2:15pm: The Astros have now announced the move. Reddick has indeed been placed on the 7-day concussion DL, while right-hander Jandel Gustave moves from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL to clear a spot for the selection of Fisher’s contract to the 40-man roster.
8:40am: The Astros are calling up top outfield prospect Derek Fisher, as first reported by Jason Bristol of KHOU 11 News in Houston (Twitter link). Houston GM Jeff Luhnow suggested just yesterday that Fisher would factor into the team’s 2017 plans, telling reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Christian Boutwell), “To me, Derek Fisher is ready.” Fisher is not yet on the 40-man roster, so the Astros will need to make a move to accommodate his promotion.
[Related: Houston Astros depth chart]
Fisher, 23, entered the season as MLB.com’s No. 83 overall prospect and currently sits 72nd on their top 100 list. He’s spent the year with Triple-A Fresno, where he’s mashed at a .335/.401/.608 clip, slugging 16 homers and 19 doubles while also picking up 13 stolen bases. He’s been caught 10 times as well, however, so his efficiency on the basepaths remains a work in progress. After punching out in 27 percent of his minor league plate appearances last season, Fisher is striking out at a more manageable 19 percent rate in 2017.
From a defensive standpoint, Fisher has spent most of his time in center field as a minor leaguer, though MLB.com’s report suggests that he’s an “iffy” defender there despite plus speed due to a “lack of instincts.” He’s also logged more than 1000 innings, combined, between the outfield corners, so manager A.J. Hinch could utilize him in a number of ways.
It’s not known at this time whether Fisher’s promotion will be abbreviated in nature or whether he’s receiving a long-term look in the outfield. It’s worth noting, though, that Josh Reddick recently suffered a “mild concussion,” so Fisher could be stepping into his spot on a short-term basis. Then again, left fielder Nori Aoki has posted a lackluster .273/.320/.338 batting line through 154 plate appearances this season, and Fisher could very well be viewed as a candidate to give Houston some more offensive output out of that spot in the lineup.
Yes!!! Great move by Luhnow! He’s more than ready and this will at least give a temporary burst of excitement within the fanbase and clubhouse. We need something to give us a jolt.
I’m with you on it being cool to see him make the trip to the show, but being 44-22 isn’t exciting? We need a burst of excitement? Losing a few games sucks, but it’s not like that’s our new normal is sliding back down a hill.
Soon, it’ll be a need to be GIVEN Chris Sale and Mike Trout, otherwise we’ll be so sad and sour.
Seriously though, think about 2012-13 vs. now. The fact that I can be snarky about this in itself is pretty awesome.
I gotcha, but with our top 4 pitchers on the shelf the drought is going to last longer and there will be an extended slide. That can kill morale even if our record is solid. We can endure because our record is solid. Heck we can lose 20 straight and our record won’t be bad, but our team will be dead. An infusion of talent like a top performing rookie coming up can help avoid a possible break in morale.
I’m a huge fan, probably like you, but we need to maintain to keep all of those bandwagon fans interested. I hate bandwagon fans, but they are needed by every team to fill stadiums and add excitement.
The Astros are the #3 team in the city by a significant margin and we still need to win everyone back after the dark days from 4 years ago. I’m not all doom and gloom, but I listen to others and they are and I want to avoid hearing that. More losses? Fine, but I just want to avoid losing 4 of 5 and time like that.
A jolt for fans? Best record in baseball and the stadium is 1/3 empty on every night except Friday and Saturday, in Houston, the fourth largest city in America.
If calling up a prospect to the best team in baseball is a much needed jolt for fans those fans are helpless.
Great move?
Today, in “no ish, Sherlock” news:
“To me, Derek Fisher is ready,” he said of a guy slashing .335/.401/.608/1.010 at AAA.
He’s mostly trade bait, but damn, he’s primo trade bait.
Really wanted him as part of a Quintana deal this winter.
That deal could still happen if Derek Fisher is being promoted with the idea of showcasing him before the non-waiver trade deadline. Same goes with recently promoted top pitching prospect Francis Martes who the White Sox reportedly did seek in trade discussions involving Jose Quintana this past offseason.
Of course, any showcase of top prospects could very well involve other MLB teams looking to match up with the Astros in a trade involving a quality and controllable starting pitcher. The Pirates Gerrit Cole would be another strong possibility, perhaps one Houston might prefer over “Q”.
why would a cost controlled, good outfielder on a young team with an outfield need and a huge competitive window be trade bait? so they can shorten their window by trading current and future value for (arguably) more current value?
How exactly do you know he is a good outfielder?
They have springer and reddick under contract for a bit still, Tucker is the supposed future of Houston’s OF. Their need at SP far outweighs their need in the outfield.
Aoki got his 2000 hits now hit the road.
2000 hits? Is that NPB and MLB combined? I didn’t even realize that was a thing. But yeah, Aoki isn’t really any good. He’s a singles hitter who hits everything on the ground, hits into a lot of double plays, and is a bad defensive outfielder. Fisher is probably being auditioned for a trade, especially if the Astros keep treading water.
According to DRS, Aoki has the #1 arm in the majors, so he’s not a “bad defensive outfielder”.
Manny Ramirez led the league in outfield assists one year. When everyone runs on you that happens.
No way aoki has the strongest arm. Puig, cespedes, harper , reddick are just a few off the top that have absolute cannons. Aoki may be accurate but that doesent make your arm the best
Outfield assists have very little to do with arm strength.
Derek Fisher, from the Lakers to the Astros, what a feat!
You forgot about the Knicks, Frankie… just like Fisher and every Knicks fan would like to.
Can’t wait to see the Derek Fisher-Matt Barnes re-match when the Astros play the Red Sox!!
Excellent.
Hah
I hear that Big Shot Rob is the player to keep an eye on to snipe another roster spot out of nowhere.
If he proves to be a crazy valuable asset for the next month and a half, does Luhnow keep him and offer up Tucker in his stead? I can’t see us not going for a big name at the deadline. We don’t even know who will be available yet, but it’s going to get really interesting.
I think tucker has more upside
Yeah baby tucker has more upside but isn’t ready. He probably is traded at the dead line with the Houston OF to consist of reddick, springer and fisher for a while
Great question and will likely depend on who we’re talking to. I really want us to keep Tucker, but Fisher is impressive this season. Just make sure to keep one.
Derek Fisher was in the Vince Velasquez deal, but some genius in the Phillies organization decided they would rather have Mark Appell and then included a teenage Phillies SS prospect in the deal to get Appell who was a bust then and now is a confirmed bust.
This makes that trade look even worse! But its not like the Phils need offense, right?
And Jonathan Arauz the SS that we got, after he Appel amendment, isn’t too bad and looking good in the minors. Luhnow is sneaky with those under the radar last piece of the trade players. See: Francis Martes
Aoki’s stats are lackluster? Better than plenty of other outfielders.
He’s 229th of 244 hitters (min. 150 PAs) in slugging percentage and tied for 200th in wRC+.
Ah, the love for power. I’m more of a get-guys-on-base-keep-things-moving kind of fan. I’m curious, what kind of strikeout rate does he have?
He doesn’t walk or strikeout much at all. He puts the ball in play too much, actually. He’s on pace to hit into 20+ double plays this year, which is unacceptable for a guy who doesn’t hit for power or steal bases effectively.
A singles-hitting outfielder with negative baserunning value doesn’t have much use unless he has great defense, which obviously Aoki does not. And by the way a .320 OBP is not very impressive for a corner outfielder. It’s actually below-average.
bfy.tw/CMjD
mediocre speed + mediocre obp + non existent power = lackluster performance
Strikeout rate isn’t relevant if your obp is .320 and your slugging is the same. Nori doesn’t “keep it moving” he was always a place holder for fisher in the first place.
Brady Rodgers should be heading to the 60 Day DL and Reddick to 7 Day DL.
Rodgers won’t go to the 60 day DL because he would have to be promoted to the MLB squad and receive MLB pay. It would also start his MLB service time which the Astros don’t want to do for a player out all year due to injury.
Thanks for the info.
I love this move. In the last week, the Astros haven’t been scoring enough runs.
The Astros will need to decide who’s more valuable Aoki or Jon Kemmer. One of them is going to get DFA’d.
Kemmer is not on the 40 man.
I thought he was.
Kemmer. I like Aoki, but Aokis aren’t hard to find out there and aren’t too expensive if we need one down the line. Not saying Kemmer is God, but cheap prospects usually hold more weight.
Do the Astros DFA someone off of their 40-man roster to make room for Derek Fisher? They also have the option to move one more player from their 10-day disabled list to the 60 day one in order to accommodate their young OF.
Btw-A quickly constructed trade might be another possibility, something that may also result once a DFA is instituted.
The promotion of Derek Fisher 6 weeks ahead of the non-waiver trade deadline might also be for the purpose of showcasing him to potential trade partners in order to help facilitate the acquisition of a quality and controllable starting pitcher for the Astros this summer. The recent promotion of top pitching prospect Francis Martes might also been done with that objective in mind.
They could literally put the entire Fresno grizzlies team into the American League West and they would be competitive
And there would still be some Mariners fan talking about “just wait until our #4 starter is healthy!”
This guy’s so good, he makes people forget about the other Derek Fisher in the other sport.