Astros Season Rewind: The Arrival of Alex Bregman

Alex Bregman is in “The Show”, and he is going to be there for awhile. The 22-year old appears to be a key piece of the Houston Astros future.

The top pick for the Astros, and the 4th overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, Alex Bregman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana can straight ball. It only took him a year of minor league preparation to reach the Majors, and the Louisiana State product appears to have found a new home in Houston, Texas. Bregman arrived and immediately began showing glimpses of special talent, and the moment never seemed too big for him.

Bregman was drafted as a shortstop in 2015, and this came as a surprise to many fans, seeing that young stud Carlos Correa was a shortstop. The Astros have had Bregman play several different positions throughout his short time in the Minor Leagues.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

Bregman played games at second base, left field, and third base. Once he arrived in Houston, he was put at third base due to the unfortunate injury to Luis Valbuena. Bregman fit right in, making dazzling defensive plays at the hot corner in his first game. The 22 year old filled into the already talented infield nicely. What we saw in 2016 could be the beginning of a legendary infield trio of Bregman and fellow superstar infielders Carlos Correa, and Jose Altuve.

Offensively, Bregman has all the skills to be a superstar.

Astros fans knew he could hit, since he had hit .300 in the minor leagues, with 95 RBI’s, 24 home runs, and had an on base percentage of .388 in 146 minor league games. But with the struggles of fellow rookies such as A.J. Reed and Tyler White, we couldn’t help but be a bit nervous.

Bregman made his debut July 25th against the New York Yankees. He went 0-4 in that game with 2 strikouts, and took a week or two to adjust to Major League pitching. After starting off slow, Bregman caught fire, and hit his first homer August 16th, and never looked back. Bregman went on to become one of the teams best hitters, and established himself in the number two spot in the line up between George Springer and Altuve. With Springer getting on base in front of him, and the best hitter in the American League on deck, Bregman flourished. He finished at .264 with 8 long shots, and 34 RbI’s, and boasted a slugging at .478. The young slugger showed that he has all the skills to be an all star level player for the Astros.

Next: Astros: Should the Houston Astros puruse a reunion with J.D Martinez?

2017 will be a fun year for the Astros, and Bregman will be a huge part of it. Bregman, along with several other young rookies from 2016 will look to establish themselves and that is good news for the Houston Astros. Bregman’s potential is through the roof, and is a player that Astros fans need to get familiar with.

***Statistics courtesy of baseballreference.com***