HOUSTON, TX - JUNE 14: Derek Fisher #21 of the Houston Astros hits his first major league home run as well as first hit in the major leagues in the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park on June 14, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, one of the main reasons why the Houston Astros are in the middle of it is because of their deep minor league system. However, some players are integral to the future success of this team. Here are the five players that they Astros should avoid dealing before July 31st.
With two catchers on the major league team over the age of 30, the Astros may be looking for someone behind the plate sooner than later. That is where Garrett Stubbs would come in.
Drafted in the eighth round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of USC, the 24-year-old has been manning the catcher’s role at Double-A Corpus Christi for parts of the last two seasons. In 97 games in 2016 and 2017 with the Hooks, the Astros’ No. 11 overall prospect according to MLB.com has a .268 batting average with a .753 OPS.
Ever since he was in college, Stubbs was not your prototypical catcher behind the plate. With only a 5’10”, 175-pound frame, he is more of a contact first type of bat. In four years at USC, Stubbs had only two career home runs.
Those numbers increased when he entered the Astros organization, putting together a career high .517 slugging percentage in his 31 game-stint with the Hooks in 2016. Stubbs does have some gap power. In the last two seasons, a total of 152 games, he has hit 34 doubles for both Corpus Christi and Single-A Lancaster.
What the Astros like about Stubbs is his patience at the plate. This season, he has a walk percentage of 10.5 percent while striking out only 12.7 percent of the time.
His size may be a factor on the defensive side. So far, Stubbs has caught a career high 479.2 innings this season. He has a very good .994 fielding percentage, but struggle to throw runners out, allowing 20 stolen bases on 31 attempts so far in 2017.
With both Evan Gattis and Brian McCann under contract, Stubbs has some time to improve in the minor leagues. However, expect Stubbs to be on the Astros radar in the next couple of years.
HOUSTON, TX – JUNE 14: Derek Fisher #21 of the Houston Astros hits his first major league home run as well as first hit in the major leagues in the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park on June 14, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
The reason why outfielder Derek Fisher is so valuable for the Astros is that he is so close to earning a permanent spot at the major league level.
His stats this season at Triple-A Fresno has been video game-like. The No. 4 prospect in the Astros system and the No. 70 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com is hitting .314 with a .970 OPS in 81 games. He leads the Grizzlies with 21 home runs, 26 doubles, and a .589 slugging percentage. He has also driven in 62 RBIs while scoring himself 61 times.
The amount of improvement in Fisher’s offensive approach is very noticeable. In 331 at bats this season with the Grizzlies, he has a career low 18.9 percent strikeout percentage. Before this season, he did not have a percentage under 20 percent.
The Astros have seen the potential from this 23-year-old. They called him up for a brief seven-game stint with the major league club in the middle of June. In his five games played, Fisher hit .278 with a .992 OPS. Two of his five hits in that stint left the hard while he drove in three RBIs and scored himself three times.
It will not be long before Fisher is up to the majors for good. With the numbers he is putting up in Fresno, he will force the Astros’ hand eventually.
The job of a former first round draft pick is a big one. For Forrest Whitley, the Astros’ No. 5 prospect and the No. 71 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, he has to overcome that as well as coming into the big leagues right out of high school.
So far, in his first full season in the Astros organization, he has been very impressive. Whitley started the season at Single-A Quad Cities where he posted a 2.91 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in 12 appearances, including ten starts. Using a mid-nineties fastball, a power curveball, and a very good changeup according to MLB.com, the 19-year-old right-hander struck out 34.4 percent of all batters faced.
With those numbers, the Astros promoted Whitley to Single-A (Adv) Buies Creek on July 2nd. His first three starts with the Astros have not been much of an issue. He has a record of 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP. With a .151 batting average against, he has 24 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work while only walking two batters.
As a big and young right-handed pitcher right out of high school, the Astros have the pitching depth in the system to be able to wait for him to develop more over the next few years. However, with the numbers he is putting up in the beginning levels of the minor league system, it would not be surprising to see Whitley develop faster than normal.
MIAMI, FL – JULY 09: Kyle Tucker #30 of the Houston Astros and the U.S. Team swings at a pitch against the World Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Marlins Park on July 9, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
Although it is harder for pitchers, any player that is drafted right out of high school has a long road ahead of them in the minor league system. Kyle Tucker, the fifth overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft has proved that statement wrong.
Tucker started the season at Single-A (Adv) Buies Creek and tore it up. In 48 games, the 20-year-old outfielder hit .288 with a .932 OPS. He had 25 extra base hits, including nine home runs, and drove in 43 RBIs.
By the end of May, Tucker was on his way to Double-A Corpus Christi. Since then he has kept up his torrid offensive pace, with a .301 batting average and a .908 OPS through 36 games. However, he has struggled with injuries since his call up. Tucker is currently on the 7-day disabled list with a back injury.
Even with the increasing strikeout percentage, Tucker is a well-rounded hitter at the plate. He has had a slugging percentage over .500 for his last three stops in the Astros minor league system.
Tucker is well liked across baseball. According to many analysts, he could have been the main piece of a blockbuster trade that would send an ace-like starter to the Astros. However, with the amount of talent that this player has, the Astros are going to want to hold on to him.
At the time, it may have seemed like the Astros did not make a major move during the trade deadline last season. However, the Astros may have acquired their first baseman of the future when they traded right-handed reliever Josh Fields to the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 1st, 2016. Since entering the Astros organization, first baseman Yordan Alvarez has blown away scouts and fans alike with the amount of power in his bat as well as his offensive ceiling.
Alvarez started his professional career at Single-A Quad Cities and tore the cover off of the ball. He hit .360 with a .468 on-base percentage and a .658 slugging percentage in 32 games. He had 15 extra base hits, including nine home runs, scored himself 26 times and drove in 33 RBIs.
Since his call up to Single-A (Adv) Buies Creek on June 23rd, Alvarez’s offensive production came back down to earth a bit. In 17 games, the 20-year-old has a .230 batting average with only a .361 slugging percentage. However, he has shown patience at the plate during this stop. Despite decreasing his walk percentage, his strikeout percentage has decreased to 17.3 percent.
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