Astros MiLB Position Review: Third Base
Now that the season is over we will review each position in the minor league system. This week we move on to the third base position.
Here are the previous position reviews:
Catcher
First Base
Second Base
TOP PERFORMERS
J.D. Davis
Davis has been in the Astros system since 2013 and put together his best minor league performance this season. He played in 85 AAA games and hit .342 with 17 HR, 81 RBI and a 156 wRC+. He spent some time in Houston hitting just .175 in 42 games. He will be 26 next year and hopefully can put together a breakout season at the MLB level.
2018 Stats: 85 G, .342 BA/.406 OBP/.583 SLG, 25 2B, 17 HR, 81 RBI, 36 BB/69 SO
Abraham Toro
Toro was drafted by the Astros in the 5th round of the 2016 draft. He made his full season debut in 2017 and made it up to AA in 2018. He started the 2018 season with Buies Creek where he hit .257 with .884 OPS and 20 2B, 14 HR in 83 games. He was promoted to Corpus Christi and hit just .230, but he did hit .296 over his final 20 games. Overall he had a 119 wRC+ with a solid 11.3 BB%.
2018 Stats: 133 G, .247 BA/.345 OBP/.435 SLG, 35 2B, 16 HR, 78 RBI, 62 BB/108 SO
Randy Cesar
Cesar is no longer in the Astros system (signed with Minnesota) but had a solid year. He made headlines setting a Texas League Record hit streak at 42 games. Overall he hit .296 and had 25 2B and 10 HR good for a 113 wRC+.
2018 Stats: 116 G, .296 BA/.348 OBP/.428 SLG, 25 2B, 10 HR, 62 RBI, 36 BB/112 SO
Nick Tanielu
Tanielu had steadily made his way through the system hitting at every level. He has flown under the radar but some due to him missing the majority of the 2017 season due to injury. In 2018 he played at AA and AAA hitting .288 over 105 games. He also struck out just 50 times this season.
2018 Stats: 105 G, .288 BA/.336 OBP/.418 SLG, 22 2B, 9 HR, 59 RBI, 28 BB/50 SO
THE REST OF THE PACK
Enmanuel Valdez
Valdez played more second base in the past but in 2018 he played 39 of his 60 games in the field at third base. Valdez played this year in the NYPL at just 19 years old. He held his own posting a .731 OPS over 63 games. He showed some power with 16 2B and 8 HR while also stealing 11 bases. Overall he had a 116 wRC+.
2018 Stats: 63 G, .244 BA/.311 OBP/.420 SLG, 16 2B, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 11 SB, 22 BB/53 SO
Colton Shaver
Shaver was just drafted in 2017 in the 39th round out of BYU. He showed off some power in 2018 hitting 19 2B and 16 HR in 107 games. Overall he had a 105 wRC+ with a 9.5 BB%.
2018 Stats: 107 G, .223 BA/.312 OBP/.412 SLG, 19 2B, 16 HR, 55 RBI, 40 BB/91 SO
2019 OUTLOOK/CONCLUSION
While there isn’t a high upside prospect at the third base position, the Astros have built some solid depth with Davis, Toro, Tanielu. Valdez has quite a bit of upside but he is still a ways away. Toro could be a guy who really jumps in the rankings if he had a good 2019 season.
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**Photo Credit: Tammy Tucker**
