Astros Prospect Catches Padres’ Yu Darvish

Astros prospect , C.J. Stubbs, catches five-time All-Star pitcher Yu Darvish.

On Friday, Houston Astros‘ prospect C.J. Stubbs caught All-Star pitcher Yu Darvish. Stubbs, a southern California native, caught the right-hander, who currently starts for the San Diego Padres.

Stubbs is the younger brother of former Astros’ catcher, Garrett Stubbs, who was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies before the lockout. Both University of Southern California alumni were drafted by Houston, but C.J. Stubbs has yet to play past Double-A.

“I’m hyper focused when I catch a pitcher of that caliber,” Stubbs told Climbing Tal’s Hill. “They have expectations for you to make their bullpens run smooth. He’s a professional. Does his work the right way, executes his pitches and shakes my hand after each day. I’m looking to make strides everyday this season. Every year is a big year and I plan to make the most of this one.”

Coming into the 2021 season, Stubbs was eyed to make a boom in the system, climbing to Triple-A. Unfortunately, his offensive production declined, as he saw more games in High-A by the end of the season.

Stubbs has more competition than ever in 2022 with Korey Lee, Michael Papierski, Scott Manea, Luke Berryhill and Yanier Diaz blocking him. Similarly to his brother, the 25-year-old is versatile, flashing time in the outfield and the corner infield positions, which could make his case for promotion more suitable down the line.

Astros prospect news:

J.C. Correa continues to practice at catcher this offseason. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports that Correa’s gear is from Martin Maldonado.

The Texas Rangers have signed former Astros’ farmhand, Nick Tropeano, to a minor-league deal. The right-handed pitcher was traded along with Carlos Perez for catcher Hank Conger to the Los Angeles Angels, following the 2014 season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed former Houston catcher Juan Centeno to a minor-league deal. The 32-year-old was only with Houston for the 2017 World Series run, backing up Brian McCann on the postseason roster.

In the Dominican Summer League, Astros minor league pitcher Jorge Geraldo, who only appeared in eight games this past summer, received a 60-game suspension after testing positive for Stanozolol, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

This article was updated on Feb. 9 with quotes from C.J. Stubbs.