Houston Astros Position Review: Shortstop

Houston Astros Position Review: Shortstop

It seems as long as I can remember, the Astros have had trouble finding a shortstop to be a mainstay in the lineup for years. 2014 was no different, with the Astros getting few contributions from several different players. Let’s take a look at how they did.

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Click here for our review on the second base position

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Jonathan Villar

Acquired in the Roy Oswalt trade in 2010, Villar came over with a high ceiling. He put up some impressive numbers in the minor league system eventually leading to a call-up at the end of 2013. In 2013 he played in 58 games and hit .243 with 9 2B, 18 SB. Most fans hoped that he would improve on this for 2014.

At the beginning of the season Villar was handed the starting shortstop job. He got off to a decent start hitting .241 with 7 2B, 3 HR in April, but after that, the wheels fell off. He hit .156 in May and .200 in June which led to his demotion to AAA in July. He was called back up later in the season where he finished strong with a .263 average in September.

Defensively he is a head scratcher. He struggles to make the routine play at times but at other times he is making gold glove caliber plays. He has a ton of range but just needs to get more consistent.

2014 Stats: 87 G, .209 BA/.267 OBP/.354 SLG, 13 2B, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 19 BB/80 SO, 74 OPS+

Marwin Gonzalez

Marwin put together the best season of his career so far. He set career highs in games played, at-bats, doubles, homeruns, RBIs, walks and more. With Villar struggling Marwin was able to see a good amount of time at shortstop. In his time he was able to post a positive 0WAR and dWAR combined for 1.4 WAR. While he may not be the future answer at the position, his consistent play and versatility makes him a valuable player on a big league club.

2014 Stats: 103 G, .277 BA/.327 OBP/.400 SLG, 15 2B, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 17 BB/58 SO, 105 OPS+

Gregorio Petit

Petit was also able to get some playing time at shortstop this season. He played a few different positions but did play in 19 games at shortstop. He filled in nicely putting up a positive WAR. He hit .278 with 2 HR, 9 RBI but only 1 BB/25 SO. It is unclear at this point if Petit will be back with Houston next season.

2014 Stats: 37 G, .278 BA/.300 OBP/.423 SLG, 8 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1 BB/25 SO, 102 OPS+

Fortunately for the Houston Astros and their fans, we have one of the top prospects in baseball at the shortstop position.

ON THE FARM (Minor Leagues)

Mar 13, 2014; Dunedin, FL, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa (84) throws to first base in the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Carlos Correa (A+) – Usually I work my way down from AAA but I have to start with Carlos Correa. As mentioned before, Correa is a consensus top 5 prospect in all of baseball and he performed like it this season. He started the season in A+ Lancaster where he hit .300 with 2 HR, 16 RBI in the month of April, and that was only the beginning. In May he hit .330 with 31 RBI in 27 games. In June that average went up to .352 before his season was cut short due to a leg injury. Scouts raved about his defensive ability and leadership. He also proved that he can be a danger on the basepaths too stealing 20 bases in only 62 games.

On the season Carlos Correa hit .325 with 16 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 57 RBI, 20 SB, 36 BB/45 SO in 62 games. He also posted a wRC+ of 144. Reports state that Correa is progressing well. Luhnow has said that he is running, doing baseball activities and should be ready for spring training. It has been a long wait but the shortstop of the future is coming.

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Jiovanni Mier (AAA) – Mier was the Astros first round pick in 2009. While he hasn’t progressed as most had hoped, he started the season in AA and moved to AAA. The move to AAA wasn’t too bad for him as he hit .250 with a .348 OBP. On the season between AA/AAA he hit .225 with .300 OBP, 16 2B, 4 HR, 35 RBI. Hopefully with a good offseason he can get off to a nice start in AAA next season.

Chan Moon (A+) – Moon started off the season in Single A and showed off his speed to the tune of 25 stolen bases in 68 games. He was later promoted to Lancaster where he had a nice bump in power. On the season between two levels he hit .283 with 18 2B, 10 3B, 6 HR, 60 RBI, 35 SB, 52 BB/100 SO as a 23-year old.

Guy To Keep An Eye On

Kristian Trompiz (A-) – Trompiz is an 18-year old shortstop out of Venezuela. This season he played in three different levels of minor league ball. Overall he hit .285 with 16 2B, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 7 SB, 18 BB/29 SO. He did this all while being well under the average age for his league. It is still early but Trompiz is a guy to watch next season.

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