Fastball

Well-Regarded Houston Astros Prospect Makes Franchise History Down at Triple-A

It's been a great year at Triple-A for Houston Astros top prospect Shay Whitcomb, who made some franchise history at Tuesday night.

Brady Farkas

Houston Astros second baseman Shay Whitcomb (87) rounds third base and scores a run against the New York Mets in the second inning at Clover Park on March 3, 2024.
Houston Astros second baseman Shay Whitcomb (87) rounds third base and scores a run against the New York Mets in the second inning at Clover Park on March 3, 2024. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
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At the major league level, the Houston Astros are absolutely on fire. The Astros have won seven straight games and have taken a 1.5 game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the American League West race.

And at the minor league-level? Things are going pretty well there too, especially for well-regarded prospect Shay Whitcomb.

Whitcomb, who is ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the organization (per MLB.com), made some franchise history on Tuesday for the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

91 RBI in 2024 and the (new) single-season franchise record.

What can we Shay, we really aren't surprised

A fifth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, Whitcomb played his college ball at Division II UC San Diego. He's hitting .295 this year with a .379 on-base percentage. He has 25 homers to go with his 91 RBI. He's added 26 stolen bases.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Whitcomb employs a grip-it-and-rip-it approach, looking to drive every pitch he gets in the air to his pull side as far as possible. A right-handed hitter, he produces plus raw power and some of the highest exit velocities in Houston's system. He also chases pitches and swings and misses at alarming rates, casting doubt as to whether he'll get to enough of his pop against big league pitching.

The Astros will be back in action on Wednesday night when they take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. First pitch is set for 6:50 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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