The Astros are “expected to call up top prospect Alex Bregman as early as this weekend,” reports Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link). Bregman, selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, has obliterated minor league pitching all season long and recently moved up to Triple-A without missing a beat. The 22-year-old is hitting .389/.421/.889 with five homers in eight Triple-A games and a combined .309/.416/.603 with 19 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A this season. The 22-year-old is a natural shortstop but has been playing third base as of late. As MLBTR’s Jason Martinez speculated yesterday in his latest Knocking Down The Door installment, Bregman could slot into third base for the Astros, with Luis Valbuena shifting across the diamond to first base and A.J. Reed moving into a platoon at DH with Evan Gattis. If he does indeed get the call this coming weekend, Bregman would be the first first-rounder from last year’s draft to make his MLB debut and could provide a jolt in the arm of an Astros club that has surged back into both the Wild Card and AL West race.
More from the West divisions…
- As Kenley Jansen hopes to get the opportunity to pitch in tonight’s All-Star Game, Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times looks a bit further into the future and writes that the Dodgers’ closer is in line for a record-setting payday relative to his relief-pitching peers. Multiple executives to whom McCullough has spoken consider Jonathan Papelbon’s current record — a four-year, $50MM contract — to be “the floor” for Jansen in the offseason. As McCullough notes, Jansen has better marks in ERA, WHIP, K/9 and K/BB ratio than either Papelbon or David Robertson had in their three-year platforms to free agency. We’re inclined to agree at MLBTR, as Tim Dierkes has noted throughout the year in his free-agent power rankings. Jansen has a legitimate case for five seasons on the free-agent market, and he shouldn’t have to sacrifice much in the way of average annual value to achieve that height. A guarantee in the vicinity of $70MM seems plausible for Jansen, who currently boasts a 1.16 ERA with 11.9 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 38 2/3 innings.
- Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman tells McCullough that his “hope and expectation” is that Jansen will be wearing a Dodgers uniform for a long time. McCullough notes, in fact, that the Dodgers could pursue both Jansen and Aroldis Chapman this winter, though that comment comes in seemingly speculative fashion.
- Drew Pomeranz, who just entered the All-Star Game in relief for the National League, wouldn’t have had a rotation job this spring at all if he hadn’t initiated a conversation with Padres manager Andy Green, writes MLB.com’s A.J. Cassavell. Pomeranz saw early in camp that he wasn’t in the same workout group with the team’s starting pitchers and made the bold move to go to his new manager and tell him that he’d been working on a third pitch and wanted a crack at the rotation. Pomeranz said that Green appreciated how straightforward he was and gave him a chance to earn that job. The rest, of course, is history, as Pomeranz is now the Padres’ best starter, having turned in a 2.47 ERA in just over 100 innings this season.
- There’s been “no sign so far” that the Rockies and manager Walt Weiss are discussing an extension, per Nick Groke and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post in their midseason Rockies podcast. Saunders notes that while Weiss is well-liked by his players overall, there are some within the clubhouse that wish he was a bit tougher and demanded more from his team. Weiss’ current contract runs through the end of the 2016 season. Groke is later joined by Benjamin Hochman from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the two discuss the possibility of the Rockies and Cardinals matching up on a trade for Charlie Blackmon.
Best of luck Bregman! You’ve been amazing so far!
That’ll be a great 2B, SS, 3B Combo for a long time if he can hit.
If Reed can put it together at the major league level, you’ve got one hell of an infield that is only comparable to/with the Cubs.
And the Giants. I mean they’re one of my least favorite teams but hard to overlook their infield
Although I still don’t think Matt Duffy is anything more than barely above average
Not to be a hater, but the Giants don’t belong anywhere near that conversation. They have one of the better defenses in baseball, great depth, and a strong rotation, but not one of the best infields. I’d say it’s a pretty well-rounded infield, but not a dangerous one.
Belt is a solid hitter, great eye, but well below-average power for a first baseman. He’s a stretch to hit 20 home runs. Matt Duffy? Let’s be real here…he’s an 18th round draft pick that never hit for power or walked much in the minors and benefitted from an extremely high BABIP and home run to fly ball ratio last year. The 2016 Matt Duffy is the real Matt Duffy. Joe Panik was great over two partial seasons, but he also had an insanely high BABIP for a guy with his speed. He’s still a solid player, but I wouldn’t expect much more than a .280/.330/.400 line going forward. Crawford has been excellent this year (.281/.353/.447), but over four full seasons prior to 2016, he slashed just .250/.315/.392. It’s hard to call it a breakout season when he’s 29. It’s more than likely due to the fact that his BABIP (.321) is way higher than his career mark (.294). He’s probably due for some regression.
Infields I’d rather have (offensively):
Rizzo/Zobrist/Russell/Bryant (+Baez) (+Happ) (+Torres)
Reed/Altuve/Correa/Bregman
Reynolds/LeMahieu/Story/Arenado (+Rodgers)
Gonzalez/Utley/Seager/Turner (+Bellinger) (+Johnson) (+Calhoun)
Cabrera/Kinsler/Iglesias/Castellanos
Lee/Cano/Marte/Seager
Adams/Wong/Diaz/Carpenter
Moreland/Odor/Andrus/Beltre (+Profar) (+Gallo)
I’m guessing that means Kemp gets sent back to A AA by the Astros. Marisnick is just too good a glove and PR to move. I still say he just needs regular at-bats…
Kemp has been down for almost 2 weeks. Danny Worth is the odd man out. He might end up designated for assignment actually as well.
What about the Giants they got 3 WS already
Well, Andy, you could have made that hope and expectation come true last winter.
Obviously as a stros fan, I pray that Bregman is that bat we have been missing to stay more consistent, and since AJ Reed broke that 0-16 debut slump, he’s actually showing signs of life!!
If those two guys can live up to there hype, and that’s a big “if” the stros infield would be sick!! Plus the al ALLSTAR snub springer!! This team should make a run at the division, as long as our pitching can hold up!! Will defiantly be an exciting second half of the season!!
Still dream of the wishing we had snagged kris Bryant, over that one guy lol!!
Great scouting, drafting, and player development by the Astros.