BA GRADE
45
Risk: High
Born: May 10, 1993. B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 275. Drafted: Kentucky, 2014 (2nd round). Signed by: Nick Venuto.
For the second time in three seasons, Reed led the minors with 34 home runs. But this home run title isn’t as encouraging as the last one. In 2015, Reed was a first baseman on his way up who was set to compete for the Astros’ big league job in 2016. In 2017, he remained in Fresno for all but a two-game cameo and was not among the team’s September callups, even though he is on the team’s 40-man roster.
Reed’s power has never been in doubt, and when he’s locked in, he drives the ball to all fields, capably using left field. He adjusted his stance, moving up his hands and laying his bat over his shoulder in his setup, and it paid off as he slugged over .600 in July and August. But he’s yet to show he can avoid chasing sliders off the plate and he’s been an easy mark for lefthanders. Scouts have long thought Reed would be more nimble if he were 20-30 pounds lighter. His near bottom-of-the-scale speed limits him both on the basepaths and at first, although his plus arm is an asset.
It’s hard to see Reed pushing aside Yuli Gurriel, and Colin Moran has passed him as a backup plan. He might need a change of scenery. Slugging first basemen/DH’s don’t land much in trade unless they’ve produced at the big league level, so for now, he’s headed back to Triple-A.
Year |
Club (League) |
Class |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2015 |
Lancaster (CAL) |
HiA |
.346 |
82 |
318 |
75 |
110 |
|
Corpus Christi (TL) |
AA |
.332 |
53 |
205 |
38 |
68 |
2016 |
Fresno (PCL) |
AAA |
.291 |
70 |
261 |
42 |
76 |
|
Houston (AL) |
MAJ |
.164 |
45 |
122 |
11 |
20 |
2017 |
Houston (AL) |
MAJ |
.000 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fresno (PCL) |
AAA |
.261 |
127 |
476 |
89 |
124 |
Major League Totals |
.156 |
47 |
128 |
11 |
20 |
||
Minor League Totals |
.298 |
400 |
1509 |
287 |
450 |
||
Year |
Club (League) |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
2015 |
Lancaster (CAL) |
16 |
4 |
23 |
81 |
59 |
|
Corpus Christi (TL) |
14 |
1 |
11 |
46 |
27 |
2016 |
Fresno (PCL) |
22 |
1 |
15 |
50 |
32 |
|
Houston (AL) |
3 |
0 |
3 |
8 |
18 |
2017 |
Houston (AL) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fresno (PCL) |
24 |
0 |
34 |
104 |
72 |
Major League Totals |
3 |
0 |
3 |
8 |
18 |
|
Minor League Totals |
96 |
7 |
95 |
335 |
220 |
|
Year |
Club (League) |
SO |
SB |
CS |
OBP |
SLG |
2015 |
Lancaster (CAL) |
73 |
0 |
0 |
.449 |
.638 |
|
Corpus Christi (TL) |
49 |
0 |
0 |
.405 |
.571 |
2016 |
Fresno (PCL) |
67 |
0 |
0 |
.368 |
.556 |
|
Houston (AL) |
48 |
0 |
0 |
.270 |
.262 |
2017 |
Houston (AL) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
Fresno (PCL) |
146 |
0 |
0 |
.358 |
.525 |
Major League Totals |
49 |
0 |
0 |
.259 |
.250 |
|
Minor League Totals |
389 |
2 |
0 |
.389 |
.560 |
|