FanPost

Lancaster Blues: Astros farm system has depth in the outfield

This really isn't about the team itself, but rather two members of it: Jon Gaston and T.J. Steele. And they are tearing apart California League pitching.

Steele: .383 avg., 6 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 25 RBI, .442 OBP, 1.123 OPS....in 24 games and 94 at bats!

Gaston: .321 avg., 20 2B, 9 3B, 17 HR, 52 RBI, .405 OBP, 1.083 OPS...in 68 games and 249 at bats! (thats 46 XBH)

While some of these unbelievable numbers can be credited to ClearChannel Stadium, the JetHawks' notoriously offensively-inflating stadium, they're still seeing the ball unbelievably well and hitting the snot out of it.

Which brings up the blues. Why aren't they being promoted? The problem doesn't lie in these two gentlemen, but rather in that Corpus Christi, a level above, has more outfielders on the team than it can handle. Here they are (avg/obp/ops):

James Van Ostrand: (.280/.386/.880), 24 years old

Collin DeLome: (.259/.318/.814), 23 years old

Mitch Einertson: (.253/.318/.703), 23 years old

Josh Flores: (.239/.307/.651), 23 years old

Andrew Locke: (.345/.391/.937), 26 years old

Nick Moresi: (.231/.231/.462), 24 years old

So, first of all, Moresi and Flores should not be getting any significant playing time, right? That's fair enough. And then, there's Drew Locke. Why is he still in AA? With the numbers he has, he should either a) be promoted to AAA ASAP or b) be promoted to MLB to take the spot of Jason Michaels. So what's blocking his way?

John Gall: (.238/.313/.681), 31 years old

Brian Bogusevic: (.286/.356/.776), 25 years old

Eli Iorg: (.209/.227/.530), 26 years old

Yordany Ramirez: (.269/.282/.716), 24 years old

Reggie Abercrombie:(.266/.313/.730), 27 years old

My plan is: promote Ramirez and Abercrombie. Why? Their offensive numbers don't particularly stand out or anything. But then again, Michaels and Erstad are around for one thing: DEFENSE. So cut them. And John Gall too. Abercrombie and Ramirez are defensive studs, and promoting them would let the organization move others around. Locke and Van Ostrand (or just Locke) to AAA, Gaston and Steele to AA. It just makes sense.