The Texas Rangers filled their need for a catcher Wednesday, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan is reporting that they have traded their second round pick from 2013’s Draft, pitcher Akeem Bostick, to the Houston Astros for Carlos Corporan.
The Astros felt they could part with Corporan once they acquired Evan Gattis from the Braves last week, and now the Rangers have a catcher to share time with Robinson Chirinos.
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Corporan hit .235 with a .302 OBP and slugged .376 with the Astros in 2014.
The Rangers are parting with someone they feel could be a big-league starter someday. Bostick went 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA in 2014 after a 4-1/2.83 debut as a professional in 2013. Bostick is only 19, so a bumpy 2014 isn’t cause to hit the panic button. He is an exceptional athlete who signed to play football at Georgia Southern University out of high school, and channeling that athleticism into pitching has the potential for high rewards.
Bostick boasts a low-90s two-seam fastball as his best pitch to go with a curveball and changeup. He will need to harness his gifts to get the most out his pitches to improve his swing-and-miss factor—his WHIPs of 1.31 and 1.36 over the past two seasons, including 98 hits in 92.1 innings in 2014, show that hitters are having little difficulty zeroing in on his offerings.
Additional information on Akeem Bostick provided by RotoScouting.