Astros Minor League Spotlight: Derek fisher continues to shine

In a week where not a lot went right for his team, Astros’ prospect Derek Fisher shined.

The Astros Triple-A team, The Fresno Grizzlies, have had a rough week. They have lost 7 of their last nine games, and the already struggling pitching staff took a big hit when ace Brady Rodgers was lost for the season to Tommy John surgery.  However, the young and talented offense continues to impress, scoring 25 runs in the last five games. At the center of that offensive onslaught, is Astros #4 prospect, outfielder Derek Fisher.

We’ve been here before already. We talked about Fisher during the spring, and how solid he played then. The 23-year-old lefty then slugged three home runs in Fresno’s first 15 games, and I wrote about him then as well. Since then, he has not stopped hitting. Over the last ten games, Fisher is hitting .405 with ten runs batted in. He slugged two home runs in that time and has been able to consistently get on base, sporting an On-Base percentage of .390 for the season.

One of the biggest knocks on Fisher is that he strikes out a ton. In 1,254 minor league at-bats, Fisher has struck out 356 times. However, current Astros star George Springer had similar statistics in the minor leagues. He struck out 341 times in 1,291 at-bats.

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The two are similar players in that they tend to strike out a lot, but keying in on this statistic and saying that it will bring Fisher down is ridiculous. He is still a young ball player, and he can make the same adjustments that Springer made once he reached Houston to cut down on those strikeouts.

He could immediately be a more productive player than current 4th outfielder Jake Marisnick and looks to be one of the key pieces of our outfield going into the future.

The current outfield has guys aged 30, 35, 40, and 27 years old in it. Fisher, along with fellow outfield prospects Teoscar Hernandez, brothers Preston and Kyle Tucker, and Ramon Laureano figure to be the future in the outfield.

It is common for a left-handed hitter to struggle when facing left-handed pitching. Current Astro Josh Reddick has struggled against lefties his entire career. Fisher, however, has had no problem with lefties throughout his time in the Minors. This season he has 33 at bats against lefties and has hit .333 with two home runs against them. The ability to hit left-handed pitching successfully will help him keep his name in the lineup every single day.

Next: Looking deeper into the Astros strong start

Fisher could be the next prospect to reach Houston, and I believe the fans will love him once he arrives. For now, he will continue to be the catalyst for the Grizzlies, and hopefully, he can get them heading back in the right direction going forward.

***Statistics courtesy of www.baseballreference.com and www.milb.com***