Can’t wait to see how he does once he moves up. DSL Astros have 8 players with ISO over 150. Have to go back to 2016 for a season that matches that. Unfortunately looking back over the last 15 years there really isn’t much correlation between statistical performance in the DSL and prospect outcomes. Gaston currently has the 2nd highest wRC+ in Astros DSL since 2011 (min 50 pa).
Omar Diaz hit his first homer of the year for the FCL Blue team. He slashed .324/.451/.419 with a home run and 10 RBI in 29 games in the FCL last year. Darwin De Leon is at it again for the DSL Orange team... he got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and then added a two-run double. All three of the hits he has recorded as a pro have all resulted in 2 RBI (two 2-run homers and this two-run double).
I will add this about Gaston, and it is something I mention during spring training: while DSL stats are usually pretty meaningless overall and especially in small samples, homers are something that do carry some meaning. Similar to a pitcher’s velocity, from a single swing you can draw some pretty solid conclusions about a prospect’s power potential. Nobody hits the ball 110mph or 450ft if they don’t have some ability. So while we can’t really draw any conclusions whatsoever about Gaston’s ultimate outcome, with 7 HR in 74 pa we can be pretty sure he has potential for at least average power, and likely plus and possibly elite power.
Astros signed a DSL prospect who’d been released by the Phillies and Dodgers: https://www.milb.com/player/victor-diaz-682770
Judging from his swing and body, he has at least plus power. The fact that he is doing it while batting close to .400 means he is not swinging out of his shoes and the power is very natural. Who knows if he can hit major league pitching but I have no doubt he can hit one out of the park if he gets a hold of a major league pitch.
I know nothing about the C situation in the low minors, where would you think he makes his full season debut?
Very safe to assume his next stop would be Florida and the complex league there. But since he’s already 19 there’s an outside shot they could bring him over to the US this year and he could potentially make it to Fayetteville next season, which would be a really really good sign but is probably pretty unlikely.
https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGx...6310128201424_36784226103&igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= That power didn't come by accident. He's nicknamed "el tanke" for a reason
MLB.com updated their Top 100 and unsurprisingly Brown is the only player on the list (at 87th). I do think depending on how the rest of the season goes that Barber and Diaz could end up on some end of season lists.
While I agree that six are not necessary, I do think it’s good to see him throw everything just to evaluate, especially after being away from the mound this long. I’m sure, if over time, one or two pitches produce disproportionately worse results, they’ll just tell him to axe those. By throwing everything, it helps with those decisions. ETA: Damn typing on my phone and autocorrect. Sorry did not mean to type what I originally meant in the first sentence.
It would not surprise me if at this point the Astros staff were just telling Whitley “ok buddy fine do what you want, if you change your mind and want to listen let us know. Just try to get guys out and not get hurt.”
Highly doubt any national writers know anything about Barber or Diaz. Probably ends up meaning they’re going to be studs in the big leagues, and our farm system will still be ranked bottom 5.
Barber has been in the top 6 of Houston’s list on most sites for a couple years now so those writers I’m sure are aware of him. Whether or not they are digging deep enough to see that he warrants Top 100 consideration is the question. Diaz has been ranked a little bit lower but like Enmanuel Valdez since he’s in the upper levels he should start getting more attention. If by the end of the year he has stayed healthy and posted a 900+ ops in AAA he definitely should be in the Top 100 mix because at that point he would project to be a pretty special bat considering his age (and the potential for him to play C). But I would agree some of the prospect writers might not really be aware of how good he is.
The Astros are in a transition year. They have called up most of their last wave of prospects (Pena/Abreu/etc), traded them (Toro) or they haven't worked out (Whitley). Next year will be an important year for the system as there are a lot of guys like Barber and Leon that are at the sink or swim stage over the next 12-24 months. Also FWIW I have heard a lot of positive things about the Astros last international draft class.
I understand where you are coming from and I would give the benefit of the doubt to someone other than Whitley. We are talking about a pitcher that at 19 was dominating the minors and decided to change his delivery without even letting the Astros know.... and he changed his delivery after seeing Prior do the same thing and struggle and get hurt. Then he didn't come to camp in shape as he decided on the whim to get really thin, then to get heavy because he (and he alone) felt it would help his pitching. Now he is back to being thin. He is the only pitcher I know of that Strom has actually called out publicly for not being where he needs to be or doing what he is supposed to do. Then after all the injuries and failure, you would think that he would be humbled or would be receptive to input from the best organization in the world for pitchers - nope, he does an interview that is at best bizarre, and clearly made him look clueless. He is all knowing and great in his head and is too arrogant to be humbled. I will root for him because he is an Astro and he is very talented - but at this point I don't believe anything he says or trust anything he does.
Here’s how I would group the “prospect waves” in Houston’s system: 2022: Brown, Lee, Whitley*, Matijevic* 2023: Leon, Diaz, Barber, Perez*, Valdez*, Melendez, other arms in upper levels 2024: Gonzalez, Whitaker, Santos, other int’l arms in A ball 2025-2026: Lorenzo, Baez, Gomez, Gaston, top draft picks over the next few drafts Guys with asterisks would be in make or break years
I can say for sure that Keith Law knows who all three of them are. I have asked him about prospects and he knew who they are, where they came from and a few things about them. What I have argued with him about is that he and a lot of others make an evaluation of these guys before they are drafted and it is very hard for them to change their opinion short of them witnessing something amazing that sticks out when they see them in person. So as a result prospects on teams like the Astros and Rays and Cards tend to be overlooked, because they exceed expectations. The most recent classic example of this is Yordan Alvarez. I remember seeing him in the low minors. He was a massive man, but he didn't move like a typical stiff, he could run once he got going, he had a long body and hits like a young Carlos Lee. It was clear that he wasn't a plodder. Then I saw the amount of work he put in before the game and after the game. Then in the box he clearly had an approach, he didn't swing at balls and was setting up pitchers for later at bats. Then I learned that he wanted to be a doctor if he didn't play baseball and that he was taking English classes. Yeah his bat was a tad bit slow at that point, but not by much and it was clear he wasn't in the shape he was going to be in..... yet, no matter what Alvarez did in the minors (including opp field homers), Law still saw his as positionless or a first baseman with a slow bat. He insisted his profile wasn't that of a top prospect or future MLB player. He had an opinion for years based on a 5 minute watch of Alvarez and it didn't change. This is what he told someone (not me, although he is just as pig headed on text and the phone) "J: In terms of Yordan Alvarez’s ranking, to what extent is falling outside the top-100 about DH-probably? And to what extent is it that the bat just doesn’t look as good as the numbers do? Keith Law: Both. Body projects poorly long-term too." He never took into consideration the personality of Alvarez, the habits, his desire to play the field or how hard he works. He wrote off the fact that he was a real student of hitting or how ambitious he is. So THIS stuff happens a lot..... I don't want to overly pick on Keith (he is a very nice and good person) but these "experts" fall into habits and don't always keep up.
Give Oz Ocampo a multimillion dollar extension, feel great about the international prospects as long as he’s around.
