The depth of the Houston Astros’ minor league system has been well-documented over the last couple years. Baseball America ranks the ‘Stros’ organization #3, dropping a spot from last year. The talent-laden Astros continue their march toward the playoffs, but there’s no room for the many busting-out minor leaguers who are worthy of promotion, with no hope for moving up without injury to starters.

That depth was utilized last week when, with starting left fielder Josh Reddick on the concussion DL, the more-than-ready Derek Fisher was promoted from AAA Fresno for his MLB debut. He promptly hit an opposite-field home run for his first big league hit, and closed his five-game stint with 2 dingers, a .278 BA and a .992 OPS.

Fisher quickly became a dugout darling, prompting fans to fashion “Welcome to the Fishery” signs, and manager A.J. Hinch’s earnest pronouncement that he’ll be up again if so much as a groundskeeper goes down. A sure outfield starter for many needy teams, Fisher is unfortunately caught in the rolling Astro monolith that, this year, has no interchangeable parts.

He’s not alone.

Third is the Word

A brief perusal of the Astros’ organizational hot corner largesse reveals an impossible logjam of prodigious prospects who have nowhere to go but ceasing to be challenged once they’ve mastered their current level.

Which brings us to Alex Bregman, the hotshot, hands-off prospect nonetheless rumored by many to be traded last year for a starting arm. He may still be.

With a humdrum .252 heading into the June 29th home series finale with the A’s, third baseman Bregman is low man in the production line for Houston’s starting nine. Even sometimes center fielder Jake Marisnick is hitting .256, but he’s got 155 fewer plate appearances than Bregman, while managing to out-homer Alex, 10-8, while out-slugging him by .129 (.538).

If the Astros indeed pull the trigger on an “if not now, when?” approach, and go after the ace starter many pundits scream for them to, Bregman could be shown the Minute Maid Park door. But, with his production down, and his blinding prospect sheen of 2016 fading, his value has fallen to a degree.

But, if not Bregman, who? If the Astros are still convinced Bregman is the hot corner future for Houston (and there’s no indication they aren’t…convinced, that is), any one of the following could be offered as trade fodder, if a deal partner has a need for a burgeoning third baseman.

Triple-A Fresno’s Colin Moran, the One “Most Blocked” by Bregman

Given a nine-game big league peek last season, the lefty Moran made no one forget Ken Caminiti, scraping together a .130 BA in 23 ABs. But, he’s come into his own in this his second season with the Pacific Coast League Grizzlies, and will join Fisher as the Grizzlies’ reps in the Triple-A All-Star Game.

Related: Moran and Derek Fisher Lead PCL to Victory in 2017 Triple-A All-Star Game and Colin Moran Sees The Day

Moran, Houston’s 23rd-ranked prospect, is tied with Fisher for the team lead in homers with 17 (prior to games of June 29), which places them tied for fourth in the PCL. Moran is 4th in the league in RBIs, with 58, while hitting a solid .298 in 245 ABs. Moran, his way blocked by Bregman, could be packaged in a trade for an ace arm for the home stretch. This would, then, clear the way for a much-deserved promotion for……



Double-A Corpus Christi’s J.D. Davis, Hot Corner Masher

A 3rd-round draft pick for Houston in 2014, Davis is in his second year as the Hooks’ starting third baseman, and is Houston’s #13-ranked prospect. His 2016 Texas League numbers are certain to be eclipsed this year, because in this madcap game of stationary third base dominoes, where’s he going?

Related: Davis Powers Corpus, Crowding Astros’ 3B Picture (from May, 2016)

The right-handed Davis leads the Hooks with a .296 BA (274 ABs), and is nipping at the heels of the Texas League leader (teammate Jon Singleton with .914) in OPS with .907. Oh yeah, Davis leads the league in home runs with 18, three more than the player right behind him. Davis also leads the Texas League with 150 total bases, one more than Edwin Rios, a third baseman in the Dodgers’ system (Tulsa Drillers).

Davis is certainly on many teams’ radar, now, and a possible trade using him might help Houston land a top arm; if so, that would open up the Corpus hot corner for…..

Related: JD Davis Earns Spot On Astros 2018 Opening Day Roster

Advanced-A Buies Creek Astros’ Randy Cesar, Kid on a Mission

Signed as an international free agent as a 17-year-old out of the Dominican in 2012, the now-22 Cesar (pictured above) is barely on anyone’s radar, but the 6’1″, 180-pounder looks like he’ll have no problem asserting himself. And, thanks to the organization’s system-wide English classes, he’ll have no problem expressing himself moving forward.

“When I came here I was zero,’” Cesar said earlier this season, holding his fingers in a circle to show how much English he knew. “Now I can talk to people and I feel really good about it.”

This confidence can’t help but carry over onto the baseball diamond, where Cesar has combined to hit .267 in splitting 2017, so far, between (full season Class A) Quad Cities and, now, (Advanced-A) Buies Creek. In 217 ABs, Cesar has gathered 12 doubles and 4 home runs, while slashing a combined .267/.332/.378.

Not a power guy, he nonetheless has gap power; his focus as he progresses will be to become more consistent with contact. Nineteen walks against 62 strikeouts point to that, as well as his flagging OBP, especially since his promotion to the BC Astros, where a .298 on-base percentage reflects his wildly out-of-whack 8 walks and 33 Ks (through games of June 28).

The Game is Afoot

Your gripping summer beach read might be following how this hot corner logjam plays out for the Astros. Is Bregman on the move, allowing the backlog to move upward?

Or, will the shipping off of a Moran or a Davis loosen the clutter? Will Randy Cesar be hailed as a prospect to watch?

Attached to all these questions is the ever-looming question (dating back to the last trade deadline) of whether or not the Astros might actually pull the trigger on a trade for a key rotation arm.

Related: All-Star Futures Game: Astros Prospects Kyle Tucker, Derek Fisher, and Yordan Alvarez Follow in the Footsteps of Altuve, Correa, and Springer