The promotion of infielder Grae Kessinger to the big leagues earlier this month ended up benefitting infield prospect Shay Whitcomb, who was promoted from Double-A Corpus Christi to Triple-A Sugar Land to replace Kessinger on the Space Cowboys' roster. Whitcomb has made the most of his opportunity at Sugar Land, slashing .361/.425/.778 with five homers and 12 RBIs in his first nine games. That comes on the heels of a solid 46-game stretch at Double-A in which he slashed .273/.340/.545 with 12 doubles, 12 homers and 36 RBIs in 46 games for the Hooks. Whitcomb, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound middle infielder, was selected in the fifth round in 2020 MLB Draft out of Division II University of California at San Diego. He was the final pick (160th) of the Draft, which was shortened to five rounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But he's been anything but irrelevant. "I think it's a credit to just the team and the staff in terms of all the guys [being] super great and super welcoming and fun to be around -- a fun group of guys," Whitcomb said of his time in Sugar Land. "This is the first time, obviously, I've had Mickey [Storey] as a manager and I've worked with [hitting coach Aaron] Westlake a little bit. The combination of just all the added wisdom and the good environment, it's been great and a lot of fun to play." |
Whitcomb's 17 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A were tied for the second most long balls in the Minors entering Friday, trailing four players who have hit 18 (Jo Adell, Luken Baker, Trey Cabbage and Hunter Goodman). Whitcomb was also leading the Astros' organization in home runs, RBIs (48), extra-base hits (29) and total bases (124). He was second in runs scored (45), tied for second in hits (61) and third in slugging (.585). "One big thing for me has been discipline," Whitcomb said. "Swing decisions, kind of like narrowing down an approach, is something the staff has really helped me with a lot in terms of just learning what I want to do in certain at-bats, how I go about doing that and what is my approach in that situation. I think learning that mental side of the game has really helped me narrow down my swing decision and swing at the right pitches." Whitcomb, who is outside the Astros' Top 30 prospect list, was promoted at the same time as outfielder Quincy Hamilton, the team's No. 22 prospect, who's also been tearing it up in the Pacific Coast League, with five homers in his first seven Triple-A hits. Whitcomb and Hamilton and rooming together in Sugar Land. "It's super cool to see the two Corpus guys come up and have some success," Whitcomb said. |
If you're a middle infielder in the Astros' system, reaching the big leagues is difficult, since Jose Altuve is entrenched at second base and World Series Most Valuable Player Jeremy Peña is a lock at shortstop. Still, there was an opportunity for Kessinger in Houston, and Whitcomb is making the most of his chance in Sugar Land. "I've been really happy with the results so far," Whitcomb said. "I want to stay on that path and remain the same guy, unchanged whether the future holds success or failure. I just want to be consistent in who I am and my preparation each day." |
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The Astros plugged Ronel Blanco back into their starting rotation for Sunday's series finale against the Reds, pushing rookie right-hander Hunter Brown back one day (he'll start Monday's game against the Mets). Brown has thrown 75 1/3 innings in 13 starts this year, putting him on pace to smash his previous career record of 130 innings pitched last year (106 frames at Triple-A and 24 with the Astros, including the playoffs). "There are ways that we can minimize some of the innings," Astros general manager Dana Brown said. "Which is what we're going to plan to do. But he looks really healthy. I mean, he's throwing up to 97 [mph] and it looks like he's going to be able to post as a workhorse. So hopefully he can continue that and we'll monitor the innings as we continue to move forward." At Dana Brown's urging, the Astros began the transition of making Blanco into a starter in Spring Training. Blanco has made two starts after throwing nine times in relief to open the season. His start on Sunday will come on 10 days of rest. Blanco held the Blue Jays to two runs and three hits over six innings in his most recent start on June 7. |
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| TRIVIA Which one of these Astros closers didn't get at least 40 saves in a single season while with Houston? A) Ryan Pressly B) Billy Wagner C) Jose Valverde D) Brad Lidge |
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When the Astros and Reds meet on Saturday at Minute Maid Park, it will be the 850th career game between the two clubs, who were in the same division for years in the National League West and National League Central before the Astros moved to the American League in 2013. In fact, Houston has played Cincinnati more than any other team in its history (the Giants are second with 735 games and Dodgers rank third with 722). Entering Saturday, the Astros are 402-446-1 all-time against the Reds. That's right, the teams had a tie. It came in a rain-shortened game on June 30, 2005, in Cincinnati that was called after seven innings and was made up in its entirety as a doubleheader two days later. All stats from the tie game counted. "It's definitely one of these things that makes absolutely no sense in baseball," then-Astros second baseman Craig Biggio told reporters that day. "You play seven full innings, and nothing counts except your stats, and you have to start all over again. Why not just pick up on Saturday?" Since their final year in the NL in 2012, the Astros are 7-18 against the Reds (entering Saturday). Cincinnati was the only team to sweep Houston during its club-record 107-win season in '19. The Reds won three consecutive one-run games from June 17-19 at Great American Ball Park. |
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TRIVIA ANSWER A) Ryan Pressly Pressly's career high was 33 saves last year. Valverde (44 saves in 2008), Wagner (44 in 2003) and Lidge (42 in 2005) are the only Astros pitchers to reach 40 saves in a season. |
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