Astros insider makes prospect prediction that could resolve messy outfield situation

The season of mental roster manipulation has arrived, and for the Houston Astros, there a couple of positions that have taken up a lot of the oxygen early on. Obviously, the possibility of losing Alex Bregman creates a ton of uncertainty at third base going forward, and we still don't know who is going to be playing first base in 2025 now that Jose Abreu is out of the picture and Jon Singleton is likely soon to join him.

However, one area that isn't discussed often, at least in terms of upgrades, is the Astros' outfield. Sure, figuring out if Houston can extend Kyle Tucker and for how much has been out there, but actual changes to the roster at that spot haven't gained much steam in the early portion of the offseason.

At least, until now that is. Astros insider Brian McTaggart put out his obligatory-for-this-time-of-the-year take on the Houston prospects that could help the team in 2025 and one of his picks, top Astros prospect Jacob Melton, could be an option to cure what ails the Astros in their outfield.

Jacob Melton's 2025 arrival could turn the Astros' outfield around

While Tucker's spot in the outfield is secure without question, the rest feels very up in the air (or, at least, it should be). Jake Meyers is a great defender, but has provided little at the plate, despite the Astros giving him repeated opportunities to do so. Chas McCormick was unable to recapture his magic from 2023 due to injury, as well as flaws with less obvious fixes. Yordan Álvarez is a tremendous hitter, but Houston fans are probably in agreement that the less he plays on defense, the better.

Filling one of those spots regularly can be pretty easily done by just playing Mauricio Dubón out there often, assuming he recovers well from surgery. However, covering both question marks in the outfield is likely to require other options, and that is where Melton comes in.

While Melton's 2024 stat line of .253/.310/.426 doesn't exactly jump off the page, the slugger dealt with a wrist injury that cost him some playing time and definitely depressed his production in the middle of the season. His numbers in August and September were significantly better once he got the injury behind him, and his all-around skillset could be appealing to an Astros team that would likely love to make an inexpensive upgrade.

As for whether or not Melton will actually get that chance, that is likely to be determined in spring training. If he comes into camp and looks good defensively while hammering baseballs, calls to give him an early season opportunity will increase. However, if Melton struggles or if one of Meyers/McCormick conjure up some more fool's gold in camp, Astros fans may be treated to more of the same in the outfield in 2025.

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