Astros prospect is dominating one step from big leagues

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HOUSTON -- The success Shay Whitcomb had at the plate in the first half of the Triple-A season shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider he tied for the Minor League lead last year with 35 homers and led the Astros' system in homers, RBIs (102) and total bases (253). He’s picked up where he left off with a terrific first half of the 2024 season at Triple-A Sugar Land.

Whitcomb, a fifth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of California-San Diego, is our pick for the organization’s Minor League Most Valuable Player for the first half of the season. Entering Tuesday, he was slashing .310/.392/.564 and leading the Pacific Coast League in RBIs (69), tied for second in homers (18) and tied for third in hits (89).

“The numbers speak for themselves,” said Jacob Buffa, the Astros' senior director of player development and performance science. “Talking to our hitting coach, Aaron Westlake in Triple-A, Shay’s matured a lot as a hitter, knowing himself and knowing his routines and knowing his approach at the plate. He’s developed a more of a two-strike approach this year, which has allowed him to cut down on the strikeouts a lot and put more balls in play. When he does hit it, the quality of contact is awesome.”

Last year, Whitcomb split the season between Sugar Land and Double-A Corpus Christi and struck out 178 times in 589 plate appearances (30.2 percent). He’s struck out 71 times in his first 332 plate appearances (21.4 percent) this year.

After slashing .326/.418/.642 in 25 games in May with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs, 19 RBIs and four stolen bases in five attempts in 25 games in May, Whitcomb slashed .347/.414/.653 with four doubles, nine home runs, 29 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 13 attempts in June.

“I think realistically he doesn’t need to do anything more than what he’s doing,” Buffa said. “The key is just to continue to do what he’s doing right now and play good defense, and if he does that, then it’s just a matter of time for a spot to open up if he continues this pace.”

Whitcomb (Astros’ No. 30 prospect), 25, is a right-handed hitter who has played all over the diamond so far this year. He’s started 13 games at second base, 22 at third base, 25 at shortstop, five in left field, one in right field and eight at designated hitter. His future is probably in the outfield, where the Astros can take advantage of his athleticism.

“He’s a fantastic athlete,” Buffa said. “He’s got speed, he’s got strength, he’s got bat speed. To be in the upper echelon of the Minor Leagues of home runs, certainly you like that. That’s something we would expect. We have known for a long time that he has plus power.”

Whitcomb has a strong arm, but the Astros won’t pin him down to one defensive position.

“I don’t know that we’ve really nailed it down to a primary position right now,” Buffa said. “We’ve got him just playing three [infield spots], because we’re also pretty fond of position versatility.”

Here are our picks for first-half MVPs at the other affiliates:

Double-A Corpus Christi: RHP Miguel Ullola
Ullola (Astros’ No. 20 prospect) is a hard-throwing strikeout machine who was leading Double-A with 101 punchouts in 76 innings after his start Monday for the Hooks. The 22-year-old’s .164 opponents' batting average leads Double-A and he ranked among the Texas League leaders in innings (fifth) and WHIP (seventh at 1.18).

“It’s a pretty electric fastball [98 mph], probably our best fastball in the organization, with a plus curveball and he’s got a slider-cutter,” Buffa said. “This year, he’s really controlled the walks to righties, which is exciting, and his walks against lefties has been improving significantly over the last couple of outings. I think he’s putting it all together, but the strikeouts speak for themselves. He’s striking out almost 35 percent of the hitters he faces.”

High-A Asheville: OF Luis Baez
Baez (Astros’ No. 2 prospect) -- who is slashing .294/.329/.505 with 16 doubles, 13 homers, 50 RBIs through 280 plate appearances, has some of the best quality of contact in the organization. That’s extremely encouraging for the Astros when you consider Baez is still 20 years old.

“It’s really, really impressive, but the thing that’s been really cool to see from our end is he’s made a lot of strides defensively,” Buffa said. “Our staff works really hard with him to be able to play all three outfield positions, and he takes that very seriously. That’s really awesome to see. He’s cut down on the in-zone whiff rate a little bit this year, and it’s really exciting.”

Single-A Fayetteville: OF Kenni Gomez
Gomez was slashing .244/.320/.390 with 17 doubles, five homers, 27 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 246 at-bats at Fayetteville as a 19-year-old. Gomez, who’s from Cuba, last year only played in 16 games in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League, so he’s handled the challenge of affiliate ball very well for his age.

“There’s lots of bumps of bruises and learning curves for him in the first season in affiliated, but watching Kenni navigate those has been really cool the see, just the maturity of him growing this season,” Buffa said. “He started out this season extremely hot. Like all players, he started to cool back down. When he finds himself in a slump, he figures out. Rather than try to swing out of the slump, he should do some things a little bit differently -- shrink the zone, take some pitches, and he winds up working his way back out of the slump. Watching a 19-eyar-old go through the ups and downs of a full season and navigate those successfully, it’s really encouraging to see.”