With the season is over we will review each position in the minor league system during the 2024 season. This week we will look at the second base position. I will focus on players who played majority of their games at this position, though they could end up on multiple lists.
Previous Position Reviews:
TOP PERFORMERS
Jesus Bastidas
Bastidas was signed to a minor league deal last off-season and turned out to be a nice move. The infielder hit .242 with 25 home runs, 89 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases over 132 games in Triple-A. He also led the Sugar Land in doubles. He played all over the infield but the majority of the time he was at second base. Bastidas helped Sugar Land to their first Triple-A Championship.
2024 Stats: 132 G, .242 BA/.337 OBP/.448 SLG, 31 2B, 3B, 25 HR, 89 RBI, 15 SB
Alejandro Nunez
Nunez was signed out of Cuba as an undrafted free agent, and after a good couple of seasons in rookie ball, he made his full-season debut and was solid. In 92 games in Single-A, the 20-year-old hit .256 with 17 doubles, 4 home runs, 18 stolen bases and a .708 OPS. He finished off the year in High-A and figures to be part of the Asheville team in 2025.
2024 Stats: 104 G, .248 BA/.333 OBP/.355 SLG, 18 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 32 RBI, 18 SB
Narbe Cruz
Cruz has been in the system since 2021 and put together a really nice season in 2024. The infielder played most of the season in High-A and hit .271 with .771 OPS in 77 games. He earned a late season promotion to Double-A where he hit .353 with 4 runs batted in over the final 5 games. He should start the season in Corpus Christi in 2025.
2024 Stats: 82 G, .275 BA/.353 OBP/.423 SLG, 16 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 40 RBI, 7 SB
THE REST OF THE PACK
Pascanel Ferreras
Ferreras was the last pick of the draft in 2023 and started out the year on fire in High-A hitting .309 with 3 home runs, 12 runs batted in and a .867 OPS over 21 games. He was promoted to Double-A where he struggled a bit hitting .201 with a .627 OPS over 88 games. He did lead the team in triples though, connecting on 6 of them.
2024 Stats: 109 G, .223 BA/.319 OBP/.357 SLG, 14 2B, 6 3B, 9 HR, 42 RBI, 10 SB
Jeremy Arocho
Arocho was another off-season signing that did some good things in 2024. While he doesn’t pack much power, just 1 homer in 109 games, he stole 34 bases for the Hooks. Overall he hit .214 but had 66 BB/79 strikeouts and was solid defensively committing just 4 errors in 438.1 innings at second base.
2024 Stats: 109 G, .214 BA/.334 OBP/.260 SLG, 8 2B, 3 3B, HR, 34 RBI, 34 SB
Sandro Pereira
Pereira is an undersized second baseman out of Venezuela… heard this before… while he doesn’t have much power, Pereira hit the ball well batting .331 in 44 games in the DSL. He also drove in 18 runs and stole 8 bases. He played the season at just 18-years-old and should be stateside in 2025.
2024 Stats: 44 G, .331 BA/.464 OBP/.400 SLG, 7 2B, 3B, 18 RBI, 8 SB
2025 OUTLOOK/CONCLUSION
Second base is clearly taken care of at the major league level with future hall of famer Jose Altuve. Looking at the list here, there are depth options but not much in the way of upside. Though there are probably some guys playing shortstop that can end up at second base at the next level. The Astros are still in a good spot in 2025.
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