Looking Forward To 2017
The 2016 year is over but it brought us many great things. Let’s take a quick look at a few notables and what to expect. This won’t be your typical rundown of the year, just a few things I would like to note.
Breakout Prospects
It seems every year, particularly in the Astros system, there are breakout prospects. 2016 was no different as the Astros handful a handful of guys really put their names on the map. Garrett Stubbs (catcher) was drafted in 2015 and had a great season between Lancaster and Corpus Christi. He is solid defensively but made huge strides with the bat. Ramon Laureano (outfielder) and Drew Ferguson (outfielder) both split time between Lancaster and Corpus Christi and had phenomenal seasons. Both hit about .300 with an OPS above .950. Both also had 15+ HR and 30+ SB.
There were an equal number of breakouts on the pitching side. Rogelio Armenteros made his name leading the Astros minor league system in strikeouts (140 K in 127.1 IP) while pitching across three different levels. He finished strong with a 1.96 ERA in Corpus Christi. Franklin Perez and Francis Martes both improved their stocks with very good seasons. There should be a few more guys who “breakout” in 2017.
Corpus Christi
As you can tell from above, Corpus Christi continues to be a team funneling talent up to the Astros. Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernandez, Joe Musgrove all started with Corpus this year and made their way to Houston after dominating in the Texas League. The Hooks dominated the regular season, though were knocked out of the playoffs.
With Corpus Christi just being a few hours south of Houston, it’s a perfect spot for the Astros top prospects to be at. Springer, Correa, Altuve and many more have spent a substantial amount of time there over the last few years. I expect 2017 to be no different.
Astros 2016 Season
The Astros 2016 season didn’t go as expected but there are many reasons why fans should be excited for 2017. We saw the Astros top prospect, Alex Bregman, come up and dominate after a slow start. I expect huge things from him in 2017. The Astros also got contributions from Musgrove and McCullers, both of which can improve in 2017 and be mainstays in the rotation.
The Astros signed Yulieski Gurriel, one of the best players in Cuba, and he debuted this summer. With an off-season of MLB preparation, he should be ready to be a standout in 2017. Altuve had his best season of his career, Correa proved to be a middle of the order bat (he is only 22 years old), Springer stayed healthy and played in all 162 games. The Astros have acquired McCann, Reddick, and Beltran to go along with the existing pieces. So much to look forward to in 2017.
AstrosFuture.com
I created this website in 2016. In debuted in late March, right before the start of the season. It was a great year and thank you to everyone who has read and shared our articles. I’m glad we are able to cover the Astros minor league system while still mixing in some Astros coverage too. This season was fun on the site, there was always something to do. I know I am looking forward to the 2017 season and I am sure the other writers are too. So thank you to everyone and Happy New Year!
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**Photo Credit: Tammy Tucker**
