Astros Top Three Left Field Prospects For 2018
We continue our look at the top three prospects at each position moving to the left field position this week.
Top Three Prospects By Position:
Catcher
First Base
Second Base
Third Base
Shortstop
1. Ronnie Dawson (A+)
Dawson was a 2nd round pick out of Ohio State in 2016. After dominating his junior year in college many expected him to be a fast mover in the system. Unfortunately, his 2017 season started very slow hitting just .217 with 5 HR in the 61 first half games (89 wRC+). He really turned it up in the second half though hitting .330 with 11 2B, 9 HR in 55 second half games (169 wRC+) with Quad Cities before being promoted to A+. He finished the season hitting .327 in 13 High-A games and a combined 128 wRC+ overall. Overall he had a solid 10.5 BB% and added 18 stolen bases. It turned out to be a very good first full season for Dawson.
2017 Stats: 129 G, .278 BA/.363 OBP/.437 SLG, 26 2B, 5 3B, 14 HR, 67 RBI, 18 SB, 59 BB/110 SO
2. J.J. Matijevic (A)
The Astros selected Matijevic 75th overall (2nd round) in the 2017 draft. Matijevic destroyed the Pac12 during his junior season hitting .383 with 30 2B, 10 HR, 65 RBI for the University of Arizona. The only problem was scouts weren’t sure where he would end up in the field with the two options being second base of left field. After the draft he was assigned to Tri-City where he hit .240 with 6 HR (108 wRC+). He was eventually promoted to Quad Cities and played in 6 games there. Overall his 27.8 K% with a 98 wRC+. He still has a ton of upside with the bat and will be a guy to keep an eye on next season.
2017 Stats: 59 G, .228 BA/.290 OBP/.384 SLG, 14 2B, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 11 SB, 19 BB/69 SO
3. Jon Kemmer (AAA)
Kemmer has been a late round steal for the Astros after being drafted in the 21st round of the 2013 draft. Kemmer has hit at every stop in the minors making it all the way up to AAA. In 2017 he repeated AAA but made huge improvements in every category. Overall he hit .299 with .932 OPS and 16 HR in 87 games. Unfortunately, he missed the end of the season due to an injury. He finished the season with a 142 wRC+ which was just 5 points shy of Derek Fisher. The only knock on Kemmer now is his age as he is already 27 years old.
2017 Stats: 87 G, .299 BA/.399 OBP/.533 SLG, 17 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 6 SB, 44 BB/95 SO
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**Photo Credit: Richard Guill**
