The Astros have selected the contract of outfielder Myles Straw from Triple-A Fresno, as the team announced via Twitter. Right-hander Jandel Gustave (who is still recovering from Tommy John surgery) was moved to the 60-day DL in order to create space for Straw on the 40-man roster.
A 12th-round pick in the 2015 draft, Straw will be making his Major League debut as a specialist on the Astros roster, as The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (Twitter link) suggests that Straw will be primarily used as a pinch-running specialist. Straw’s base-stealing ability has been his calling card over his brief pro career, particularly this season, as he has a whopping 70 steals (out of 79 chances) over a combined 131 games at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. All told, Straw has been successful in 151 of his 190 stolen base chances in his minor league career.
Beyond his speed, Straw also has a .302/.394/.376 slash line over 1830 PA in the minors, though he has only managed to hit .257/.349/.317 over 304 plate appearances for Fresno this season, which represents his first taste of Triple-A action. MLB.com ranks Straw as the 14th-best prospect in the deep Astros system, citing a strong throwing arm and good center field defense to go along with his “plus-plus speed.” His lack of power and “an extreme opposite field approach” make Straw’s future as a consistent big league hitter questionable, though for now, his bat won’t be much of a concern to a Houston team eyeing him as a potential base-stealing threat for the postseason roster.
