Astros in the Minors: Time to review the minor league All-Stars

Time for some Astros’ minor league All-Star announcements.

Coming into the season, it was no secret that the Astros had some serious depth in the farm system. Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley headline the prospect list. The thought was that the system was deep, if not spectacular.  

Tucker and Whitley have proven their worth so far. The mid-season Minor League All-Star games have borne out just how much quality there is in the future for the Astros. Here is a look at which prospects made All-Star teams.

MidWest League All-Stars 

The Quad-Cities River Bandits sent six players to the All-Star Game: Parker Mushinski, Yohan Ramirez, Carlos Sanabria, Patrick Sandoval, Peter Solomon and Bryan De La Cruz.

Overall, the River Bandits performed well. Sandoval got the start for the West division All-Stars. Solomon got the win for the West. He gave up only one hit with one strikeout in his 2/3 of an inning of work. 

Carolina League All-Stars

The Buies Creek Astros sent four players to the Carolina League All-Star Game, and all contributed in big ways.  

Abraham Toro was the designated hitter for the game and had two hits with a run scored. Ronnie Dawson added an RBI double late in the game. 

Brett Adcock and Brandon Bielak each pitched one inning with a strikeout each. Bielak was credited with the win for the South Division team. 

Texas League All-Stars

Continuing the strong season the Corpus Christi Hooks are having, the Hooks had eight players named to the Texas League All-Star Game. Myles Straw was named to the team, but was already doing big things for Fresno when the game was actually played.  

Even though an Astros pitcher was not credited with the win, Taylor Jones was named MVP. This came after winning a home run contest in epic fashion to conclude the game. That’s right…a home run derby decided the outcome of an All-Star Game. Jones added two other hits during actual game play. 

Randy Cesar, Alex de Goti and Josh Rojas all played the field for the South team. Corbin Martin, Cionel Perez and Ryan Hartman each threw one shutout inning.

Pacific Coast League All-Stars

The Pacific Coast League will not play its All-Star Game until July 11, so the rosters as constructed now may see some revision. The Fresno Grizzlies had four players named to the squad: AJ Reed, JD Davis, Kyle Tucker and Garrett Stubbs.  

With Reed getting called up for now (along with Cionel Perez) and the way that Tucker has been hitting lately, it remains to be seen which players actually appear in the All-Star Game. That game will be televised nationally. 

Next: Astros Breakdown: Valuing the contributions of Lance McCullers

All-in-all, Astros prospects are proving just how strong and bright the future looks!