Tri-City ValleyCats Player Profile: Stephen Wrenn
If there ever was a case of “You better come see this guy before he’s gone”, it would have to be about ValleyCats outfielder Stephen Wrenn. The Georgia native is certainly making a name for himself in the New York-Penn League in his first professional season.
Wrenn, the son of former Cleveland Indians prospect Stephen Wrenn, was originally selected in the 28th round of the 2013 draft by the Atlanta Braves out of high school. Deciding not to sign, Wrenn headed off to the University of Georgia. He became the Bulldogs starting center fielder as a Freshman and was one of the only Freshman that consistently started for the team. Scouts did have early concerns about his power, but looked to have answered them during his Sophomore season. He reiterated that in the summer of 2015 in the Cape Cod League where he belted five home runs to add to the eight he hit at Georgia. All signs were pointing to another season of the same or more his Junior year, but instead there was a slight decline.
His batting average and home runs decreased and his strikeouts increased which forced Georgia to drop him in their lineup. All of those were factors in his draft stock taking a hit according to his scouting report on Baseball America. None of that seemed to matter to the Astros, as they decided to make him their sixth round pick (187th overall) in this years draft.
After signing a contract in the middle of June, the Astros assigned Wrenn to the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League. What has he done to repay Houston and the $257,000 signing bonus? Perform and perform well.
So far in his first professional season, Wrenn’s hitting line is .342/.427/.737/1.164 prior to Wednesday night’s game. The batting average is good for eighth in the league, while his slugging percentage and OPS are tops in the NYPL. To go along with those numbers, Wrenn has belted a league-leading seven home runs while driving in 21 which also leads the league.
If that isn’t enough, Wrenn has at least one hit in 16 of the 19 ValleyCats games this season he’s played in, 9 of which were multi-hit games. He has reached base safely in every game and is currently enjoying a seven-game hitting streak. It should also be mentioned that he has driven in at least one run in eight of his last nine games.
If Wrenn continues to produce in the fashion that he is, he could easily be considered a steal in this years draft. It is certainly very early into his career, but he is definitely a player to keep an eye on.
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**Photo Credit: John Ginder**
