Astros general manager Dana Brown hasn't been shy early in his tenure in Houston to express his desire to see Houston's No. 1-ranked prospect Drew Gilbert in the big leagues. Gilbert, the center fielder taken by Houston in the first round of last year's MLB Draft out of Tennessee, is off to a quick start at the plate at High-A Asheville and could be headed to Texas sooner than later. Gilbert, 22, was slashing .345/.406/.621 with five doubles, three homers, eight RBIs and three stolen bases for Asheville through Friday's game, including a two-homer game Tuesday at Bowling Green. Don't be surprised to see the Astros fast-track Gilbert through the system, which could mean a promotion to Double-A Corpus Christi in the first half of the season. "That's absolutely out of my control," Gilbert said. "I don't make those decisions. My job is to get ready to play every single day no matter where I'm at and put my team in the best position to win I possibly can. Obviously, every player wants to get moved. You'd be lying if you said you didn't. I don't get to choose when that is. My job is to be on the field every single day and play to the best of my abilities." Gilbert has a little over 100 plate appearances under his belt in professional baseball. He played in only 10 games last year after dislocating his right elbow in a crash into the wall last Aug. 13 at Single-A Fayetteville, which only solidified his reputation as a hard-nosed player. The injury put him out for the rest of the season, but he returned to the field in the spring with his health problems behind him and is swinging the bat well to start the season. |
"It's been pretty solid start," he said. "Obviously, you're kind of constantly making adjustments. No matter what anyone says, a lot of people try to compare you in college to pro ball. It's an adjustment. I think it's kind of been a test of how quickly can I make those adjustments from a day-to-day basis. Even if I feel like I've started off pretty well, it's one of things where you play the next day, so no matter how good or bad you did the game before, you have to wash it and get ready for the next one." After striking out twice in each of his first two games of the season, Gilbert has yet to have another multiple strikeout game. He says he was chasing pitches out of the zone but has already made adjustments to be a more selective hitter. "That's kind of a big pet peeve of mine," he said of strikeouts. "Kind of just try to make those adjustments. I don't want to put limitations on myself, but I'm not the guy who's 6-5 and 240 and is going to hit balls 450 feet on a consistent basis. My game is to make solid contact, swing at strikes and not balls. I don't really like striking out." The day-to-day grind of professional baseball has also been an adjustment from college for Gilbert, who doesn't have to travel very far to be reminded of his University of Tennessee days. Knoxville, Tenn., is less than two hours from Asheville, so Gilbert has popped back to campus a few times to visit with his girlfriend. For now, he's focused on his routine, his job in Asheville and whatever -- and wherever -- the future holds. "Staying healthy is a big priority," he said. "Obviously, last year I got injured so I think coming into this year you can have [a] statistic goal and whatnot. It's not really something I'm too interested in. Just trying to get my body ready to play every single day." |
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Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubón's 20-game hitting streak ended Friday, when he went 0-for-4 in a 3-1 loss to the Phillies at Minute Maid Park. He's only the 15th player to have a hitting streak as long as 20 games with the Astros, and it was the club's longest since Hunter Pence's 23-game hitting streak in 2011. Dubón, filling in for the injured Jose Altuve, went 0-for-3 on Opening Day and proceeded to get a hit in the next 20 games, slashing .341/.367/.435 with six doubles and one triple during the streak. He struck out seven times and walked three times. The first person to greet him postgame Friday was Altuve, who gave him a consolatory hug. "The thing I liked about the whole streak was seeing the guys rooting for me," Dubón said. "Every step of the way, the guys were anxious for me to get a hit." Dubón's final at-bat Friday came against Phillies closer José Alvarado, who struck him out on four pitches. Alvarado was pitching at Minute Maid Park for the first time since he gave up a 450-foot, three-run homer to Yordan Alvarez in the sixth inning of Game 6 of last year's World Series that put the Astros ahead. "The thing that impressed me the most out of everything was Alvarez's home run last year," Dubón said. "I faced Alvarado today and it makes it more special just facing him. That's the first thing I told [Alvarez] when I got back, 'I don't know how the hell you did it.' It was a good run. I was joking with the guys [about] now I can get some walks." |
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THIS WEEK IN ASTROS HISTORY |
One day after Reds pitcher Jim Maloney no-hit the Astros on April 30, 1969, in a 10-0 win in Cincinnati, Astros pitcher Don Wilson returned the favor with a no-hitter against the Reds -- the second no-hitter of his career -- in a 4-0 win on May 1. It was the second time consecutive no-hitters had been thrown in the same series: Gaylord Perry of the Giants no-hit the Cardinals in on Sept. 17, 1968, and Ray Washburn of the Cardinals no-hit the Giants the following day. Nine days before no-hitting the Reds, Wilson was rocked for seven runs in five innings in a 14–0 loss to Cincinnati in the Astrodome. The Astros took exception to Reds pitcher Clay Carroll throwing a 3–2 curveball for a strikeout in the ninth inning, and Wilson called the Reds clubhouse and told catcher Johnny Bench he was going to hit him in the head the next time he faced him. During his no-hitter nine days later, Wilson indeed hit Bench with a pitch that glanced off his shoulder and struck him in the head. Bob Watson, who grew up with Wilson in California and was on the bench that night, said when Bench got to first base, he was asked by Astros first baseman Curt Blefary why he didn't charge the mound. "And he said, 'I'll take him deep sometime during this game,'" Watson recalled the conversation between Bench and Blefary. "That was the last base runner." |
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