Astros: Talking Stros with A.J. Reed, looking to improve in 2017

A.J. Reed is in Houston already working out at Minute Maid Park, getting ready for the 2017 Astros season.

A.J. Reed was one of the most hyped prospects in the Astros system entering last season, behind Alex Bregman of course. Though Reed arrived sooner than Bregman, he didn’t match the overall impact of Bregman’s rookie season. However, I’m not giving up on the young left-handed first baseman after one season. Neither are the Houston Astros. Reed joined us this week on Talking Stros. You can listen to the Podcast below.

The Interview

Reed knows that he struggled in 2016 with the Astros. He is aware that he didn’t get much playing time down the stretch. Reed came on Talking Stros and discussed his rookie season yesterday. One would expect him to be down on himself. He was rather upbeat about his future. He wants to learn from his struggles in 2016 and strive to get better.

When reflecting on the 2016 season, he mentioned that “it was hard to get back on track without playing every day. I got into a pinch-hitting role and not playing every day, tough to get into a rhythm.” He said he put that on himself because he did not play better in the early stages of his rookie year. He also mentioned that he got off to the slow start in Triple-A which carried over into the majors. There were so many expectations on him that he might have tried too hard to produce.

Offseason Plans

Reed is not the type to make excuses. He is as confused as well are as to why he struggled. When asked what he is doing this offseason to get ready for 2017; he said “that he is in Houston now working out with Astros people. We started working this week, so it was a pretty early start, but I decided to get ready for next year.”

Wants to be more than a designated hitter.

What that sounds like to me is that Reed does not want to become a designated hitter type of player. We still have high hopes for Reed. He is not in the Jon Singleton zone at the moment. He had some growing pains. Reed said, “the pitchers in the big leagues are at another tier, they can control off speed pitches and are not afraid to challenge you inside.”

He got to a point this past season where he didn’t have the time to get back where he needed to be. He plans on going into next year with a better attitude and be ready to win the first base job. My co-host Brandon mentioned to Reed that it was good that the Astros had Yulieski Gurriel and Alex Bregman emerge in 2016 to take some of the pressure off in 2017.

Aug 6, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (2) celebrates with first baseman A.J. Reed (23) after scoring a run during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

A great supporting cast.

Reed admitted that it was awesome to have so many great players surrounding you and you get to watch what they do. I don’t have to worry about being the guy, and I don’t think anyone on this team has to worry about being the guy. We have so many good players on this team. Playing in that type atmosphere is fun.

Reed mentioned that he was a Cubs fan until high school, but then he started to stop being a fan of one team and just watched baseball. He admired players such as Derek Lee, and Carlos Zambrano was the big pitcher when I was watching them play.

When asked if he had any regrets, what would he go back and change? “I felt like I put myself in a good position after the 2015 season and I had a good spring training. I think I did everything they wanted me to do up to the point of playing at a certain level. If I could change anything I would probably have wanted to play better when I first got to the big leagues.”

We told Reed to ignore the bad things that might be said about him and just play baseball. We told him that fans are not giving up on him, and the Astros still see him as the first baseman for the team going into 2017. He mentioned that what he has read has not been bad and that he was glad that people were not throwing in the towel on him.

Why was there no rookie dress-up day in 2016?

Apparently, Reed told us that they are no longer to do the rookie dress-up days. Most players look forward to that day because it’s a way to be initiated into the team. Apparently, most baseball teams are no longer permitting players to do it. He wasn’t sure why baseball was going away from it but said the higher-ups did not like it.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

One of the last things we talked to Reed about was A.J. Hinch‘s influence on him. He said that Hinch was very encouraging and patient with him. He would always say that today was your day or that today would be the day you would get out of the slump. Reed mentioned that he talked to Hinch a lot about pitch selection because he was a former catcher. He said he was trying to learn even when he was not playing.

There was a lot more that was said, but I want you to listen to Talking Stros to hear the rest of it. We also had a surprise appearance by Tony Kemp towards the end of the show. Please give it a listen and listen to what Reed had to say about Jose Altuve and the Backstreet Boy song. We are trying to expand Talking Stros further, but we need your help by tuning in or listening to the podcast.

Next: Astros Add Nori Aoki via Waivers From Mariners

If you ever have a question for us, you can text Talking Stros at 832-910-7359 or Tweet @TalkingStros. Thanks A.J. for taking the time to talk to us, look forward to your breakout 2017 season.

Home/Astros News