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Three Astros Prospects That Could Be Moved At The Trade Deadline
The Astros sit 36-26, 4.5 games back in the AL West. Their pitching staff remains elite, but the offense is struggling. Houston has squandered great starts from rookies in back-to-back games against the Blue Jays, scoring three total runs in the last two games.
They'll likely need to acquire a bat at the deadline in an effort to run down the Rangers. The winner of the West will be a top-two seed in the AL and secure a very important first round bye. It's important the Astros can surpass the Rangers to ensure a bye and home field in the ALDS.
If they're going to do such a thing, they'll probably be parting with some prospects. Let's take a look at three Astros prospects that may be playing elsewhere after the trade deadline.
#1 Pedro León
Pedro León appears to finally be finding it at the AAA level. He has homered five times in eight games and has a .956 OPS over his last 25 games while hitting .290.
León remains an enormously "toolsy" prospect, with loud power, a cannon of an arm and great speed on the base paths.
The strikeout is still a huge part of Leon's game, striking out 62 times in 50 games. But if he can make some sembelance of contact, his tools play up.
With the Astros depth in the outfield, and with both Jose Altuve and Mauricio Dubón holding down the fort at second, León doesn't really have anywhere to play. If León wasn't going to come up with Altuve injured, then when would he?
José Siri is another former Astro that had plenty of tools but no path to playing time in Houston. Might a team see what happened with Siri getting everyday playing time and think they could do the same for León? He may not be viewed as highly as he was when he played in the 2021 Futures Game, but León can likely contribute for another big-league club. It wouldn't be stunning to see him in a deal.
#2 Quincy Hamilton
Quincy Hamilton has put together a strong start to his 2023 season. Hamilton hit .268 with an .806 OPS in Corpus Christi before earning a call-up to AAA. In his AAA debut yesterday, Hamilton went deep twice.
In three minor league seasons, Hamilton is batting .276 with an .835 OPS. With so many outfielders ahead of him, it is unlikely Hamilton finds his way to Houston as a contributor with the big-league club, but he has potential to play elsewhere. It's increasingly likely the Astros tap into their outfield depth when the time does come to make a deadline day deal.
Hamilton's plate discipline and speed (27 steals in 31 tries last season before the expanded base paths) could make him a name worth keeping an eye on.
Baseball America ranks Hamilton as the Astros 16th-best prospect, but his athleticism could make him a desirable piece in exchange for a deadline rental. Think of Hamilton like a Bryan De La Cruz, who wasn't even on Baseball America's top-30 prospects for Houston the year he was dealt for Yimi Garcia. De La Cruz is now carrying an .819 OPS playing everyday in Miami.
#3 Joe Perez
Perez isn't a name I would count on being traded as he is a member of the Astros 40-man roster, but it can't be entirely ruled out. Names like Joey Loperfido, Zach Dezenzo, and Will Wagner may not be on the 40-man roster yet, but stand far more likely to contibrute at the big-league level than Perez.
Perez came up briefly last season and picked up one at-bat in The Show. He is hitting .267 with a .744 OPS in 52 games at Sugar Land this season. He's blocked by Alex Bregman in Houston, and with so many teams hesitant to sell with seemingly every Central Division team in each league still in the playoff race, infielders ready to play aren't going to be readily available.
MLB.com recently ran Wil Myers as a potential trade candidate. Myers has been worth -0.8 bWAR and is hitting .189 with a 44 OPS+. If that's the top option, solid infielders are at a premium. Again, I wouldn't bank on seeing Perez moved at the deadline, but for the right rental, he could go elsewhere.