Houston Astros Top Three First Base Prospects For 2019
Now that 2019 is here, it is time to start looking at the top three prospects at each position as we lead up to the Astros top 30 prospect list. This week I will look at the first base position.
Top 3 Prospects By Position:
1. Seth Beer (A+)
Beer was the Astros first round pick in 2018, but some people wondered how he would do with a wood bat. He put up numbers early proving them wrong so far. Beer started with Tri-City and had a 1.090 OPS in 11 games before being promoted to Quad Cities. There he had a .934 OPS in 29 games. He finished the season with Buies Creek posting a .746 OPS in 27 games. Through all three levels he had a 155 wRC+ and had just a 16.6 K%. Beer has an intriguing combination of power and patience and should see his bat carry him through the system. Beer played more games in left than first base in 2019 but ultimately I see him ending up as a DH/1B. Here is another read on Beer.
2018 Stats: 67 G, .304 BA/.389 OBP/.496 SLG, 14 2B, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 25 BB/49 SO
2. Taylor Jones (AAA)
Jones was drafted by the Astros in the 19th round of the 2016 draft. He really didn’t do much during his first two seasons in the minors hitting just .231 with 15 HR in 175 games. He had a breakout 2018 season though. He started the year in Corpus Christi and hit .323 with 21 2B, 12 HR, 53 RBI in 69 games before moving to AAA. He only hit .210 in AAA but did have 5 HR and 17 RBI in 39 games. Overall he hit .281 with 32 2B, 18 HR, 80 RBI with a 130 wRC+. Jones will have to prove that 2018 wasn’t a fluke and do so in AAA but he showed enough that he is worth keeping an eye on.
2018 Stats: 123 G, .281 BA/.374 OBP/.480 SLG, 32 2B, 18 HR, 80 RBI, 2 SB, 61 BB/124 SO
3. Jake Adams (A+)
Adams was the Astros 6th round pick in the 2017 draft. Adams started the 2018 season with Quad Cities and .277 with .864 OPS and 21 XBH in 48 games. This was good for a 139 wRC+. He was promoted to Buies Creek where he hit just .222 but had a fairly low BABIP and still managed a 91 wRC+. Overall he batted .247 and had 15 HR. He still has upside left and cut down on his strikeouts big time, which is a good sign moving forward. While the numbers weren’t great, he showed improvements in 2018.
2018 Stats: 111 G, .247 BA/.322 OBP/.430 SLG, 23 2B, 15 HR, 54 RBI, 41 BB/113 SO
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**Photo Credit: Joe Dwyer**
