The Houston Astros AJ Reed and their future at first base
By Wayne Cavadi
NEWS FLASH: A.J. Reed is good. The Houston Astros first base prospect is the kind of good that you can put into a dark room with a blindfold and he will hit a home run. After doing just about everything one could possibly do in High-A, Reed is now smashing things up with the Corpus Christi Hooks in Double-A.
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Reed is coming of his fourth, that’s right FOURTH, California League Player of the Week Award for the 2015 season. He went 12-for-19 on the week with three home runs and nine RBI. He scored 10 more runs and actually walked more times (four) than he struck out (three). Reed has been out of this world good.
The 22-year old first baseman, coined the Babe Ruth of the SEC by FanGraphs, was the Astros 2014 second round pick in the MLB draft. He had a monster final year with the Kentucky Wildcats and slipped through a very pitcher friendly first round with only Casey Gillespie being the other first baseman drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays. I bet they wish they had that pick back.
Reed absolutely thrashed High-A pitching for the Lancaster. He finished his JetHawks career slashing .346/.449/.635 with 23 home runs and 81 RBI in 82 games. That’s right, folks, he had nearly an RBI per game.
He took home four Player of the Week Awards and was the California League Player of the Month for both May and June. Obviously, he was a California League All Star and went 1-for-3 with a walk in their 9-2 victory over the Carolina League. So, what’s next for Reed?
Well, he’s 3-for-8 since joining Double-A and has already driven in two runs in his first two games (remember that crazy whole RBI a game theory?). There is seemingly no stopping Reed at any level.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean Reed is ready to take the reigns in Houston just yet. He only has 575 Minor League at bats, and hasn’t even seen Triple-A pitching yet, so he clearly needs more time. Or does he?
Talk to Kyle Schwarber about needing more time. Schwarber, who like Reed was selected in last year’s draft, saw 459 at bats in the Minor Leagues this year. He skipped Triple-A and was promoted right to The Show for a week to serve as the Cubs DH on a one week road trip. If you don’t remember, Schwarber went 8-for-22 with a home run and six RBI in six games (there’s that RBI a game thing again, coincidence?). It didn’t stunt his growth at all as he is tearing up Triple-A pitching awaiting his return to Chicago.
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The Astros don’t have an answer at first base. Chris Carter can hit a home run, we all know that, but when he doesn’t he strikes out. He’s on pace to lead the league in strikeouts with over 200 for the second time in three years. A home run guy is nice and all, but Carter can barely move runners over when he gets out.
Jon Singleton doesn’t seem to translate at the big league level. In fact, he may simply be Chris Carter in another incarnation. He has 13 bombs in 335 career MLB at bats, but has 146 strikeouts over the same span. He strikes out 44-percent of the time. That’s scary.
Look, I’m not saying that Reed has to be promoted tomorrow. But in this crazy Year of the Prospect, if the Astros are still alive in the playoff hunt come September and Reed has shown no issues with Double-A pitching, then maybe he deserves his shot… if not sooner.