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Astros continue search for consistent offense with latest surprise promotion

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Climbing Tal's Hill

Mar 3, 2024; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Shay Whitcomb (87) rounds third base and scores a run against the New York Mets in the second inning at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

For a team that supposedly has one of the worst farm systems in baseball, the Houston Astros seem to keep finding players in the minor league ranks that can help them. Yainer Diaz looks like he could be a star in the making at catcher, Spencer Arrighetti is racking up strikeouts these days, and recent call-up Zach Dezenzo has impressed so far.

Even if the Astros were done making minor league promotions, that would still be a resounding success for most teams. However, general manager Dana Brown gave a clue that Houston may not be done when he revealed that Astros prospect Shay Whitcomb was on the team's radar.

As it turns out, that wasn't just lip service towards a guy that had been producing in the high levels of the minors. According to a report from Ari Alexander, the Astros are indeed calling Whitcomb up to help find more offensive consistency for the stretch run.

Astros News: Houston planning to call up prospect Shay Whitcomb from the minors

After clubbing 35 homers in 2023 despite a questionable hit tool, Whitcomb has really shined in 2024 at Triple-A. Through 108 games with the Space Cowboys (still an elite minor league team name), Whitcomb has slashed .293/.378/.530 with 25 homers and 26 stolen bases. Importantly, Whitcomb has cut his strikeout rate dramatically this season from 31.1% in 2023 to 19.8% in 2024.

What this could mean for the Astros roster is an interesting puzzle to solve. Given that the Astros haven't been able to get much of anything out of Chas McCormick this year, there were already whispers that Dezenzo could see time in the outfield. Whitcomb can play multiple positions in the infield and has seen increased time at first base lately in the minors, so that seems like a safe bet especially against lefties.

Stay tuned, Astros fans. Things are evolving as the Astros look to hold on to this lead in the AL West.

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Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.