Houston… We Have Prospects
For years now, the Houston Astros organization has been a constant cellar dweller in terms of player development. But now things are on the upside in Houston. The club boasts one of the most prospect laden teams in minor league baseball with the low-A Lexington Legends. The club boasts five players from the organization’s Top 10 Prospects list, as well as a sleeper prospect found behind the dish.
Delino DeShields Jr. | Second Baseman
My first impression of DeShields Jr. in 2011 was not a great one. He struck out looking, albeit against Pittsburgh’s phenom Jameson Taillon, barely taking the bat off his shoulder. He has four home runs already this season and may be one of those small-ball players that has just enough power to mess with his game. DeShields’ strengths are his gap power, which comes from above-average bat speed, and his foot speed. His strikeout rate of 27.5 K% is far too high for someone who has 80 speed. Defensively, I saw him make a nice turn on a slow double play with shortstop Jiovanni Mier, and he appears to be adjusting to life at second base.
Mike Kvasnicka | Third Baseman
I’m a fan of this third baseman. He has a wide stance and does a nice job of covering the plate. Kvasnicka is currently hitting .301/.367/.420 in 143 at-bats. He has only one home run but he’s slammed 10 doubles. After splitting time between catcher and the outfield at the University of Minnesota, he’s played mostly third base in pro ball but is still learning the position. Already 22, I’d like to see the organization be aggressive with him and move him up to high-A by mid-season, assuming he’s still performing well and showing improvements at the hot corner.
Jiovanni Mier | Shortstop
After a strong debut in ’09, he struggled at low-A in 2010. When I saw him recently, he struck out looking on a breaking ball and needs to strengthen his pitch recognition, which will help him improve his strikeout rate (currently at 27.3 K%). Mier already displays solid patience and has a walk rate of 16.9 BB% in 2011; he has never posted a rate below 11.0%. He has the potential to develop into a plus defender and works well with DeShields.
Tanner Bushue | Starting Pitcher
Bushue, soon to be 20, has struggled this season despite repeating the level. He currently has a 5.24 FIP and his strikeout rate has dropped from 7.68 in ’10 to 4.19 K/9 in ’11; he’s also a fly-ball pitcher who has a ground-ball rate below 40%. Bushue has shown impressive control, though, with a walk rate of 1.63. His fastball velocity has never consistently returned to the level it had in high school (92-93 mph) and usually sits in the upper 80s. He also has a curveball and changeup. The 2011 season will be a big one for him in terms of solidifying his prospect status.
Michael Foltynewicz | Starting Pitcher
I watched Foltynewicz pitch recently. He showed a smooth delivery but it does have some effort to it. He slowed his arm down a bit when he threw his breaking ball and telegraphed it. He also occasionally lost his arm slot, which led to command issues. Foltynewicz moves the ball around the plate but uses his fastball a lot and needs to have more faith in his secondary offerings. Foltynewicz’ breaking ball is a big, looping curveball. He also has a slider and a changeup. The right-hander does not have much follow through on his delivery, which could put extra strain on his shoulder. He doesn’t end up in a very good fielding position as he falls off to the first base side but I did see him make a very nice play on a bouncer back to the mound.
Chris Wallace | Catcher
A 16th round selection out of the University of Houston in 2010, the club had a sleeper prospect right in its own backyard. Wallace has cooled off since posting an OPS of 1.263 in April but he’s still looking like a solid catching prospect. Overall, he’s hitting .333/.414/.633 with 10 homers in 41 games. When I saw Wallace, I was impressed. He had busy hands while waiting for his pitch but showed a quick, level stroke. He handled a hit and run perfectly with a single the other way through the vacated spot from the first baseman. He was DHing on this night so I didn’t see him behind the dish but all reports suggest he’ll be just fine behind the dish.
Marc Hulet has been writing at FanGraphs since 2008. His work focuses on prospects and fantasy. Follow him on Twitter @marchulet.
You should look at Villar, Altuve, Hinze, and Cisnero at Lancaster
Austin Wates, too. And yeah, I’m actually just as excited about Lancaster, if not moreso. At the upper levels, J.D. Martinez, Jake Goebbert, Brandon Wikoff, David Carpenter (acquired for Pedro Feliz for god’s sake) and of course Jordan Lyles.
Can Ed Wade get a little credit yet?
no. no he cannot.
Utley, Howard, Rollins, Hamels, etc. Yes, Wade can get a little credit.
Altuve is 5’5″, 150lbs. Is really small, even for a middle infielder. His stats are inflated by his LD%, he won’t last a long time.
All Altuve has done so far is hit, hit, hit while making exceptional contact. His lack of size won’t matter a bit at 2b.
And his LD% is inflated by his ability to hit line drives. What else ya got?
Dude you must be watching another team play because last time I checked a hard 4.34 run time down the 1B line doesn’t equate to a 80 run grade for DeShields.
Nothing more than complimentary players with a lot of developmental ground to cover are in uniform for the ‘Stros.
Mier is a backup at best. Unless a less gifted defender with a weaker bat than Adam Everett is what you want to run out there everyday at SS for your club
Kvasnicka’s weak waving bat is going to get it’s barrel rung against ordinary arms at the higher levels.
Foltynewicz has a chance as a bottom of the rotation starter if he refines a viable secondary pitch.
The future looks bleak for now.
Everett was in short-season ball at age 21. Mier is in low A at 20. You cannot say with any confidence his bat will be weaker than Everett’s. Everett actually stagnated, as he got worse the longer he was at AAA.
Let’s revisit this discussion in 3 years. My prediction is Deshields will be scuffling in 2A/3A playing in the outfield, Mier should be playing ordinary defense in Oklahoma city hitting in the 8 hole, Kvasnicka probably learning a new position in Corpus and Foltynewicz will be knocking on the door tyring to crack the backend of the rotation.
Foltynewicz a back of the rotation starter? His ceiling is a strong #3, decent #2. Also, last I checked, his changeup and curve were borderline plus pitches.
His ceiling is a no.1 starter per many analysts following the draft. His floor is quite low as a cold weather high school arm.
Color me nonplussed. Deshields; a 22 year old third baseman with questionable power; a 23 year old catcher with some power; a couple of starters with fringy fastballs or secondary pitches; and jovanni mier. yawn.
Deshields is 18 buddy. He will grow into decent power and be a great contact hitter.
He’s not your buddy, guy!
i’m sure deshields is a fine player, and if this was an article about him i’d have no complaints (at the least, I was a fan of his dad). i’m just not so impressed by the others (except maybe foltynewicz), and the article was about how loaded this particular team is. i also reserve the right to withhold credit from ed wade.
@prime minister: are you david cameron? if so, you are doing a decent job of holding the conservative-lib dem coalition together. and you run a mean baseball site.
Too bad about the economy regressing though. Maybe next year!
Yeah, you got the wrong club here. Lancaster is more impressive than Lexington. Deshields and Folty have a chance. Wallace belongs at a higher level, until he gets age appropriate, no need to get all that excited.
Mier and the others are AA fizzle outs.
I like that Houston is looking to get more athletic, and think they are heading in the right direction. I like the players they got in their deals. Getting Wallace, Villar, Melancon, Paredes, Happ was a decent haul.
They are getting better, and thankfully for Milwaukee, Florida, and Chicago, they aren’t the absolute bottom anymore.
Just FYI: the link for DeSheilds goes to Sr., not Jr.
Seriously? I’m sick of all the Astros farm hate. Saber elbow rubbing buddies, get over yourself. Anything Astros makes the vultures crowd in here and take their frustration from getting owned by the Astros from 90-05. Everybody has to rebuild, even if your favorite team has been doing it for 20 years.