The wait is over. One of the MLB's top prospects will make his debut on Monday against Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox.
The Houston Astros promoted top prospect Carlos Correa, who will start at shortstop tonight, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. The 20-year-old will be among the youngest players in the MLB along with Roberto Osuna (TOR), Bryce Harper (WSH), Mookie Betts (BOS), Xander Bogaerts (BOS), Archie Bradley (ARZ), Joc Pederson (LAD) and others.
He'll be the youngest Astro to make his MLB debut since pitcher Jordan Lyles in 2011, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
Correa, who was promoted from Double-A Corpus Christi to Triple-A Fresno in May, will get the call after 24 games with Fresno. He was batting .276/.345/.449/.794 with 19 runs scored, 3 home runs, 12 RBIs and 3 stolen bases in 24 games. He kicked off the season slashing .385/.459/.726/1.185 with 25 runs scored, 7 home runs, 32 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 29 games with Corpus Christi.
Prior to the season, Correa was ranked the No. 4 overall prospect in the MLB according to Baseball America and MLB.com, but he's now ranked No. 2 because the Chicago Cubs promoted third baseman Kris Bryant and shortstop Addison Russell in April. Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is the only other player ranked ahead of Correa.
The Astros had a tough week and lost their last four games, including six of their last 10 and eight of their last 13. They were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend and scored only 10 runs while surrendering 20. The Texas Rangers gained some ground on them in the AL West and now trail by 3.5 games for first place.
"Our team could use the spark right now," general manager Jeff Luhnow said of Correa's promotion, via McTaggart. "We haven't been playing our best baseball over the past few days and hopefully Carlos can add something that's been missing. We have to try and do everything we can to maintain our division lead and get this team to the postseason, and if calling up Carlos Correa helps us do that, that's what we're prepared for."
"There are no limitations as to what Carlos Correa could be with him being the age of 20 and with the tools and mind and the experience that he's already accumulated in the last three years," Luhnow added, via Ortiz. "With the whole package, he has the chance to be extremely special. He could not only be a good major league player, he could be a great major league player for a long time."
The shortstop platoon of Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Villar has not been getting the job done for Houston (combined .243 average with 25 runs scored, 3 home runs and 20 RBIs).
Luhnow hopes Correa, who will join Preston Tucker and Lance McCullers Jr. as the third member of the 2012 draft class to join the Astros this season, will be able to help the team immediately and continue their push for the postseason.
Note: the Astros also promoted No. 4 prospect Vincent Velasquez, according to McTaggart, and he'll make his MLB debut in a start against the White Sox on Wednesday.