Houston Astros To Call Up Versatile Top Infield Prospect to Majors

The Houston Astros are set to promote one of their top infield prospects when they start their next series on Friday.

Mar 21, 2024; Jupiter, Florida, USA; Houston Astros short stop Shay Whitcomb (87) signs autographs before the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. / Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros are preparing to select the contract of infielder Shay Whitcomb, which would pave the Top 30 prospect’s way to the Majors for Friday’s game per a report from KPRC 2 in Houston.

Whitcomb, who is 25 years old, is with Triple-A Sugar Land. Earlier this week he set the franchise record for RBI in a season.

He is coming to Houston with a slash line of .293/.378/.530/.908 with 25 home runs and 91 RBI.

The team will need to make a corresponding move to free up space for Whitcomb on the 40-man roster.

His promotion would continue a youth movement that starter last week when the Astros opted to call up Zach Dezenzo to the Majors. Another young, versatile infielder, Dezenzo was also a Top 30 prospect. He has played first base and outfield for Houston in the last week. But his future may be a third base, where Alex Bregman is a free agent.

The Astros also called up Pedro Leon.

Whitcomb boasts the same kind of profile as Dezenzo. In the minor leagues he’s played second base, third base and shortstop. But, with his power numbers at Triple-A, the Astros may want to slide him into designated hitter or first base as well.

Houston’s issues at first base have been well-documented. Jose Abreu had a horrible start to 2024 and was eventually released. Jon Singleton is the starter and has some pop, but his batting average is well below what MLB teams want at the position.

Whitcomb is the No. 16 prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline. He was the final selection of the 2020 MLB Draft, which was truncated to five rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played his college baseball at UC San Diego.

Whitcomb didn’t play pro baseball until 2021, when he joined Class-A Fayetteville. He split his time between the Woodpeckers and the High-A Asheville Tourists and slashed .293..363/.530/.893 with 23 home runs and 78 RBI.

In 2022 he spent all season at Double-A Corpus Christi, where he admittedly struggled. He slashed .219/.283/.399/.682 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI.

But he bounced back in a big way in 2023. He started the year with Corpus and then earned a mid-season promotion to Sugar Land. Combined his batting average and power numbers returned, as he slashed .240/.301/.470/.771 with 35 home runs and 102 RBI.

It’s that type of pop the Houston Astros are hoping to get as Whitcomb makes his way to the Majors for the first time.