Congratulations, Evan, for being drafted, 1st round, as the 17th overall selection by the Seattle Mariners!

Related: TRS’ 2017 Draft Results

If the Houston Astros are losing patience with the left-handed bats of former top 1B prospects Jon Singleton and A.J. Reed, tending to this corner IF position with a right-handed bat may be just the answer for GM Jeff Luhnow. Evan White is a solid right-handed hitting first baseman, starring for the University of Kentucky.

The MLB First-Year Player Draft begins Monday, June 12. Houston owns five of the first 100 picks: #15, 53, 56, 75, and 91.

If These Two Are “Left” Behind…..

Singleton has recently not only lost his 40-man roster designation, but was demoted from AAA to Double-A Corpus Christi. He’s having a curious season, so far, hitting an unspectacular .235 (through June 6), with 11 doubles and 10 homers (third in the league), but walking more than he’s striking out (56-53), aiding his .430 OBP (a league 2nd). In fact, he leads the Texas League with those 56 walks (by 20)!

Reed, holding a spot on the 40-man, was hitting .258 in 209 ABs, closing play June 6, for the AAA Fresno Grizzlies. His big need area remains making contact, as his strikeout total is more than double his walks (68-29). His OBP is .349, with an OPS of .794.

Houston’s premier prospect a year ago, Reed was named the Astros’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2015, smacking 34 home runs, scoring 113 runs, and slashing a .340/.432/.612 across 135 games between Class A-Advanced Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi.

Related: A.J. Reed, and the Bat Reborn

Both Singleton (.171 BA in 357 ABs, with 151 Ks) and Reed (.164 in 122 ABs, with 48 Ks) have had their respective chances to impress at the major league level, and, understandably, neither are currently listed on Houston’s Top 30 Prospect List, although both have had their day in that sorting sun.

Coincidentally enough, Reed was the Astros’ 2nd-round draft pick (42nd overall) out of Kentucky in 2014.

….White May Then Be Right

He plays 1B, and he hits right-handed (and….wait for it, throws left-handed). Therein lies the rub: If Houston drafts Evan White, the staging of Singleton and/or Reed as late July trade bait may then be underway.

With Yuli Gurriel securely planted at 1B in Houston, and an MLB-tested Tyler White (experienced at both 1st and 3rd, currently at Fresno) backing him up, the couple-year climb by Evan White would be well-covered (of course, Houston could jettison the right-handed hitting Tyler White, if the desire to retain Reed overwhelms).

Related: Astros in 2017: The Power of Yuli Gurriel

Turning the Golden Lions Into Wildcats

Evan White, rated by MLB.com as a 70 (on the 20-80 scouting scale) defender, was born in Columbus, Ohio, but attended nearby Lincoln High School in Gahanna, a Columbus suburb nine miles northeast.

He grew up rooting for the Cincinnati Reds and their veteran first baseman, Joey Votto, and is known in scout-speak as a “polished college hitter.”

“I’m definitely a big Joey Votto fan,” said White in a recent interview. “I love the way he plays the game. I love the way he makes adjustments at the plate.

“Defensively, obviously, he’s great as well. The number 19 is something that my dad wore (in college), and I knew (former UK All-SEC outfielder and current free agent) Austin Cousino from back home in Ohio. It was kind of cool to keep the number in Columbus, and it was Votto’s number.”

White’s grandfather and uncle even played in the Reds organization.

While the Reds draft second, it’s doubtful they’ll select the 6’3″, 205-pound White, as MLB.com and MLBDailyDish have Hunter Greene going to Cincy in their mock draft, while Baseball America has the Reds going with Brendan McKay.

At Gahanna Lincoln High (where he played hoops as a 6’3″, 180-pound freshman), White was named All-Ohio Baseball Player of the Year, setting school records for hits in a season (50), career doubles and RBI.

While rated as the 13th best Ohio prospect available in the 2014 MLB Draft, White eschewed the draft, rolling the dice that the extra work in college would improve his overall play. He earned first-team All-State, All-Region, and All-District honors as a junior and senior, and led the Golden Lions to the regional championship in his last two years, plus three district championships.

Kentucky Reign

“I fell in love with it as soon as I stepped on campus,” White explained in a recent interview with the Middlesboro Daily News in why he chose Kentucky. “Being able to play in the best conference in the country is a dream come true; so, that’s what brought me to Lexington.”

The pre-Integrated Strategic Communications major has enjoyed a highly productive 2017 at the plate, slashing .391/.467/.679 in 156 ABs (missing some time due to hamstring issues), to help bring his career college line to .359/.414/.528, in 599 ABs.

His four runs batted in helped the ‘Cats avoid elimination in the SEC Tournament, in this, his junior year.

In 2016, the dark-featured, chisel-jawed White led the Wildcats in average (.376), hits (85), runs (44), doubles (15), triples (3), and RBIs (40) in 226 ABs. His .376 average in 2016 ranks him tied with Terry Shumpert (1987) for the 11th highest single-season mark in University of Kentucky history.

Pick of the Pack?

Picture the athleticism of Houston outfielder Jake Marisnick around the first base bag, add square-up, line drive alley power (with home run power potential), and the heir apparent to Gurriel may be found, Monday, at the #15 slot.

More Astros’ 2017 Draft Prospects:

Seth Romero (UH), Lefty With Issues,

Deon Stafford (St. Joseph’s), Bagwellian Big-Fly Backstop,

and, Oregon LHP, David Peterson