Houston Astros Top Three First Base Prospects

Houston Astros Top 3 First Base Prospects

With the winter meetings finishing up we will begin to look at the Houston Astros top prospects at each position. This will be a fun series as the Astros have great depth at nearly every position.

In this part of the series we will look at the Houston Astros top 3 first base prospects. At the major league level the Astros have former prospect Jon Singleton who struggled a bit in his first season. Here are the top 3 first base prospects.

Previous Positions – Catcher

1. AJ Reed (DOB: 05/10/93)

Andrew Joseph Reed was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft. Reed was a two-way player at the University of Kentucky playing first base while also being there Friday night starter. In college Reed was known for his light-tower power. In his junior season he hit .336 and led the nation with 23 HRs. After joining the Astros he was assigned to the Tri-City Valleycats where he hit .306 with 5 HR. He earned a promotion Quad Cities where he hit 7 HRs. Reed is thought of as an Astros top 20 prospect and one of the top first base prospects in baseball.

2014 Stats: .289 BA/.375 OBP/.522 SLG, 20 2B, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 30 BB/54 SO

2. Conrad Gregor (DOB: 02/27/92)

Gregor is another advanced college bat selected by the Astros in the 4th round of the 2013 draft. Gregor was thought of as a hitter with good plate discipline but lacked power. He started the season in Quad Cities (A) and hit .298 but with only 1 HR in 44 games. This earned a promotion to Lancaster (A+) where he took off. In 47 games for Lancaster he hit .367 with 12 HR in 45 games earning a promotion to AA. He struggled a bit in AA but maintained a good walk and strikeout rate. Playing three levels in one season is pretty impressive.

2014 Stats: .311 BA/.411 OBP/.509 SLG, 31 2B, 5 3B, 16 HR, 86 RBI, 68 BB/80 SO

3. Tyler White (10/29/90)

Choosing the third best prospect was tough but I decided to go with Tyler White. Tyler was drafted by the Astros in the 33rd round in 2013. White has played both third base and first base but ended the season playing primarily first base for Lancaster. White has hit at every stop so far and this was no different. He started in Quad Cities where he hit .305 with 7 HR and 35 BB/40 SO in 71 games. White was moved to Lancaster where he hit .267 with 8 HR, 28 BB/27 SO in 43 games. In A+ he posted a 15.1 BB% and 14.5 SO%.

2014 Stats: .290 BA/.410 OBP/.501 SLG, 33 2B, 15 HR, 64 RBI, 63 BB/67 SO

Other Notables: