Houston Astros 2018 minor league awards
The Houston Astros could not repeat their 2017 World Series title in the 2018 season. Their minor league system had plenty of success, though.
As part of our continuing coverage at Call to the Pen of the minor leagues, we will be covering each organization’s top players for 2018. The coverage will go in reverse order of record. Today, we will look at the Houston Astros.
We are going to review the system’s leaders for each organization statistically, then choose one hitter and one pitcher to honor for every team. This will be primarily based on statistical performance, though some “age relative to level” could come into play, so a very impressive season from a 28-year-old in AA will rank below a nearly as impressive season from a 20-year-old at the same level.
After we review each organization’s hitter and pitcher of the year, we will close out October with Call To The Pen’s Minor League team of the year. That will lead into November starting our team top 10 prospect lists. In other words, there will be plenty of minor league content on the way at CTTP, so keep coming back for more each day this offseason!!
Houston Astros minor leagues
Many have downplayed the Houston Astros farm system over the last few years as they’ve not really had the depth of tremendous players at any one time, seemingly having one or two top players and a lot of “filler” each season. Yet, that filler seems to produce a top prospect by the end of each season, and the system continues to church useful players onto the major league roster.
Before we offer up awards on the season, let’s take a look at the system’s statistical leaders:
Organization Leaders (min. 150 PA, 50 IP)
BA: Jose Alvarez .359
OBP: Tyler White .444
SLG: Kyle Tucker .590
OPS: Tyler White 1.013
R: Myles Straw 95
H: Myles Straw 150
2B: Abraham Toro-Hernandez 35
3B: Osvaldo Duarte, Jonathan Arauz 9
HR: AJ Reed 28
RBI: AJ Reed 108
SB: Myles Straw 70
TB: Kyle Tucker 240
W: Ryan Hartman 11
G: Brendan McCurry 46
GS: Trent Thornton 22
IP: Brock Dykxhoorn, Cy Sneed 127
SV: Brendan McCurry 14
K: Josh James 171
ERA: Enoli Paredes 1.43
WHIP: Ernesto Jaquez 0.74
K/9: Bryan Abreu 14.9
K/BB: Ryan Hartman 5.50
Let’s look at the award winners…
Houston Astros Minor League Hitter of the Year: Kyle Tucker
Level(s): AAA Fresno, MLB Houston Astros
Stats: Minors: .332/.400/.590, 100 G, 465 PA, 27 2B, 24 HR, 20 SB, 48/84 BB/K; .141/.236/.203, 28 G, 72 PA, 6/13 BB/K
Coming into this season, Kyle Tucker was one of the elite prospects in the Houston Astros farm system, and he showed himself to be just that in 2018. He struggled a bit in the Arizona Fall League in 2017, so many were curious how he’d handle the next step after having plenty of positives, but still having some concerns in 2017’s production.
Tucker simply went about lowering his strikeout rate from 20.8% in 2017 to 18.1% in 2018 while lifting his walk rate from 8.8% in 2017 to 10.3% in 2018. Typically, shifts like this don’t happen in the upper minors with a player so near “finished” stages of his development, but it shows just how much Tucker works on his game continuously. Even in the major league trial he had this season, he had a similar 18.1% strikeout rate, which is tremendous for a guy with his power.
Tucker is still really defining his defensive position, as he has the range and arm accuracy to handle right field, but not the pure arm strength that many teams would like. Regardless of which corner he plays, the outfield will be well-patrolled with him in it, and that could come in Houston as soon as Opening Day 2019.
Runners-up
The guy who gave the biggest challenge to Tucker in this decision also made the majors, but with much less fanfare to his prospect status. Myles Straw was originally a 12th round draft pick from community college in Florida in 2015. He’s climbed the Astros system with two things in common at every step – quality contact and huge stolen base numbers. Straw’s 70 steals in the upper minors in 2018 were incredible, and he has developed his eye such that he’s walking over 12% of the time, giving him an ideal traditional leadoff profile that could play well at the very top or very bottom of a lineup.
One of the best pure hitters in the 2017 draft was Arizona star J.J. Matijevic, but he simply didn’t have a defined position in college, so he was a tough player to value. The Houston Astros grabbed him in the second round, and in his first full season in the organization, he definitely made them happy they did. He played through both A-ball levels, hitting .277/.350/.538 with 26 doubles, 22 home runs, and 13 steals, handling left field fairly well. He’ll get a shot at AA in 2019.
An elite set of tools, Yordan Alvarez struggled through injury in 2018 but still showed incredible plate discipline and power at just 21. He played across AA and AAA in 2018, hitting .293/.369/.534 in just 88 games, with 20 home runs and 6 stolen bases as he handled left field. Alvarez is a tremendous athlete for his 6’5″, 220+ pound frame, and he could be up soon at the major league level as either a solid left fielder or an elite fielding first baseman.
Another player with a 1B/LF profile is 2016 19th round selection Taylor Jones, who came to the Houston Astros from Gonzaga University. The 6’7″ towering Jones has a lot of motion in his swing with his long limbs, but when it’s all right, he hits very well, and it was all right often in 2018, as Jones combined across AA and AAA to hit .281/.374/.480 with 32 doubles and 18 home runs, posting a 61/124 BB/K ratio over 530 plate appearances.
After struggling in his first two major league trials, Tyler White headed back to AAA in 2018, though he’d had plenty of success there. Something different clicked for White in 2018, and it started with the big season he had in just 70 games for Fresno, hitting .333/.444/.569 with 18 doubles and 14 home runs. He would go on to hit .276/.354/.533 over 66 major league games, taking over as the regular DH by the season’s end.
Houston Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Josh James
Level(s): AA Corpus Christi, AAA Fresno, MLB Houston Astros
Stats: Minors: 6-4, 23 G, 21 GS, 1 save, 114 1/3 IP, 3.23 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 49/171 BB/K; Majors: 2-0, 6 G, 3 GS, 23 IP, 2.35 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 7/29 BB/K
Barely on anyone’s radar before 2018, Josh James was drafted in 2014 out of an Oklahoma D-II college with the thought that he could move quickly as either a mid-rotation arm or a back-end bullpen option. Instead, he spent four seasons as a swing man, barely distinguishing himself in the system beyond a typical lack of home runs allowed (11 in one Cal League season, 3 total in 3 other seasons).
In 2018, a few things changed for James. He finally added that final tick of velocity, going from low-90s when he was drafted to reaching 101 and sitting 96-98 most starts deep into starts this season. That alone would help a lot, but he seemed to find a second grip to his already plus slider, allowing him to pitch with both a short, abbreviated slider or a wipeout, sweeping variety.
That combination, even without a very good third pitch or even average command/control, allowed James to be one of the best stories in baseball this season – a 34th round selection making good. Here’s hoping that he can continue his success in 2019!
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Runners-up
A 9th round pick from Tennessee Wesleyan in 2016, lefty Ryan Hartman has moved up the Houston Astros system with good pace. After surprisingly jumping up both A-ball levels in 2017, the Astros chose to challenge him with AA in 2018, and he responded well, tossing 120 2/3 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a 26/143 BB/K. He’ll get a shot at AAA in 2019.
The Houston Astros selected Corbin Martin from Texas A&M in the 2nd round in 2017. A first-round talent, Martin had been used hard in college, and the Astros have been easy on his innings to respect that, but by the end of 2018, it was hard to pull him out of games, he was doing so well! Combined between high-A and AA, Martin posted a 2.51 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 35/122 BB/K over 122 innings.
Drafted out of Notre Dame in the 11th round of the 2017 draft, Brandon Bielak jumped up both A-ball levels in his first full season in the Houston Astros system in 2018. He posted a sterling 2.23 ERA combined, with 117 innings tossed and a 39/131 BB/K ratio.
Dominican Cristian Javier pitched his first full season in the Houston Astros farm system after opening his first three seasons in extended spring. He made use of the time, jumping up both A-ball levels, with 110 innings pitched, a 2.70 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 50/146 BB/K ratio.
Acquired from division rival Oakland in the offseason, Brandon Bailey had a very good first season in the Houston Astros system, pitching across high-A and AA. He pitched 122 1/3 innings with a 2.80 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and a 52/136 BB/K ratio.
dark. Next. Yankees minor league awards
While the Houston Astros were not able to defend their World Series title in 2018, there were plenty of bright spots from the farm system to show that 2019 should still be a very positive season as well.