No. 4 prospect gets quick promotion to big leagues

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON – The Astros have promoted two of their top prospects to the big leagues within the last week – outfielder Pedro León (No. 24) and infielder Zach Dezenzo (No. 4). Dezenzo made his Major League debut in Tuesday’s game against the Rangers at Globe Life Field, and he went 0-for-4.

León made his debut on Saturday against Tampa Bay, going 1-for-3. Both had been hitting well at Triple-A Sugar Land, but the Astros are in search of some additional offensive punches.

Dezenzo’s promotion came after only 11 games played at Triple-A, but he made a strong impression. He was hitting .391 with 14 runs, four doubles, four homers, 13 RBIs, six walks and three steals for the Space Cowboys while splitting time between third base and first base, which is where he’ll get the majority of his at-bats with Houston.

“We’re excited about what he was doing in Triple-A,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “His at-bats were good, he felt like it was time to bring him up here and hopefully that can transfer into the Major League level. He’s been swinging at strikes and hitting balls hard and we need some of that.”

Dezenzo, a 12th-round Draft pick out of Ohio State in 2022, began the season on the Minor League injured list with a wrist injury and joined Double-A Corpus Christi on June 18 before being promoted to Triple-A on July 23. Sugar Land was off Monday, but manager Mickey Storey called Dezenzo at about 12:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday morning and told him to pack his bags for Arlington.

“I kind of took a moment to take it all in,” Dezenzo said. “I had some emotions, obviously, calling my parents and let them know first. Called my grandparents, all those who are close to me. Pretty emotional time, but yeah really tried to take it all in and started packing and getting ready for my flight this morning.”

Dezenzo was unfazed by his promotion to Triple-A, and the Astros are hoping that’s the case with the move to the Major Leagues. The Astros handed the first base starting job to Jon Singleton after they released veteran Jose Abreu in June, but Singleton had a .665 OPS entering Tuesday’s game.

“It’s not so much [a lineup] shakeup, but [a] need [for] some offense,” general manager Dana Brown said. “At this point, he’s 24 years old and swinging it well in Triple-A, and we’re like, 'You know what, this is a good time to bring him up.' I know when I was in Atlanta, we brought up a lot of young players and it always seemed to work. We do a good job here of preparing these guys, so I felt very comfortable.”

Espada said Dezenzo hits the ball hard in the zone and they need more batters who are able to control the strike zone. At 6-foot-5, Dezenzo looks the part of a dangerous hitter.

“He looks like he’s built right,” Espada said. “Mickey and [Double-A manager] Joe Thon, the stuff they say about him is very encouraging, especially coming here right now and asking him to play right in the middle of a pennant race. We talked in the office for a while and I told him, ‘Just be yourself. Don’t try to do too much. Come here and have fun,’ and I told the veteran players to embrace the young players like they always do. … He seems to be in a good place.”