Jimmy Paredes (3B) joins Telvin Nash, Jose Altuve (now promoted!), and Jonathan Villar as fans' picks for top prospects at their positions. Austin Wates is winning comfortably at the CF spot, and it is a close race between J. D. Martinez (42 votes) and Ariel Ovando (35 votes) for the corner OF bragging rights. Now onto catchers:
Chris Wallace (23) - Wallace's bat has consistently exceeded expectations since he was drafted last year. His combined stats between single A Lexington and AA Corpus Christi are 18 HR, 24 BB (plus 13 HBP!), 79 K's, .890 OPS. He has had some trouble throwing out baserunners since his promotion to AA (1 CS out of 20 attempts). He threw out 7 out of 18 runners at Lexington and had 4 passed balls there.
Rene Garcia (20) - this under-the-radar guy is the go-to catcher at Lancaster about 3 out of every 5 nights. For offense, Garcia has produced 1 HR, 14/26 BB/K ratio, and a .651 OPS this year. He has 7 passed balls and has thrown out 26 of 88 baserunners.
Ben Heath (22) - after a strong half season last year, Heath has stalled some with the bat. The 5th round pick of the 2010 draft has 1 HR, 5/17 BB/K ratio, and a .561 OPS at Lexington after reaching 5 HR, 15/41 BB/K ratio, and a .775 OPS at Lancaster. He is not known for his defensive skills. He had 5 passed balls and threw out only 5 of 45 runners at Lancaster. At Lexington so far he has thrown out 4 of 12 runners and has been charged with 4 passed balls.
Roberto Pena (19) - He is only 2 months older than Delino DeShields and has been at the same level (Lexington) as DeShields this year. Reports are that this 7th round pick from the 2010 draft has good defensive potential. Stats seem to confirm this - he has thrown out 22 of 55 basestealers and has been charged with 8 passed balls. Offensively, he has 3 HR, 15/38 BB/K ratio, and a .584 OPS.
Other: Miles Hamblin (22), Ernesto Genoves (20) and Luis Alvarez (21) are other guys to watch.
Voting is open until Friday, 10PM, central time. Vote after the jump.
Poll
Who is the Astros' top catching prospect?
Chris Wallace (90 votes)
Rene Garcia (0 votes)
Ben Heath (3 votes)
Roberto Pena (12 votes)
Other (3 votes)
108 total votes




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