Three Surprise Players Who've Dominated at Astros Spring Training

Grae Kessinger

Grae Kessinger was a 26th round draft pick back in 2016, but went to school at Ole Miss before entering the draft in 2019, when the Astros snatched him in the second round. 

Kessinger had an .804 OPS in college, a little low for a second round pick, but the struggle really kicked in during his professional career. In three minor league seasons, Kessinger is hitting .215 with a .658 OPS. 

He has 230 strikeouts to his game opposed to 125 walks. And in 269 games, Kessinger has committed 27 errors. 

So of course Kessinger has had a fantastic Spring Training. Kessinger has 4 hits in 11 games, but three have gone for extra bases (two home runs and a double). Perhaps more impressively, he’s worked four walks to only three strikeouts. 

That amounts to a slash line of .222/.364./.611. The .222 batting average admittedly isn’t high, but his hits have done damage and he’s getting on base at better than a 36% clip. The .975 OPS is impressive, and hopefully Kessinger’s great showing this Spring gives him confidence moving forward in his career to take the next step.