The Futures Game last night gave a glimpse of some of the top prospects around the game, from the St. Louis Cardinal’s top prospect Alexander Reyes fanning four while reaching triple digits, to Boston’s Yoan Moncada winning the MVP. But it was the Houston Astros Alex Bregman that had the masses clamoring for more after the game.
Bregman finished the day 3-for-5 with a triple in the first, a double in the third and a single in the fourth. The first of the trio was arguably the most impressive, coming off of Reyes, who later told Jonathan Mayo, “Bregman was definitely a guy who opened my eyes. He stayed back on a curveball and hit it foul. I threw him a fastball and he got enough bat on it to get a triple. He can definitely swing the bat.”
Mayo also points out that the fastball that led to that triple was clocked at 98 miles per hour and that post-game, all of the players were raving about Bregman, and if it had been up to them he likely would have won the game’s MVP honors, even though the US team lost 11-3.
If it wasn’t for Luis Valbuena, who hit .316 in June and is batting .333 in July (he is a career .232 hitter), then there is a good chance that Bregman would already be up with Houston playing third base.
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Drafted as a shortstop, Bregman started getting some time at third base a couple of months ago, but has returned to his natural position since joining Triple-A Fresno due to the presence of third basemen Matt Duffy and Colin Moran on the roster. All said, Bregman has eleven games under his belt at third as a professional, but many believe that he is the top prospect closest to contributing to his club in the second half. It may just take some moving around the diamond by other players to accommodate him.
The broadcasters for the game suggested moving Valbuena to first base, and having A.J. Reed, the hot-hitting prospect that Houston recently called up, be the team’s designated hitter. This could be a way to get all three of their bats into the lineup, and it actually makes some sense, but only time will tell how the Astros decide to get Bregman playing time when they call him up in the near future.
In the end it was Moncada’s go-ahead 2-run homer in the eighth that won him the MVP trophy. He was smooth with the glove and finished the game 2-for-5. Oakland’s Ryon Healy had some solid at-bats, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, but it was his awareness on the basepaths that was most impressive. On a grounder to second baseman Moncada, Healy pulled up so that the ball had to be flipped to second, ensuring that the throw to first wouldn’t be in time to double-up the batter.
The US squad led for most of the game, but trailed 4-3 heading to the top of the 9th when the World team really blew things open with a seven-run frame. The death blow was delivered by Chicago Cubs outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez, who took Ryne Stanek deep for a three-run shot.
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Of course, there was defense on display as well, and the most exciting play of the game was likely Manuel Margot‘s home run robbing catch in the bottom of the 6th over the short fence in right-center. It’s hard not to get excited watching some of the best up-and-comers in the minors playing in a game that means so much to them, and then seeing how they fit in with their current parent club’s plans.