Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow loves his young players. The youth movement is still making headway in the organization, as prospects A.J. Reed and Tyler White have a legitimate shot to make the MLB Opening Day roster and one could perhaps become the team's starting first baseman.
Luhnow appeared on MLB Network Radio on Monday and spoke about the team's situation at the position. Evan Gattis, who was previously believed to be a potential option at first base, underwent hernia surgery this offseason and is dealing with a lingering wrist issue. The team has decided to keep him in the outfield as he continues to recover.
As a result, this opens the door for Reed and White.
"Both could make the team," Luhnow said.
"What we worry about is what's good for the Astros in 2016 and in the future ... the reality is that we are going to pick the guys that we think are going to help us win the division and potentially win a championship this year."
The spotlight remains on Jon Singleton, who entered spring training as the starting first baseman. However, the 24-year-old slugger still can't seem to pull it all together. He's hitting just .103 with a .375 OPS this spring in 13 games (29 at-bats) while he watches Reed and White separate themselves from the pack.
Reed, 22, is hitting .304 with a .725 OPS in 12 games (23 at-bats) and White, 25, is ahead of him with a .345 average and .904 OPS in 11 games (29 at-bats). Another difference between the two is that Reed has logged most of his time at first base (39-2/3 innings) while White has spent a majority of his innings (28) at third base (although he has experience playing first base in the minor leagues).
Regardless, at this point, it could be a more prudent move for Luhnow to give one of these youngsters a shot at the MLB level considering Singleton has yet to prove he's taking his game to the next level. Although Singleton has been productive in the minors, he's failed to meet expectations in the majors. In 114 career games he's slashing just .171/.290/.331 with 48 runs scored, 14 home runs and 50 RBI. He's also struck out 151 times in 357 at-bats.
It seems as if Singleton's spring is continuing that narrative, which is putting his starting job in danger.
On top of that, both Reed and White were just as productive in the minors last season as Singleton. Compare all their stats from the 2015 seasons below:
Singleton - .254/.359/.505 with 72 runs scored, 22 home runs and 83 RBI in 102 games (Triple-A Fresno)
Reed - .340/.432/.612 with 113 runs scored, 34 home runs and 127 RBI (between High Class A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi)
White - .325/.442/.496 with 70 runs scored, 14 home runs and 99 RBI (between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno)
It'll be no easy choice for Luhnow, but as he said, the team will be picking the player it believes can help them win right now.
