In his second professional season, Shay Whitcomb hit a lull in terms of performance. The Houston Astros assigned the 2020 fifth-round pick to Double-A Corpus Christi, where consistency and success didn’t align. Whitcomb started his minor-league career with an Organization All-Star performance in 2021, but the following season brought perspective, one that he never experienced before.
Through four months, he slashed career lows: .199/.269/.345 with 128 strikeouts. In relation to his breakout season of 2021, his OPS held a difference of .279. He fought the struggles of dealing with failure and coping with unsuccessful at-bats. Whitcomb felt some of his mechanics were exposed, getting away with smaller mistakes more commonly in High-A and Single-A.
But just as nothing fell in his favor offensively, August rolled around. Through 24 games on the month, he hit .297 with a .973 OPS, reaching similar numbers that pushed him into top-prospect rankings a year prior.
“It was super essential for me to go through something like that to learn and detect maybe some things that need to change in my swing and my mindset,” Whitcomb said. “That last month and a half of last year’s season was the point in time where it started to come together for me.”
Whitcomb made his way to a new league, one many say will make or break prospects. The Texas League opened Whitcomb’s eyes for what the 2023 season held for him. Time is what he needed, and the Astros gave him it. They let Whitcomb find his footing and adapt to his situation.
“One of my strengths is being able to self diagnose and then adapt,” Whitcomb said. “That was a cool time when I was able to get to do that in an extreme situation.”
Whitcomb didn’t take time off last offseason. He knew the task at hand, grinding out the next five months in preparation for his third spring training. In the back of his mind, an invite to major-league camp was the ultimate goal, but it never came.
That didn’t discourage Whitcomb though. He took an early invite to minor-league camp, working alongside players in attendance for major-league spring training. On top of his offseason work, Whitcomb took advantage of being around experienced hitters and fielders, picking the minds of players one and two levels above him.
“That was an exceptional experience to be around those big leaguers,” Whitcomb said. “Just taking in the environment and then relate it to the experiences that I had the year before in Double-A and be like, ‘Oh, I can handle this.'”
Before the 2023 Grapefruit League, Whitcomb had never played in a major-league spring training game. The Astros gave him 12 opportunities to see action this past spring, though, granting him 25 plate appearances and 51 innings between second base and shortstop.
Whitcomb turned a long offseason and into a hot start in his second trip through Double-A. The righty slashed .273/.340/.545 with 12 home runs and 12 doubles, driving in 36 runs in 46 games.
On June 5, a roster opened in Sugar Land with Grae Kessinger bring promoted to the big leagues. Whitcomb followed the footsteps of his former teammate, receiving an assignment to the Space Cowboys the following day.
“It’s been good actually to be able to come up here and have some familiarity from last year, having a familiar face and having a familiar style that I’m used to and comfortable with,” Whitcomb said after being reunited with hitting coach Aaron Westlake. “That’s been huge for me to be able to assimilate.”
Whitcomb hasn’t noticed much of a difference in Triple-A from Double-A. The same lessons and cues that drew favorable outcomes in Corpus Christi have translated similar success in Sugar Land. Through 19 games, Whitcomb is slashing .329/.386/.645 with eight home runs.
His 20 home runs on the season lead all Astros minor leaguers. Entering Wednesday, he trailed only Jo Adell and Trey Cabbage by one for the most among all minor leaguers. Whitcomb wants to continue this consistency as the Minor League Baseball season hits its halfway point.
“It’s always just a balance between finding the mental and physical side of the game and not letting it affect you,” Whitcomb said.
Whitcomb has stretched to second base and third base in addition to playing his natural position of shortstop. In a season of dwindling numbers at the plate in 2022, he transformed his game in the field.
“I need to hang my hat somewhere,” Whitcomb said. “Last year was actually huge for me in terms of developing my defensive skill and another reason why me struggling last year was totally okay for me, because it was able to allow me to work on other areas of my game while developing and adjusting to hitting.”
Minor league infield coordinator Mike Ramazzotti is a familiar face to Whitcomb. The two were at UC San Diego together for one season, when Ramazzotti was the infield coach. Ramazzotti believed then Whitcomb separated himself defensively from other infielders.
“He understands more so like wanting to turn himself into a pro like the extra work,” Ramazzotti said. “He’s had a stronger plan going into the offseason, being a little more intentional about getting his ground balls. … In offseason development, some guys take defense for granted.”
Whitcomb credited conversations about defense with Kessinger to his development last season, Ramazzotti said. Entering spring training, he was a more polished fielder, showing more confidence in his reads and his skill set. With both aspects of Whitcomb’s game clicking, he has found his most successful stride in his professional career.
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