What other prospects could we see in 2019?

After Corbin Martin's call-up, who's next?

Chris Campise
May 20, 2019, 5:55 am
Photo by Rich Schultz / Getty Images

After Jose Altuve was sent to the Injured List, the first position player of the year to end up there, the Astros took the opportunity to call up Corbin Martin to make his Major League debut. While Houston fans should hope that there aren't too many more players going to the IL to create these opportunities, George Springer and Aledmys Diaz are both nursing injuries that need further evaluation. So it's fair to ask, who else might we see in 2019?

Yordan Alvarez 

Let's start with the obvious candidate that has the most buzz surrounding him right now, Yordan Alvarez. He has been DOMINATING in the minors this season, currently batting an incredible .411 average with a 1.378 OPS. He has 18 home runs and 55 RBIs over 39 games this season, placing him firmly on top of the minor-league batting charts.

Yordan had the opportunity to get some major-league action this spring, making the Spring Training roster and getting 49 at-bats with the big-league team. He didn't light up the scoreboard, hitting for a .265 average with 7 RBIs and 14 strikeouts, but his performance since then has shown that his upside is very much worth a chance.

The Astros will likely take their time with Alvarez to avoid any early arbitration or free agency situations, so if they do call him up, it'll likely be in June. Yet, with Tyler White off to a slow start in his DH role, it has many understandably wondering why Alvarez can't be given a shot.

Kyle Tucker

Kyle Tucker was in a very similar situation as Alvarez last year when he got his highly-anticipated call up in July of 2018. He had been putting together great offensive numbers in the minor leagues, however, when brought up to the majors couldn't quite replicate that success.

Tucker was invited to Spring Training this season, where he hit a respectable .276 average, but he still has not quite gotten back to the performance that earned him his debut last season. Still, his ceiling is incredibly high, making it no surprise that he was in pre-season Rookie of the Year prediction talks. He could easily go on a tear and earn another shot at the majors.

Forrest Whitley

Similar to Tucker, Forrest Whitley finds himself struggling recently to live up to his big expectations. Whitley, who is Houston's overall top prospect and ranked number 9 in the league, has had a lot of buzz as being a future starting pitcher for the Astros, especially after being designated as one of the few players Houston would simply not give up in any trade.

Whitley also was brought to Spring Training to get a little major-league exposure. During the spring he pitched 15 innings, over which he allowed five runs giving him an ERA of 3.00 while striking out 11, a respectable result. However, after being sent to the minors to continue improving for his inevitable promotion to the big-league roster, he's struggled heavily. In his 22.1 innings this season for Round Rock, he's allowed a surprisingly high 26 earned runs, giving him an ERA of 10.48. Whitley has very high upside, so he too could turn things around quickly and still make his way onto the Astros' roster, but for now, he needs more time to turn things around in the minors.

Myles Straw 

Another player currently spending time developing in a Round Rock Express uniform is Myles Straw. Straw made his major-league debut as a September call up in 2018, brought in to give the Astros some speed on the base paths for the playoffs. While he definitely still warrants consideration for his speed, he continues to develop as a hitter, too.

Straw was another invitee to Spring Training, where he hit for a strong .378 with 1 home run and 2 RBIs in his 45 plate appearances. He's continued to do well at the plate in the minors this year, sitting with a .308 average with 15 RBIs over his 38 games. He's not one of the most renown prospects, but his speed and versatility make him a good fit if the Astros should need some depth in the outfield this season.

The Astros are fortunate that these are just four of the many prospects they have in their system that could have big impacts in this and the coming years. All of the years of prospect hoarding in the down years has paid off in a big way, and it's showing via the good problem to have: having major-league caliber players that have to be slowly moved into the big-league system.

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An exciting week ahead for the Astros

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

After the disappointing 12-0 blowout loss to the Blue Jays on Father's Day to end last week, Houston will turn the page to a new one with some compelling components to look forward to in the next seven days. With a full seven-game week ahead, here are some of the things to be watching for:

The Alvarez roadshow

We are six games into the Yordan Alvarez experience, and over those six games, he has homered in four. Some of those would have been home runs nearly anywhere, but this week we will get to see how he handles leaving the confines of Minute Maid Park.

Luckily for Alvarez, both Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati and Yankee Stadium in New York provide a boost for left-handed hitters, especially Yankee Stadium with its short porch in right field. He'll also potentially get to face some pitchers who have been struggling with the long ball in Tyler Mahle for the Reds and J.A. Happ for the Yankees. It should shape up to be another big week at the plate for Alvarez, maintaining his at-bats as being much-watch TV.

Pitchers hitting in Cincinnati 

Houston will make their first trip to a National League park in 2019 to start the week with a three-game series with the Reds. The inter-league matchup presents the rare opportunity to see the DH-less Astros send their pitcher to the plate to try and contribute on offense.

The three pitchers we will get to see: Wade Miley, Justin Verlander, and Gerrit Cole. Miley has a career batting average of .155 including one home run from back in 2013 with the Diamondbacks. Last year with the Brewers he hit .185 with five hits and a walk over 27 at-bats.

Cole is no stranger to the batter's box, playing the first five years of his career in the National League for Pittsburgh. He's a career .168 hitter and hit a home run in three out of his five seasons with the Pirates. However, he lost a little bit of his swing last season, going 0-for-9 with eight strikeouts for the Astros in his first season as part of his new American League team.

Then there's Justin Verlander. He has played in the AL his entire career, making him mostly a stranger at the plate. That makes it no surprise that his batting numbers aren't quite at the level of his dominant pitching numbers, hitting just .104 in his career. He has notched an RBI, though, getting the first of his career in 2017 for the Tigers before coming over to Houston.

So with that, it should be an entertaining series to start the week, and will likely make fans of the American League relish the fact that they get to have a Designated Hitter in the lineup every day.

Two starts for Verlander

While he may not be an All-Star with a bat, he's definitely on track to a lot of awards this year on the mound. Verlander is scheduled to make two starts this week, one on Tuesday night against the Reds, then another on Sunday in New York against the Yankees.

Not only does that mean two chances to see if Verlander can keep up the breakneck pace he's on in 2019, but it will also mean moving up another spot on the all-time strikeout list. At 2,831 in his career, he's just one away from tying, and two from passing, Mickey Lolich for the 19th spot on the famed list. Lolich has a connection with Justin, as he pitched thirteen seasons with the Tigers between 1963 and 1975.

Once Verlander takes over that spot, next up will be Jim Bunning who sits in 18th with 2,855 strikeouts, 24 ahead of the Astros' ace. Considering he threw 15 Ks in his last start, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could be tied or in sole possession of that 18th spot before the week is over, though to do so he'll have to have a fantastic game against a very potent Yankees lineup.

Potential pieces coming back into place

We should know more after tomorrow's game which will be a back-to-back start for the former-MVP, but the Astros are expected to have Jose Altuve rejoin the team while on this road trip. Not that the Astros have been horrid on offense without him, but having him back on the field will provide an uptick in performance, and moral.

Two other players in similar situations as Altuve and expected to come back up are Max Stassi and Collin McHugh. Stassi will likely retake his roster spot as the backup catcher, meaning Garret Stubbs will make the trip back to Round Rock. As far as McHugh, we will have to wait and see if he makes some appearances out of the bullpen to ramp things back up before going back into the rotation, or if AJ Hinch has other plans going forward.

In any case, getting some of these players back means the team is getting healthy again. George Springer has been ramping up activities, and we should hear about a rehab assignment for him soon. Carlos Correa, however, remains sidelined and the Astros should remain conservative with his recovery.

Huge weekend series in the Bronx 

After the three-game set in Cincinnati against the Reds, the Astros will travel to New York for a big four-game weekend series with the Yankees. The Yankees made a big splash in the trade market this past week, taking advantage of a liquidating Mariners team who was willing to deal Edwin Encarnacion to New York for a lone prospect player along with some cash trading. Encarnacion currently leads the American League in home runs, giving the Yankees yet another mighty bat in their lineup.

Two of the other powerful batters that are scheduled to make returns to the lineup this week: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Both are currently on rehab stints and expected to rejoin the major-league team before this week is over. The Yankees will catch the 3-4-5-1 spots in Houston's rotation, which will be an intriguing matchup on both sides.

In any case, no matter who we see back in the lineups this weekend, it's going to be a fun and high-intensity matchup with these two teams currently both in the top four in win-loss records in the league. Also, the Yankees will likely be out to even the score after the Astros swept them in Houston in a three-game series in early April.

It sets up to be what many consider a preview of an ALDS or ALCS matchup between two of the best teams not only in the American League but the entire league.

Where will the Astros stand, both in their record and in roster spots, when this week concludes? It's hard to predict, but regardless, it should be a fun week to catch some Astros games on TV.

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