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Astros: Meet Cal Stevenson and the new prospects acquired in the trades

By Brian Murray

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 10: Jose Altuve #27 of Houston Astros rests his hat and glove in the dugout before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 10, 2016 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 10: Jose Altuve #27 of Houston Astros rests his hat and glove in the dugout before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 10, 2016 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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The Astros lost a few good prospects yesterday in last-minute transactions. But they also added a few with Cal Stevenson, Rainier Rivas, and Raider Uceta.

As you would expect, the acquisition of Zack Greinke cost the Astros some of their top prospects. Even though the top two, Forrest Whitley and Kyle Tucker, were spared, four prospects went to Arizona in the trade. Three of those were top-five prospects, #3 Seth Beer, #4 J.B. Bukauskas, and #5 Corbin Martin. Josh Rojas, Houston’s #22 prospect, was also in the mix.

But not all was lost. In separate transactions, the Astros were able to haul in three promising players of there own. Minor League outfielder Cal Stevenson was the third player brought in with the Tony Kemp trade. Two other outfield prospects, Rivas and Uceta, were exchanged for Max Stassi with the Angels.

Stevenson seems to be the most promising of the three and is the furthest up in his climb through the Minor League system. This is his second season of professional ball and is currently playing at the A+ level. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur draft.

The 22-year-old is a good contact hitter and a speedster on the bases. In his two seasons in Toronto’s system, he’s slashing .325/.439/.444 with an OPS of .883. He has scored 132 runs in 149 games played and stolen 32 bases out of 39 attempts.

Rivas is an 18-year-old out of Maracaibo, Venezuela and has been in the Angels organization for two seasons. The outfielder only appeared in 27 games in 2018 and batted .242. This season in the Rookie League, Rivas has picked it up and is batting .342/.433/.500 and a .933 OPS.

Uceta is the second prospect the Astros got for Stassi. He’s also 18 years old and came out of the Dominican Republic. He has been occupying right field and also fills in as a designated hitter occasionally for the Angels Rookie League. This season Uceta is hitting .278/.341/.373 and has an OPS of .714.

Next. Astros: Let’s get to know new relief pitcher Joe Biagini?. dark

The Astros lost some promising prospects that worked their way up the ladder of Houston’s organization and will be missed. But we’ll keep an eye on these new additions and, hopefully, we’ll see their names on the Astros Top 30 Prospect List soon.