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.

The promotion of infielder Grae Kessinger to the big leagues earlier this month ended up benefitting infield prospect Shay Whitcomb, who was promoted from Double-A Corpus Christi to Triple-A Sugar Land to replace Kessinger on the Space Cowboys’ roster.

Whitcomb has made the most of his opportunity at Sugar Land, slashing .361/.425/.778 with five homers and 12 RBIs in his first nine games. That comes on the heels of a solid 46-game stretch at Double-A in which he slashed .273/.340/.545 with 12 doubles, 12 homers and 36 RBIs.

Whitcomb, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound middle infielder, was selected in the fifth round in 2020 MLB Draft out of Division II University of California at San Diego. He was the final pick (160th) of the Draft, which was shortened to five rounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But he’s been anything but irrelevant.

“I think it’s a credit to just the team and the staff in terms of all the guys [being] super great and super welcoming and fun to be around -- a fun group of guys,” Whitcomb said of his time in Sugar Land. “This is the first time, obviously, I’ve had Mickey [Storey] as a manager and I’ve worked with [hitting coach Aaron] Westlake a little bit. The combination of just all the added wisdom and the good environment, it’s been great and a lot of fun to play.”

Whitcomb’s 17 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A were tied for the second most long balls in the Minors entering Friday, trailing four players who have hit 18 (Jo Adell, Luken Baker, Trey Cabbage and Hunter Goodman). Whitcomb was also leading the Astros' organization in home runs, RBIs (48), extra-base hits (29) and total bases (124). He was second in runs scored (45), tied for second in hits (61) and third in slugging (.585).

“One big thing for me has been discipline,” Whitcomb said. “Swing decisions, kind of like narrowing down an approach, is something the staff has really helped me with a lot in terms of just learning what I want to do in certain at-bats, how I go about doing that and what is my approach in that situation. I think learning that mental side of the game has really helped me narrow down my swing decision and swing at the right pitches.”

Whitcomb, who is outside the Astros’ Top 30 prospects list, was promoted at the same time as outfielder Quincy Hamilton, the team’s No. 22 prospect, who’s also been tearing it up in the Pacific Coast League, with five homers in his first seven Triple-A hits.

Whitcomb and Hamilton are rooming together in Sugar Land.

“It’s super cool to see the two Corpus guys come up and have some success,” Whitcomb said.

If you’re a middle infielder in the Astros’ system, reaching the big leagues is difficult, since Jose Altuve is entrenched at second base and World Series Most Valuable Player Jeremy Peña is a lock at shortstop. Still, there was an opportunity for Kessinger in Houston, and Whitcomb is making the most of his chance in Sugar Land.

“I’ve been really happy with the results so far,” Whitcomb said. “I want to stay on that path and remain the same guy, unchanged whether the future holds success or failure. I just want to be consistent in who I am and my preparation each day.”