Trades for "Players to be named later" bearing fruit

The Houston Astros have been getting hit with injury after injury and despite some recent struggles, they’re keeping it together. AJ Hinch and Jeff Luhnow have had to make so many roster moves it’s hard to tell if we’re watching the Houston Astros or the Fresno Grizzlies at times.

That is what has been so impressive about the Houston Astros though. They have enough talent in their farm that, of their 25 man roster, 8 players on the current roster were called up in 2016 or later. That’s not counting the fact that Michael Feliz is disqualified from that category since he pitched 8 innings in 2015 and Jandel Gustave has been up but is injured.

This strength in the farm was supposed to be where we dealt from to solidify our rotation and bullpen. Instead it has now become a life preserver, keeping the team afloat during the rockiest of seas.

The Astros front office deserves a lot of credit for having built a farm system not just through the draft, but shrewd trades. like bringing Jake Marisnick and player to be named later Francis Martes over for Jarred Cosart in 2014. Or David Paulino as a player to be named later in a trade for reliever Jose Veras in 2013. Or my favorite, Chris Devenski as a player to be named later in the trade for Brett Myers in 2012.

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There’s no denying that our front office has made some missteps, missing on two number one draft picks in 2013 and 2014 and the Carlos Gomez trade. But the fact that the team has this knack for picking up seemingly insignificant pieces and now those pieces have become a super reliever (Devenski), a great fourth outfielder defensive specialist (Marisnick), and our number one and number three prospects (Martes and Paulino respectively) it shows the aptitude and in-depth scouting the Astros do.

And let’s not forget the extremely small pieces we traded to get these guys. As we stand reaping the benefits of these trades, two of the players that were dealt for these prospects have been retired since 2013 and 2014 (Brett Myers and Jose Veras respectively) and Jarred Cosart hasn’t made more than 14 starts in a year and his lowest ERA in a full season since that trade was in 2015 as he posted a 4.52 ERA.

Next: Trade market for starting pitchers shifting

It’s amazing the passage of time that has happened since these trades and how long we’ve waited to see them work out so magnificently in our favor. The depth of this farm system is coming through at the right time for this team. And the Astros have shown patience is a quality they have retained even past their time as a rebuilding project. Other teams must beware of the “Player to be named later” when dealing with the Astros going forward.

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Houston Astros: Trades for “Players to be named later” bearing fruit

By Joe Fernandez | Jun 16, 2017

The Houston Astros have been getting hit with injury after injury and despite some recent struggles, they’re keeping it together. AJ Hinch and Jeff Luhnow have had to make so many roster moves it’s hard to tell if we’re watching the Houston Astros or the Fresno Grizzlies at times.

More from House of Houston