Houston Astros; Is there a Crisis at First Base?

For a powerful team like the Houston Astros that jacks balls out of the park like it is the easy thing to do, it may come as a surprise that they rank second to last in batting average from the first base position. They only rank 16th in home runs from the position and 25th in RBIs as well.

First base is a power spot on the team, where some of the best power hitters in the league set up shop, and yet the Houston Astros, who are the most powerful team in the Major Leagues, have what can casily be called a void at first base.

First, let’s meet the current cast:

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Jon Singleton is supposed to be the best first base prospect in the league. He was given his shot alongside George Springer last year, but unlike Georgie, Jonny tanked and could not establish any semblance of success at the Major League level. He ended his debut season with a .168 average, 13 home runs, 44 RBIs and an enormous 134 strikeouts in 310 at-bats.

So he fits in with the current Houston Astros scheme, right?

Well, it isn’t that simple. While the Astros have shown an acceptance for strikeouts if it means power, Singleton may be too much of an acceptance. He recently made the leap up to the Majors again after being mired in Triple-A and has only managed to hit .188 with zero home runs, three RBIs and 15 strikeouts in 32 at-bats.

Let me say that again, 15 strikeouts in 32 at-bats.

Even from a Houston Astros perspective, this is far too much risk at far too little reward. Singleton is still only 23 though, so there is time for him to come around. But you have to wonder how long they will accept this gaping void at such an important position when beefing up the spot would benefit them immensely.

Then there is Chris Carter, or the right-handed Jon Singleton Sr. Chris Carter rides the fence between ‘how many strikeouts are too many strikeouts’ and ‘is this enough home runs’? This year he is hitting .185 with 15 home runs, 41 RBIs and 115 strikeouts in 287 at-bats.

While those numbers should seem shocking, the fact that this is pretty much the usual for Carter make it more so frustrating and less-so shocking.

Plus, Carter is hurt.

So, knowing what we know about the current Houston Astros ‘MLB-quality’ first baseman, can it be considered a crisis? Absolutely. As mentioned earlier, first base is a huge position in the lineup and for it to be so noticeably vacant on a playoff contenting team will come back to bite them.

Now, to find a solution.

The nearest internal solution is A.J. Reed, the Astros’ No. 10 ranked prospect. He has just recently been elevated to Double-A after rocking out Advanced-A to the tune of a .346 batting average, 23 home runs and 81 RBIs. Through five game in Double-A, he looks set to continue that as he is hitting .278 with a home run and 8 RBIs.

Given the Astros willingness to promote from Double-A, he may be on the fast track to the pros, but the likelihood that we see him this year is still pretty slim, although he is just a year younger than Jon Singleton, having been drafted straight out of an incredibly successful college career at Kentucky.

Beyond him, the Houston Astros have two distant prospects in Conrad Gregor and the quickly accelerating Jacob Nottingham, but neither one of them is as close as A.J Reed. Plus, Nottingham figures to be a solution to the Astros catching crisis and Conrad Gregor has shown very little power potential.

Equally unfortunate for the Astros is the fact that the market for first-baseman is incredibly shallow. You would love to see someone like Paul Goldschmidt or Freddie Freeman enlisting with the Astros but they seem unlikely to move. The most likely to ship off is Ryan Howard and he is worth nowhere near the outrageous price that Ruben Amaro Jr. is asking.

This looks to be a situation where the Astros will have to either bite the bullet, or convert Valbuena or Gattis to a first baseman if they want any hope of getting a return from that void. Give it a year and A.J. Read will seem like more of a feasible solution but as of right now, the Astros appear to be at a dead end.

Next: Houston Astros' Rotation in Limbo?

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