One former Astros prospect is making Houston regret summer trade package

When the Houston Astros struck at a trade for Yusei Kikuchi at the trade deadline for three prospects, it was definitely an eye-opener. While Kikuchi has played very well since the trade to make it look much better, the fact remains that Houston paid an exorbitant price for a rental starter by basically every measure.

At the time of the trade, the focus was on the Astros giving up prospects Joey Loperfido and Jake Bloss. Loperfido was seemingly misused by the Astros, but was loaded with offensive upside and appeared to be a really interesting piece of Houston's future, while Bloss was one of the few Astros pitching prospects that had exceeded expectations. The Astros had/have real starting pitching depth issues. That was bound to sting.

However, it is the third prospect in that trade, Will Wagner, that is arguably making the Astros feel the most remorse in the aftermath of the deadline.

Former Astros prospect Will Wagner is thriving with the Blue Jays

We'll start with Loperfido and Bloss first. After a promising start to his time in Toronto, his issues with strikeouts have since been amplified, and he has slashed just .224/.259/.393 with the Blue Jays in 31 games. Loperfido still has loads of upside, given the power he has shown in the minor leagues, but he may not have been as big-league ready as Astros fans once thought.

As for Bloss, he has yet to make it back to the big leagues with Toronto. Based on his performance in the minor leagues since the trade, it could actually be a while before he gets another chance, as his 7.36 ERA is decidedly poor and he has seen his walk rate skyrocket. Again, Bloss is very talented, but moving him feels a bit less bad these days.

Conversely, Wagner was ranked towards the backend of the Astros' top 30 prospect rankings at the time and was seen as an interesting throw-in in the trade. He sure hasn't played like a throw-in, though, as Wagner was promoted to the big leagues in the middle of August and has posted an .814 OPS in the majors across 23 games. One can take umbrage with his lack of walks thus far, but the rest of his production has been extremely good.

In reality, we won't be able to fully grade the Kikuchi trade for a while. If the Astros end up finding a way to hang on to Kikuchi in the long-term and he helps them make a deep playoff run, Houston's side looks a lot better. However, Wagner's start to his tenure with the Blue Jays is trending towards turning him into one of those guys that Astros fans wish they could have back.

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