Houston Astros: Players in prospect purgatory get September opportunities

The Houston Astros have expanded their roster to 40 players as is standard in the month of September for all major league baseball teams. With that expansion, comes opportunities for players to become more than just September pieces.

The Houston Astros have added players like J.D. Davis, Tony Kemp, Reymin Guduan and Tyler White to the active roster, with the chance to add more players who they think can help them maintain the best record in the American League down the stretch. Perhaps A.J. Reed or Preston Tucker could see some time up this month.

The expansion to the 40 man roster affords these players the chance to make their case as major league players. Tony Kemp especially is a prospect that deserves a shot to make a major league roster. He’s a career .310 hitter in the minor leagues and has hit over .300 three minor league seasons in a row with a brief call-up to the majors last year and once again this year.

At the age of 25 his trade value is dwindling and he has five outfielders ahead of him in the Houston Astros outfield pecking order (Josh Reddick, George Springer, Jake Marisnick, Derek Fisher and Kyle Tucker). This is his time to show he can consistently handle major league pitching and belongs on a roster.

If he can’t, he’ll remain that perennial September call-up for an extra speedster off the bench. The prospect version of “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”

Tyler White is in a similar situation at a different position. He’s 26 years old so he’s no spring chicken, but he hit extremely well at the minor league level, never posting underneath a .290 batting average in a full season.

He struggled mightily in the big leagues last year though. With a significant amount of time at the plate to prove himself, he only managed to hit .217 (coincidentally the same batting average Tony Kemp had in his brief major league stint last year).

White has had success in his brief time in the major leagues this year hitting.333 with three homers in 36 at-bats. September is where he can prove that the .300 hitter of the minor leagues can carry over.

Reymin Guduan has been riding the bus for seven years, since the age of 18, before getting his first call-up this year and only being able to post a 5.54 ERA. He will get plenty of opportunities this September with a tired and inconsistent Astros bullpen to step up and show he belongs. That his time riding the bus is over.

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J.D. Davis is the youngest of the bunch at age 24, but the clock is ticking and the longer you languish in the minors, the less confidence teams have that you’ve got what it takes mentally to play in the big leagues. He’s hit only .235 in 51 major league at-bats. He’s going to need to make every single September at-bat count if he wants to have a shot at being a big leaguer.

These players, especially the guys on the offensive side of the ball, probably will not have a big league career with the Astros. The amount of talent that is already on the roster that is under team control for quite some time makes it pretty much unfathomable they would supplant anyone on the team as constructed.

But they can show they are worth being traded for, that they would make a good piece in a trade, so they can get their shot somewhere. September is their best chance at doing that. And there will only be so many more call-ups with every added year to their age and every infusion of youth with each draft that gives them competition from younger guys with brighter futures.

Next: Houston Astros week 22 round-up

They may not hit the big stage in October or be on the 2018 opening day roster anywhere, so September is their time to shine. Seizing this opportunity could make or break their careers. Here’s hoping they all make the best of it and help the Astros win in the process.

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