Astros Countdown: Top Five Closest Astros Prospects

With trade rumors already swirling around the Houston Astros, any deal would have to include some minor league talent.

The Astros do seem to have some talented players that seem to be close to becoming consistent producers at the major league level. Here are the top five closest prospects in the Astros system.

Teoscar Hernandez

The Fresno Grizzlies, the Astros Triple-A affiliate, have a lot of players who have played on a major league roster before. However, even though he may have had playing time at the major league level, Teoscar Hernandez has the potential of getting back soon. He could make a difference on a major league roster as soon as this season.

For Hernandez, it is not about his lack of talent. Last season split between Fresno and Double-A Corpus Christi, he hit .307 with a .836 OPS, slugging 41 extra-base hits, including 28 doubles, driving in 53 RBIs and stealing 34 bases on 49 attempts.

His minor league success gave Hernandez a major league call-up last season. In 41 games, he hit .230 with a .724 OPS, hitting four home runs, driving in 11 RBIs and scoring himself 15 times.

A look at 2017

Hernandez picked up where he left off at Fresno this season. Through 22 games, he is hitting .280, developing a bit more power with four home runs and three triples and driving in 15 RBIs.

With a .891 OPS at Triple-A, it seems like Hernandez has the numbers to make the major league roster. However, there really is not any room for him. The Astros have five veteran major league outfielders with years of experience. The signings of OF Nori Aoki and Carlos Beltran particularly hurt his chances to make the roster.

However, the combination of talent and major league experience makes it look like Hernandez is the first one on the plane to Houston if there is an injury or a player struggling at the major league level.

J.D. Davis

J.D. Davis is your prototypical powerful corner infielder. Drafted in the third round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of CSU Fullerton, Davis has shown that he has middle-of-the-order power potential in both Single-A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi.

In his first two full seasons in the Astros organization, Davis has hit 49 home runs, driving in 182 RBIs. Hitting .282 in his minor-league career, he also possesses gap power specializing in extra-base hits. With his lack of speed, it usually shows up on the stat sheet as doubles, recording 62 in his first two full seasons.

With Corpus Christi currently two games under .500, Davis has been a key component in the Hooks’ offensive success. He is hitting .289 with a .873 OPS, leading the team with nine home runs and third on the team with 18 RBIs.

A deeper look.

Davis is not perfect at the plate, striking out over 140 times in his first two seasons, but the power numbers he has put up should at least bring him to the Triple-A level. That’s the thing. The Astros organization seems to have a logjam at third base. With Alex Bregman securing the starting job at the major league level for what Astros fans hope to be the long term, Davis has to battle with left-handed hitting third baseman Colin Moran for the Triple-A starting job. With a .267 batting average and .857 OPS, it does not seem like Moran will be losing that job anytime soon.

As a 6’3”, 225-pound third baseman, it seems like Davis has the size to move across the diamond. However, it does seem like Davis has the offensive potential to be a game-changer not only in Triple-A but also at the major league level.

Francis Martes

Francis Martes has a very high ceiling. Rated as the top prospect in the Astros system, he is No. 17 on the MLB Top 100 Prospects list as well as No. 4 on the MLB Top RHP Prospects list. Even though he has been struggling a bit this season, Martes may find himself on a major league roster by the end of the 2017 season.

Martes has flown through the Astros minor league system. Once a 19-year-old prospect thrown in in the deal sending Jared Cosart to the Miami Marlins, he was stellar in 2015, his first full season in the Astros system. Through Single-A Quad Cities, Single-A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi, Martes had a 2.04 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP. With a .220 batting average against, he struck out 98 batters in 101.2 innings of work.

Power pitcher.

The strikeouts have started to become a major part of his game, striking out at least 20 percent of his batters faced in all but one of his stops in his minor league career. His pitching repertoire has helped with that, consisting of a high-nineties fastball with a nasty breaking ball.

So far in 2017, Martes has become much more hittable. Through five starts at Triple-A Fresno, he has a 5.68 ERA with a 2.37 WHIP. He has given up 26 hits and 19 walks through his 19 innings of work. The strikeouts are still there, with 20, but he is being hit a lot harder in the Pacific Coast League than any other.

With his early season struggles and his high expectations, Astros fans should be worried that management may rush him onto a major league roster too soon. However, he has shown that the talent it there. It just needs to be refined a bit.

Derek Fisher

In a year-and-a-half, Derek Fisher has become one of the most promising Astros prospects in the system. Why?

First of all, he is a five-tool outfielder. Fister has the power potential to hit over 20 home runs and drive in over 70 RBIs. He has the bat to hit over .265 and get on base consistently. He has first-to-third speed to stretch doubles into triples as well as make an impact when he gets on the base paths, stealing over 20 bases in the past two seasons in the minors.

Secondly, he has gotten better as he has gone through the minor league system. Through 38 games in 2017 at Triple-A Fresno, Fisher is hitting .323 with a .958 OPS. He has nine home runs, has driven in 25 RBIs and has stolen six bases in 13 attempts.

A bright future.

There are some things to watch out for with Fisher. He was a very patient hitter in Double-A, walking 16.5 percent of the time in 2016. However, when he moved up to Fresno in 2016, his walk percentage has almost halved to 8.1 percent through 38 games this season.

However, his strikeout numbers are still very high. In 129 games last season, Fisher struck out 154 times. So far this season, he strikes out 23.7 percent of the time. That seems a little high, especially when you talk about a potential call-up.

Next: Astros: Lance McCullers may be over his road woes

No prospect is perfect when he his called up. However, the offensive potential for Fisher is through the roof. I could see him make a difference with a major league team this season.

***Stats provided by FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, and MiLB.com***