Perusing the Prospects: Ronnie Dawson slightly increasing production

After being selected in the second-round of the 2016 MLB Draft, Ronnie Dawson was anticipated to make an impact in the near future, as he came right out of college. The left-hander’s name could ring a bell to some Houston Astros‘ fans, while he made his major-league debut in April during the organization’s COVID-19 outbreak.

While putting up substantial numbers before the start of the Triple-A season in Corpus Christi, Dawson could have been eyed as a possible outfielder to join the 40-man roster at some point during the 2021 season. Now, he and Alex De Goti (MiLB 60-day IL) will most likely not see another major-league inning this year.

After a promising start before the ’21 season, what happened to Ronnie Dawson’s bat?

At one point, the Skeeters’ looked to have four major-league ready outfielders perusing Sugar Land, but now with Jake Meyers and Bryan De La Cruz out of the picture, Dawson and Jose Siri stand as the two outfielders eyeing the majors in the near future.

Siri has bounced around on farm systems in recent years, that is no secret, but for Dawson, this could’ve been his most impactful season on his resume. Looking back at his production at other minor-league levels, the left-hander sustained an OPS north of the league average.

Now, Dawson is sitting at a .654 OPS over 58 games as of Friday morning, while injuries and call-ups haven’t limited his playing time. The left-hander is now in line to take as many starts as needed in center field with Meyers and De Le Cruz not on the roster, but defense hasn’t been his area of worry.

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In his last seven games entering Friday, Dawson was slashing .267/.250/.333, displaying no pop in his swing. The left-hander has seen a decrease in the long ball as well with only two homers on the season.

Speed hasn’t been an issue, but with a slash line of .226/.333/.321 entering Friday, Dawson hasn’t come accustomed to Triple-A yet at 26-years-old.

The outfielder room has run slim for the remainder of the season, as a few Double-A prospects have been promoted to fill the holes in the roster.

Nothing has been reported on where these outfielders stand come this offseason, but Dawson should be banking on an overly productive spring to get back into the promotional conversation, as he is pushing his late 20s. On Friday, Dawson slashed 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, an RBI and a run.

The Skeeters dropped their Friday contest to the Albuquerque Isotopes, 5-4, after a rough second inning from Hunter Brown, the number three prospect according to MLB Pipeline. They are back in action on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. with JP France hurling off the rubber.