Colin Moran Returns to the Astros.
Houston Astros rising star Alex Bregman pulled up lame avoiding a throw in the sixth inning of the Astros win versus the Rangers. With 16 games remaining, it would be nice to have all hands on deck for one possible final push. At the time of writing, it is uncertain on how severe the Bregman and Jose Altuve injuries are. Given the uncertainty of their availability, the Astros call up Colin Moran.
People would be morons to think that Moran would come close to the production of Altuve or Bregman. Moran may not even get much playing time with Yulieski Gurriel, Tyler White, and Marwin Gonzalez currently on the team. Moran is here for that extra infielder in case they need a left-handed bat in a clutch situation.
Will Moran Help?
As a major leaguer, Moran has not found himself yet. In his first taste with the Astros this year. Moran has had 19 at-bats with the Stros but has only had two hits for a .105 batting average. He had six strikeouts during that time and looked overmatched. Once the sixth overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft by the Marlins, Moran now has a cloudy future.
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Jeff Luhnow was rumored to be interested in drafting him, so it was no surprise that he targeted him in the Jarred Cosart trade. Moran may not ever be a big homerun hitter, but he does have good gap power. He digressed a little this year in Triple-A, with a .697 slugging percentage. He does have ten homers and 69 RBI’s, but he did not show the .300 hitter that he has in the past.
A loyal listener of Talking Stros, Larry Paul, Tweeted out the other day, “Has the phone at Colin Moran’s house in the last hour?” Clearly, the guy we call Larry the GM had a feeling that Moran would get called up. Moran is not here to save the day, but to another player on the roster to play third base.
Next: Stros Need a Miracle Finish to Make the Playoffs in 2016
Congrats to Moran for getting the call, but the Astros must win as much as possible. If he doesn’t produce, he should not be in the lineup until the elimination of the Astros. Let’s get a win tonight and hope that this move does not indicate that one or both Bregman and Altuve could miss some time.
***Stats from Baseball-Reference***