night as he fell midway running to first base. It was very dramatic, but it appears that he has avoided serious injury for now. Brian McTaggart reported that Valbuena would be unavailable Friday night versus the Tigers.

Gomez’s injury was a little less dramatic, but he suffered the injury while stealing a base in the second inning. His removal was more precautionary in nature, but it could hamper the Astros offense in Detroit. While we are waiting to see how Gomez feels the day after, the Astros couldn’t go into Detroit with one hitter available. We are still waiting on word from his visit from the doctor.

Congrats to pitcher Doug Fister, whose wife was was expecting this weekend, so he would have to go on paternity leave soon. The Astros were carrying thirteen pitchers, but they put Fister on leave to call up Tyler White for the weekend series. Preston Tucker and Jake Marisnick are on the team, so they could roam the outfield while Gomez is down.

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Why bring up White and not A.J. Reed? This will just be a temporary promotion for White unless Valbuena or Gomez end up on the DL. Nothing against White, but Reed is a top ranked prospect, and you don’t bring him up until he’s ready to stay up for a while. The Astros have already promoted Tucker, who bats left-handed, so there was no sense in bringing Reed back right now.

The Astros will be facing a left-handed pitcher tomorrow, so bringing up White just makes sense. He has also been red-hot at Triple-A recently. In Triple-A White has a slash line of .288/ .352/ .583/ .935 with 11 homers and 26 RBI’s. Most importantly, he has cut his strikeouts down to 22; he had 46 in the big leagues this year.

The Astros still see the promise in him that led to him making the opening day roster but like a few young players, lost some playing time to stay consistent. The Grizzlies were forced to put him at shortstop for a few games. Maybe they are trying to make him more versatile.

Next: Astros: Impact of Luis Valbuena’s Injury

Look for him to start Friday at first base, with Tucker on the bench. Marwin Gonzalez will probably play left field, and Alex Bregman will play third base. They could also switch Bregman and Gonzalez, get the rookie some time in the outfield. The Astros lineup has taken a few hits recently, but it is still dynamic. Wait till Yulieski Gurriel joins the roster, it will be a tough challenge for opponents.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***