Astros: 4 Rookie hitters who will have big roles in 2017

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Aug 21, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Yulieski Gurriel (0) waits on deck in the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /

With the position players reporting to camp, there are not many positions open this Spring in the Astros batting order. This offseason, the team has added some veteran depth in Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Josh Reddick, and Nori Aoki. The Astros believed that they could win with young players and a few veteran players. This year, they have changed their thinking a little.

The Astros have the youngish core of four hitters who will be the staple of this lineup for many years. In order of their age, George Springer, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Carlos Correa. You might be surprised that Bregman is older than Correa, who has one and half seasons of MLB experience. Bregman went to college and Correa was drafted out of high school.

The ABC’s.

Astros fans are beginning to call them the ABC’s. Which is appropriate considering that they are the beginning of a dynasty. They will need a little help from their friends though to be competitive. The veteran guys they added will help, but who are the Plan B’s if someone goes down with an injury in 2017.

Tyler White might come to mind, but he is not exactly a rookie anymore surpassing the 130 at-bats in 2016. He will have a role on this team at some point this season. A few names that did not make the list below are Teoscar Hernandez and Jon Kemmer. They will get some at-bats with Houston this year.

Who are the four rookies that could have a significant impact in 2017?

Derek Fisher

Fisher is the guy the Astros drafted with the competitive balance pick they got from the Baltimore Orioles for Bud Norris. He is technically a first round talent with a bright future ahead of him. As Jim Callis said on Talking Stros a few weeks back, Fisher is almost a five-tool player. His one weakness could be his batting average.

In his first three seasons, he has demonstrated great speed on the bases by stealing 17, 31, and 28 bases. The past two seasons, he has added above average power hitting 22 and 21 homers respectively.

His defense has always been one of his strengths. He has spent most of his time playing center field and left field, with a few appearances in right field. He spent a little time in Triple-A last year, so he could be ready when needed.

A left who can hit lefties.

Fisher, like many of the Astros young prospects bat left-handed. However, unlike some, he has a slightly better slash line versus left-handed pitching.

2016 vs. right-handed pitchers: 376 at-bats with 16 homers and 70 walks. Slash line of .250/ .367/ .441/ .809.

2016 vs. left-handed pitchers: 102 at-bats with five homers and 13 walks. Slash line of .275/ .368/ .471 / .838.

He has a great eye at the plate despite his 154 strikeouts last year. He will get some seasoning at Triple-A and could be an option at one point.

Garrett Stubbs

The Astros could have the best catching duo in the history of the organization. Brian McCann and Evan Gattis are in the plans for the near future. There is a chance that Max Stassi‘s future with Houston is in question. Stassi is out of options, so they could lose him if they put him on waivers.

Tyler Heineman and Trent Woodward are still in the system, but they are viewed as many as backup options only. Due to the scarcity of catchers on rosters, they both reached Triple-A quickly. The front office decided they needed to get a veteran after losing Jason Castro over the offseason. I’m aware that they traded for McCann first, but Castro had no chance intention of staying.

Should they need some catching help in Houston, the name you will hear soon is Stubbs? Drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 draft, Stubbs could be the future at catcher. He had an okay first season in pro ball in 2015 but broke out in 2016.

Still early, but…

Between High-A and Double-A, Stubbs had a slash line of .304/ .391/ .469/ .860 with ten homers and 54 RBIs. He also added 15 steals in 18 tries. Granted that Lancaster was known as a hitters park, he hit 6 or his ten homers there.

He could be of the same type of player that Craig Biggio offered early in his career. A catcher who could steal some bases and reach base often. There is not much of a history with Stubbs yet so that he could start in Double-A. However, there is not much catching depth in the system, especially if they lose Stassi. He could be ticketed for Triple-A until needed.

A.J. Reed

I know, people are going to be rolling your eyes on this one. Read my lips, Reed will be a great MLB players. He still qualifies as a rookie with his number of at-bats with the Astros last year. He admittedly gained some weight with the food in the Astros clubhouse and lost his swing at the plate.

Reed came on Talking Stros and said that he wasn’t getting enough playing time to work out of his funk. He admitted that it was his fault that he lost playing time, but he would still hang around the manager A.J. Hinch. Jeff Luhnow and Hinch both see potential in Reed, and so does Jeremy Booth of Program 15.

Program 15 lends a hand.

Following that episode of Talking Stros, I suggested that Reed meets with Booth. After talking to some other participants, Reed began working with Program 15. The beginning of the offseason he worked with Astros people.

I made a bold proclamation on 790 AM during Fanfest that Reed could be the starting first baseman in July. He set a high goal for himself after his 2015 season, which led him to press in 2016. Now that he had a taste of the big leagues, he knows what he needs to work on. I’m not going to mention his 2016 stats with the Astros or Triple-A. Mike Trout even had a bad start to his career.

Yulieski Gurriel

MLB: Houston Astros at Cleveland Indians /

It’s fair to say that we have not seen the best from Gurriel. It’s hard to call him a rookie as well, but he had exactly 130 at-bats last year, to lose rookie status, it has to be more than 130. Gurriel was one of the better hitters in the international baseball. He has an career international slash line of .335/ .417/ .580/ .997.

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The switch to MLB baseball was a little difficult, Gurriel even struggled in the minors. In 4 levels of minor leagues in 2016, he had a slash line of .250/ .262/ .429/ .691. Because the Astros were losing ground in the playoff chase, they brought Gurriel up maybe sooner than they should of. We have to remember that he hadn’t played organized baseball since February of that year.

Not so fast.

While he didn’t have the best impact at the plate at the beginning, he did go through a hot stretch. With the Astros, he had a slash line of .262/ .292/ .385/ .677 with three homers and 15 RBIs. This is far below his career level, but we will see what a full spring training with the team will do for him.

The plan for him is to be the primary first baseman and bat ninth in the batting order. He is the wild-card of the lineup. If he turns in a .280/20 HR/ 75 RBI season batting ninth, this could mean good things for the Astros.

Next: What if I told you Brad Peacock makes OD roster?

These players should all have some impact on the Astros this year. With a veteran lineup, these guys have to have the next man up mentality. Gurriel is the only one guaranteed a job this spring, but the others, Hernandez, and Kemmer could all make names for themselves this year. Don’t forget about Mr. Scrappy, Tony’s Kemp. GO Stros!

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***