Astros top prospect Correa promoted to AAA

Early this afternoon the it was announced that Astros top prospect Carlos Correa was promoted from AA Corpus Christi to AAA Fresno after a fantastic first 29 games with the Hooks.

Correa leaves the Texas League on top of just about every offense category, including batting average (.385), home runs (7), RBI (32), hits (45), doubles (15), slugging percentage (.726) and stolen bases (15 in 15 tries). The Astros couldn't have asked for any more from Correa, who missed the final two-plus months of last season with a broken leg.

It's now a matter of how quickly the 20-year old is roaming shortstop at Minute Maid Park. Correa most likely won't replicate his results from AA, but he is arguably the best prospect in all of baseball. If he succeeds at a high level, perhaps Correa will contribute to an Astros playoff run in 2015.

Houston's starting shortstop Jed Lowrie will be out until after the all-star break, leaving Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Villar to pick up the slack. Unfortunately for the Astros, that hasn't worked well thus far. Gonzalez is hitting .242/.254/.394 in 67 plate appearances while Villar is slashing .182/.250/.182 in 36 PA.

A hot Correa plus more struggles from Houston shortstops could lead to a major league promotion faster than expected.