I see 1 guy with star potential whose got to stay healthy and get it going (Baez), 1 buy who maybe you can squint and see an above average MLB regular but he's so damn young who knows (Gomez), a backup catcher and 4 Jags/guys who aren't going to make it. That's a pretty depressing list. C'mon pitchers. C'mon Framber trade, C'mon draft, C'mon international signings.
I don’t think it’s that binary to define. I want every roster to be 8-9 deep with viable, age-appropriate prospects; that doesn’t mean 8-9 top 100 guys or 8-9 guys likely to reach the majors, but 8-9 guys who have some legitimate upside/value that justifies them as a prospect. Along with that, I think a “good” farm system has 3-4 good prospects at each full season level, guys that project to some MLB value and guys that other teams would be interested in via trade. Finally, I’d like for the system overall to have at least 3-4 position players total who project as good everyday big leaguers, guys who typically show up on Top 100 lists; those players don’t need to be evenly distributed. I don’t feel qualified to really evaluate pitching prospects so almost all evaluation there is using hindsight and having faith in the front office. Coming into the season I really liked the depth, and just thought the Astros were 2-3 elite prospects away from having a good farm. But between several key players (Melton, Baez, Ochoa, Leon, Diaz) being hurt and pretty much blanket disappointment from the players who have played, I’m not not nearly as positive about the depth. From your list, I don’t think much at all of Ferreras and Cole at this point; to me they’ve fallen down into fringe prospect territory. The rest all have flaws: Baez is hurt, Janek and Gomez aren’t playing well, Jaworsky can’t hit for power (yet), and Sullivan strikes out too much.
Zach Cole has 6 RBI today for Corpus, four of which came on his first homer of the season: a grand slam. Colin Barber started the game with a homer and has scored three runs.
Second straight game with a homer for Barber. Please baby Jesus let these guys come back to life. Corpus’ lineup started today’s game with 5 players batting <.200 and 7 batting <.231.
Ethan Wagner is 4-4 with a double and an RBI single in the second game of an FCL doubleheader. Wagner was the Astros' 17th round pick last year out of P27 Academy, a school in South Carolina geared towards kids looking to play baseball at the next level.
This is how I view the Stros future. Dana needs to rebuild the farm and so far the job he's done isn't promising. However I have high hopes for Gomez/Baez/Alvarez. If 2 of those 3 hit then the farm will be in great shape. Right now the farm looks worse than it really is because a lot of young guys are playing in MLB as everyday players. Smith/Dezenzo/Diaz. Pitching is and always will be the key to remaining a dynasty.
I’d lien to solve 2B with the guys currently on the MLB roster not named Rodgers and Dubon but if that’s not going to happen seems like Whitcomb should get a crack at the job first.
Whitcomb should at least be playing more 2b in AAA to evaluate him. How come this organization can't find any lefty hitters?
wRC+ >140, High A, age <23, 2006 to present (min 140 pa), non-1B: Joseph Sullivan Jose Altuve Kyle Tucker Jeremy Pena Brett Phillips Ramon Laureano Josh Flores
Tempering stat for Shay Whitcomb and Pedro Leon: in the last 20 years, 24 players have more than 1000 career AAA pa for the Astros. Only 3 went on to post a season of 2+ fwar in MLB (Kyle Tucker, Max Stassi, and Tony Kemp).
That stat would suggest there is a 12.5% chance for each of these 2 to produce a 2 fWAR season. I would not call that tempering as that greatly exaggerates their chance to post a 2 fWAR season.
There are some scouts that really love Joseph Sullivan. At first blush he seems awful old and awful low in the system to be much of anything - but because of his background and hit tool, he gets talked about and some in the Astros think he can become a good starter in the big leagues. At this point I am close to accepting that Jacob Melton is ticketed as a platoon bat in the big leagues, and with his speed/base running/glove and power I am okay with that, as I think he is the rare guy I don't mind platooning.
